Mercer Street (American Journey #2) by John Heldt-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 21, 2015

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.

REVIEW

5 out of 5 for this reader folks!

Oh John Heldt … is there anything you write that I won’t fall in love with? NOPE! LOL

I have come to expect one heck of a journey when I pick up a John Heldt novel, one that brings time travel, history, shock, love, sniffly “I just peeled an onion” moments, the need for a box of kleenex, nods of the head and a deep satisfaction that all is how it should be. Mercer Street is the second book of John’s American Journey series and like his first one I was completely smitten and captivated.

Susan Peterson has recently become a widow and decides to take a vacation in hopes of some healing. Bringing along her mother Elizabeth and her daughter Amanda, little does Susan realize that this vacay is going to throw her back into history and change her life forever. After meeting with a professor who is an expert on time travel, all three ladies soon find themselves on their own time travelling journey… together!

Thrown back into 1938 with New Jersey as the backdrop, Susan, Elizabeth and Amanda are not only flabbergasted at the experience of time travel, but completely at the mercy of what 1938 means. Pre WW2, being women, each having a different perspective on life as naturally three generations would, it was incredible to read these women navigate from 2016 to 1938.

As we bounce from one woman’s story to the other it amazed me how different their experiences were. Elizabeth befriends her parents as young immigrants (and meets herself as a baby .. that was weird …lol). Susan, after finding out her husband was unfaithful, has a tendency to have issues with trust. When she finds herself falling in love with an admiral, these issues surface. Amanda falls in love with a German and this brings much left to be desired as a war is brewing, and German’s were not on the same side as Americans.

SO MUCH MORE than all of this to the story (it’s hard to touch on details without giving too much away), and while all three main characters have their own spotlighted stories, it is amazing how weaved together these three individuals are. They each require healing in their own way, and they each seek to find something poignant and meaningful. I dare say they find all and so much more. One thing I came away with while reading this, is a mother will never stop being a mother. In spite of all good intentions, advice and suggestion wasn’t always adhered to, but a sense of learning and acceptance can be seen in all three strong willed women.

I often imagine how hard it has to be to be thrown back in a time, and want to do everything one can to prevent a harsh history from happening. I am glad this struggle is touched upon. John writes complex characters and story line that in my opinion are completely refreshing and engaging. His descriptions blow me away and I feel like I am experiencing the time as much as his characters are.

THANK YOU John for writing another captivating time travel novel. I have never made it a secret that I am not a huge fan of time travel, but you have erased any doubt I had and set a bar that is very high to match. I always look forward to reading one of your books and I sure hope there is more to come!

HAPPY READING! 🙂

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Rachel T.