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Second Chance: The Complete Trilogy
In 2022, Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter are seniors with broken bodies and broken dreams. Then the single, childless siblings learn that a legendary fountain of youth in Mexico may be more than a myth. Within weeks, the Carpenters enter a mysterious cave and exit in 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin a fantastic journey in the age of the San Francisco earthquake, the Titanic, and World War I. In THE FOUNTAIN, ANNIE'S APPLE, and DUTIES AND DREAMS, the novels of John A. Heldt's SECOND CHANCE trilogy, three old souls find love, danger, and adventure as they experience the most pivotal events of the early twentieth century.
- GenresTime Travel
1649 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2023
36 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
John A. Heldt
36 books233 followersJohn A. Heldt is the author of twenty-six bestselling time-travel novels. The former reference librarian and award-winning sportswriter has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, Heldt is an avid fisherman, sports fan, coin collector, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. When not sending contemporary characters to the not-so-distant past, he weighs in on literature and life at johnheldt.blogspot.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 27, 2024
4.5stars-
The SECOND CHANCE TRILOGY is a three book collection of time travel romance focusing on the Carpenter siblings
THE FOUNTAIN:
THE FOUNTAIN is the first instalment in John A Heldt’s adult, SECOND CHANCE time travel romance series focusing on the Carpenter siblings: William, Paul and Annie.
Told from several third person perspectives THE FOUNTAIN focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, and learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72 a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land. Arriving in 1905, William now 23, Paul 17, and Annie 14 will find love and experience loss when history repeats itself with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
John A Heldt weaves a little bit of fact with fiction in each of his time travel series, and The Fountain is no different. We are introduced to author Jack London, US General Frederick Funston, as well as a look at the early Suffragettes, and the losses and devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The premise is interesting and intriguing; the romances are sweet; the characters are charismatic and passionate.
••••••••••••••
ANNIE’S APPLE:
ANNIE’S APPLE is the second instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE historical, time travel series focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including attempted suicide, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
SOME BACKGROUND :The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.
Told from several omniscient third person perspectives ANNIE’S APPLE advances the series approximately five years. The year is now 1911, and the Carpenter siblings, all in their twenties and thirties, are about to face and experience some of the most painful and heart breaking events in history from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, to the sinking of the HMS Titanic. The Carpenter siblings are witness to, and unwitting participants in historical happenings and developments of 1911-1912 but the Carpenter’s are not the only time travellers to arrive in Manhattan in 1911, and Paul will find himself flirting with another broken heart from the future. As the Carpenter family grows, and the next generation is born, the siblings must come to terms with the past, a past that is now a part of their present. Annie will have loved and lost, not once but twice; and Bill, having never had children in his previous life, will learn the meaning of true love and acceptance.
John A Heldt, once again, blends a little fact with fiction, taking literary license with events from the past. The reader is up close and personal with the what ifs and whys of yesterday, as the sibling bear witness without interfering in the history of the past. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romances are passionate but ill-fated; the characters are impassioned and struggling.
•••••••••••
DUTIES AND DREAMS:
DUTIES AND DREAMS is the third and final instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE time-travel trilogy focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
SOME BACKGROUND : The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, who learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality of which he and his siblings are looking. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.
Told from numerous omniscient third person perspectives and several timelines (1918, 1944, 1961) DUTIES AND DREAMS, advances the series approximately seven years. The year is now 1918, and the siblings, now all in their twenties and thirties, two with their respective spouses and growing families, have travelled to an era wherein war and a pandemic are about to ravage the world’s population. When Paul, and his new brother in law Andy are conscripted into the US Army, they know their futures are no longer set in stone. Sent to Europe as marksmen, both men would come under fire: one would be injured, while the other is MIA.
Meanwhile back home in America, the pandemic aka Spanish Flu is gaining momentum but William’s small family is about to learn of the helplessness of medicine in the early 1900’s. Their only hope is to jump to the future, a future wherein one of the siblings may remain lost to the past.
DUTIES AND DREAMS is the culmination of three story lines, several real-world and fictionalized histories and historical events, and the reborn lives for the Carpenter siblings. Having lived through several timelines each sibling will find his or her new happily ever after, with new loves, new lives, new families and new friends. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the romances are subtle; the characters are determined and dynamic.
copy supplied for review
The SECOND CHANCE TRILOGY is a three book collection of time travel romance focusing on the Carpenter siblings
THE FOUNTAIN:
THE FOUNTAIN is the first instalment in John A Heldt’s adult, SECOND CHANCE time travel romance series focusing on the Carpenter siblings: William, Paul and Annie.
Told from several third person perspectives THE FOUNTAIN focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, and learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72 a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land. Arriving in 1905, William now 23, Paul 17, and Annie 14 will find love and experience loss when history repeats itself with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
John A Heldt weaves a little bit of fact with fiction in each of his time travel series, and The Fountain is no different. We are introduced to author Jack London, US General Frederick Funston, as well as a look at the early Suffragettes, and the losses and devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The premise is interesting and intriguing; the romances are sweet; the characters are charismatic and passionate.
••••••••••••••
ANNIE’S APPLE:
ANNIE’S APPLE is the second instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE historical, time travel series focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including attempted suicide, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
SOME BACKGROUND :The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.
Told from several omniscient third person perspectives ANNIE’S APPLE advances the series approximately five years. The year is now 1911, and the Carpenter siblings, all in their twenties and thirties, are about to face and experience some of the most painful and heart breaking events in history from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, to the sinking of the HMS Titanic. The Carpenter siblings are witness to, and unwitting participants in historical happenings and developments of 1911-1912 but the Carpenter’s are not the only time travellers to arrive in Manhattan in 1911, and Paul will find himself flirting with another broken heart from the future. As the Carpenter family grows, and the next generation is born, the siblings must come to terms with the past, a past that is now a part of their present. Annie will have loved and lost, not once but twice; and Bill, having never had children in his previous life, will learn the meaning of true love and acceptance.
John A Heldt, once again, blends a little fact with fiction, taking literary license with events from the past. The reader is up close and personal with the what ifs and whys of yesterday, as the sibling bear witness without interfering in the history of the past. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romances are passionate but ill-fated; the characters are impassioned and struggling.
•••••••••••
DUTIES AND DREAMS:
DUTIES AND DREAMS is the third and final instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE time-travel trilogy focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
SOME BACKGROUND : The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, who learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality of which he and his siblings are looking. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.
Told from numerous omniscient third person perspectives and several timelines (1918, 1944, 1961) DUTIES AND DREAMS, advances the series approximately seven years. The year is now 1918, and the siblings, now all in their twenties and thirties, two with their respective spouses and growing families, have travelled to an era wherein war and a pandemic are about to ravage the world’s population. When Paul, and his new brother in law Andy are conscripted into the US Army, they know their futures are no longer set in stone. Sent to Europe as marksmen, both men would come under fire: one would be injured, while the other is MIA.
Meanwhile back home in America, the pandemic aka Spanish Flu is gaining momentum but William’s small family is about to learn of the helplessness of medicine in the early 1900’s. Their only hope is to jump to the future, a future wherein one of the siblings may remain lost to the past.
DUTIES AND DREAMS is the culmination of three story lines, several real-world and fictionalized histories and historical events, and the reborn lives for the Carpenter siblings. Having lived through several timelines each sibling will find his or her new happily ever after, with new loves, new lives, new families and new friends. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the romances are subtle; the characters are determined and dynamic.
copy supplied for review
March 1, 2024
Great Series!
This series was a real page turner! I found it so difficult to put down the novel and go to sleep! An exciting and well put together Series!
This series was a real page turner! I found it so difficult to put down the novel and go to sleep! An exciting and well put together Series!
January 1, 2026
Slow
The narrative progressed at a measured pace, failing to generate significant anticipation or curiosity regarding subsequent events. Can't recommend this book.
The narrative progressed at a measured pace, failing to generate significant anticipation or curiosity regarding subsequent events. Can't recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews