This isn’t something I’d normally read, and whilst I enjoyed it, I did spend some time after finishing it trying to categorize it by genre – I’m thinking it’ somewhere between fantasy, dystopian, and historical fiction – and yes, that does make for an interesting mix!
The story does tend to jump around a bit at the beginning and end, and I admit, this did confuse me a little until I clicked what was actually going on. The story follows Wren and his cousin Rhyllann, and their adventures when the fabric of time tears, rewriting history, and causing Wren’s spirit to become trapped at Stonehenge. This leaves two problems – how to get his body back when he can’t leave the stone circle, and how to change the events in this reality so that reality goes back to ‘normal’.
I have to say this was a very original read – I haven’t read anything like this before! There was clearly a lot of research into the events leading to the Titanic’s demise, and this was very important in the plot of the story, and I don’t think it would have worked so well as it did had this not been so well done.
Generally, the characters were interesting – the reader sort of watches Wren grow up throughout the book, and whilst Rhyllann seems a bit… brusque at points, he does come through and is likeable. Again, I found myself hoping things went okay for Carrie, although she did seem to have some mood swings sometimes!
One of the only things I would have liked to hear more of is what happened when time was returned to normal – did Wren and Carrie ever get together? Did Carrie remember anything? I very much hope so, but I didn't feel this was particularly well explained. That said, it could be argued that this leaves it open to interpretation by the reader.
This said, it was an enjoyable read, and I found it to be a pleasant change of pace in my reading.