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Time After Time
1816 Candles
A chance encounter during a costume ball at a historic tavern sends high school senior Lauren Harper back in time to early Virginia. Now she’s experiencing the actual events of the “Legend of the Female Stranger” ghost story she's attempted to avoid growing up in Old Town Alexandria. Can she solve the mystery of this ghost, find her way back home…and deal with her own emotions when she falls in love with a guy who lived 200 years before her?
A retelling of A Christmas Carol inspired by a real-life ghost story, 1816 CANDLES is a young adult time travel novella of approximately 19,000 words, or 75 pages.
A retelling of A Christmas Carol inspired by a real-life ghost story, 1816 CANDLES is a young adult time travel novella of approximately 19,000 words, or 75 pages.
ebook
First published October 24, 2013
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28 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Brice
23 books44 followersAs a little girl, Amanda Brice dreamed of being either a ballerina or the author of a mystery series featuring a cool crime-solving chick named Nancy Flew, but her father urged her to “do something practical,” so she went to law school and spent her days writing briefs and pleadings instead of fiction.
But dance and writing have remained a part of her life. Amanda was a member of the ballroom dance team at Duke University, and continues this interest by her obsession with Dancing with the Stars, so it was only natural for her to set a teen mystery series at a dance school.
Amanda is the Vice President of Washington Romance Writers, and is a two-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® Award. She blogs every other Wednesday with the Fictionistas and every other Friday with Killer Fiction. She is also a popular conference presenter, speaking on basic copyright and trademark law for writers.
In her spare time, Amanda enjoys dancing, reading, cooking, traveling, and obsessing over whether Duke will beat Carolina in basketball. Go Devils!
But dance and writing have remained a part of her life. Amanda was a member of the ballroom dance team at Duke University, and continues this interest by her obsession with Dancing with the Stars, so it was only natural for her to set a teen mystery series at a dance school.
Amanda is the Vice President of Washington Romance Writers, and is a two-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® Award. She blogs every other Wednesday with the Fictionistas and every other Friday with Killer Fiction. She is also a popular conference presenter, speaking on basic copyright and trademark law for writers.
In her spare time, Amanda enjoys dancing, reading, cooking, traveling, and obsessing over whether Duke will beat Carolina in basketball. Go Devils!
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 7, 2014
I have been listening to a few audiobooks lately that are YA time travel, and when I got an opportunity to listen and review this one, I took it. The name was charming, so it intrigued me from the get-go.
Here’s what you get:
*Time travel, of course! One of the things I liked about the use of time travel here is how the heroine reacts to it. Because she lives in a place with lots of history, she frequently time travels. It’s not something she can control, and she’d rather not do it. All the same, it’s just something that happens to her, almost a mundane inconvenience. It seems different than many of the other time travel stories I’ve read.
*A fast story with almost insta-love. Considering this is a novella, and a short one even among already short things, that’s somewhat understandable, though it still took me by surprise.
*Tie-in with a well-known ghost story from Old Town Alexandria (Virginia). I confess that I didn’t know of the story before the novella, but it presents itself quite nicely.
*A teenager who acts like a teenager. She has trouble in some classes in school, goes to parties and does things she maybe shouldn’t, has a clique of friends including some she likes more than others, and she is a cheerleader with an athlete boyfriend. In some ways, she’s very typical except for the time travel.
Though a short novella, you get as full of a character as you can expect, she does go through a journey of transformation, and there is a happy ending. If any of that interests you, you will probably enjoy this.
NARRATION
Because I got a copy of this story from the narrator, I have to mention her performance. The story is told from First Person POV, and the narrator has a voice that totally works for the 17 year old lead character. She is believable as both Lauren and as John, the love interest. She sounds good doing all of it, and I would be happy to listen to her other performances on YA material.
PRODUCTION
There are two prominent spots in the audio where there are repeats of text and dead silence as it is rerecorded. The sound of it reminds me of the clicking sound that would happen when recording things onto cassettes. I realize both the ebook and the audiobook were indie productions, but I am truly surprised those made it into the final product. Even if money is tight, there are free, open source editing tools that can take care of these issues.
Disclaimer: I received a free download of this audiobook from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
Here’s what you get:
*Time travel, of course! One of the things I liked about the use of time travel here is how the heroine reacts to it. Because she lives in a place with lots of history, she frequently time travels. It’s not something she can control, and she’d rather not do it. All the same, it’s just something that happens to her, almost a mundane inconvenience. It seems different than many of the other time travel stories I’ve read.
*A fast story with almost insta-love. Considering this is a novella, and a short one even among already short things, that’s somewhat understandable, though it still took me by surprise.
*Tie-in with a well-known ghost story from Old Town Alexandria (Virginia). I confess that I didn’t know of the story before the novella, but it presents itself quite nicely.
*A teenager who acts like a teenager. She has trouble in some classes in school, goes to parties and does things she maybe shouldn’t, has a clique of friends including some she likes more than others, and she is a cheerleader with an athlete boyfriend. In some ways, she’s very typical except for the time travel.
Though a short novella, you get as full of a character as you can expect, she does go through a journey of transformation, and there is a happy ending. If any of that interests you, you will probably enjoy this.
NARRATION
Because I got a copy of this story from the narrator, I have to mention her performance. The story is told from First Person POV, and the narrator has a voice that totally works for the 17 year old lead character. She is believable as both Lauren and as John, the love interest. She sounds good doing all of it, and I would be happy to listen to her other performances on YA material.
PRODUCTION
There are two prominent spots in the audio where there are repeats of text and dead silence as it is rerecorded. The sound of it reminds me of the clicking sound that would happen when recording things onto cassettes. I realize both the ebook and the audiobook were indie productions, but I am truly surprised those made it into the final product. Even if money is tight, there are free, open source editing tools that can take care of these issues.
Disclaimer: I received a free download of this audiobook from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2016
I received a free copy via NetGalley.
Lauren Harper is sent back in time to early Virginia after an encounter with a ghost during a ball at a historic tavern. While there Lauren experiences the events of The Legend of the Female Stranger. Lauren must find a way back home without dying in the process or falling in love.
Ok, so 1816 Candles is a novella which acts as an introduction to the Time After Time series. 1816 Candles had a really good plot. However I felt like there was very little depth or development, even for a novella. I did enjoy Lauren, but again, little development. Everything seemed very rushed, with little explanation that I found myself getting confused quite often. The romance was barely developed and there wasn't anything there and I didn't know anything about him or even the relationship to be honest. There was a lot of opportunity here to delve into the legend even further and to develop the plot even more. If that was done, I have a feeling I would have really enjoyed 1816 Candles. I may look into the next in the series. Hopefully it will be better, perhaps if it a book rather than a novella.
Lauren Harper is sent back in time to early Virginia after an encounter with a ghost during a ball at a historic tavern. While there Lauren experiences the events of The Legend of the Female Stranger. Lauren must find a way back home without dying in the process or falling in love.
Ok, so 1816 Candles is a novella which acts as an introduction to the Time After Time series. 1816 Candles had a really good plot. However I felt like there was very little depth or development, even for a novella. I did enjoy Lauren, but again, little development. Everything seemed very rushed, with little explanation that I found myself getting confused quite often. The romance was barely developed and there wasn't anything there and I didn't know anything about him or even the relationship to be honest. There was a lot of opportunity here to delve into the legend even further and to develop the plot even more. If that was done, I have a feeling I would have really enjoyed 1816 Candles. I may look into the next in the series. Hopefully it will be better, perhaps if it a book rather than a novella.
November 18, 2013
I really like Young Adult Books, and I really like to give good reviews. However, it's always better to be truthful and this novella did not work for me. To give it the benefit of a doubt it could possibly be because I'm not familiar with this particular series. The "basic truths" of the setting did not add up for me. For example, if the writer tells me I'm in a different world and in that world animals can speak because of chemical engineering; I can move forward in this book believing that animals can talk without failing to believe. If you tell me we are in our current world and in this world we can time travel, but don't give me the reason you've failed to give me the basic structure I need to believe that this can happen. The writer had the bones of a good story, and maybe if it were a whole novel she could have improved some of the loose ends.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews