This book was looking like a strong contender for me when I read the blurb. A couple destined to be together throughout time? Being ripped apart only to find each other again and go through the same cycle until they can break it? I was excited. It reminded me a little of The Fountain in its description.
Unfortunately, in my opinion it didn’t live up to my expectations.
I kept waiting for the plot and it took a while to really get going. There’s mentions of COVID and that’s a bit heavy right now. Some people may be fine with it but I wasn’t one of them. I tried not to let that taint my reading of the story.
What was the biggest let down was the fact that it was so disjointed. Not all of the plotlines added up. The book could have benefitted from either being longer or dropping some of the threads because they weren’t delivered on in a pleasing fashion. Especially since we’re dealing with different versions of the characters there wasn’t enough time to flesh them out and make them stand out so they fell flat.
It was also hard for me to get to know the characters. I just couldn’t fall in love with them although in the beginning they’re written very well. And the writing itself is amazing. The author has a great style and I really like it. I just wish there were more pages so we could have gotten the full effect of it.
I will put content warnings for the book. I know some disabled individuals may not do well with it because of how convincingly she wrote about the frustration and heart break associated with just not being able to be a normal kid. I know that brought up a lot of unpleasant memories for me but hey, the author got a genuine emotional response out of me that I wasn’t expecting because of her skill with words.
Other things to be aware of are racism, colorism, which yes, are different and serious issues that affect the Black community and even other minorities. Hospitals and illness, COVID, the threat of rape–which could be jarring to some– and a plane crash. There’s loss of a loved one and suicide is mentioned as well.
While I don’t think the author should have avoided these topics, I do think a detailed trigger warning at the beginning of the book would have been good. As I read this through the Netgalley shelf APP, I didn’t see the warning there. Just say it has themes of violence, racism and colonialism due to time travel. And always mention when rape is mentioned in a book. Trigger warnings exist for a reason.
I will say, the author has a good future ahead if the next book is long enough to really get the story fleshed out and the characters the time they deserve.
A three (3) star read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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