River Rising (Carson Chronicles #1)

Weeks after his parents disappear on a hike, engineer Adam Carson, 27, searches for answers. Then he discovers a secret web site and learns his mom and dad are time travelers stuck in the past. Armed with the information he needs to find them, Adam convinces his younger siblings to join him on a rescue mission to the 1880s.

While Greg, the adventurous middle brother, follows leads in the Wild West, Adam, journalist Natalie, and high school seniors Cody and Caitlin do the same in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Like the residents of the bustling steel community, all are unaware of a flood that will destroy the city on May 31, 1889.

In RIVER RISING, the first novel in the Carson Chronicles series, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they experience America in the age of bustle dresses, gunslingers, and robber barons.

*May Contain Spoilers*

River Rising begins another time travel series by John A. Heldt, but one that promises a little more action with characters that are constant. I always enjoy time travel novels because they give me history with the facts mixed into the fiction, which I love. This novel is no exception as Heldt takes a family of five back to the 1880s in search of their parents. With five main characters, there's a character for any kind of reader to connect with and plenty of circumstances that demand it. 

Adam is the oldest and the 'leader' of the Carson clan. He's intelligent but haunted by an old wound. His romantic history remains a mystery for most of the novel but is eventually revealed. As he falls in love with a woman from the 1880s, readers will enjoy his triumph over loss and feel connected to him emotionally. 

Natalie was my favorite character as she is witty, smart, and likes to challenge the males around her. It was enjoyable to read her chapters and she even kept me on my toes at times. She also gains a love interest (like most of her siblings) but her story is much sadder than Adam's. Her story will offer a connection through empathy and understanding as well as through her personality. 

Greg is sort of the wild sibling as he is the only one who stirs up trouble in the 1880s. Though he is also quite intelligent and an outdoorsman, the role he plays is mainly doing the actual searching for the Carson parents. He does much more traveling than anyone else and introduces readers to other places in 1880s besides Pennsylvania. 

Caitlin and Cody are the youngest siblings and are also twins. They attend school in the 1880s and provide a younger perspective. Caitlin is kind of a bookworm, which I loved, while Cody tends to slip up and spout off clues to their time traveling status. He is also the youngest to fall in love with another high school senior which causes some teenage angst to enter the novel. 

With something for everyone, this time traveling novel is bound to please. I really enjoyed all of the characters and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment. The series follows the plot of the five siblings looking for their time traveling parents who they thought were dead in different historical settings. Next up: the year 1918. The only thing is, Tim and Caroline Carson are also looking for them as they eventually returned to the future and saw that their children had 'disappeared.' So with more danger and intrigue lurking, the next book in the series already seems to be pulling me in. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (298)

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

River Rising (Kindle 76%)

     - John A Heldt

"Something tells me your dilemma involves more than a desire to return to Arizona."

"It does," Natalie said. "It involves something I've been afraid to talk about for months, something that would test the limits of your imagination." 

What's Next, Wednesday (85)

•  To play along share a book you've been looking forward to reading, whether it's new or has been on your reading list for a while.

I'm looking forward to...

River Rising by John A Heldt. This is the first book in the Carson Chronicles series and involves time travel, which is exactly the way I like my history lessons. I'm excited to start this new series as I really enjoyed Heldt's last one. Though this time, the time travelers get stuck and must be rescued by their children, which is a fresh twist on time travel for me. I don't know if I'd trust my brother to take me to the 1880s, but I'll leave that worrying to Adam's siblings in the book. 

Hannah's Moon (American Journey #5)

After struggling for years to have a child, Claire Rasmussen, 34, turns to adoption, only to find new obstacles on the path to motherhood. Then she gets an unlikely phone call and soon learns that a distant uncle possesses the secrets of time travel.

Within weeks, Claire, husband Ron, and brother David find themselves on a train to Tennessee and 1945, where adoptable infants are plentiful and red tape is short. For a time, they find what they seek. Then a beautiful stranger enters their lives, the Navy calls, and a simple, straightforward mission becomes a race for survival.

*May Contain Spoilers*

The final book in the American Journey series, Hannah's Moon, gives readers both an adventure into the 1945 and the end of WWII and a summary of the time travelling benefactor, Geoffrey Bell. This series, which has taken readers to various points in the 1900s, continuously focuses on the idea of family, adventure, and experiencing history. Hannah's Moon is no different. 

There are three main characters who share the experience of travelling back to 1945 in this series conclusion. However, I believe Claire, Ron, and David are the only travelers who go back in time for a very specific purpose: to adopt a baby. Claire and Ron have been trying to expand their family for years and have been sadly disappointed each time. Adoption becomes their only option and they soon learn that the desire to adopt comes with more hurdles and red tape then they would have ever imagined. Geoffrey Bell, long time time traveler, decides to help his niece and nephew with the chance to make the adoption process easier. In 1945, adoption regulations were less strict and travelling back to the past would expedite the process. Claire and Ron jump at the opportunity, even if time travelling seems impossible. 

Claire and Ron are both fantastic characters. Though readers will probably feel more connected to Claire, as they will have a stronger empathetic connection to her as a woman with fertility issues. Her emotions are presented more often than Ron's and, therefore, reach the reader at a deeper level. For everything that Claire has gone through, she is an extremely strong character. Her perseverance and sunny disposition light up the darkness that experience and loss have created. Claire keeps moving forward with unabashed courage and resolve. These characteristics are amplified in 1945 when trouble ensues. 

Unfortunately, Ron's character brings most of the trouble and a lot of the excitement to the novel. Ron is a loving man who cares for his wife and wants to give her the world. In 2017, he's a coffee shop owner, but in 1945 his protective nature kicks in. It leads him to a back alley fight, in which he saves someone's life, but is also sentenced to enlist in the military. With no other options, Ron serves his country as a time traveler. Things heat up quickly for Ron because, although the war is ending soon, he stumbles into a very dangerous position that threatens his life. Ron's character shines as courageous, level headed, and brave with all that he's put up against.

David Baker is Claire's bachelor brother who travels to 1945 to help his family fulfill their wish of being parents. He's a history teacher in 2017 and also serves as the historian for the 1945 experience. He also offers a love story as a sub-plot, as he meets the beautiful Margaret Doyle (who I believe would have died in 1945 if not for David). This adds a little intrigue to the downtime between Ron and Claire's story while also adding to the main plot. David's loyalty to his family and respectable nature makes him a very likeable character that readers will want a happy ending for. 

Readers who have enjoyed the American Journey series will undoubtedly want to read this last installment. Perhaps it's the plot, or the concrete mission, or the actual involvement that Claire and Ron stumble into, but this final book feels different than the others. It feels like it has more weight in terms of circumstance and even danger. The main issue I had, as I've had with the other installments, was the dialogue. At times it felt stilted and lacked the flow of a conversation. Though that doesn't really interfere with the enjoyment that this book offers. My favorite part of the book was the end, as Geoffrey Bell brings all the time travelers together to meet each other. It was a fitting end to the series, with a possibility of more to come if the author chooses to ever keep going. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Other American Journey series books:

               

What's Next, Wednesday (48)

•  To play along share a book you've been looking forward to reading, whether it's new or has been on your reading list for a while.

I'm looking forward to...

Hannah's Moon by John A. Heldt. This book will be the final installment of the American Journey series. The series revolves around the ability to time travel and honestly, I will miss the historic stories of love and the paradoxes of time travel. I've reviewed all of the books in this series, and though I don't want the series to end, I'm really excited about reading this final journey. This time, the characters are traveling to 1945 which promises danger in the face of WWII. 

Scattered Souls (Flames of Time #2)

Ava Flynn is cursed.

After barely surviving an epic battle between her warring soul mates, Ava is stranded in the past with Laith, while Maddox frantically searches across the decades. Laith will stop at nothing to prove his love to Ava, and a desperate Maddox must race against time to find her before his brother can win her heart.

Torn between the two brothers, and with her eternal soul at stake, Ava comes to the horrifying conclusion that only she can break the curse. But the cost may be more than she is willing to pay.

*May Contain Spoilers*

The curse continues in the Flames of Time series with Scattered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean. Though I did not read the first book in this series, I definitely should have. I think it would have helped me have a better connection to Ava as well as understand the curse more fully and see both Maddox and Laith more clearly. But I just couldn't say no to reading this book. 

Ava Flynn: teenage soul reincarnation of a young woman named Elizabeth who committed suicide after finding out that she had two soul mates who hated each other and would never let her live her life in peace with just one of them. Ava, as her own person, is still suffering from the loss of her father while living with her mother and brother in Maine. As the reincarnated soul of Elizabeth, Ava is destined to love both Maddox and Laith, twin brothers who suffer from a terrible curse of sharing a soul, though it resides divided in both bodies. This sequel to Splintered Souls does a good job in explaining that Ava has feelings for both young men and is just as confused as Elizabeth was. 

However, at the beginning of this book, Ava was just saved/kidnapped by Laith, the brother she originally wasn't too impressed with, from certain death involving falling off a cliff. Instead of letting her die, Laith jumped over the cliffside, grabbed Ava as they both fell, and time traveled them to the past. 1928 to be specific. Yes, that's right -- time travel. A big reason I couldn't not read this book. I think this shows an important part of Laith's character as he put his own life in danger to help Ava, even though at the time she was involved with Maddox. 

Laith and Maddox seem to be complete opposites in this series except for the glaringly obvious part about them being soul mates with the same woman. This literary technique, called foil, is used to compare and contrast a main character in order to highlight certain attributes. In this book specifically, Maddox's obsession and insane perseverance highlight Laith's good qualities even though he was made out to be the 'bad' brother. As the story progresses, Laith slowly evolves into the 'good' brother while Maddox simultaneously shows his true colors as being completely insane. 

As Dean wanted, throughout the first half of the book, I did not like Laith. I thought it was wrong that he saved her life only to take her back in time and keep her to himself, hiding her from Maddox. Ava's feelings for Maddox both turned on alarm bells for Laith as well as blurred the true nature of Maddox. This works to put readers into the same position as Ava herself: Which brother has the truer intentions? Also, which brother is being honest in his personal representation and which one just wants to have Ava to beat the other? 

I really enjoyed how put in this strange situation, Ava refused to sit it out and let the boys decide what was best for her. She shows bravery and courage when she decides to steal Laith's stone, travel back in time, and figure out how to stop the boys from being cursed in the first place. Though it proves not to be very successful, as the past resists being changed, I admired Ava for attempting it. 

I also liked how Dean dealt with the small paradoxes of time travel. Her terms like 'jet wash' really helped explain how it works in the confines of this novel and this curse. 

The only real problem I had with this book was the dialogue. Not between the modern day characters like Ava, Laith, and Maddox, but with the characters from the past. As a student of English literature, the people in England from the 1600s would have spoken Early Modern English and therefore, there would have been a little difficulty in Ava understanding them and vice versa. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it bothered me that Ava could converse with the characters in the 1600s so easily. Though Ava's modern references definitely added a bit of humor to the more serious situations she experienced while in the past.

In regards to the plot, the main focus is the love triangle between Ava, Maddox, and Laith. The first half of the book works more as a character reveal of Laith as Maddox searches through time to find where Laith is hiding Ava. When Ava realizes that neither brother will submit his half of the soul to the other, she decides to take things into her own hands and try to stop the curse from ever being placed to begin with.

I think readers who enjoy time travel and love stories will enjoy this book, and perhaps this series as a whole. I know I feel invested in how this series ends and will look forward to reading the next installment as there was a huge cliffhanger ending. However, I do highly recommend starting from book one. I usually try to follow this advice, but sometimes I just can't wait. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Class of '59

When Mary Beth McIntire settles into a vacation house on June 2, 2017, she anticipates a quiet morning with coffee. Then she hears a noise, peers out a window, and spots a man in 1950s attire standing in the backyard. She panics when the trespasser sees her and enters the house though a door to the basement. She questions her sanity when she cannot find him.

In the same house on March 21, 1959, Mark Ryan finds a letter. Written by the mansion’s original owner in 1900, the letter describes a basement chamber, mysterious crystals, and a formula for time travel. Driven by curiosity, Mark tests the formula twice. On his second trip to 2017, he encounters a beautiful stranger. He meets the woman in the window.

Within hours, Mary Beth and Mark share their secret with her sister and his brother and begin a journey that takes them from the present day to the age of sock hops, drive-ins, and jukeboxes. In CLASS OF ’59, the fourth book in the American Journey series, four young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they navigate the corridors of time and experience Southern California in its storied prime.

*May Contain Spoilers*

John Heldt opens the door to a few new time travelers that stumble into and out of 1959, in his new American Journey book, Class of '59. A young man discovers the power to time travel in his Los Angeles home, a home that will someday belong to Geoffrey Bell, a common character (and time traveler) in the American Journey series. When he's caught by a present day woman, all bets are off as he tries to convince her what's he found. 

Mark and Ben Ryan and Mary Beth and Piper McIntire are the four main characters in this novel. Mark is the oldest Ryan brother and is the first to discover the time travelling tunnel beneath his house and how it works with a corresponding crystal. Mark is the typical 1950's gentleman. He's intelligent, driven, loves his family, a little adventurous, and is definitely caring. Ben, however, does not portray himself as that 1950s gentleman. He is more self-centered, conceited, egotistical, and grumpy. His teenage personality gives the story more pep and a little more sarcasm. Though there's more to Ben then that; it just takes a while for his better personality traits to actually come out. He's more of a get-to-know character. Which, Piper McIntire signs up for. 

Piper is the young McIntire sister who thinks Mary Beth and Mark are crazy when they introduce her to the time travelling tunnel. Piper is also a teenager and is prone to fits of grumpiness and uncertain emotions. Her sarcasm and banter are fun to read while her deeper, more personal thoughts are more telling of her character. She also pushes the story forward as it's Piper who decides she wants to make the most out of their experience. She decides she wants to live in the 1950s like a boarding school vacation for six weeks or so, graduate high school again, and get to have the 1950s high school experience complete with poodle skirts and tennis matches. Her sister, Mary Beth, agrees to it. 

Mary Beth McIntire is probably the character easiest to make a connection with. When the story opens, Mary Beth, and readers, witness her fiance being shot in a convenience store robbery. Losing someone she loved paused Mary Beth's happiness. With this emotional connection right at the beginning, readers will enjoy Mary Beth's view of living for the moment and experiencing all there is in 1959. Mary Beth is a very caring and loyal woman who expresses her gratitude and joy within each good moment. She graduated from college and is going into medicine to be a trauma surgeon. She's a great character that loves exploring, experiencing, and a little bit of excitement. But she's also the one who puts everyone in danger.

The plot of Class of '59 does focus on these four young adults who travel between 1959 and 2017. However, Mary Beth, before leaving 2017, buys a book that held sports scores for past championships and whatnot (think Back to the Future), in order for them to make money in the past. Because of a receipt with an unbelievable date, a very bad criminal in 1959 discovers the existence of that book and plans on tracking down Mary Beth to find it. This plot addition gives the book a little action with its adventure. 

Class of '59 is a great story, rich in detail and character connections, but I had trouble with the dialogue again. To me, there are a few too many "OK, I will"s and "Let me explain"s. These repetitive phrases seem to take away the individuality of each character, because they all use them. I also had an issue with Mark Ryan meeting Mary Beth's father. In the first half of the book, Mary Beth takes Mark to lunch with her parents in 2017. Toward the end of the book, Mark is again introduced to Mary Beth's parents with, I believe, only a few weeks apart. If I were one of her parents, I would remember having lunch with a Californian gentleman for longer than two weeks after I had that meal. That makes me wonder what Mary Beth would have told her parents if they would have realized it was the same man. Regardless, this installment of the American Journey series does not disappoint. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (248)

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.




Class of '59 (Kindle 14%)
   - John A Heldt

"I mean the four of us are in a great position to spice up our vacations. Ben and I can travel to 2017 and return as if we had never left 1959. You and Mary Beth can do just the opposite. You can do anything you want." 

Synopsis 

When Mary Beth McIntire settles into a vacation house on June 2, 2017, she anticipates a quiet morning with coffee. Then she hears a noise, peers out a window, and spots a man in 1950s attire standing in the backyard. She panics when the trespasser sees her and enters the house though a door to the basement. She questions her sanity when she cannot find him. 

In the same house on March 21, 1959, Mark Ryan finds a letter. Written by the mansion’s original owner in 1900, the letter describes a basement chamber, mysterious crystals, and a formula for time travel. Driven by curiosity, Mark tests the formula twice. On his second trip to 2017, he encounters a beautiful stranger. He meets the woman in the window. 

