TIME WALKER by Meghan Ciana Doidge-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Released January 13, 2013

Beth was sneaky. No lock could hold her. No cage could confine her. No door could bar her way. But, when your adoptive mother is a Spirit Binder, and all your siblings are elementals, being sneaky doesn’t really rank. That is until the devastation of a city draws her omniscient mother’s attention, and her siblings go missing one by one, then Beth’s sneakiness is the only thing standing between her, her loved ones, and the worst enemy she’ll ever face: herself.

****************

TIME WALKER by Meghan Ciana Doidge is a fantasy YA novel and the first in her Spirit Bound series. There is an introductory novel, Spirit Bound that takes place ten years previously, but you don’t need to read it first.

I am new to the Fantasy genre and I wasn’t sure that I would appreciate this novel, but once I starting reading, I was hooked!! This is the story of a group of children with wonderful gifts and abilities who were adopted by the most powerful being in the Kingdom, Theo the Spirit Binder. Time Walker centers around Beth, who is unsure that her “gift” is as great as her siblings. She is able to walk in the shadows and open any lock or ward placed before her. She is good at being sneaky, but is that all?

On the morning after her sister’s Rite of Passage, a terrible earthquake occurs and all of the adults go to the village to help. Beth and her siblings, plus visitors Finn and Cara are left alone in the castle. You know that something wrong will happen when all of the adults are away! Rose, the younger sister is kidnapped by a being who feels “wrong”. The siblings are on the chase and Finn, who can track anything is puzzled. Rose’s presence appears and disappears at random. One by one, her siblings start to disappear. Finally, Beth comes face to face with the kidnapper. It is an older woman that looks like her, but somehow is different. There is a“wrongness” about her, in fact, she seems mad!! Mad as in CRAZY! What do you do when your older self appears in front of you? Yes, Beth has some gifts that she didn’t know she possessed! This is a tricky situation, Beth knows that it is her future self and she has this time walker gift, but how can she fight a being that is herself? Finn is by her side the whole time while they are trying to solve the puzzle of what happens in the future. It is a wonderful story with a lot of action and questions answered about future Beth and the horrors that she will face. It’s a time honored dilemma for time walkers, should you change the present to prevent future happenings? It is also a story of family. Theirs’ is an adoptive family, but they pull together and protect each other. Beth is willing to sacrifice all to save her family against her future self. Finn is wonderful and is an anchor for Beth. Yes, every novel needs a swoon-worthy hero!

In conclusion, Time Walker is a great YA read, written for all ages. I really enjoyed this book and I did go back and read the prequel, which was also fantastic!!

LINKS TO ORDER: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / KOBO/

Reviewed by Jules

Copy supplied by author.