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Out of Time #2
Time Lost
What began with a dead intruder and a missing scientist quickly becomes the most perplexing case of Detective Inspector Jacob Ofori’s career. Nothing about it makes sense, from the incredibly advanced technology found on the intruder to the scientist’s mysterious workplace, the Temporal Research Institute. Jacob’s gut tells him the TRI is hiding something, and the questions keep piling Who would abduct Sanders? What is the strange gate in his basement laboratory? How does it connect to similar gates in the TRI?
TRI engineer Kit Rafferty only wanted one night with the sexy older policeman, but Kit’s mouth tends to run away with him when he gets excited, and nothing gets him more excited than cutting-edge tech—like the intruder’s cybernetic eye. Suddenly Kit is pulled into the investigation—and into a relationship that could jeopardize both of their lives. Kit hates lying to Jacob, but he cannot reveal what really goes on at the TRI—time travel. Faced with time-jumping criminals but unable to share that knowledge with Jacob, Kit turns to a man who knows time travel Janos Nagy.
TRI engineer Kit Rafferty only wanted one night with the sexy older policeman, but Kit’s mouth tends to run away with him when he gets excited, and nothing gets him more excited than cutting-edge tech—like the intruder’s cybernetic eye. Suddenly Kit is pulled into the investigation—and into a relationship that could jeopardize both of their lives. Kit hates lying to Jacob, but he cannot reveal what really goes on at the TRI—time travel. Faced with time-jumping criminals but unable to share that knowledge with Jacob, Kit turns to a man who knows time travel Janos Nagy.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2016
3 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
C.B. Lewis
15 books24 followersA book-lover from infancy, C.B. has been writing and telling stories for as long as she can remember. Based in Edinburgh, she has diverse tastes and will quite happily attempt to write any genre, but always come back to history, fantasy, and sci-fi like an old friend. C. B. Lewis is small and Scottish and can often be spotted perched around historical monuments with her notepad and pen. She has been writing and telling tales for almost as long as she can remember, and has a brain that constantly fizzes with an abundance of ideas. If she’s not working on half a dozen things at once, it should be considered a slow day. She loves to travel and just has one continent left to complete her travel bingo card. A lot of the travel has also been research-based, and if pointed at any historical event, she will research it vociferously, just because she can. Normally, she is based in Edinburgh, where she tends toward the hermit-lifestyle, needing nothing but a kettle, a constant supply of tea, and – of course – the internet. There are no cats, no puppies, no significant others, only a lot of ideas, and an awful lot of typing. And occasionally, cake. Never forget the cake.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 14, 2016
Full reviewage on Prism Book Alliance®
Wow, spectacular sci-fi/murder mystery/cop-scientist brilliance, anyone? Step right up! I've got one...
Lawdy, I like this author’s writing. We get just the right amount of detail with steady pacing, making it so easy to take hold and invest in this story and the characters, right from the get go. It gets me pumped when I experience this right from the beginning, and even more so when it carries through the entire read, which was the case here. :)
A murder mystery sets things rolling and leads to quite an early and clever conflict between our two main characters, Kit and Jacob, before they even meet. Egads, what would happen when they did meet and discovered each other’s particular lines of work? Told ya, pumped. :)
Having read book one, Time Waits, I like the way Dieter and Janos from that story are utilized here. They add to it as opposed to simply being a fun reminder. This also means that you do not have to have read Time Waits before reading this. However, I would of course recommend you do just that. Dieter and Janos’ story is exciting, emotional, and just plain cool. How is it cool? That’s thanks to the particular brand of sci-fi Lewis is peddling here and I bought it, special offer and all.
You know how it feels like it’s taking forever to read a book? And you don’t mind? In fact, you are thrilled? Yeah. That! Here, with this story and these characters. The way this all unfolds, a continuous trail of breadcrumbs that build and build all the way through the last page. The character development and growth, which is especially enjoyable since we get both Kit’s and Jacob’s points of view in the form of alternating chapters. The format is a well-utilized tool as shifting focus, keeping things in constant motion and discovery. This approach hits its stride big time when things get hot, complicated, and messy, on all fronts.
I do feel like I got to know Kit more than I did Jacob. Until much later into the story, most of Jacob’s chapters concern his dealing with the case, the police department, witnesses, and trying to solve the puzzle of what happened to the scientist, Tom Sanders. With Kit, we get into his head in personal ways quite early on. The way Lewis portrays him through his surprise at the nastiness some people are willing to perpetrate, his mix of naivete about some things and his brilliance when it comes to his job, and the way his emotional reactions involve both his heart and his body, the descriptions are brimming with truth. The word ‘palpable’ came to mind often while I was reading. I will say this, though, whether this was intentional or just the nature of the story and these characters, it did help in defining their different personalities, ages, and the thinking behind their decisions at many a turn. Put this all together and their chemistry is one hundred percent believable. It also made their story of meeting and getting to know each other one of my favorites.
Um, just a warning, there be more than one swoon-worthy moment in this here tale, each one pushing the plot forward and adding to the all too real and complicated natures of the circumstances surrounding Kit and Jacob. There were a couple of points that felt a little fuzzy in resolution, almost like being rushed to conclusion. However, they were part of the last quarter of the book that went lightning fast, what with the continuous developments, each puzzle piece leading to another and another. Whew!
This is a joyous blend of science fiction (without overdone detail), criminal mystery, and romance. Never a dull moment encountered, with lux characterization – the cover is ALL too accurate and I love it – and those breadcrumbs kept me guessing until the end.
I will read more from these characters and this universe. I say ‘will’ because I refuzzle to face any possibility that we won’t get more. I want more! Pretty please, C.B. Lewis? ;)
*Originally reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®
ETA: Recommended Read on Prism for July 2016
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just got the review copy and I cannot wait to start this. In fact, I might not. I loved the first book and look at that cover!
Wow, spectacular sci-fi/murder mystery/cop-scientist brilliance, anyone? Step right up! I've got one...
Lawdy, I like this author’s writing. We get just the right amount of detail with steady pacing, making it so easy to take hold and invest in this story and the characters, right from the get go. It gets me pumped when I experience this right from the beginning, and even more so when it carries through the entire read, which was the case here. :)
A murder mystery sets things rolling and leads to quite an early and clever conflict between our two main characters, Kit and Jacob, before they even meet. Egads, what would happen when they did meet and discovered each other’s particular lines of work? Told ya, pumped. :)
Having read book one, Time Waits, I like the way Dieter and Janos from that story are utilized here. They add to it as opposed to simply being a fun reminder. This also means that you do not have to have read Time Waits before reading this. However, I would of course recommend you do just that. Dieter and Janos’ story is exciting, emotional, and just plain cool. How is it cool? That’s thanks to the particular brand of sci-fi Lewis is peddling here and I bought it, special offer and all.
You know how it feels like it’s taking forever to read a book? And you don’t mind? In fact, you are thrilled? Yeah. That! Here, with this story and these characters. The way this all unfolds, a continuous trail of breadcrumbs that build and build all the way through the last page. The character development and growth, which is especially enjoyable since we get both Kit’s and Jacob’s points of view in the form of alternating chapters. The format is a well-utilized tool as shifting focus, keeping things in constant motion and discovery. This approach hits its stride big time when things get hot, complicated, and messy, on all fronts.
I do feel like I got to know Kit more than I did Jacob. Until much later into the story, most of Jacob’s chapters concern his dealing with the case, the police department, witnesses, and trying to solve the puzzle of what happened to the scientist, Tom Sanders. With Kit, we get into his head in personal ways quite early on. The way Lewis portrays him through his surprise at the nastiness some people are willing to perpetrate, his mix of naivete about some things and his brilliance when it comes to his job, and the way his emotional reactions involve both his heart and his body, the descriptions are brimming with truth. The word ‘palpable’ came to mind often while I was reading. I will say this, though, whether this was intentional or just the nature of the story and these characters, it did help in defining their different personalities, ages, and the thinking behind their decisions at many a turn. Put this all together and their chemistry is one hundred percent believable. It also made their story of meeting and getting to know each other one of my favorites.
Um, just a warning, there be more than one swoon-worthy moment in this here tale, each one pushing the plot forward and adding to the all too real and complicated natures of the circumstances surrounding Kit and Jacob. There were a couple of points that felt a little fuzzy in resolution, almost like being rushed to conclusion. However, they were part of the last quarter of the book that went lightning fast, what with the continuous developments, each puzzle piece leading to another and another. Whew!
This is a joyous blend of science fiction (without overdone detail), criminal mystery, and romance. Never a dull moment encountered, with lux characterization – the cover is ALL too accurate and I love it – and those breadcrumbs kept me guessing until the end.
I will read more from these characters and this universe. I say ‘will’ because I refuzzle to face any possibility that we won’t get more. I want more! Pretty please, C.B. Lewis? ;)
*Originally reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®
ETA: Recommended Read on Prism for July 2016
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just got the review copy and I cannot wait to start this. In fact, I might not. I loved the first book and look at that cover!
August 2, 2016
4.5 stars
(Mostly) Very satisfying read. This book clocks in around 118k words and there wasn't a time when I thought it was dragging or that it felt too long. I was totally immersed and IN LOVE with the story and characters. I admit, there were tears as well considering that .
I really loved Lewis' writing -- I thought it was engaging, every scenes/chapters matter. And I LOVED the characters. I loved Kit, for being young, and bumbling, and honest, and quite determined to chase the possibility of being with Jacob. I loved Jacob, for being dedicated to his job, and for being understanding and kind (like when he made that decision about Janos).
I also loved that even if there was age gap between them, this never been a point of angst issue (as sometimes common to happen in May/December story, when the older guy wants the younger guy to 'plow the field' first or whatever). I loved the relationship progress -- it was slow but it was also believable. It didn't based on simply lust. There was a deep connection happening between the two and I loved every single time of spending with them.
The only 'letdown' which stopped this from my perfect 5-stars rating was the fact that I still had questions about the time travel / mystery issue.
.
Oh, and for a story that sets around 25-30 years in the future, I still think it was a little fuzzy. I couldn't really feel the future that Lewis painted. Yes, there was new technology like pods and quills ... but the rest didn't feel too "futuristic" for me.
With two novels and a novella, C.B. Lewis has definitely become one of my favorite new-to-me authors of 2016. I am looking forward to more stories from her.
(Mostly) Very satisfying read. This book clocks in around 118k words and there wasn't a time when I thought it was dragging or that it felt too long. I was totally immersed and IN LOVE with the story and characters. I admit, there were tears as well considering that .
I really loved Lewis' writing -- I thought it was engaging, every scenes/chapters matter. And I LOVED the characters. I loved Kit, for being young, and bumbling, and honest, and quite determined to chase the possibility of being with Jacob. I loved Jacob, for being dedicated to his job, and for being understanding and kind (like when he made that decision about Janos).
I also loved that even if there was age gap between them, this never been a point of angst issue (as sometimes common to happen in May/December story, when the older guy wants the younger guy to 'plow the field' first or whatever). I loved the relationship progress -- it was slow but it was also believable. It didn't based on simply lust. There was a deep connection happening between the two and I loved every single time of spending with them.
The only 'letdown' which stopped this from my perfect 5-stars rating was the fact that I still had questions about the time travel / mystery issue.
.
Oh, and for a story that sets around 25-30 years in the future, I still think it was a little fuzzy. I couldn't really feel the future that Lewis painted. Yes, there was new technology like pods and quills ... but the rest didn't feel too "futuristic" for me.
With two novels and a novella, C.B. Lewis has definitely become one of my favorite new-to-me authors of 2016. I am looking forward to more stories from her.
August 5, 2016
5 stars.
