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Timelaws #2
History of the Timelaws
A Desperate Race Against Time.
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth enjoys movies, teasing her older brothers, and pulling pranks with friends. She is also a member of a secret group of magic-wielding time travelers. However, when the rules that govern time travel are broken, chaos ensues and it is up to her to restore the Timelaws. As her enemies, the Wizards, and her allies, the Darks, scramble back and forth throughout time to claim victory in an ancient war, her past changes, as does her memory of it. Can Elizabeth make sense out of mayhem before it is too late? If she doesn’t, her home, her family, and the universe will be destroyed.
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth enjoys movies, teasing her older brothers, and pulling pranks with friends. She is also a member of a secret group of magic-wielding time travelers. However, when the rules that govern time travel are broken, chaos ensues and it is up to her to restore the Timelaws. As her enemies, the Wizards, and her allies, the Darks, scramble back and forth throughout time to claim victory in an ancient war, her past changes, as does her memory of it. Can Elizabeth make sense out of mayhem before it is too late? If she doesn’t, her home, her family, and the universe will be destroyed.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2011
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Marise Ghorayeb
4 books51 followersBorn in Calgary, Canada, Marise Ghorayeb traveled extensively during her childhood. She enjoyed the privilege of visiting countries that included Japan, Egypt, and Australia among others. These travels were a part of the reason she became an author. A vivid imagination is required when there are no friends around and all available television is in foreign languages. As an adult with an engineering career, Marise Ghorayeb has settled in Houston, Texas with her beloved dog. Her professional knowledge empowers her to add a layer of reality and depth to the fantasy and science fiction tales she loves to weave.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 29, 2013
There are definitely some good ideas here - ideas about the complexity of time-travel, the confusion of living in more than one time period at once, and how a civilized society of magic-users might agree to control access to the past and future to avoid total chaos. I can tell that the author has a rich imagination and a strong desire to share that imaginary world with others.
The story is intended for young adults, as the protagonist (Elizabeth) is a fifteen-year-old girl with exceptional superpowers, and many of the other characters are teens as well. There is plenty of action as the capable heroine leapfrogs from one time period to another. In some places, there are sparks of humor, and the story of Elizabeth’s relationship with her brothers is quite good.
Unfortunately, the book reads like a lot of ideas bumping around, maybe originally a bunch of disparate scenes, only poorly tied together. It lacks an explanation of what was going on, how this all happened, how long it’s been going on, why so many people don’t know about it, and how Elizabeth actually got the huge number of amazing magical powers she has.
There are some issues that need addressing. The author seems to have lost track of the names she’s using, as some of them are spelled several different ways (Precilla/Pricilla, Lyrinp/Lyrimp/Lynrp). The narrator often explains things in the middle of important action sequences. It’s also rife with misused words, grammatical and punctuation errors, possessive/plural confusion, too/to and you’re/your confusion, and clunky wording, some bordering on the absurd. Some examples:
“Of course, the spell’s potency was affected by how tired Theron already was and if his life was anything like mine, he was.”
“The refineries dispelled smoke and white foam...”
“Instead I fixed a hard star on Anton and...”
“I was wadding through a red swamp. “ (waddling? Wading? Not sure)
“For a second, I wondered what Charlie Brown would do in my situation.” (What?)
“...she snapped her neck to face me...” (Ouch).
Chapter Nine is entitled “Oups”.
It would really benefit from at least a proof-reader and preferably a content edit for consistency.
I was never clear on who the wizards were, where they came from, what the battles or wars were about, what difference it made, why anybody trusted a fifteen-year-old to lead a universe, and a host of other things. There also wasn’t a lot of history of the Timelaws, despite the title. This is a history of how a single evil wizard decided to break a single law and threw the universe into chaos.
This book is trying to be a sci-fi/fantasy crossover. Sci-fi generally has some basis in actual science, and I think this book would benefit from the author employing a co-author or ghost-writer with a good knowledge of the issues brought up and a good ability to convey those issues in writing. It’s not like the complexities of time-travel haven’t been explored in great detail before, in both science and science fiction. I think that some of the confusion stems from the author not actually having a good enough grasp of those issues to be able to explain them clearly to the reader (the issues themselves, not to mention the solutions).
Although in its current form the book suffers from some serious flaws, it’s not unrecoverable with work. The author’s got the desire, and that’s half the battle.
The story is intended for young adults, as the protagonist (Elizabeth) is a fifteen-year-old girl with exceptional superpowers, and many of the other characters are teens as well. There is plenty of action as the capable heroine leapfrogs from one time period to another. In some places, there are sparks of humor, and the story of Elizabeth’s relationship with her brothers is quite good.
Unfortunately, the book reads like a lot of ideas bumping around, maybe originally a bunch of disparate scenes, only poorly tied together. It lacks an explanation of what was going on, how this all happened, how long it’s been going on, why so many people don’t know about it, and how Elizabeth actually got the huge number of amazing magical powers she has.
There are some issues that need addressing. The author seems to have lost track of the names she’s using, as some of them are spelled several different ways (Precilla/Pricilla, Lyrinp/Lyrimp/Lynrp). The narrator often explains things in the middle of important action sequences. It’s also rife with misused words, grammatical and punctuation errors, possessive/plural confusion, too/to and you’re/your confusion, and clunky wording, some bordering on the absurd. Some examples:
“Of course, the spell’s potency was affected by how tired Theron already was and if his life was anything like mine, he was.”
“The refineries dispelled smoke and white foam...”
“Instead I fixed a hard star on Anton and...”
“I was wadding through a red swamp. “ (waddling? Wading? Not sure)
“For a second, I wondered what Charlie Brown would do in my situation.” (What?)
“...she snapped her neck to face me...” (Ouch).
Chapter Nine is entitled “Oups”.
It would really benefit from at least a proof-reader and preferably a content edit for consistency.
I was never clear on who the wizards were, where they came from, what the battles or wars were about, what difference it made, why anybody trusted a fifteen-year-old to lead a universe, and a host of other things. There also wasn’t a lot of history of the Timelaws, despite the title. This is a history of how a single evil wizard decided to break a single law and threw the universe into chaos.
