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Blade of Shadows #1
Timeborne (Blade of Shadows Book 1): Revamped Edition 2025
When the ancient scriptures are uttered.....you never know what might happen under the blinding light of a full moon.
She was born in darkness, under the shadow of a full moon during a solar eclipse, with a mysterious black dagger at her side. As a child, Olivia James witnessed her mother’s gruesome murder. As an adult, her godfather has trained her to be a skilled fighter. But when Olivia’s boyfriend betrays her and threatens her life, setting off a string of events that catapults her back in time from 21st century Seattle into 3rd century Rome, the secrets of her past begin to unravel. The discovery that she is a Timeborne, one with the ability to travel across time, is just the beginning.
Soon Olivia finds herself under the protection of—and owned by—Roman Alexander, a former gladiator and bodyguard to the emperor. Torn between his duty to his emperor, a desire for vengeance, and a longing to search for his lost twin brother, Roman now has the added complication of protecting this strange woman from the depravity of ancient Rome. Worse, he finds himself falling for her, despite accusations that she is an enemy spy.
But even Roman is no match for the dark shadow that has pursued Olivia into the past. A fighter in her own right, she’s forced to work with Roman to find a way back to her own time. Do the ancient scriptures on her dagger hold the key? Can she trust Roman with her secrets? And can she fight her enemies and protect her heart at the same time?
Timeborne is the first book in the Blade of Shadows series. Begin your adventure now!
She was born in darkness, under the shadow of a full moon during a solar eclipse, with a mysterious black dagger at her side. As a child, Olivia James witnessed her mother’s gruesome murder. As an adult, her godfather has trained her to be a skilled fighter. But when Olivia’s boyfriend betrays her and threatens her life, setting off a string of events that catapults her back in time from 21st century Seattle into 3rd century Rome, the secrets of her past begin to unravel. The discovery that she is a Timeborne, one with the ability to travel across time, is just the beginning.
Soon Olivia finds herself under the protection of—and owned by—Roman Alexander, a former gladiator and bodyguard to the emperor. Torn between his duty to his emperor, a desire for vengeance, and a longing to search for his lost twin brother, Roman now has the added complication of protecting this strange woman from the depravity of ancient Rome. Worse, he finds himself falling for her, despite accusations that she is an enemy spy.
But even Roman is no match for the dark shadow that has pursued Olivia into the past. A fighter in her own right, she’s forced to work with Roman to find a way back to her own time. Do the ancient scriptures on her dagger hold the key? Can she trust Roman with her secrets? And can she fight her enemies and protect her heart at the same time?
Timeborne is the first book in the Blade of Shadows series. Begin your adventure now!
468 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 31, 2025
3104 people are currently reading
41447 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 799 reviews
October 11, 2023
This is NOT the new Outlander!!! Maybe if Outlander made it into Scary Movie 6?
HOW can this book keep getting such ridiculously high ratings? The dialogue is so poorly written I can't stop laughing. Maybe it's supposed to be a comedy? Who talks to other humans like they're robots?!
It is a rare book that gets a one star from me, but I felt it was my duty to say something and maybe prevent someone else from wasting an Audible credit or purchasing the book. If you're an avid reader like me, this will probably be a dud for you too.
HOW can this book keep getting such ridiculously high ratings? The dialogue is so poorly written I can't stop laughing. Maybe it's supposed to be a comedy? Who talks to other humans like they're robots?!
It is a rare book that gets a one star from me, but I felt it was my duty to say something and maybe prevent someone else from wasting an Audible credit or purchasing the book. If you're an avid reader like me, this will probably be a dud for you too.
June 19, 2023
I loved the idea of this story. I think the whole concept is very intriguing and it is what led me to request an ARC of this book.
I had a lot of issues with this book that made me unable to give it a higher rating. If you enjoyed this book that is great! It just wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t read the following if I were you:
-The pacing of the story is all over the place, one second the characters are just meeting, the next they hate each other and the next they love each other. I couldn’t care about any of the relationships because there was no chemistry described to us. The plot points were random and I kept feeling like I missed a chapter or something.
-I understand the story is set in Ancient Rome, however I had issues with the way women were portrayed, and the multiple SA insinuations that were made as if it was no big deal.
-the miscommunication was infuriating because they are supposed to be adults yet the FMC wouldn’t even give the MC one chance to explain or even talk to him until they randomly shared one secret and fell in love.
I wanted to love this book because I loved the premise, but the execution was not there for me.
I had a lot of issues with this book that made me unable to give it a higher rating. If you enjoyed this book that is great! It just wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t read the following if I were you:
-The pacing of the story is all over the place, one second the characters are just meeting, the next they hate each other and the next they love each other. I couldn’t care about any of the relationships because there was no chemistry described to us. The plot points were random and I kept feeling like I missed a chapter or something.
-I understand the story is set in Ancient Rome, however I had issues with the way women were portrayed, and the multiple SA insinuations that were made as if it was no big deal.
-the miscommunication was infuriating because they are supposed to be adults yet the FMC wouldn’t even give the MC one chance to explain or even talk to him until they randomly shared one secret and fell in love.
I wanted to love this book because I loved the premise, but the execution was not there for me.
February 22, 2024
I generally finish a book when I start it but I couldn't with this one. I got about 20% of the way through and had to put it down. Everything felt so two dimensional, the dialogue made me cringe and I wasn't invested in the story at all. It's a shame because the concept sounded very interesting.
I won't be reading the sequels either.
I won't be reading the sequels either.
Did not finish
June 17, 2024DNF @ 37% - "Roman continued talking in a tone that was as dead as his friend."
It's been 10 minutes and I haven't stopped laughing at this line that is likely not meant to be funny.
I'm so sorry 💀
It's been 10 minutes and I haven't stopped laughing at this line that is likely not meant to be funny.
I'm so sorry 💀
Read
January 5, 2024No one is more depressed than me that I didn’t finish this book. I was so excited to read it based on the premise and some things I saw around Instagram. Time travel is my favorite and I’ve never read one set in Roman times….
Since I didn’t finish it, I won’t rate it. But here is why I could not bring myself to read past 100 pages (I was being generous sticking around for that long).
The writing was overly descriptive of unimportant things. Too many details about how crispy the bacon was or how the main character walked somewhere….I often wondered why I was constantly reading about such things. The dialogue also felt like wasted words and provided little information for me. Olivia’s responses were so basic and unreasonable and I felt like I gained little to no new information when she opened her mouth. And lastly, Olivia roundhouse kicked one too many characters for my liking. I get that she was a trained fighter, but every time I read the word “roundhouse kick”, I lost a little respect for her.
Since I didn’t finish it, I won’t rate it. But here is why I could not bring myself to read past 100 pages (I was being generous sticking around for that long).
The writing was overly descriptive of unimportant things. Too many details about how crispy the bacon was or how the main character walked somewhere….I often wondered why I was constantly reading about such things. The dialogue also felt like wasted words and provided little information for me. Olivia’s responses were so basic and unreasonable and I felt like I gained little to no new information when she opened her mouth. And lastly, Olivia roundhouse kicked one too many characters for my liking. I get that she was a trained fighter, but every time I read the word “roundhouse kick”, I lost a little respect for her.
June 3, 2023
I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review
I found the characters far too wooden and emotionless. Olivia was lovely as a child but I didn't get why she failed to mention the blades or man. Children are curious and this was odd behavior.
Furthermore, her relationship with her dad was unbelievable. For someone she was supposed to love, she didn't respect or listen to him at all. There are sceptics and then there are idiots and I am afraid that Olivia falls into the latter camp.
Then a Dagger of such importance and you can't remember where it is? Sorry, but I'm so emotionally detached that I can only DNF!
The narrators are new to me so I can't find fault with them, particularly with the wooden writing with which they had to work. They did the best that they could.
I found the characters far too wooden and emotionless. Olivia was lovely as a child but I didn't get why she failed to mention the blades or man. Children are curious and this was odd behavior.
Furthermore, her relationship with her dad was unbelievable. For someone she was supposed to love, she didn't respect or listen to him at all. There are sceptics and then there are idiots and I am afraid that Olivia falls into the latter camp.
Then a Dagger of such importance and you can't remember where it is? Sorry, but I'm so emotionally detached that I can only DNF!
The narrators are new to me so I can't find fault with them, particularly with the wooden writing with which they had to work. They did the best that they could.
August 29, 2024
dialogue so bad not convinced the author has ever met another person
January 15, 2024
I’m a sucker for time traveling books. This book was just…bad. The reasoning behind why she can time travel was not thought out at all. The dialogue is absolutely horrendous and cringe in this book. I barely finished it out of sheer stubbornness. Do not recommend.
March 29, 2024
DNF 18% Oh my god girl we get it 🙄🙄🙄 you’re like the chosen one or whatever 🙄
This main character was so OP that it was really unbelievable, after her mom died she was raised by her father and godfather and trained in literally everything (she also states her favorite weapon is a Glock 22 which I cannot take seriously). She is fluent in Russian, French, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Aramaic, Sioux and Latin, like could you make this main character more unrelatable?? Also after she time traveled (im guessing some Roman city) she single-handedly beats up 6 grown Roman warriors
Something that was really irritating was the reader was spoon fed information, like we’d get diary entries (from her father) of something he literally told us 5 seconds ago and another thing with her father, the main character KNOWS her father deals suicidal thoughts but she just lets him live in a cabin in the middle of the woods by himself??? And when the climatic scene with the evil boyfriend happens he tells us her father has crying spells and drinks??? Like girl get your poor dad some therapy or something.
Another thing is with the godfather (Moon Lee), we don’t get any kind of information about what he looks like, who he is to the family literally anything but the MC keeps saying “his people” I just had to assume he was some kind of Native American but we are never told. And when the MC comes to get the super special knife she tells him her father is being held at gun point for it and he like literally forgets where he hid it for .5 seconds (idk why the author needed to add that) and just acts like this is normal??? Like he doesn’t freak out about anything she just told him.
This main character was so OP that it was really unbelievable, after her mom died she was raised by her father and godfather and trained in literally everything (she also states her favorite weapon is a Glock 22 which I cannot take seriously). She is fluent in Russian, French, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Aramaic, Sioux and Latin, like could you make this main character more unrelatable?? Also after she time traveled (im guessing some Roman city) she single-handedly beats up 6 grown Roman warriors
Something that was really irritating was the reader was spoon fed information, like we’d get diary entries (from her father) of something he literally told us 5 seconds ago and another thing with her father, the main character KNOWS her father deals suicidal thoughts but she just lets him live in a cabin in the middle of the woods by himself??? And when the climatic scene with the evil boyfriend happens he tells us her father has crying spells and drinks??? Like girl get your poor dad some therapy or something.
Another thing is with the godfather (Moon Lee), we don’t get any kind of information about what he looks like, who he is to the family literally anything but the MC keeps saying “his people” I just had to assume he was some kind of Native American but we are never told. And when the MC comes to get the super special knife she tells him her father is being held at gun point for it and he like literally forgets where he hid it for .5 seconds (idk why the author needed to add that) and just acts like this is normal??? Like he doesn’t freak out about anything she just told him.
May 2, 2023
Timeborne is a debut, fantasy romance from a new author. I heard it involved time travel and Ancient Rome and I was super intrigued!
We meet Olivia when she’s just 10 years old and she sees her mother get killed. The story then jumps to 14 years later and Olivia has been training and become quite the fighter to protect herself. Her father shows up and drops a surprise on her…he tells her he’s been studying time travel and believes she’s “timeborne” aka was born on a specific day during a specific event allowing her to time travel. Olivia is shocked but things move quickly from there when her loving boyfriend of a couple years ends up betraying her and attacking her and her father. Then things get interesting when Olivia travels back in time to 207 A.D. to Ancient Rome! She ends up running into Roman, a former gladiator and bodyguard to the emperor, who takes her home with him.
“I don’t want to possess you…but I intend to devour you and give you pleasure, unlike any other man. I want to mark you and make you mine forever.”
I think this does read as a debut, while it has a lot of strong ideas happening I did have some issues with the story. Besides being told we are in Ancient Rome, I didn’t feel like the writing/story gave us much to make it feel like that. It did kind of throw me off that they’re in Ancient Rome and the hero’s name is Roman too, but maybe that is just me. The romance was fun and we definitely get steam, but it was insta lovey which isn’t my fav. I will say the time travel is super interesting and how the dagger is involved as well, I always like when a cover/images on the cover play into the story! I did really like that Olivia is a badass heroine who is a trained fighter and Roman was a strong, likable hero! The duet narration for this really worked, great job by the narrators (Liam Price, Sarah Sampino). Be prepared for a cliffhanger! I’m intrigued where the story will go from here.
Thanks so much to Forever and Always PR for an audio ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own. Timeborne releases May 2, 2023!
We meet Olivia when she’s just 10 years old and she sees her mother get killed. The story then jumps to 14 years later and Olivia has been training and become quite the fighter to protect herself. Her father shows up and drops a surprise on her…he tells her he’s been studying time travel and believes she’s “timeborne” aka was born on a specific day during a specific event allowing her to time travel. Olivia is shocked but things move quickly from there when her loving boyfriend of a couple years ends up betraying her and attacking her and her father. Then things get interesting when Olivia travels back in time to 207 A.D. to Ancient Rome! She ends up running into Roman, a former gladiator and bodyguard to the emperor, who takes her home with him.
“I don’t want to possess you…but I intend to devour you and give you pleasure, unlike any other man. I want to mark you and make you mine forever.”
I think this does read as a debut, while it has a lot of strong ideas happening I did have some issues with the story. Besides being told we are in Ancient Rome, I didn’t feel like the writing/story gave us much to make it feel like that. It did kind of throw me off that they’re in Ancient Rome and the hero’s name is Roman too, but maybe that is just me. The romance was fun and we definitely get steam, but it was insta lovey which isn’t my fav. I will say the time travel is super interesting and how the dagger is involved as well, I always like when a cover/images on the cover play into the story! I did really like that Olivia is a badass heroine who is a trained fighter and Roman was a strong, likable hero! The duet narration for this really worked, great job by the narrators (Liam Price, Sarah Sampino). Be prepared for a cliffhanger! I’m intrigued where the story will go from here.
Thanks so much to Forever and Always PR for an audio ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own. Timeborne releases May 2, 2023!
April 6, 2023
If you loved Outlander and have been waiting for the next binge-worthy time-travel romance series--you're in luck. Here it is.
Our FMC Olivia's life is turned upside-down after witnessing her mother's murder early in her life, and--as a result--has an unconventional upbringing. Mystery surrounds both her mother's death and the choices made by her father and the family's best friend until someone learns of Olivia's secret and forces them to reveal the truth to her--that she's a Timeborne, and can travel through time. She isn't given any time to process the information before being plunged perilously into the past in an effort to save her life and landing in 3rd-century Rome.
I thoroughly enjoyed Olivia's story as well as her romance with Roman and thought the concept of the Timebornes was well thought out. I don't want to give too much away, but the cliffhanger ending was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be after I learned someone's secret, and I can't wait for the next book. The good news is that if you feel the same way, you won't have to wait for long.
The only thing that I would have wanted from this would just be more of Olivia's inner turmoil and observations as she adjusted to and accepted her life in Rome. I would have liked some of the imagery we get later in the book when she visits the emperor's palace and attends the gladiator matches earlier on.
4.5 Stars. Highly recommend.
Our FMC Olivia's life is turned upside-down after witnessing her mother's murder early in her life, and--as a result--has an unconventional upbringing. Mystery surrounds both her mother's death and the choices made by her father and the family's best friend until someone learns of Olivia's secret and forces them to reveal the truth to her--that she's a Timeborne, and can travel through time. She isn't given any time to process the information before being plunged perilously into the past in an effort to save her life and landing in 3rd-century Rome.
I thoroughly enjoyed Olivia's story as well as her romance with Roman and thought the concept of the Timebornes was well thought out. I don't want to give too much away, but the cliffhanger ending was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be after I learned someone's secret, and I can't wait for the next book. The good news is that if you feel the same way, you won't have to wait for long.
The only thing that I would have wanted from this would just be more of Olivia's inner turmoil and observations as she adjusted to and accepted her life in Rome. I would have liked some of the imagery we get later in the book when she visits the emperor's palace and attends the gladiator matches earlier on.
4.5 Stars. Highly recommend.
Read
July 16, 2025DNF.
A lot of factors went into my choice to DNF. I read about 1/4 of the book, which is why I’m not giving it a star rating.
A lot of factors went into my choice to DNF. I read about 1/4 of the book, which is why I’m not giving it a star rating.
June 24, 2024
Portal fantasy is one of my favourite genres, so I was really excited to ARC read Timeborne, Blade of Shadows Book 1, by Sara Samuels. If you enjoy an Outlander-type story, this is the book for you. Only this time, we will be transported much further in the past, to Ancient Rome.
Olivia, our courageous protagonist, embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery when she discovers her Timeborne abilities. Her resilience and determination are truly inspiring, and it's a joy to witness her character blossom and evolve.
And who could resist the allure of a time-travel romance, set against the backdrop of Ancient Rome? This is a love story that transcends the boundaries of time and space, captivating readers with its timeless appeal.
"I'll find you, Olivia. I found you in this lifetime, and I'll find you in the next."
Olivia, our courageous protagonist, embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery when she discovers her Timeborne abilities. Her resilience and determination are truly inspiring, and it's a joy to witness her character blossom and evolve.
And who could resist the allure of a time-travel romance, set against the backdrop of Ancient Rome? This is a love story that transcends the boundaries of time and space, captivating readers with its timeless appeal.
"I'll find you, Olivia. I found you in this lifetime, and I'll find you in the next."
October 31, 2023
“I’ll find you, Olivia. I found you in this lifetime, and I’ll find you in the next.”
Olivia is a badass! She has been training since her mother was murder, she has learned languages and history. But the day she is told she is a Timeborne, her whole world is changed. I absolutely loved this story. Roman was dreamy, a gladiator with a secret, and I just ate up his chapter POV. It was fun, exciting, and completely different from anything I have read this year. The character development Olivia goes through is so good. I have been enjoying contemporary mixed with fantasy this past year. This book was fun and exciting, and I'm excited for the second book.
Read for
Strong FMC
Gladiator
Time Travel Romance
Roman Empire
Enemy to Lovers
Force Proximity
Evil Darkness
Epic Cliffhanger
“Don’t wipe away your tears but allow them to fall freely,” he said, his gaze tangled with mine. “Long ago, someone once told me that speaking about your pain unburdens your soul. It makes you feel better. Can you allow yourself to speak of your sadness?”
Olivia is a badass! She has been training since her mother was murder, she has learned languages and history. But the day she is told she is a Timeborne, her whole world is changed. I absolutely loved this story. Roman was dreamy, a gladiator with a secret, and I just ate up his chapter POV. It was fun, exciting, and completely different from anything I have read this year. The character development Olivia goes through is so good. I have been enjoying contemporary mixed with fantasy this past year. This book was fun and exciting, and I'm excited for the second book.
Read for
Strong FMC
Gladiator
Time Travel Romance
Roman Empire
Enemy to Lovers
Force Proximity
Evil Darkness
Epic Cliffhanger
“Don’t wipe away your tears but allow them to fall freely,” he said, his gaze tangled with mine. “Long ago, someone once told me that speaking about your pain unburdens your soul. It makes you feel better. Can you allow yourself to speak of your sadness?”
January 4, 2024
Update: So I went back to try to give this another chance because it does currently have a 4.08 rating. I am absolutely baffled by that. It was just as terrible the second time around and I couldn’t get past the poor writing to enjoy the story. This dialogue reads as if it’s written by a middle schooler. That’s not even me being harsh or critical, it just is. I do think there’s an interesting idea here but I wish the author had grown their writing more before using this cool idea. I actually have no idea how this got published or went through editing as is.
Original review:
This has an interesting premise but unfortunately the writing style and dialogue between characters reads very immature and it’s just too unnatural to get into the story. I’m not familiar with the author but this definitely reads like someone’s first book.
Two stars because even though it’s unreadable, it at least was not boring!
Original review:
This has an interesting premise but unfortunately the writing style and dialogue between characters reads very immature and it’s just too unnatural to get into the story. I’m not familiar with the author but this definitely reads like someone’s first book.
Two stars because even though it’s unreadable, it at least was not boring!
April 29, 2025
An interesting take on time travel. The story keeps you intrigued, with enough drama and heartbreak, and some love thrown in there. The characters could use a little more development, but that’s what the rest of the books in the series are for, a continuation of the journey! I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, considering the massive cliffhanger we are left on!
July 14, 2023
I really wanted to like this. I love Outlander and have not read many time travel works, but it really fell flat for me. This definitely reads like a debut novel and borders on being more fanfic-like than a novel. I think the dialogue is what didn't work for me the most, in the sense that it was more dramatic than it needed to be. There were also a lot of unnecessary paragraphs but not much world-building, granted the setting was ancient Rome and I'm not a history buff so I don't know how accurate the descriptions are. I don't mind instalove stories so long as it's done well but the pacing of Olivia and Roman's relationship felt off. Although this is a dual-POV book, we don't really get much from him before confessions are made. I almost DNF'd but ended up skipping chapters to get to the end.
December 31, 2024
I never write reviews, but I had to in this case, in hopes another reader will see it and not waste their time. Had this book not been a gift, it would have been the very first book I DNFed. I finished it only out of respect for the person that spent money on it, but knowing what I know now I would have paid 100x what this book cost to not have to read it at all.
There was not one redeeming quality. The writing is terrible, the story is clunky, and the spice was just cringey. The book reads as if it’s a first draft without any fine tuning to characters, story, plot, or dialogue.
In a world where there are millions of books to choose from, don’t make this one of them.
There was not one redeeming quality. The writing is terrible, the story is clunky, and the spice was just cringey. The book reads as if it’s a first draft without any fine tuning to characters, story, plot, or dialogue.
In a world where there are millions of books to choose from, don’t make this one of them.
February 9, 2025
4.25 stars - I haven’t read too many time travel fantasies but this one transports our fmc Olivia to Ancient Rome where she meets our MMC Roman in a twist of fate. This was very well written and after watching Gladiator 2 recently I felt like I appreciated the story more!
I enjoyed the connection between the two main characters, bar some miscommunication, and I thought Sara did a great job fleshing this out. I got a bit of whiplash from the time jumps and fast forwarding in the story, but overall I enjoyed the plot, it was a very entertaining read and I NEED to read the next one!
I enjoyed the connection between the two main characters, bar some miscommunication, and I thought Sara did a great job fleshing this out. I got a bit of whiplash from the time jumps and fast forwarding in the story, but overall I enjoyed the plot, it was a very entertaining read and I NEED to read the next one!
March 22, 2024
DNF @ 8%
I wanted to like this book so much. I love time travel, fantasy and ancient times. I just couldn't get into the book, the dialogue seemed off for me and I'm not going to force myself to read even though I bought the book. I took a break and read something else thinking I would come back to it and now I'm 6 books past, I don't think I'm coming back.
I wanted to like this book so much. I love time travel, fantasy and ancient times. I just couldn't get into the book, the dialogue seemed off for me and I'm not going to force myself to read even though I bought the book. I took a break and read something else thinking I would come back to it and now I'm 6 books past, I don't think I'm coming back.
November 28, 2023
I can’t - DNF
I could not power through the writing style. I’m not the best at describing what I’m thinking or feeling but this book, It’s very flat and rudimentary. It makes it hard to connect with the characters and story. I skimmed further into the book and it doesn’t seem to improve.
I could not power through the writing style. I’m not the best at describing what I’m thinking or feeling but this book, It’s very flat and rudimentary. It makes it hard to connect with the characters and story. I skimmed further into the book and it doesn’t seem to improve.
Did not finish
December 29, 2024i just can’t do it. it feels like it’s written by a child. there was no character development whatsoever, no world building, and i hate the fmc. like girly pop just found out she has the power to time travel and immediately gets sent to ancient Rome and doesn’t seemed phased at all. oh, and she can also immediately understand them even though they are speaking a language she barely knows. honestly, the best part of what i read (about 35% of it) was the line, “Roman continued talking in a tone that was as dead as his friend.” i’ll just leave it at that.
April 26, 2023
I enjoyed this book! It was a super quick read and the action and the world building was so interesting! I really liked the time travel aspect sooo much more than o thought I would have! I love Roman, like seriously adore him — and Olivia have me serious feyre mixed with Nesta vibes in the best way 😂
I loved the plot and the action, it was so so well written and you could really imagine what was happening!
The only reason it’s not 5 stars is because the exclamation point (!) was used a lot, so those sentences felt more suited to a YA story than NA. But that really was not a bad thing at all!
Over all this was suchhh a wonderful story and it was such a quick read and the CLIFFHANGER!!! I need book 2 now 😂
I loved the plot and the action, it was so so well written and you could really imagine what was happening!
The only reason it’s not 5 stars is because the exclamation point (!) was used a lot, so those sentences felt more suited to a YA story than NA. But that really was not a bad thing at all!
Over all this was suchhh a wonderful story and it was such a quick read and the CLIFFHANGER!!! I need book 2 now 😂
January 19, 2025
The idea is cool,the reality is a little lacking.
April 27, 2025
Thank you Sunny Babe PR and Sara Samuel’s for the opportunity to read the TimeBorne ARC. I loved it, time travel? hot gladiators? Bada** FMC? Enemies to lovers? Sign me up. We meet Olivia who finds out she was born to be able to time travel, she didn’t think it was true until her world turned upside down. Betrayed and then thrown back in time to Rome, Olivia needs to survive and figure out how the heck she is getting home. Que Roman(hot gladiator)… Roman is kind, has his own trauma and only wants to help Olivia. He deals with Olivia with grace when she doesn’t deserve it. He also has his own secrets and it threw me for a loop. This book was so much fun plus the found family aspect was done so well. I loved seeing Olivia work through the trauma and grow. Roman also working through his issues and then for it to end the way it did.. man book 2 is calling my name.
October 22, 2024
This book was very captivating from beginning to end. Sara did an amazing Job really making our MFC become not only relatable but a complete badass!
The love interest was beautiful I really did enjoy how she introduced that to use throughout the book.
The cliffhanger was something I least expected! I cannot wait to read the second book!
I was selected for and ARC read, my opinions are my own.
The love interest was beautiful I really did enjoy how she introduced that to use throughout the book.
The cliffhanger was something I least expected! I cannot wait to read the second book!
I was selected for and ARC read, my opinions are my own.
Read
April 18, 2023I’m not giving this book a star rating because I happen to be friends with the author on bookstagram. And I just didn’t feel like I could give an unbiased opinion because she’s so awesome. But what I can do is give you an idea of what you have in story for you if you read Timeborne.
Action— holy hell but this book is nonstop action. I mean, there is literally no slow part to this story. Which means that once you start this, you will be in store for a wild ride.
Surprises— while there is non-stop action, there are also several surprises, which is definitely something I really appreciate. There’s nothing worse than a story that’s nothing but predictable.
Drama— along with the action and surprise, it feels like there is drama around every corner. And it’s also part of what keeps you on your feet. Sara isn’t afraid to kill one character and put another through the ringer.
Time travel— I’m gonna be honest, I don’t always love the time travel trope. This is a personal opinion and no reflection on the book. Sometimes I feel like the time travel component can get very confusing for not only the reader but also the author. With that said, I did enjoy the setting of Ancient Rome, which is where Olivia travels to.
Romance— will I even read a book if there’s no romance? I mean, yeah. I will. But I like them more when there’s a romance. And this one comes complete with a couple of steamy, open door scenes.
Cliffhanger— that’s right guys. This one ends with a big cliffhanger. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about the ramifications of that ending. Which will be revealed with the release of book 2 in August.
All in all, if any of these things sound enjoyable to you, you should check out Sara’s debut. A big congrats to her for releasing this! And also a thank you for sending me the ARC.
Action— holy hell but this book is nonstop action. I mean, there is literally no slow part to this story. Which means that once you start this, you will be in store for a wild ride.
Surprises— while there is non-stop action, there are also several surprises, which is definitely something I really appreciate. There’s nothing worse than a story that’s nothing but predictable.
Drama— along with the action and surprise, it feels like there is drama around every corner. And it’s also part of what keeps you on your feet. Sara isn’t afraid to kill one character and put another through the ringer.
Time travel— I’m gonna be honest, I don’t always love the time travel trope. This is a personal opinion and no reflection on the book. Sometimes I feel like the time travel component can get very confusing for not only the reader but also the author. With that said, I did enjoy the setting of Ancient Rome, which is where Olivia travels to.
Romance— will I even read a book if there’s no romance? I mean, yeah. I will. But I like them more when there’s a romance. And this one comes complete with a couple of steamy, open door scenes.
Cliffhanger— that’s right guys. This one ends with a big cliffhanger. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about the ramifications of that ending. Which will be revealed with the release of book 2 in August.
All in all, if any of these things sound enjoyable to you, you should check out Sara’s debut. A big congrats to her for releasing this! And also a thank you for sending me the ARC.
June 18, 2024
DNF @ 62%
I’m sorry but I couldn’t take the dialogue and the writing anymore. There were times I was laughing so hard from it, that I forget it was to be serious moment.
There was seriously nothing to these characters and they had absolutely no chemistry. The moment they spilled their secrets to each other (mind you also a laughable moment), they instantly were in love.
The writing was not much better than the portrayal of these characters, and everything was so cringy.
The audiobook is a duet, which is my favorite type. However the male voice was so flat, with no tone, it just made every cringe moment that much more cringey. The female narrator was good though!
I’m sorry but I couldn’t take the dialogue and the writing anymore. There were times I was laughing so hard from it, that I forget it was to be serious moment.
There was seriously nothing to these characters and they had absolutely no chemistry. The moment they spilled their secrets to each other (mind you also a laughable moment), they instantly were in love.
The writing was not much better than the portrayal of these characters, and everything was so cringy.
The audiobook is a duet, which is my favorite type. However the male voice was so flat, with no tone, it just made every cringe moment that much more cringey. The female narrator was good though!
July 13, 2023
DNF at 60%. I tried, I really tried to finish it but it just really was not for me. This is probably the mildest form of Enemies to Lovers I've come across and the instalove is just not for me at all. I did a lot of eye rolling and Olivia and Romans interactions. The dialogue is really awkward at times and the internal monologues are totally overused and unnecessary. It wasn't even worth holding out long enough for the spice.
December 15, 2023
This book was amazing! I loved the plot and how fast-paced it was. I can't wait for the next one! I'm gonna buy it! We looooove Roman😍😍
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