Within hours, Mary Beth and Mark share their secret with her sister and his brother and begin a journey that takes them from the present day to the age of sock hops, drive-ins, and jukeboxes. In CLASS OF ’59, the fourth book in the American Journey series, four young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they navigate the corridors of time and experience Southern California in its storied prime.

What's Next, Wednesday (38)

•  To play along share a book you've been looking forward to reading, whether it's new or has been on your reading list for a while.

I'm looking forward to...

Class of '59 by John Heldt. The American Journey series continues with this fourth installment, but with one main difference. The time traveler doesn't make it through the tunnel without being seen. Thus begins the journey of Mary and Mark. Mark, a man from the 1950s, takes Mary back in time with him to explore the decade. We'll have to see if this involves the well known Dr. Bell or if this is a story set apart from him and his studious excursions. All I know is that Heldt writes great historical fiction and it always comes with a bit of drama. 

Indiana Belle (American Journey #3)

Providence, Rhode Island, 2017. When doctoral student Cameron Coelho, 28, opens a package from Indiana, he finds more than private papers that will help him with his dissertation. He finds a photograph of a beautiful society editor murdered in 1925 and clues to a century-old mystery. Within days, he meets Geoffrey Bell, the "time-travel professor," and begins an unlikely journey through the Roaring Twenties. Filled with history, romance, and intrigue, INDIANA BELLE follows a lonely soul on the adventure of a lifetime as he searches for love and answers in the age of Prohibition, flappers, and jazz.

*May Contain Spoilers*

For the first time in the American Journey series, Geoffrey Bell has someone come to him about time travel in this third book, Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt. Someone who promises to help him gain more crystals and learn the location of the original time travelling cave. Yet, someone who can't promise to leave the past alone. 

Cameron Coelho is a twenty-first century man with nothing but his dissertation studies and his former girlfriend's father as a friend. It isn't the worst life, but it isn't the best either. When Cameron comes across a diary that speaks of time travel and a photo of a murdered woman, he goes all in. In doing so, Cameron became the man he was supposed to be. Readers will enjoy Cameron's character. He's passionate, caring, loving, intelligent, and a gentleman. The main connection between readers and Cameron will be his uncertainty about letting an innocent woman die... again. Readers will either think he should leave it be so he doesn't mess up the future or they'll think he should save her and take his chances. I rooted for saving her. Candice Bell is a humorous, talented journalist who loves adventure and spicing things up. 

Indiana Belle was an enjoyable novel. Evansville, Indiana provided a good even footed setting with enough good and bad to keep the story interesting. There was a nice twist at the end, which I found surprising. Though the idea had fluttered through my head, I didn't expect it. Also, this was the first time any of the characters had traveled to the future. I thought that was a nice enhancement, though it was freaky, as it should be I suppose. I wonder now if that's how the author imagines the future to be. It would be interesting to analyze it more thoroughly to see what current events may have influenced the description of the future. Heldt is a writer who is easy to read and easy to understand. Perfect for light summer reading. As a lover of time travel novels, I recommend this to anyone else who enjoys the genre. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Behind on the series? Read the reviews for books one and two!

     

Mercer Street

Weeks after her husband dies in the midst of an affair in 2016, Chicago writer Susan Peterson, 48, seeks solace on a California vacation with her mother Elizabeth and daughter Amanda. The novelist, however, finds more than she bargained for when she meets a professor who possesses the secret of time travel.

Within days, the women travel to 1938 and Princeton, New Jersey. Elizabeth begins a friendship with her refugee parents and infant self, while Susan and Amanda fall for a widowed admiral and a German researcher with troubling ties. Filled with poignancy, heartbreak, and intrigue, MERCER STREET gives new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and commitment as it follows three strong-willed souls on the adventure of a lifetime.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Dr. Bell is giving modern day people another chance to explore the past in John A. Heldt's newest novel, Mercer Street. An installment in the American Journey series, this novel takes three women back to 1938 with strict rules to follow and the means to survive the calm before the storm that is coming, World War II.

 

Amanda, Susan, and Elizabeth are three generations of a family that has endured a lot. Amanda, the youngest, has just graduated college and is aspiring to work at a D.C. think tank. She's an incredibly intelligent young woman with specific values and a strong sense of morality. Amanda dreams of excelling in her field and will undoubtedly gain the respect of readers. She also dreams of falling in love with a man who values her smart mind as well as her beauty.

 

Susan is Amanda's mother and is just as intelligent as her daughter. Readers will immediately connect with Susan based on the tragedy that occurs at the beginning of the novel. Just as Susan learns that her husband has been cheating on her, he dies. Susan is left with many questions, anger, and a sense of betrayal. Life has been unfair to Susan and she thinks that travelling into the past will provide much needed time to process everything that has happened. Readers will empathize with her grieving process while simultaneously be entertained by the second chance that 1938 offers her.

 

Elizabeth is Susan's mother, Amanda's grandmother, and a woman in her seventies that would give anything to see her parents again, which ultimately leads to the three ladies choosing 1938 as their time travel destination. Elizabeth is a respectable woman who has a life full of happiness and regrets. Readers will understand her need to meet her parents as younger people and enjoy watching her interact with her infant self.

 

The plot of Mercer Street begins with the three family members traveling to California for a much needed vacation, where they meet Dr. Bell at a lecture. After an in-depth conversation with Dr. Bell, he offers the women the chance to travel through time. Uncertain if they should believe him, the women take a chance that he isn't crazy and are rewarded with the experience of a lifetime. Filled with rich history and a couple of love stories, Mercer Street is a wonderful read. If all history books were like this, I might have enjoyed studying it more. The detail is fantastic though the writing style can be a bit stilted at times. And if there's one thing that has stuck with me through reading the American Journey series thus far, it's this: time travelers will always make a change whether it's on purpose or accidental.

 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Travelers - Blog Tour

Synopsis:
Sienna Crenshaw knows the rules: 1) no time traveling beyond your natural lifetime, 2) no screwing with death, and 3) no changing the past. Ever. Sienna doesn’t love being stuck in the present, but she’s not the type to break the rules. That is, she wasn’t the type until her best friend broke every one of those rules to keep Henry, her twin brother and Sienna’s ex-boyfriend, alive.

Suddenly, Sienna is caught in an unfamiliar reality. The upside? Henry is still alive. The downside? Sienna’s old life, including the people in it, has been erased. Now, Sienna and Henry must untangle the giant knot in time, or her parents and all the rest of the Travelers, will be lost forever. One problem: the only way to be successful is for Henry to die.

Review:

Traveling through time has always fascinated me. But changing time? Now that's a little more on the scary side for one main reason: the butterfly effect. A simple theory that comes down to the smallest detail. Change that and the world changes with it. Meradith Houston explores that theory in her novel, Travelers, where one girl merely wishes to save her brother's life, but in doing so, creates an entire new reality. 

Sienna Crenshaw is the main character in this mind bending, time altering ride. She has the time traveling gene but isn't the greatest at it. She tends to end up in the wrong places. That's one of the reasons her parents restrict her traveling. Her imperfect nature definitely makes Sienna more down to earth and relatable, which I think is always important in a science fiction novel. She's also a loving and understanding person. The love Sienna has for her family and boyfriend show how big her heart is and her reaction when everything is taken away from her will empathetically connect her to readers. 

The plot of Travelers gets a bit confusing because of the drastic time shift and altering of reality, but Houston does a good job at staying focused. Thankfully, she narrows the massive change down to a specific event. After Joan changes history so that her brother lives, Sienna knows she has to change it back. Especially when she learns that her parents aren't alive in the parallel dimension. She'll do anything to save her family, but the hard part lies in letting Henry, her boyfriend and Joan's twin, die all over again. The struggle between realities is difficult and readers will understand that. The right decision isn't always the easiest and Sienna has to be ready to make some sacrifices to set things back on track. The foundation of a character connection will begin with Sienna's personality but it will further develop, and solidify, with the decisions she makes, as the whole world hangs in the balance. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Meet the Author:

I’ve never been a big fan of talking about myself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about me:

I'm a California girl. This generally means I talk too fast and use "like" a lot. Since I now live in Montana, sometimes this is a problem. 

I have my doctorate in molecular anthropology. Translation: I sequence dead people's DNA and spend a whole lot of time in a lab, which I love. 

I've been writing since I was 11 years old. It's my hobby, my passion, and I'm so happy to get to share my work! 

My other passion is teaching. There's nothing more fun than getting a classroom of college kids fired up about anthropology! This is probably a good thing, since my day job requires me to teach at the local university. 

If I could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because I'm terrified of heights.

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