This book is trying to be a sci-fi/fantasy crossover. Sci-fi generally has some basis in actual science, and I think this book would benefit from the author employing a co-author or ghost-writer with a good knowledge of the issues brought up and a good ability to convey those issues in writing. It’s not like the complexities of time-travel haven’t been explored in great detail before, in both science and science fiction. I think that some of the confusion stems from the author not actually having a good enough grasp of those issues to be able to explain them clearly to the reader (the issues themselves, not to mention the solutions).
Although in its current form the book suffers from some serious flaws, it’s not unrecoverable with work. The author’s got the desire, and that’s half the battle.
March 22, 2013
Unlike most teenagers who seem, at one time or another, to think they’re having a bad decade, Elizabeth, the heroine in the History of the Timelaws, takes most of normal life in stride. She probably has to, since in 1981, at 15, she’s already been orphaned and has her mind on bigger things, like jumping ahead in time to 2184 and wielding her considerable magical powers to save the world from evil wizards. When the future Timelaws are broken, disastrous changes put Liz and everyone she loves at risk, and she can’t even be sure what changes the breaks have created, and how much she can trust her memory.
That paradoxes and alternate timelines as history is changed are a good part of the fun of this time-tampering story, although they can necessitate some convoluted plotting when the characters are in the middle of it. For the most part History of the Timelaws keeps it comprehensible, but it’s not easy when the action is fierce and changes are happening at a rapid pace.
Liz’ story, which Liz herself narrates, is further complicated by her relationships with her two (nonmagical, 20th century) brothers and her boyfriend who happens to be her subordinate in the chain of command of the magical Darks. A few aliens are thrown in as her allies, since the Dark/Wizard conflict is universal.
I enjoyed almost all of this imaginative wild ride back and forth through time. Liz is a thoroughly believable and likeable character with a highly developed sense of responsibility, a trait I especially value. The action scenes are credible once the reader accepts the premise of magical powers. And the relationships between Liz and her brothers rang true.
There are a few editing issues that I’m sure will be resolved with time.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes YA fantasy and time-travel fiction.
I received a gift copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
That paradoxes and alternate timelines as history is changed are a good part of the fun of this time-tampering story, although they can necessitate some convoluted plotting when the characters are in the middle of it. For the most part History of the Timelaws keeps it comprehensible, but it’s not easy when the action is fierce and changes are happening at a rapid pace.
Liz’ story, which Liz herself narrates, is further complicated by her relationships with her two (nonmagical, 20th century) brothers and her boyfriend who happens to be her subordinate in the chain of command of the magical Darks. A few aliens are thrown in as her allies, since the Dark/Wizard conflict is universal.
I enjoyed almost all of this imaginative wild ride back and forth through time. Liz is a thoroughly believable and likeable character with a highly developed sense of responsibility, a trait I especially value. The action scenes are credible once the reader accepts the premise of magical powers. And the relationships between Liz and her brothers rang true.
There are a few editing issues that I’m sure will be resolved with time.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes YA fantasy and time-travel fiction.
I received a gift copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
February 7, 2013
Marise Grohyeb's "History of the Timelaws" is an imaginative, insightful concept that is compromised by a very complex method of storytelling.
The novel does have an underlying, but identifiable, "Inception"/"Mission: Impossible" vibe going for it. That is, the chief protagonist (a 20th century 15 year-old orphan named Elizabeth) is the lead operative of a branch of 'good' galactic magicians called "The Darks". They are a sort of covert operations/special forces bureau that is in a cold war with the evil "Wizards" for control of the flow of time. For these factions, time is seemingly more precious than material wealth. For, as George Orwell said, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."
When a group of wizards suddenly conquer a terrestrial timeline--or distort a "Timelaw" spell--that governs Elizabeth's reality [or paralllel reality?], then what feels like a temporal tit-for-tat erupts into an all-out galactic war of elaborate spells, shields, and shape-shifting strategems.
Author Marise Ghorayeb obviously has a gift for creating great settings and concepts. As for characterization, her leading little lady Elizabeth easily outshines and outsmarts everyone. Although her young age makes is hard to believe she can grasp the dizzying complexities of quantum physics that are required to be a top temporal operative! Still, Elizabeth is admirably buoyed by a sense of responsibility that escapes heroes and heroines of similar sci-fi/fantasy adventures. Not only is she bound to protect the temporal right, if you will, but also to raise her brothers and neighborhood children. Elizabeth, in other words, tries to have a normal life.
The beginning of the story, flows smoothly (and is the most straigthforward portion of the novel). Ghorayeb nicely separates Elizabeth's typical home and school lives from her "Darks"-side. But after a successful Mission: Impossible-like extraction of a top enemy wizard (Theron-Dafydd-Travetti) by Elizabeth and her "team", the remainder of the story will probably become impossibly convoluted for the average reader--let alone the average young adult target audience--to easily follow.
A popular shcool of thought in modern theoretical physics is that time exists in many different dimensions that happen all at once--the past, the present, and the future are all around us. Most of the novel seems to buy into that theory. For while the story takes place in the years 1981 and 2184, the points of view and exposition jump (sometimes wildly) between these years. And in some cases, between alternate realities of these years! Consistent with the theory, but maybe not in the mind of the unaware reader.
For if the reader can't comprehend this theory of time, then the novel will seem to be an object lesson in unorganized, convoluted storytelling--even though it is quite brilliantly-crafted (for those who get it). But it is unlikely that the avearge 15 or 16 year old, let alone the average adult, will have that insight. What's more likely is that they will have the perspective of Elizabeth's brother Mark: that is, the inability to fully comprehend the scientific subtext of the story and its clever structure. Add to that teleportation, aliens, and space stations and you have very involving--maybe even competing--storylines.
Though taken out of context, this quote from "History of the Timelaws" beautifully sums up what is the key concern with an otherwise marvelously-conceived piece of sci-fi/fantasy. Elizabeth says, "In scenes of science fiction shows, the smart scientist explains the problem then presents some over-simplistic metaphor and suddenly everyone in the room and in the audience understands all the potential ramifications. That's not what was happening. This was more like someone had slapped me in the face with a quantum physics textbook and asked me to learn its content in the next five minutes..."
What "History of the Timelaws" needs are more "over-simplistic metaphor[s]" or 'ah-ha' moments that help clarify things for the average joe and josephine. It doesn't quite accomplish this for the balance of the novel. So, sadly, a lot of readers may feel leftout of The Timelaws loop.
The novel does have an underlying, but identifiable, "Inception"/"Mission: Impossible" vibe going for it. That is, the chief protagonist (a 20th century 15 year-old orphan named Elizabeth) is the lead operative of a branch of 'good' galactic magicians called "The Darks". They are a sort of covert operations/special forces bureau that is in a cold war with the evil "Wizards" for control of the flow of time. For these factions, time is seemingly more precious than material wealth. For, as George Orwell said, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."
When a group of wizards suddenly conquer a terrestrial timeline--or distort a "Timelaw" spell--that governs Elizabeth's reality [or paralllel reality?], then what feels like a temporal tit-for-tat erupts into an all-out galactic war of elaborate spells, shields, and shape-shifting strategems.
Author Marise Ghorayeb obviously has a gift for creating great settings and concepts. As for characterization, her leading little lady Elizabeth easily outshines and outsmarts everyone. Although her young age makes is hard to believe she can grasp the dizzying complexities of quantum physics that are required to be a top temporal operative! Still, Elizabeth is admirably buoyed by a sense of responsibility that escapes heroes and heroines of similar sci-fi/fantasy adventures. Not only is she bound to protect the temporal right, if you will, but also to raise her brothers and neighborhood children. Elizabeth, in other words, tries to have a normal life.
The beginning of the story, flows smoothly (and is the most straigthforward portion of the novel). Ghorayeb nicely separates Elizabeth's typical home and school lives from her "Darks"-side. But after a successful Mission: Impossible-like extraction of a top enemy wizard (Theron-Dafydd-Travetti) by Elizabeth and her "team", the remainder of the story will probably become impossibly convoluted for the average reader--let alone the average young adult target audience--to easily follow.
A popular shcool of thought in modern theoretical physics is that time exists in many different dimensions that happen all at once--the past, the present, and the future are all around us. Most of the novel seems to buy into that theory. For while the story takes place in the years 1981 and 2184, the points of view and exposition jump (sometimes wildly) between these years. And in some cases, between alternate realities of these years! Consistent with the theory, but maybe not in the mind of the unaware reader.
For if the reader can't comprehend this theory of time, then the novel will seem to be an object lesson in unorganized, convoluted storytelling--even though it is quite brilliantly-crafted (for those who get it). But it is unlikely that the avearge 15 or 16 year old, let alone the average adult, will have that insight. What's more likely is that they will have the perspective of Elizabeth's brother Mark: that is, the inability to fully comprehend the scientific subtext of the story and its clever structure. Add to that teleportation, aliens, and space stations and you have very involving--maybe even competing--storylines.
Though taken out of context, this quote from "History of the Timelaws" beautifully sums up what is the key concern with an otherwise marvelously-conceived piece of sci-fi/fantasy. Elizabeth says, "In scenes of science fiction shows, the smart scientist explains the problem then presents some over-simplistic metaphor and suddenly everyone in the room and in the audience understands all the potential ramifications. That's not what was happening. This was more like someone had slapped me in the face with a quantum physics textbook and asked me to learn its content in the next five minutes..."
What "History of the Timelaws" needs are more "over-simplistic metaphor[s]" or 'ah-ha' moments that help clarify things for the average joe and josephine. It doesn't quite accomplish this for the balance of the novel. So, sadly, a lot of readers may feel leftout of The Timelaws loop.
June 25, 2011
I'll admit, I was not a huge fan of YA novels, but that changed after reading History of the Timelaws.
I was warned before I read this book that, being a story that dealt with time travel, it could be very confusing, but I didn't find it to be. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. From the action-packed opening scene I was thrust into this magical world created so vividly by the author.
The protagonist, Liz, is a 15 year old with magical powers who refers to herself, and others like her, as Darks. The Darks are involved in an ongoing war with wizards who want nothing more than to rule the universe. Even though she is a high-ranking Dark, Liz still manages to be a "normal" teenage girl. She lives with her older brothers, Mark and Luke, during the summer season, babysits, and is dating a fellow Dark named Anton.
The author does a good job of fleshing out these characters and their relationships. She also has a wonderful knack of describing the many worlds and magical battles in detail, enough to make the reader feel like they are part of the action.
The time travel element adds to the adventure of this book and makes it even more exciting. If you are paying attention when reading it then you will not be lost or confused. Just take your time and enjoy the story.
If I had any gripes about the author's novel, it was only one: too many typos. But that can easily be overlooked as the adventures of Liz will more than entertain and have you finding it hard to stop turning the pages.
I noticed this was actually a sequel to another book starring Liz, Sorcery in the Alleys. I will have to check this out to learn more about Liz and the Darks. But I can easily see this becoming a series of novels for young adults to enjoy. Great read.
I was warned before I read this book that, being a story that dealt with time travel, it could be very confusing, but I didn't find it to be. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. From the action-packed opening scene I was thrust into this magical world created so vividly by the author.
The protagonist, Liz, is a 15 year old with magical powers who refers to herself, and others like her, as Darks. The Darks are involved in an ongoing war with wizards who want nothing more than to rule the universe. Even though she is a high-ranking Dark, Liz still manages to be a "normal" teenage girl. She lives with her older brothers, Mark and Luke, during the summer season, babysits, and is dating a fellow Dark named Anton.
The author does a good job of fleshing out these characters and their relationships. She also has a wonderful knack of describing the many worlds and magical battles in detail, enough to make the reader feel like they are part of the action.
The time travel element adds to the adventure of this book and makes it even more exciting. If you are paying attention when reading it then you will not be lost or confused. Just take your time and enjoy the story.
If I had any gripes about the author's novel, it was only one: too many typos. But that can easily be overlooked as the adventures of Liz will more than entertain and have you finding it hard to stop turning the pages.
I noticed this was actually a sequel to another book starring Liz, Sorcery in the Alleys. I will have to check this out to learn more about Liz and the Darks. But I can easily see this becoming a series of novels for young adults to enjoy. Great read.
February 22, 2013
One of the things I love about books is when you cease to realize that you’re reading a story and that you’ve been sucked right into the world the author has created. History of the Timelaws reminds me why it’s such fun to lose oneself in a book. What also endears me to the book is that it’s not easy to categorize. History of the Timelaws contains elements of urban fantasy, science fiction, and Young Adult genres all wrapped up in a tight, neat little bow.
The story is pretty straightforward. Evil wizards have broken the rules that control time and our heroine Elizabeth, or Liz, for short, has to find a way to restore the “Timelaws” or the universe and everyone she holds dear could be destroyed.
