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Never #3
Now and for Never
Past and present collide on the high seas when Clare and Allie hurtle back in time once more in a perilous attempt to retrieve Marcus Donatus—Allie’s blast-from-the-past crush—and put an end, once and for all, to the Time Monkey Shenanigans. But when Clare and Allie unexpectedly find themselves temporal stowaways on a Roman warship full of looted Celtic gold, sailing straight for the heart of a magic-fuelled maelstrom, there’s not much they can do but hang on for the ride—and hope Milo can tap into the Druid lore trapped in his genius brain to help bring them home, before it’s too late. The only thing that’s going to save Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister now is if they join forces with old enemies, new loves … and unexpected friends.
280 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 5, 2015
Rating: 2.5 stars
It's been a long time since I've last read the other two books in the series. However, I feel that Lesley Livingston did a great job of kind of recapping the important parts of what had happened earlier. I wasn't left feeling lost for long, and for that, I greatly appreciate it.
I really tried to enjoy the concluding installment to the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans Gang. But I found myself a little disappointed. Now, I'm a fan of Livingston's, even have a personally autographed book from her, but her other series are more....serious. The mythology was more compelling and suspenseful in the way the plot slowly unwinded.
Clare and Allie are both very unique protagonists. You won't find another personality quite like theirs. Allie is all fireball attitude, wears only black, references nerdy things like Star Wars and Star Trek ALL the time, and is quite good with the tech stuff. Meanwhile, Clare is the more serious of the two and not so great with the nerd lingo, but she dives head into crazy time travelling adventures to save people (and trying not to change the course of history).
This series is all fun and definitely more lighthearted out of Livingston's collection of stories. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for that kind of the story so it was harder to enjoy the crazy hairball plans the two came up with to save Marcus from the past (where Every Never After left off).
What I can say that was positive is that Livingston did an amazing job trying to wrap up the loose ends after all the time travelling the two girls did in the previous 2 novels. No one wants to change history so....there goes the girls again for their last adventure to the past to make sure their reality doesn't change after all their meddling. It was a little confusing at times as to what artifact had to be found where and when exactly so that, say, Clare could find it two millennia later.
I'd say that Now and for Never concludes the series well. It just wasn't the kind of book I was looking for so that may have skewed with my rating. It's definitely ideal for younger readers, possibly in their earlier teens. The lighthearted banter and nerdy lingo were great additions to the comical atmosphere.
Overall Recommendation:
Now and for Never concludes the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans that have been going on in the previous two novels of the series. Although I didn't rate it too high, I still think it was a good way to wrap up the adventures that Clare and Ally had experienced back in the past, with appearances of both the Druids from Clare's story and the Romans of Allie's.
With the usual fun and lighthearted atmosphere, this book is perfect for those who enjoy some history (and meddling with it through time travel!), magic and nerdy references thrown in there. I recommend it for a light and funny read, so if you're in one of those moods, this would be more enjoyable.
It's been a long time since I've last read the other two books in the series. However, I feel that Lesley Livingston did a great job of kind of recapping the important parts of what had happened earlier. I wasn't left feeling lost for long, and for that, I greatly appreciate it.
I really tried to enjoy the concluding installment to the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans Gang. But I found myself a little disappointed. Now, I'm a fan of Livingston's, even have a personally autographed book from her, but her other series are more....serious. The mythology was more compelling and suspenseful in the way the plot slowly unwinded.
Clare and Allie are both very unique protagonists. You won't find another personality quite like theirs. Allie is all fireball attitude, wears only black, references nerdy things like Star Wars and Star Trek ALL the time, and is quite good with the tech stuff. Meanwhile, Clare is the more serious of the two and not so great with the nerd lingo, but she dives head into crazy time travelling adventures to save people (and trying not to change the course of history).
This series is all fun and definitely more lighthearted out of Livingston's collection of stories. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for that kind of the story so it was harder to enjoy the crazy hairball plans the two came up with to save Marcus from the past (where Every Never After left off).
What I can say that was positive is that Livingston did an amazing job trying to wrap up the loose ends after all the time travelling the two girls did in the previous 2 novels. No one wants to change history so....there goes the girls again for their last adventure to the past to make sure their reality doesn't change after all their meddling. It was a little confusing at times as to what artifact had to be found where and when exactly so that, say, Clare could find it two millennia later.
I'd say that Now and for Never concludes the series well. It just wasn't the kind of book I was looking for so that may have skewed with my rating. It's definitely ideal for younger readers, possibly in their earlier teens. The lighthearted banter and nerdy lingo were great additions to the comical atmosphere.
Overall Recommendation:
Now and for Never concludes the Time Travelling Monkey Shenanigans that have been going on in the previous two novels of the series. Although I didn't rate it too high, I still think it was a good way to wrap up the adventures that Clare and Ally had experienced back in the past, with appearances of both the Druids from Clare's story and the Romans of Allie's.
With the usual fun and lighthearted atmosphere, this book is perfect for those who enjoy some history (and meddling with it through time travel!), magic and nerdy references thrown in there. I recommend it for a light and funny read, so if you're in one of those moods, this would be more enjoyable.
August 23, 2014
3 1/2 stars. I did like it but not as much as I love all of her other books.
June 7, 2014
And the Monkey Time Butt Shenanigans are over. :( What a fun, crazy whirlwind of a series. I loved it and I so sad to send Clare and Al off. :(
March 5, 2015
good end to the series
language and some innuendo
language and some innuendo
February 9, 2019
A bubble gum reading as I call it - just takes up time and space
November 28, 2014
Past and present collide on the high seas when Clare and Allie hurtle back in time once more in a perilous attempt to retrieve Marcus Donatus—Allie's blast-from-the-past crush—and put an end, once and for all, to the Time Monkey Shenanigans. But when Clare and Allie unexpectedly find themselves temporal stowaways on a Roman warship full of looted Celtic gold, sailing straight for the heart of a magic-fueled maelstrom, there's not much they can do but hang on for the ride—and hope Milo can tap into the Druid lore trapped in his genius brain to help bring them home, before it's too late. The only thing that's going to save Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister now is if they join forces with old enemies, new loves, and unexpected friends.
Now and For Never is the conclusion of the epic adventures of two friends through time, of magic and Druids and Romans, of scheming plots and fate.
Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister are two average teenage girls. They're friends who laugh together, argue with each other, and travel through time to stop an evil jerk of an enemy together. Well, a few evil jerks. Well, not evil, just misguided and drunk on treasure and/or power. I love Clare and Allie as a duo. They're friends who get each other, who accept each other's flaws and continue to roll on with the crazy, who are always there to help each other.
There's a moment near the beginning where Clare voices her concerns to Allie regarding Marcus. Their separate visits to the past were different, Clare's short visits with the Druids compared to Allie's long stop with the Romans. They're two sides of a brutal war, two different opinions. Clare has her prejudices against the Romans for what they did to Comorra and the Iceni people, and she tells Allie that. She tells Allie that she's biased against not saving him. She tells Allie that she doesn't like having those biased feelings. And Allie understands. Both of them understand. They might argue about sense and reason and whether travelling through time is a shimmer or a zot, but they'll always be friends.
I like how the author goes back in time with Clare and Allie, how she takes what we already know (or presume to know) about Ancient Britain and the Druids and Romans and fiddles around with it a bit. Yes, it's all implausible, but it's still exciting. This series takes history and time travel and, while still treating the history seriously, also pokes fun and makes it entertaining. There's a lot of pressure on Clare and Allie to right wrongs, to fix timelines, but there's still a sense of light-heartedness that runs through the book. It's serious but also fun.
This series has been a wonderful mix of time travel, British history, sass, geek culture quotes, and two best friends. I'm a bit sad to see it end, but their adventures are over. For now. And Stuart Morholt will always be a jerk.
(I purchased a copy of this book.)
Now and For Never is the conclusion of the epic adventures of two friends through time, of magic and Druids and Romans, of scheming plots and fate.
Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister are two average teenage girls. They're friends who laugh together, argue with each other, and travel through time to stop an evil jerk of an enemy together. Well, a few evil jerks. Well, not evil, just misguided and drunk on treasure and/or power. I love Clare and Allie as a duo. They're friends who get each other, who accept each other's flaws and continue to roll on with the crazy, who are always there to help each other.
There's a moment near the beginning where Clare voices her concerns to Allie regarding Marcus. Their separate visits to the past were different, Clare's short visits with the Druids compared to Allie's long stop with the Romans. They're two sides of a brutal war, two different opinions. Clare has her prejudices against the Romans for what they did to Comorra and the Iceni people, and she tells Allie that. She tells Allie that she's biased against not saving him. She tells Allie that she doesn't like having those biased feelings. And Allie understands. Both of them understand. They might argue about sense and reason and whether travelling through time is a shimmer or a zot, but they'll always be friends.
I like how the author goes back in time with Clare and Allie, how she takes what we already know (or presume to know) about Ancient Britain and the Druids and Romans and fiddles around with it a bit. Yes, it's all implausible, but it's still exciting. This series takes history and time travel and, while still treating the history seriously, also pokes fun and makes it entertaining. There's a lot of pressure on Clare and Allie to right wrongs, to fix timelines, but there's still a sense of light-heartedness that runs through the book. It's serious but also fun.
This series has been a wonderful mix of time travel, British history, sass, geek culture quotes, and two best friends. I'm a bit sad to see it end, but their adventures are over. For now. And Stuart Morholt will always be a jerk.
(I purchased a copy of this book.)
September 5, 2015
I greatly enjoyed this trilogy over the Wanderlust one. That was painful to read. I think out of all of them the first one was my favourite and I think it could have done well as a stand alone. The second one should have been longer but the last was a good length.
I liked the characters for the most part but I feel like the author tried too hard to sound like teenagers. Plus the relationships seemed forced and that big "blow up" that appeared to be coming between the main whats her face and the male what's his face never happened. And all the built up drama over the nerdy what's her face hitting on her boyfriend was a little shallow considering they were at the end of the world.
Speaking of which I feel like they should have mentioned the end of the world in the second book instead of springing it on us in the second half of this one. And thank God they knew what they were doing because I had no idea what was going on half the time.
With that said I liked it. Wouldn't read it again but I liked it.
I liked the characters for the most part but I feel like the author tried too hard to sound like teenagers. Plus the relationships seemed forced and that big "blow up" that appeared to be coming between the main whats her face and the male what's his face never happened. And all the built up drama over the nerdy what's her face hitting on her boyfriend was a little shallow considering they were at the end of the world.
Speaking of which I feel like they should have mentioned the end of the world in the second book instead of springing it on us in the second half of this one. And thank God they knew what they were doing because I had no idea what was going on half the time.
With that said I liked it. Wouldn't read it again but I liked it.
June 22, 2014
Ok. so, for awhile there, i was like, "Okay... Just gotta get through this. I did the first two, just gotta do this one, it's not so bad." But then I hit a wall and was like, "Fuck it, I'll read the rest of this bit by bit over the rest of the week."
But then strangely enough, just when I stopped, I found myself going back to it. Just one more chapter here, another chapter there... yeah, I just kinda finished it!
This series wasn't great. But it wasn't terrible either. I kinda enjoyed it in a really corny kind of way haha. This wrapped things up nicely, got everyone where they belonged. I would've liked to have seen slightly more in the epilogue. Mostly how Marcus reconciled being in the future and all that jaaz. Maybe a novella from his POV??? Haha I never ask for those.
But then strangely enough, just when I stopped, I found myself going back to it. Just one more chapter here, another chapter there... yeah, I just kinda finished it!
This series wasn't great. But it wasn't terrible either. I kinda enjoyed it in a really corny kind of way haha. This wrapped things up nicely, got everyone where they belonged. I would've liked to have seen slightly more in the epilogue. Mostly how Marcus reconciled being in the future and all that jaaz. Maybe a novella from his POV??? Haha I never ask for those.
February 9, 2017
Her writing is awesome - makes me chuckle all the time. The story is out there- just like the rest of the series. But, she pulls it off.
August 11, 2014
I love Lesley Livingston, and while this trilogy is good it's definately my least favourite of the 3. I will say, the last 100 pages definately had me engrossed in the story, but sometimes all the time monkey shenanigans had this poor brain super confussled.
June 29, 2014
Loved this close to the trilogy. Great story, great characters, great ending.
May 5, 2015
An entertaining ending to an all-around fun series full of wacky time-travel adventures, history, and romance. Looking forward to reading another one of Lesley Livingston's series soon!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews