The research project was only supposed to be for an extended period. No one said anything about forever!
So Riley's journey begins. Unknowingly sent back 40,000 years to be the mate of a man she had never before met, Riley struggles to understand and adjust. Her journey will take her into a world fraught with dangers - a world made more treacherous by savage beasts, primitive Neanderthals, and the incursion of the aggressive Cro-Magnon man.
Surviving alone for five years in this vast wilderness, Nathan, along with his enormous dog, Demon, carve out a life in the perilous environment. Though thrown together by forces beyond their control, love grows between Riley and Nathan - but will they survive?
I write stories with alpha males and strong, determined women.
I am a dreamer, an avid reader of fiction, a sometimes gardener and an inept crafter. I live in Idaho. I have three sons, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, little grandson and a new great-granddaughter. Over the years, I taught dance but as time passed, I decided to try my hand at a new endeavor - writing. I enjoy life and all its promises.
This is often an intriguing concept, but unfortunately I did not enjoy the style or characters. Riley is an educated scientist who is naïve to the point of TSTL - and back in the Ice Age, that will get you killed. She does the same stupid thing over and over. The H isn't much better. The bad guys are stereotypical to the point of humor.
Add in the poorly managed head-hopping and dragged out "romance", I just stopped caring.
This book falls under the category of "books-I-should-have-read-sooner!" It's awesome. I had it in my Kindle for a while, but it got buried. Riley's Journey is a real gem. It's a time travel romance in which the hero/heroine go back to the time of Neanderthals, saber-toothed cats & Mastodons. Reminds of Clan of the Cave Bear, but with modern protagonists added to the mix. It's really a fascinating read and well done. I highly recommend it.
I've never read a time-travel romance that sent people straight to prehistoric times, but I was chuffed at the prospect of reading about a woman who was sent back unknowingly to be the mate of a man who'd been in the Pleistocene period for 5 years. The unusual premise, while intriguing and offering a fantastic change of scenery and a whole new boatload of perils, falters when it came to the sloppy science and the uneven writing and amateurish dialogue which made the characters a little too preppy and childish at times. That said, I did like Nathan a lot and apart from Riley's uncharacteristic bursts of TSTL moments, I did like reading about a period so far removed from ours.
When I got my Kindle, I went through a stage of excitedly downloading lots of free books. Freebies, yeahhh! I rarely do it now because I've discovered that there's a reason why the majority of them are free.... However 'Riley's Journey' was a pleasant surprise and I am definitely ready to spend money on the next two books in the trilogy. I love time travel and have a fascination with the Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon era and this ticks those two boxes. The period is convincingly evoked and the story of survival in a harsh environment is well told in gripping fashion. Be warned it's a steamy tale if that's not your cup of tea but it all feels in keeping with the narrative!
I reaaly liked this book. The research appeared to have been done which brought a realism to the story. Riley's and Nathan's relationship, under such harsh circumstances progressed nicely. Riley was spunky and defiant maturing into a warrior. Demon almost stole the book.
I'm glad there's a second book because I wanted to know more about the other characters.
It's unfortunate I couldn't give this book 0 stars. But, if you've ever wondered how to make bad romance worse, this book is an excellent guide. Start with hackneyed writing, then mix in lazily drawn characters, bad science, time-travel, Neanderthals, and an animal sidekick that even Disney would have called ridiculous. It's the perfect recipe for an awful book.
This little gem was so good. It was an epic journey into the past . Filled with action, and adventure. I’d seen this several times but kept overlooking it. There are some great secondary characters as well. This had me on the edge of my seat so many times. I read the whole trilogy in two days. I highly recommend.
An interesting take on the time travel idea!. 40,000 years into the past. How do you cope? Romantic and exciting.! Lots of great detail. Thoroughly enjoyed!
I mean…. The pov was all over the place and there was excessive use of exclamation marks…. But overall the idea and plot hooked me. I’m in my caveman/survival stories phase. Hah! On the fence about reading more of the series.