As I said, this is a straightforward story. However, there’s a lot going on at times in the story. So you’ll have to pay attention to keep up. One thing I like about this book is that the story doesn’t waste any time getting started. There’s lots of action and adventure elements to keep the reader turning pages throughout its unique plot.
This is the updated and improved version of an older version which I read. If you’re looking for a fast, fun read with plenty of magic and action, I highly recommend checking this one out.
4 Stars for an intriguing plot with interesting characters.
The story is pretty straightforward. Evil wizards have broken the rules that control time and our heroine Elizabeth, or Liz, for short, has to find a way to restore the “Timelaws” or the universe and everyone she holds dear could be destroyed.
As I said, this is a straightforward story. However, there’s a lot going on at times in the story. So you’ll have to pay attention to keep up. One thing I like about this book is that the story doesn’t waste any time getting started. There’s lots of action and adventure elements to keep the reader turning pages throughout its unique plot.
This is the updated and improved version of an older version which I read. If you’re looking for a fast, fun read with plenty of magic and action, I highly recommend checking this one out.
4 Stars for an intriguing plot with interesting characters.
May 20, 2011
I really liked this book. It was the most unique story-line I've read or ever will read! There was a lot of action! It was cool the way it would change from the year 1981 to 2184, how the Wizards were the bad guys, and such. It was so original! I'm really glad that I was able to read this. I can't wait for others!
Cons: *Whines There wasn't enough kissy stuff between Anton and Liz!!! :)
4 Stars
Cons: *Whines There wasn't enough kissy stuff between Anton and Liz!!! :)
4 Stars
November 18, 2014
What a fun read! A story to twist your expectations of time and physics without thumping you over the head with too much complexity. Some details were skipped over and felt a little far-fetched, but the action moved at a lively pace. The editing was a touch rough, but I ended up enjoying this tale more than I expected, which is always a good recommendation.
June 24, 2011
In responding to Marise Ghorayeb's request for reviews, we agreed that any review would be an honest one. In keeping with my perception of ethics on the issue, this is advance disclosure that she provided me with a free Kindle copy of her book: History of the Timelaws, for review purposes.
I regret having made the commitment because this review gives me no pleasure. Author Stephen King and numerous others have said any aspiring writer must become a voracious reader in order to be successful. I must reluctantly conclude the author still has much to learn about writing and much more writing practice is needed.
She advised that reading the preface was essential to grasping the plotline of the book. Reading the preface left me confused. By the end of Chapter One I was mentally exhausted. Like many inexperienced writers, she chose to construct her book using First Person Point of View (POV).
Her second mistake was to write the book as a stream of consciousness. Stream-of-consciousness (SOC) writing involves large sections of monologue with accompanying leaps in syntax and punctuation that can make the prose difficult to follow, according to one encyclopedia definition. I was bombarded in the preface by an overwhelming onslaught of disconnected thoughts from the protagonist.
There were changes of scene with no warning and one impending calamity after another in such quick succession my head was spinning. And through it all was the ever-present "I" as the opening word of sentence after sentence. A limited omniscient point of view and written in third person would have been a far wiser choice. Compounding the problem of unfortunate first person POV were vast stretches of text with no dialogue. When dialogue did take place it often consisted of just a few lines, then back to "I."
The plot construction was vague as it was difficult to grasp because of the POV and SOC.
There were numerous run-on sentences containing different thoughts. When combined with run-on paragraphs the reading became extremely difficult for this reviewer to follow. Critical elements were introduced with no warning "Shields, Shields, Shields. Faster to modify a shield..." left me wondering if the author were referring to a physical shield from the Middle Ages or a Star Trek-like force field. Add in the style problems, including spacing, and trekking through the book involved staggering from one boulder-strewn page to another in hopes of a smooth patch to regain my footing. There were also other rather odd juxtapositions such as characters shape shifting into birds who are then able to tunnel through stone walls. I'm still unable to accurately define the plot or its climax.
Perhaps two of the most unusual descriptions were "uni-species" and "periwinkle-skinned. I was unsure if the uni-species meant a creature who could change gender at will and had periwinkled skin. Did that mean the purple colored skin like the periwinkle flower or the hard shell of the periwinkle sea snail. Try as I might, I was unable to conjure up a satisfying image in my mind.
Prior to writing this review, I queried the author as to whether she had engaged someone with editorial experience to review the manuscript for publication. She replied that she had not: "In answer to your question, no I didn't use a professional editor. I would like to, but I can't justify the cost without knowing if I will sell that many copies. If publishing via kindle does actually prove to be profitable then I will use some of the money to hire a professional editor. I also had a friend proof read for me... Without being willing to spend hundreds of dollars, I felt this was the best I could do."
As a writer and reader, I find that unacceptable. It's putting the cart before the horse and reversing proper publishing procedure. To publish less than one's best writing effort and accept payment for it is shameful. Readers trust that a book will at least have a degree of competency. To put forward anything less is insulting to purchasers and unfair to author colleagues who struggle to provide their best work possible.
I regret having made the commitment because this review gives me no pleasure. Author Stephen King and numerous others have said any aspiring writer must become a voracious reader in order to be successful. I must reluctantly conclude the author still has much to learn about writing and much more writing practice is needed.
She advised that reading the preface was essential to grasping the plotline of the book. Reading the preface left me confused. By the end of Chapter One I was mentally exhausted. Like many inexperienced writers, she chose to construct her book using First Person Point of View (POV).
Her second mistake was to write the book as a stream of consciousness. Stream-of-consciousness (SOC) writing involves large sections of monologue with accompanying leaps in syntax and punctuation that can make the prose difficult to follow, according to one encyclopedia definition. I was bombarded in the preface by an overwhelming onslaught of disconnected thoughts from the protagonist.
There were changes of scene with no warning and one impending calamity after another in such quick succession my head was spinning. And through it all was the ever-present "I" as the opening word of sentence after sentence. A limited omniscient point of view and written in third person would have been a far wiser choice. Compounding the problem of unfortunate first person POV were vast stretches of text with no dialogue. When dialogue did take place it often consisted of just a few lines, then back to "I."
The plot construction was vague as it was difficult to grasp because of the POV and SOC.
