Top 10 Favourite Time Travel Books and Movies by Angie Stanton

As part of the Waking In Time blog tour, I'm pleased to welcome the author, Angie Stanton to the blog, to tell us all about her ten favourite time travel books and movies. 

I like to think everyone is fascinated with the idea of time travel? I’m not a big Sci-fi fan, but the idea of being swept into the waves of time and having to adapt and find your way home, or not, has always fascinated me. So much so, that after years of contemplation, I came up with a story of my own. So as my own Waking in Time comes onto the literary landscape, let me revisit my favorite time travel stories.

#10 Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

A Knight in Shining Armor is the first time travel book I ever read and it was a great introduction. Jude Deveraux is a master at weaving compelling stories, and this book captured my heart the moment the heroine, who lay weeping on a cold tombstone, fell through time. From that moment on I was hooked on the time travel genre.

#9 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2003

This is my favourite of all the Harry Potter books and movies. Not only do Hermione and Harry use a time turner amulet to go back in time and save a hippogriff as well as others, but because it’s such a creative vehicle of time travel.

#8 Timeline

Timeline came out in 2003, but I’ve watched it several times since. I love how a group of archeologists get pulled into a government cover up and risk their lives traveling back in time to save their mentor. It’s history, adventure, and a love story all rolled into an action-packed story.

#7 Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Ruby Red and the two follow-up books, Sapphire Blue, and Emerald Green are fantastic YA novels. In fact, after finishing Ruby Red during a winter cold snap of -27 degrees BELOW zero (not kidding), I couldn’t wait and cranked up my frozen car for a trip across town to get book two and three. Definitely check these out.

#6 Timeless

I’m all over this new television show where each week a brilliant pilot, a ruggedly handsome military man, and a sassy, stubborn historian (who has lost her sister to time) hop into a prototype time machine to save history by chasing down a rebel. The show takes us to Lincoln’s assassination, the Alamo’s last stand, The Space Race and crash of the Hindenburg. 

#5 Kate and Leopold

Who doesn’t love this movie? It’s one of Hugh Jackman’s early big screen leads. He plays a dashing nineteenth century English Duke who’d rather be an inventor than royal. Meg Ryan is the prickly ad exec who helps him navigate in the modern world. Every time I hear Moon River I think of this movie.

#4 About Time with Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson 2013

How great would it be to just step into a closet, close your eyes, and think of what time you’d like to go back to. It’s a silly romp with Rachel McAdams who plays a plain girl along side Domhnall Gleeson, a quirky, ginger-haired barrister. It’s playful, funny, touching, and the sound track is the best. Of course I own this!

#3 Back to the Future

Ah, the classic time travel movie of all, well, time! I love all three of the movies, the second being the most complex as the jump back and forth to fix time. The third wraps up all the story lines, leaving me wanting to hop on that freight train and fly through time with Doc Brown.

#2 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Some how I was lucky to discover this book soon after it was published. I read the first three or four and then was distracted while waiting for the next release. A couple years ago I revisited the series, rereading the first books along with the next five. These books are epic tomes of 800-plus pages. 

I love getting lost in a book, loving the characters and their troubles, and never wanting it to end. With the Outlander series, you can do just that. I am impatiently awaiting the next release. The Outlander TV series is now in it’s third season and is well worth every minute as the epic story is recreated on film.

#1 Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My favourite of all! This book is so complex and intriguing that as soon as I finished reading it, I began again. Truth. Audrey Niffenegger is brilliant as she tosses poor Henry through time with no apparent rhyme or reason. The movie is good, but it’s from Clare’s point of view instead of Henry’s, like in the book, and loses something in translation. The book is definitely better! Do yourself a favour and read it!

Summary

Still mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother and shaken by her mysterious, dying request to “find the baby,” Abbi has just arrived at UW Madison for her freshman year. But on her second day, she wakes up to a different world: 1983. That is just the first stop on Abbi’s journey backward through time. Will is a charming college freshman from 1927 who travels forward through time. When Abbi and Will meet in the middle, love adds another complication to their lives. Communicating across time through a buried time capsule, they try to decode the mystery of their travel, find the lost baby, and plead with their champion, a kindly physics professor, to help them find each other again ... even though the professor gets younger each time Abbi meets him. This page-turning story full of romance, twists, and delightful details about campus life then and now will stay with readers long after the book’s satisfying end.

To find out more about Angie Stanton:

Twitter / Website

Want to check out some more of the blog tour? See the list of blogs taking part below.

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

My underwear is in the apple tree. 

I'm lying in the grass, staring up through the branches. It's late afternoon and the rest of the garden is lemonade sunshine, but under here it's cool and dark and insecty. When I tilt my head back, the whole garden is upside-down - and my laundry with it, festooned like the world's saddest bunting. 

Published by Macmillan Children's Books in May 2016

Pages - 322

Summary

Last summer, Gottie's life fell apart. Her beloved grandfather Grey died and Jason, the boy to whom she lost her heart wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral. This summer, still reeling from twin heartbreaks, Gottie is lost and alone and burying herself in equations. Until, after five years absence, Thomas comes home: former boy next door. Former best friend. Former everything. And as life turns upside down again she starts to experience strange blips in time - back to last summer, back to what she should have seen then . . . 

During one long, hazy summer, Gottie navigates grief, world-stopping kisses and rips in the space-time continuum, as she tries to reconcile her first heartbreak with her last.

******

I had no idea before reading this book that it was about time travel. I'd convinced myself during the first few chapters, that Gottie was seriously ill or mentally unstable, but thankfully neither were the case. So in case you didn't know -

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL.

I love time travel novels. The Time Traveller's Wife has got to be one of my all time favourites. So I was pleasantly surprised to find Gottie travelling back into the previous summer when everything had seemed beautiful, warm and romantic. It was her coming of age summer. Such a contrast to the summer she is now experiencing. Gottie is grief stricken over the loss of her grandfather and the break down of her secret relationship. But with the reappearance of Thomas, her childhood friend, Gottie works through the issues that are holding her back from basically being human. 

I have to be honest, the physics elements totally lost me and they did slow down my reading a little as I tried to get my head round them. I'm still not sure I understand the wormholes, though I am wholeheartedly for them to exist in reality! Science isn't my thing, I just about scraped through my Biology GCSE, but I persevered, because I could see what a beautiful story this was blossoming into.  

At times you are unsure what's going on, but I felt that related a lot to the way Gottie's emotions were. Her grief was giving her bi-polar tendencies and you never knew how long you would be on an up with her, before she spoiled everything by crashing back down. 

I loved Grey. Even though he isn't alive in the book, his presence was strongly felt and as a reader, you missed him just as much as Gottie did. If this is ever made into a film, Billy Connolly has to take the part; it's like it was written for him. 

The growth in the friendship between Gottie and Thomas is utterly beautiful. Thomas was the medicine, Gottie desperately needed to help her heal.  

The ending is beautiful, full of summers long gone and playing outside till dusk and eating ice-cream till your stomach bursts. Alongside a cast of quirky, yet heartfelt characters, this book will definitely receive a lot of reader's love.

A truly stunning mix of physics and physical chemistry!

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

The amazing thing was, each time she looked at them, Etta still saw something new- something she hadn't noticed before. 

Published by Quercus in April 2016

Pages - 496

Summary

In one devastating night, Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has travelled not just miles but years from home.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods - a powerful family in the Colonies - and the servitude he's known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can't escape and the family that won't let him go. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, his passenger, can find.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveller who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods' grasp. But as they get closer to their target, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home forever.

******
I love the EPICNESS  and GRANDNESS of this novel. I felt like I was swept away on this perilous  journey alongside Etta and Nicholas as they search to find the astrolabe before  into can get into the wrong hands. I think a few readers have struggled to get into it, but I honestly didn't have that problem. I was sucked in from the start and looking back, I can see how important those first few scenes are to the plot. This is a big book and needs to be approached with a huge chunk of available time to allow yourself to fully absorb the information provided. 

The book is very detailed and you feel like you are running with Etta and Nicholas. 
They speed through passages, jumping from one era to another, each one described to the fullest, that you feel like the author has already made the journey herself. I think my favourite era had to be London during the war, but you can tell each era has been fully researched.

I loved watching the relationship grow between Etta and Nicholas. They had everything against them yet they couldn't stop the strong bonds that tied them.
The ending was unexpected and heartbreaking for a while but it opened up the possibility to more adventures. 

I love a good time travel novel and this one most certainly didn't disappoint. In fact, I made it  my Book of the Month for May. I can see why Disney Hyperion bought this, because it has all the makings of a blockbusting movie.  If Cassandra Clare wrote time travel novels, this is the type of book she would write.