Riley’s Journey by P.L. Parker and Sandra Edwards was one of the best books I’ve read lately. Just for the fact that it was so different, the characters well-developed and the story well-written, I gave the book 5 stars. I’ve never wondered what it would be like to live in the cave-man era, but this tale totally put me there. My imagination was fully engaged in the authors’ vision. The setting and realistic people inhabiting the earth at the time worked well. Conflicts kept coming and made me feel involved continuously with the hero and heroine who were forced to rely on each other through amazing adventures. Their love story added another dimension and had me sighing over their antics. Those pages turned too fast for my liking and I reached the end way too quickly. The only consolation - there was a follow-up book called “Into the Savage dawn.”
I really liked the ideas and challenges presented in this story. I love time travel/historical romance novels, over the typical 'bodice ripper' stories. This had the twist of SURVIVAL.
I liked that I was about 30% or so in before there was any sexual encounter. It gave time to get to know the story and really get into that before the juicy parts take over your brain!
It left me feeling hopeful and glad I got to know the characters just a little bit... and of course left me wanting to immediately jump to the next book!
This is a wonderfully creative story, well developed with believable dialogue and characters. Why only 4? While the plot is engaging, the sex scenes are rendered in the ridiculously obtuse and overly pompous verbosity of a cheap romance novel. I hope the author learns to approach intimate scenes without a thesaurus. Otherwise this is top shelf fantasy.
I really enjoyed this story. Fast paced. I would recommend this book to anyone enjoying stories from the Neanderthal times. I chose this rating because it kept me interested throughout the entire story although some of it is predictable.
While a tad off the real history it was a great read from someone who loved the earth children’s series! Buy and experience of I can’t stop reading it!
I wanted to read Into the Savage Dawn, but I was advised to read this book first and boy, am I glad I did. Into the Savage Dawn is the follow-up to Riley's Journey. When Riley signs on to help with a research project, she has no idea she'll be transported back in time to the time of the Neanderthals! She meets and falls in love with Nathan, a handsome man who's also been transported back through an experiment gone wrong. Together they must fight savage bands of Cro-Magnon men, dangerous beasts, and freezing temperatures. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quality time travel romance that is definitely out of the ordinary. Into the Savage Dawn is next on my list. I've also read Fiona by this author (a time travel romance set in Ancient China). P.L. Parker never fails to entertain me. I love her work.
The story of Riley's journey was riveting. She got fooled into time traveling to prehistoric times and met Nathan who had lived there alone for 5 years. There is no hope for returning to modern times.Their world was violent and struggling to survive, Riley and Nathan face many challenges from animals, terrain, weather and primitive groups of humans. The plot ends at a satisfying place, but there is another book coming to tell more of her journey.
One of the best books I've read in years! I'm so glad I came across this author, and I am immediately purchasing the rest of the series. Although the premise seemed unlikely (girl tricked into traveling 40,000 years in the past to fight with Cro-Magnon man and saber-tooth tigers just to be some guy's girlfriend), the story was brilliantly told. The characters were compelling, the conflict was realistic and kept me in a constant state of crisis, and the romance was a slow-build and completely believable. What a delightful surprise this book was!
The premise was great (one way time-travel portal to Paleolithic era, reminiscent of Julian May's Pleistocene Saga) and I enjoyed the characters. The romance was not rushed and appropriately timed, and developed quite naturally. I only wish we could have met Nathan and Riley's child but perhaps he or she will appear in the sequel? Guess I will find out when I get to borrow it. Definitely a recommended read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Thrown back into the past with no option to return. The world is stone age and fighting Pro Magnum man is a challenge as well as adapting to bitter ice cold weather, hunting animals larger than in the future, and learning to adapt to a life in the wild. It is well written.
I liked the fact of time travel and Riley trying to find her place in a new world. Nathan was intriguing that he survived 5 years and still kicked butt. Riley was a confident and capable companion and I fell in love with her. Demon was interesting and I liked how loyal he is.
This really isn't a romance; at least not a steamy, passionate one. It's more fantasy than romance. I gave it four stars anyway, 'cause, except for the part where you say "leave the cave, already!", it definitely held my attention.
I am vaguely reminded of the clan of the cave bear with this book add in time travel and you have a gem of a journey. I was very impressed with Parker's knowledge of history. Hard to put this one down. Thanks for the sleepless nights.
This book was shopped originally as a romantic time travel story and does deserve an 'R' rating for that genre (romance). That said, its a good story that sends a couple 40,000 years into the past.