A Stitch in Time

Time Travellers #1

by Amanda James

Boy meets girl. Girl falls for boy. Then boy catapults girl through time on a life-saving quest . . .

Present day

Thirty-something teacher Sarah Yates is a perfectly ordinary woman. A perfectly ordinary woman whose husband just left her to have a baby with her best friend. Sarah’s left behind, yearning for more than her lonely humdrum life.

Until a tall, dark and handsome stranger rings her doorbell.

John is a Time-Needle. Whenever a hole in time opens, nine innocent people will die. Unless John can find a Stitch to sew them up.

Maybe she isn’t so ordinary, after all. Because it just so happens that Sarah is that Stitch.

There’s no time to lose. John whisks Sarah off on a whirlwind adventure, from the Sheffield Blitz to London’s Suffragette movement, rescuing innocent people from the past.

Every person they save goes on to live a full and happy life.

But can Sarah find her own happy ending?

Genres: Time Travel, Romance, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Chick Lit, Paranormal

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2013

About the author

Amanda James (aka Mandy) was born in Sheffield and now lives in Cornwall with her husband and a cat. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, singing, and spending lots of time with her grandchildren. She also admits to spending far too much time chatting on Twitter and Facebook! Amanda feels most at home walking on the beach and making plots up in her head. A fair amount of these have made it onto paper, and been turned into books.

Reviews

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love well written books about time travel and alternate timelines. Count me in for Connie Willis' Domesday Book and Blackout, Diana Gabaldon's first Outlander book, Philip K Dick's The Man in the High Castle, H G Wells Time Machine et al. I like a bit of fantasy and I always appreciate good research. I am quite happy to suspend disbelief for the duration. Throw in a bit of romance and you've got me.
Sadly this book did not deliver what I was hoping for. The idea is neat but it is poorly executed. I was really disappointed because I really wanted to like it and discover a new writer to follow. Sadly, this does absolutely nothing for me. It doesn't help that I found it difficult to like the heroine or to believe in the romance or to actually get into the story.

[Sharon Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We first meet Sarah as she’s walking down a narrow lane and becomes drenched by a passing bus! Everyone in the café has witnessed her soaking … Her old school friend Karen is waiting for her inside. Sarah finds out her friend is pregnant but doesn’t want to talk about it and rushes off.

For Sarah, disaster follows disaster until John Needler knocks on her door … and then her life changes in a dramatic way! Through Sarah we get to spend time in Sheffield in 1940, Edwardian England, 1920’s and in the 1870’s.

There are so many different aspects to this unique story. Everything just ties-in making the plot solid and despite the time-travelling, very real! Sarah’s job as a teacher and the staff/students are so true to life … and I loved the way that James wove this into the past. The theory of time-travelling that John shares with Sarah is plausible and makes sense (well it did to me!) The time we spend in the past is just amazing, the characters and their circumstances feel real. I was quite sad to be pulled back into the present … but at least we had John waiting for us on our return

Of course we have the romance between our two leads. Conflict comes from the time responsibilities they have and also from John’s old flame Josephina. Sarah is her own worst enemy as well, still vulnerable and needing reassurance from others. I loved it when her confidence finally kicked in on her jaunts and she became a force to be reckoned with.

A Stitch in Time is sprinkled with humour. James is so creative, totally out of the box with her time quotes/idioms. I just so loved these and am still laughing now. Fantastic!

The personifications were unique too! for example on page 135 :
“Her pulse was racing ten to the dozen and relief jumped up from its arm lock and ran around her consciousness in perfumed slippers.”

I adored this story – from the beginning to the end. This is one of those books that you don’t want to end! So my advice is to stop reading the reviews and go and buy your own copy …

I would like to thank the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Rea Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was sent A Stitch in Time to read I was a little apprehensive because of the time travelling theme but I do like to try something different from time to time.

It took me quite a while to get into this book but I think this is because I was so unsure about the whole time travelling thing but I am so glad I gave this book a chance because when the time travelling first came to light in the story our main character Sarah takes it in such a great way, she doesn't seem to take it as a normal day to day event she is shocked and feels as though she is hallucinating and she also has 101 questions about it all. It was because of this that I carried on reading because although the author has taken a very unlikely subject matter she has brought a very realistic reaction to the character so she won me over, on so many occasions when I am reading books this isn't the case and so you can not relate to the character but because of this Sarah was a more realistic character.

John was a lovable heartthrob who I loved from the moment we met him and my love for his character grew with the book. Sarah and John both make this book a joy to read. It is a wonderfully thought out storyline something that is very fresh with the use of Time Needles and Stitches and when Sarah is sent back in time the description of her surroundings set the scene perfectly and really sparked my interest.

