Rebecca Royce is a new to me author. I've heard wonderful things about her books. It has been such a long time since I've read anything paranormal I decided to give Love Beyond Time a try. My initial thoughts after delving into this book...Why the heck haven't I been reading paranormal?!
Ms. Royce's writing style is smooth, succinct, and carries you along effortlessly. I felt as though I was cozied up around a fire hanging on her every word as she tells this absorbing tale of a world which is far more complicated than we could ever imagine.
Outsiders, a secret race of humans bestowed with exceptional powers and the sacred duty, since creation, to keep evil at bay have fallen to a catastrophic prophesy. While the Outsiders have no hope of stopping their imminent demise, they make one last desperate attempt to honor their commitment to the destruction of evil. Eighteen children, born simultaneously on the very brink of this disaster, are to continue the legacy. To further enhance their powers, they have been randomly paired as soul mates. Plans go awry when the babies, intended to be raised together under the care of the trusted warrior Veli, are scattered across the world. Only three make it to Veli, a fourth child five years later. The rest are raised by human families, with no knowledge of the powers lying dormant within them.
The Outsiders had, over time, fought evil in the form of dragons, wolves, and monsters. This time Darkness has taken shape as the biggest threat ever. It has been incarnated in the shape of a baby boy, already telepathically ordering Minions to seek and destroy the eighteen babies.
Now 30 years old, Kal, Leo, Charma, and Marina, have still been unable to locate the remaining 14 of their kind. Until the day Isabelle, a social worker, is lured to a remote location to check on a child. Evil is gaining strength in his search and he has found Isabelle. The Fates, however, are on her side. Kal is camping nearby, hears her desperate cries, and intervenes. In a hard fought battle, Kal prevails and whisks Isabelle off to safety. As chance would have it, Isabelle is Kal's soul mate, an Outsider with her own unique powers. Their immediate attraction is believable and sweet. Their fierce dedication to each other works to strengthen their powers.
Even though this is Kal and Isabelle's story, Ms. Royce does a wonderful job of integrating the other Outsiders who have been living together for the last 30 years. I am look forward to reading their stories as well.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
Supernatural served up hot About thirty years ago nineteen children were all born on the same day, at the same time, some premature, some past due, all prophesized. Eighteen are the last of the Outsiders, a race of supernaturally charged defenders of humanity. One is pure evil born to a human set of parents. He brought about the death of all the other Outsiders except the eighteen and one guardian meant to keep them all safe. Spells gone awry and only three of the babies end up with the guardian. One of the missing fifteen is eventually found. That left fourteen lost children spread out across the planet. The race is on to find the fourteen. They are all grown and evil is hunting them. Isabelle is one of the lost. Although she had a few weird things happen while growing up her parents convinced her it was all coincidental or imagination at work. She has no clue of her powers. A woman with a strong protective streak she has worked hard to become a social worker. When her latest assignment sends her to the backside of nowhere to investigate an abused child she walks into a trap. Pursued through the woods she literally runs into Kal, one of the Outsider children raised by the guardian and her soul mate.
Kal has had a harsh upbringing. Thinking himself unworthy he’s given up on looking for a soul mate. All warrior with both offensive and defensive powers he’s protective from the get go. The chemistry between Kal and Isabelle is instantaneous and off the charts. While on the run with Isabelle, Kal explains their mutual heritage. You might think their connection is too quick but with the side of supernatural that is served up it works. The presentation of backstory, character and world building and action are paced well within the heat of their relationship. There was enough angst and violence to get a real feel for the evil of their enemy. The presentation of the secondary characters has me waiting for their stories and wanting to know more about the other thirteen children that are out there somewhere. I’m definitely looking forward to more in this series.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
Love Beyond Time is a FANTASTIC read, I couldn’t put it down! The plot is excellent and the story kept getting better and better as I turned the pages. I thought it very original and fresh with a lot of adventure.
You feel like wanting to know what will happen to those characters cause there’s an infinity of possibilities. And they’re all so captivating! The only thing that bothered me is that the characters are almost 30 years old, and even though they’re young for their species, they live in the real world, and most of the times react as teenagers. I must warn you this is NOT a YA book, it has a certain young adult atmosphere, but it’s a book for adults. Yes, that means explicit sex scenes but exactly the right amount of them.
