Review: Timebound by Rysa Walker

Timebound by Rysa Walker 


Genre: YA, time travelReviewer: K.F. Breene
2013 Winner — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Grand Prize and Young Adult Fiction Winner

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After her father dies, Rachel realizes she is scared and stuck. Scared of heights, of cars, of disasters harming the people she loves. Stuck in a life that is getting smaller by the minute. Stuck with a secret she has kept all her life: Someone has been watching over her since birth. Someone who tends to show up when she needs him the most. Someone she believes is her guardian angel.

Eaden is a 1,500-year-old immortal who wants to die. Drained by a life stretched too thin, he has requested his final reward – a mortal sacrifice bred specifically to bring him death. But something went wrong. Rachel’s ability to grant death has mutated in ways that threaten to upset the uneasy alliance between mortals and immortals. And utterly beguiled, Eaden discovers that although Rachel is the key to his death, because of her, he no longer wants to die. And he will do anything to protect her.

Swept into a world of legends, caught between the warring political factions of immortals, and carrying the future of mortal kind in her flesh and bone, Rachel must risk everything to save her world and the man she loves.

 

This book was...good.

In the beginning I wanted to say it was great. I was in a Ferrari, peddle to the floor, cheeks wagging with the speed, and hanging on for the ride. I was totally into it.

This YA book is about that hard to pin-down and figure-out topic of time travel. Our unsuspecting heroine, Kate, learns that she has a gene which allows her to use a time-traveling devise from the future. Her grandmother, also from the future, but trapped in our current time, was an employed historian whose job it was to travel to historical events, update the records, and return home. However, we soon learn that her traveling partner didn't just want to learn about events, he wanted to change them. His interference led to a safety measure with their company to pull all ties by their company, thus stranding them in whatever time they had *jumped* to.

The book, for me, was divided into thirds. The first third was the exciting one. We open with action. Kate is chased, in another time, by a villain. The prologue wraps up with her falling into enemy hands.

Immediately I was like--this is rock star! Let's have more of that!

Fairly immediately we learn, as Kate does, that she is special. She can see a glowing medallion when others cannot. She has special powers, which are soon revealed to actually be a gene predisposed to time travel. How exciting! We meet bachelor number one in two instances. One is mostly erotic and not totally real (it was when she handled the madalian for the first time), and the second was on a train when he hints of their life together. Of a time when they were deeply in love. He gives her her first kiss.

This part in the story is about when I am leaning forward in anticipation and contemplating an all-nighter, because this is going to be good. Four and five stars are rolling around my head. I'm excited to get to the next page.

And just like that, the pace grinds to a crawl. Ms. Walker has some s'plainin' to do. Damn.

The middle third of the book is one large info dump after the other. Through explanation by the grandmother and various diaries, a lot of detail is painstakingly laid at our feet. Kate tries to note that it is confusing, and she only understands a little--an attempt to let the reader off if we didn't understand, either. The problem, though, was that it seemed unnecessarily muddled. As though the author hadn't quite worked it all out, either. She had it mostly there, but...not quite. Unfortunately, I started to get bored.

Also in the middle third is where the next frustrating thing happens. The immersion of a strange love triangle. We have the intrigue and mystery of bachelor number one, who loves Kate, but is from another time. We want to know him really bad. There is the element of lust and desire and dark eyes and a handsome face. We are hell bent on knowing that guy...

But there is all this lecturing that has to happen, so the author, apparently deciding a love interest at all times is mandatory, pushes bachelor number two at us. Kate meets him in a scene out of Twilight, but without the buildup. This girl, in a state of confusing turmoil and life upheaval, still trusts a strange new boy fairly immediately. He is kind of boring and dull, not all that well-thought out or portrayed, but takes over for the main love interest.

But what about the first guy? What about time travel? What about the continuation of the story set-up in the beginning? Why do we have to do this side-to-side investigation that seems to unnecessarily drag out the guts of the book?

I started to lose my way, wading through boredom. I started wishing for the book to just be over at that point. I wanted to get to the conclusion and move on. (But at least I wanted to finish, which is not true of other, less noteworthy, book.)

Alas, we finally reach the final third and things start to pick up again. Finally. High-octane is turned back into (almost) high gear, and I was again along for the ride. I still had to skim, unfortunately, just wanting to get to the action, but it was still good, and I was excited to finally be getting somewhere.

The triangle reemerges, but in a strange, disjointed way. Some of the plot is wrapped up, so there is a gratifying element, and also a pull into the next book.

I did like this book, mostly. I wanted to keep reading, was happy to jump back into it after a pause, and loved the writing. If it wasn't for that disjointed middle third, the overly confusing rules regarding time travel, and the somewhat forced love triangle, I would be grinning and excited and pushing this book in people's faces. I would be anxiously awaiting the next installment. I would probably go buy a pin with a thumbs up and the title of the book.

Sadly, I think I will just take note of Rysa Walker's name, because this is her debute and she is an excellent writer, and wait until she has a few more books under her belt before I try another one. Time travel is tricky, and in this instance, I'm not sure it worked that well.

3.5 stars and a frowny face, because in the beginning I thought it would be at least four stars

In fact, I really want to give it four stars...but just can't. The element of the story doesn't warrant that solid of a recommendation. Boo!