Book Review: Parallel (Travelers Series #1), by Claudia Lefeve

Destiny has a way of catching up.

Saddled with powers she doesn't understand, Etta Fleming's world is turned upside-down the day she meets Cooper Everett, the man who transports her to an alternate reality. A reality she was meant to be a part of.

One minute, she's an orphan living at Dominion House for Girls, an institution for delinquent foster kids, then finds herself attending the exclusive Dominion Hall Academy.

Plucked from the only world she's ever known, Etta now has to deal with an aunt she never knew, a boyfriend she doesn't know, and a best friend who can't know.

PARALLEL is the first book in the Travelers Series.

***

This was a fascinating story.  The concept was completely new to me.  I have never read a time traveling/reality jumping book before.  

I dove right into the story and enjoyed all the twists and turns until the very last page.  Etta seemed a bit like every other YA heroine, but the concept behind the book was interesting enough that it didn't bother me too much.  There was a bit of a love triangle, most of which I found unrealistic.  I really liked Cooper, but I just didn't believe that after meeting him a couple times Etta would be trying to decide between him and a guy that she's had a crush on for years.  

Cooper is mysterious, handsome, and generally just a good hero.  I fell in love with him as Etta's obvious preference for him emerges and as his character develops.  

The part I liked the most was when Cooper takes Etta to another reality and dumps her at her Aunts house and essentially tells her "good luck".  She has to maneuver her way through a world where everyone has memories of her, and she knows nothing about them.  It was interesting to speculate what it would be like in that situation.

My biggest complaint was the editing.  Typos and spelling mistakes galore!  There were sentences with two or three typos in them.  I found the explanations of the alternate realities and various versions of the same person to be confusing.  Interesting, sure, but confusing.  And I wasn't really all that fond of Etta.  I wish she had been more likeable.  

This was the first book in a trilogy.  It is FREE for Kindle readers right now, so if time/reality travel is a genre that you like, this might be worth checking out.


File Size: 255 KB
Print Length: 266 pages
Publisher: Sugar Skull Books; 1 edition (August 26, 2011)
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Book Review: Hide in Plain Sight, by Marta Perry

She couldn't turn her back on her family in their time of need. So when her sister was injured, financial expert Andrea Hampton traded the big city for Amish country to help turn her grandmother's house into an inn.

But life with the Plain People took a treacherous turn when a string of accidents and pranks threatened her family. Someone didn't want the secrets the old house harbored to come to light. Trusting anyone-- even the handsome carpenter who seemed so genuine--was a battle for Andrea, but her life depended on her ability to find the truth.

***

This book was obviously written by a seasoned author.  In some ways, it is a good thing because it gives a reader a certain amount of security in knowing that they are going to be consuming a well written novel.  In other ways, it is a bit disappointing.  The story seemed a bit formulaic and unoriginal.  It seemed like it was novel #30 for this author, and she has gotten into the habit of switching character names and location, while essentially writing the same book over and over.  

Now don't get me wrong, it was a very well written novel and a good story.  I would happily read another book written by Marta Perry.  The romance was perfectly clean and innocent.  I didn't have to worry about anything questionable popping up.  There were secrets, suspense, and suspicion milling around the story.  I loved all of that.  Plus, the book is FREE for Kindle readers right now.  

For a free book, it was definitely worth reading.  It only took me a couple of sittings to read it.  There was nothing too heavy or weird in it.  All in all, it was an enjoyable experience.

The main character was likeable and mostly believable.  I could empathize with her as she struggled to figure out the best way to take care of her family members.  I liked Cal, the handsome carpenter that shows interest in Andrea.  I didn't like the theme of big city life and ambition being incompatible with a Christian lifestyle.  I also didn't really buy into the whole issue that Andrea had with her grandfather.  If I were in Andrea's shoes, I would be more angry with my father for abandoning the family, and with my mother for being irresponsible.  While neither of those things seem to bother her, she has a hangup about how her grandfather let her mother take her sister and herself away from the farm.  It just didn't strike me as realistic.

Like I mentioned before, it seems like Perry has fallen into what I like to call the "Louis L'Amour trap".  It's where an author has found a formula that works for their stories and they stick to it like glue.  This was my first Marta Perry book, but I just have this feeling that when I read another one, it will hold a LOT of similarities to this one.


File Size: 335 KB
Print Length: 247 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense (August 1, 2012)
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