Appointed Time

Sands of Time Trilogy #1

by C.J. Peterson

All we have in this life is the time we are granted. Like sands of the sea shore, our lives depend on where we land. Some grains of sand land in an oyster, and are turned into beautiful pearls. Some land in the bottom of the sea floor, and become beds for bottom feeders.

Blake and Holly Hunt, and Adam and Deanna Roth all were created for a purpose by Professor Noah Roth. There were many years the genetic manipulation did not allow the babies to be viable?until the four. He had big plans for the children. Two nurses, Ben and Grace, had a different idea.

This is a tale of two sets of gifted children. One pair raised in a caring environment, and taught to strengthen their gift with love and respect. Meanwhile, the others were raised under the strict and abusive conditions set by Professor Roth. When Deanna and Blake, who were raised by Professor Roth, are set free to retrieve the other two by whatever means necessary, chaos ensues. The first explosion will take place in a quiet little East Texas town called Willow Bend.

Proverbs 27:1 - "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring."

"Time slips through our hands like grains of sand never to return again. Those who use time wisely are rewarded with rich, productive and satisfying lives." Robin Sharma

268 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2021

About the author

C.J. Peterson is a ten-time award-winning, multi-genre published author since 2012. She is also a podcaster, blogger, and publisher who knows how to relate well to folks of all ages.
Grace Restored Series, The Holy Flame Trilogy, and the Divine Legacy Series have the characters crossing over storylines. In these books, the spiritual realm crosses into the physical. This adventurous journey will have you holding onto the pages for dear life!
The Sands of Time Trilogy (Appointed Time, Race Against Time, & Out of Time) is an exciting sci-fi series that will have you on the edge of your seat! This series follows a group of teens with abilities as they go through the US to rescue their siblings. The challenger is their sadistic creator who has the money & power to win at any cost.
Chain Reaction follows Trip and Tori as they go through time guiding their ancestors to change crucial decisions. In changing their past to save future generations, will Trip and Tori cease to exist? Take a wild ride through time in Chain Reaction! In Tested By Fire, Robin’s life has been one firestorm after another. But what happens when a fire marshal falls in love with an arsonist? Find out in Tested By Fire!
C.J. has a children's book series. She and her husband take Chief and Sarge on real-life adventures in order to share them with your little one! The Adventures of Chief and Sarge: Every day is an adventure with these two!

Reviews

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA novel has a lot happening within the pages, centering around Holly and Blake, two infants that were taken from a facility with a maniacal professor that has taken great strides to manipulate the genetic code.

While the book spans 16 years, most of the story occurs when Holly and Blake are 16 years old. They have been homeschooled all of their life and are just now truly meeting other teens. This is also when the action picks up, as the two are targeted by two other teens, Deanna and Adam, left behind when Ben and Grace leave the compound in Maine with them to save them from what they knew would be a traumatic childhood.

I found this book to be fast-paced, especially near the end. I was intrigued by the plot and wondered how I would adapt if someone had changed my genetic code before I was born and I had remarkable skills. Holly and Blake are also learning more that will impact their lives. Holly is a sensitive soul, and her first foray into church with her mother brings about a very emotional response when she learns about the death of Jesus and the events surrounding it. While most of us take these stories for granted, imagine what it is like to hear them for the first time and how they might impact your way of thinking. The two also meet members of the opposite sex that interest them. That is a new set of issues because they have never dated before, and considering the threat their life is under, it isn't a typical dating situation.

I appreciated the clean storyline, even with the relationship between Grace and Wyatt. Wyatt came into their lives when the kids were 1, and he couldn't find any information on Ben. He had to be told the whole story to keep things under wraps and not be discovered by the professor or anyone he hired to find them. This starts a 15-year romance between the two.

The book leaves you hanging, which is to be expected since it is a trilogy. I don't want to spoil too much since the best part of the book is the last third, when the action picks up, but I am curious about what will happen if they find the professor and the other children that were genetically manipulated.

While I enjoyed the book, I do wish that we had more of a backstory on Ben and Grace. All we know is that they are nurses in the clinic but nothing about their past or families. Plus, an old boyfriend of Grace's shows up in Willow Bend, and he lives in Dallas. Where were they living when they dated? Grace was in Maine before coming to Texas, and there is a mention of an uncle in Louisiana. Also, what happened to Helena, Hope's sister? Hope dies giving birth to Holly, and Helena just seems to fade away after the first few chapters. Also, how did Holly get her name? Hope told Helena to name her Holly but died before the child was born, and there is no mention of Helena telling anyone to name her Holly, yet that is the name on her birth certificate.

We give this book 3 1/2 paws up.

[Stories Under Starlight Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appointed Time by C.J. Peterson is a Christian YA themed story mainly about four gifted children. Two grew up with loving parents (Ben and Grace), and two grew up in a clinic and treated as lab experiments. They each have special abilities and how they choose to wield those powers is greatly influenced by their upbringing. Instead of growing up in a lab with Professor Roth, an unethical scientist trying to create powerful humans that he can control, Blake and Holly live in hiding with two nurses who stole them away to save their lives. Sixteen years later, Professor Roth has finally found them and what happens next will change their lives forever. I don't want to give too much away because this is where the action really starts to take place.

The story is told in a third person perspective so you get to see the point of view of several different characters. It’s clear that the first book is more of a set-up book for the next two. There is a lot of character development and background of Holly and Blake throughout their childhood. Peterson does a good job of showing the reader how these two children learn to harness and control their special abilities while living in hiding. It's not easy for them and it was interesting to see how the two children helped each other through the process. I also liked that the relationships between the characters were not predictable. Even though Ben and Grace lived together while they raised Holly and Blake, they never developed a romantic relationship. Instead, Grace develops a secret relationship with the town Sheriff early on in the story.

Most of the story is getting to know Holly and Blake as they grow up, learn to control their abilities, and how they eventually make some friends who attend the local church. Later in the story, Peterson does a good job filling-in the reader about how Adam and Deanna were raised by using flashbacks at various stages of their youth while growing up in the compound with Professor Roth and other gifted children. You get to understand the motivation and heartbreaking childhood of these two and how vastly different their upbringing was compared to Holly and Blake's.

Peterson’s book is not only telling the story of these gifted children, but of Jesus and Christianity in direct and indirect ways. Christian stories and principles are sprinkled in the book through pastor sermons, or just through dialog of the characters when talking about life choices. I would have liked to know more about Professor Roth, as well as Ben and Grace's backgrounds. I'm also curious about what happened to Alex, as she was a potential love interest for Ben. I'm sure we'll see her in book two. There were definitely some plot twists that I didn't see coming! We learn later on in the story that Blake and Holly are more powerful than even they know and I'm looking forward to seeing their full potential. Overall, Appointed Time was a fun, action-packed read that kept my attention until the last page! I am looking forward to finding out what happens next in book two.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combining contemporary young adult science fiction/fantasy with Christian fiction, Appointed Time is a tense tale of action and adventure.

Appointed Time is the first book in C.J. Peterson's young adult Christian sci-fi trilogy, Sands of Time. With its lively cadre of teenagers, a couple with some pretty insane skills, and an imaginative and terrifying plot, I enjoyed getting to know the players in this story, the building tension, and following the action as the fugitives work to stay under the radar and out of the clutches of the bad guys.

The main adult characters of the piece, Ben, Grace, and eventually Sheriff Wyatt Reynolds, are good-hearted people struggling to walk the right path under unbelievable circumstances. They readily commit their lives to keeping Holly and Blake safe. They are definitely playing a long game as they must continually maintain their strategy until the children reach maturity.

The child main characters, including those from the youth group, are fun and talented, and I enjoyed peeking in on their interactions with each other. They are good, normal kids with a couple of notable exceptions, of course. Blake and Holly not knowing the basic Bible stories was a shocking and eye-opening twist that I could imagine actually happening.

As this is the trilogy's first book, most of the story is exposition needed to set up the rest of the tale. However, when the real action starts at around the two-thirds mark, it kicks into high gear. I enjoyed the establishment of the story's groundwork; it answers several logistical questions, quietly builds a solid foundation for the rest of the trilogy, and initiates a general feeling of foreboding. I recommend APPOINTED TIME to readers of contemporary young adult Christian fiction and young adult science fiction/fantasy.

[Moona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Appointed Time by C.J. Peterson weaves an intriguing narrative about two sets of genetically manipulated children, created for a purpose by the enigmatic Professor Noah Roth. Raised under starkly different conditions—one pair in a loving environment, the other in strict and abusive control—their paths collide with explosive consequences in Willow Bend, Texas. This compelling tale explores themes of purpose, destiny, and the ethical implications of genetic manipulation, making it a thought-provoking read. Anchored by a strong moral foundation, it challenges readers to reflect on how we use the time we're given in life.

[Lone Star Literary Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Lone Star Blogger Team average rating: 3.83.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good, quick read. I love that she presented the Gospel throughout the story. I am excited to read the second book in the series.