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A review by ponch22
Crossing In Time by D. L. Orton
5.0
Full disclosure—I was contacted by the author of this book and sent a free Advanced Reader's Copy thanks to my simple review of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746] (link here).
The book is written with every chapter having a different narrator. Our three main characters are Isabel, Diego, and Matt. Isabel and Diego were once lovers who re-meet-cute in Denver shortly after Isabel finishes filing her divorce. After their dinner, downtown Denver bursts into flames separating the two until Diego saves the day and proposes in a very romantic way. Matt, meanwhile, is a physicist who seems to have been kidnapped in the middle of the night by the government and taken to the heart of a secret mountain lair.
We eventually find out the thing that caused the fires in Denver was some sort of sphere from the future. Matt helps the government decode the sphere and build a time machine. Alternate universes are discussed while the world starts falling apart—nuclear weapons, viruses, and mutant vaccines. It seems that time travel is going to be the only way to save the world.
I don't want to describe too much of the story (I may have already said too much) but I always feel the need to say something in order to describe better what I feel about the book.
Through the first two thirds of the novel, it was a solid 4* book. There were some typos that I found (which I already told the author about and should be fixed in the ebook and future printings!) which aren't that detrimental to my enjoyment of the story. But, one thing that I wish had been done better, was the tone of each chapter. I love that it switches between different narrators (very TTTW-esque), because you see different internal struggles or things left unsaid. But I never felt like the chapters were actually written from different points of view. There are some distinctions (Diego's Spanish cursing, or Matt's few Britishisms) but it still felt pretty similar throughout (or perhaps not distinct enough for my liking).
Also, early in the book there are some big set pieces that are hard to follow on the written page. I have no doubt the author envisioned each action scene in her head, but the way each was written made it difficult at times to understand exactly what was happening (e.g. an attack near a gate had the gate opening into people, into the car hood, the car itself bolted forward when the driver leapt out, and it all seemed hard to map out in my head).
These are minor quibbles which didn't make me want to put the book down (heck, I finished the book in a week!), but I'm sure it would have been 4.5 or 5 if the characters felt more distinct when they narrated and/or the action was easier to follow.
The final third of the book did start to lose me. Don't want to get too spoilery, but there is time travel and the back cover (partly) describes the book as a "how to make love guide for diehard celibates" which confused me until I got to the final third which involves our two lovers, Isabel and Diego, and dedicates several chapters to flirtation, foreplay, and some will they/won't they sex. Early on, there was a love scene between the two, and I was confused by the domination/control each tried on one another. It didn't seem fun, but maybe I just need to read [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] to better understand. Also, there definitely is something in Isabel's past (that should probably be explained in future books) that puts a kibosh on certain bedroom activities...
I get that this is the first of a series, so maybe I shouldn't be too sad that [SPOILERS]the world wasn't saved by the end of the book (yet?), but I did feel like the 100 or so pages dedicated to erect nipples and bulges in pants came out of nowhere. Although there is an entire publishing company (Harlequin) based on this model so maybe [a:D.L. Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg] knows what she's doing. As a guy who loves time travel books, much of the final third just wasn't my cup of tea. But the book does earn its "adult content" rating in the end!
Considering everything, the book settled around 3.5* for me, but I'm rounding up to 4* because I know I'll be reading the second book to see what happens (and I can't rate things with half stars). Some more distinct characters in the narration, better described action, and less softcore romance at the end would have lifted the score, but it was a quick read and had its own interesting take on time travel, which are two great things in ANY book!
At times, the story reminded me of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746], [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406505054s/27523.jpg|972769], [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] (which admittedly, I've never read), and [b:11/22/63|10644930|11/22/63|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327876792s/10644930.jpg|15553789]
JUNE 2015 UPDATE - The author wrote four extra "Matt" chapters for the final third of the book to give a little more closure (and questions!) about what was happening. I know these are available for any ebooks purchased (whether through updates or the files you download now) and I think she said the physical books were being reprinted. These extra chapters bump my review to 4.5 which isn't possible here, so 5 stars it is. Can't wait for the next book to come out and find out more about what the heck happened/is happening/will happen!
The book is written with every chapter having a different narrator. Our three main characters are Isabel, Diego, and Matt. Isabel and Diego were once lovers who re-meet-cute in Denver shortly after Isabel finishes filing her divorce. After their dinner, downtown Denver bursts into flames separating the two until Diego saves the day and proposes in a very romantic way. Matt, meanwhile, is a physicist who seems to have been kidnapped in the middle of the night by the government and taken to the heart of a secret mountain lair.
We eventually find out the thing that caused the fires in Denver was some sort of sphere from the future. Matt helps the government decode the sphere and build a time machine. Alternate universes are discussed while the world starts falling apart—nuclear weapons, viruses, and mutant vaccines. It seems that time travel is going to be the only way to save the world.
I don't want to describe too much of the story (I may have already said too much) but I always feel the need to say something in order to describe better what I feel about the book.
Through the first two thirds of the novel, it was a solid 4* book. There were some typos that I found (which I already told the author about and should be fixed in the ebook and future printings!) which aren't that detrimental to my enjoyment of the story. But, one thing that I wish had been done better, was the tone of each chapter. I love that it switches between different narrators (very TTTW-esque), because you see different internal struggles or things left unsaid. But I never felt like the chapters were actually written from different points of view. There are some distinctions (Diego's Spanish cursing, or Matt's few Britishisms) but it still felt pretty similar throughout (or perhaps not distinct enough for my liking).
Also, early in the book there are some big set pieces that are hard to follow on the written page. I have no doubt the author envisioned each action scene in her head, but the way each was written made it difficult at times to understand exactly what was happening (e.g. an attack near a gate had the gate opening into people, into the car hood, the car itself bolted forward when the driver leapt out, and it all seemed hard to map out in my head).
These are minor quibbles which didn't make me want to put the book down (heck, I finished the book in a week!), but I'm sure it would have been 4.5 or 5 if the characters felt more distinct when they narrated and/or the action was easier to follow.
The final third of the book did start to lose me. Don't want to get too spoilery, but there is time travel and the back cover (partly) describes the book as a "how to make love guide for diehard celibates" which confused me until I got to the final third which involves our two lovers, Isabel and Diego, and dedicates several chapters to flirtation, foreplay, and some will they/won't they sex. Early on, there was a love scene between the two, and I was confused by the domination/control each tried on one another. It didn't seem fun, but maybe I just need to read [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] to better understand. Also, there definitely is something in Isabel's past (that should probably be explained in future books) that puts a kibosh on certain bedroom activities...
I get that this is the first of a series, so maybe I shouldn't be too sad that [SPOILERS]the world wasn't saved by the end of the book (yet?), but I did feel like the 100 or so pages dedicated to erect nipples and bulges in pants came out of nowhere. Although there is an entire publishing company (Harlequin) based on this model so maybe [a:D.L. Orton|13506103|D.L. Orton|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1427753745p2/13506103.jpg] knows what she's doing. As a guy who loves time travel books, much of the final third just wasn't my cup of tea. But the book does earn its "adult content" rating in the end!
Considering everything, the book settled around 3.5* for me, but I'm rounding up to 4* because I know I'll be reading the second book to see what happens (and I can't rate things with half stars). Some more distinct characters in the narration, better described action, and less softcore romance at the end would have lifted the score, but it was a quick read and had its own interesting take on time travel, which are two great things in ANY book!
At times, the story reminded me of [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746], [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406505054s/27523.jpg|972769], [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] (which admittedly, I've never read), and [b:11/22/63|10644930|11/22/63|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327876792s/10644930.jpg|15553789]
JUNE 2015 UPDATE - The author wrote four extra "Matt" chapters for the final third of the book to give a little more closure (and questions!) about what was happening. I know these are available for any ebooks purchased (whether through updates or the files you download now) and I think she said the physical books were being reprinted. These extra chapters bump my review to 4.5 which isn't possible here, so 5 stars it is. Can't wait for the next book to come out and find out more about what the heck happened/is happening/will happen!