So Close to You (So Close to You, #1)

Sep 17, 2012 Blythe rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, highly-anticipating-2012, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, snark-bait-ooh-ah-ah, take-your-insta-love-and-leave, i-totally-saw-that-coming, disappointments, 1-star, didn-t-see-that-coming, read-reviewed, love-triangle

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Instances like this make me want to curl up in a corner and cry. When I first read the synopsis for So Close to You, I was definitely intrigued. Right away, this book became one of my highly anticipated reads of the year. I thought it would be amazing. I thought it would be thrilling. I thought it would be that type of book that I would read in one sitting because I wouldn't be able it down. What I didn't think, however, was how incredibly wrong I would be.

In So Clo...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-whole-new-level-of-boring, arc, just-not-good-enough-to-stick-with, not-worth-a-proper-review, the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it

I thought this book would rock my socks off and I find that after 220 pages, I have very little to say about So Close to You but that it is:

*Dull.

*Somewhat formulaic.

*Stuffed with insta-love. I haven't the faintest idea why Lydia is falling in love with Wes. What does Lydia see in him? His first moment of development came after page 200 and it was smaller than a single strand of my hair. Before then, they had two, three, possibly four interactions total and they were very short/lacking in substa...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Mitch rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really like the idea behind So Close to You, but this book just gave off an odd vibe. I'm not talking about the abandoned military base and secret government project aspect, I expected spooky and mysterious there, but I am talking about how a lot of the story feels rushed through, glossed over, or riddled by cliches. Maybe if Carter took more time to develop things, I'd have liked this, but as it is I just can't shake off the unsettled feeling I got from reading this one.

Like the first chapter...more I really like the idea behind So Close to You, but this book just gave off an odd vibe. I'm not talking about the abandoned military base and secret government project aspect, I expected spooky and mysterious there, but I am talking about how a lot of the story feels rushed through, glossed over, or riddled by cliches. Maybe if Carter took more time to develop things, I'd have liked this, but as it is I just can't shake off the unsettled feeling I got from reading this one.

Like the first chapter, introducing the government conspiracy via a party in the woods, pretty strange and unexpected. That and Lydia going on for the next few chapters about the Montauk Project and how mysterious and hidden it is, there's so much anticipation and buildup, but when Lydia finally does find the secret entrance and gets into the secret lab, it's actually quite disappointing, like three seconds of sneaking around and she's thrown back in time. And actually, for a top secret government lab underneath a state park slash former military base, I'm surprised at how lax the security is, I guess I’ll have to suspend disbelief that a conspiracy buff with a jackhammer couldn’t have stumbled across everything. So it all feels too easy, so much hype for nothing.

And after that, so much of the rest of this story was just disappointing and riddled with plot holes. Or maybe it’s just how fast the plot moves and how often I had to suspend my disbelief. Lydia just appears at a World War Two military base and almost instantly gets integrated into the community. Huh? How everyone’s all so welcoming, how nobody thinks Lydia’s appearance is strange, how she’s able to come and go through the base almost at will, all of it just felt wrong; these characters are just way too naive and trusting. Or how Lydia's able to sneak around a high security facility? Again, I'm incredulous and in disbelief. Honestly, I'm not expecting Lydia to be a trained spy or have a personal cloaking device or anything, but the way she's able to get around such a secure place with no alias and a fake aunt named Julia Roberts, it's not realistic at all.

Nor does it help that the main plot elements are all cliches, from the instant attraction to a mysterious guy, then to the requisite triangle, and finally to the stereotypical evil German scientist type villain, there’s not much to set this book apart. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at all if in some dystopian somewhere there's a character that fits Wes's backstory and description to a tee, he really seems like a tortured male lead borrowed from a how to write dystopians manual or something. Even down to the I should kill you but something I can’t put my finger on is stopping me speech when he and Lydia first meet - come on, lamest motivation in the book.

It's really a shame, how this awesome premise gets bogged down by so many done to death plot points. The only reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one is the time paradox twist.(less)

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Jan 05, 2013 Tamary Anderson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: beautiful-book, first-reads

I received an advanced readers copy of Rachel Carter's So Close To You for free via Goodreads First Reads.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I absolutely loved this book. When I first got it I didn't really know what it was about but I had a 7 hour drive back to ND from florida and threw myself into it.

Wow. First things first, I absolutely loved the relationship between Lydia and her grampa. It broke my heart that even tho she expected nothing she still went with him day after day, searching for SOMETHING...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Elaine Cristina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: work, series

If there is a sequence, I´ll be waiting in line.

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Jun 19, 2012 H.D. Tolson rated it 4 of 5 stars

"So Close To You is an entertaining, fun debut that definitely keeps your attention!"

So Close to You has no doubt been on the top of my wish-list for a really long time. I mean, come on, it has everything I need in a book. Conspiracy theories, romance, time-travel, mystery, suspense, and a fast-pace, all wrapped up in one YA debut? I was hooked. The minute that So Close to You came to me in the mail, I devoured it.

Was I completely impressed by Carter's debut? Not exactly. I found that Lydia lac...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Pinkie Pie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tour

First Impressions: I never read time travel books because usually they are uninteresting, and I just can't wrap my head around the concept. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I can't think of a single time travel book I've read and enjoyed. Until now. SO CLOSE TO YOU was gripping, intense, but most of all, fun. Lydia and Wes were spectacular main characters. Also, I grew up in New Jersey, and while it wasn't a totally hot topic that no one could get away from, The Mo...more First Impressions: I never read time travel books because usually they are uninteresting, and I just can't wrap my head around the concept. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I can't think of a single time travel book I've read and enjoyed. Until now. SO CLOSE TO YOU was gripping, intense, but most of all, fun. Lydia and Wes were spectacular main characters. Also, I grew up in New Jersey, and while it wasn't a totally hot topic that no one could get away from, The Montauk Project was definitely speculated upon in my teenage years sitting around bonfires and enjoying not-so-choice substances. Whatever, I was a kid.

What I liked: Damn near everything! Obviously the Montauk Project as a subject matter. The time travel, and the idea of the government doing crazy, history-altering things right in our backyards. Lydia was a fantastic protagonist. I loved how she basically disregarded the butterfly effect in favor of gathering information to either save or at least know what happened to her great-grandfather. The only thing she really cared about in terms of altering history was her great-aunt Mary's relationship with smoking hot Luke, a soldier from Camp Hero who becomes her husband later in life.

I really liked Wes, though I couldn't exactly figure out why they liked each other. But he was an amazing, rich character, having traveled to all these different eras, and with his dark past, and broody good looks, he made for the perfect YA love interest, without being shallow or overdone.

Finally, I loved seeing the everyday lives of these people living through World War II. I've never been exactly interested in the era, so I steered clear of those books until now. The Bentley family (who funnily enough, Lydia stays with on her trip to the 1940s) are sweet, and lovable, and obviously care deeply for their clan. What was most interesting was seeing how each character dealt with the war and its ramifications, from the doctor who hated it, but wanted to heal people anyway, to the soldier who knew his duties and never asked questions. It was beautiful.

What I didn't like: Basically nothing! There were points in the story where it kind of dragged, and I was like 'how are we ever going to conclude this?' But besides that I loved SO CLOSE TO YOU.

In conclusion: I was simply wowed by this book. I honestly never thought I'd enjoy a time travel story, but this definitely opened my eyes. Lydia and her family were great, and I loved the richness of the setting. And that ending! Blew my mind. I sure hope there's going to be a sequel!(less)

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Feb 21, 2013 Abby rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just don't know how I feel about this. The story line is amazing. I have never read a time travel type book so this interested me. It was good. I was hooked from the start to keep reading. Now that I finished it I just have mixed emotions. Some of it just did not make any sense or was WAY too complicated. It was well written and a good read and I will sure as heck read the sequel but some of me just is not sure about it. The love story behind this..honestly..I felt like there was more "connect...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Celeste_pewter rated it 3 of 5 stars

The cliff-notes edition of my review:

What worked:

* The general plot. It's not too often that you get a YA author writing about real-life conspiracy theories. Thumbs up to Rachel Carter for doing something different.

* Lydia's relationship with her grandfather. Even now, parents/parental figures are often still treated as off-the-screen figures in YA books. Another thumbs up for Rachel for Lydia's close relationship with him.

(To be quite honest, Lydia's grandfather kind of reminded me of my gra...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Jill Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

It starts off worrisome: Lydia has a friend, Grant, who is really into her. She knows it, isn't into him, and is trying to avoid hurting him. (This is icky, but pretty normal for teenagers.) And he believes, as does Lydia's grandfather, that there is a Great Big Secret in the woods. Obviously they are correct, and it seems likely that when Lydia finds this out she and Grant will have an adventure together and she will reconsider him. There is a secret, Lydia does find out, and Grant does not app...more

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Jul 27, 2012 P.M. rated it 2 of 5 stars

The cover was fabulous but the story lacked believability for me. Lydia Bentley loves her grandfather but wishes he would stop the conspiracy theories about the Montauk Project. That is unlikely because his own father disappeared back in 1944. Lydia humors her grandfather and spends time searching the state park which used to be a military base for any clues to the disappearance. Of course, Lydia just has to go inside a mysteriously open door and enter a time machine which whisks her to ... you...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I began SO CLOSE TO YOU, I didn't realize it was the first book in a trilogy. In fact, I didn't realize there would be a sequel until things fell apart at the end, creating problems to be solved in the next book. I might not have picked up SO CLOSE TO YOU if I knew it wasn't a standalone, which would be a pity.

Lydia Bentley lives in the small Connecticut town of Montauk. Local legend tells of the Montauk Project, a series of experiments that took place during World War II. Her great-grandfa...more When I began SO CLOSE TO YOU, I didn't realize it was the first book in a trilogy. In fact, I didn't realize there would be a sequel until things fell apart at the end, creating problems to be solved in the next book. I might not have picked up SO CLOSE TO YOU if I knew it wasn't a standalone, which would be a pity.

Lydia Bentley lives in the small Connecticut town of Montauk. Local legend tells of the Montauk Project, a series of experiments that took place during World War II. Her great-grandfather was an officer on the base who disappeared and her grandfather has spent his entire life searching for his father and evidence that the Montauk Project existed. Lydia doesn't believe, but helps her grandfather anyway because of love. Then she stumbles into a secret lab and finds herself transported to 1944, mere days before her great-grandfather disappeared.

Soon she's living with her ancestors as Lydia Bennet and trying to figure out the truth of the Project in time to save her great-grandfather. But Wes, a mysterious boy she first met in the lab, is trying to convince her to return to her time before she changes the past. Wes is of course super hot in addition to being mysterious. Luckily, Rachel Carter isn't overly coy and provides some answers in the first book. She doesn't play the give-one-big-reveal-at-the-end-and-that's-it game. (Good, because I hate that game.)

As for Lydia, I liked that she was motivated by love of her family. She wants her grandfather to have a better life and she's willing to risk getting caught by mad scientists in order to help him. I also liked that she stays refreshingly on-task. She isn't a wet blanket - she has fun and goes to dances and all that - but she spends most of her time snooping because that's what she stayed in the past to do.

I was drawn to SO CLOSE TO YOU because of the intriguing premise. I can't entirely say that Carter has executed it well due to the cliffhanger ending, but I want to read the sequel and find out the consequences of Lydia's journey through time. SO CLOSE TO YOU is a promising and suspenseful start to the trilogy and hopefully the sequel will be as fast-paced and fun to read. This one is for fans of time travel and mystery. The romance felt a bit rushed, but hopefully Wes and Lydia will have more time together in the next book. (less)

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Jul 03, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-emmy

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: While falling into some of the cliches of time travel, So Close to You adds the drama of WWII to our heroines desperate quest to change history.

Opening Sentence: The bonfire in the clearing spits out flames and smoke.

The Review:

The Montauk Project is the East Coast equivalent of Area 51, with even less people believing in it. But Lydia’s grandfather is a believer. His dad worked on a secret project during WWII before he died during a “traini...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Once Upon rated it 4 of 5 stars

So Close to You wasn’t really what I expected – it was BETTER than what I expected actually. I love the cover with Lydia on it. Her bright Auburn hair definitely stands out against the background.

Lydia is a senior in High School and is eager to leave her small town life behind. Montauk is a small town full of mysteries. Back during WWI there was a military base named Camp Hero, in Montauk where it is rumored to have been a secret laboratory where they did top secret experiments. Lydia's grandfat...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I was a teen, my favorite books were the Caroline B. Cooney Both Sides of Time series. They were romantic and exciting, historical and fun. I never quite found a series like that again. I think Rachel Carter's So Close to You just might be the start of a new era of romantic time travel books and I couldn't be more excited!

The book takes place under the shadow of the Montauk Project, a secret government operation on the tip of Long Island that conspiracy theorists insist existed in real life...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am so in love! This book sucked me in with the decription, and cover. Both make you want to pick it up and just give it a try and let me tell you it is worth it!!

I love Lydia. At first the book started out at a party and I was like " Oh, something bad will happen to her friends." Boy was I wrong! I fell head over heels in love with this girl and story. She goes back in time on accident to try and help her grandfather, and mysterious WES follows her. SHe is not supposed to be there but she wan...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Sarah (YA Love) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: july-release, read-in-2012, science-fiction, historical-fiction, time-travel, young-adult-lit

Review originally posted at Y.A. Love

The premise for So Close to You held so much promise and really piqued my interest, it ultimately disappointed me. I love the recent time travel trend happening in YA because it acts as a stepping stone to more solid science fiction, at least some of the “lighter” time travel novels like Hourglass and Tempest do. The blurb on the ARC of Rachel Carter’s novel claimed it has a “compelling romance like The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “imaginative suspense like Bef...more Review originally posted at Y.A. Love

The premise for So Close to You held so much promise and really piqued my interest, it ultimately disappointed me. I love the recent time travel trend happening in YA because it acts as a stepping stone to more solid science fiction, at least some of the “lighter” time travel novels like Hourglass and Tempest do. The blurb on the ARC of Rachel Carter’s novel claimed it has a “compelling romance like The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “imaginative suspense like Before I Fall.” Those are pretty big comparisons, so I had high hopes going into reading this.

I was interested when I first started reading So Close to You and really thought I was going to like it. The first 60-80 pages flew by and held my interest. Not long after that I was wondering where the story was going and what was going to happen. I kept wondering when the romance was going to come into play. Was Lydia going to fall in love with Wes, the guy who follows her back in time? Was she going to fall for Lucas, the guy living in a different time? There wasn’t any real romance to speak of until 200 pages in, and even then it wasn’t remotely believable. Lydia had maybe a few scenes with this guy and all of a sudden she was “falling for him.” Even then, the relationship (if we can really call it that) didn’t mean anything to me as a reader since it was so instant. The book is barely over 300 pages long, so waiting 200 pages for a dull romance was really disappointing.

The other bummer about Rachel Carter’s book is how nothing really happened for the entire book. Lydia is living in a different time trying to help her grandfather by keeping her great grandfather from making a bad choice. But she doesn’t really do anything until the last 80 pages or so. The rest of the book is her getting to know her distant relatives in a different time period and thinking about how she needs to save her family. And then there was Wes constantly reminding her not to change anything in the past because of the butterfly effect. Over and over again Lydia is reminded of this, and over and over again she ignores the warning.

I didn’t find anything about So Close to You as “imaginative.” I found it really boring and predictable. None of the characters meant anything to me; I couldn’t find a way to relate to or connect with any of them. I finished it because I wanted to know if my opinions were wrong. There’s a cliffhanger ending setting us up for the next book, and I’ll admit it’s interesting. I might read the second book because I’m optimistic and hoping this entire book was like a prologue to the actual story.(less)

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Jul 29, 2012 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-books, arcs

I received this book as an ARC from my local public library.

OH MY GOD. Why did this book have to end with this cliffhanger? I have to wait a year, maybe two until the next book comes out. This novel had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was romantic, suspenseful, and compelling. I finished this book in two days. I felt as though I was watching a movie. Everything was so clear and vivid. The characters were lovely, relatable, and fun. The main character Lydia was willful and strong. Sh...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Paige Bradish rated it 5 of 5 stars

My love for time traveling books keeps growing and growing! it started with Clockwise by Elle Strauss and now it's going even further with So Close To You by Rachel Carter. So Close To You is about a girl named Lydia who lives in modern day 2012 with her parents and here grandfather. She has a normal life except her grandfather constantly wants to go investigate Camp Hero to figure out why his father disappeared years and years ago. One day while exploring with her grandfather Lydia comes across...more My love for time traveling books keeps growing and growing! it started with Clockwise by Elle Strauss and now it's going even further with So Close To You by Rachel Carter. So Close To You is about a girl named Lydia who lives in modern day 2012 with her parents and here grandfather. She has a normal life except her grandfather constantly wants to go investigate Camp Hero to figure out why his father disappeared years and years ago. One day while exploring with her grandfather Lydia comes across an open doorway her curiosity gets the best of her and she ends up inside looking for clues that might help her grandfather. She stumbles upon a room that she thinks is empty but realizes she was wrong when she meets Wes. She's scared at first and stumbles into another small room trying to get away from him the doors close lights flash and when she comes to she is in the year 1944...

Lydia is a very loyal girl we find that out in the very beginning because of how much she does with her grandfather. She tells us a few times that she doesn't quite believe in all of the things he says but she loves him so she plays along anyway. She also does this with her best friend Hannah who loves the idea of horoscopes and Lydia doesn't believe in that much either but she goes along with it anyway because Hannah is her best friend.

One of the things I loved about this book was that it was terribly overwhelmed with romance. Now I know some of you are thinking aww that sucks not a lot of romance. But that makes the book so much better because were able to focus on the story instead of worrying about what the couple is doing. Now i'm not saying there's no romance because there is near the end and it was so awesome because the story line was coming to a close so we had more time to focus on the romance before the book ended.

My next favorite part of the book was obviously the time travel! We went back to 1944 during the war with Germany which was an awesome time frame the war with Germany always interested me so having that in a book was pretty great. The book was more suspenseful than other time mating books I've read because when you go back in time the machine doesn't come with you and it's not easy to get back to. So that leaves a few problems, one is that Lydia would be killed if she's caught sneaking into the facility were the time machine is which is why she has to be extra extra careful. Second if she accidentally or was forced to travel back to a time before the time machine was invented she'd be stuck there forever...

In the end I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for all of the awesome reasons I listed below. I loved the characters the plot and the cover too =) I cannot wait for the sequel to come out but I'll be waiting awhile because i'm reading the ARC version of this book thats due to come out in July!(less)

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Jul 29, 2012 Colette Whitney rated it 4 of 5 stars

From my blog refutingtheintolerablystupid.wordpress.com...

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading So Close to You by Rachel Carter. It was the first ARC by a debut author that Harper Teen sent me in the mail. I’ve received three others from Harper, but because they weren’t debuts, I didn’t want to review them here, so I started a separate blog for those (www.datingliterature.wordpress.com). Anyways, this was my first debut ARC, so I really wanted to do it justice. An easy ta...more From my blog refutingtheintolerablystupid.wordpress.com...

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading So Close to You by Rachel Carter. It was the first ARC by a debut author that Harper Teen sent me in the mail. I’ve received three others from Harper, but because they weren’t debuts, I didn’t want to review them here, so I started a separate blog for those (www.datingliterature.wordpress.com). Anyways, this was my first debut ARC, so I really wanted to do it justice. An easy task considering how awesome the book turned out to be.

Set in the tiny town of Montauk, New York, Lydia Bentley, an aspiring truth-seeking journalist, has heard conspiracy theories about the mysterious Montauk Project since birth. Stories that her grandfather forcefully believed, stories that she refused to accept as truth. Her grandfather grew up without a father, who suddenly disappeared with no explanation when Montauk was used as a military base during World War II. He always believed that his father’s disappearance had everything to do with the Montauk Project. But he never had physical proof, only a tattered old journal his father left him containing cloudy clues but no answers. Lydia’s grandfather let the quest for truth consume his entire life, dragging Lydia, the only person left who tolerated his crazy theories, to the old base whenever he got the chance. Lydia never believed what her grandfather believed, but she wanted him to find peace and truth. One day, she finds herself in the underground chambers of the old military base, the place that everyone who believed suspected to be the home of the Montauk Project. She goes looking for answers and winds up in a dark room with a shadowy stranger and she picks up the quest for answers where her grandfather left off.

The back cover of my copy says, “The compelling romance of THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE meets the imaginative suspense of BEFORE I FALL“. Now, I have never read Before I Fall or The Time Traveler’s Wife BUT I can assure you that Carter’s story had plenty of “compelling romance” and it certainly had some “imaginative suspense”. Lydia has to fight her way through a completely new and, actually, old world surrounded by strangers who aren’t that far from who she is. I’m going to try to describe this book and what it meant for me without giving away any spoilers because I really don’t like that. That might make what I am trying to say confusing, so bear with me. For me, this book was about the dedication to one’s family and the importance of knowing all the facts and getting to the truth of the matter, something that is rarely easy to do. It was also about falling in love against seemingly impossible factors.

Lydia wants “to be a journalist because it forces you to face the truth, even if it might not always be pretty.” Truth is a big deal to her, as it is to me. I am currently going to school to study journalism because I like to write and I like to read and I like people but also because I think understanding truth and reality is crucial to being really alive. And that’s what journalists do. And that’s what Lydia does. She searches and searches and searches to find the truth because it is important to her and to the people she loves. She does this because she believes that “the truth is worth knowing no matter what”, which is an idea that I share with her.

So she’s searching for answers and trying to unlock the mystery behind her grandfather’s grief and along the way she meets a tall, dark and handsome, which is just the way with Young Adult fiction. I mean, really, why else do you think I read YA? But honestly, Lydia’s romance with this tall, dark and handsome was the most honest, and truly different YA love story that I’ve ever read, next to John Green and a couple others. It was refreshing and exciting and mysterious as they tried to break down the barriers between them, both successfully and unsuccessfully, discovering that some barriers aren’t meant to be broken. So even though this is a fantasy-mystery book, aspects of Lydia’s romance ring true in real life. Road blocks exist in every relationship, but it’s up to the people in them to dissemble those road blocks or to move on. I really liked reading how her love story developed and dealt with hard stuff like that.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to readers who love YA, science-fiction-y mystery love stories with EXCRUCIATING CLIFFHANGERS (I’m looking at you, Carter). It was an awesome story that I will probably read again. Oh and did I mention that it’s the first in a series? Yeah, you can bet that Rachel Carter has earned herself one more avid reader.(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Melissa ( Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-hard-copy, reviewed-other

So Close to You is a great blend of science fiction, mystery and romance. Although I can't say that it really kept me guessing the whole time...it did manage to keep me completely interested.

I had trouble connecting with the main characters but I did like them.

Lydia is a typical teenage heroine. She jumps into adventure with two feet...not always thinking or caring about the ramifications. I can't say that I always agreed with her decisions and to be honest there were times when I got annoyed t...more

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May 12, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 out of 5 rating

This is another one of those books that is completely out of the realm that I normally read. I had no clue this was a book about time travel (I thought it was paranormal for some reason...obviously I didn't read the summary that closely). If I had, then I never would have read it. But I'm so glad that I did!

Lydia was okay for me. I do think that its weird that she was so okay with the whole travel thing right off the bat--I would think that she would have been pretty freaked o...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Liyana rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So this is a story about time travelling where time travel happens through a scientific contraption that is not explained, but sounds exciting and extremely high tech. I imagine it as a tinier, more colourful version of the Large Hadron Collider, with particles flying around and where magic~ happens.

Long story short: Lydia's been told stories about the Montauk Project which she dismisses until she's sent back into time. After the time travel, Lydia finds herself back in the midst of World War 2....more So this is a story about time travelling where time travel happens through a scientific contraption that is not explained, but sounds exciting and extremely high tech. I imagine it as a tinier, more colourful version of the Large Hadron Collider, with particles flying around and where magic~ happens.

Long story short: Lydia's been told stories about the Montauk Project which she dismisses until she's sent back into time. After the time travel, Lydia finds herself back in the midst of World War 2. I'm not that informed on the US's side of WW2, and the fashion, behavious and mannerisms at that time, so I cannot vouch for its feel of authenticity. The descriptions resemble what I remember of the Grease movie, which happened in 1960s, only more conservative, so that's how I imagined it.

Lydia in 2012 is a senior in high school and an aspiring journalist, who's now deciding the next big step in her life: which college and internship to go to. She's thoughtful, inquisitive, intelligent and demure, and these traits helped her assimilate into the 1940s society.

I'm not going to make excuses: luck plays a huge part in this story, but not to the extent whereby the character's actions and motives are bumblingly hindered or enhanced. Now, at times I did question Lydia's intelligence. There's this quality called 'noble idiocy' that happens a lot in Korean dramas, which I am very much addicted to. It's whereby a character sacrifices his or her happiness 'for the good of the other character' even if it comes at the other person's unwillingness. This is the excess of self-sacrifice, where it crosses from sweet to being unnecessarily tragic. For example, breaking up with your One Twoo Love™ and faking your own death to save him from being rid of his inheritance, which he was willing to give up for you.

Despite numerous warnings of the effects her action will have on the future, Lydia is single-mindedly determined to attain her goal. It's actually admirable. And then Lydia's noble idiocy trait reared its head.

It's a pretty slow story, and there was quite a bit of exposition and explanation about WW2 around that part, which fell more into infodumping at times. For example, Lydia's adoptive family in the 1940s went on this huge exposition of the characters and current political situation, which the history buff in me loved. In the end, it did not play any meaningful part in the story. A short explanation of the war and its players, and the current situation was enough. The extra details were just that: details.

So, as the blurb has mentioned a one mysterious boy that Lydia has met, I shall do so in this review too. I like how their romance played out. It's full on attraction, though I read it mostly as curiousity on Lydia's part. You know what it does to cats.

Here comes one of the best lines in the book. "Theirs was an impossible love." It's tragic, but I loved it and I rooted for them. I'd love for their love to challenge the odds and win, only because as of this time, I cannot possibly think of any way for them to be together.

It's a sweet story. The finale left me hanging when I thought I got a pretty good conclusion, and you know what? I think I'll try the next book in the series when it's out.(less)

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Jul 08, 2012 Bailey (IB Book Blogging) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: received-for-review, harperteen

SO CLOSE TO YOU is an imaginative time travel YA that will blast you into the past. Full of characters that make you smile and a mystery that is woven into the very depths of the story, you won't want to put it down. While the romance is lacking and seems to go way too fast at times, the minor characters and intricate plot will make it more forgiving. If you're in the mood for a rare time travel YA, SO CLOSE TO YOU may be the book for you!

Lydia is a head strong girl who loves her grandfather wit...more SO CLOSE TO YOU is an imaginative time travel YA that will blast you into the past. Full of characters that make you smile and a mystery that is woven into the very depths of the story, you won't want to put it down. While the romance is lacking and seems to go way too fast at times, the minor characters and intricate plot will make it more forgiving. If you're in the mood for a rare time travel YA, SO CLOSE TO YOU may be the book for you!

Lydia is a head strong girl who loves her grandfather with all her heart, no matter that she thinks his mind isn't exactly sane. She has heard of the Camp Hero myths all her life because of her grandfather, and while she gradually begins to think less of them, there is still some place in her mind that can't deny that something is up. It is that mindset that gets her into trouble and she finds herself hurtling through time to 1944, right before a major event that will affect her family for the rest of their lives happens.

I appreciate the way Lydia treats her grandfather. She respects him and will do anything she can to make him happy, even if she doesn't believe his stories. She has so much love in her heart for him and that makes her a great person in my book. While it was a little annoying how she got herself into really crazy situations by doing stupid things, I knew it was all for love in the end.

Her "romance" with Wes is definitely not one of my favorites of all the books I've read. I felt like it went WAY too fast and I had a hard time believing that they had fallen for each other in a matter of days. I'm sorry, but I can't believe that that happens. I was also a bit agitated that there was barely any relationship development in the beginning, but in the final half it all just happened. However, I do think that Carter can make up for my unhappiness about the romance in the sequel. There is potential but it just didn't give me warm and fuzzies in SO CLOSE TO YOU.

Readers are going to fall in love with the side cast of characters in this one! All of them, especially Mary, have such personality and they became stars of the show. Instead of staying in the background, they jumped out to front stage for me. I'm hoping for more of some of them in the sequel, but we'll see what happens!

If you are a fan of time traveling books, you are totally going to love SO CLOSE TO YOU. The characters and plot stand out and work together to make the story better as a whole. I can't wait for more from this world!(less)

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Jun 22, 2012 Mindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this and got it for free with first reads! Hooray for me:)
This is a time travel book. That being said, I haven't read a lot of time travel books, just a few that I can think of. I really disliked "The Time Traveler's Wife", but I totally got hooked on the Outlander series. This is a YA read and so unlike "Outlander", I LOVED that it was clean(yes there is some romance, but totally clean)! And unlike "The Time Traveler's Wife"(which was really depressing!) I really enjoyed this book!
I liked...more

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Jan 11, 2013 ❤♏αια (My Book Diaries) rated it 5 of 5 stars

READ ME! :)

Wow. This book was surprisingly good. I guess it was the whole conspiracy theory idea that made me think I wouldn't enjoy this book, but I really did! It was so easy to read. I literally finished this book in no time.

Gosh! This book made me swoon and almost want to cry. I highly recommend this book!

I do have to say that some things seem unrealistic, for example: How fast she comes to love someone and has fast she comes to consider someone her family. I mean she's in the past for like...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Lex (Eyes on the Pages) rated it 4 of 5 stars

More reviews at: www.eyesonthepages.blogspot.ca

Lydia has a close relationship with her grandfather. She never turns him down when he asks her to go on one of his search & (hopefully) rescue missions to Camp Hero. Lydia's grandfather - Peter - lost his father at the age of seven, and he's never been able to let it go. Peter is convinced that his father's disappearance wasn't due to war, but rather the "Montauk Project," rumored to have taken place at Camp Hero.

But of course, like everybody el...more More reviews at: www.eyesonthepages.blogspot.ca

Lydia has a close relationship with her grandfather. She never turns him down when he asks her to go on one of his search & (hopefully) rescue missions to Camp Hero. Lydia's grandfather - Peter - lost his father at the age of seven, and he's never been able to let it go. Peter is convinced that his father's disappearance wasn't due to war, but rather the "Montauk Project," rumored to have taken place at Camp Hero.

But of course, like everybody else, Lydia believes her grandfather has become a little too obsessed with his search for clues - until she one day forgets her sweater. When she goes back to retrieve it, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but as well as her grandfather's life forever.

After stumbling her way into a time machine that brings her back six days before her great-grandfather's disappearance, Lydia makes the only decision she can. She decides to find out what happened to her great-grandfather, and stop it.

I had never heard of this book before I entered a contest on Goodreads in hopes of winning myself a copy. And boy, was I happy when I did! So before I get started on my review, I'd just like to thank Harper Collins, Goodreads and Rachel Carter for giving me the opportunity to win this book. Really, thanks. :)

Lydia is a great main character, she describes the differences between our time and the 1940s so well, it's practically tangible. The writing in this book was absolutely FLAWLESS. I'm still awe-struck with how amazing it was. Everything flowed so easily and nothing felt out of place while reading So Close to You.

Lydia's character was completely believable, too. Instead of stepping into the 1940s and everything being fine and dandy, it was obvious to me that she was out of place. Everything from the way that she talked, to the way she was completely blown away by the designs they used to label canned goods back in the day.

Her relationship with Wes, on the other hand, didn't quite sit right with me. I couldn't really understand why Lydia was so smitten with him when she had only seen him a few brief times during the book. I almost feel as if she put him up on some kind of pedestal that he's not going to be able to live up to in the second book (which I can't wait for, by the way!).

The plot was pretty decently paced as well, it wasn't edge-if-your-seat worthy, but it definitely wasn't one of those slow, almost unbearable reads. Quite often I found I was reading the book more for the way the book was written than out of care for the plot or characters. Honestly, the writing was my favorite part of the book.

And the ending! Ugh, the ending! Plot twist after plot twist that I didn't see coming AT. ALL. And I kinda felt dumb for not seeing it beforehand.

Butyeah. This book was absolutely SPECTACULAR and the writing was IMPECCABLE. And I am just in love with the way Rachel Carter writes, and I don't think I will ever get over it, and you need to go out and buy this book as soon as it hits shelves so you can see and appreciate her amazing writing capabilities! Such a great book!(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a winner and recipient of this books from a GoodReads giveaway I have to admit I enjoyed So Close To You.

I loved the cover and description of this book both were very interesting and drew me in as a reader right away which is one of the main reasons why I entered to win a copy. Upon finishing the book, I have to say I was not disappointed even with it being a YA read. The concept of time travel was very interesting and I was impressed with the way it was introduced especially since the main...more

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May 10, 2013 Loryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: time-travel, young-adult-ya, fantasy

For as long as she can remember, Lydia has always heard about Camp Hero and the mysteries that surround it. Her Grandfather, Peter, believes there is more to the state park than meets the eye, and that it holds the mystery and answers to his missing father (Lydia's great-grandfather, Dean). The "Montauk Project", the East Coast's equivalent of Area 51, is what is believed to be out in the forest.

For Lydia, this means going along for the ride of her Grandfather's kooky trips to Camp Hero in sear...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Ana rated it 4 of 5 stars

So Close to You wasn’t really what I expected – it was BETTER than what I expected actually. I love the cover with Lydia on it. Her bright Auburn hair definitely stands out against the background.

Lydia is a senior in High School and is eager to leave her small town life behind. Montauk is a small town full of mysteries. Back during WWI there was a military base named Camp Hero, in Montauk where it is rumored to have been a secret laboratory where they did top secret experiments. Lydia's grandfat...more So Close to You wasn’t really what I expected – it was BETTER than what I expected actually. I love the cover with Lydia on it. Her bright Auburn hair definitely stands out against the background.

Lydia is a senior in High School and is eager to leave her small town life behind. Montauk is a small town full of mysteries. Back during WWI there was a military base named Camp Hero, in Montauk where it is rumored to have been a secret laboratory where they did top secret experiments. Lydia's grandfather swears that the rumors are true and that "The Montauk Project" was the reason that his father disappeared when he was just a little boy. Lydia doesn’t believe in any of this stuff, but has always stood by her grandfather and goes with him to Camp Hero regularly to seek out the "truth". Then one day, while at Camp Hero, Lydia and her grandfather go to one of the old bunks to look for clues, like they have done a dozen times and just like before, nothing has changed. The steel door is still shut and there is no way in getting inside. As Lydia and her grandfather start walking back to the car, Lydia remembers she left her sweater back at the bunk. When she gets there, to her surprise the metal door is wide open. Pushed by curiosity and a will to unravel the mystery of her great-grandfather's disappearance, she decides to go inside. Next thing she knows, she walk into a time machine and is taken back to 1944. Her whole world is flipped upside down. She has a chance to save her family, and find out what really happened to her great-grandfather. Changing the past can cause chaos in the present, but its a risk that Lydia will have to take.

So Close to You was a great read. The mystery definitely kept me going. There were a few parts where it dragged a little but overall the story was great. I really hope there is a second book coming because the ending had me making up all sorts of questions as to what happened and what will happen next. Great read for the summer.

BLOG: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2012...(less)

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So Close to You (So Close to You #1)

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