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

I stare at the drain in the center of the concrete floor. It was the first thing I saw when they locked me in this cell, and I’ve barely looked away since.

Pages - 362

Published by Bloomsbury in August 2013

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet.
Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.

*******

If you are planning to read this book, may I suggest buying some fuses first. Don’t raise your eyebrows at me like that! I can promise you if you read this book, your brain will blow a fuse. Seriously it has the most mind blowing plot I have ever read and so intricate; you wonder how the author managed to keep hold of all the threads.  It was ingenious with a cleverly written plot.

The book has been described as The Hunger Games meets The Time Traveller's Wife, but I don’t think that’s accurate at all. It just doesn’t describe the epicness of this book.  So in order to describe it you need  to think films - great big mega busters. This book is Back To The Future meets The Terminator! There is humour and terror interwoven with fast paced action and tornado sized time loops that will leave you brain fried.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints but with a twist as you jump backwards and forwards in time. I honestly can’t tell you any more than that without giving secrets away. The plot is exceptional, one of the best time travel books I’ve read in ages.

The characters were awesome. Em and Finn are the Katniss and Peeta of time travel. As their past and futures entangle before exploding apart, you desperately want a happy ending for them. They are running out of options on how to deal with the past; their final choice will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Em is emotionally pulled towards Marina and will go to great depths to  protect her. She is so mature for her age, treating Marina like a younger sibling. The changes between the characters of the past and future are intriguing and you find yourself desperate to discover what actually happened to make them so tough in the future.  I'm amazed by the author's talent to create such intriguing and unusual conflict between characters

I’m stunned that this was written by a debut author as it is so well written. I can’t help but wonder what other books they have hidden up their sleeves. I only hope they have something amazing to follow this book as it really is outstanding for a debut. I was  completely blown away by this book and can’t wait to read more from this author.  An epic time travelling adventure that needs to be made into a film- a cinematic gem just waiting to be picked up.

The Big Break with Amanda James

On The Big Break this week, I am happy to welcome debut author Amanda James, whose first book, A Stitch In Time has just been publishing with the up and coming independent publisher, Choc Lit.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining me today on the blog.

Thank you so much for having me.

 I would love to know a little about your writing journey. What did you do before writing books?

 I was a history teacher for many years, and taught sociology at A’ level. Though I did always write in my spare time - the little I had! 

Your debut book, A Stitch In Time, is about to be published. How are you feeling right now?

Absolutely over the moon! I can’t quite believe it has happened. I was lucky enough to be sent some copies from my publisher, Choc Lit a few weeks ago and just stared at them for ages!

Can you tell us a little bit about the book for my readers who have yet to set eyes on it?

A Stitch in Time is essentially about Sarah Yates, a time-travelling history teacher. (Yes, really!) It has more than a touch of romantic comedy, but serious issues are touched on also. Sarah is disillusioned with her job and recently divorced. Her husband left her for her best friend and as a consequence she is very wary of committing to anyone else as she was broken apart by their betrayal. However, when mysterious and very lovely John Needler arrives on the scene and asks her to travel through time to save the lives of others, she is more than a little attracted to him. Sarah finds new purpose in trying to help people in the past find their happy endings. The big question is - will she ever be able to find hers?

Where did you get your inspiration from for it?

The title. I had just finished a darkish novel, Righteous Exposure, which is about a kidnapping in Texas and felt I needed a lighter tale next. I realised that romantic comedies seemed to do well and time travel themes were popular on TV too -  Dr Who and Ashes to Ashes and the like. So when I picked the title the story just came to me. It was great!

How long did it take you to write?

Unbelievably the first draft took only about six weeks. It just flowed.

Were there times when you felt that it would never get published? If so, how did you work your way through them?

Yes I did feel that. I had four agents ask for the full manuscript, but for one reason or another they all said it wasn’t quite right for them. I did have quite a few rejections too. And over the years other novels of mine came back though the post in their brown envelopes thick and fast! It hurt like hell at first, but if you want to be successful in writing you have to grow a thick skin, pick yourself up and start again.

Were you given any good writing advice that you would like to share with my readers?

I think the most valuable thing I learned was to show in your writing instead of telling. I was once told I had a tendency to be an ‘omniscient narrator’ and instruction on how to change that. It took a while for the penny to drop, but when it did I improved greatly. And read too. That is always good advice. If you read, you can see how successful authors write and pick up some tips.

What was your first reaction when you found out your book was to be published?

I jumped about and yelled for a bit. Then I had a permanent smile on my face for the next few weeks. Choc Lit are fantastic and I couldn’t have wished for a better publisher.

How long was it between the initial deal and publishing day?

It was May 2012 and publishing day is April 2013 - so 11 months.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have a few irons in the fire but people who have read A Stitch in Time as an ebook have already been asking for a sequel. Luckily I have already started it!

Who is the one person that cheered you on and supported you through your writing?

 My husband, Brian, has always been the one who has believed in me and celebrated even my smallest success, my daughter too. It is so important to have strength behind you, especially when the successes have been thin on the ground.

What advice would you give to aspiring and unpublished authors?

Believe in yourself, be prepared to learn and never give up when you have been knocked down for the umpteenth time. If you can’t take the rejections or criticism, you will never make it as a writer.

Thank you Amanda for such inspiring answers. A Stitch In Time is published by Choc Lit on the 7th of April, though is already available as an ebook on Amazon.

To find out more about Amanda James:

Twitter

Blog

Vortex by Julie Cross

Pages - 435

Published by Pan Macmillan in January 2013

Book kindly sent by publisher for an honest review.

The only things that gave me the strength to pull myself off that grassy spot and walk further from Holly were the images that flashed through my mind - Holly, sitting in that orientation, hiding the book in her lap with her name carefully written inside, her hair twirling around the pencil she was using to take notes. I had sat three rows behind her that day...today...and watched her the whole two hours.

Amazon Summary

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, all that changes when Holly—the girl he altered history to save—re-enters his life. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents find themselves under attack and on the run. Jackson must decide between saving the love of his life and the entire world . . .

*******

I was so looking forward to reading this sequel. I really loved the first book Tempest last year as it gave a refreshing YA spin on the time travel genre. Vortex takes the story to a whole new level, and to be honest I found that rather confusing. The language and descriptions were often quite technical and I felt it went a little over my head. I just couldn’t get my head completely round the concept of full jumps, half jumps and different worlds appearing with each jump. It actually felt like a different series completely, as the book was such a change in style from the first one.

The plot is fast paced and with lots of information to be taken in, I found I struggled to enjoy it as much as the first.

On reflection, I think this is a book that needs to be read slowly. Not advisable for a book blogger on a mission. The concepts need time to be digested. When read at a fast pace, you completely lose the plot to the whole story. I kept thinking of the Matrix films where in the first one I understood completely what was going on, but by the third I didn’t have a clue. Tempest kind of hit me like that.  I can only imagine the third book will go completely over my head.

The fresh new characters were interesting and really came alive in the book. Kendrick and Stewart really stood out for me; especially as their very different relationships with Jackson developed throughout the story.  I also loved the new developments and twists that occurred with the wellloved characters from the first book. Holly’s transformation was amazing, although I missed the love affair with Jackson that made the first book blossom so much.

This book would probably suit readers who enjoy the Mission Impossible style thrillers.  

North of Nowhere by Liz Kessler

Pages 229

Published by Orion Children's Books on 17th January 2013

I need to write it all down. That's the only way I'll believe it's true.

Spring half-term of Year Eight. All those incredible, impossible things. Did they really happen? I've tried a hundred times to tell myself that they couldn't have done, that none of it is possible.

Amazon Summary

When Mia's grandfather disappears, Mia and her mother immediately rush down to stay with her grandmother and offer support. With no friends and no internet access in the little seaside village where her grandparents live, Mia is bored and lonely--until she makes friends with Dee, the daughter of a fisherman from a nearby island, and Peter, who is on holiday with his parents. But Mia's grandad is still missing, and actually meeting face to face with Dee is proving surprisingly difficult. Mia becomes determined to find out what's going on, but the truth is much more mysterious than she ever imagined...

********
Liz Kessler has done it again. 

North of Nowhere seems to have collected the essence of excellent time travel stories and weaved them together to make a modern, believable book with a strong British feel to it that is a ruddy good read. 

There is the growing and long lasting friendship I so loved in Tom's Midnight Garden and the detailed planning of time travel to save the future from the past that was such a major part of the Back To The Future films. There is a heartbreaking moment too, which brought tears to my eyes as I remembered something similar that happened to Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart. 

Liz captured the mind of the pre teen so accurately that she could almost have been sat in my house listening to my two in conversation. 

I also thought the book handled the difficulties that often do occur because of the generation gap extremely well. I loved the way Mia was beginning to realise that perhaps raising her voice and arguing wasn't really going to get her anywhere. My girls are just beginning to adopt the 'Be Nice' strategy.

I loved that the story was told from multiple points of view, as well as using other methods to communicate such as letters and the diary. 

I was not expecting the ending at all. I can’t say what I wasn’t expecting or I’ll give it away, but I’ll just say the ending took me by surprise!

I thought North of Nowhere was stunning! Mindblowing!  I can’t say much more to express how much I loved it because this book insists on secrecy otherwise the surprise will be spoilt.

So in the end all I really need to say is - READ IT! It is awesome!

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Choc Lit - Box of Surprises!

I might be a bit late to the party, but I found a lovely publisher online this week and I 've spent quite a few hours drooling over their books and downloading some of them. So I thought it might be nice to share a few of the fabulous titles they have on offer, so you can see if they might be the kinds of books you would love to read too. Some are available now while others will be published in the near future. 

The Kindle prices for these books are also outstanding at the moment, so this might be a perfect time to introduce yourself to Choc Lit. 

Choc Lit was established in 2009 and they are hell bent on developing excellent women's romantic fiction with the hero's point of view standing out within the story. Personally I am intrigued! Looking at them from the viewpoint of a bookaholic, I am envisioning YA style fiction but for adults!

Available Now

The Untied Kingdom by Kate Johnson is listed under sci fi and fantasy. The portal into another world was the start of all of Evie's troubles. Available at 99p for the Kindle at the moment. 

Click here to find out more. 

The Silent Touch of Shadows by Christina Courtenay. From the blurb describing this book, I get the feeling of an author similar to Barbara Erskine. This is available for £1.99 for the Kindle at the moment. This is the author's fourth book with Choc Lit. 

What will it take to put the past to rest? Professional genealogist Melissa Grantham receives an invitation to visit her family's ancestral home, Ashleigh Manor. From the moment she arrives, life-like dreams and visions haunt her.

To read the first couple of chapters, click here.

Vampire State of Mind by Jane Lovering. I have a feeling I am going to love this author. Described as 'adventurous and witty' but with vampires - I couldn't ask for anything more. Want to read the first chapter, then please click here.  Available at £1.99 for the Kindle. 

Love and Freedom by Sue Moorcroft. This is set partially in Brighton. My stomping ground! Click here to read the first chapter. Available at £1.98 for the Kindle.

To Be Published 

Out of Sight Out of Mind by Evonne Wareham is listed as a paranormal thriller.  It will be published in March 2013. 

The author won an award with her first novel and this one is getting rave reviews too. The lead character is a scientist with a talent for reading minds. I am hooked!

To find out more, click here

. No Such Thing As Immortality by Sarah Tranter will be published in January 2013. An adult version of Twilight but written completely from the hero's point of view - a vampire! To find out more, please click here. 

A Stitch In Time by Amanda James will be published in April and is a time travel novel!!! *jumps with joy* *pushes The Time Traveller's Wife to the back of the cupboard to make way for the new kid in town*

As you can see I am very excited by this one. To find out more, click here. 

Hubble Bubble by Jane Lovering is the second book by this author to feature in this list. Give me witch craft and I am happy girl! This will be published in June 2013. To find out more, please click here. 

Dream a Little Dream by Sue Moorcroft - this is the author's fifth Choc Lit novel and will be available from November 7th! What would you do to make your dreams come true. To read the first chapter, please click here. 

The Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher

Published by Hodder Children's Books in October 2012

Pages - 393

Book kindly sent by publisher for a review.

The boy put on the mask outside the door. It was a heavy black fencing mask and inside its mesh he felt different.

It made him dark, supple, dangerous.

An actor.

An assassin.

Goodreads Summary

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.
********
Catherine Fisher is truly an inspiration to follow. I have really enjoyed her previous novels, but The Obsidian Mirror blew me away. A mixture of science fiction and folklore that has been seamlessly blended to create an exciting new series to cherish. It was like reading The Terminator meets Tinkerbell but so much better. The way the author writes is reminiscent of the styles of such greats as  Philip Pullman and Cornelia Funke. I will admit to having a bit of a soft spot for Catherine Fisher as her books played quite a huge part in my very early book blogging days; I read and reviewed quite a few. 
I loved the way the story was structured, the story was evenly blended as it moved from one character to another, where you desperately wanted to know what was happening in the background all the time. Each chapter ended with a cliffhanger, which found you desperate to get back to their strand of the story.  As you delve further into the story, you find yourself gathering an assortment of facts,which you need to weave together in order to find out the truth about the mirror, which in itself  is a character within the book;  a strong, dark presence, ominously waiting to create havoc within the lives of the characters. The mirror plays a game similar to Russian Roulette, where you never know if the outcome will be favourable or not. 
The characters had very strong personas and even nondescript ones such as Rebecca, who appeared as excess baggage in the story to begin with turned out to be valuable to the plot. The author fooled us with their initial presence; a sign of excellent writing.
The scenery was breathtaking as the characters stood simultaneously in between seasons. I loved the December setting, making this a fabulous contender for a Christmas reading session. The story is extremely well plotted, and it heads off at such a furious pace, you find yourself unable to walk away from the book. 
The ending was a bit of a shocker to me! I honestly didn't even twig that things would work out the way they did and yet I should have seen it. On reflection, I could see the subtle hints and signs that had carefully been laid out by the author, I think I was just so engrossed in the whole story I missed them completely. 
I only had a tiny little niggle with the book and I am sure it's because I am editing at the moment that I am picking up on such a minuscule point. I couldn't see how Jake successfully managed to smuggle the marmoset from Switzerland to England on an aeroplane; being  one of those people who regularly gets stopped by customs (before you ask, I have no idea why) , I felt that this would be impossible to do with the present security system in place. However, looking at it from a different view point, I have never ever flown out of Switzerland, so I don't know if their airport security is as tough as ours. So this could be a completely moot point!
Anyway, regardless of this little niggle, this is an excellent read and I want everyone to read it. I want everyone to be as enthralled with this series as I am. I knew Catherine Fisher was talented, I think I'd just forgotten how much. 
An awesome start to the series - I can't wait for Book 2!

The Twice-Lived Summer of Bluebell Jones by Susie Day

Pages- 177

Published by Scholastic in August 2012

I'm carrying my birthday cake through Penkerry fairground when I hear the first scream. 

There's screaming all around me obviously. It trails above my head as the Whirler Twirler spins, fighting with chopped-up pop songs. It crashes through the doors of the Ghost Train. Pennkerry people like being frightened.

Goodreads Summary

On her thirteenth birthday, Blue makes a desperate wish. To be transformed into a cool, confident teenager. Enter Red, appearing from nowhere like a wacky fairy godmother. She's only visible to Blue - in fact, she IS Blue, but a year older. With Red by her side to guide her, Blue can avoid all the gruesome embarrassments! But her future self causes a heap of crazy trouble - and there are dark secrets she's not telling...

********

I have never ready a book by Susie Day before and I now feel I should kick myself over it. I feel like I am really late to a great party! 

Susie Day is a very descriptive writer who captures the feel of the Great British seaside vacation with clarity and nostalgia. I felt like my senses had been taken hostage, as I drooled at the imaginary smell of fish and chips on the beach and longed for a donut. I could visualise every part of the story with my senses kicking into over drive.

The book begins with a very dramatic scene that leaves you a little panicky. I honestly didn't know which way the story was about to go. I then sat wondering why the scene had been  included, and it wasn't until half way through the book that I realised it was pivotal to the plot. 

I loved Bluebell and her family, because I felt like I knew them. They were bits and pieces of many families I know and I was completely at home in their presence. Yet there was also a uniqueness and quirkiness to their personalities. Imagine Bluebell's mum; heavily pregnant and still drumming in a rock band. Fantastic! Let no woman feel unable to conquer the world and have a baby at the same time! 

I adored the budding relationship between Tiger and her new girlfriend, Caitlin. It was just beautiful to watch Tiger change and grow up as she embraced her new found love. It was also sweet to watch Bluebell experience her first kiss with Merlin. This relationship really made me sigh with happiness, as I did know someone very similar to Merlin when I was younger; it brought back happy memories.

