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!

     

What's Next, Wednesday (13)

•  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...

Better in the Morning by Fern Ronay. Just when Veronica thinks she's going to get exactly what she wants: to quit her job and marry her dream-guy, he announces he's moving. All of a sudden she's alone. But her dreams push her to a new career path and maybe a new guy. I'm excited about this one because it seems it will be a quick, easy, wonderful, entertaining novel. 

Teaser Tuesday (220)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm/Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• 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



Indiana Belle (Kindle 26%)
   - John A. Heldt

A black, shifting, formless mass, the Tri-State Tornado, was just beyond the river and approaching fast. The most violent twister in recorded history was perhaps a minute away from sending three people to their maker.

The A to Z of Normal

Clare Thorpe’s need for order and symmetry governs everything she owns – from tins and toiletries, to cushions and clothes.
Yet she has always managed to hide the compulsions dominating her world. Until now.
When long-distance boyfriend Tom proposes, her secret life begins to unravel. How can she share a future with the man she loves, if she can’t even share her space?
And when the only way forward brings a threat greater than any compulsive behaviour, do they have a future together at all?
A poignant and humorous story of love, family, secrets…and military precision.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Helen Barbour takes readers inside the life of a woman plagued with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder who desperately wants to find peace in her novel, The A to Z of Normal. It takes Clare hours to perfect her home and now that she's engaged, she doesn't want problems popping up in her relationship. So Clare decides to take control of her controlling OCD and try to muss it up a bit. 

Clare is a really nice, likeable character. The story focuses solely on her so readers get the in-depth look into her world with OCD. It's easy to see that living with this disorder is an everyday struggle. Readers will connect with Clare empathetically as well as sympathetically, but there's also her personality outside of the controlled realm that readers will see and like. She worries about her father, her sister, her niece and nephew. Clare's a fantastic Auntie who spends real, quality time with her niece and nephew. Clare is also loving, friendly, and a bit naive. The OCD doesn't define her and Clare learns that when she tries to overcome it. The only thing I didn't like about Clare was the cheating incident ... and then the lying incident. I don't think it's right that she failed to tell Tom about it, but I also don't think it's right that another character basically tricked Clare into thinking her relationship with Tom was over. It's a catch-22 situation, but I think Clare should have come clean. 

The A to Z of Normal is a well written novel with humor, love, acceptance, and strength. I really enjoyed the dialect that Barbour used for this novel. It was fun to read the British-English terms in the dialogue and the narrative. The plot was pretty well laid out, Clare and Tom get engaged at the beginning causing Clare to realize that she has to work on her OCD if they're ever going to live together happily ever after. Throw a couple of wrenches into that simple plan and readers will enjoy the bumpy ride. I'm sure this novel could help those living with OCD to know they aren't alone, but it's also a book for people who are interested in understanding OCD a bit better while being entertained with a love story. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups