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Ashes Through the Hourglass
Tormented by his sister's death, Mason Winward pursues vengeance until a stranger pulls him from the brink.
Guided by the man, Mason rebuilds his life. And then, without warning, the stranger vanishes.
Years later, Mason and his best friend stumble across the impossible: a doorway into the past. Together, they dedicate their lives to travelling back in time and rescuing children from the brink of irreversible despair, becoming pioneers of a new kind of salvation.
Until one of Mason's early patients murders the man who killed his sister.
Now Mason must wrestle with fate, choice, and consequence. How much of history can be changed, and at what cost? And hidden somewhere in time lies the answer to the question that has haunted him for decades: what became of the man who once saved him?
Ashes Through the Hourglass is a darkly funny and heart-wrenching story about grief, memory, second chances, and the fragile magic of being human.
Guided by the man, Mason rebuilds his life. And then, without warning, the stranger vanishes.
Years later, Mason and his best friend stumble across the impossible: a doorway into the past. Together, they dedicate their lives to travelling back in time and rescuing children from the brink of irreversible despair, becoming pioneers of a new kind of salvation.
Until one of Mason's early patients murders the man who killed his sister.
Now Mason must wrestle with fate, choice, and consequence. How much of history can be changed, and at what cost? And hidden somewhere in time lies the answer to the question that has haunted him for decades: what became of the man who once saved him?
Ashes Through the Hourglass is a darkly funny and heart-wrenching story about grief, memory, second chances, and the fragile magic of being human.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2026
About the author
Danny Lenihan
8 books20 followersDanny Lenihan is a British author, former international press photographer, and stand-up comedian. After a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1993, he rebuilt his life on grit, wit, and storytelling—touring globally for over a decade, appearing on BBC radio, television, and in multiple films, and contributing to publications from national newspapers to Rufus Hound’s hilarious anthology of live comedy; Stand Up Put Downs.
Danny is the founder of the design brand 3 Legged Thing, and currently splits his time between writing speculative and science fiction novels, designing creative tools, and hosting the comedy podcast "Faces for Radio".
He composed the original score for British director Pat Higgins’ debut horror film TrashHouse, and continues to write across multiple formats including novels, short stories, film, and television. His debut novel Rogue (2021) and its follow-up Enemy (2024) have both seen strong critical and commercial success.
He lives in Northamptonshire with his partner, four children, two dogs, one cat, and two vacuum cleaners.
Danny is the founder of the design brand 3 Legged Thing, and currently splits his time between writing speculative and science fiction novels, designing creative tools, and hosting the comedy podcast "Faces for Radio".
He composed the original score for British director Pat Higgins’ debut horror film TrashHouse, and continues to write across multiple formats including novels, short stories, film, and television. His debut novel Rogue (2021) and its follow-up Enemy (2024) have both seen strong critical and commercial success.
He lives in Northamptonshire with his partner, four children, two dogs, one cat, and two vacuum cleaners.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 30, 2026
This book was such a unique storyline. I don’t read a lot of time travel books but I loved how this one was executed. I loved how they used the time travel ability for good and help those at a pivotal time in their lives. Most people would not use such a unique discovery to help so many others and I think would focus on themselves so it was touching to see their plan play out. Especially the ending, I don’t want to spoil it, but such a beautiful way to tie up the story.
The foul language was a bit much at times, so if that bothers you be aware. The beginning when they were setting up the hourglass and making the rules and all the “sciencey” stuff was a bit confusing and I’m still not sure I understood all of their rules and how it worked, but once the story carried on it didn’t matter too much.
Overall very well done, well executed plot, and great character development. If you like time travel, sci fi type books I definitely would recommend this one!
The foul language was a bit much at times, so if that bothers you be aware. The beginning when they were setting up the hourglass and making the rules and all the “sciencey” stuff was a bit confusing and I’m still not sure I understood all of their rules and how it worked, but once the story carried on it didn’t matter too much.
Overall very well done, well executed plot, and great character development. If you like time travel, sci fi type books I definitely would recommend this one!
June 2, 2026
Incredible. 6 star read. God tiered.
I’m a fantasy reader, and when I came upon this lovely individual in my Threads post who offered me his ARC, I humbly accepted. I had no idea what I was in for. I thought maybe I’d find it interesting, or enjoyable at most. But what I didn’t expect was to sob by the end of the book.
I knew what general trajectory the story was; to me one of the twists was made quite apparent, but truthfully, I wasn’t put off by it at all. My need to know how the rest of the book was going to play out drove me to continue, and I’m so SO glad I did.
For a while, the story unfolds with smaller stories within the story, and—because I’m so impatient—really just wanted to know how it all clicked together. Well, I remained patient, and payoff was absolutely worth it.
Where you think revenge or “undoing the tragedy” would be the goal, it isn’t, and I’m glad it isn’t. Because some tragedies do need to happen. Dominoes need to fall into place for the rest of the world to make sense, as awful as they may be.
This book expertly explores emotional damage as a byproduct of consequence, inserts the perfect amount of humour, while delivering a concept that’s difficult to grasp in a way that’s palatable and digestible.
Praise be to this book, honestly.
And if you’re into anime/videogames and you like Steins;Gate, 13 Sentinels, Erased, or Re:Zero, this one’s for you.
I’m a fantasy reader, and when I came upon this lovely individual in my Threads post who offered me his ARC, I humbly accepted. I had no idea what I was in for. I thought maybe I’d find it interesting, or enjoyable at most. But what I didn’t expect was to sob by the end of the book.
I knew what general trajectory the story was; to me one of the twists was made quite apparent, but truthfully, I wasn’t put off by it at all. My need to know how the rest of the book was going to play out drove me to continue, and I’m so SO glad I did.
For a while, the story unfolds with smaller stories within the story, and—because I’m so impatient—really just wanted to know how it all clicked together. Well, I remained patient, and payoff was absolutely worth it.
Where you think revenge or “undoing the tragedy” would be the goal, it isn’t, and I’m glad it isn’t. Because some tragedies do need to happen. Dominoes need to fall into place for the rest of the world to make sense, as awful as they may be.
This book expertly explores emotional damage as a byproduct of consequence, inserts the perfect amount of humour, while delivering a concept that’s difficult to grasp in a way that’s palatable and digestible.
Praise be to this book, honestly.
And if you’re into anime/videogames and you like Steins;Gate, 13 Sentinels, Erased, or Re:Zero, this one’s for you.
June 23, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I do love a bit of mystery in my books, so this was right up my alley. Plus it has the whole sci-fi side of it that made it more enjoyable.
Past all the technical / scientific aspects of the story, we have these characters that blend really well together and developed nicely with their story. It does deal with a lot of grief and difficult subjects throughout, but it’s done tastefully with its counterpart in humor.
This is my first book from the author, and I do hope I can read more from him soon!
Past all the technical / scientific aspects of the story, we have these characters that blend really well together and developed nicely with their story. It does deal with a lot of grief and difficult subjects throughout, but it’s done tastefully with its counterpart in humor.
This is my first book from the author, and I do hope I can read more from him soon!
June 28, 2026
There are no good and bad choices, only choices. If there would be one sentence that would embodies what this book means to me it would be this.
Ashes Through the Hourglass was very kindly sent to me by Danny Lenihan and Big Thinking Publishing. The premise seemed intriguing so I jumped into it when the time was right. I wasn't expecting anything. I was not thinking it will be extraordinary neither that it will be horrendous. If I'm having a fun time that's all I want from a book. Especially, if it belongs to a psychological thriller, sci-fi-ish genre. Excitement, action and fun. Little bit of emotional depth cannot hurt anyone and hopefully, the characters are sympathetic. That's all I need.
I can say with confidence that my shopping list was ticked through and through and there are even some extra snacks in there for me. A truly well-crafted, emotionally intelligent and respectful book about grief, mental health issues, trauma, abuse, bullying, neglecting and honestly, the list can go on (it may be triggering for some readers, especially because most of these themes are associated with young people and children, so be mindful of that), while gives you a prepared little package of time-travelling and its consequences. It does multiple things at once, which also can be a weak point at times, as certain things obviously will just not have enough 'page-time' to truly flourish.