There were numerous run-on sentences containing different thoughts. When combined with run-on paragraphs the reading became extremely difficult for this reviewer to follow. Critical elements were introduced with no warning "Shields, Shields, Shields. Faster to modify a shield..." left me wondering if the author were referring to a physical shield from the Middle Ages or a Star Trek-like force field. Add in the style problems, including spacing, and trekking through the book involved staggering from one boulder-strewn page to another in hopes of a smooth patch to regain my footing. There were also other rather odd juxtapositions such as characters shape shifting into birds who are then able to tunnel through stone walls. I'm still unable to accurately define the plot or its climax.
Perhaps two of the most unusual descriptions were "uni-species" and "periwinkle-skinned. I was unsure if the uni-species meant a creature who could change gender at will and had periwinkled skin. Did that mean the purple colored skin like the periwinkle flower or the hard shell of the periwinkle sea snail. Try as I might, I was unable to conjure up a satisfying image in my mind.
Prior to writing this review, I queried the author as to whether she had engaged someone with editorial experience to review the manuscript for publication. She replied that she had not: "In answer to your question, no I didn't use a professional editor. I would like to, but I can't justify the cost without knowing if I will sell that many copies. If publishing via kindle does actually prove to be profitable then I will use some of the money to hire a professional editor. I also had a friend proof read for me... Without being willing to spend hundreds of dollars, I felt this was the best I could do."
As a writer and reader, I find that unacceptable. It's putting the cart before the horse and reversing proper publishing procedure. To publish less than one's best writing effort and accept payment for it is shameful. Readers trust that a book will at least have a degree of competency. To put forward anything less is insulting to purchasers and unfair to author colleagues who struggle to provide their best work possible.
January 22, 2013
Elizabeth is a fifteen-year old girl, an orphan, along with her two brothers, and a “Dark”, one of a group of warriors in an epic battle against across time against a planet of evil Wizards. When a spell disrupts time, she and her fellow Darks have to fight the Wizards and set time straight again.
First, what did I like in this inventive book? The main character was a strong heroine, with a vibrant, energetic voice, a character that seemed real to me. The writing was also very easy to read, and the action sequences well-described. I liked the concept and the fun the author had with it (revealing that leprechauns are alien invaders, for example.) She’s done an interesting job of world building, thinking about the way a battle across time and space would have to be fought, the way different eras would move in tandem, and the way a mistake could set of a series of unintended consequences (and different versions of reality, and of the same characters, suddenly coming into being). I really liked the way she described Wizards, so different from our initial image of them, and the daring it took to make Wizards the villains of the piece. One subplot, about a character suddenly realizing by something she has seen in the future that she would have to sacrifice herself for her plan in the present to succeed was reminiscent of a plot device on the final episode of Fringe (which aired after this book was written).
What did I not like? The subject matter itself is inevitably going to be complicated (and perhaps from time to time confusing), but this book was more confusing than it needed to be, and this is just because of a failure of simple exposition. To take one example – on page 18, Liz’s brother, Mark, asks, “Is Anton coming on this mission with you?” Who is Anton? We don’t know. Nothing is explained. The mission begins, with the various personalities introduced almost as afterthoughts. On page 22, she writes, “Anton and the rest of the team had gone straight to work finding the dining hall while Sheryl, Johnny and I had taken a few moments rest.” Who is Anton, again? (Not to mention Johnny and Sheryl!) No description, no explanation of the relationship. He is mentioned periodically during the mission, but he is a name with nothing attached. Then, on page 36, she muses that “it had been a while since Anton and I had spent time together outside a mission … or spent an evening at the drive-in[.]” Why was this relationship withheld for so long? It doesn’t seem to have been an artistic decision, it seems to have been an oversight. The wizards are left undescribed for far too long, and when they finally are, they look unlike typical “wizards” – as I mentioned above, I like this as an artistic choice, but to withhold it for so long – to have Wizards lurking around every corner for half the book without telling us what they look like – is disorienting. The nature of the war, its origins, why Elizabeth is fighting it – all of this is explained indirectly, and not soon enough. It’s this kind of thing, which goes on through the book, which made it confusing to me. A lot of the time I was just confused and lost, and I never figured out why.
So a 4 for writing, characterization and concept, and a 2 for organization/execution, averaging out to a 3.
First, what did I like in this inventive book? The main character was a strong heroine, with a vibrant, energetic voice, a character that seemed real to me. The writing was also very easy to read, and the action sequences well-described. I liked the concept and the fun the author had with it (revealing that leprechauns are alien invaders, for example.) She’s done an interesting job of world building, thinking about the way a battle across time and space would have to be fought, the way different eras would move in tandem, and the way a mistake could set of a series of unintended consequences (and different versions of reality, and of the same characters, suddenly coming into being). I really liked the way she described Wizards, so different from our initial image of them, and the daring it took to make Wizards the villains of the piece. One subplot, about a character suddenly realizing by something she has seen in the future that she would have to sacrifice herself for her plan in the present to succeed was reminiscent of a plot device on the final episode of Fringe (which aired after this book was written).
What did I not like? The subject matter itself is inevitably going to be complicated (and perhaps from time to time confusing), but this book was more confusing than it needed to be, and this is just because of a failure of simple exposition. To take one example – on page 18, Liz’s brother, Mark, asks, “Is Anton coming on this mission with you?” Who is Anton? We don’t know. Nothing is explained. The mission begins, with the various personalities introduced almost as afterthoughts. On page 22, she writes, “Anton and the rest of the team had gone straight to work finding the dining hall while Sheryl, Johnny and I had taken a few moments rest.” Who is Anton, again? (Not to mention Johnny and Sheryl!) No description, no explanation of the relationship. He is mentioned periodically during the mission, but he is a name with nothing attached. Then, on page 36, she muses that “it had been a while since Anton and I had spent time together outside a mission … or spent an evening at the drive-in[.]” Why was this relationship withheld for so long? It doesn’t seem to have been an artistic decision, it seems to have been an oversight. The wizards are left undescribed for far too long, and when they finally are, they look unlike typical “wizards” – as I mentioned above, I like this as an artistic choice, but to withhold it for so long – to have Wizards lurking around every corner for half the book without telling us what they look like – is disorienting. The nature of the war, its origins, why Elizabeth is fighting it – all of this is explained indirectly, and not soon enough. It’s this kind of thing, which goes on through the book, which made it confusing to me. A lot of the time I was just confused and lost, and I never figured out why.
So a 4 for writing, characterization and concept, and a 2 for organization/execution, averaging out to a 3.
March 7, 2013
So – I admit to being a huge Dr. Who fan, and I had real hopes that this book would be a ‘lighter’ sort of science fiction, with plenty of simplified descriptions or details to make the story flow better for me. Unfortunately for me, this was not the case. Although the book is incredibly well written and detailed, with plenty of intriguing characters and enough character interplay and drama to make it fun, much of the detail that could have made it a lighter read, more appropriate for the YA market were missing.
The heroine Liz is the major reason I did enjoy the story as much as I did. At only 15, her street-smart and often humorous commentary on the multitude of creatures that threaten her quest to restore the timelaws and save the world, she is cleverly penned and always fun to watch. Her position as leader and the occasional intrusions of family drama, as well as her ability to attack the issues from two fronts by dividing herself along two timelines is intriguing and entertaining.
There are several twists and switches from points of view from different times which took me several re-reads of sections of the book to grasp, and I did miss some more expositive detail in the sudden shifts of perspective, time and even some of the more scientifically based elements. While it was entertaining in the overall, this lack of balance that would have made the story more accessible to more readers was a miss for me.
I was provided an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review as part of the Indies Rock promotion at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
The heroine Liz is the major reason I did enjoy the story as much as I did. At only 15, her street-smart and often humorous commentary on the multitude of creatures that threaten her quest to restore the timelaws and save the world, she is cleverly penned and always fun to watch. Her position as leader and the occasional intrusions of family drama, as well as her ability to attack the issues from two fronts by dividing herself along two timelines is intriguing and entertaining.
There are several twists and switches from points of view from different times which took me several re-reads of sections of the book to grasp, and I did miss some more expositive detail in the sudden shifts of perspective, time and even some of the more scientifically based elements. While it was entertaining in the overall, this lack of balance that would have made the story more accessible to more readers was a miss for me.
I was provided an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review as part of the Indies Rock promotion at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
September 1, 2016
To the human world, 15-year-old Elizabeth is a regular teenager growing up without her parents in a pretty rough neighborhood. However, in the world of magic, she is the powerful leader of a team of “Darks,” and holds the fate of humankind in her hands.
History of the Timelaws is an imaginative story for young adults that marries magic-laden fantasy with science fiction adventure. And although I enjoyed the story, I had to work hard to follow all the different storylines and miscellaneous characters. (I had read the prequel story, Sorcery in the Alleys, and was already hooked so I wanted to stick with it.) There is time-travel involved and action takes place in 2 different times simultaneously. This was not a problem however, at times there just wasn’t enough explanation to why things were occurring to keep me straight. Characters appeared and it seemed they would play a major role but then nothing. Others performed critically significant actions in the storyline but seemed to come out of nowhere without any relationship to the main character. I am hoping that they are to feature heavily in future sequels.
A little more editing is still needed here but because the characters and plot were engaging, it did not disrupt my reading experience.
July 5, 2011
Marise sent me this book to review and I'm glad. I really liked this book, it was challenging but also a great read, I loved the references to Doctor Who and like Elizabeth I also expected a blue police box to appear out of no where :) The book was fast paced and changes into different times where the different Elizabeth's were doing different things. At first this makes it a bit difficult to follow especially as the book is so fast paced, but after the first or second time you get used to it.
Elizabeth is a 15 year old who is the leader of the Darks of her time, Darks are one of the factions in which the earth is divided, and they can travel through Time and Space as well as having magical powers.
On the other hand you have their "enemies" the wizards who have no defined leader.
And at last the normal humans who live in a blissful ignorance of what's happening around them.
I loved that we got introduced to people of the three different groups, and we get to know them and see a bit of their lives.
Over all, it was an enjoyable reading although I recommend that you find out a bit about time traveling before reading it.
I give it 4 out of 5.
Elizabeth is a 15 year old who is the leader of the Darks of her time, Darks are one of the factions in which the earth is divided, and they can travel through Time and Space as well as having magical powers.
On the other hand you have their "enemies" the wizards who have no defined leader.
And at last the normal humans who live in a blissful ignorance of what's happening around them.
I loved that we got introduced to people of the three different groups, and we get to know them and see a bit of their lives.
Over all, it was an enjoyable reading although I recommend that you find out a bit about time traveling before reading it.
I give it 4 out of 5.
April 17, 2013
This book is not terrible, but it also wasn’t great for me. There's so much going on that I had a hard time keeping up. Several times I found myself reading large passages and then realizing that my mind had wandered, so I had to reread those parts (sometimes two or three times) to see what I had missed. I frequently got lost and felt like I was reading a sequel, having missed out on all of the back story from book one. I’m not really sure what it was about this book that didn’t click for me. Perhaps there was a lack of connection with the main character. Maybe the overuse of spell casting and the long, drawn out battles was just too much for my poor brain to process. I must admit that I've not read a lot of books about magic. I'm one of the few people who has not read Harry Potter, so I have a bigger learning curve than most when it comes to books on wizardry. I think the overall idea for this story is a good one, it just seems to need a little more work.
February 27, 2014
I received this book in exchange for a review. I really enjoyed the story of Elizabeth, a teenager, basically in charge of keeping the universe in line along with her second in command who also happens to be her boyfriend. It was a little confusing jumping forward and backward between times and the ending left some unanswered questions so I'm hoping there is a sequel.
March 2, 2014
First off let me say that this book was better than book one in the series and not because of the editing though that was an amazing improvement. I think the book was better because it was much more character focused when it came to our hero. She has developed her to a truly emotional being over the person in the first book that could watch thousands die without a thought. The author even allows us to see how the death of others affects people near our hero when she herself is so emotionally distant that she feels nothing.
I will also say that the theories behind this book are interesting and have some scientific basis though with the fantasy aspects making it seem like a fun mix of both worlds. I was very fond of the fact that she mentions spagettification as one of the problems they have to deal with even if it was used in a place where it is unlikely to happen though the theory is so new that one never knows. I am glad that Marise Ghorayeb has done at least some research into the science behind the theory of time travel as we know it today.
As for the bad, I still think that some of the supporting cast could use better backgrounds and more emotions. They just seem to be "there" to me as needed for plot movement and heroic rescues. I think one way to work on this might be to write the story from one or more of their viewpoints as an exercise to see how they would react and feel in certain situations. For instance, I understand how Luke reacts at the end of the book but I want to know why he acts that way. It has to be more than it is at the moment. It is almost like Elizabeth expects him to act that way and so he does.
Overall a very good read and I would recommend it to people that enjoy fast paced fiction and sci-fi/fantasy books. I know that I enjoyed reading it.
I will also say that the theories behind this book are interesting and have some scientific basis though with the fantasy aspects making it seem like a fun mix of both worlds. I was very fond of the fact that she mentions spagettification as one of the problems they have to deal with even if it was used in a place where it is unlikely to happen though the theory is so new that one never knows. I am glad that Marise Ghorayeb has done at least some research into the science behind the theory of time travel as we know it today.
As for the bad, I still think that some of the supporting cast could use better backgrounds and more emotions. They just seem to be "there" to me as needed for plot movement and heroic rescues. I think one way to work on this might be to write the story from one or more of their viewpoints as an exercise to see how they would react and feel in certain situations. For instance, I understand how Luke reacts at the end of the book but I want to know why he acts that way. It has to be more than it is at the moment. It is almost like Elizabeth expects him to act that way and so he does.
Overall a very good read and I would recommend it to people that enjoy fast paced fiction and sci-fi/fantasy books. I know that I enjoyed reading it.
March 16, 2013
The main thought that came to my mind after reading this was one word: potential. There were so many great conceptions and developed setting that this could have been an amazing novel. But the problem came in execution. The grammar and spelling was an issue, though I've definitely seen worse, but I understand being an Indie author, it is difficult to acquire funds for a professional to edit. However, there were a lot of very common errors that can easily by fixed by another read, and I would suggest doing so again.
Another problem was the wording/syntax. Some sentences are just structured awkwardly. Long sentences may be grammatically correct, but they just drag down a work.
Now the actual characters were good: Liz was a great protagonist to follow. But there were a lot of questions about the Wizards, the main antagonists, that should have been addressed earlier. Now this would be difficult to do in first person, which is why I believed this should have been written in 3rd. Romance and other more "simplistic, emotionally driven" novels should be 1st, but with time jumping and all of these different settings/times, 3rd person would have made it a thousand times easier to organize and convey what happened.
Overall, it was a decent story, though most of the time I trudged through points that I got confused. Again in my opinion, 3rd person would have helped clear up the story lines and made this a much more enjoyable read.
Ghorayeb has great potential: not the average writer can conjure such concepts. But with some more improvements to execution and organization, this story could go from decent to something great.
Another problem was the wording/syntax. Some sentences are just structured awkwardly. Long sentences may be grammatically correct, but they just drag down a work.
Now the actual characters were good: Liz was a great protagonist to follow. But there were a lot of questions about the Wizards, the main antagonists, that should have been addressed earlier. Now this would be difficult to do in first person, which is why I believed this should have been written in 3rd. Romance and other more "simplistic, emotionally driven" novels should be 1st, but with time jumping and all of these different settings/times, 3rd person would have made it a thousand times easier to organize and convey what happened.
Overall, it was a decent story, though most of the time I trudged through points that I got confused. Again in my opinion, 3rd person would have helped clear up the story lines and made this a much more enjoyable read.
Ghorayeb has great potential: not the average writer can conjure such concepts. But with some more improvements to execution and organization, this story could go from decent to something great.
February 27, 2014
I received a copy of Timelaws by Marise Ghorayeb in exchange for an honest review through the Read It & Reap Program. Thank you to the author for her generosity.
At the time of reading this novel, I was unaware it was the second book in a series. Many of the issues I have with the book stems from that fact. I have been given to understand the author tried to make this book more of a stand alone as she revamps the first.
The Pro’s:
-Interesting characters
-exciting premise
The Con’s:
-cliche’d opening scene wherein the MC is running from an exploding volcano and the lava flows. There is a whole field dedicated to the research and study of volcanos. It’s called Volcanology, and any reputable website (I.E. not Wikipedia) can explain why these types of scenes are ridiculous.
-The use of the term “Darks” to refer to the good guys is confusing as most sci-fi/fantasy usage is for those who are “evil” or “villains.”
-too many subplots cluttering up the main story which left me confused as to relevance and what was actually going on.
-immediately urgent is a redundant phrase.
-misuse of words: example metal feeds instead of mental feeds when it is clear the author meant the latter.
-the electromagnetic spectrum doesn’t stop at x-rays, it also includes gamma rays.
-An overuse of the same words or short phrases within the same page.
The story has potential, however, it doesn’t work as a standalone, and shouldn’t be read without having read the first book in the series.
At the time of reading this novel, I was unaware it was the second book in a series. Many of the issues I have with the book stems from that fact. I have been given to understand the author tried to make this book more of a stand alone as she revamps the first.
The Pro’s:
-Interesting characters
-exciting premise
The Con’s:
-cliche’d opening scene wherein the MC is running from an exploding volcano and the lava flows. There is a whole field dedicated to the research and study of volcanos. It’s called Volcanology, and any reputable website (I.E. not Wikipedia) can explain why these types of scenes are ridiculous.
-The use of the term “Darks” to refer to the good guys is confusing as most sci-fi/fantasy usage is for those who are “evil” or “villains.”
-too many subplots cluttering up the main story which left me confused as to relevance and what was actually going on.
-immediately urgent is a redundant phrase.
-misuse of words: example metal feeds instead of mental feeds when it is clear the author meant the latter.
-the electromagnetic spectrum doesn’t stop at x-rays, it also includes gamma rays.
-An overuse of the same words or short phrases within the same page.
The story has potential, however, it doesn’t work as a standalone, and shouldn’t be read without having read the first book in the series.
June 21, 2011
Fantasy and magical elements make "History of the Timelaws" an interesting read.
This story is filled with wizards, magic, and time travel. Elizabeth, a teenage girl turned magic society leader, must lead her group called "Dark" through a spellbinding event to save the universe from being changed forever if the timelaws are not restored. Follow her journey back and forth through time as she is joined by her family and friends to complete this spell that will magically set things right.
I have to admit this story was not my usual genre of choice, but it moved pretty quickly which kept me interested and turning the pages. Time travel is interesting to me also, and that is the heavy theme throughout the book, so that made it enjoyable.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy fiction.
This book was kindly provided to me by it's wonderful author for my honest review.
This story is filled with wizards, magic, and time travel. Elizabeth, a teenage girl turned magic society leader, must lead her group called "Dark" through a spellbinding event to save the universe from being changed forever if the timelaws are not restored. Follow her journey back and forth through time as she is joined by her family and friends to complete this spell that will magically set things right.
I have to admit this story was not my usual genre of choice, but it moved pretty quickly which kept me interested and turning the pages. Time travel is interesting to me also, and that is the heavy theme throughout the book, so that made it enjoyable.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy fiction.
This book was kindly provided to me by it's wonderful author for my honest review.
April 13, 2013
This is a science fiction book involving time travel. But this book does not deal with “ordinary”/almost magical time travel. The possibility of time travel involves extremely interesting paradoxes- paradoxes and logical inconsistencies that makes time travel impossible. And that is the central theme of this book- the author tries to remove the paradoxes of time travel and the logical inconsistencies of time travel by creating a set of rules – The Timelaws. So I loved the idea of this book. Very interesting. Very original.
However the book gets extremely complicated and the story itself falls prey to the paradoxes of time travel and its logical inconsistencies. Also, for some reason, I was not able to connect with any character in the book. Maybe the character development needs to be improved or maybe the complications of the story itself is not giving the characters time and space to reveal their “souls” to the reader.
However the book gets extremely complicated and the story itself falls prey to the paradoxes of time travel and its logical inconsistencies. Also, for some reason, I was not able to connect with any character in the book. Maybe the character development needs to be improved or maybe the complications of the story itself is not giving the characters time and space to reveal their “souls” to the reader.
March 1, 2014
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Concept: 4 stars
Execution: 2 stars
While the plot was mostly interesting, it was difficult for me to keep track of what was going on, since there was so much time (and space) movement going on. I thought the different locations (again, both in time and space) should have been more explicitly noted - or in some cases, noted at all.
I also believe this book should be edited - apparently again. It's the little things that added up over the course of the book:
- like Mark calling Liz his "baby sister"...wait a minute, is Liz the only one who knows Jenny exists?
- or things like "Instead, I fixed a hard star on Anton.." I think you mean stare. Or, yenno, it could be a star. I'm no time travel expert.
Overall I thought the story was good. I don't know why the heroine of the story needs to be so young, especially when she doesn't act like a 14 year old, but she made a decent main character.
Concept: 4 stars
Execution: 2 stars
While the plot was mostly interesting, it was difficult for me to keep track of what was going on, since there was so much time (and space) movement going on. I thought the different locations (again, both in time and space) should have been more explicitly noted - or in some cases, noted at all.
I also believe this book should be edited - apparently again. It's the little things that added up over the course of the book:
- like Mark calling Liz his "baby sister"...wait a minute, is Liz the only one who knows Jenny exists?
- or things like "Instead, I fixed a hard star on Anton.." I think you mean stare. Or, yenno, it could be a star. I'm no time travel expert.
Overall I thought the story was good. I don't know why the heroine of the story needs to be so young, especially when she doesn't act like a 14 year old, but she made a decent main character.
June 23, 2011
I wont go into the plot as I don't want to give anything away and spoil anyone's reading. Basically the book is about the "Timelaws", so has time travelling battles against futuristic wizards as well as present day things happening. Its quite complicated to try to explain. The chapters jump from past, present , future times but once you get used to the jumping about it is a good read. The author makes you care about the main character and her family etc, you end up caring about the outcome and really wanting to read on and on to find out what happens.Although i read fantasy this isn't the usual type of book I read but I did honestly enjoy it. There were a few typos in book but nothing major. I think i read somewhere that there was a story/novella before this book so would be interested to read that, as i would be interested to read any further adventures.
March 2, 2014
I received this book in exchange for a review. I didn't realize this was the second book in a series until after I started it. It was supposed to be a stand alone but some of the confusion was explained when I read the first book. I kept getting lost in the different time changes. Several of them didn't make sense to me and needed further explanation. I never did figure out the significance of the timeline of Liz and Mark in some kind of apartment by themselves. It was also never explained why some children in a family were Darks and other knew nothing about it. I also didn't like the term Darks for the "good guys."
I enjoyed the book but it would have been an easier read without all the different time changes and scenarios. The book could also use some editing.
I enjoyed the book but it would have been an easier read without all the different time changes and scenarios. The book could also use some editing.
September 20, 2011
The plot itself is very intriguing, I just feel like it's overwhelmingly bogged down by some clumsy storytelling. Characters and world-development could have been great, but could have used more fleshing out and demonstration - as opposed to instruction. Two stars. I would encourage Miss Ghorayeb to continue writing, as she has a knack for concept and plot, but she may need to spend more time developing her craft.
See the in-depth review at Sift: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/09/hi...
Review by: Sarah of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
See the in-depth review at Sift: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/09/hi...
Review by: Sarah of Sift Book Reviews
Sift Book Reviews received a free copy for review from the author. This has, in no way, affected the reviewer's opinion.
February 21, 2014
I found the mythology a bit hard to follow at times and often found myself re-reading sections and still not being able to follow along. The main character Elizabeth is smart, strong, independent, and interesting to follow. She wasn't a damsel in distress and she takes her job as a dark, a magical defender against wizards, very seriously. Some of the other characters weren't as interesting and I didn't feel myself being invested in them at all.
It's an interesting concept, tying together time travel and magic, but I'm not sure that I completely believed, or understood, the story.
This book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
It's an interesting concept, tying together time travel and magic, but I'm not sure that I completely believed, or understood, the story.
This book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2014
Overall, I enjoyed the story, which was fast-paced and an interesting concept. Unfortunately, it may have been too fast paced as I often got confused with the time changes and the alternate universes and there were aspects of what the group was doing that definitely needed more explanation.
Elizabeth is a nice change of pace as an independent heroine who was willing to take charge of the situation, but some of the other characters seemed very superfluous.
Overall good concept, if not completely successfully implemented.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Elizabeth is a nice change of pace as an independent heroine who was willing to take charge of the situation, but some of the other characters seemed very superfluous.
Overall good concept, if not completely successfully implemented.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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September 22, 2011I reviewed this book for Sift Book Reviews. I don't want to skew the ratings by rating it twice, but you can see my review here: http://www.siftreviews.com/2011/09/hi...
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