I was expecting something a little futuristic when I read about time travel but this wasn't the case at all, by the time Sarah takes her second journey back in time it actually feels like a normal event!

I would really recommend this book it has a touching romance to add to an intriguing storyline definitely something you wouldn't have read before. I look forward to more books by this author.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another free book I won of Goodreads FirstReads and I must tell you that I loved this book, It catches you from the beginning and keeps you going. I loved John and Sarah and I was glad that they were together in the end to make up for what happened to Sarah at the beginning. This book is about travelling through time to save people who would have normally died in the past, Sarah's job is now to save them from death. Very well written although being in the United States and the book written in England some of the words I had to look up to see what the author was on about, but a really great read, I am hoping for more on the further adventures of John and Sarah.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm disappointed in this book. The potential for it is so good - the protagonist is sent back in time to save lives, and experiences all sorts of historical situations, with all the difficulties associated with them! However, it was ruined by the love story that was inserted in this. It was written in a very rushed form - you could tell the author was just trying to get them together properly as fast as possible, and then add the same cliche drama in with some ex.

I would have liked this better had it been better written - even if the love story had been fleshed out a bit more, I would have enjoyed it.

3/5 stars for the plot potential and the historical knowledge involved.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was ever so excited about starting A Stitch In Time, especially when I heard it had a time-travel element to it. The only time-travel book that I had read previously to this was The Time Traveler’s Wife, and I thoroughly enjoyed it so I was looking forward to seeing what part time-travel would play in this novel.

The story opens with Sarah Yates being drenched by a bus and having a bad day, which was a sign of worse things to come. Fast forward eighteen months and Sarah has just arrived home from a stressful day at the school where she works as a history teacher. Thinking of settling down with some wine, Sarah is annoyed to hear the doorbell, and is forced to answer it when the caller sees her peering through the window to see who it is. Standing before her is John Needler, who invites himself in and announces that he wants Sarah to travel back in time. What happens next is an adventure bigger than she could have ever imagined or dreamed of…

“I am what’s known as a Time-Needle. It’s something you’re born into and can’t do anything about. My dad was a Time-Needle until his retirement a few years ago and so was his father. Our job is to sew together holes that have opened up in time using a Stitch. If they remain open, people will die. I find Stitches in time and you’re a Stitch.”

I LOVED A Stitch In Time! I was hooked from the very first sentence and I couldn’t read the words quick enough, I enjoyed the story so much that I was racing through the pages to continually find out the next part, and I had a wide smile on my face throughout.

I imagine subjects like time-travel are very difficult to write about – if the author gets it wrong and over-complicates things then the reader will struggle to keep up and make sense of things, possibly giving up on the book through sheer confusion. However, Amanda James has excelled in time-travel! Amanda explains things simply in a way that is easy to understand, the concept of time-travel and what John is asking of Sarah is explained in little doses so that it can be absorbed easily. I was not only left with a clear idea of the plot line, but drawn in by the way time-travel was laid out in front of me, so I was excited by the prospect, and very keen to continue reading and start the journey into time along with Sarah!

The characters were fantastically written. Sarah comes across straight away as a likeable character, she is just an ordinary woman who had been going through a hard time, having recently divorced from her husband in painful circumstances, she was struggling with the pressures of her job, and she had no confidence in herself. This made her vulnerable, it made her relateable to the readers and personally I got behind her from the first page. I so desperately wanted something to change her life, and so when John turned up at her door, I was cheering her on and willing her to go on the adventure into time. Sarah also made me laugh at many times during the story, one moment in particular is when she first meets John, and decides that what he is saying makes no sense, so he is obviously a hallucination. And seeing as her only other option is spending the evening alone, why not sit down, eat with him and have a chat with who she believes to be her imagination? After all, it’s not something that you do everyday!

John…Oh John was a wonderful character! I liked him instantly, and I’m sure others will too! John was kind, he was handsome, and he had bursts of humour which brought his character alive! The romance was truly beautiful, there was so much meaning and emotion in the love story that it touched my heart, and their story stayed with me long after I had finished the last page.

The time-travel scenes were brilliant. Amanda James brought the past to life with her detailed descriptions of where Sarah had travelled to, what was going on around her and the time frame that she was in. Everything was so vivid, from the language and words that Amanda uses, to the descriptions of the setting – I honestly felt as though I was time travelling with Sarah and that I too had been transported right into the middle of the scenes Sarah found herself in. As a reader we travel with Sarah to the blitz in Sheffield, to London with the suffragette movement and even to Old American West, and each journey is as intriguing and enthralling as the next!

A Stitch In Time is an enchanting, powerful, and absorbing tale of love, romance, humour, and moments in time which includes the perfect amount of historical detail. This is a truly unique and special book which deserves a permanent place on the shelf of every book lover.

[Zoé-Lee O'Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first foray into the writing of a non-thriller kind by Ms James, my Queen of Crazy Town has offered me something different and I did wonder what would happen when I dipped my toe into her first book.

Well, she blew me away with her imagination, her scene-setting and most of all her characters. This is the first book in the many that Mandy has written, she is already one of my favourite crazy writers but now in the romance fiction too! I loved the original take on a time travel book, the play on the phrase A Stitch in Time and look at the gorgeous cover!

When we meet Sarah, she is married, her best friend is distraught and her husband is distant, well you can guess what is going to happen! Yup, doucheville land. Yes Sarah is flawed, but there is something about Sarah that makes you warm to her straight away, she is endearing and she loves wholeheartedly. Even when everything is against her she still picks herself up and gets on with it, that strength she relies on later on.

Then one morning Sarah’s doorbell rings and in walks John, not only into her life but into her heart. He starts to tell her crazy things which couldn’t possibly be true…but what if they were, now that would be crazy!

Sarah, quite simply put is a Stitch, she has to go back in time to “save” certain people to prevent things going awry and ensure the future is kept in tack. It was so much fun for us, probably not Sarah at first, seeing her go back in time trying to figure out who she needs to “save” and having to adapt her current conditions. The blitz, suffragettes and the old American Wild West. However, this is obviously not enough drama for Sarah, when back in her real-life disaster strikes in the form of Josephina.

This delightful person is John’s ex, and she is there because she wants John back and is prepared to play dirty to win.

The romance between John and Sarah is enough to make anyone’s heart sing. It is a pure driven love, both recovering from previous heartaches but jumps in 100% regardless of what the consequences might be for them when the Powers of Be hear of it.

I loved listening to this book because Penelope Rawlins did an absolutely fantastic job of bringing Mandy’s characters to life. When Sarah was in the 1920s, Penelope adopted the twang and speech perfectly and again out in the Old Wild West. To me, I felt I was right there with her all down to awesome narration. I mean she is helped with an awesome book so both combined together = mind blown.

Sometimes Sci-Fi can be made to be over-complicated and confusing, yet here Mandy’s descriptions of how Stitches and Needles work together did not confuse. It made me wonder how I become one! How exciting would it be, if you walked through your front door one day and the next thing you knew you had walked into a completely different time and place! Plus I love the research that has gone into the book, not just with the different periods of time, but the descriptions, the speech, the little details. That is what makes you want to read on, the historical side of things have you sitting there almost in the same room with Sarah as she is clearing fireplaces out, facing off against a rattlesnake or running through the corridors in a hospital.

I mean this is Mandy’s debut! I don’t believe it! I have been reading her books for years now and I tell you this does not read like a debut at all. Yes her writing has changed and she has switched genres but it is still such a strong book in its own right and one that everyone needs to be reminded of. I was sad when the book came to an end because the story is not finished, far from it, and you know what…there is another book! I can not wait to get to it. These books are some of Mandy’s favourites and it is so easy to see why with forbidden love, time travel and a bit of drama thrown in what is not to love!

[Sharon Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard about the forthcoming release of this book I knew immediately that I had to buy it. I am a massive Dr Who fan and anything that involves time travel and romance was always going to appeal to me. I couldn’t wait to start reading this and finished it within two days.
A Stitch In Time is very easy to read. The subject of time travel can be unbelievably complicated and baffling, but Amanda James manages to explain the way that it works in her novel in a very easy-to-understand way. I found the whole concept of Needles and Stitches very imaginative and a clever concept.
The main characters are Sarah and John. Sarah is a teacher whose self-esteem is at an all time low after a double betrayal, and whose morale is at rock bottom with the pressures of her teaching job and her unfulfilled longing to be a mother. John is a market gardener who lives a double life as a Needle – a kind of guardian to his Stitches. Stitches must travel through time to prevent the death of a person whose loss would have a massive impact on the future. Sarah has been chosen by the powers-that-be to be a Stitch.
Sarah, understandably, is completely stunned by this revelation. She believes she has been hallucinating and it takes her quite a while to accept the truth of her situation. When she does, she is ready to undertake her first mission, and finds herself in Sheffield, during the Blitz. It’s an area that she is very familiar with, but it’s also the night of a major air raid that will leave all those around her dead. Who must Sarah save? And how can she achieve her mission?
The time travelling scenes are brilliantly done, with Sarah also travelling to Kansas in the nineteenth century to save a life among a group of homesteaders who are enduring a plague of locusts, Edwardian London, and a hospital in the nineteen twenties, where a very important discovery is about to be made…if Sarah can be successful. These scenes are just the right length, with the author striking a successful balance between the missions and Sarah’s home life and her developing romance with Needle John.
The two main characters are very likeable. From the first scene Sarah wins the reader over. She is a very modern girl dealing with a complicated life, and immediately the reader will be on her side, willing her on through her heartbreak and cheering her through her challenges. John is a delightful hero, and there is enough passion, conflict and tension to make a very enjoyable romance. Besides Sarah’s trust issues, there is also a former girlfriend of John’s to deal with, and on top of all that, the powers-that-be or “The Spindly Ones” as Sarah calls them, are unwilling to allow a Needle and a Stitch to be together. Can John and Sarah prove that their love is genuine? Will The Spindly Ones give them a chance? Or will Sarah’s lack of faith lead to the end of her Stitching days and the erasure of all her time-travelling memories, including those of John himself?
This is a well thought out book with a unique twist on time travel, likeable characters, a strong romance and some interesting historical facts thrown in for good measure. As Sarah is a history teacher she is quickly aware of the situations she has landed in, and through her easy summing up of what is happening around her the reader understands what is going on without being force fed a lot of dry and dusty facts. School history lessons were never like this (sadly!) and I can well understand why some reviewers are demanding a sequel. I don’t know if that’s the author’s plan but I could quite see it working. All in all this is a very entertaining novel and highly recommended.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm having a bit of a time-travel 'thing' at the moment.

I can't really make my mind up about this. First I hated the way in which the book used famous sayings about time and explained with respect to the premise of Stitching Time - it was very tortured.

I enjoyed the way in which Sarah travelled back in time and was inevitably a maid and forced to light fires and peel potatoes. I also liked the mixture of people she had to save - not all famous people. The insights into history were also interesting although once or twice I felt that we were being given too much information - history lessons disguised as fiction.

What didn't work for me was the relationship between Sarah and John and Josephina. It was pantomime villains and teenage angst which just didn't sit well with the rest. I also didn't think the Powers that Be and the whole mythology worked that well - maybe this is a mystery for a sequel?

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun time travel romance. The heroine is just told one day by a Johnny Depp look-alike that she's an designated time traveler who must go back in the past to save lives, 9 of them, a ricochet effect.


This comes at a time in her life when she needs it, needs a purpose, needs excitement, needs love, as she's just been run through the ringer by her ex-husband.

The time travel escapades were both cute and interesting. She has to be a maid in 1913 with a horribly bossy and evil employer, back to 1928 where she must deal with sexual harassment, WWII England during the blitz, and the best one of all was the American plains when there was a locust outbreak. That was really cool. I didn't know about that.

I'm not done..full review here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2013/...

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book even before I read it. And after I read it, I loved it even more. Mandy has taken a really complicated subject in time travel, and actually simplified it for the benefit of the story, and that's quite a feat - I've read other time-travel stories and have usually come up with a reason why it couldn't happen that way, but A Stitch in Time is actually believable. Or at least, logical.

It's good fun, entertaining from start to finish, with some laugh aloud moments, but with a more serious side-story too, and the main characters are very sympathetic and believable.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. I enjoyed listening to every word of this story. Recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a danger that comes with actually reading books that I picked up as a kindle freebie 8+ years ago. . . sometimes they're excellent, and I wonder why I left it so long. And sometimes they're A Stitch in Time. (Which I actually listened to in the end, after noticing it in my library's audiobook collection)

This was hilariously bad, so bad that I enjoyed finishing it just to see how bad it got. Highlights of the badness:
- The time travel mythology is contradictory and nonsensical. E.g. John's hand gets mangled because he touches someone in the past, which apparently 'breaks the rules', but Sarah makes out with someone and helps deliver a baby without incident. Much of it is left unexplained, as if the author didn't know herself why things worked the way they did. There are much much better time travel books out there - 'A Stitch in Time' itself references The Time Traveller's Wife. (If you want a recommendation, Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel Books incorporate the history aspects in a way that actually makes some semblance of sense).
- The whole thing is a masterclass in 'tell, don't ever show'. There's entire paragraphs devoted to just spelling out the relevant history, wikipedia style.
- Sarah (the main character) is just plain awful. She's awful to herself (she regularly refers to herself as a bitch or a cow in her internal monologue), awful about and to other women (not just her romantic rival, but colleagues and random shop assistants), awful to John (the romantic interest). She's melodramatic, has extreme mood swings and can't make a decision to save her life.
- John is a cardboard cut-out of a person, with no actual character. I did love that when he was first introduced he was called a "Johnny Depp lookalike" but then every physical description of him for the rest of the book bears no resemblance to Johnny Depp whatsoever.
- Their relationship resembles something out of a daytime soap. If I was 'the powers at be' (the unknown entities responsible for time travel) I'd be worried about their longevity too.