I did feel the book should come with some kind of warning, because you will need tissues by the end of it. I had a feeling half way through the book that I might not want to read the ending, yet I was even more devastated when I got there and realised it wasn't the ending I had forseen. This book reminded me in parts  of  films such as Big, Back To The Future and 16 Wishes.  It was all of those films and yet it was none of them, because it really was unique in itself.

This book is simply gorgeous; an innocent coming of age story that carries you on an emotional journey. The writing is beautiful yet poignant, engaging yet very real. A perfect summer read.

If you haven't gathered yet from this review, I really really loved this book. It is so realistic and British yet wearing a generous layer of magical realism. Such a wonderful combination.  I honestly can't wait to read more books by Susie Day.

Tempest by Julie Cross

Pages - 415

Published by Macmillan on the 6th January

My name is Jackson and I can travel through time. Now, wait, it's not as exciting as you might think. I can't go back in time and kill Hitler. I can't go to the future and tell you who wins the World Series in 2038. So far, the most I've ever jumped is about six hours in the past. Some superhero, right?

Goodreads Summary

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies - nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors - it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveller.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

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I think that Julie Cross may find herself sitting pretty in the number one spot for time travel fiction. This book seriously shook my brain. Imagine taking Quantum Leap, Back to the Future and The Time Traveller's Wife and putting them in a blender. Then adding a touch of Heroes for flavour and voila you have an original time travel novel that takes your breath away. You will get to certain points in the story and you won't have a clue as to which direction the book might go. 

This has to be the first book in ages that I have read from a male perspective yet written by a female. Normally I would worry that the author might struggle to capture the way the opposite sex thinks and feels but in my mind, the character of Jackson is written beautifully. He is all man, but in touch with his feminine side, which makes him really rather cool and adorable.  He will make you weep into you sleeve, as he desperately tries to save Holly. He will stop at nothing until she is safe, his love for her is that strong. 

Julie Cross has created strong realistic characters who have the ability to play with your emotions. Courtney will break your heart. Her story reminded me of those weepy real life films they show on TV. I keep hoping that her story will turn out to all be a dream and she will get a happy ever after. You will be unsure about Jackson's dad too. I struggled to decide whether I trusted him or not and even after finishing the book my thoughts on him are still unclear. 

The ending actually wrenched my heart out and threw it on the floor. I sat there screaming at the book, 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' I couldn't believe that it could end like that, not after everything Jackson had been through. I understood why it did, but I still couldn't believe it. 

The last few chapters are explosive and action packed.  A Mission Impossible style ending that will leave you shocked to the core.

This book will make you think. It will make you  look at your present relationship and wonder whether it would still have worked if you had met at a different time in your life. Would the person you love now be the same person if you had met them five years earlier? Would you love them as much or would they need time to grow into the person you love now? See it will make you think. 

This really is an action packed, fast paced, thrilling read that will have you jumping all over the time continuum. 

The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner

Pages - 384

Published by Indigo, an imprint of Orion in 2011

Once there was a girl who asked her reflection,'If all I have is fragments of memories and none of them fit together, tell me then, do I exist?'

Goodreads Summary

Arnold Ruben has created a memory machine, a utopia housed in a picture palace, where the happiest memories replay forever, a haven in which he and his precious daughter can shelter from the war-clouds gathering over 1937 Britain. But on the day of her seventeenth birthday Amaryllis leaves Warlock Hall and the world she has known and wakes to find herself in a desolate and disturbing place. Something has gone terribly wrong with her father's plan. Against the tense backdrop of the second World War Sally Gardner explores families and what binds them, fathers and daughters, past histories, passions and cruelty, love and devastation in a novel rich in character and beautifully crafted.

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This book really took me by surprise. I didn't realise I would love it quite as much as I did. From the very first chapter, I felt my spine tingling as the picture palace came to life and became  a character in its own right.  I wanted to follow Amaryllis into the picture house too. From the beginning the picture palace, seemed so magical, like an extra from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is only as you progress through the story that you realise you have been wearing rose tinted glasses and the picture palace has developed a hidden agenda. 


The story is told from multiple points of view, which allowed me to feel like God looking down on all my minions. The author allowed me to flit between their worlds and see straight into their inner most thoughts. This is a time travel book of sorts, but Sally Gardner puts her own unique slant on it, making it a true original. 


You are convinced to begin with that Amaryllis is the main character of the book,then half way through you realise that this was just a ruse, and that really Ezra is the main character. Amaryllis becomes an enigma within the story, leaving everyone on the outside bewildered and confused.  Ezra becomes so strong as he defies the picture palace to discover the truth. At the heart of the book is a  beautiful, innocent love story that even time cannot stop. As time progresses outside the picture palace, you see the true effects that the Second World War had on Great Britain and how people really suffered. 


Sally Gardner writes beautifully. I was in awe of her use of metaphors and similes. You can tell that Sally used to be an illustrator, because when she writes, she not only tells a story, she paints a picture with words. She is so descriptive you not only see the landscape, you step into it. 


Here are some examples.


Unknown to him, his future became mixed with Amaryllis's, so that by the time the oven door was opened, the spell had been well and truly baked, his destiny altered by the making of a cake.


Amaryllis knew her father's furious silence was filled with unspoken words she couldn't help hearing.


Arnold lit a cigarette, inhaled and, an enraged dragon, blew the smoke from his nose.


The book is full of lines and paragraphs like this, which had the writer in me ready to throw my pens and paper in the nearest fireplace, as dreams of being able to write so beautifully were left abandoned in tatters on the floor.  I nearly gave up my NaNoWriMo story because of this book, as I just couldn't see how I could ever write as poetically as Sally Gardner does.


The storyline is original and intriguing.I devoured it in two days and felt like the book had enveloped me and wouldn't free me until all the pieces had been put back into place. The book is breathtaking and original. One that will become a comfort read of the future, a true literary treasure to be enjoyed again and again. 

The Crimson Shard by Teresa Flavin

Pages - 284

Published by Templar in October 2011

Taking care not to wake anyone, the traveller crept back into the house, shielding his candle. 

In the scullery, he rinsed the last traces of blood from his hands and dried them on a cloth. He felt for the leather sheath sewn into his tunic and slid out a flat shard of bone, smoothed and sharpened to a point at one end and carved into an animal's head at the other. 

Amazon Summary

This sequel to The Blackhope Enigma is imbued with alchemy and intrigue. During what seems like an ordinary museum visit, tour guide Throgmorton lures Sunni and Blaise through a painted doorway into eighteenth-century London. When Throgmorton demands secret information from the pair about their Blackhope escapades, they attempt to flee, encountering body snatchers, art thieves and forgers in this gripping time-travel adventure.

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If you are a regular follower of my blog, you will know that I read and reviewed The Blackhope Enigma last week which is the first book in this series. Normally I avoid reading books in a series back to back, so this was a first time for me in absolutely ages. I always worry that I will become bored of the characters if I go straight into the next book; luckily this did not happen with The Crimson Shard and I would say that I actually enjoyed it even more than the first book. 

For a start, this book takes our time travellers Sunni and Blase, through a door into the 1800's, which is always a favourite period of time for me. It was lovely to see that Sunni's blooming friendship with Blase, depicted in the first book had moved onto a budding romance. I can't wait to see where their mutual admiration takes them in the future. Sunni is just a fantastic character,who never admits defeat. I loved the Shakespearean twist as Sunni is made to dress like a boy;  a situation I felt she handled very well. 

I was actually quite glad to see that Dean, Sunni's younger stepbrother did not feature in this book, as I did find him slightly annoying in the first book. He was just too whiny and a typically annoying young brother to me; just not built for exciting adventures through time.

Although this book is a sequel, it does not run with a tried and tested formula. It is completely different from the first book, leaving you wondering what to expect. Definitely a refreshing change to many books appearing in the series format. 

I loved the way that hidden loose threads from the first book, found themselves woven into this story. The first book left no cliff hangers, yet this book actually discovered some hidden ones and brought them out into the open for everyone to read. Very clever move, Teresa Flavin! 

I get the impression that the author has a great love for art, because the way she describes it really brings it to life for me and intrigues me enough to want to visit an art gallery. Normally paintings wouldn't appeal to me in the slightest, but this book has made me view paintings in a whole new light. 

I have a little niggle with the book. I found I got a little confused with the characters. When the group of Victorians came to their rescue, I did get a little lost as to which one was which. I felt we were introduced to a succession of people very quickly, who were not always clearly distinguishable. This reminded me of a similar problem I had with book one where confusion hit me. Although it could just all be my age and short attention span!

Other than that, I felt that this book was an excellent sequel to its predecessor with a refreshing use of time travel. I can't wait to read the next one.