*[Blog Tour Review & Giveaway] Christmas Past by Susanna Fraser

 

 

Summary:

 

Time-traveling PhD student Sydney Dahlquist’s first mission sounded simple enough—spend two weeks in December 1810 collecting blood samples from the sick and wounded of Wellington’s army, then go home to modern-day Seattle and Christmas with her family. But when her time machine breaks, stranding her in the past, she must decide whether to sacrifice herself to protect the timeline or to build a new life—and embrace a new love—two centuries before her time.

Rifle captain Miles Griffin has been fascinated by the tall, beautiful "Mrs. Sydney" from the day he met her caring for wounded soldiers. When he stumbles upon her time travel secret on Christmas Eve, he vows to do whatever it takes to seduce her into making her home in his present—by his side.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 48 pages (E-book)

Source: Review Copy

Available Formats: E-book

Publication Date:  November 25th 2013 by Entangled: Ever After    

 

I've mentioned time and time again that I'm not a big novella or short story fan but I'll let you in on a little secret, the ones I'm almost always guaranteed to enjoy center around the holidays. Which is why I signed up for this tour.

 

I really liked this 48 page time travel Christmas romance (try saying that 10 times). I had a free half hour and was able to knock this one out quickly, and I was glad to give Susanna Fraser a try (finally) and thought that this little novella was  a great introduction to her writing style.

 

I love time travel romances and of course I love regency romances with dashing heroes so I really enjoyed reading Miles and Sydney's love story. I thought the way that Fraser mixed the time travel and romance bit together was very well done, especially given the length of the story and I was really impressed plus, I liked how the romance between the main characters developed.

 

Overall, for a short story, this one is one of the best ones I've read and I loved the Christmas element added into the storyline. I'm a sucker for a holiday romance and this one has me not only wanting to read more Christmas love stories, but more stories by Susanna Fraser.

 

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, well written time travel Christmas romances between a contemporary woman and a regency hero just in time for the holidays.

 

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

I read this book for the following reading challenges:

 

2013 150+ Reading Challenge

Really Liked It!
★★★★

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Other editions

Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

 

Summary:

 

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from. Yesterday will appeal to fans of James Dashner's The Maze Runner, Veronica Roth's Divergent, Amy Ryan's Glow, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Ally Condie's Matched. 

Summary & Photo taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 368 pages (Hardcover)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: September 25th 2012 by Random House

 

Time travel, dystopian, romance, young adult those were the key words that made me want to read this book. Well, those words and the fact that it came pretty highly recommended by Kimba @ Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

 

Anyways I'm always wanting to read more books written by Canadian authors so when I found out that this novel was written by a Canadian author I made sure that I put my library hold to active so I could get my hands on this one even faster.

 

Yesterday was an entirely unique read and in a book world where so many books are similar in plot it's awesome to come across one that is so refreshingly different. C.K. Kelly Martin was able to create a wonderfully unique plot line with an awesome and seldom used time setting.

 

The book follows Freya a young girl from the future who is sent back in time with her younger sister and mother shortly after there is an epidemic that claims the life of Freya's brother and caused her father to be left behind. However, Freya has no real recollection of the life she led before she landed in Toronto in the year 1985. She has the memories but they feel as though she never really lived them. Despite the holes in her memory she begins to adjust to life in Canada until she sees Garren and something tells her she knows him. From there the novel takes us on a wild ride where we find Freya and Garren running for their lives trying to keep their hands to themselves and trying to find a way to have a future together.

 

For me my favourite thing about the book overall was that it was set in Toronto where I was born, raised and still live in. While the book takes place in 1985 (5 years before I was born) there are some references to locations that I recognized like streets, shops and even the odd bus stop and that really endeared this young adult novel to me. I have no idea why but this city is so seldom used in novels it makes it even more especially when it is used and the fact that the author is actually from this city and grew up in the time period made the book's setting all that much more authentic and I really enjoyed reading about my city.

 

The characters were interesting too while I didn't adore Freya and Garren I did like them. For me Freya was a little too unsure of herself in a lot of situations or she was too confident so it felt as though she had a bit of a split personality disorder. I did like that she was willing to get to the truth about who she, her family and Garren really are and why she things are not what they really seemed.  Garren though was probably my least favourite character. I thought that he was really rude, sometimes cruel in the way he said things and I didn't appreciate the way he treated Freya as an inconvenience for much of the novel. He just didn't sit well with me even after he begins to remember Freya from his past I just couldn't connect to him. Plus, I wish that the author had made Freya and all the other characters a little more detailed I would have liked to have gotten to know them better and I think that would have helped bring the story line together more.

 

The book was a little bit slow at first but it sure sped up and sometimes I was left grasping at straws because things would happen in the novel so quickly that I was left baffled and had to go back and re-read a few pages here and there. The plot was interesting though. I went into the book expecting it to be the typical dystopian book but it turned out it wasn't like that at all in fact to me this novel wasn't much of a dystopian read but I suppose that depends on the reader. To me this was just more of a light sci-fi read. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns in the plot that kept me reading. I never knew what going to happen next and what really hooked me on the book was one big surprise character in the end of the book and I have to say when that character was introduced I fell hard for the story itself and I give huge kudos to the author for adding that character in. I also liked learning about how and why Freya and Garren were placed almost 100 years in the past but I wished that more detail had been used to explain it all. I liked the mixture of romance, science fiction, with a bit of mystery that the author wove into this novel and I thought she wrote a really successful book. The way the book ended also made me wonder if there is a sequel to this book in the works because I have a lot of questions left unanswered.

 

I would recommend this to novel to fans of young adult romances with a sci-fi/dystopian twist. It's a unique read and it's one that I think shouldn't be missed. The author is a fresh voice in this genre and I hope she writes more book this. I for one am going to be reading as many books as I can by this author because she's wonderfully talented!

 

Liked it!
★ ★ ★ 1/2 

 

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Chronal Engine: A Prehistoric Time-Travel Adventure by Greg Leitich Smith & Blake Henry

Summary:
When Max, Kyle, and Emma are sent to live with their reclusive grandfather, they think he’s crazy, especially when he tells them about his time machine. But after Emma is kidnapped at the exact time that her grandfather predicted, Max and Kyle are forced to believe his eccentric stories—even the one about the Chronal Engine in the basement.
 Now, to save Emma, Max, Kyle, and their new friend Petra must pile into a VW Bug, and use the Chronal Engine to take the road trip of a lifetime—right back to the Cretaceous period. With dangers all around, the teens find themselves dodging car-crushing herbivores in addition to the terrifying T. rex. In this ancient environment, can three contemporary teens hunt down a kidnapper, forage for food, and survive long enough to return home?
Length: 192 pages
Source: Netgalley ARC
Publication Date: March 20th 2012
Summary taken from GoodReads.com

This was my first time reading a book by either of these two authors and I really liked it. Let me tell you that in my house watching the Discovery Channel, Nova, and the History Channel after school was not optional. This is both good and bad, you see now have a love of all things dinosaur and prehistoric as well sharks and nazis. It's true. By the time I was 8 I knew more about the past the any kid in my class...and though I got tired of my Dad forcing me to watch WWI and WWII shows I still have a great love for prehistoric animals and sharks. Seriously Shark Week for me is like NY Fashion Week for other girls I know. But, rather than be ashamed of this I chose to put it out there on the interwebs.

My name is Kimberly.
I am a nerd.

So of course I knew as soon as I read the description on NetGalley that I HAD to read this. I mean the kid in me would not forgive me if I were to have passed it by. I'm so glad I read this! I really wish it had been around when I was younger because I think I would have loved it.

The whole idea behind the story was awesome, I mean it had time travel AND dinosaurs. What more could I ask for?  I really think that the story is great for kids 10+. The characters were likable and I thought that it was somewhat like a kid's verison of the H.G. Wells classic book The Time Machine.
Out of all the characters I would have to say that I liked Max the most just because I know what it's like to be the youngest sibling and to be babied by my older brother and sister. I think that the authors added just the right amount of dinosaurs to the story as well as just the right amount of mystery and intrigue for younger readers.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a kid that loves dinosaurs and time travel and I really hope the authors write another book and will turn this into a series and will take them back in prehistory again.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Summary:

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

So when I read this the other day it was the second time that I borrowed it from the library because the first time I borrowed it I didn't have the time to read it. This time I was able to read it. Actually I devoured it! I read it in 4 hours I liked it so much.

This was singer/songwriter Alexandra's debut book and I personally think she did a good job for her first book because though she herself is young she didn't make the book sound as though it were written by a young person. I feel that she had a very good story to tell and that she accomplished it well.

I really enjoyed Michele's character because even though she went through a personal tragedy, and her life was completely turned upside down and inside out she had an inner strength and beauty. Plus it was nice to have a character who wasn't your beautiful, glamourous diva who is self centered. I also like how she was awkward. Just like a teenager is supposed to be! FINALLY!

I also really liked Phillip because he just seems so sweet and loving, the way Alexandra Monir was able to weaver her tale was wonderful and I really like the time travelling aspect of her story as well as the fact that she was able to time travel to different points in her family's timeline. Plus she left a huge cliffhanger at the ending so I cannot wait for the next book although it looks like I have to wait until December 2012.

I really recommend this book to all the YA lovers out there because I think that this author is up and coming with a new voice in the book world.

★ ★ ★ ★