It has amazing twists that you don’t expect and the solution to their problems are very real (keep in mind that it’s a fantasy book). I’m so happy this is the first of the series, cause I can’t wait to read the next one already! Be aware, my dear readers: you won’t be able to read this book and not want to read the rest of the series!
The Outsiders are a secret race of people that live among the humans protecting them from the Darkness. They keep the balance. Each individual has special powers and each has another half, a soul mate. Years ago it was prophesied that the Darkness would take an earthly form, more powerful than ever before and would destroy them. The earth's only hope is a group of 18 children all born on the same day as the evil one/Sebastian. Destined to fight this great evil the babies were hidden away as the Outsiders were destroyed. Now the children are adults. They are lost, scattered but a few were raised together under a great warrior Veli and are searching for their counterparts. To have a chance against Darkness, they need one another. The babies were raised by human families, with no knowledge of the powers so if Darkness finds them first they will either be used as his pawns or destroyed. Time is running out. Kal, Leo, Charma, and Marina have been unable to locate their remaining brothers and sisters until the day Isabelle, a social worker is lured by Darkness to a remote location to check on a child. Following her intuition, Isabelle runs and stumbles across Kal and his college friends. Kal is an Outsider, her other half and the two are able to escape. Their bond opens up more power and new hope. It's time to prepare for the ultimate fight. Other must be located now, powers must be strengthened but they know it can be done..as long as they are together.
Love Beyond Time is a paranormal soul mates story. There is an underlying story (the fight against Darkness/Sebastian) which will exist in each book with characters being added and focused on individually in each new book. This first book set the story and is Kal's and Isabelle's story. It took me a bit to get into the book. The set-up is extensive but necessary. Once it became character driven with Kal and Isabelle it picked up steam. By the time the others were involved, I was hooked. The bond between Kal and Isabelle is sweet and steamy. I love how they made each other better, stronger. It created so much possibility. Now I can't wait to meet the other missing Outsiders. We met Drew, Marina's reluctant other half briefly and Sebastian has two of their own under his control. There's so much story here. I look forward to more!
Love Beyond Time is the first in The Outsiders series by Rebecca Royce. As with any new world there is a tendency to info dump to bring you up to speed about what folks can and can’t do in this series. Ms. Royce avoids this but it made the book feel like one of those rides at the amusement park where you slowly climb up just to rush screaming to the bottom. The first part of this story was a little slow but totally necessary to get to the good parts. You have the classic battle between good and evil. Something that Ms. Royce does very well. I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to find out what happened. Despite the slow start this is a fantastic read. The characters are engaging and real (despite their abilities). The interaction between Kal and Isabelle is hot and the other outsiders are intriguing. You can bet I will be reading the next in the series.
Like all other books I've read by Rebecca Royce, I really enjoyed Love Beyond Time. I will post my review on my blog on September 21st as part of the book blog tour through Goddess Fish Promotions.
Love Beyond Time: A Paranormal Romance (The Outsiders Book 1) Kindle Edition by Rebecca Royce I received a complimentary copy from the author and am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
I read this book a bit ago, before I was leaving reviews on everything I read and so this is a review of a re-read.
Isabelle is lured out into the country, four hours out of her way, in order to check on a child who is in danger. One of her tires went flat and she finds herself running from strangers. A voice in her head reassures her “He's there. He's waiting for her, It's Time. Keep Running.”
Kal and his tree friends are out fishing when Isabelle barrels into their vacation. And Kal knows from the minute she sees her that she is the one he has been waiting for. The one that calms him and makes him whole.
They defend themselves from humans who under the thrall of Sebastian, an intergalactic evil.
Isabelle, Kal and his family are Outsiders. Humans with extraordinary powers who were sent from another planet in order to defeat Sebastian. Love Beyond Time is the story of Kal and Isabelle coming together.
The Outsiders is clearly a work of love! You can feel the author's heart on every page! And you can feel the growing Soul-Mate/Unit love between Isabelle and Kal. But that's not the reason I love this book. Truthfully, I adore the Evil/Sebastian. He is so delightfully evil in the best way! In fact, he is less 'bad' than Veli. Bastian has the villain-y plan that encompasses the entire universe. He wants to enslave every intelligent species and planet he can get his little hands on. Where as Veli holds on to his goodness while abusing Kal physically and emotionally. Sebastian/The Evil wallows hysterically in his Big Bad status as he manipulates any all people come into his orbit, while Veli holds up his behavior as necessary.
This is one of Rebecca Royce's first and best series. Romances that bring together soulmates into a Unit.
An awesome book for Fans of Ms. Royce or Paranormal Romances.
What a fascinating series. 18 very powerful children born on the same date at exactly the same moment are all supposed to help end a horrible evil. A group known as the Outsiders each have unique abilities. Over time their group has gotten smaller and persecuted by this big bad. These eighteen are their last hope. The leader Abraxus had sent everyone away with the kids inn hours of saving everyone. In his last moments he knows the only way to truly succeed is with the babies. Telepathically asking permission, he tries to send all the infants to the one person remaining he can trust. Only three arrived. Within moments of the babies vanishing, their parents are ended by the evil. Abraxus doesn't know if his own beloved daughter made it to his friend. Could she be one of the three? These special babies with far more power than any of them have ever held. Time passes and were taken to the present where these babies are now grown. The original three along with their guardian never stopped searching for the others. They did succeed in finding one other. All of them hope they will eventually be led to their fellow kin. Life hasn't been easy for this small family, but slowly they've been learning their powers. Soon however they'd learn there's far more within each of them. Kal, their warrior also is the first to stumble upon his other half. His soulmate. It's from there that everything they know changes. The fight against evil has truly beg un. Who will be victorious? Can they find the others? This first of the series is filled with all kinds of wonder, heartache, powers, and oddly hope. I look forward to seeing what happens next!
This is book one in a series and should be read in order because they play off each other. Veli was placed in charged of 18 babies born at the same time and was to fight evil when they grow up. Problem was evil was born too and he came with all his powers and knew the plan. It was to distroy the others. At the last moment thier powerful leader sent these babies to Veli the darkness sent his power out too. Only 3 of the 18 showed up. Now Veli had to run with the babies and try to find the others. New Orleans When the darkness or evil had been born he picked rich parents to give him life and was named Sebastian. He was pleased to have distroyed the others and ended the soul mate bond. They wouldn't find each other and he could win. President day They are all grown up and Two of the children meet. Kal who was one if the 3 to be sent to Veli meet Isabelle as she ran for her life. They are the first of the soul mates to put together now he wants to get her to the safety of the family. This is a well written and amazing tale full of action, mystery, drama and storyline! I love the characters and the interaction of the group. This is truly fantastic and kept me at the edge of my seat. I can't wait for more in the next book! I am hooked! Voluntarily reviewed a copy and I honestly loved it.
I've always loved the concept of soulmates, so I was really intrigued by the concept of this series.
1 villain 18 baby's forming 9 units of soulmates that were prophecied to save the world from the darkness. In Love Beyond Time we are introduced to the plot and the world where these characters live. The Outsiders are different and each have a set of powers. By a stroke of fate, Kal and Isabelle meet and are thrust together to set in motion what was in the prophecy.
But the Evil is lurking and trying to find a way to prevent the soulmates from meeting eachother while also manipulating others, tricking them to do his bidding. The suspense is killing me, especially since there are MANY books to read before the conclusion. And the Sebastian-parts really set me on edge. Definitely worth reading and I can't wait to find out about the other soulmates!
No spoilers of any kind included. This book was fantastic it pulled me in before I had even finished the first chapter but I noticed that I really had to pay attention because if I didn’t I would lose track of what was happening. This story is fast pace with a lot of action and some steam but there are places in the book that seem to jump and that’s where you have to pay attention otherwise you’ll get confused as to what’s happening. But all in all I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. So yes I do recommend this book because I think it was awesome.
I found this story different and interesting. About 30 years ago, 18 babies were supposed to be transported to Veli, an Outsider warrior, who was given the task to care and protect them from evil forces. But the transfer was interrupted and 15 babies were lost in the world. Years later, four more of those babies now adults have been found but not all as it should be. Evil has been trying to corrupt two of the Outsiders and one wants nothing to do with e fight against evil. I really have enjoyed this story!
I enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal books. Adventure is more my style than explicit sex books. This has all of that. The characters were interesting if a bit juvenile. The whole book felt more like it was written for teens, older teens. Kal and Isabelle seemed a bit immature for being almost 30. Saying all that, it got my curiosity tweaked and I'll read the next one and just skim over the raw sex scenes.
This would probably be more like 3.5 stars. I liked it. It was just overly wordy but I'm hopeful that the rest of the series will be less so now that we understand the backstory. I do plan to read the rest of the series. I actually really like stories with fated soulmates. I like secure love stories.
Wow!! I have to say- starting with Wings of Artemis and then continuing with The Cascade and last but not least reading the Warrior I thought: I love the author but this I'm not so sure about!
But holy cow! I absolutely love the story of Kal and Isabelle, and of course the other Outsiders!! I started the book, and couldnt put it down!! Try it, it will not dissapoint!
I enjoyed the story enough to move on to the second book. I have read this author before and enjoyed her writing style. I have previously read her Westervelt Wolves series... twice.
For those who need to know, yes, there is Insta-love, but they are soulmates, it is expected.
I've always enjoyed this authors work but had never picked up this series. I started it recently and I'm so glad I finally did. This is a great paranormal romance. Since this is the first book we do spend a minute getting introduced to this world and how things work but Kal and Isabelle get their story time in. Great start and can't wait to see what comes next.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review it
I really enjoyed this book, it is fast paced and well written, Kal literally runs into his soul mate and with the other outsiders try to defeat the enemy
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series
Apparently all the supernatral like to hang out on islands off the coast of Maine. Between Westervelt and now the Outsiders that seems the place to be. The start of another great seires from Rebecca. I can't wait to learn more about the outsiders and follow everyone as they find Their mates.
I struggled with this book. It was hard for me to get into this book. I did enjoy it, but it took me a while to read it. I can’t even pinpoint why I couldn’t get into it. The storyline and characters were interesting. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rebecca, you've done it again! I could not put it down! How is it I've gone this long without having this story in my life?!?! Lots of action with a steamy romance, with a touch of mysticism! Keep writing woman! The world NEEDS your stories!
I’m a huge fan of Rebecca Royce! Her books are fun, steamy, and have great characters and story lines. This book doesn’t fail to meet the expectation! I can’t wait to read the next (and the rest) of the series!
Let me start by saying that I love most of Rebecca Royce’s books. I was introduced to her writing with the Westervelt Wolves and have since read several other series by her that I have enjoyed. That is why it is so difficult to not give this first book in The Outsiders series a stellar rating but I had a really difficult time with it.
Right from the beginning with the Prologue the ‘fact dumping’ started and took up quite a few pages. Enough so that my mind started to wander and I had a hard time continuing to read. At one point it actually made it easier to fall asleep at night by just reading a few chapters. Then when we finally meet the two main characters Kal and Isabelle it just continued. It’s hard to explain but I didn’t FEEL the characters emotions, I only knew what they were feeling because I was told so by the author. Even the sex scenes just didn’t do it for me and seemed rather bland in comparison to the ones in her other books.
It actually took me reading well over half of the book before the story finally kicked in for me and I couldn’t put it down. From that point on I was hooked and actually immediately started the second book after finally finishing this one. But I admit it was a struggle to get to that point. It really didn’t even feel like Rebecca’s usual writing style and the first half just felt forced to me and at some points just difficult to keep my interest.
I was glad I persevered though because the book truly does get better and Rebecca manages to pick up the pace and make me FEEL the love interests in this story as well as the next two books in the series ‘Love Beyond Sanity’ out now, and ‘Love Beyond Loyalty’ due for re-release on May 8, 2015.
Kal and Isabelle were nice characters but never much more than that for me. I really can’t wait for Leonardo’s book though because I just can’t see how Rebecca can make it work between him and his soulmate…
MILD SPOILER ALERT …who is currently the lover of the demon bad guy, Sebastian. I am just so curious to see how she handles that one! Because it is breaking my heart to watch how poor Leonardo is suffering.
END SPOILER
Veli, the guardian and protector of the characters growing up, was also very difficult to like. I don’t care what excuses were made by Isabelle, he was an emotional and physical bully to the children growing up and I couldn’t get past that to ever even like him. So I wasn’t really too upset by what happens to him.
Charma, Marina and Drew were much more sympathetic characters and I look forward to reading their stories in the series.
So in the final review of this book I can’t say not to read it because once it picks up it will definitely grab your attention and make you want to read the rest of the books in the series. I assume there will be nine, since there are 18 main characters in the series to be found. The original release of the series a few years ago were the first five books, and she seems to be rereleasing them rather quickly so I am hoping to get Leonardo’s story within the next six months (HINT, HINT Rebecca).
I actually had purchased the original first five books in this series a few years ago when they came out with a different publisher but had never gotten around to reading them. After finishing this re-release of ‘Love Beyond Time’ I will confess that I started to skim through books 4 & 5 of the older versions to see who the main love interests were and actually couldn’t put them down and so I have now read the books out of order. Which is why I had to be careful what I mentioned in this review, especially about Leonardo, since I have too much information in my head now about the progession of the series and can’t remember what has and hasn’t been mentioned in this first book.
Very little of the stories seem to have changed between publications and new publishers, so if you have the original versions I really don’t think you need to purchase the new ones. I skimmed through the original version of this book and didn’t really notice much difference but I haven’t done so with the next two books yet to be certain. I will be reviewing those books soon though and will give you an update if I feel there are significant enough differences that you may want to know about.
The Outsiders is definitely proving to be a wonderful series by Rebecca, so if you find yourself struggling at the beginning of this first book in the series, don’t give up! It really gets better and you will most likely immediately be purchasing the next in the series right away. I was going to give the book only a two star review because of the reasons I listed, but since it picked up considerably on the second half, and now I am hooked on the series, I bumped it up a star.
*I was given a complimentary copy of this new version of ‘Love Beyond Time’ by the author for an honest review.
Let me start by saying that I love most of Rebecca Royce’s books. I was introduced to her writing with the Westervelt Wolves and have since read several other series by her that I have enjoyed. That is why it is so difficult to not give this first book in The Outsiders series a stellar rating but I had a really difficult time with it.
Right from the beginning with the Prologue the ‘fact dumping’ started and took up quite a few pages. Enough so that my mind started to wander and I had a hard time continuing to read. At one point it actually made it easier to fall asleep at night by just reading a few chapters. Then when we finally meet the two main characters Kal and Isabelle it just continued. It’s hard to explain but I didn’t FEEL the characters emotions, I only knew what they were feeling because I was told so by the author. Even the sex scenes just didn’t do it for me and seemed rather bland in comparison to the ones in her other books.
It actually took me reading well over half of the book before the story finally kicked in for me and I couldn’t put it down. From that point on I was hooked and actually immediately started the second book after finally finishing this one. But I admit it was a struggle to get to that point. It really didn’t even feel like Rebecca’s usual writing style and the first half just felt forced to me and at some points just difficult to keep my interest.
I was glad I persevered though because the book truly does get better and Rebecca manages to pick up the pace and make me FEEL the love interests in this story as well as the next two books in the series ‘Love Beyond Sanity’ out now, and ‘Love Beyond Loyalty’ due for re-release on May 8, 2015.
Kal and Isabelle were nice characters but never much more than that for me. I really can’t wait for Leonardo’s book though because I just can’t see how Rebecca can make it work between him and his soulmate…
MILD SPOILER ALERT …who is currently the lover of the demon bad guy, Sebastian. I am just so curious to see how she handles that one! Because it is breaking my heart to watch how poor Leonardo is suffering.
END SPOILER
Veli, the guardian and protector of the characters growing up, was also very difficult to like. I don’t care what excuses were made by Isabelle, he was an emotional and physical bully to the children growing up and I couldn’t get past that to ever even like him. So I wasn’t really too upset by what happens to him.
Charma, Marina and Drew were much more sympathetic characters and I look forward to reading their stories in the series.
So in the final review of this book I can’t say not to read it because once it picks up it will definitely grab your attention and make you want to read the rest of the books in the series. I assume there will be nine, since there are 18 main characters in the series to be found. The original release of the series a few years ago were the first five books, and she seems to be rereleasing them rather quickly so I am hoping to get Leonardo’s story within the next six months (HINT, HINT Rebecca).
I actually had purchased the original first five books in this series a few years ago when they came out with a different publisher but had never gotten around to reading them. After finishing this re-release of ‘Love Beyond Time’ I will confess that I started to skim through books 4 & 5 of the older versions to see who the main love interests were and actually couldn’t put them down and so I have now read the books out of order. Which is why I had to be careful what I mentioned in this review, especially about Leonardo, since I have too much information in my head now about the progession of the series and can’t remember what has and hasn’t been mentioned in this first book.
Very little of the stories seem to have changed between publications and new publishers, so if you have the original versions I really don’t think you need to purchase the new ones. I skimmed through the original version of this book and didn’t really notice much difference but I haven’t done so with the next two books yet to be certain. I will be reviewing those books soon though and will give you an update if I feel there are significant enough differences that you may want to know about.
The Outsiders is definitely proving to be a wonderful series by Rebecca, so if you find yourself struggling at the beginning of this first book in the series, don’t give up! It really gets better and you will most likely immediately be purchasing the next in the series right away. I was going to give the book only a two star review because of the reasons I listed, but since it picked up considerably on the second half, and now I am hooked on the series, I bumped it up a star.
*I was given a complimentary copy of this new version of ‘Love Beyond Time’ by the author for an honest review.
Let me start by saying that I love most of Rebecca Royce’s books. I was introduced to her writing with the Westervelt Wolves and have since read several other series by her that I have enjoyed. That is why it is so difficult to not give this first book in The Outsiders series a stellar rating but I had a really difficult time with it.
Right from the beginning with the Prologue the ‘fact dumping’ started and took up quite a few pages. Enough so that my mind started to wander and I had a hard time continuing to read. At one point it actually made it easier to fall asleep at night by just reading a few chapters. Then when we finally meet the two main characters Kal and Isabelle it just continued. It’s hard to explain but I didn’t FEEL the characters emotions, I only knew what they were feeling because I was told so by the author. Even the sex scenes just didn’t do it for me and seemed rather bland in comparison to the ones in her other books.
It actually took me reading well over half of the book before the story finally kicked in for me and I couldn’t put it down. From that point on I was hooked and actually immediately started the second book after finally finishing this one. But I admit it was a struggle to get to that point. It really didn’t even feel like Rebecca’s usual writing style and the first half just felt forced to me and at some points just difficult to keep my interest.
I was glad I persevered though because the book truly does get better and Rebecca manages to pick up the pace and make me FEEL the love interests in this story as well as the next two books in the series ‘Love Beyond Sanity’ out now, and ‘Love Beyond Loyalty’ due for re-release on May 8, 2015.
Kal and Isabelle were nice characters but never much more than that for me. I really can’t wait for Leonardo’s book though because I just can’t see how Rebecca can make it work between him and his soulmate…
MILD SPOILER ALERT …who is currently the lover of the demon bad guy, Sebastian. I am just so curious to see how she handles that one! Because it is breaking my heart to watch how poor Leonardo is suffering.
END SPOILER
Veli, the guardian and protector of the characters growing up, was also very difficult to like. I don’t care what excuses were made by Isabelle, he was an emotional and physical bully to the children growing up and I couldn’t get past that to ever even like him. So I wasn’t really too upset by what happens to him.
Charma, Marina and Drew were much more sympathetic characters and I look forward to reading their stories in the series.
So in the final review of this book I can’t say not to read it because once it picks up it will definitely grab your attention and make you want to read the rest of the books in the series. I assume there will be nine, since there are 18 main characters in the series to be found. The original release of the series a few years ago were the first five books, and she seems to be rereleasing them rather quickly so I am hoping to get Leonardo’s story within the next six months (HINT, HINT Rebecca).
I actually had purchased the original first five books in this series a few years ago when they came out with a different publisher but had never gotten around to reading them. After finishing this re-release of ‘Love Beyond Time’ I will confess that I started to skim through books 4 & 5 of the older versions to see who the main love interests were and actually couldn’t put them down and so I have now read the books out of order. Which is why I had to be careful what I mentioned in this review, especially about Leonardo, since I have too much information in my head now about the progession of the series and can’t remember what has and hasn’t been mentioned in this first book.
Very little of the stories seem to have changed between publications and new publishers, so if you have the original versions I really don’t think you need to purchase the new ones. I skimmed through the original version of this book and didn’t really notice much difference but I haven’t done so with the next two books yet to be certain. I will be reviewing those books soon though and will give you an update if I feel there are significant enough differences that you may want to know about.
The Outsiders is definitely proving to be a wonderful series by Rebecca, so if you find yourself struggling at the beginning of this first book in the series, don’t give up! It really gets better and you will most likely immediately be purchasing the next in the series right away. I was going to give the book only a two star review because of the reasons I listed, but since it picked up considerably on the second half, and now I am hooked on the series, I bumped it up a star.
*I was given a complimentary copy of this new version of ‘Love Beyond Time’ by the author for an honest review.
What a fantastic start to a new series. Hunkalicious heroes with sweet and wonderful heroines, what more could you want?,
I really enjoy Rebecca Royce's books and I was given a copy of 'Love Beyond Time' by the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book in 'The Outsiders' series. It is a fantastic introduction to a world where the balance between good and evil has been kept by a group of humans with special powers, who call themselves Outsiders, since time immemorial. We enter the story at the beginning of this round of the war, when, in fulfillment of a prophecy, 19 children are born on the same day, 18 good, who are 9 pairs of soul mates, and 1 ultra-evil. When the children were a few months old, the evil child set out to destroy the Outsiders, but only got the adults. Their leader, Abraxas, tried to send the babies to Veli, a member of their society who had left the village a year ago after losing his soul mate, but the evil got to him before he could finish and Veli only got 3. The others are missing across the planet. a few years later, they find another child of their kind in Russia, and the 4 grow up together. It is now nearly 30 years later, they're living on an island off the coast of Maine and it's time to take on the evil instead of hiding from it.
Essentially a paranormal romance, it is packed with action and magic as the good guys try to figure out what their individual powers are, what they can do and what their limits are whilst also trying to find their other halves, battle the evil Sebastian and his minions, and deal with an increasingly negative and abusive Veli. Not a man I would like to have been brought up by. All is explained as the story unfolds.
This is the story of Kalmari (Kal), a strong alpha warrior who loves his 'family' even if he doesn't know how to show it, and Isabelle, his soul mate who works in social services and specialises in child abuse cases. The story also includes a lot about the others who grew up with Veli as their guardian and teacher, and their own soul mates, as well as the building of trust between the characters who call themselves a family, even if it is somewhat dysfunctional, as they grow into the people they were meant to be and finally start taking on the extreme evil known as Sebastian face to face. I love most of the characters in this book and look forward to finding out more about them as the series continues.
There are unexpected twists and turns all the way through this story. It gripped me and kept me reading when I should have been doing other things - like eating and sleeping. I wanted to know what happened next so much I couldn't put it down.
Like all of the Rebecca Royce books I've read, there is an underlying story which is on-going, starting in book 1 of the series and carrying on through the rest of the books as both the story and characters grow and evolve, and more characters are added. Although this didn't detract from the story when I started the Westervelt Wolves series with book 5, but I loved it so much I bought book 1 and carried on reading. I haven't read any other Outsiders books yet although I have got ARC copies of books 2 and 3 for review, but I suspect that, like the other series' I've read, there will be enough background that you can catch onto the basic timeline. But, as this is book 1, it's a great place to start reading this fantastic new series.
I highly recommend it to anyone who likes action packed paranormal romance with tons of magic, twists and turns, a HEA for the main characters and the odd steamy bit thrown in. You really should read this book.
What a fantastic start to a new series. Hunkalicious heroes with sweet and wonderful heroines, what more could you want?Love Beyond TimeRebecca Royce
I really enjoy Rebecca Royce's books and I was given a copy of 'Love Beyond Time' by the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book in 'The Outsiders' series. It is a fantastic introduction to a world where the balance between good and evil has been kept by a group of humans with special powers, who call themselves Outsiders, since time immemorial. We enter the story at the beginning of this round of the war, when, in fulfillment of a prophecy, 19 children are born on the same day, 18 good, who are 9 pairs of soul mates, and 1 ultra-evil. When the children were a few months old, the evil child set out to destroy the Outsiders, but only got the adults. Their leader, Abraxas, tried to send the babies to Veli, a member of their society who had left the village a year ago after losing his soul mate, but the evil got to him before he could finish and Veli only got 3. The others are missing across the planet. a few years later, they find another child of their kind in Russia, and the 4 grow up together. It is now nearly 30 years later, they're living on an island off the coast of Maine and it's time to take on the evil instead of hiding from it.
Essentially a paranormal romance, it is packed with action and magic as the good guys try to figure out what their individual powers are, what they can do and what their limits are whilst also trying to find their other halves, battle the evil Sebastian and his minions, and deal with an increasingly negative and abusive Veli. Not a man I would like to have been brought up by. All is explained as the story unfolds.
This is the story of Kalmari (Kal), a strong alpha warrior who loves his 'family' even if he doesn't know how to show it, and Isabelle, his soul mate who works in social services and specialises in child abuse cases. The story also includes a lot about the others who grew up with Veli as their guardian and teacher, and their own soul mates, as well as the building of trust between the characters who call themselves a family, even if it is somewhat dysfunctional, as they grow into the people they were meant to be and finally start taking on the extreme evil known as Sebastian face to face. I love most of the characters in this book and look forward to finding out more about them as the series continues.