This is how you write a sequel!!! It's not even the main couple from book one, but I am blown away by how good this was. I literally could close my eyes and picture everything that is happening in the story. I think I was 25% in maybe when I realized that it was a 5 star read. I am going to need C.B. Lewis to write more!!! I need it. I liked Dieter & Janos. Their story was wicked good. Jacob & Kit's story was mind blogging effective. That's the highest praise from me.
I won't say much about how good the plot is. Even writing this review is making me want to re-read it. I really enjoyed Kit as a character. To be so young, I was scared that he was going to come off just naive, and clueless. He proved himself time and time again. Jacob who didn't want anything to do with Kit because he was investigating his company had so many different facets about himself. I loved the age-gap trope between the two. I loved seeing their relationship blossom on page. You can definitely see on page where the hookup turned into something else. The moment when you when want to comfort them and just cuddle let's us in on how both guys were feeling.
I am getting use to Science Fiction stories, but if they are all like this, then definitely sign me up. The cast of characters were equally good. I find no faults no where in this story. I just wanted more. Lewis did a wonderful job on her knowledge of all the subjects involved here. I am excited that their will be a book three. I have no idea who is the main couple, but please can I get a novella featuring Kit & Jacob. Super excited, and giddily excited on how much I loved this. Definitely made it to my favorites of 2016 shelf.
Mind Completely Blown
This is how you write a sequel!!! It's not even the main couple from book one, but I am blown away by how good this was. I literally could close my eyes and picture everything that is happening in the story. I think I was 25% in maybe when I realized that it was a 5 star read. I am going to need C.B. Lewis to write more!!! I need it. I liked Dieter & Janos. Their story was wicked good. Jacob & Kit's story was mind blogging effective. That's the highest praise from me.
I won't say much about how good the plot is. Even writing this review is making me want to re-read it. I really enjoyed Kit as a character. To be so young, I was scared that he was going to come off just naive, and clueless. He proved himself time and time again. Jacob who didn't want anything to do with Kit because he was investigating his company had so many different facets about himself. I loved the age-gap trope between the two. I loved seeing their relationship blossom on page. You can definitely see on page where the hookup turned into something else. The moment when you when want to comfort them and just cuddle let's us in on how both guys were feeling.
I am getting use to Science Fiction stories, but if they are all like this, then definitely sign me up. The cast of characters were equally good. I find no faults no where in this story. I just wanted more. Lewis did a wonderful job on her knowledge of all the subjects involved here. I am excited that their will be a book three. I have no idea who is the main couple, but please can I get a novella featuring Kit & Jacob. Super excited, and giddily excited on how much I loved this. Definitely made it to my favorites of 2016 shelf.
August 5, 2016
This review was written for Joyfully Jay Reviews and can be accessed here: http://joyfullyjay.com/2016/08/review...
4.25 Stars. This is the second book in the Out of Time series and I think it helped that I had read the previous book, Time Waits, but I do believe this one stands on its own.
It’s the near future, and a world where technology is definitely advanced. I liked the discussion of auto-houses and holographic quills (phones!) and driverless car-pods that take you where you need to go. That was all fun stuff, for me! *removes geek hat*
Kit Rafferty is an engineer building a portal lock for the time-travel gates maintained in secrecy by the Temporal Research Institute. Seems that someone from the past (Janos, in Time Waits) stumbled through an unlocked portal, and they don’t want that to ever happen again. Kit is a young gay man who loves working for the TRI and enjoys working with his brilliant boss, the gate inventor, Tom. Unfortunately, the book opens with Tom’s alleged kidnapping. The police are involved before the TRI staff can lock down the site—on account of it happening at Tom’s country residence, and secret tech lab.
Detective Inspector Jacob Ofori is on the case of a missing scientist. He is a stalwart and fit Ghanian who emigrated to the UK as a child. He’s gay, but quiet about it, on account of his family disowning him. He’s not pleased with the answers he’s getting from the TRI, and feels like he’s being snowballed. Spoiler alert: he is. The TRI can’t tell ANYONE about the time travel, but how can anyone explain how one of the kidnappers, found dead on the scene, has a high-tech electronic eyeball replacement that no one’s even invented yet?
Kit is called in to help DI Ofori identify Tom’s hardware and to ascertain what was stolen from his home. It’s enough of a connection that these two recognize an attraction, even if it can only bring trouble.
I liked this one. It’s a bit of mystery and an adversaries-to-lovers story, as both men have secrets to protect and information to glean from the other. Made for a nice bit of cat and mousery, and some yummy sexytimes.
The story is told from dual points-of-view, so we got to see the inner turmoil each man had for trying to deceive the other, and, likewise, to deceive their work comrades as their love affair grows. I think that worked best, because Jacob would have come off as too callous and mercenary if we hadn’t a window to his heart and mind. At first, I thought the book was too long for the plot, but then a third subplot was woven in, which gave us an insight to the cause of all this destruction, as (believe me) by the end the TRI and DI Ofori’s career are a shambles. Doesn’t mean it’s not a satisfying end, however.
I really enjoyed the appearances of Janos and Dieter from Time Waits. They had important roles here, and their back story was revealed enough in this one that it was understandable in context, even if the reader hasn’t read their book. As I had, I think I experienced a little higher tension than someone who hadn’t read it, but not by much. As I read a review copy that had no cover art, I think I missed that Jacob was a black man for roughly 90% of the story. It’s likely my American bias, but he didn’t read as any sort of foreign national, and there was nearly no reference to his skin color or ethnicity in the book until the very end. I adore interracial romance and found the lack of any insight there to be a disservice. It’s heavily British, though, so if that’s a bell you like rung, you’ll be satisfied.
4.25 Stars. This is the second book in the Out of Time series and I think it helped that I had read the previous book, Time Waits, but I do believe this one stands on its own.
It’s the near future, and a world where technology is definitely advanced. I liked the discussion of auto-houses and holographic quills (phones!) and driverless car-pods that take you where you need to go. That was all fun stuff, for me! *removes geek hat*
Kit Rafferty is an engineer building a portal lock for the time-travel gates maintained in secrecy by the Temporal Research Institute. Seems that someone from the past (Janos, in Time Waits) stumbled through an unlocked portal, and they don’t want that to ever happen again. Kit is a young gay man who loves working for the TRI and enjoys working with his brilliant boss, the gate inventor, Tom. Unfortunately, the book opens with Tom’s alleged kidnapping. The police are involved before the TRI staff can lock down the site—on account of it happening at Tom’s country residence, and secret tech lab.
Detective Inspector Jacob Ofori is on the case of a missing scientist. He is a stalwart and fit Ghanian who emigrated to the UK as a child. He’s gay, but quiet about it, on account of his family disowning him. He’s not pleased with the answers he’s getting from the TRI, and feels like he’s being snowballed. Spoiler alert: he is. The TRI can’t tell ANYONE about the time travel, but how can anyone explain how one of the kidnappers, found dead on the scene, has a high-tech electronic eyeball replacement that no one’s even invented yet?
Kit is called in to help DI Ofori identify Tom’s hardware and to ascertain what was stolen from his home. It’s enough of a connection that these two recognize an attraction, even if it can only bring trouble.
I liked this one. It’s a bit of mystery and an adversaries-to-lovers story, as both men have secrets to protect and information to glean from the other. Made for a nice bit of cat and mousery, and some yummy sexytimes.
The story is told from dual points-of-view, so we got to see the inner turmoil each man had for trying to deceive the other, and, likewise, to deceive their work comrades as their love affair grows. I think that worked best, because Jacob would have come off as too callous and mercenary if we hadn’t a window to his heart and mind. At first, I thought the book was too long for the plot, but then a third subplot was woven in, which gave us an insight to the cause of all this destruction, as (believe me) by the end the TRI and DI Ofori’s career are a shambles. Doesn’t mean it’s not a satisfying end, however.
I really enjoyed the appearances of Janos and Dieter from Time Waits. They had important roles here, and their back story was revealed enough in this one that it was understandable in context, even if the reader hasn’t read their book. As I had, I think I experienced a little higher tension than someone who hadn’t read it, but not by much. As I read a review copy that had no cover art, I think I missed that Jacob was a black man for roughly 90% of the story. It’s likely my American bias, but he didn’t read as any sort of foreign national, and there was nearly no reference to his skin color or ethnicity in the book until the very end. I adore interracial romance and found the lack of any insight there to be a disservice. It’s heavily British, though, so if that’s a bell you like rung, you’ll be satisfied.
September 9, 2020
‘Time Lost’ is the second book in the ‘Out of Time’ series, set three years after the first volume ended. It is now 2044, the Temporal Research Institute is still working on researching past events, and Dieter and Janos have become an established team working in different departments. The focus of this sequel is the mystery of the institute leader’s disappearance, and the two men who are most closely involved in figuring out what happened. Jacob is a police detective who has no idea what minefield he has stumbled into with this case, and Kit is one of the lead engineers who works on the time portal technology but gets pulled into trying to figure out what new project Sanders, the vanished leader, was working on. This novel is full of incredible challenges, moral dilemmas, decisions that lead to potential disaster, and a well constructed and intriguing time travel-related mystery that defies description. You have to read it to believe it!
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
September 9, 2020
‘Time Lost’ is the second book in the ‘Out of Time’ series, set three years after the first volume ended. It is now 2044, the Temporal Research Institute is still working on researching past events, and Dieter and Janos have become an established team working in different departments. The focus of this sequel is the mystery of the institute leader’s disappearance, and the two men who are most closely involved in figuring out what happened. Jacob is a police detective who has no idea what minefield he has stumbled into with this case, and Kit is one of the lead engineers who works on the time portal technology but gets pulled into trying to figure out what new project Sanders, the vanished leader, was working on. This novel is full of incredible challenges, moral dilemmas, decisions that lead to potential disaster, and a well constructed and intriguing time travel-related mystery that defies description. You have to read it to believe it!
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
December 18, 2022
Oh my, I've had to skip a few hours of sleep because I couldn't put this book down. Buuut it was soooo worth it! I think Out of Time is one of my favorite series EVER, and I hope we get a new book (please please!) because I don't want to say goodbye to these characters yet. It was fun to see Genius!Janos in action!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2019
I was thoroughly surprised and delighted by this book. Surprised because this book was so much more than I expected. I've read a few time traveling books in my day and sometimes they leave me leery of others. But this...just wow. It deals with so much more than time traveling. It's a mystery, a murder mystery and so much more. The characters were ….there is so much to them. Complex, surprising. The writing was spot on. I really loved it.
I will say, I did not get to read book 1 first. I will be going back to read it for sure, but there was enough explained in this book I was totally out of my league. I DO recommend reading it first but if you can't, it's not too confusing. But keep in mind, this IS a continuing story. Same universe of characters. The main characters are different, but all from book 1 are back. Or so it seems, anyway. Also, the main characters from book 1 are in this book and there is some talk about their history and it is fairly violent. It's not fully described in this book, but enough you know what's up. So if you have triggers, just be careful.
Kit’s world is about to be turned upside down. With only being an engineer, he feels like he's left out of a lot of things going on in the office. And this time, he's right. He's been an 'underling’ of the head honcho, Dr. Sanders, for three years. With his abilities at coding and engineering, he's about a bloody genius at what he does. Some of what Sanders is supposed to be working Kit works on as well. But Kit just found out he didn't know as much as he thought. Sanders is missing, his home a bloody mess (literally), and his only son found locked in a safe room. DI Jacob Ofori is like a dog with a bone, and he's going to get to the bottom of this. Each time Jacob goes to TRI, he knows stuff is being hidden/omitted from him. He decides to try to get to know Kit, at first, to get some info out of him, bit it quickly turns into a passionate night. As Jacob digs further, more evidence is being revealed. And it's no longer a missing case. It's murder. When Kit accidentally reveals a little more, several important people know it's only a matter of time before everything is out in the open. Especially the info about Janos. Jacob knows he can be in deep trouble with his relationship with Kit as well. When the shit finally hits the fan, secrets are revealed and and several relationships may not survive. And it may be too late for others.
Man, while I was reading this, I was on edge the whole damn time. I didn't know how to feel for Kit or Jacob. Both are up to their eyeballs in their work and this murder. Jacob can't tell Kit about what he's got going on really, especially at it's at Kit's job, and Kit can't tell Jacob what's going on at work. It's a catch-22 for them. Both had to crack a bit. Mainly on Kit’s side, because Jacob had to do his job. But then, when a lot of the reasons are revealed for the secrecy, Jacob’s in a tough, tough position. Some things can just never come to light.
Their attraction to each other didn't help. Jacob knew his job was on the line with messing with Kit, but he couldn't let the man go. And Kit didn't want to lie to Jacob or have the case be the only reason Jacob came by. It's a almost an impossible situation. Something somewhere has to give. And it does. (You'll have to red to find out what. Hehe)
I can't stress enough what a great book this is. So, so good. It's a page turner. And I can't wait to see how this series ends.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
I will say, I did not get to read book 1 first. I will be going back to read it for sure, but there was enough explained in this book I was totally out of my league. I DO recommend reading it first but if you can't, it's not too confusing. But keep in mind, this IS a continuing story. Same universe of characters. The main characters are different, but all from book 1 are back. Or so it seems, anyway. Also, the main characters from book 1 are in this book and there is some talk about their history and it is fairly violent. It's not fully described in this book, but enough you know what's up. So if you have triggers, just be careful.
Kit’s world is about to be turned upside down. With only being an engineer, he feels like he's left out of a lot of things going on in the office. And this time, he's right. He's been an 'underling’ of the head honcho, Dr. Sanders, for three years. With his abilities at coding and engineering, he's about a bloody genius at what he does. Some of what Sanders is supposed to be working Kit works on as well. But Kit just found out he didn't know as much as he thought. Sanders is missing, his home a bloody mess (literally), and his only son found locked in a safe room. DI Jacob Ofori is like a dog with a bone, and he's going to get to the bottom of this. Each time Jacob goes to TRI, he knows stuff is being hidden/omitted from him. He decides to try to get to know Kit, at first, to get some info out of him, bit it quickly turns into a passionate night. As Jacob digs further, more evidence is being revealed. And it's no longer a missing case. It's murder. When Kit accidentally reveals a little more, several important people know it's only a matter of time before everything is out in the open. Especially the info about Janos. Jacob knows he can be in deep trouble with his relationship with Kit as well. When the shit finally hits the fan, secrets are revealed and and several relationships may not survive. And it may be too late for others.
Man, while I was reading this, I was on edge the whole damn time. I didn't know how to feel for Kit or Jacob. Both are up to their eyeballs in their work and this murder. Jacob can't tell Kit about what he's got going on really, especially at it's at Kit's job, and Kit can't tell Jacob what's going on at work. It's a catch-22 for them. Both had to crack a bit. Mainly on Kit’s side, because Jacob had to do his job. But then, when a lot of the reasons are revealed for the secrecy, Jacob’s in a tough, tough position. Some things can just never come to light.
Their attraction to each other didn't help. Jacob knew his job was on the line with messing with Kit, but he couldn't let the man go. And Kit didn't want to lie to Jacob or have the case be the only reason Jacob came by. It's a almost an impossible situation. Something somewhere has to give. And it does. (You'll have to red to find out what. Hehe)
I can't stress enough what a great book this is. So, so good. It's a page turner. And I can't wait to see how this series ends.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/
September 8, 2016
Signal boost, ladies and gents: READ THIS AUTHOR; READ THIS BOOK. START FROM BOOK 1 Time Waits of the OUT OF TIME SERIES
I simply loved this book. It's funny and intriguing and serious at the same time. I loved the story and the characters. and let me tell you why.
1. there is Crime, and a Futuristic setting, and Time travel. and Romance. and every one of those threads is intertwined with the others effortlessly, not just a trope, but something that gives depth both to the story and to the characters.
2. Jacob and Kit are vivid and real on the pages. Their actions and interactions are charged with many things: attraction, regret, secrecy, care and also a veil of hope and disillusionment. their story is the beginning of a romance, and it's masterfully told. not insta-love - the Author is too smart for this, and she proved it in the first installment of the series - but something that rings true in those messing circumstances....
3. the other characters, both new and old. I was happy to see again Janos and Dieter, and too see, also, that they are not crystallized in what they were in book one, times has passed since that end, and you notice it in little things. and what happened has consequences in this book, and the characters.
4. the series: two books, same universe, some places and characters, some time-travel issues, but the way Ms. Lewis addresses those gives each book a unique vibe. The first tricked me about 20th century history, and hold my hand through time-travel issues and challenges: how to adapt, who to trust when your world is turned upside-down, accepting yourself and the mess that WILL happen if you mess with history. the second is about a crime, yes, but also about secrets, greed and places the time-travel issues in another way not how changing the past can change our future, but how knowing something will happen in the future changes how we address something now. and at the end of the book, when the Time Research Institute main project is revealed, and the villain is, yes, captured, and guilty, but you know - time travel is a mess - and so even if you know what he will do you can't prevent it... OMG!!!!! the end is really satisfactory, but at the same time there so much more that could happen, and maybe would in the third book.
so: READ THE WHOLE SERIES. pretty please.
Start from book 1.
meet the folks, meet the story, meet the issues.
you'll have not only a book well written and well plotted. But you'll know you have found a Writer who can give you though the pages her passion for history and at the same time challenge you with paradoxes and entertain you with the interaction and the pacing of her stories.
Who can ask for anything more???
wait, yes... Please, MS Author, do whatever you can for book 3. ;D
and please forgive me if my English does not give your book justice....
I simply loved this book. It's funny and intriguing and serious at the same time. I loved the story and the characters. and let me tell you why.
1. there is Crime, and a Futuristic setting, and Time travel. and Romance. and every one of those threads is intertwined with the others effortlessly, not just a trope, but something that gives depth both to the story and to the characters.
2. Jacob and Kit are vivid and real on the pages. Their actions and interactions are charged with many things: attraction, regret, secrecy, care and also a veil of hope and disillusionment. their story is the beginning of a romance, and it's masterfully told. not insta-love - the Author is too smart for this, and she proved it in the first installment of the series - but something that rings true in those messing circumstances....
3. the other characters, both new and old. I was happy to see again Janos and Dieter, and too see, also, that they are not crystallized in what they were in book one, times has passed since that end, and you notice it in little things. and what happened has consequences in this book, and the characters.
4. the series: two books, same universe, some places and characters, some time-travel issues, but the way Ms. Lewis addresses those gives each book a unique vibe. The first tricked me about 20th century history, and hold my hand through time-travel issues and challenges: how to adapt, who to trust when your world is turned upside-down, accepting yourself and the mess that WILL happen if you mess with history. the second is about a crime, yes, but also about secrets, greed and places the time-travel issues in another way not how changing the past can change our future, but how knowing something will happen in the future changes how we address something now. and at the end of the book, when the Time Research Institute main project is revealed, and the villain is, yes, captured, and guilty, but you know - time travel is a mess - and so even if you know what he will do you can't prevent it... OMG!!!!! the end is really satisfactory, but at the same time there so much more that could happen, and maybe would in the third book.
so: READ THE WHOLE SERIES. pretty please.
Start from book 1.
meet the folks, meet the story, meet the issues.
you'll have not only a book well written and well plotted. But you'll know you have found a Writer who can give you though the pages her passion for history and at the same time challenge you with paradoxes and entertain you with the interaction and the pacing of her stories.
Who can ask for anything more???
wait, yes... Please, MS Author, do whatever you can for book 3. ;D
and please forgive me if my English does not give your book justice....
August 20, 2016
Review can be read at It's About The Book
DI Jacob Ofori has to solve a case that involves both a murder and a missing person. Right away he notices things are odd. There are likely actually two missing people, but one appears to be an assailant. When Jacob goes to the missing man’s business, TRI, to ask questions, he meets Kit Rafferty. As an employee of TRI Kit has signed forms stating he will keep confidential certain proprietary aspects of how TRI works. Basically, tell no one they have perfected time travel. Jacob’s son wants his father to date again, and seeing Kit would be a great way to get info about the case. After a night together Jacob and Kit have no plans to see each other again, and it was all mostly legal since Kit wasn’t part of the investigation. Of course the next day Kit becomes part of the investigation as he’s the best engineer TRI has and is most able to help investigate the crime and find Kit’s boss. Well, things get awkward, of course. Then Kit kind of sabotages some evidence. Still, Kit and Jacob are drawn to each other. The case becomes more serious as does Kit and Jacob’s relationship. One thing Kit didn’t count on was Jacob being as smart as he is. Jacob solves crimes for a living, regardless of how unreal the facts may appear
This book is part of a trilogy but not specifically a sequel. I have not read the first book, Time Waits, and I understood just fine what was going on and who was whom. I do believe I’d have found the story to be more nuanced had I read Time Waits.
I am not sure how I feel about the character of Kit Rafferty. He’s portrayed as awkward, a smooth operator, and unsure of himself. It’s the smooth operator part that felt off, to me. Is he confident or not? If the differences were explained by the situations he faced I missed it. For me this read like a characterization flaw. I did enjoy his interactions with other characters. Not that I’m on a team for a favorite character, but I did prefer Jacob Ofori in terms of characterization. I simply preferred the way he was written.
Time travel can be a tricky subject. This book was less about time travel itself and more about the crime made possible by time travel. There wasn’t a lot of theory on how it’s possible to travel in time, it was more about keeping the technology a secret. I found I enjoyed that. We still get to ponder all the ramifications of Jacob and Kit preventing the crime from being planned in the future which would ensure they never meet in the present.
I enjoyed this book and will happily read the next. I feel it struck a good balance between science fiction and mystery with a realistic romance thrown in.
DI Jacob Ofori has to solve a case that involves both a murder and a missing person. Right away he notices things are odd. There are likely actually two missing people, but one appears to be an assailant. When Jacob goes to the missing man’s business, TRI, to ask questions, he meets Kit Rafferty. As an employee of TRI Kit has signed forms stating he will keep confidential certain proprietary aspects of how TRI works. Basically, tell no one they have perfected time travel. Jacob’s son wants his father to date again, and seeing Kit would be a great way to get info about the case. After a night together Jacob and Kit have no plans to see each other again, and it was all mostly legal since Kit wasn’t part of the investigation. Of course the next day Kit becomes part of the investigation as he’s the best engineer TRI has and is most able to help investigate the crime and find Kit’s boss. Well, things get awkward, of course. Then Kit kind of sabotages some evidence. Still, Kit and Jacob are drawn to each other. The case becomes more serious as does Kit and Jacob’s relationship. One thing Kit didn’t count on was Jacob being as smart as he is. Jacob solves crimes for a living, regardless of how unreal the facts may appear
This book is part of a trilogy but not specifically a sequel. I have not read the first book, Time Waits, and I understood just fine what was going on and who was whom. I do believe I’d have found the story to be more nuanced had I read Time Waits.
I am not sure how I feel about the character of Kit Rafferty. He’s portrayed as awkward, a smooth operator, and unsure of himself. It’s the smooth operator part that felt off, to me. Is he confident or not? If the differences were explained by the situations he faced I missed it. For me this read like a characterization flaw. I did enjoy his interactions with other characters. Not that I’m on a team for a favorite character, but I did prefer Jacob Ofori in terms of characterization. I simply preferred the way he was written.
Time travel can be a tricky subject. This book was less about time travel itself and more about the crime made possible by time travel. There wasn’t a lot of theory on how it’s possible to travel in time, it was more about keeping the technology a secret. I found I enjoyed that. We still get to ponder all the ramifications of Jacob and Kit preventing the crime from being planned in the future which would ensure they never meet in the present.
I enjoyed this book and will happily read the next. I feel it struck a good balance between science fiction and mystery with a realistic romance thrown in.
September 6, 2020
4.5 stars. Excellent. This is a wonderful sci-fi mystery romance and I loved it. It's gripping and smart and well paced. The two main characters (a clever detective and a clever engineer) are engaging, interesting, likeable people who are on opposing sides of a police investigation involving a missing person and secret time travel. The main characters are wonderfully well developed and the many secondary characters are interesting and engaging and well drawn too. This series is very cool and I love it. It's sci-fi, but it's set in England in the near future, so it's not too far removed from our world. The writing is snappy and full of life and emotion and tension. I love that this series is about smart people being smart and using their brains and solving problems in smart ways.
The easy diversity in these books is so fantastic and the cast actually reflect real life in a way that I wish weren't so uncommon in books. There are many people of colour in this book and character surnames show a lot of diversity in terms of ethnic heritage. There are smart, likeable women in positions of power who have agency. I was so pleased to read a romance about a super smart, super lovely police detective who's Black. Bonus points for having a cast that shows the world as it actually is--diverse and multicultural.
This is the second book in this series and while you could skip the first one, for understanding's sake, it's better to start at the beginning. Also, the first book, Time Waits, is really awesome and the events and main characters of that book feature in this book a fair bit. There's more to come in this series and I am so excited for it.
The easy diversity in these books is so fantastic and the cast actually reflect real life in a way that I wish weren't so uncommon in books. There are many people of colour in this book and character surnames show a lot of diversity in terms of ethnic heritage. There are smart, likeable women in positions of power who have agency. I was so pleased to read a romance about a super smart, super lovely police detective who's Black. Bonus points for having a cast that shows the world as it actually is--diverse and multicultural.
This is the second book in this series and while you could skip the first one, for understanding's sake, it's better to start at the beginning. Also, the first book, Time Waits, is really awesome and the events and main characters of that book feature in this book a fair bit. There's more to come in this series and I am so excited for it.
August 3, 2016
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.25 stars
I liked this one. It’s a bit of mystery and an adversaries-to-lovers story, as both men have secrets to protect and information to glean from the other. Made for a nice bit of cat and mousery, and some yummy sexytimes.
The story is told from dual points-of-view, so we got to see the inner turmoil each man had for trying to deceive the other, and, likewise, to deceive their work comrades as their love affair grows. I think that worked best, because Jacob would have come off as too callous and mercenary if we hadn’t a window to his heart and mind. At first, I thought the book was too long for the plot, but then a third subplot was woven in, which gave us an insight to the cause of all this destruction, as (believe me) by the end the TRI and DI Ofori’s career are a shambles. Doesn’t mean it’s not a satisfying end, however.
I really enjoyed the appearances of Janos and Dieter from Time Waits. They had important roles here, and their back story was revealed enough in this one that it was understandable in context, even if the reader hasn’t read their book. As I had, I think I experienced a little higher tension than someone who hadn’t read it, but not by much. As I read a review copy that had no cover art, I think I missed that Jacob was a black man for roughly 90% of the story. It’s likely my American bias, but he didn’t read as any sort of foreign national, and there was nearly no reference to his skin color or ethnicity in the book until the very end. I adore interracial romance and found the lack of any insight there to be a disservice. It’s heavily British, though, so if that’s a bell you like rung, you’ll be satisfied.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
4.25 stars
I liked this one. It’s a bit of mystery and an adversaries-to-lovers story, as both men have secrets to protect and information to glean from the other. Made for a nice bit of cat and mousery, and some yummy sexytimes.
The story is told from dual points-of-view, so we got to see the inner turmoil each man had for trying to deceive the other, and, likewise, to deceive their work comrades as their love affair grows. I think that worked best, because Jacob would have come off as too callous and mercenary if we hadn’t a window to his heart and mind. At first, I thought the book was too long for the plot, but then a third subplot was woven in, which gave us an insight to the cause of all this destruction, as (believe me) by the end the TRI and DI Ofori’s career are a shambles. Doesn’t mean it’s not a satisfying end, however.
I really enjoyed the appearances of Janos and Dieter from Time Waits. They had important roles here, and their back story was revealed enough in this one that it was understandable in context, even if the reader hasn’t read their book. As I had, I think I experienced a little higher tension than someone who hadn’t read it, but not by much. As I read a review copy that had no cover art, I think I missed that Jacob was a black man for roughly 90% of the story. It’s likely my American bias, but he didn’t read as any sort of foreign national, and there was nearly no reference to his skin color or ethnicity in the book until the very end. I adore interracial romance and found the lack of any insight there to be a disservice. It’s heavily British, though, so if that’s a bell you like rung, you’ll be satisfied.
Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
October 26, 2016
I enjoyed this a lot. I like plot ( would have like a little more action and mystery but that's just a personal preference) but the stars of this book are hands down the characters the author developed some absolutely awesome flawed human beings in this book. Kit was so relatable to me as this anxious new adult just trying to figure out what he's doing and Jacob was so honest and upstanding it was hard not to respect him. And the supporting cast is fantastic as well. Overall would definitely recommend and hope to see more in the series.
August 10, 2016
It's an engaging mystery and Kip is such a fun person. I love his non-filtered mouth and honesty. Jacob is also a good man. Too bad about Sanders. He was a good boss in the first book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2017
Loved it! More please.
August 31, 2020
DI Jacob Ofori is given what turns out to be a life changing case. It starts as a missing person and turn into a challenging case about the past, the future, and an engineer named Kit. Someone Jacob didn’t know yesterday and can’t live without tomorrow.
Temporal research (time travel) is an incredibly fascinating premise for a story. Not quite real, but what if it was? This was an imaginative, part SciFi, and part paranormal, with a hefty dose of romance thrown in.
The characters from the first book, Janos and Dieter, actually almost had more of a story here than in their own book. This second book in the series was much more satisfying than the first. Jacob and his group of policeman were efficient and trustworthy. Kit couldn’t lie well so he actually contributed (accidentally) huge plot points. I will be reading the rest of the books in the series just to see where the whole thing goes.
This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review. Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
Temporal research (time travel) is an incredibly fascinating premise for a story. Not quite real, but what if it was? This was an imaginative, part SciFi, and part paranormal, with a hefty dose of romance thrown in.
The characters from the first book, Janos and Dieter, actually almost had more of a story here than in their own book. This second book in the series was much more satisfying than the first. Jacob and his group of policeman were efficient and trustworthy. Kit couldn’t lie well so he actually contributed (accidentally) huge plot points. I will be reading the rest of the books in the series just to see where the whole thing goes.
This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review. Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
September 7, 2020
(4.5 stars)
This is part 2 in the Out of Time series, but can be read as a standalone.
Inspector Jacob Ofori is looking for an easy open and shut case, but instead he gets more than he bargained for.
He has a missing scientist and a corpse. Moreover, the research institute whose scientist is missing seems to be very unco-operative in helping him solve this case.
Except for one cute engineer in particular, who genuinely wants to help. But there is only so much that he can tell him.
As unusual incidents take place and inconclusive evidence shows up with dead ends leading him to nowhere, he begins to question everything about this case.
This was an action packed syfy novel and there was never a dull moment!
The author's writing style appealed to me as well as the world building.
The murder mystery was compelling and had me intrigued.
This was a perfect blend of mystery, romance and science fiction!
Loved this from start to finish!
This is part 2 in the Out of Time series, but can be read as a standalone.
Inspector Jacob Ofori is looking for an easy open and shut case, but instead he gets more than he bargained for.
He has a missing scientist and a corpse. Moreover, the research institute whose scientist is missing seems to be very unco-operative in helping him solve this case.
Except for one cute engineer in particular, who genuinely wants to help. But there is only so much that he can tell him.
As unusual incidents take place and inconclusive evidence shows up with dead ends leading him to nowhere, he begins to question everything about this case.
This was an action packed syfy novel and there was never a dull moment!
The author's writing style appealed to me as well as the world building.
The murder mystery was compelling and had me intrigued.
This was a perfect blend of mystery, romance and science fiction!
Loved this from start to finish!
August 26, 2017
An excellent story with great characters. I loved seeing Janos in this one, as he lives in our current world very much. The relationship in this book was totally complete, but the plot cries out for a book 3. I hope the author is writing it!
January 14, 2020
I adore this series. I'm partway through book 3. Book 4 is on my shelf and book 5 is pre ordered. C.B. Lewis writes the most believable characters and the representation is amazing.
April 17, 2020
The second book in the series, and as good as the first.
August 3, 2021
I liked this story much more than the first one. Absolutely wonderful. Moving on to book 3.
October 10, 2017
3.5* but did enjoy so went for the higher rating.
I won this book last year in a batch of books and this would not have been one I would necessarily pick - set in future, bit scifi, bit paranormal perhaps from blurb. I have not read book one but this was OK to read standalone but fans of book 1 will enjoy the amount of page time Janos and Dieter get.
However I did quite enjoy. It is set in the future but not too far away - I could envisage my kids there! The driverless pods sound fun but other things sounded archaic even now.
The overall feel was quite gentle and the book was generally evenly paced with no major angst.
I liked that it was set in Manchester and whilst I enjoyed the odd idiomatic phrase Iwould have liked more (greedy!).
The mystery and secrets that both Kit and Jacob held to their chests was good and how it all unravelled. I liked them together but got gentle warmth rather than burning fire.
My mind can’tcope with the old ‘if this happens now, the future doesn’t go as planned and then the present can’t happen as it is’ thing so towards the end I had to think hard at times to get my head around some of the concepts.
I won this book last year in a batch of books and this would not have been one I would necessarily pick - set in future, bit scifi, bit paranormal perhaps from blurb. I have not read book one but this was OK to read standalone but fans of book 1 will enjoy the amount of page time Janos and Dieter get.
However I did quite enjoy. It is set in the future but not too far away - I could envisage my kids there! The driverless pods sound fun but other things sounded archaic even now.
The overall feel was quite gentle and the book was generally evenly paced with no major angst.
I liked that it was set in Manchester and whilst I enjoyed the odd idiomatic phrase Iwould have liked more (greedy!).
The mystery and secrets that both Kit and Jacob held to their chests was good and how it all unravelled. I liked them together but got gentle warmth rather than burning fire.
My mind can’tcope with the old ‘if this happens now, the future doesn’t go as planned and then the present can’t happen as it is’ thing so towards the end I had to think hard at times to get my head around some of the concepts.
February 10, 2018
4.5 stars from me. This story and its predecessor Time Waits...well, talk about chalk and cheese!! Time Waits was full of the f-bomb, the c word and really annoying editing errors from Dreamspinner that took something away from the story for me. In Time Lost, we had hardly any 'bad' language, and the story was really interesting [not that it wasn't in Time Waits, there were just too many niggles for me to fully enjoy it].
Time travel again, futuristic baddies and a missing scientist...throw in a little sex and two complete opposites attracting, one of whom happened to be an older police character who didn't appreciate the game the Temporal Research Institute [TRI] were trying to play with him and knew that there was more to this complicated situation than met the eye. Looking forward to book 3.
Time travel again, futuristic baddies and a missing scientist...throw in a little sex and two complete opposites attracting, one of whom happened to be an older police character who didn't appreciate the game the Temporal Research Institute [TRI] were trying to play with him and knew that there was more to this complicated situation than met the eye. Looking forward to book 3.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews