Titanic Voyage

by Julie Bihn

He can travel back in time to the Titanic, but can he save the woman he loves?

Clara, can you hear me?

My name's Liam Peterson. Ever since I graduated from high school, I've worked at the Titanic Voyage ride in Historytown, a struggling amusement park in Eloy, Arizona.

And Clara, ever since I read your journal, I've been enchanted by your story. You saved several fellow Third Class passengers before you died in the sinking. You're a hero.

I never dreamed I'd meet you.

But one night, the teenage son of Historytown's founder tricks me into thinking that a 3D projection of you is a theme park guest. Well, I think it's a prank, but as I interact with your "holoactor" on the sets of Titanic Voyage, the past starts to change. I realise that I've been visiting the real Clara Jones.

Then tragedy strikes my life outside the ride. My only escape from the grief is the hope of saving you and giving you a long, happy life. But if I rewrite your history, I might erase my own.

Genres: Time Travel

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2022

About the author

When Julie Bihn was a little girl, her preschool teachers accused her of telling "stories" when she said her father had no legs and flew an airplane. Little did they know she was telling the truth, as her father is a double amputee and did take flying classes!

Gifted with writing skills by her mother and a steady supply of paper by her father, Julie has been writing and telling stories--true and imagined--as long as she can remember. She speaks of truth and love through fanciful tales of other times and places.

Julie's interest in writing and societies led her to a double degree in Creative Writing and Sociology from the University of Arizona. She is author of Titanic Voyage and A Selkie's Prayer and co-author of The Healer and the Pirate. Visit her online at https://www.juliebihn.com.

Reviews

[Rapier Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve wanted to do a review of this fantastic novel for a while. I was waiting for my thirteen-year-old daughter to finish reading it first, so I could get her input as well. I purchased this novel for her because she’s been fascinated with the Titanic for years, but I read it ahead of her because she was reading another book at the time.

Titanic Voyage is a time-travel romance. For those, who are hesitant about romance books, it is light romance—more of a sweet friendship, and not cheesy or cringey.

Titanic Voyage is well-written and easy to follow. It was a little odd reading a book set in Arizona that used British spelling, but I suppose that could be explained by Liam’s adopted British accent, and it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book. I could barely put it down.

Titanic Voyage is unique among time travel books in that all the “time traveling” takes place in a holographic simulation, yet contains many of the fun tropes of time travel such as changing timelines and paradoxes. I won’t spoil the ending other than to say it was satisfying.

It is an engaging read for adults, but also appropriate for teenagers.

Oh, and my thirteen-year-old daughter gave it a 9 out of 10. “It wasn’t as good as Harry Potter,”—that’s her metric for everything— “but I liked it.”

You can read my full review here: https://leannarapier.com/book-review-...

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titanic story for the ages

Step back in time... Really step into the deck of the Titanic and when you do, just what will happen.

Unique story about time travel to the Titanic. You become involved with the characters from the current time as well as those from the past.

Hold on it could be a wild ride.

[Julie Bihn]

Did it for a readalong. Darn if I don't still like my book!

[Katherine Benfante · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unlike others I've read before and unlike other time travel novels I've read (and I've read a lot of them, old school sci-fi ones and newer timey-whimey ones, SF and romance, you name it). The premise blew me away, and I would've read it in one shot if life didn't get in the way. I couldn't put it down at the 75% point!

It's narrated in second person, so the main character, Liam Peterson, is talking directly to Clara Jones in a kind of diary or story written just for her. In that way, it's very intimate. I felt everything he felt, which is a large reason why this book drew me in and kept me there so tightly. Liam has a lot of anguish and feels a connection to Clara Jones, a young woman who perished aboard the Titanic. He's able to time travel to the night it sunk, and we're not sure exactly how - it's a leap of faith - and even Liam doesn't understand. However, he's hell-bent on saving her.

The best part of this book isn't how Liam tries to save Clara, it's how he processes his father's death and how it affects his desire to save Clara. If he can't save her, he wants to be there for her in her last moments, since he wasn't at his father's deathbed. Liam's grief over his father is so raw and emotional, and the funeral scene is so accurate to funerals. I highlighted a section where Liam notes how funerals these days feel like excuses for family to catch up rather than talk about the person's life they're there to celebrate; the last two family funerals I attended were just like that, and it gutted me for that reason.

This novel is a love letter to Clara in a way, and also a cathartic exercise for Liam as he (as we find out in the end) awaits Clara's reawakening and processes his father's death. It's such a sweet story and so unique. The author ruminates on fate and God's plan and the space we have to change that, which is a fascinating aspect of this book. Also, I love how the Titanic Voyage ride operates - I wish we could go on such a ride, maybe not for the Titanic because it is a bit macabre for my taste. Finally, I like at the end how we finally learn how Liam's fate is tied into the survivors of the ship. I was waiting the whole book to find out! Very unique, and it explains why Sahar hated the ride so much; I have to think she remembers the voyage. It also explains why she's an old soul and why Liam feels such a connection to the Titanic (I think).

[Niamh Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Titanic Voyage was a book a little outside of my usual reading genre, and I am so happy I took the chance on it.

This is an extremely well-crafted tale of love and sacrifice. Liam is the main character of this story, desperately trying to save a woman from the past---the only person he's seemed able to connect with in years. Along the way, he slowly befriends Rocky, an extremely intelligent kid who perhaps needs to learn a little humility.

I found myself so drawn into the narrative and characters, hurting for poor Liam as you glimpse into his isolation and his desperation to prove to himself he isn't worthless. I loved his interactions with not just Clara but Rocky and Sahar as well.

I think my favorite part of this story was the fact that I felt as if every little detail was important. Not in the sense of being overwhelming, but in the sense that the reveals and twists at the end of the book felt very much earned. Details meant something, and the reader is rewarded if they pay attention.


In conclusion, I think this unique spin on time travel romance is probably one of my favorite reads of this year, and if you like a beautifully written, tragic historical fiction with a good dose of clean romance, I would 100% recommend you check this out.

[Julianne Munich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book nearly 2 years ago and forgot to leave a GR review! My memory of this book was refreshed after having visited a Titanic museum on a family vacation recently.

I adored Liam, the main character. His quirky personality and devotion to his job as a theme park employee at a Titanic-themed attraction featuring holographic 'ghost' passengers, was charming. Normally, I wouldn't be fond of an amusement ride based on such a real and sad tragedy, yet this time-travel story was sensitive to the victims.

The lost passengers are represented by Clara, a fictional young woman recorded as having died in the 1912 sinking. In a time-travel paranormal shift, she comes to life in modern times and interacts with Liam, befriending him. A sweet romance begins to spark between these two people of vastly different times and societies--even ethnicities, since Liam is American of South Asian heritage, while Clara is British.

Danger and tension rise when Liam and his new 'ghost' friend Clara shift back and forth between both times and realms-- the modern-day park attraction-- and the real Titanic.

I also enjoyed the side characters, Rocky and Sahar, who were so well fleshed out with memorable personalities.

I hope to read more from Julie Bihn!

[Mbilmey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit long and slow to start, but once I did get into, I was hooked. And I don't even like Titanic stories. One of the best things about it was the prose. It just flowed really well, and I don't see that in many books these days. Everything. about the writing is really well done.
I also enjoyed the plot. I get picky about time travel, but I felt like the system here fit the world of the play enough that it didn't leave me arguing. It deals with a lot of interesting time travel concepts like ethics, paradoxes, and so on. In many ways, it's your classic "try to save the doomed girl" time travel trope, but with the additional possibility of saving other lives on the Titanic and with added motivation since Liam is facing his own grief outside of the Titanic experience.
Love, sorrow, pain, hope. Lots to think about.
The book did take me two tries to get though, and it does repeat itself from time to time, and I did get a little tired from Liam's slightly excessive commentary, heh. I also felt the end was a bit rushed in some ways, but it was satisfying.
Overall, an excellent experience, and I highly recommend it.

[Lyssa Chiavari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple years ago and it was one of my very favorite reads of that year. I went in expecting a time travel romance, and it is that, but the story was much deeper, with strong themes of friendship and family, and a main character who is processing grief at the same time he is falling in love with Clara and trying to save her life. In a lot of ways, I think it's almost like he's processing his grief by trying to save Clara—he couldn't save his father, but he can save her. He has to be able to save her. The journey to saving Clara takes Liam and his friends down surprising and shocking paths as different types of time travel paradoxes are explored. Clara is a sweet and pure-hearted character, and like Liam, you are rooting the whole way for some way to save her from the disaster.

I love Liam. I love Clara. But most importantly of all: I love Rocky. I love Sahar. And I love my queen, Melia.

[Susan Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well-crafted, and brilliantly imagined YA novel. The plot is complex, so I won’t risk spoilers in trying to summarise it. What really affected me was the depth of emotional involvement I felt, as the 1st person narrator Liam travels back in time in a desperate battle to save the young woman he has come to love from drowning in the sinking of the Titanic. Clara is portrayed as such a selfless and loving person, it’s easy to understand how invested Liam becomes in her story and her potential rescue. I even found myself loving the main supporting character, Rocky–the tech genius whose backstory and emotional growth are an important aspect of the novel. Liam’s own inner emotions and family relationships are beautifully imagined and constructed, with an end twist I won’t give away. Time will reveal all. Thoroughly recommended.

[Thomas Trimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Bihn has created an interesting book about a subject that has always fascinated me, the story of the Titanic. I have read a number of books claiming to portray the actual story. This book touches on the true Titanic story in a unique time travel environment. I have always believed in the concept that super-powerful computers will at some point be able to take us on journeys in time. This particular story uses a high-tech amusement park as the base, taken over by a powerful computer and a genius programmer. The story interacts with very accurate base stories and locations on the ship. I guess it is a sign of a good sci-fi time travel story, but at times it is hard to tell what timeline you are on. I enjoyed the book and recommend you read it .

[Julie Bihn]

Okay, I've only been working on it for about 7.5 years in the making--who knew time-travel novels were hard to write? But my novel Titanic Voyage is out in the world, right in time for the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It's an emotional story of time travel and longing. The content is clean (PG max), but the grief themes probably make it best for mid-to-late teens and older.

I hope you enjoy it.

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this unique Titanic-themed story. It succeeded in drawing me in and making me wonder what was going to happen next; I liked the main character's emotional journey; and I found the logistics involved in trying to change history interesting. There were a couple of nitpicks: I found some of the time travel aspects confusing; and I felt Clara could have been fleshed out a little better as she came across as a bit too perfect and selfless, or maybe that was just the narrator's perspective of her.

[Mayken Brunings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not another attempt by time travelers to prevent the disaster we all know went down. Liam isn’t even a real time traveler, he works at a theme park that features the Titanic in a ride. And when the ride becomes a time machine for him, all he tries to do is to save one passenger. This is the kind of time travel where your actions in the past will affect the present when you get back. As Liam tries and fails and tries again, the outcome affects not only the present but his very life. Loved it.

[Marie Keates · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read this year. Living in a city so devastated by the sinking of the unsinkable ship, I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but it was well researched and gripping. So gripping, in fact, that I read it in two days. The author succeeded in weaving together the main character’s modern day troubles, time travel and his obsession with a Titanic passenger in a believable and compelling way. Highly recommended.

[Julie March · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for anyone (such as myself) who had a Titanic phase as a kid, and also fans of Quantum Leap (but possibly even angstier). Excellent plotting, loveable and well rounded characters, and succeeded in making me cry twice, which is really all I ask. Read as part of a daily read along hosted by the author, which was super fun.

[Julia Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, with its themes of grief and loss, was difficult for me to get through.
Having lost someone dear to me recently, I could relate a lot with the emotions of the main character.
I think this was the first time traveling story I've read and I liked it! Very unique story.

[Jennifer Marchman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for younger readers who are interested in the Titanic. Strong Christian themes, and a sweet romance.

[Red Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, though there are some parts that get a bit slow. The ending is worth the struggle, I promise.

[Valeriya Salt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titanic Voyage is a new, unusual take on the genre. The author doesn’t go into the details of time travel, even less she describes the mechanics of it, giving readers more vibes rather than actual explanations of how the time machine works. She doesn’t need to.

Written in the form of love letters, the book tells a story of Liam Peterson, a twenty-three-year-old worker in Historytown, an amusement park in a small town of Arizona. Liam works on the Titanic Voyage ride where the guests are entertained by the “holoactors”— 3D projections of real passengers of the Titanic. Despite the ride’s controversial reputation, Liam enjoys working there. Most of all, he enjoys reading a journal of a Third Class passenger, Clara Jones, a young woman who sacrificed herself, trying to save others.

When Rocky, Liam’s colleague and a teenage IT-nerd, plays a trick on Liam and other employees, making them believe that a “holoactor” of Clara Jones is a real theme park’s guest, the past starts to change, triggering the chain of events which are able to alter history and erase Liam from it or… help him to save if not the Titanic, but at least, Clara Jones.

I love the way the author develops the relationships between the characters. Liam falls in love with Clara more and more every time Rocky runs the 3D simulation. Liam is relentless in saving her. His relationships with Papa (his adoptive father) who spends his last days in a care home are full of warmth and sadness. Even Liam’s sister, Sahar, who at first seems cold and distant, later opens more to show her real feelings.

The book is also full of family drama. Liam was adopted at an early age, so he doesn’t remember his life in Syria, but Sahar does. The deep scars, left in her soul, reflect in her behaviour.

The novel is narrated in the first person, present tense which usually doesn’t work for me. But in the case of Titanic Voyage, it makes it more intimate, some sort of bittersweet memories and diaries.

I enjoyed the idea of the ride’s design and how much details the author put into the description of the Titanic’s model. Bihn has poured lots of effort into research of the ship and the fate of her passengers.

I give this book four stars first of all due to its pace at the start. With Liam and Rocky running the ship’s simulation of her last hours many times, it seems repetitive to me. At the beginning of the story, Liam’s narrative sounds a bit childish for his age. Without knowing how old he is, I’d say he’s about the same age as Rocky.

Overall, it’s a great read for everybody who enjoys time travel, history, and bittersweet love stories.

[Leanna Rapier · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favorite books. I've read it twice now. Highly recommend you give this indie author a try!