Don't think I'll be picking up the sequel. Sorry.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several of this authors later books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I wanted to read some of her earlier novels and A Stitch in Time fits the bill perfectly.

This is essentially a love story between Sarah and John. Sarah is a disgruntled school teacher who is struggling with a couple of her students. Stuck in the everyday. John offers Sarah a chance to change her everyday life to one that will take her back in time. Ideal for a history teacher.

Yes a mix of romance with a little bit of time travel. This was easy to follow and the time travel but added a nice twist to a really lovely story. The author did explain the travel bit, but like Sarah I am still bewildered! You don’t need to understand it, but it does work very well within the context of the story.

I really liked how the author brought the two characters together, and then threw obstacles in their way. A couple who are interested and obviously want to be together, but not everyone thinks the same way.

Will they get the ending they deserved? Only time will tell.

A fabulous book that shows a different side to this author writing. A wonderfully heartwarming story and one that I found delightful and very addictive. It’s one I would definitely recommend.

[Sorcha O'Dowd · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard that Choc Lit was going to be releasing a time-travelling story, I knew immediately that this would have to be bought and devoured within the space of a day. Indeed, by the end I was begging for more, and this begging was made all the more easy by the wonderful world of Twitter where I immediately rushed to ask whether there would be a second book. Fingers crossed!

A Stitch in Time is a wonderful story, not only giving us a unique and intriguing insight into different times of the past, but also representing a story of truth, forgiveness, loyalty and love.

The story of Time Needle’s and Stitches is brilliantly brought to life, and I love how Sarah doesn’t just accept this story when Time Needle John brings the news to her. I’ve read so many stories when a huge piece of very unrealistic news is thrown on them and they just accept it with a shrug, and then disappear on their journey. I love that Sarah acts like any sensible person and refuses to believe it, putting it down to hallucinations due to stress.

“A Stitch in time saves nine.”

John matter-of-factly rambles on about how, as a Stitch, she now has to save three people in different time periods, including a homesteader in the Old American West, someone in the Sheffield Blitz and a suffragette in the early twentieth century. By saving each of these three people, you are in essence saving nine because of their children and grandchildren technically being saved as well, hence the “A Stitch in time saves nine.” which was a brilliant use of the old saying.

“People in war time clothes with gas masks slung across their shoulders shopped, cycled, jumped on and off trams and generally went about their business.”

Sarah’s first travel is brilliantly written as she finds herself in 1940’s Sheffield. I suppose when you think of the War, you immediately think of sirens, screaming, terror filling everyone’s faces every minute of the day, but Amanda James beautifully creates the actual reality of a day during the war. It’s just another day. People are probably worrying about the little rations they have left for the week, or walking to the post office nervously hoping to have a letter from a relative who is at the front, but we see a Britain in which the English remain strong, and determined to fight their battle over here to show that Hitler has not won. There is something so heartbreaking, but beautiful about this introduction to the World War II chapter of the novel, and I feel incredibly sad knowing that this normality that these people on the street are striving for will soon disappear when bombs rain down on them that evening.

In this chapter, we see the English at their best.

“Where are you going Auntie Violet?”

Violet threw back over her shoulder, “I’m off to change my vest. If I’m going to be killed, I want to make sure I’m clean.”

The perfect example of English strength during the war. Propriety must be maintained even if you are going to die. Brilliant.

Sarah’s trip to Victorian London gives us wonderfully clear flashes of Victorian London through the brilliant descriptions given to us. I do love my Downton Abbey (Matthew Crawley *fans self*), but it was great to see a very different workforce in this depiction of the underbelly of the house. It is a great pleasure to read the goings on of the house and the disgust that is shown from both the owner of the house and its workers at the idea of educated maids. Although you’d expect the servants to be thrilled at the idea of people of their class having the chance to have a good education, we see a brilliant glimpse into how advantages such as education causes friction, most probably caused through jealousy between the under-educated servants.

Sarah’s mission to the ‘Old American West’ was cleverly during the locust infestation. I would like to thank Amanda James for creating this image so vividly in my mind I kept itching whilst I read, thinking I had something crawling over me. So thanks for that!

And last but definitely not least, the love story Amanda James created was beautiful and meaningful and will stay with me for a long time. The way they had to fight for each other was heartwarming.

Overall a brilliant, amazing, powerfully written book which had me both crying and laughing out loud in the space of one paragraph. John is immediately put onto my shelf of ‘Fictional Crushes’ which has been increasing rapidly since my discovery of ‘Choc Lit’ and their handsome hero’s. 5 stars and a definite recommended read. Trust me, you will NOT regret it!

A Stitch in Time is available to download now on Kindle, and will be released in paperback on the 7th April.