There are unexpected twists and turns all the way through this story. It gripped me and kept me reading when I should have been doing other things - like eating and sleeping. I wanted to know what happened next so much I couldn't put it down.
Like all of the Rebecca Royce books I've read, there is an underlying story which is on-going, starting in book 1 of the series and carrying on through the rest of the books as both the story and characters grow and evolve, and more characters are added. Although this didn't detract from the story when I started the Westervelt Wolves series with book 5, but I loved it so much I bought book 1 and carried on reading. I haven't read any other Outsiders books yet although I have got ARC copies of books 2 and 3 for review, but I suspect that, like the other series' I've read, there will be enough background that you can catch onto the basic timeline. But, as this is book 1, it's a great place to start reading this fantastic new series.
I highly recommend it to anyone who likes action packed paranormal romance with tons of magic, twists and turns, a HEA for the main characters and the odd steamy bit thrown in. You really should read this book.
**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review** Kal is one of 18 of what's left of a special race called Outsiders. Somewhere in the world is his perfect other half. He wasn't sure if or when he would find her, but when she literally runs into his arms, he'll do what he can to keep her there and protect her as she adjusts to everything that is happening. Isabella is stunned when it seems the man of her dreams is real and what he has to tell her makes her want to run and hide. Kal was raised with two of the other Outsiders by a former Outsider warrior, preparing for their destiny. Even with the makeshift family, Kal has always felt kind separate from the rest. He feels he's not worthy of having a destined mate. Once he finds Isabella, he starts to realize his value and is able to really reach his full potential. While Isabelle doesn't know anything about being an Outsider, she instinctively knows she is meant to be with Kal. Being with him allows her to realize her powers and help him feel whole. While I was a little skeptical when the prologue seemed a bit long, but once I started the book, I didn't finish it until I was done. The author does a great job of creating a new world with, essentially, a countdown until the end of humanity is taking place. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author.
Merged review:
Great Story, Great Characters **I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review**Kal is one of 18 of what's left of a special race called Outsiders. Somewhere in the world is his perfect other half. He wasn't sure if or when he would find her, but when she literally runs into his arms, he'll do what he can to keep her there and protect her as she adjusts to everything that is happening. Isabella is stunned when it seems the man of her dreams is real and what he has to tell her makes her want to run and hide. Kal was raised with two of the other Outsiders by a former Outsider warrior, preparing for their destiny. Even with the makeshift family, Kal has always felt kind separate from the rest. He feels he's not worthy of having a destined mate. Once he finds Isabella, he starts to realize his value and is able to really reach his full potential. While Isabelle doesn't know anything about being an Outsider, she instinctively knows she is meant to be with Kal. Being with him allows her to realize her powers and help him feel whole. While I was a little skeptical when the prologue seemed a bit long, but once I started the book, I didn't finish it until I was done. The author does a great job of creating a new world with, essentially, a countdown until the end of humanity is taking place. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author.
I had no clue what I was getting into when I started reading Love Beyond Time. Before I was halfway through, I was praying there were more books.. and not just one or two more.. oodles and oddles! I'm not ready to walk away from this "world".
This book/series focuses on a race of humans that call themselves Outsiders. They were created to maintain balance between good and evil.. to not let evil get the upper hand and take over the world. We start with the back story of The Prophecy: 18 Outsiders (9 sets of soul mates) and 1 Demon will all be born at the same time and the other Outsiders will be destroyed. It will then be the destiny of these 18 to defeat the demon/evil and save humanity.
Love Beyond Time, Book 1, brings us up to speed and then begins to introduce us to these 18 Outsiders (and the demon as well!) after they are adults. Most were separated as babies to survive and are now suddenly finding themselves thrust into this world as they are slowly reunited and discover not only their soul mates, but also their special gifts. Their gifts include such things as foresight, healing, manipulating thoughts and even time travel. Everyone has something special to bring to the fight.
As one can see, these books are MUCH MUCH more than romance! But, ahh yes, romance is included! We start off with Kal and Isabelle. Kal grew up with two other Outsiders and has always known who he was and what was coming. Isabelle is one of the lost ones who grew up in a normal family. When the darkness locates and targets Isabelle, Kal and her are brought together by the fates to start the battle.
Do not be fooled. This is NOT just another romance novel. The cover and blurb does not do the book justice and could easily turn non-romance readers away. (I tried to convince a male friend to check out the series and he laughed at me. Humph! His loss!
I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.