The book has 388 pages, a nice medium length novel, with an also medium paced plot. I would say it’s a blend of character and plot driven narrative. The genre is the child of psychological thriller and speculative sci-fi, which I think it’s a fair categorisation. It also has a hint of dark humour in it, which landed quite nicely multiple times.
I think the main character, Mason is absolutely loveable. Has huge respect for people not just children from different class and sociological background, while also being just and firm about individuals that are harmful. It's a very hard balance, especially, when the bullies are also young people so you are not sure if they should be harshly punished for their behaviour, but the author managed to be fair and didn't go overboard on either side of the spectrum of being too kind or too harsh.
As an older sister to a younger brother, we have six years between us, I’m super grateful to the author for not making the story the other way around. I could not have been able to deal with that.
Well written, with strong prose standing on firm legs of description, easy to follow dialogues and even being humorous at times. Which inserts little air bubbles into the story, little pause times to breath and calm my nerve system down after reading about a harder case.
There were no boring pages at all for me. Sometimes I felt like we are talking too much about certain aspects of the time travelling machine, but hey, another part of me was very excited to deep dive. I had a little fight with the reader/dreamer part of my brain and the logical/data loving part. We are all good now and everything is fine.
The pacing was a strong medium I would say. I wasn’t always sure about the direction, as to where the author wanted to go with the story, but I knew where I wanted the story to go as a reader. Eventually, turns out we both thought the same thing, so hurray
I loved the friendship between Alex and Mason. I also have a best friend, whom I ‘m quite close with, more like sisters, really. So it was lovely to read about a strong and close relationship like that.
A separate shout-out for the detail and research that probably went into the idea, of time travel and its consequences. Starting from the basic methodology and theoretical background, the setup of the machine, to the most detailed concepts of not being able to wear certain clothes as in the past (obviously, depending how far back we are), those clothes or models wouldn’t have existed yet. To come up with a moral codex, go through with the reader hand-in-hand what can go wrong and why. You could tell that was a lot of love and work put into this book.
I always love books, where music and movies are mentioned as I can go down to a completely new rabbit hole thanks to that. I don’t want to spoil it here though, but nice touch. Also, makes the novel very personal, and an author letting you in to their world this close is I think is very appreciative. Makes the reader, me, think that I’m worth the trust. I think lot of the books don’t reach readers because somehow the writer doesn’t let the readers close either to themselves or to their characters. And that distance is palpable and the reader will feel it, especially, if it's mainly a character driven story. I can go on a full-length post about this, but Ashes Through the Hourglass did not have a problem with that, what’s more we can even argue that the reader got too close at certain times.
Sometimes the strongest aspect can be too much. This is what I felt, with certain dialogues between Alex and Mason. Especially, when they were drunk. But! Since regular people, and even more likely close friends are also probably quite annoying to listen to when they are drunk, we can say that the writer was actually, just being authentic towards the characters.
I wished there would’ve been more time spent with the kids, so the reader would get to know them better. Some cases felt a bit rushed. And simply, because as I mentioned before, the book does so many things at once, there is literally not enough pages and reading-time to go deeper into certain characters, but I would have loved to get to know some of them a little bit better.
Overall, The More the Merrier
It was a very good book and it made me curious about other novels written by Dany Lenihan as well, so I might get some more titles in the future. I appreciate the writing style and the effort that he puts into his craft and more than anything, the chance for us readers to get close to his characters inner worlds. It has a good balance of being technical and geek about sci-fi and time travel and also being character-driven, deeply emotional and introspective.
Finally, maybe someone needs to hear this: There are no good and bad choices. Only choices. Don’t get tangled in the nets of indecisiveness for the sake of making the perfect choice. We only live once, life goes on.
For the full review and more bookish posts, jump to my website: https://nolitethoughts.co.uk/book-rev...
Ashes Through the Hourglass was very kindly sent to me by Danny Lenihan and Big Thinking Publishing. The premise seemed intriguing so I jumped into it when the time was right. I wasn't expecting anything. I was not thinking it will be extraordinary neither that it will be horrendous. If I'm having a fun time that's all I want from a book. Especially, if it belongs to a psychological thriller, sci-fi-ish genre. Excitement, action and fun. Little bit of emotional depth cannot hurt anyone and hopefully, the characters are sympathetic. That's all I need.
I can say with confidence that my shopping list was ticked through and through and there are even some extra snacks in there for me. A truly well-crafted, emotionally intelligent and respectful book about grief, mental health issues, trauma, abuse, bullying, neglecting and honestly, the list can go on (it may be triggering for some readers, especially because most of these themes are associated with young people and children, so be mindful of that), while gives you a prepared little package of time-travelling and its consequences. It does multiple things at once, which also can be a weak point at times, as certain things obviously will just not have enough 'page-time' to truly flourish.
The book has 388 pages, a nice medium length novel, with an also medium paced plot. I would say it’s a blend of character and plot driven narrative. The genre is the child of psychological thriller and speculative sci-fi, which I think it’s a fair categorisation. It also has a hint of dark humour in it, which landed quite nicely multiple times.
I think the main character, Mason is absolutely loveable. Has huge respect for people not just children from different class and sociological background, while also being just and firm about individuals that are harmful. It's a very hard balance, especially, when the bullies are also young people so you are not sure if they should be harshly punished for their behaviour, but the author managed to be fair and didn't go overboard on either side of the spectrum of being too kind or too harsh.
As an older sister to a younger brother, we have six years between us, I’m super grateful to the author for not making the story the other way around. I could not have been able to deal with that.
Well written, with strong prose standing on firm legs of description, easy to follow dialogues and even being humorous at times. Which inserts little air bubbles into the story, little pause times to breath and calm my nerve system down after reading about a harder case.
There were no boring pages at all for me. Sometimes I felt like we are talking too much about certain aspects of the time travelling machine, but hey, another part of me was very excited to deep dive. I had a little fight with the reader/dreamer part of my brain and the logical/data loving part. We are all good now and everything is fine.
The pacing was a strong medium I would say. I wasn’t always sure about the direction, as to where the author wanted to go with the story, but I knew where I wanted the story to go as a reader. Eventually, turns out we both thought the same thing, so hurray
I loved the friendship between Alex and Mason. I also have a best friend, whom I ‘m quite close with, more like sisters, really. So it was lovely to read about a strong and close relationship like that.
A separate shout-out for the detail and research that probably went into the idea, of time travel and its consequences. Starting from the basic methodology and theoretical background, the setup of the machine, to the most detailed concepts of not being able to wear certain clothes as in the past (obviously, depending how far back we are), those clothes or models wouldn’t have existed yet. To come up with a moral codex, go through with the reader hand-in-hand what can go wrong and why. You could tell that was a lot of love and work put into this book.
I always love books, where music and movies are mentioned as I can go down to a completely new rabbit hole thanks to that. I don’t want to spoil it here though, but nice touch. Also, makes the novel very personal, and an author letting you in to their world this close is I think is very appreciative. Makes the reader, me, think that I’m worth the trust. I think lot of the books don’t reach readers because somehow the writer doesn’t let the readers close either to themselves or to their characters. And that distance is palpable and the reader will feel it, especially, if it's mainly a character driven story. I can go on a full-length post about this, but Ashes Through the Hourglass did not have a problem with that, what’s more we can even argue that the reader got too close at certain times.
Sometimes the strongest aspect can be too much. This is what I felt, with certain dialogues between Alex and Mason. Especially, when they were drunk. But! Since regular people, and even more likely close friends are also probably quite annoying to listen to when they are drunk, we can say that the writer was actually, just being authentic towards the characters.
I wished there would’ve been more time spent with the kids, so the reader would get to know them better. Some cases felt a bit rushed. And simply, because as I mentioned before, the book does so many things at once, there is literally not enough pages and reading-time to go deeper into certain characters, but I would have loved to get to know some of them a little bit better.
Overall, The More the Merrier
It was a very good book and it made me curious about other novels written by Dany Lenihan as well, so I might get some more titles in the future. I appreciate the writing style and the effort that he puts into his craft and more than anything, the chance for us readers to get close to his characters inner worlds. It has a good balance of being technical and geek about sci-fi and time travel and also being character-driven, deeply emotional and introspective.
Finally, maybe someone needs to hear this: There are no good and bad choices. Only choices. Don’t get tangled in the nets of indecisiveness for the sake of making the perfect choice. We only live once, life goes on.
For the full review and more bookish posts, jump to my website: https://nolitethoughts.co.uk/book-rev...
June 4, 2026
Tjis was a rollercoaster of emotion and I loved learning all about Mason.
His trauma and grief were so impactful on his life, watching him derail his future and his life fall apart around him at such a young age was heartbreaking. Meeting "Fagin" and going through his counselling were the lynchpins on which his later successes were built.
Mason's life and work and collaboration with his uni friend all lead towards the manufacture of the hourglass and how it impacts the many periods of his life and the effect, good or bad, it had on him.
The grief and anger, the guilt of being left behind and the intense need for justice really came alive on the page and I found myself nearing tears several times.
Highly descriptive but not slow in pacing. But neither does it go so fast that you lose focus.
**I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and this is my honest and voluntary review****
His trauma and grief were so impactful on his life, watching him derail his future and his life fall apart around him at such a young age was heartbreaking. Meeting "Fagin" and going through his counselling were the lynchpins on which his later successes were built.
Mason's life and work and collaboration with his uni friend all lead towards the manufacture of the hourglass and how it impacts the many periods of his life and the effect, good or bad, it had on him.
The grief and anger, the guilt of being left behind and the intense need for justice really came alive on the page and I found myself nearing tears several times.
Highly descriptive but not slow in pacing. But neither does it go so fast that you lose focus.
**I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and this is my honest and voluntary review****
Review of advance copy
Grief motivates the main character to vengeance, in this time travel tale set in Chessington, but before vengeance is wrought, the young boy in question is diverted and is helped by a stranger on to a different path. This one interaction sets in motion a lifelong task for helping other youngsters. Diverting them on to more positive courses in this time travel romp
An enjoyable tale with some obvious twists, only let down by some of the laddish banter between the main protagonist and his friend which garnered eyerolls a plenty from me, but the idea at the heart was appealing kept me reading.
An enjoyable tale with some obvious twists, only let down by some of the laddish banter between the main protagonist and his friend which garnered eyerolls a plenty from me, but the idea at the heart was appealing kept me reading.
June 3, 2026
Ashes Through the Hourglass by Danny Lenihan is remarkable. If you're going to read anything this year, it needs to be this book. If you read and enjoyed Dark Matter by Blake Crouch this will be an instant favorite. It was the perfect blend of sci-fi and psychological thriller. I could feel the heaviness of the grief, but also found myself chuckling at the banter. I look forward to reading more from this author!
Review of advance copy
I've been on a steady reading binge of late, and almost all of them were either work related text or witches, outlaws, and other supernatural outsiders. I tend to gravitate toward books that make me think, and this one did. At first the UK spelling and vernacular took me back to undergraduate lit courses or binge watching Britbox. I loved it.
Ashes Through the Hourglass follows Mason Winward across multiple stages of his life, beginning in the aftermath of a devastating family loss that leaves him struggling with grief, anger, and a sense of direction. What unfolds is not just Mason's story, but the story of the people whose lives intersect with his over the years. By the end, it becomes clear this is ultimately a story about resilience, purpose, and the legacy we leave behind, often without realizing it.
Lenihan's writing has a heavy and immersive voice to it that feels authentic rather than formulaic. I found myself more invested in the characters' personal journeys than in reaching the next plot point. Ashes Through the Hour Glass comes across as emotionally driven, and pushes the boundaries on grief and the lingering trauma of past experiences. The descriptions are vivid (see "the accident"), almost painfully so at times. It also leans heavy into introspection. However, don't come here expecting a fast-paced read. It's not that kind of book. But if you enjoy character-focused storytelling with emotional depth, then it will appeal to you. Overall, it's a well-written and thoughtful piece that prioritizes emotion and perspective over plot speed. If you are a reader who doesn't mind sitting in this intense space for a while, it will resonate with you.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ashes Through the Hourglass follows Mason Winward across multiple stages of his life, beginning in the aftermath of a devastating family loss that leaves him struggling with grief, anger, and a sense of direction. What unfolds is not just Mason's story, but the story of the people whose lives intersect with his over the years. By the end, it becomes clear this is ultimately a story about resilience, purpose, and the legacy we leave behind, often without realizing it.
Lenihan's writing has a heavy and immersive voice to it that feels authentic rather than formulaic. I found myself more invested in the characters' personal journeys than in reaching the next plot point. Ashes Through the Hour Glass comes across as emotionally driven, and pushes the boundaries on grief and the lingering trauma of past experiences. The descriptions are vivid (see "the accident"), almost painfully so at times. It also leans heavy into introspection. However, don't come here expecting a fast-paced read. It's not that kind of book. But if you enjoy character-focused storytelling with emotional depth, then it will appeal to you. Overall, it's a well-written and thoughtful piece that prioritizes emotion and perspective over plot speed. If you are a reader who doesn't mind sitting in this intense space for a while, it will resonate with you.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
✨️⏳️✨️ Update - Review⏳️✨️
Ashes Through the Hourglass by Danny Lenihan is one of my top reads of this first half of 2026.
From the moment I finished the prologue I knew I was going to enjoy this book. The mentions of grief - letting it out and Mason (MMC) letting us know that this is his story and he only had a year left to live - oh man, I knew I was in for an emotional ride.
Everything from the characters to the unique way Lenihan blended dark humor, emotional turmoil dealing with grief, hope and healing with time-travel is absolutely brilliant. The relationships in this book - friendship, professional and personal all tie in and add to the story and message that Lenihan was trying to convey.
I dont want to give any spoilers but I will say this: If you have not yet read a book by Danny Lenihan, then let Ashes Through The Hourglass be the first. You wont regret it! I highly recommend this novel and hope everyone reads it.
Thank you to the author, Danny Lenihan for reaching out personally and offering, to me, this copy of Ashes Through The Hourglass in exchange for a honest review.
#AshesThroughTheHourglass
#DannyLenihan
#Booksprout
✨️⏳️Review to come⏳️✨️
It is 1:13am, I literally just finished this book. I am speechless. . .
I'm going to post my review after I get some sleep.
Ashes Through the Hourglass by Danny Lenihan is one of my top reads of this first half of 2026.
From the moment I finished the prologue I knew I was going to enjoy this book. The mentions of grief - letting it out and Mason (MMC) letting us know that this is his story and he only had a year left to live - oh man, I knew I was in for an emotional ride.
Everything from the characters to the unique way Lenihan blended dark humor, emotional turmoil dealing with grief, hope and healing with time-travel is absolutely brilliant. The relationships in this book - friendship, professional and personal all tie in and add to the story and message that Lenihan was trying to convey.
I dont want to give any spoilers but I will say this: If you have not yet read a book by Danny Lenihan, then let Ashes Through The Hourglass be the first. You wont regret it! I highly recommend this novel and hope everyone reads it.
Thank you to the author, Danny Lenihan for reaching out personally and offering, to me, this copy of Ashes Through The Hourglass in exchange for a honest review.
#AshesThroughTheHourglass
#DannyLenihan
#Booksprout
✨️⏳️Review to come⏳️✨️
It is 1:13am, I literally just finished this book. I am speechless. . .
I'm going to post my review after I get some sleep.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received this in exchange for a honest review, first book by this author and it was pretty good, enough to make me check out what else they have written, love a good find.
This was time travel, grief and second chances, Mason's sister was taken from him brutally and blinded by rage and vegence he almost ruined his life but was stopped at the last second.
Years later he finds a doorway to the Past so he goes back and rescues kids, kind of like how he was rescued by a stranger at the last second, that fork in the road that can forever change your life..
One of the rescued later murders the person who killed his sister and he has to struggle with that, I can't imagine how that felt, knowing you stopped, saved someone and only for it to still end up here at this point in time?
This book was a bit of a slow burn but in a good way, the character building and world were excellent and real had you invested in everything including Mason's journey and struggle, his grief and trying to make something negative into something to make the world a bit better..
This was time travel, grief and second chances, Mason's sister was taken from him brutally and blinded by rage and vegence he almost ruined his life but was stopped at the last second.
Years later he finds a doorway to the Past so he goes back and rescues kids, kind of like how he was rescued by a stranger at the last second, that fork in the road that can forever change your life..
One of the rescued later murders the person who killed his sister and he has to struggle with that, I can't imagine how that felt, knowing you stopped, saved someone and only for it to still end up here at this point in time?
This book was a bit of a slow burn but in a good way, the character building and world were excellent and real had you invested in everything including Mason's journey and struggle, his grief and trying to make something negative into something to make the world a bit better..
Review of advance copy received from Author
I enjoyed this thoughtful and emotionally layered time travel novel. It is immersive and descriptive, making it easy to visualize scenes and feel drawn into the story’s atmosphere. Beyond the speculative elements, there is a reflective and emotional quality to the storytelling that gave the novel depth.
While I found some plot developments somewhat predictable, the emotional core of the story and the author’s introspective approach kept me engaged and wanting to see how everything unfolded.
Readers who enjoy character driven stories, time travel stories, detailed storytelling, and emotionally reflective speculative fiction may find a lot to appreciate here.
Thank you Danny Lenihan for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
While I found some plot developments somewhat predictable, the emotional core of the story and the author’s introspective approach kept me engaged and wanting to see how everything unfolded.
Readers who enjoy character driven stories, time travel stories, detailed storytelling, and emotionally reflective speculative fiction may find a lot to appreciate here.
Thank you Danny Lenihan for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Embarking on a new novel by Danny Lenihan is a bit like being strapped inside a rocket to the dark side of the moon but then upon take-off you learn that it is now heading for destination: unknown.
Beware! Expect the unexpected all ye who enter here.
Danny Lenihan uses his own special brand of fiction to trace the dark undercurrents of what it means to be human. This is a deeply affecting and unsettling story that haunts one like a ghost long after the last page has been turned. Only a standout, hugely talented writer could have pulled this off.
The plot is fantastical but still all too real and relevant. It is a treasure chest of moments from the recent past destined to rewrite the present. It is full of darkness, but also an abundance of wit.
If you only read one novel this year make it this one.
Beware! Expect the unexpected all ye who enter here.
Danny Lenihan uses his own special brand of fiction to trace the dark undercurrents of what it means to be human. This is a deeply affecting and unsettling story that haunts one like a ghost long after the last page has been turned. Only a standout, hugely talented writer could have pulled this off.
The plot is fantastical but still all too real and relevant. It is a treasure chest of moments from the recent past destined to rewrite the present. It is full of darkness, but also an abundance of wit.
If you only read one novel this year make it this one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is one of those stories that makes the reader wonder. How did I not see where this story would end up? Or did I see it? I suspected at one point early on, but then let it go as I read on because there was 'just no way' I could possibly be seeing it.
One person decided to change the world (of a few people - not the entire thing) because of someone who taught him to see tragedy as a gift.
In essence, this book is about forgiveness. Of self and of others. It's about allowing yourself to feel the hurt and the anger, and allowing yourself the grace to let it go. But also to allow it to change you, to become the person you're supposed to be.
The way Mason grows throughout this story is beautifully done. I enjoyed every page!
One person decided to change the world (of a few people - not the entire thing) because of someone who taught him to see tragedy as a gift.
In essence, this book is about forgiveness. Of self and of others. It's about allowing yourself to feel the hurt and the anger, and allowing yourself the grace to let it go. But also to allow it to change you, to become the person you're supposed to be.
The way Mason grows throughout this story is beautifully done. I enjoyed every page!
June 8, 2026
A haunting time‑travel grief horror that blends memory, consequence, and second chances into one emotionally heavy narrative. The story unfolds through smaller stories nested inside the larger arc, each piece revealing another layer of pain, regret, or hope until the full picture finally clicks into place.
It’s a book about emotional damage — not as a dramatic twist, but as the natural fallout of choices, mistakes, and the people we love. The dark humour cuts through the heaviness in sharp, unexpected ways, giving the story a unique tone that feels both bleak and strangely warm. A reflective, unsettling, and deeply human take on how time shapes us, breaks us, and sometimes offers one last chance to make things right.
It’s a book about emotional damage — not as a dramatic twist, but as the natural fallout of choices, mistakes, and the people we love. The dark humour cuts through the heaviness in sharp, unexpected ways, giving the story a unique tone that feels both bleak and strangely warm. A reflective, unsettling, and deeply human take on how time shapes us, breaks us, and sometimes offers one last chance to make things right.
June 10, 2026
I’m not a fan of time travel, per se, even well-crafted ones like this. I completed a read-through, so I was clearly entertained and became invested in the development of the main characters and in the author’s plot twists and turns. Some - but not all - of the latter were predictable. There is also a depth to the book over and above the outline story i.e. the time travel. In abundance, we have anguish, loss, guilt, moral dilemma etc. but also humour, science, friendship and attempts to justify the complexities that life/death/moral hazard can throw up. Overall then, I can recommend this book and I will follow the author’s other offerings.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I've just finished another amazing book - Ashes through the hourglass - that's left me with both laughter and tears in my mind.
It's a book about grief, starting over, friendship and wanting to change the future to the better. The only bad thing about the book is that it ends to soon.
This book has great potential as a tvshow and with great potential I mean please do it now?.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It's a book about grief, starting over, friendship and wanting to change the future to the better. The only bad thing about the book is that it ends to soon.
This book has great potential as a tvshow and with great potential I mean please do it now?.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 1, 2026
This book is something else! I haven’t read a time travelling book like it before.
Danny writes so cleverly, it’s intriguing, dangerous and so caring!
Fagan comes to save Mason and Mason spends his life along with Alex saving other people, in an unusual way!
There is crime, uncertainty, love and conflict.
The book is in five stages and they flow so well, it’s engaging and I think anyone would really enjoy the premise behind this story
Danny writes so cleverly, it’s intriguing, dangerous and so caring!
Fagan comes to save Mason and Mason spends his life along with Alex saving other people, in an unusual way!
There is crime, uncertainty, love and conflict.
The book is in five stages and they flow so well, it’s engaging and I think anyone would really enjoy the premise behind this story
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was a really good read! A really well written & thought out plot, a nice mix of mystery thriller & time travel. I did like the main character, despite it being heavy in angst at moments. It was overall a really good fun read! I do recommend!
June 4, 2026
What an extremely unique book! Although mostly a psychological thriller, it was the time travel aspects of this book that really intrigued me.
I found the book to be absolutely compelling, well written and showing a vivid imagination.
I found the book to be absolutely compelling, well written and showing a vivid imagination.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A new twist on time travel, this was a good read with well detailed characters and plenty of plot twists. Danny Lenihan continues to impress.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A really novel twist on time travelling, Explores the deeper darker side of people and the consequences of their actions
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I liked the fact that it didn't resort to techno babble and that a lot of thought had gone into the plot e.g the rules of time travel that key characters used.
The most difficult thing about reviewing this book is trying to avoid ruining the plot by giving too much info away!
As an life long fan of Sci Fi, I thought it was an very enjoyable read and a worthy addition to the genre.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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I liked the fact that it didn't resort to techno babble and that a lot of thought had gone into the plot e.g the rules of time travel that key characters used.
The most difficult thing about reviewing this book is trying to avoid ruining the plot by giving too much info away!
As an life long fan of Sci Fi, I thought it was an very enjoyable read and a worthy addition to the genre.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews