Tag Archives: Time Travel

Annie’s Apple (Second Chance 2) by John A Heldt-a review

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Annie’s Apple (Second Chance 2) by John A Heldt-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

Six years after emerging from a fountain of youth, siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter, time travelers from 2022, make their way in 1911.

In New York, Bill and wife Cassie finish a year as educators and struggle to start a family, while Annie tries her hand as a society reporter. In Arizona, Paul and Andy Lee, sergeants and brothers-in-law, attempt to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border.

For all, life marches on. Then the soldiers receive new orders, Paul and Annie meet alluring strangers, and the family’s fortunes take dramatic turns.

In ANNIE’S APPLE, the sweeping sequel to THE FOUNTAIN, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure in the age of factory fires, high society, and the sinking of the Titanic.

••••

REVIEW: ANNIE’S APPLE is the second instalment in John A Heldt’s adult SECOND CHANCE historical, time travel series focusing on the Carpenter siblings-Paul, Bill and Annie.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including attempted suicide, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND :The Second Chance series focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72, a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives ANNIE’S APPLE advances the series approximately five years. The year is now 1911, and the Carpenter siblings, all in their twenties and thirties, are about to face and experience some of the most painful and heart breaking events in history from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, to the sinking of the HMS Titanic. The Carpenter siblings are witness to, and unwitting participants in historical happenings and developments of 1911-1912 but the Carpenter’s are not the only time travellers to arrive in Manhattan in 1911, and Paul will find himself flirting with another broken heart from the future. As the Carpenter family grows, and the next generation is born, the siblings must come to terms with the past, a past that is now a part of their present. Annie will have loved and lost, not once but twice; and Bill, having never had children in his previous life, will learn the meaning of true love and acceptance.

John A Heldt, once again, blends a little fact with fiction, taking literary license with events from the past. The reader is up close and personal with the what ifs and whys of yesterday, as the sibling bear witness without interfering in the history of the past. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romances are passionate but ill-fated; the characters are impassioned and struggling.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE FOUNTAIN

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Fountain (Second Chance 1) by John A Heldt -a review

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The Fountain (Second Chance 1) by John A Heldt -a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 14, 2022

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.

Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.

Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.

In THE FOUNTAIN, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life.

Readers’ Advisory: The Fountain is the first novel in a family saga that spans several years. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They are addressed in subsequent books.

•••••

REVIEW: THE FOUNTAIN is the first instalment in John A Heldt’s adult, SECOND CHANCE time travel romance series focusing on the Carpenter siblings: William, Paul and Annie.

Told from several third person perspectives THE FOUNTAIN focuses on the search for the Fountain of Youth. In May of 2022, 81 year old William Carpenter is a retired professor of folklore, and learns the mythology about the Fountain of Youth may be the reality he and his siblings are looking for. Having just buried his wife, William believes he has nothing more to lose, and convinces his siblings Paul 75, who has terminal cancer, and Annie 72 a paraplegic, to test the proverbial magic waters in La Paz, Mexico but the myth comes with the caveat of time travel, a caveat wherein the siblings have no idea where in the world or when they will land. Arriving in 1905, William now 23, Paul 17, and Annie 14 will find love and experience loss when history repeats itself with the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

John A Heldt weaves a little bit of fact with fiction in each of his time travel series, and The Fountain is no different. We are introduced to author Jack London, US General Frederick Funston, as well as a look at the early Suffragettes, and the losses and devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The premise is interesting and intriguing; the romances are sweet; the characters are charismatic and passionate.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong-Review and Giveaway

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A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time 1) by Kelley Armstrong-Review and Giveaway

 

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 31, 2022

In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, a modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.

May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.

May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot.

When Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late.

Outlander meets The Alienist in Kelley Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time, the first book in this utterly compelling series, mixing romance, mystery, and fantasy with thrilling results.

••••••

REVIEW:A RIP THROUGH TIME is the first instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s adult A RIP THROUGH TIME time travel, mystery series focusing on thirty year old, Vancouver, Canada Police Detective Mallory Atkinson, and undertaker/investigator Dr. Duncan Gray.

Told from first person perspective (Mallory) A RIP THROUGH TIME follows Detective Mallory Atkinson on a journey through time. In the spring of 2019 while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh Scotland, thirty year old, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada police detective Mallory Atkinson is attacked in an alley only to wake up as a nineteen year old housemaid in the year 1869, a housemaid who was also attacked and left for dead in the same alley where Mallory was found. Not only has our heroine time travelled back one-hundred and fifty years but she is no longer physically the same woman she was just minutes before. Working as a housemaid for Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, realizing life as she knew it was no longer under her control, Mallory must assume the position of nineteen year old Catriona Mitchell, a young woman whose history is questionable and dark. A serial killer has set his sights on Edinburgh Scotland, and ‘Catriona/Mallory’ has been targeted for sins of the past but more importantly, targeted for sins of the future. As the investigation begins to unfold, Catriona’s knowledge of investigative procedures stirs the interest of Isla and Duncan, an interest such that Mallory is going to have to explain the circumstances surrounding Catriona’s new insights and change in personality.

We are introduced to Dr. Gray’s sister Isla, their housekeeper Mrs. Wallace, stable hand Simon, housemaid Alice, as well as Inspector Hugh McCreadie and Constable Findlay.

A RIP THROUGH TIME is a fascinating story of mystery and suspense with a little bit of paranormal, time travel added to the mix. Having worked most of her adult life in the Vancouver police department, Mallory aka Catriona is the perfect foil for Dr. Gray, an undertaker and amateur investigator, who with the help of our heroine, begins to break down the clues and mystery surrounding a potential serial killer. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the characters are dynamic; the romance is virtually non-existent. My only complaint, is the easy and immediate acceptance, by the main characters, of time-travel and physical possession of some one else’s body but such is the nature of the paranormal/time travel story line.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

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Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Kelley Armstrong’s publisher ST. MARTIN’S PRESS is graciously offering a paper copy of A RIP THROUGH TIME to ONE (1) commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

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10. Giveaway runs from May 31-June 4, 2022

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The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman – a Review

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The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple / BAM / Book Depository

 

Description:
In this thrilling historical fantasy, time-traveling Librarian spy Irene will need to delve deep into a tangled web of loyalty and power to keep her friends safe.

Irene is trying to learn the truth about Alberich-and the possibility that he’s her father. But when the Library orders her to kill him, and then Alberich himself offers to sign a truce, she has to discover why he originally betrayed the Library.

With her allies endangered and her strongest loyalties under threat, she’ll have to trace his past across multiple worlds and into the depths of mythology and folklore, to find the truth at the heart of the Library, and why the Library was first created.

 

 

Review:

The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman is the 8th and possible final book in her fantastic historical fantasy, Invisible Library series. Refresher:  Irene Winters, our heroine, is a Librarian and a professional spy for the mysterious Library; which collects all kinds of important works of fictions from different realities.  Irene is one of the best there is, having very powerful abilities as a librarian to use to protect and defend; she has great abilities using her voice (special language) to do amazing things, such as open or lock doors, make people do what she says, drop books down on attackers, disable bombs, etc.

In The Untold Story, we finally get answers to many questions, especially who are the true origins of the library.  The story starts when Irene finally gets Lord Silver (Fae) to agree to the Fae, Dragon, Human charter, and returns home.  Irene is quickly sent on a mission to find and take down the traitor, Alberich (who is her biological father); she is secretly ordered to play rogue from the library.  In a short time, as she with the help Kai, her lover (Dragon), Vale (best detective), Catherine (Fae apprentice), to find the villian, Alberich, as well why the worlds are disappearing.  Along the way, secrets are unveiled, the danger is intense, and a conspiracy needs to be unraveled.  Who can Irene trust?

What follows is an intriguing, exciting, intense, action filled adventure that pits Irene and her friends in danger quite often. The group try to find clues, but walk into a trap, as everything falls apart, and Irene must deal with Alberich, and keep her friends safe.  From start to finish, the action was nonstop all the way.  To say too much more would be spoilers, and that would ruin it for you; especially with this possibly being the finale.

The Untold Story was a fantastic amazing, fun, exciting story, that was very well written by Genevieve Cogman, and kept me glued to my seat until the wonderful finish. Irene Winters was a wonderful fantastic heroine, smart, savvy, brave, and loyal.   The end was a wild climatic finish, which if it is the finale, was very well done

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Crown City (Time Box 5) by John A Heldt-a review

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Crown City (Time Box 5) by John A Heldt-a review

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 26, 2021.

From the author of the critically acclaimed Time Box series comes the dramatic conclusion of a story that spans a century.

Two years after stealing portable time machines, the Lanes, a family from the present day, stop running and start living. They settle in the seaside town of Coronado, California, in 1963.

For Jordan, Laura, and Jeremy, the oldest children, the respite is a chance to nurture relationships, start families, and explore the country. It is an opportunity to put down roots.

For Ashley, the youngest, it is a chance to thrive. Now fourteen, she is ready to start high school, make friends, and make up for lost time. She finds popularity and more after a classmate nominates her for freshman homecoming princess.

Robert Devereaux could not care less. The deranged billionaire wants his time machines back and is willing to do anything to get them. He sends a hit man to the past, setting into motion a final confrontation between a hunter and his prey.

In CROWN CITY, the suspenseful finale of the Time Box saga, a defiant family finds romance, friendship, and danger as it navigates the final months of the Kennedy presidency.

•••••••

REVIEW:CROWN CITY is the fifth and final instalment in John A Heldt’s adult TIME BOX time travel series focusing on the Lane family-Mark and Mary, and their children Jordan, Jeremy, Laura and Ashley. CROWN CITY should not be read as a stand alone-I recommend reading the series in order as their is an ongoing premise throughout.

SOME BACKGROUND: Having created two time machines in 2021 known as the Time Boxes, patriarch Mark Lane discovers that his business partner, billionaire Robert Devereaux, wants to use the Time Boxes for questionable purposes. Having prepared for weeks, Mark Lane and his family pull up roots, and send themselves, along with the Time Boxes, back in time. Robert Devereaux desperate to retrieve the time boxes, and punish his one-time partner, hires a modern day assassin who goes on a time travel hunt for Mark Lane and his family.

Told from several third person perspectives CROWN CITY finds the Lane family travelling to 1963 in the months prior to and after the assassination of John F Kennedy. 1963 beckoned Mark and Mary Lane and their growing family but the constant jumping through time was beginning to take its’ toll on the youngest child Ashley. As Ashley started high school for the very first time, the soon to be fifteen year old needed more freedom than the family would accord, and in this , Ashley was about to bring trouble to the Lane’s front door.

Meanwhile, Randy Taylor, Mark’s one-time mentee, had proclaimed his love for Mark’s daughter Laura, and in this, Randy will begin a deliberate take down of Robert Devereaux, by travelling to the future. Setting a plan into motion, Randy will ensure the safety of the family he has grown to love but trouble continues to follow in the form of a hired assassin who refuses to back down.

CROWN CITY follows the Lane children as they come into their own-falling in love, starting families, venturing further without their time-travelling parents. As one couple struggle to prevent the death of someone else, everyone must come to terms to a decision that will affect them all, going forward.

CROWN CITY is a story family and friendships, relationships and love: a story of betrayal and vengeance, acceptance and moving forward. John A Heldt pulls the reader into another multi-faceted story that tentatively looks at a factionalized account of historical events, events that our family must regrettably ignore. The premise is detailed and complex, engaging and captivating-a fantastic conclusion to a wonderful series.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Refuge (Time Box 4) by John A Heldt-a review

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The Refuge (Time Box 4) by John A Heldt-a review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date My 25, 2021.

Months after stealing two time machines, the Lanes, a modern family of seven, make a stand against the unhinged software mogul who wants them back. They travel to 1941 Oahu to eliminate the billionaire’s mercenary, an assassin who has chased them through time.

While son Jordan, a former intelligence officer, stalks his unknowing foe in the streets of Honolulu, his parents, younger siblings, and pregnant wife settle in the village of Laie, where love, friendship, and opportunity await. All seek refuge from the perils of time travel.

Hit man Silas Bain has his own agenda. He hopes to alter the events of December 7, 1941, and indirectly save a brilliant German physicist, his employer’s grandfather, from certain death. He has prepared for every contingency, except the charms of a beautiful heiress.

Filled with romance, suspense, and intrigue, THE REFUGE takes readers on a thrilling and memorable ride through the colorful, magical, and dangerous world of pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

••••••

REVIEW:THE REFUGE is the fourth instalment in John A Heldt’s adult TIME BOX time travel series focusing on the Lane family-Mark and Mary, and their children Jordan, Jeremy, Laura and Ashley. THE REFUGE can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order as their is an ongoing premise throughout.

SOME BACKGROUND: Having created two time machines in 2021 known as the Time Boxes, patriarch Mark Lane discovers that his business partner, billionaire Robert Devereaux, wants to use the Time Boxes for questionable purposes. Having prepared for weeks, Mark Lane and his family pull up roots, and send themselves, along with the Time Boxes, back in time. Robert Devereaux desperate to retrieve the time boxes, and punish his one-time partner, hires a modern day assassin who goes on a time travel hunt for Mark Lane and his family.

Told from several third person perspectives THE REFUGE takes the reader and the Lane family to 1941 Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands, months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As eldest son and former intelligence officer Jordan Lane hunts for the man who is hunting the Lane family, Jeremy falls for Sarah Gustafson, a young woman with ties to the family’s past but a young woman who is about to lose everything on that fateful date in December 1941. As assassin Silas Bain searches for the elusive Lane family, the assassin will, once again, leave a trail of bodies, in his struggle to take down his intended targets.

Meanwhile, Robert Devereaux has instructed his ‘assassin’ to save the life of Maximilian Roth, Robert’s late grandfather, and the man who invented the original Time Box but Max is a physicist in Germany, and the Nazi’s aren’t about to let one of their scientists walk away.

THE REFUGE follows in the weeks and months prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an act that brought the USA into the Second World War when America declared war on the nation of Japan. Knowing they could not interfere meant the loss of people the Lane family would have liked to save but they have agreed not to upset the natural order or significance and outcomes of historical events.

John A Heldt pulls the reader into a detailed, multi-leveled and fascinating look into a fictionalized account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor; another historical glimpse into ‘the day that will live in infamy’, and the family who will witness history up close and personal.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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A Promise of Iron by Brandon McCoy-Review & Guest Post

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A Promise of Iron (Echoes of Illyria 1) by Brandon McCoy-Review & Guest Post

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$2.99 or FREE in Kindle Unlimited

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 21, 2021

A Promise of Iron, book one in the Echoes of Illyria saga, tells the story of a young man born from hatred, eager to prove himself in a world tilted against him. In this world where iron is more precious than gold, three friends battle the evils of empire while unraveling the secrets of a forgotten past and a hidden foe.

The epic fantasy series features strong, complex characters with familiar motivations of greed, lust, and revenge, all delivered in a freshly crafted fantasy world. Themes of imperialism, racism, and sexism form the backdrop for a story as much about mystery and intrigue as it is of sword and sorcery. This blend of epic and dark fantasy should delight readers of multiple genres. If you liked The Name of the Wind and The Black Company, this one is for you.

••••••

REVIEW:This is something completely different to what I usually read. It starts with a woman in the future who has a journal of a life in the past…..

The year is 1272. The story focuses on a young man Faerin, his life is hard, he wants to become something better. But in a world that wants payment for everything, how will he ever rise to be something more?

Elizabeth makes an appearance several times in the book to remind us that we are being told a story.I like the fact you can have memories removed and stored (a little like Johnny Mneumonic) but there is something in the future that will have you wondering if it has some significance in the past!!

That was a really well thought out book, Elizabeth in the future, trying to read the journal that holds the story of Faerin and his past. Fight scenes? Yes there is, and they are pretty good. Romance? A little, but it’s not really that important here.

And in the future, Elizabeth is having her own issues. The book holds great interest to those who have been waiting to get their hands on it. So she has to discover the secrets before her biggest rival gets here. Because when he does she may lose the book!!

And when Faerin comes into a possession of an sword, he will do anything and everything in his power to retain and look after the sword. He has a couple of friends who he likes as brothers, but I wasn’t sure! If people will sell their souls for iron, then can he trust his friends? Iron we take it is a valuable commodity, people will kill to have it, in fact it’s more coveted than gold!! Why? There seems to be a story behind the reasons why iron is so wanted…..

Magic and mystery come together in a really great read. There is also a lot of going’s on in the background, there is double dealings, backstabbing and money that exchanges hands for information. Some parts get a little bogged down with too much detail, but there isn’t too much thank goodness. Politics and social views are a big thing as well.

The equality and sexism didn’t really worry me as such, if you put yourself in the time period, then women were a lower class, as were the common man. But I do love the class divides, it’s clear there is a hierarchy, it’s clear there are people who make money of the backs of the unfortunate, and they don’t hide that fact.

OH!!! It ends on a cliffhanger….. Do I want to know what happens next? I certainly do.
Pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by Julie ?

Copy supplied for review

The first words of “A Promise of Iron” are not the words that made it to print. This journey began a long time ago. It was 2006, and for the sake of this story, one can assume I had just finished an all-weekend marathon of the Lord of the Rings. I may have even been playing World of Warcraft, Elderscrolls, or dabbling in any of a half a dozen D&D iterations of the time. When I look back, I can’t honestly remember the spark, that moment of inspiration that told me to open a word document and begin writing.

“A darkness looms,” it said, that first pass at that first paper. There was prophecy in those words. As it turned out that darkness was not some unseen enemy, no grand villain bent on the destruction of the world… it was the story… and it was utter crap.

Before I continue, I think you need to understand something about me first. I am not an author. Not classically trained at any rate. At best, I am a sci-fi & fantasy enthusiast with the temerity to offer something of my own to stoke the fire. I don’t really belong here, not amongst you who are well educated and well informed. Yet I feel as if I do, partly from the welcome and reception received by my betters and partly from the slowly increasing confidence in my own abilities.

I wrote a book that does not suck. No one is more surprised than me. If you were to ask my lovely wife, she would fawn and extol my impressive list of virtues while rolling her eyes in a casual attempt to check my ever-growing ego. In truth, I’m here because of her.

Back to the story…

By the time I cobbled together a few hundred pages of that dreadful first pass, I had come to a simple conclusion— what I had just wasn’t any good. Family and friends may have told me otherwise, but I saw the truth within their ingratiating eyes. So I quit. I stopped writing. I stopped writing for years. I stopped writing, and no one stopped me from stopping. There were casual mentions, reminders that there was a task unfinished, but no spark, no divine influence urging me to continue.

Years passed and I grew up. I had setbacks and new beginnings. I also met my wife. We fell in love, got married, and had a baby. I had known hard work before, but having a newborn was a new kind of work. Working for those you love carries differently. You can push harder, run faster and lift longer than you would when working only for yourself.

But I am rambling…

The spark was there now, fanned to flame by the hands of those who knew me for the true worth of my salt. “Write,” they said, “finish what you started.”

So I did…

I wish I could say the writing road ahead was shorter than the one behind, but when you have to double back because you forgot your map, it’s easier to just pick a new path.

So I threw it all out. I changed the tone, the perspective, the themes. I wrote that new first draft in a fraction of the time it took to torture through the last one. When I was finished, I presented it to her. I was eager for feedback, praise, or a sobering dose of reality. When she told me how she loved it— I saw no lie within her eyes.

Thanks for reading.

Salt & ruin,

-Brandon

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Sea Spray (Time Box 3) by John A Heldt-a review

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Sea Spray (Time Box 3) by John A Heldt-a review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 20, 2020

Months after stealing two time machines from a madman who wants them back, the Lanes, a family of seven, seek peace and safety in 1927, the latest stop on a journey through time. For a while, each succeeds.

Parents Mark and Mary find housing in affluent East Hampton, New York, where a gracious elderly couple offers use of their mansion. Son Jordan and his new wife, Jessie, plan a family. Siblings Laura, Jeremy, and Ashley pursue fun and adventure. All form strong friendships with the Prices, a mysterious mirror-image family that lives next door.

Billionaire Robert Devereaux could not care less. Reeling from the theft of his million-dollar devices, he sends a hit man to the past to retrieve his property and rid the world of his former business partner and his troublesome clan.

Randy Taylor, who programs the machines, is determined to stop him. He tries to undermine his boss and save the Lanes, even as he tries to help his mother beat a deadly illness. He pines for the day he can join his fugitive friends and rekindle a promising relationship with Laura Lane.

Filled with romance, humor, and heartbreak, SEA SPRAY follows a modern family on the adventure of a lifetime as they navigate their way through the exciting and often dangerous world of Lindbergh, Gershwin, and Fitzgerald.

••••••••

REVIEW:SEA SPRAY is the third instalment in John A Heldt’s time travel series focusing on the Lane family. SEA SPRAY can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and history as there is a common theme and continuing premise throughout.

SOME BACKGROUND: Having created two time machines in 2021 known as the Time Box, patriarch Mark Lane discovers that his business partner, billionaire Robert Devereaux, wants to use the Time Boxes for questionable purposes. Having prepared for weeks, Mark Lane and his family pull up roots, and send themselves, along with the Time Boxes, back in time. Robert Devereaux desperate to retrieve the time boxes, and punish his one-time partner, hires a modern day assassin who goes on a time travel hunt for Mark Lane and his family.

Told from several third person perspectives SEA SPRAY finds the family transported to 1927, the roaring twenties, at the height of Prohibition in East Hampton, New York where the family will summer in the mansion of an elderly couple. Meeting their neighbors, Tom and Madeline Price, as well as their children, who will befriend and fall in love, the Lane’s will quickly discover that they are unable to relax when a messenger from the twenty-first century warns that that Devereaux’s assassin survived his last encounter with the Lanes, and is continuing his search for the time-travelling family. From Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, to Charles Lindbergh, and black market alcohol, bootleggers, and speakeasies, the Lane family will witness and participate in their share of history, affecting the lives of the people they encountered along the way. Found once again, the Lanes are forced to travel to a time when the world was at war with itself, and in doing so, hope to prevent someone else from changing the outcome of the second world war.

Once again, back in 2022, the Lane’s accomplice Randy Taylor, devices a way to warn the family of an impending attack by Devereaux’s assassin but in doing so, comes to the hard realization, that the woman he loves, has fallen in love with someone else. Having lost both his mother and father in a short period of time, Randy makes a decision that does not go according to plan.

SEA SPRAY is a story of family and relationships, friendships and love; history, time travel, science fiction, secrets, power and control. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the romances are subtle and sweet; the colorful characters are numerous and energetic. John A Heldt pulls the reader into a wonderful and historic glimpse at the fun, flirty and dangerous twenties.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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