Kindle
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Paperback
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[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read the synopsis for A Stitch In Time, I wasn’t sure it was my kind of novel. Time travel? No, thank you. But instead of just dismissing out right, as once I might did, I took a look at the preview of the novel, and I was hooked. I was captivated, and I was so excited to read and review the novel. I started it just before a four-day stint at work, and finished it after finishing my four-day stint and the best part was, in between that break, I didn’t forget a single thing that happened and I was so disappointed I’d had to wait to read it, and was so glad to get back to Sarah and John, and Sarah’s time travelling adventures, that I stayed up until 2am finishing it!

Sarah Yates’s life was going swimmingly – she had a beautiful husband, a brilliant job, and a best friend you’d love to have. So when she finds out her husband has knocked up her best friend, it throws her world into chaos. Divorced and disullusioned, she thinks she’s going mad when a man called John Needler shows up at her door, telling her that she’s a stitch, someone who can go back in time and fix holes that need to be fixed in order for history to be as it is. Sarah doesn’t believe a word he says, but soon finds herself whisked back in time, trying to fix things that were never meant to be broken. But as she finds other people their happy endings, and makes sure the history of the world is secure, will she be able to find her own happy ending?

I loved A Stitch In Time. I’m on a really good run of books I’m enjoying at the minute, and A Stitch In Time continued that run. It was great, I loved the plot even if it wasn’t something I thought I’d enjoy, I adored the characters, both the ones in the present and in the past, especially John Needler. I don’t know if A Stitch In Time was historically accurate, and there will be people who read the book and proclaim the whole time travel thing is hocum or not done correctly but I absolutely loved it. I loved seeing Sarah whisked through the ages, and each tale as she travelled from the Sheffield Blitz to the Old American West to the Suffragette’s in London had a fabulous backstory, and I was moved by all of them. I particularly loved the Suffragette bit of the book. I think James has created such a wonderful tale, and I warmed to it so much, and enjoyed it so much. I think it speaks volumes that I stayed up so late to finish it, but it was so darn addictive that I couldn’t give it up, I had to know what would happen to Sarah and John, and all the people Sarah was trying to help.

I really enjoyed A Stitch In Time, I was so sad when I’d finished it because I just didn’t want to leave any of the characters. I wanted to follow Sarah and John throughout their lives, and read so much more about the whole stitching/time needling idea. I could totally see Amanda James writing a sequel, and I’d totally be on board to read it, because I adored this book! It had such brilliant characters, I warmed to Sarah and John immediately and I was sucked into all the tales from the past. I am so pleased I didn’t just pass on this book because it didn’t sound like my kind of thing, I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance and I wasn’t disappointed at all. It’s so nice to read a book that’s not specifically something I’d pick up in a shop myself, and it proves (yet again) that you cannot judge a book by its cover or synopsis or anything, and the preview of the book really gripped me. Do give it a chance, you will not regret it because it was wonderful. I’d love to be able to go back in time and read this book for the first time again, because it was just that good!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Blurb from Choc Lit Publishing

A stitch in time saves nine …or does it? Sarah Yates is a thirty-something history teacher, divorced, disillusioned and desperate to have more excitement in her life. Making all her dreams come true seems about as likely as climbing Everest in stilettos.

Then one evening the doorbell rings and the handsome and mysterious John Needler brings more excitement than Sarah could ever have imagined. John wants Sarah to go back in time …

Sarah is whisked from the Sheffield Blitz to the suffragette movement in London to the Old American West, trying to make sure people find their happy endings. The only question is, will she ever be able to find hers?

MY BOOK REVIEW

I loved the cover for this book and I found the book blurb intriguing. I was drawn into this book from the start. Sarah the main character was instantly likeable. She's a teacher and a girl who on the whole loves most of the kids she teaches. She also loves nothing more than grabbing a coffee with her best friend, then going home to her cosy house and husband. Many readers will identify with her. Like real life, this can all end in the blink of an eye.

Where the book then takes you is on a fascinating journey back in time to Edwardian England; The Blitz and across the ocean to the original American Homesteaders.

The concept of the book "A Stitch in Time" is so imaginative and unbelievable but it works and is a the same time wonderfully fascinating. Sarah is the "Stitch" who is sent back in time to fix things, and safe lives. She has to work out who's life she has to save. Whenever you hear again the phrase "A Stitch in Time" I can guarantee you will always think of this book.

Each adventure into the past is seamlessly written and you are instantly drawin into the era that Sarah finds herself in. You can visualise the sights Sarah is faced with due to the vivid descriptions by the author.

One of the other main characters is John, who is a Time Needle. He is Sarah's link to the tasks set for her.

As bizarre as the subject matter sounds, this book really works and I was hooked.

If you're looking for a book that's well written, romantic, imaginative and different from the norm, then I thoroughly recommend it. It's a keeper for me!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't completely sure about the idea of this book initially, kind of sci-fi/fantasy romance but as soon as I began it, it really reminded me of recent series' of Dr Who. In fact so much that throughout it, in my mind, John spoke with David Tennant's voice (my favorite Doctor Who actor) and it swept me along in a lovely swirl of excitement and continued to entertain and enthrall me as much as this tv show does.

It's a fast paced easy reading contemporary romance which follows the adventures of Sarah, a middle aged divorcee teacher, struggling to get job satisfaction from her work as a history teacher, licking her wounds following a very painful breakup of her marriage when suddenly her life becomes complicated and exciting in ways she'd never dreamed of. Into her life appears the enigmatic and undeniably attractive John Needler, who reveals that he's involved in time travel and Sarah has been chosen to go back in time to put right some wrongs to ensure history doesn't re-write itself to the suffering of many folk.

Her knowledge of history proves invaluable as she is whisked back to the blitz, then the early 1900s and even further back as an American settler. But her vulnerability, having been badly hurt and unable to trust anyone seems set to ruin any chance of happiness she might seem to be going to find with John whom she finds she is passionately attracted to yet unable to really trust.

What unfolds is an exciting and interesting story with lots of historical detail, and a lovely will they/ won't they/ get together/ stay together romance with enough twists to keep you guessing, a delightful hero you want to grab hold of and snog, and enough throw away laugh out loud one liners to keep you thoroughly entertained wherever you're reading it. The perfect holiday read and of the consistently high quality writing I have come to expect from Choc-lit. If you're looking for a fun and enjoyable reading experience with lots of romance thrown in you won't go far wrong with this book (or others from the same publisher)

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love time slip themes and the author takes us in a unique direction with this tale. The stories within the story are quite enthralling all the same; however, it won’t appeal to all fans of this genre.

Ms James takes time to introduce Sarah to us. We feel her pain as she questions her own self worth in a tumble of emotions. John comes across as quite steady and self assured as soon as we meet him. Both of the main characters are strong individuals but the author doesn’t spend as much time building on the supporting characters in this story which is a shame.

The different time lines are presented realistically and incorporate a little history as we travel this journey with Sarah. I did feel a pull back to the future though in parts and felt that overall this was a present day love story with a twist. The time slip aspect was a quirky side tale but I enjoyed it all the same.

The author has left us wondering what will become of Sarah and John now that they have become our friends. There is definitely a hint of the possibility of a sequel where we can further catch a glimpse of the main characters as they continue on this path.

Overall a pleasant reading jaunt. The writing style is simple and humorous at times and you can overlook the predictable ending as it is a pleasure to walk this path for a while. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light hearted trip into romance with a twist.

[Anne Mackle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the author's first book,Rightous Exposure and enjoyed it but even if I hadn't I would still have be drawn to this book by it's beautiful front cover. Well I heard it was being released for kindle ahead of the paperback publication date I just had to have it. All the rest of my to be read pile were put to one side and I read this book in a day which is unusual for me.
If you read the book description You will know it contains time travel and maybe think of The Time Travellers Wife or Dr Who but this book is nothing like that.I tried to read TTTW and gave up half way through and Dr Who just scares me. Amanda James's take on time travel is entirely unique and believable.
This book is about love,betrayal and learning to trust again. We are taken on a journey through history with Sarah as she tries to fulfill what has been asked of her. There are parts in the book that are really funny especially when Sarah rebels against the way woman have been treated through history as second class citizens. The author shows a great sense of humour throughout the book. I don't want to give too much of the story away apart from saying I love the characters,cared about them and fell a little in love with John. There has to be at least a sequel or perhaps even more and if you read this you will understand why I say that.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandy’s time-travelling extravaganza starts with a drenching for our heroine, Sarah, and hurtles on to give a breathtaking view of life in the American West, the 1920s and the Sheffield Blitz. Sarah starts out as a victim after a disastrous end to her relationship and a double betrayal, but fairly soon begins to gain ground and to get her teeth into the fearsome challenge thrown at her by the delectable ‘Needle’ John. Still nervous, unsure of why she’s agreeing to do the things he asks and afraid of failure, Sarah’s stressful teaching job (very accurately and amusingly painted) takes a back seat as she becomes absorbed into these strange new worlds. She meets characters who both intrigue and exasperate her, and in the meantime, fights hard against falling in love...
I loved this book from the first paragraph to the last page, rooting for the feisty Sarah all along, and hoping against hope that she would find happiness with the right person and not somehow get stuck in time, unable to return to sort out the train crash of her life. The different periods of time are entertainingly described with enough historical detail to set the scene thoroughly but not so much that you feel as if you’re being secretly educated! I can’t wait to read more by this author.

[Elisha Condie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't even know when I got this book but there it was on my Nook. It's about Sarah, a woman approached by a man who tells her she's needed to be a time traveler to go back and fix a couple mistakes in the past. And then the whole book felt like an episode of that old show "Quantum Leap" and I used to really like that show as a kid so I kept reading this even when it was kind of dopey.

Sarah (the Sam from Quantum Leap) never knows when she's gonna drop back in time and it's very disorienting when it happens but she recovers quickly. She's a history teacher so lucky for her she knows if she's in this place on THIS date then she must be here to X. For some reason I was on board with the time travel but when she knew exactly the date and place where penicillin was discovered I was like come ON, who KNOWS that! I mean honestly. And the cigar smoking guide from Quantum Leap (sorry, I just kept reading this like it was a couple QL episodes) is now a handsome (of course) guy named John.

I liked this ok but for sure didn't love it. Sarah had me missing Quantum Leap's Sam in the worst way.

[Elizabeth Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought A Stitch in Time by Amanda James because the travelling back in time appealed to me. I would like to travel back in time but unlike Sarah, the heroine of this book, I would not want to be so actively involved. In fact invisibility would be useful!

Sarah is a History teacher who was betrayed by her husband and best friend two years previously and now has no social life. She is visited by a Time Needler who explains to her that she is needed to travel back in time to put in a stitch so that events don’t unravel. She travels abruptly to Sheffield during the Blitz, becomes a housemaid in the early 20th century and experiences real hardship as a settler in the old American west.

I was disappointed in this book, the first of a series, because although the historical research is excellent, Sarah’s modern viewpoint made it seem untrue. In the present day, Sarah’s on/off romance with John also lacks conviction perhaps because the characters seem unrealistic.

[Russ King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Yates is a history teacher who gets sent back in time to the points in history she teaches at school. She finds the reality of daily life in these different circumstances very different to what she teaches, but the hardest part for her is opening up to the concept of real love.

The re-inventing of the concept of a 'stitch in time' is clever and but there is very little sci fi in this book as it is unashamedly about focusing on an ordinary woman who is far stronger than she ever realised. It works because Sarah is so ordinary, just like anyone who could be in your circle of friends. She is naturally funny and her and the male love interest make a compelling couple.

It's fun, fast and compelling and will make you smirk whenever you hear anyone mention the phrase 'a stitch in time'. Highly recommended!

[Rose English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can a ‘Stitch in Time’ really ‘save nine’?

From the start this book had me trapped in time, caught between the pages of this fabulous story. I really couldn't put this book down and it took me longer to read than normal as I wanted to savour every moment.

It's a very magical, humorous and unique story. The description informs us Sarah is a History teacher getting over a broken marriage, which she is frankly much better out of. Then one day a handsome, but very strange visitor knocks on her door, wanting to send her back in time. Well if it happened to you, would you not be wondering if you had maybe had one too many, and were hallucinating? I know I would.

Very highly recommended, I just bagged myself a printed copy to read again in the future and at my leisure.

Why not read it for yourself and see.

[ThatBookGal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book really appealed to me, I love history and I needed something simple to pass a few days. I found both main characters utterly drab and dull, and subsequently really struggled to enjoy the story. Far more time could have been spent dedicated to the periods in the past, but instead the main focus was the present and 'the powers that be'. I found the garbled jargon about how it all worked so boring, every time 'the powers that be' were mentioned I found myself yawning and switching off. All in all, not one I would recommend at all, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to the read.

[Angela Britnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time slip novels are not usually my thing but I loved this book. Sarah is fed up with her unexciting life but when she meets the intriguing John Needler everything changes. His family has been involved with helping people from the past to find their happy endings and he asks Sarah to go back in time. The book moves seamlessly from the Blitz in WWII to the suffragette movement in London to the American Wild West. I enjoyed Sarah’s gradual travel towards her own happy ending with a man who never thought he’d be fortunate enough to find the right woman to understand his unusual life.

[Ria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantastic premise but the execution ground my gears. Sarah was frequently exalted for her kind heart but she had a fairly substantial mean streak and I struggled to invest - or hell even BELIEVE - in the relationship with John. I really like the ethos of the publisher and it pains me to foist a low rating on this but I have to be honest, this wasn't my cup of tea.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whimsical and fun, but with no great depth. I find it somewhat shallow when characters describe someone as "the love of their life" mere weeks after meeting them. In fact, everything in the book happened a bit too quickly for my liking. Still, if you're looking for some chick lit fluff with a bit if imagination, this will fit the bill.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah gods what was I thinking ....thought it had an interesting premise....but this book takes trite and fluffy to new levels ....not for me