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Time Out!: An Adventure in Time Travel
"Journey back in time with this imaginative read, full of laughter and the unexpected on every page." –Nancy Flinchbaugh, Revelation at the Labyrinth
"If I knew then what I know now."
Wally Stephens' tenth year high-school reunion is looming, but he's not where he hoped to be. No significant accomplishments, no love life, no future goals. Suddenly, he has the opportunity to take a time-out and go back in time six years. Romance with the woman of his dreams begins to appear possible, but first he has to deal with the humorous complications of being out of his time, as well as facing a mysterious man threatening the lives of those he has come to know.
Sometimes guided by a computer program called MyFate, but not always when he needs it, Wally discovers that his goal in going back in time may not be the real purpose behind his trip. Not only must he solve the mystery of why he was the one sent back, but he also has to figure out how to return to his own time. In time.
"If I knew then what I know now."
Wally Stephens' tenth year high-school reunion is looming, but he's not where he hoped to be. No significant accomplishments, no love life, no future goals. Suddenly, he has the opportunity to take a time-out and go back in time six years. Romance with the woman of his dreams begins to appear possible, but first he has to deal with the humorous complications of being out of his time, as well as facing a mysterious man threatening the lives of those he has come to know.
Sometimes guided by a computer program called MyFate, but not always when he needs it, Wally discovers that his goal in going back in time may not be the real purpose behind his trip. Not only must he solve the mystery of why he was the one sent back, but he also has to figure out how to return to his own time. In time.
- GenresTime Travel
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 9, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 31, 2021
Full disclosure: I received this book for free as an advanced review copy. The price I pay doesn't affect my reviews, which are honest.
Two words describe this book: Mostly harmless. (Thanks, Douglas Adams.)
The publishers description is accurate enough that I won’t repeat the plot / structure, and just make a few comments.
The story is almost, but not quite a romance novel, and almost but not quite young adult science fiction. “Not quite”, in both cases, because it lacks the young adult protagonists and supporting cast, but”almost” because it reads as pretty easy fiction with young-adult style budding romance relationships and easy storylines.
It moves at a nice, quick pace - enough that it doesn’t overstay its welcome in your annual book-reading journey. It’s a wee bit corny in how everything works out, and is wrapped up so properly at the end. The time-paradox aspects are ignored in service of storytelling, so it’s “soft sci-fi”.
It gets 3 stars according to my rating rules, which are:
-- Five stars is when you read a book to the end, put it down, take a deep breath, pick it up and start reading it all over again - or you would if you weren't so anxious to read the next book in a multi-book series. Or, it's simply one of the best books you’ve ever read, period.
-- Four stars is when you tell yourself : ”This is good, this is well-written, this is full of interesting ideas, characters and plot points”, but you know you will never read it again.
-- Three stars is when you read it to the end, put it down and proceed to forget all about it in the next instant.
-- Two stars when it's so bad that it makes you laugh, or sigh, and want to write a review, but you can't remember the name of the book or dislike it so much that you don't write it.
-- One star when you can't read past chapter 3, even as penance for your sins, and write tye review to help others avoid wasting their time.
Two words describe this book: Mostly harmless. (Thanks, Douglas Adams.)
The publishers description is accurate enough that I won’t repeat the plot / structure, and just make a few comments.
The story is almost, but not quite a romance novel, and almost but not quite young adult science fiction. “Not quite”, in both cases, because it lacks the young adult protagonists and supporting cast, but”almost” because it reads as pretty easy fiction with young-adult style budding romance relationships and easy storylines.
It moves at a nice, quick pace - enough that it doesn’t overstay its welcome in your annual book-reading journey. It’s a wee bit corny in how everything works out, and is wrapped up so properly at the end. The time-paradox aspects are ignored in service of storytelling, so it’s “soft sci-fi”.
It gets 3 stars according to my rating rules, which are:
-- Five stars is when you read a book to the end, put it down, take a deep breath, pick it up and start reading it all over again - or you would if you weren't so anxious to read the next book in a multi-book series. Or, it's simply one of the best books you’ve ever read, period.
-- Four stars is when you tell yourself : ”This is good, this is well-written, this is full of interesting ideas, characters and plot points”, but you know you will never read it again.
-- Three stars is when you read it to the end, put it down and proceed to forget all about it in the next instant.
-- Two stars when it's so bad that it makes you laugh, or sigh, and want to write a review, but you can't remember the name of the book or dislike it so much that you don't write it.
-- One star when you can't read past chapter 3, even as penance for your sins, and write tye review to help others avoid wasting their time.
August 8, 2021
Neither as bad as I had feared nor as good as I had hoped, but in the end mediocre.
There's a sub-subgenre of time travel that's about a young man going back to his earlier life to correct his mistakes, specifically to take his older self's knowledge and confidence into his earlier romantic failures (or failures to initiate romance), and this book is in that camp. Most of us, I think, have had the "if I'd known then what I know now" thoughts; it's not a highly original premise, but it's relatable. This version, at least, doesn't set out to change the timeline, and takes the protagonist to a different (later) point in his crush's life, when she's at college and his younger self is at college somewhere else. He also ends up doing something a bit more significant with the time travel than just finding love, which is good.
I do go with some trepidation into a plot that is about a young man who's a bit of a loser setting out to find love, because he's inevitably going to do so even though he realistically shouldn't. While this particular hero does show some degree of development as a person and is more or less and on the whole a decent guy, I still didn't think he rated quite so much attention from two attractive women.
What really dragged the book's rating down, though, was the ultimate lack of explanation of the time travel and who or what was behind it all. Even the supposed communications from the protagonist to himself ended up as sourceless and unexplained (the author hung a lampshade on it, but that doesn't excuse it). In the end, the time travel is a plot device which probably didn't even need to be there; I can imagine a version of this book that had essentially the same main plot, or the most important parts of it, at least, without requiring time travel at all.
I had a pre-release version from Netgalley for review, which needed quite a bit of work from a good copy editor; I hope it gets that work before publication.
There's a sub-subgenre of time travel that's about a young man going back to his earlier life to correct his mistakes, specifically to take his older self's knowledge and confidence into his earlier romantic failures (or failures to initiate romance), and this book is in that camp. Most of us, I think, have had the "if I'd known then what I know now" thoughts; it's not a highly original premise, but it's relatable. This version, at least, doesn't set out to change the timeline, and takes the protagonist to a different (later) point in his crush's life, when she's at college and his younger self is at college somewhere else. He also ends up doing something a bit more significant with the time travel than just finding love, which is good.
I do go with some trepidation into a plot that is about a young man who's a bit of a loser setting out to find love, because he's inevitably going to do so even though he realistically shouldn't. While this particular hero does show some degree of development as a person and is more or less and on the whole a decent guy, I still didn't think he rated quite so much attention from two attractive women.
What really dragged the book's rating down, though, was the ultimate lack of explanation of the time travel and who or what was behind it all. Even the supposed communications from the protagonist to himself ended up as sourceless and unexplained (the author hung a lampshade on it, but that doesn't excuse it). In the end, the time travel is a plot device which probably didn't even need to be there; I can imagine a version of this book that had essentially the same main plot, or the most important parts of it, at least, without requiring time travel at all.
I had a pre-release version from Netgalley for review, which needed quite a bit of work from a good copy editor; I hope it gets that work before publication.
September 22, 2021
The synopsis of Time Out was very interesting but the book itself wasn’t as remarkable as I was expecting it to be. The seed for a good story is there but I think there’s something lacking in the execution.
From reading what this book’s about, we can figure out that a high school reunion is coming up and Wally is stuck living an uninteresting life, until he gets an invitation to travel back in time. This is targeted as “Romance with the woman of his dreams begins to appear possible” but from what I could gather they only had a couple of interactions in high school, and she was just a crush. There was no back story to them and Wally just seemed to be this creep who chose to travel back in time to pursue a romance with a girl he used to know but didn’t speak to for about six years. Were they actually friends or people who happened to cross paths every now and then? This may be a personal preference but I was picturing this as a friends to lovers type of situation with this specific person.
As for the characters, they were very one dimensional. There was nothing exceptional about them or their personality and I found a lot of the dialogue confusing, especially with all the time travel talk.
The whole bookish, fighting criminals plot was very interesting and I think this is what gave some substance to the book. I think it was well thought and nicely tied together and should have been the main focus.
Time Out has the basis to be great and could get there with a little polishing.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Black Rose Writing
and Netgalley!
From reading what this book’s about, we can figure out that a high school reunion is coming up and Wally is stuck living an uninteresting life, until he gets an invitation to travel back in time. This is targeted as “Romance with the woman of his dreams begins to appear possible” but from what I could gather they only had a couple of interactions in high school, and she was just a crush. There was no back story to them and Wally just seemed to be this creep who chose to travel back in time to pursue a romance with a girl he used to know but didn’t speak to for about six years. Were they actually friends or people who happened to cross paths every now and then? This may be a personal preference but I was picturing this as a friends to lovers type of situation with this specific person.
As for the characters, they were very one dimensional. There was nothing exceptional about them or their personality and I found a lot of the dialogue confusing, especially with all the time travel talk.
The whole bookish, fighting criminals plot was very interesting and I think this is what gave some substance to the book. I think it was well thought and nicely tied together and should have been the main focus.
Time Out has the basis to be great and could get there with a little polishing.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Black Rose Writing
and Netgalley!
August 30, 2021
Overall Rating = 4
Storyline & Concept = 4
Writing & Delivery = 3.5
Editorial = 4.5
Wally Stephens travels back in time six years in this humorous whodunit. He believes the purpose of the trip is to get together with the girl of his dreams. However, along with meeting Cindy, the girl he had a crush on in high school, he becomes embroiled in a mystery that involves his bizarre landlady, an eccentric professor, a nosy cop, two out-of-place students, and another young woman who learns his secret and helps him catch the bad guys.
This novel had an intriguing concept and caught my interest at the start. Wally is well-developed as a character and his awkward, geeky personality is relatable. The author effectively uses humor to propel the plot through a series of twists to reach a satisfying conclusion. Of course, the subject of time travel requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but I questioned why Cindy wouldn’t recognize Wally from high school and why he had to change his identity to go back six years. However, the romantic angle was secondary to the real reason for Wally going back in time – to solve a mystery and become a hero. This was an entertaining read and would appeal to a wide audience of readers of many genres and ages.
Sublime Line: “Time Out is a humorous take on the time travel concept, combining science fiction, mystery, and romance to create an entertaining package.”
Storyline & Concept = 4
Writing & Delivery = 3.5
Editorial = 4.5
Wally Stephens travels back in time six years in this humorous whodunit. He believes the purpose of the trip is to get together with the girl of his dreams. However, along with meeting Cindy, the girl he had a crush on in high school, he becomes embroiled in a mystery that involves his bizarre landlady, an eccentric professor, a nosy cop, two out-of-place students, and another young woman who learns his secret and helps him catch the bad guys.
This novel had an intriguing concept and caught my interest at the start. Wally is well-developed as a character and his awkward, geeky personality is relatable. The author effectively uses humor to propel the plot through a series of twists to reach a satisfying conclusion. Of course, the subject of time travel requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but I questioned why Cindy wouldn’t recognize Wally from high school and why he had to change his identity to go back six years. However, the romantic angle was secondary to the real reason for Wally going back in time – to solve a mystery and become a hero. This was an entertaining read and would appeal to a wide audience of readers of many genres and ages.
Sublime Line: “Time Out is a humorous take on the time travel concept, combining science fiction, mystery, and romance to create an entertaining package.”
May 3, 2026
Wally Stephens is not looking forward to his upcoming high school reunion. However, when he is given the opportunity to travel back in time by a mysterious scientist he chooses to try to rekindle a romance with his crush from high school while she is in college. In addition to the potential romance, he must also deal with his absent-minded graduate advisor and his mercurial landlord who is holding secrets about murder and mob money.
A theme of a number of books I have read lately is that they are genre-bending stories that don't seem to fit or have an easy description. Time Out! is definitely in that category. Instead of going back to high school, Wally poses as a graduate student where his crush is going to school. What looks initially like a Back to the Future romance story, it slowly turns into a mob story involving his landlady. Time Out! is a fun, light story that is also quirky. My only complaint about it is that it sometimes feels like it's trying to be too hard to be quirky and that can get in the way of the story. Actual time travel plays a fairly minor role in the story, but it makes a fun concept. It's sci-fi lite, but still fun.
A theme of a number of books I have read lately is that they are genre-bending stories that don't seem to fit or have an easy description. Time Out! is definitely in that category. Instead of going back to high school, Wally poses as a graduate student where his crush is going to school. What looks initially like a Back to the Future romance story, it slowly turns into a mob story involving his landlady. Time Out! is a fun, light story that is also quirky. My only complaint about it is that it sometimes feels like it's trying to be too hard to be quirky and that can get in the way of the story. Actual time travel plays a fairly minor role in the story, but it makes a fun concept. It's sci-fi lite, but still fun.
March 7, 2022
I liked the book and storyline, although I might classify it for a younger reader. It was a fun read and it held my interest to find out what was going to happen next. A bit of romance and a lot of sci-fi or fantasy with some mystery thrown in. The protagonist, Wally/Drew, was a well-developed character. However, time travel back a mere 6 years seemed a bit far fetched that he was unrecognizable to his love interest, Cindy. I enjoyed the wacky Dr. McElroy, also a well-developed character.
"There is no efficient use of time. Time uses you." Good line.
"There is no efficient use of time. Time uses you." Good line.
April 2, 2026
I was pleasantly pleased to see the reviews all over the place I generally don't like time-travel books because of the paradoxes. This book avoided them. I loved the book, mostly the characters. It was a love story of sorts that didn't make me want to stick my finger down my throat. It id not have tons of sex which frequently gets boring after awhile, but didn't pretend its characters didn't have or want sex. The main character was a bit dorky, but he was supposed to be. I found that those who disliked the book clearly didn't like the same kind of boos or characters or romances that I do.
August 12, 2021
Thank you Kevin Creager, Black Rose Writing and Netgalley for the ARC.
I didn't get very far into this one, because right off something makes absolutely no sense; why would someone he knew in high school believe he was a different person, just because a few years went by? There was no mention of a face transplant. If something that nonsensical is part of this book, I know I won't be able to enjoy it.
I didn't get very far into this one, because right off something makes absolutely no sense; why would someone he knew in high school believe he was a different person, just because a few years went by? There was no mention of a face transplant. If something that nonsensical is part of this book, I know I won't be able to enjoy it.
January 11, 2022
Couldn't really relate to or root for the protagonist. He's a bit of a schlub. The prose is all over the place in his POV too. He goes on and on pontificating about snail mail but then has no time for introspection or questioning. Too much felt too forced like he was being hurried along through the setup just to get to the inciting incident. The absurdist stuff with the doctor and professor also felt forced and fell flat like they were doing a comedy bit for laughs that weren't there.
March 3, 2024
Time before time
I really enjoyed this book. It's premise is one we have all probably thought about. Namely, if we could go back in time to a particular event, with the knowledge that we have now, would things turn out they way we wanted them to do then?
Or, would the reason for going back end up being something totally different, and possibly more important?
Who knows? Only time will tell, or has it already?
I really enjoyed this book. It's premise is one we have all probably thought about. Namely, if we could go back in time to a particular event, with the knowledge that we have now, would things turn out they way we wanted them to do then?
Or, would the reason for going back end up being something totally different, and possibly more important?
Who knows? Only time will tell, or has it already?
August 12, 2021
In this often humorous time travel/mystery, Wally leaves the present, where/when he works in a bookstore (for an owner with the author’s name) to go back in time six years to meet the girl of his dreams. With the help of his laptop, he follows a path that leads to housing, a graduate assistant job, new friends, and a murder mystery. Definitely a fun read. I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.
September 16, 2021
This was a new to me author, and I am not sure if I would read any more of his stories. I almost didn’t finish this book. The book seemed so juvenile and I was not impressed with the time traveling. Don’t get me wrong I like stories with time traveling in it,it just didn’t seem to come together for me.
November 11, 2021
This was the most enjoyable book I’ve read in a while. The concept of traveling back in time only a few years works so well. The story moves along fast and never has a dull moment. This type of time travel really works. “If I knew then what I know now” works and from the beginning to the end of the book you can’t wait to find out.
January 19, 2022
Ruined by politics
The story was decent. Not great and not bad but then the author goes on a brief anti-Trump rant and I will now never finish the book or read anything else by him again. Leave your personal opinions out of your stories. It only serves to alienate readers with better political sense.
The story was decent. Not great and not bad but then the author goes on a brief anti-Trump rant and I will now never finish the book or read anything else by him again. Leave your personal opinions out of your stories. It only serves to alienate readers with better political sense.
January 20, 2022
Delightful Reading
A well written novel with a truly fascinating concept. Very few typos which, in itself, makes for a pleasurable reading experience. The plot moves at a nice, steady pace with enough twists to keep you guessing. Another nice touch is a very complete ending, clearing up any possible confusion.
A well written novel with a truly fascinating concept. Very few typos which, in itself, makes for a pleasurable reading experience. The plot moves at a nice, steady pace with enough twists to keep you guessing. Another nice touch is a very complete ending, clearing up any possible confusion.
January 30, 2022
A very enjoyable twist on a time travel tale
The story is well written, with good character development. It could use a little bit of proofreading, but the typogarphical(*) errors don’t get in the way ( unlike other books so poorly edited that I wanted a hard copy to throw across the room.)
I think you will enjoy reading this.
(*)typogarphical is intentional.
The story is well written, with good character development. It could use a little bit of proofreading, but the typogarphical(*) errors don’t get in the way ( unlike other books so poorly edited that I wanted a hard copy to throw across the room.)
I think you will enjoy reading this.
(*)typogarphical is intentional.
September 27, 2021
Time Out!
[Blurb goes here]
As far as story go, this was a very interesting one. It was a fun read. It reads as a YA novel, the story simple enough to follow and, although some of the characters are a bit two-dimensional. I had fun reading it.
Thank you for the free copy!
[Blurb goes here]
As far as story go, this was a very interesting one. It was a fun read. It reads as a YA novel, the story simple enough to follow and, although some of the characters are a bit two-dimensional. I had fun reading it.
Thank you for the free copy!
December 28, 2021
If you could change your past ….
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I am a huge fan of time travel stories where someone is unexpectedly time-shifted, and this one does not disappoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I am a huge fan of time travel stories where someone is unexpectedly time-shifted, and this one does not disappoint.
January 27, 2022
Funny
Time travel at its best. This is a look at what six years can do. It is filled with characters you'll love . The author must have been a great school psychologist because he's a great author. I loved this book and you will, too. Now I'm looking for his first book to read.
Time travel at its best. This is a look at what six years can do. It is filled with characters you'll love . The author must have been a great school psychologist because he's a great author. I loved this book and you will, too. Now I'm looking for his first book to read.
February 2, 2022
Wally is invited to go back in time to something very important to him.
Wally a bookstore manager is invited to come to a time travel meeting. Turns out he is the one going back to fix something in the past. This is a very good story and a great read..
Wally a bookstore manager is invited to come to a time travel meeting. Turns out he is the one going back to fix something in the past. This is a very good story and a great read..
February 19, 2022
A Sweet Read
Creager has crafted a delightful story involving engaging characters. The time travel part is fun and is as believable as any such story can be. I mostly read in short bursts, but with this book I found myself turning pages, enjoying the unfolding plot.
Creager has crafted a delightful story involving engaging characters. The time travel part is fun and is as believable as any such story can be. I mostly read in short bursts, but with this book I found myself turning pages, enjoying the unfolding plot.
February 25, 2022
Time Out: A Review
Fun story about a fellow who travels six years back in time, then goes "home" to meet people from that earlier era. Nice people. Not especially sexy or erotic. Characters somewhat typical of college romcoms, but offensively so.
Fun story about a fellow who travels six years back in time, then goes "home" to meet people from that earlier era. Nice people. Not especially sexy or erotic. Characters somewhat typical of college romcoms, but offensively so.
April 29, 2024
This book is okay. I did a lot of skimming for about the last quarter; I wasn't invested enough in the characters to read every detail and was having trouble finishing it, but I was so far in I didn't want to DNF.
September 15, 2021
Wacky!
This is a pleasant, mildly funny book about a guy, a chair, a crush, and time travel. I enjoyed it.
This is a pleasant, mildly funny book about a guy, a chair, a crush, and time travel. I enjoyed it.
Want to Read
September 26, 2021This is pretty good overall. Nice bits of humor here and there, and a decent story. I stayed mostly engaged and liked some of the characters a lot.
Thanks very much for the free review copy!!
Thanks very much for the free review copy!!
Read
December 2, 2021so so
January 15, 2022
Fun read
Light and witty, it doesn't even try to explain the how and why;just the story. No world saving, only a small mystery well told and fun to read.
Light and witty, it doesn't even try to explain the how and why;just the story. No world saving, only a small mystery well told and fun to read.
January 21, 2022
Creative approach to a time travel story! Effectively avoids paradox issues. Received free from Amazon.
January 24, 2022
Great time travel story
No paradoxes. No fantastic time machine requiring gigawatts of energy. No multiple locations in time. Just a great story with a hint of more to come.
No paradoxes. No fantastic time machine requiring gigawatts of energy. No multiple locations in time. Just a great story with a hint of more to come.
January 25, 2022
An engaging read -- drama and intrigue, with an undercurrent of romance... all blended in to a time travel tale.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews