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A Swift and Sudden Exit
An immortal, doomed to die. A time traveler, desperate to save her.
When Zera travels back in time to 2040, she aims to investigate the geomagnetic storm that scorched the earth. Instead, she finds the beautiful Katherine, who speaks of past storms and asks with her dying breath, “Is this the first time we meet?”
From WWII-era New York to early 2000s New Orleans and everywhere in between, Zera chases both storms and Katherine, thinking her immortality is the key to fixing the future. But as the immortal goes from a reluctant ally with a deadly hunter to a romantic complication, Zera wonders if the past is really set in stone, or if she can still save the world—and Katherine.
When Zera travels back in time to 2040, she aims to investigate the geomagnetic storm that scorched the earth. Instead, she finds the beautiful Katherine, who speaks of past storms and asks with her dying breath, “Is this the first time we meet?”
From WWII-era New York to early 2000s New Orleans and everywhere in between, Zera chases both storms and Katherine, thinking her immortality is the key to fixing the future. But as the immortal goes from a reluctant ally with a deadly hunter to a romantic complication, Zera wonders if the past is really set in stone, or if she can still save the world—and Katherine.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2024
45 people are currently reading
1096 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
June 24, 2024
Because life has a tendency to go full chaos these days, I wasn’t able to review A Swift and Sudden Exit as soon as it was released, which was my plan. My focus has been all over the place for a while and it makes reading some sort of luxury. But I did finally manage to read this book, and it was everything I hoped it would be. I mean, time travelling sapphics? How could I not be interested?
The present is set in 2058. Eighteen years earlier, a storm changed the world from the one we know today to a barren landscape and humans living in bunkers. Zera gets enrolled in a time travelling program that aims to explore ways to counteract the effects of the storm. On her first trip to 2040, she meets Katherine who has barely mentioned previous storms and asked whether this is their first meeting when a bullet hits her.
A Swift and Sudden Exit is a debut, and as most debuts, it has first novel flaws. One of the MCs’ motivations weren’t always clear to me, for example. None of it bothered me much, however, and I only mention it so readers don’t have unfair expectations of perfection.
Time travel is one of my favourite tropes, and I loved how Nico Vincenty wrote it in this book. The travel itself, the impact on the traveller’s body, the way Zera experiences each time period, all of it worked very well for me. I also enjoyed seeing the relationship between her and Katherine develop, how Katherine’s feelings towards Zera grew from annoyance and mistrust to respect and eventually to love. How she changed over the years, not physically but in her attitude, towards herself and towards Zera.
I like Zera very much as well. She’s stubborn, she’s irreverent, she’s loyal and confused and brave. The banter between her and Katherine is delicious, and I also got a kick out of the interactions with her best friend, Kissi.
Because she and Katherine only get to meet for short periods of time on each of Zera’s trips to the past, the romance is a slow burn. Once things start to heat up, however, they’re about as scorching as 2058 Earth. All this while hunting and being hunted by an immortal killer (let me know if you guessed the twist).
A Swift and Sudden Exit is the second instance of a cover by Jenifer Prince leading to one more book on my TBR. I’m not going to keep counting them, but I feel like I should thank her for this. I’ve loved both books—this one and Dear Sylvia, Love Jane by Erin Hall—very much and I don’t know if I would have found them without her covers.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my website (and please get your books from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
May 13, 2025
5 Stars
A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty is a time travel sci-fi novel I couldn’t put down. Once I started I just kept going and going and I just wanted time to stop so I could get to the end already!!!
Setting - let me start from 2058 because it was clear that that time and place was post apocalyptic and as a reader you could feel it. The unbearable heat, the military structure of the characters’ existence, all of it.
The succeeding settings jumping from 2040, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004 all hit the mark when it came to their respective ambiance, political climate, the way people talked and so on. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the surroundings of that time period in the scenes.
It was also captivating to watch Katherine’s character development as the decades went on. From a high-society lady to slumming it with the locals. The changes were gradual and coinciding with the times and as a reader it was exciting to see what aspect of Katherine you were going to get at a particular decade.
The science fiction aspect was well, science-y and if I’m being honest, when it came around 90% of the book and the explanation for the whole issue was being explained it just went over my head but I didn’t really mind because I was too invested in the characters’ wellbeing to care about nerdy stuff.
In summary, a must read, thrilling, time travel science fiction novel with strong and resilient female main characters. Must read!
A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty is a time travel sci-fi novel I couldn’t put down. Once I started I just kept going and going and I just wanted time to stop so I could get to the end already!!!
Setting - let me start from 2058 because it was clear that that time and place was post apocalyptic and as a reader you could feel it. The unbearable heat, the military structure of the characters’ existence, all of it.
The succeeding settings jumping from 2040, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004 all hit the mark when it came to their respective ambiance, political climate, the way people talked and so on. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the surroundings of that time period in the scenes.
It was also captivating to watch Katherine’s character development as the decades went on. From a high-society lady to slumming it with the locals. The changes were gradual and coinciding with the times and as a reader it was exciting to see what aspect of Katherine you were going to get at a particular decade.
The science fiction aspect was well, science-y and if I’m being honest, when it came around 90% of the book and the explanation for the whole issue was being explained it just went over my head but I didn’t really mind because I was too invested in the characters’ wellbeing to care about nerdy stuff.
In summary, a must read, thrilling, time travel science fiction novel with strong and resilient female main characters. Must read!
May 1, 2024
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "banter" ("bisexuals" and "time-travel" are close seconds). Banter is used to show love, to show suspicion, to show frustration. This entire book is suffused with banterous spirit.
I'm always fascinated by time travel, conceptually, and Katherine adds a compelling twist. Imagine going back in time, and no matter where or when you go, you always meet the same woman, and she doesn't age. Or even more interesting, imagine running into a time-traveller every 12 years, for a few days at a time, and she turns your life upside down and then vanishes. I laughed to watch Katherine change between each meeting, ruminated over what Zera must mean to her, and one of my favourite moments is when Katherine calls Zera her oldest friend. (Second only to when Kissi, encountering their couple dynamic for the first time, says, "Is this what it's like? It's a mess.")
I loved witnessing the milestones of Katherine's bi awakening - it's especially satisfying that the slow contemplation stuff happens off page, so it really feels like she's taking responsibility for her own self-discovery without burdening the reader, and we get to see snapshots of her queer blossoming (innuendo not intended but sure).
I must say, if you're looking for science, this is probably not the book for you. Our main character is a soldier, not a scientist, although fortunately for the plot, she is surrounded by supersmart maths nerds and there is plenty of jargon to keep us nodding and believing. You're going to get handwavy science that feels more like magic and you'll probably lose track of a few space-jumping items that exist too much or too little. If you're into that, bear with it!
Despite the distressing backdrop of a climate apocalypse, and evergreen questions about what it means to really LIVE, this book is a fun romp through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (mostly), with cinematic action and dynamic dialogue, and a touching bisexual love story at its core.
Thank you to the author for the ARC.
I'm always fascinated by time travel, conceptually, and Katherine adds a compelling twist. Imagine going back in time, and no matter where or when you go, you always meet the same woman, and she doesn't age. Or even more interesting, imagine running into a time-traveller every 12 years, for a few days at a time, and she turns your life upside down and then vanishes. I laughed to watch Katherine change between each meeting, ruminated over what Zera must mean to her, and one of my favourite moments is when Katherine calls Zera her oldest friend. (Second only to when Kissi, encountering their couple dynamic for the first time, says, "Is this what it's like? It's a mess.")
I loved witnessing the milestones of Katherine's bi awakening - it's especially satisfying that the slow contemplation stuff happens off page, so it really feels like she's taking responsibility for her own self-discovery without burdening the reader, and we get to see snapshots of her queer blossoming (innuendo not intended but sure).
I must say, if you're looking for science, this is probably not the book for you. Our main character is a soldier, not a scientist, although fortunately for the plot, she is surrounded by supersmart maths nerds and there is plenty of jargon to keep us nodding and believing. You're going to get handwavy science that feels more like magic and you'll probably lose track of a few space-jumping items that exist too much or too little. If you're into that, bear with it!
Despite the distressing backdrop of a climate apocalypse, and evergreen questions about what it means to really LIVE, this book is a fun romp through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (mostly), with cinematic action and dynamic dialogue, and a touching bisexual love story at its core.
Thank you to the author for the ARC.
November 13, 2024
I've been stuck in a reading slump forever, and this finally snapped me out of it!
This is one of those books where the plot is a little iffy, but the main character is so compelling it doesn't matter. Zera was so fun to follow; I really enjoyed my time with her. She was the right mix of snarky and sincere. I would read more time travel shenanigans with her!
The side characters were also great. Kissi especially stood out to me. Hers and Zera's best friend dynamic was really well done, I really felt the love and respect they had for each other.
Katherine was another great character. I'll admit I didn't get much of a sense of her immortality—she was pretty much the same in all the different time periods, especially the latter ones—but she was a good, strong character nonetheless. I actually wouldn't mind a book focused on her long life!
I did notice a few continuity errors that should have been picked up, as well as inconsistencies in the recovery from time travel between characters and Zera herself. Normally, they would be little things, but as the whole plot revolved around the time travel, they became more prominent. For me, the explanation and ending didn't quite stick the landing, hence 4 stars instead of 5.
That being said, I really enjoyed this and will check out the authors next book!
This is one of those books where the plot is a little iffy, but the main character is so compelling it doesn't matter. Zera was so fun to follow; I really enjoyed my time with her. She was the right mix of snarky and sincere. I would read more time travel shenanigans with her!
The side characters were also great. Kissi especially stood out to me. Hers and Zera's best friend dynamic was really well done, I really felt the love and respect they had for each other.
Katherine was another great character. I'll admit I didn't get much of a sense of her immortality—she was pretty much the same in all the different time periods, especially the latter ones—but she was a good, strong character nonetheless. I actually wouldn't mind a book focused on her long life!
I did notice a few continuity errors that should have been picked up, as well as inconsistencies in the recovery from time travel between characters and Zera herself. Normally, they would be little things, but as the whole plot revolved around the time travel, they became more prominent. For me, the explanation and ending didn't quite stick the landing, hence 4 stars instead of 5.
That being said, I really enjoyed this and will check out the authors next book!
January 18, 2025
I read this as part of a judging team in the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4) where it is a quarterfinalist.
This is a time travel romance, but the romance side of the equation gets a lot more focus than the time travel side. The main relationship gets a relatively slow-build, with a series of meetings in various times that gradually deepens from intrigue into love. It’s well done and a genuine pleasure to read, making this book feel much shorter than its 400 pages.
The time travel thriller side of the equation, on the other hand, feels more than a bit underbaked. Each return to the postapocalyptic future lasts just long enough to concoct an excuse to return to the past for some romancing. And if this were set up as a speculative romance, it wouldn’t be terribly hard to suspend disbelief and lean into the book’s strengths. But there *is* an intrigue/thriller portion of the plot, and when it returns for the big finish, it feels sketchy—too obvious in some elements and underexamined in others.
In short, it’s a book that does one thing quite well and one thing rather poorly. On balance, it still made for a pleasant read, but I’m splitting the difference and calling it three stars.
First impression: 12/20. Full review and SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
This is a time travel romance, but the romance side of the equation gets a lot more focus than the time travel side. The main relationship gets a relatively slow-build, with a series of meetings in various times that gradually deepens from intrigue into love. It’s well done and a genuine pleasure to read, making this book feel much shorter than its 400 pages.
The time travel thriller side of the equation, on the other hand, feels more than a bit underbaked. Each return to the postapocalyptic future lasts just long enough to concoct an excuse to return to the past for some romancing. And if this were set up as a speculative romance, it wouldn’t be terribly hard to suspend disbelief and lean into the book’s strengths. But there *is* an intrigue/thriller portion of the plot, and when it returns for the big finish, it feels sketchy—too obvious in some elements and underexamined in others.
In short, it’s a book that does one thing quite well and one thing rather poorly. On balance, it still made for a pleasant read, but I’m splitting the difference and calling it three stars.
First impression: 12/20. Full review and SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
May 4, 2025
5⭐️
My new favorite sci-fi book! 🤩 I mean queer, time travel, with a plot twist that had me shocked.. need I say more? The relationship between Zera and Katherine was beautiful and developed perfectly, I loved them together so much!
My new favorite sci-fi book! 🤩 I mean queer, time travel, with a plot twist that had me shocked.. need I say more? The relationship between Zera and Katherine was beautiful and developed perfectly, I loved them together so much!
February 23, 2025
3.6 ⭐️ WLW time travel 🙂↕️ with a side of I will find you in every decade just to sass you.
This is the epitome of sapphic pining. Whilst it does have a heavy sci-fi (slightly apocalyptic at times) focus, and plenty of time travelling, the slow burn romance across the centuries hits you too.
I’m incredibly picky with time travel novels but I really enjoyed this. However one of my issues was some of the plot was a little predictable with some of the language used. I would have liked a little more mystery revealed at the end rather than foreshadowed.
Nico’s writing style is well paced and the characters are fleshed out with bold personalities. I read a lot of romances where I don’t click with either MC so it’s nice to finally route for some folk to get their shit together and kiss ✨
Also due to the time travel there’s actually a fair bit of historical (especially gay community wise) context in this that Nico has worked into scenes nicely.
Rep// Bi woman MC, Bi woman MC. Central romance is sapphic / WLW.
TWs listed below, please skip them if you don’t want vague spoilers.
TW// medical procedures, alcohol, domestic violence (off page), sexual content (brief spice on page), violence (on page), queerphobia, misogyny, police brutality (on page), injury, death, stabbing, mentions of parental death (past.)
This is the epitome of sapphic pining. Whilst it does have a heavy sci-fi (slightly apocalyptic at times) focus, and plenty of time travelling, the slow burn romance across the centuries hits you too.
I’m incredibly picky with time travel novels but I really enjoyed this. However one of my issues was some of the plot was a little predictable with some of the language used. I would have liked a little more mystery revealed at the end rather than foreshadowed.
Nico’s writing style is well paced and the characters are fleshed out with bold personalities. I read a lot of romances where I don’t click with either MC so it’s nice to finally route for some folk to get their shit together and kiss ✨
Also due to the time travel there’s actually a fair bit of historical (especially gay community wise) context in this that Nico has worked into scenes nicely.
Rep// Bi woman MC, Bi woman MC. Central romance is sapphic / WLW.
TWs listed below, please skip them if you don’t want vague spoilers.
TW// medical procedures, alcohol, domestic violence (off page), sexual content (brief spice on page), violence (on page), queerphobia, misogyny, police brutality (on page), injury, death, stabbing, mentions of parental death (past.)
May 16, 2024
3.5
A Swift and Sudden Exit is a sapphic time travel romance between an immortal being and a time traveller with inspirations from Doctor Who and The Time Traveller's Wife. In a close future where humanity lives in undergorund bunkers after a very bad magnetic storm they figured out time travelling back to different older magnetic storms to figure out how to stop the world from ending. Zera is sent back to the future where a mysterious woman in 2040 seems to know her from 1944. Whereas the reader immediatly figures out she's immortal, Zera struggles for a while before it's revealed.
Despite the time travel inspirations I found this one oddly linear, and repetitive in structure until the 90% mark. Zera goes in finds Katherine, they talk/do something, Zera goes back home and argue with her superiors and cue the same thing with Katherine 12 or 24 years later. Besides a good old, "their first meeting is late in the time line for the other" (River Song my beloved) they always meet in chronological order which does take some spice out of the time travel shenanigans but was easy plotting for the author. Maybe I don't want easy.
As for the time periods which should be a big focus of time travel fiction, to anchor you and dizzy you when you land, it's not really there. I'd say mid-century American aesthetics aren't my thing but besides the promotional art there isn't any of it inside the book besides the speech mannerism maybe? The time periods are very superficial set dressing, oh yes maybe you get a gay bar in the 80's with an AIDS mention but any commentary on queer rights is surface-level throughout the book. I don't listen to Taylor Swift but wasn't there a recent thing where she said she missed this period minus the racism? Same thing here, the book lets you know it doesn't approve of the past times, meanwhile promo material does utilise its aesthetics. Kissi, Zera's best friend and a Black woman makes an one-off comment about it so we know the author is aware but won't engage with it any further. There's also a weird police brutality thing and arrest when there are in Texas to show that it is the homophobic south? I don't know.
I'd say I'm not a fan of Zera reticence to dress up like a man (the future isn't very gender-progressive). Zera dresses up as a man a few times to hang out with Katherine in the earlier decades on Katherine's insistence and advice which Zera, a cis woman, isn't the biggest fan of: do you ever read sapphic books and think this is the most cis thing ever? accept some genderfuckery
I was drawn in by the intial banter between characters although I'm not sure I initially saw a difference between Zera's relationship between her friend Kissi and Katherine beyond the fact that Katherine was the designated love interest according to the summary. Because we spend a lot of time with Kissi back in the present time and the first chapter of the book is dedicated to Kissi saving Zera I got confused when we got Katherine. Because excuse me but Katherine lacks presence and personality. Because we see her throughout the decades she goes from coy to flirty, from closeted/unaware to openly bi, behind the scenes. At first she wants to steal something because she wants to die and stop being immortal but we know that someone is killing immortal so like you know they can die. She's very inconsistent when it comes to her immortality, which is of course a plot device but did make the worldbuilding appears junky.
I complain a lot but this book is well-written and engaging and despite its flaws it was an easy read that never bored me. Everything written above is nitpicking for time travelling superfans except maybe my criticism of Katherine as a character. The romance, while not entirely my thing, should be compelling for most readers. The dialogues are fun and enjoyable, and the secondary cast while not fully fleshed-out is recognisable enough that the twist comes as a shock.
A Swift and Sudden Exit is a sapphic time travel romance between an immortal being and a time traveller with inspirations from Doctor Who and The Time Traveller's Wife. In a close future where humanity lives in undergorund bunkers after a very bad magnetic storm they figured out time travelling back to different older magnetic storms to figure out how to stop the world from ending. Zera is sent back to the future where a mysterious woman in 2040 seems to know her from 1944. Whereas the reader immediatly figures out she's immortal, Zera struggles for a while before it's revealed.
Despite the time travel inspirations I found this one oddly linear, and repetitive in structure until the 90% mark. Zera goes in finds Katherine, they talk/do something, Zera goes back home and argue with her superiors and cue the same thing with Katherine 12 or 24 years later. Besides a good old, "their first meeting is late in the time line for the other" (River Song my beloved) they always meet in chronological order which does take some spice out of the time travel shenanigans but was easy plotting for the author. Maybe I don't want easy.
As for the time periods which should be a big focus of time travel fiction, to anchor you and dizzy you when you land, it's not really there. I'd say mid-century American aesthetics aren't my thing but besides the promotional art there isn't any of it inside the book besides the speech mannerism maybe? The time periods are very superficial set dressing, oh yes maybe you get a gay bar in the 80's with an AIDS mention but any commentary on queer rights is surface-level throughout the book. I don't listen to Taylor Swift but wasn't there a recent thing where she said she missed this period minus the racism? Same thing here, the book lets you know it doesn't approve of the past times, meanwhile promo material does utilise its aesthetics. Kissi, Zera's best friend and a Black woman makes an one-off comment about it so we know the author is aware but won't engage with it any further. There's also a weird police brutality thing and arrest when there are in Texas to show that it is the homophobic south? I don't know.
I'd say I'm not a fan of Zera reticence to dress up like a man (the future isn't very gender-progressive). Zera dresses up as a man a few times to hang out with Katherine in the earlier decades on Katherine's insistence and advice which Zera, a cis woman, isn't the biggest fan of: do you ever read sapphic books and think this is the most cis thing ever? accept some genderfuckery
I was drawn in by the intial banter between characters although I'm not sure I initially saw a difference between Zera's relationship between her friend Kissi and Katherine beyond the fact that Katherine was the designated love interest according to the summary. Because we spend a lot of time with Kissi back in the present time and the first chapter of the book is dedicated to Kissi saving Zera I got confused when we got Katherine. Because excuse me but Katherine lacks presence and personality. Because we see her throughout the decades she goes from coy to flirty, from closeted/unaware to openly bi, behind the scenes. At first she wants to steal something because she wants to die and stop being immortal but we know that someone is killing immortal so like you know they can die. She's very inconsistent when it comes to her immortality, which is of course a plot device but did make the worldbuilding appears junky.
I complain a lot but this book is well-written and engaging and despite its flaws it was an easy read that never bored me. Everything written above is nitpicking for time travelling superfans except maybe my criticism of Katherine as a character. The romance, while not entirely my thing, should be compelling for most readers. The dialogues are fun and enjoyable, and the secondary cast while not fully fleshed-out is recognisable enough that the twist comes as a shock.
May 22, 2025
This was interesting. I think I would have liked it more if it had committed a bit more to either the romance aspect or the soft sci-fi aspect of time travel and the thriller-esque race against time to solve global climate crises. As it stands, I enjoyed the banter and popping back to the past but the dual focus, I think, ultimately harmed the overall narrative by diluting both aspects. Overall, though, a fun and easy read.
May 2, 2025
This is a brilliantly unique sapphic romance full of time travel and delicious banter. I loved this book SO very much. Zera & Katherine are just so good together and had wonderful chemistry!
I will say, it ran a bit long for my liking, but I still would highly recommend this. It’s just so damn unique!
I will say, it ran a bit long for my liking, but I still would highly recommend this. It’s just so damn unique!
April 17, 2025
3.75
While the sci-fi aspect could be polished, I came here because I was promised an epic sapphic romance between a time traveller and an immortal, and that's exactly what I got!
(full review to come, hopefully)
While the sci-fi aspect could be polished, I came here because I was promised an epic sapphic romance between a time traveller and an immortal, and that's exactly what I got!
(full review to come, hopefully)
May 29, 2024
I suck at writing reviews but I need to do it for this one!
This book has everything I could’ve asked for and more.
A badass and loveable main character? Check. Sapphic romance ? Check. Amazing banter? Check. Supportive and funny sidekick? Check. Slow burn with a dash of delicious spice? Check. A post-apocalyptic dystopian story with time-traveling as a possible solution? Check. An interesting mystery that ends in a plot twist? Check.
It’s easy to mess up a time-travel fiction, but A Swift and Sudden Exit was done perfectly and everything makes sense. To me, this story was perfection and I couldn’t get enough of it, I will be thinking about this book for a very long time!
This book has everything I could’ve asked for and more.
A badass and loveable main character? Check. Sapphic romance ? Check. Amazing banter? Check. Supportive and funny sidekick? Check. Slow burn with a dash of delicious spice? Check. A post-apocalyptic dystopian story with time-traveling as a possible solution? Check. An interesting mystery that ends in a plot twist? Check.
It’s easy to mess up a time-travel fiction, but A Swift and Sudden Exit was done perfectly and everything makes sense. To me, this story was perfection and I couldn’t get enough of it, I will be thinking about this book for a very long time!
July 31, 2024
MORE.
I'll preface this review by saying I'm a very picky reader. So if I only dish out 4 or 5 stars it's because I rarely finish anything else.
This book is a wild ride and an enjoyable one. Except for one moment that had me gritting my teeth because what a rollercoaster.
I really like single pov romances because you're left wondering about the love interest's feelings and this was the slowest burn ever if you count that it happens over litterally a century. Zera and Katherine's personalities are delightful and for the whole thing I was hanging onto the edge of my seat, wondering if the author would break my heart or not.
I had 0 idea what to expect going in and I wasn't disappointed. I'll definitely be reading what this author brings next!
I'll preface this review by saying I'm a very picky reader. So if I only dish out 4 or 5 stars it's because I rarely finish anything else.
This book is a wild ride and an enjoyable one. Except for one moment that had me gritting my teeth because what a rollercoaster.
I really like single pov romances because you're left wondering about the love interest's feelings and this was the slowest burn ever if you count that it happens over litterally a century. Zera and Katherine's personalities are delightful and for the whole thing I was hanging onto the edge of my seat, wondering if the author would break my heart or not.
I had 0 idea what to expect going in and I wasn't disappointed. I'll definitely be reading what this author brings next!
June 1, 2024
4.5 🌟
okay i loved this it had everything
time travel
apocalyptic future
slow burn romance
perfect best friend character
different periods of history
mysterious pocket watch
gays
okay i loved this it had everything
time travel
apocalyptic future
slow burn romance
perfect best friend character
different periods of history
mysterious pocket watch
gays
May 13, 2025
I received this book as part of the SPSFC4, of which I’m a judge. It is a semi-finalist!
A fun and sexy time paradox story, A Swift and Sudden Exit is a fun twist on long-distance relationships. Also, that cover is wonderful!
This is one of those novels where I really enjoyed it while reading, but upon reflection, it had some flaws.
The book has a very fun premise and starts out really strong, with a fun and exciting mishap to an interesting event upon Zera’s first jump into the past.
The writing is also very tight, with crisp, flowing sentences, none of the grammatical issues I’ve seen with some of the entries in our slush pile, and some very entertaining scenes (like the club in one chapter). I also thought the changes from year to year were well done, though I could have used a bit more to flesh them out.
The characters are fun. Zera and Kissi were my favourites. Zera is a great character because she’s sort of your average grunt soldier. Not that soldiers can’t be smart, but she’s a bit dense at times and doesn’t seem very good at making plans. She’s very much a disaster bi. This made her endearing, though, because she felt realistic and likeable. Kissi was just the fun side character as well as the voice of reason, and I liked the other characters in the bunker, too. The book has a great amount of LGBTQ and disability rep, which was nice to see.
Katherine I had trouble nailing down. She doesn’t get her own point of view, so we never see into her head or really understand her aside from how she acts towards Zera.
Unfortunately, while these previous things were great, the plot and worldbuilding didn’t really work for me. I had to check with my review team because there are major things that are never explained in the story, which are part of the main reason for the action taking place. One is that we’re never told what the storms did to force people to live in the bunker. Two is how the time travel machine is also a teleporter. I had assumed that the machine simply sent people back in time to the area where the bunker would be in the future. Yet quite early on, they are also sent to other places - sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away - but how the time machine also did this was not explained. It’s highly possible I missed it, but, in truth, it felt like the time travel aspect wasn’t very fleshed out and served only as the impetus for the romance.
When it comes to the save-the-world storyline, while I didn’t mind how it meandered a bit, the main impetus for the climax doesn’t get enough focus (sometimes only a passing mention and Zera never seemed too concerned about obtaining samples), so when that becomes the central conflict, it didn’t have enough tension behind it.
And the romance itself, while I liked it (especially the spicy scenes), I didn’t love it. Katherine and Zera didn’t have a lot of chemistry for me. While Zera seems to fall for Kat near-instantly (seemingly because she’s hot more than anything), Katherine is openly hostile to Zera for quite awhile, and given the drawn-out plot, we don’t see them really bond until what I would consider too far into the story.
Overall, though, I still think it's a really fun novel. If you love time travel and sapphic romance, it is well worth the read.
A fun and sexy time paradox story, A Swift and Sudden Exit is a fun twist on long-distance relationships. Also, that cover is wonderful!
This is one of those novels where I really enjoyed it while reading, but upon reflection, it had some flaws.
The book has a very fun premise and starts out really strong, with a fun and exciting mishap to an interesting event upon Zera’s first jump into the past.
The writing is also very tight, with crisp, flowing sentences, none of the grammatical issues I’ve seen with some of the entries in our slush pile, and some very entertaining scenes (like the club in one chapter). I also thought the changes from year to year were well done, though I could have used a bit more to flesh them out.
The characters are fun. Zera and Kissi were my favourites. Zera is a great character because she’s sort of your average grunt soldier. Not that soldiers can’t be smart, but she’s a bit dense at times and doesn’t seem very good at making plans. She’s very much a disaster bi. This made her endearing, though, because she felt realistic and likeable. Kissi was just the fun side character as well as the voice of reason, and I liked the other characters in the bunker, too. The book has a great amount of LGBTQ and disability rep, which was nice to see.
Katherine I had trouble nailing down. She doesn’t get her own point of view, so we never see into her head or really understand her aside from how she acts towards Zera.
Unfortunately, while these previous things were great, the plot and worldbuilding didn’t really work for me. I had to check with my review team because there are major things that are never explained in the story, which are part of the main reason for the action taking place. One is that we’re never told what the storms did to force people to live in the bunker. Two is how the time travel machine is also a teleporter. I had assumed that the machine simply sent people back in time to the area where the bunker would be in the future. Yet quite early on, they are also sent to other places - sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away - but how the time machine also did this was not explained. It’s highly possible I missed it, but, in truth, it felt like the time travel aspect wasn’t very fleshed out and served only as the impetus for the romance.
When it comes to the save-the-world storyline, while I didn’t mind how it meandered a bit, the main impetus for the climax doesn’t get enough focus (sometimes only a passing mention and Zera never seemed too concerned about obtaining samples), so when that becomes the central conflict, it didn’t have enough tension behind it.
And the romance itself, while I liked it (especially the spicy scenes), I didn’t love it. Katherine and Zera didn’t have a lot of chemistry for me. While Zera seems to fall for Kat near-instantly (seemingly because she’s hot more than anything), Katherine is openly hostile to Zera for quite awhile, and given the drawn-out plot, we don’t see them really bond until what I would consider too far into the story.
Overall, though, I still think it's a really fun novel. If you love time travel and sapphic romance, it is well worth the read.
April 20, 2025
3,5⭐️ bien sans plus, un mélange de the invisible life of addie larue et life is strange en moins réussi. c’était intéressant au début puis c’est devenu long/répétitif et trop cucul (je voulais une fin tragique merde)
June 16, 2024
this was so good!! not normally a sci-fi girlie but throw some banter and hot bisexuals into the mix and i'm here for it. the characters felt real (yes even the immortal one) and i seriously want kissi's snooping/sleuthing skills
January 30, 2024
*cue Stefon voice* this book has everything
Review to come!
Review to come!
March 4, 2025
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I read this book as a judge for the fourth annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: blood, injury, gun violence, murder, death, mention of parent death, medical content, domestic abuse, misogyny, homophobia, swearing, vomit, sexual content
--
A Swift and Sudden Exit follows Zera who is from a time when humanity lives in bunkers underground as a geomagnetic storm has scorched the earth. On one of her regular missions of venturing out to collect samples from the earth she comes across an anomaly, an incident that sets her up to be part of a time travel program where soldiers are sent back to past storms to collect data in order to figure out how to reverse their effects. When Zera is sent back to 2040 she stumbles upon a woman called Katherine who claims to know her and ends up dying in Zera's arms. And so begins an adventure where Zera continues to travel back to previous storms bumping into an unaged Katherine each time, which provides her with both the opportunity to try to save the future and to get to know who this mysterious woman is.
This was an entertaining read that I flew through despite the book being almost 500 pages long. I absolutely loved the overall concept and Vincenty’s take on the time travel trope. The intriguing characters and the element of mystery kept me engaged though I have to admit I did have some mixed feelings by the end.
While the quick pacing kept the story going I do feel like it was also a drawback when it came to the setting during each time jump as these never felt fleshed out enough. There were a couple of defining details for each time period that the characters ended up in but for the most part it all felt quite surface level.
Additionally we were ideally following Zera on a mission to save the world through these time travel trips and while the data for this was being collected throughout the book it all felt very perfunctory, even when the characters were talking around the issue.
Alongside the time travel aspect there is also an intriguing mystery side to the story which initially started off as a background detail and then eventually dominated the storyline for the last 15% of the book. I feel like this sadly resulted in a very chaotic ending and I also guessed the “twist” quite early on.
The romance was probably the strongest part of the book. There are some open door scenes at one point which may not be everyone’s thing but Zera and Katherine’s relationship was wonderfully developed. I just wish it was balanced out a bit better with the other leading plotlines.
So while this was an enjoyable read overall with some good moments of action, I’d definitely recommend it to those who enjoy a more character relationship / romance focused story than those looking for full on time travel thrills.
**I read this book as a judge for the fourth annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: blood, injury, gun violence, murder, death, mention of parent death, medical content, domestic abuse, misogyny, homophobia, swearing, vomit, sexual content
--
A Swift and Sudden Exit follows Zera who is from a time when humanity lives in bunkers underground as a geomagnetic storm has scorched the earth. On one of her regular missions of venturing out to collect samples from the earth she comes across an anomaly, an incident that sets her up to be part of a time travel program where soldiers are sent back to past storms to collect data in order to figure out how to reverse their effects. When Zera is sent back to 2040 she stumbles upon a woman called Katherine who claims to know her and ends up dying in Zera's arms. And so begins an adventure where Zera continues to travel back to previous storms bumping into an unaged Katherine each time, which provides her with both the opportunity to try to save the future and to get to know who this mysterious woman is.
This was an entertaining read that I flew through despite the book being almost 500 pages long. I absolutely loved the overall concept and Vincenty’s take on the time travel trope. The intriguing characters and the element of mystery kept me engaged though I have to admit I did have some mixed feelings by the end.
While the quick pacing kept the story going I do feel like it was also a drawback when it came to the setting during each time jump as these never felt fleshed out enough. There were a couple of defining details for each time period that the characters ended up in but for the most part it all felt quite surface level.
Additionally we were ideally following Zera on a mission to save the world through these time travel trips and while the data for this was being collected throughout the book it all felt very perfunctory, even when the characters were talking around the issue.
Alongside the time travel aspect there is also an intriguing mystery side to the story which initially started off as a background detail and then eventually dominated the storyline for the last 15% of the book. I feel like this sadly resulted in a very chaotic ending and I also guessed the “twist” quite early on.
The romance was probably the strongest part of the book. There are some open door scenes at one point which may not be everyone’s thing but Zera and Katherine’s relationship was wonderfully developed. I just wish it was balanced out a bit better with the other leading plotlines.
So while this was an enjoyable read overall with some good moments of action, I’d definitely recommend it to those who enjoy a more character relationship / romance focused story than those looking for full on time travel thrills.
May 7, 2025
I am one of the judges of team Space Girls for the SPSFC4 contest. This review is my personal opinion. Officially, it is still in the running for the contest, pending any official team announcements.
Status: Semifinalist
Read: 100%
First off, I love the pulp fiction cover! It really feels fitting for the retro vibe theme of this book.
And yup, just as I assumed from the cover alone, this is definitely a time travel story... with a sapphic love story twist.
The book begins in 2058, 18 years after a strange explosion in NYC which leaves at least the entire US (and possibly rest of the world) covered by heavy radiation, a roasting red sun and everything on the planetary surface unlivable. Survivors of the explosion built underground bunkers, I presume in modern day NYC's subway system. There isn't much description of the size of the NYC bunker or total population. From the way there doesn't seem to be any medical doctors and most healthcare tasks are done by the same nurse, I presume there's less than a thousand people.
Most of the setting in the future is more of an afterthought. Coming to think of it, the entire ploy to time travel and fix the explosion is a MacGuffin. Like, there's really no sense of urgency to alter the pivotal event, nor an explanation how the heroines of the story convince their reluctant superiors to travel to very specific years when electricity is a luxury. Over 90% of the story focus is on the friendly banter between Zera and the mysterious redhaired woman that always seems to pop up whenever she shows up.
Some readers will not care about the save the world backdrop, while other readers will get frustrated pretty quickly the story focuses so much on the initially frosty relationship between Zera and Katherine. While the last 3 trips compensated the long wait, the 3-4 middle trips felt like a blur to me. Most of the interesting events in the sluggish midbook trips involve Katherine's abusive spouses and Zera having to disguise as a man because her pixie haircut and tomboyish behavior makes her stand out too much.
I tended to enjoy the scant chapters in the middle that happen in 2058 because we were getting little snippets of worldbuilding and hints about the book's climax. Oh, and yes, I guessed some parts of the ending early on, just not how it would unfurl. The clumisness of Zera's superior not giving her more training (or some gold to barter for money at a pawn shop) prior to trips confused me a lot.
Some things seem to change in weird ways in the future whenever Zera returns, but the book never really delves if this affects the lackluster situational training. Time travellers become deadly sick after a few return trips, but the book never explains why Zera seems fine after later trips. If other team members were in 2040 collecting soil samples, for some convenient reason for the climax to work, none of them are wandering around the blast site. Oh, and I really wanted to know the full message on the dratted silver pocketwatch! If there had been more focus on developing the 2058 timeline and satiate my lingering curiosity, the book would have really shined.
Kissi was a nice supporting good guy character. It was real fun seeing how in subsequent return trips, things in the future change. New Zera photos end up pinned to the wall in Kissi's bedroom. The addition of Kissi wearing a prosthetic leg was a nice touch for diability rep. For better or worse, I can't say too much about the other lead characters due to spoilers.
All in all, readers that care more about the sapphic romance than the save the world plot will vibe with this story a lot. Despite my mixed feelings due to the occasionally slow middle, I enjoyed the ending a lot.
3.5 stars!
Status: Semifinalist
Read: 100%
First off, I love the pulp fiction cover! It really feels fitting for the retro vibe theme of this book.
And yup, just as I assumed from the cover alone, this is definitely a time travel story... with a sapphic love story twist.
The book begins in 2058, 18 years after a strange explosion in NYC which leaves at least the entire US (and possibly rest of the world) covered by heavy radiation, a roasting red sun and everything on the planetary surface unlivable. Survivors of the explosion built underground bunkers, I presume in modern day NYC's subway system. There isn't much description of the size of the NYC bunker or total population. From the way there doesn't seem to be any medical doctors and most healthcare tasks are done by the same nurse, I presume there's less than a thousand people.
Most of the setting in the future is more of an afterthought. Coming to think of it, the entire ploy to time travel and fix the explosion is a MacGuffin. Like, there's really no sense of urgency to alter the pivotal event, nor an explanation how the heroines of the story convince their reluctant superiors to travel to very specific years when electricity is a luxury. Over 90% of the story focus is on the friendly banter between Zera and the mysterious redhaired woman that always seems to pop up whenever she shows up.
Some readers will not care about the save the world backdrop, while other readers will get frustrated pretty quickly the story focuses so much on the initially frosty relationship between Zera and Katherine. While the last 3 trips compensated the long wait, the 3-4 middle trips felt like a blur to me. Most of the interesting events in the sluggish midbook trips involve Katherine's abusive spouses and Zera having to disguise as a man because her pixie haircut and tomboyish behavior makes her stand out too much.
I tended to enjoy the scant chapters in the middle that happen in 2058 because we were getting little snippets of worldbuilding and hints about the book's climax. Oh, and yes, I guessed some parts of the ending early on, just not how it would unfurl. The clumisness of Zera's superior not giving her more training (or some gold to barter for money at a pawn shop) prior to trips confused me a lot.
Some things seem to change in weird ways in the future whenever Zera returns, but the book never really delves if this affects the lackluster situational training. Time travellers become deadly sick after a few return trips, but the book never explains why Zera seems fine after later trips. If other team members were in 2040 collecting soil samples, for some convenient reason for the climax to work, none of them are wandering around the blast site. Oh, and I really wanted to know the full message on the dratted silver pocketwatch! If there had been more focus on developing the 2058 timeline and satiate my lingering curiosity, the book would have really shined.
Kissi was a nice supporting good guy character. It was real fun seeing how in subsequent return trips, things in the future change. New Zera photos end up pinned to the wall in Kissi's bedroom. The addition of Kissi wearing a prosthetic leg was a nice touch for diability rep. For better or worse, I can't say too much about the other lead characters due to spoilers.
All in all, readers that care more about the sapphic romance than the save the world plot will vibe with this story a lot. Despite my mixed feelings due to the occasionally slow middle, I enjoyed the ending a lot.
3.5 stars!
February 2, 2025
This was a super fun, wacky, time travel romance that I picked to get me out of my reading slump. Was the time travel logic completely there? No, but did it need to be? Also no. I wasn't going into this expecting a gritty sci-fi book based in logic and reason, I wanted a silly stupid gay adventure and that's what I got.
By far, the best part of this book was the author's unique writing style. It's casual and sarcastic, perfectly matching the theme of the book. She uses a very distinct voice that made me laugh out loud quite a few times.
My biggest issue was the pacing of the book. I was drawn in at the start with the enticing premise of a love story between a time traveler and an immortal. I also loved the ending which was funny, action paced, and kind of absurd. However, the middle sections of the book, consisting mostly of Zera passing time in the bunker, vague talk of "data", and a few side quests in different decades, really dragged on. I wish the book was a bit shorter in that respect.
Side note: I pretty much knew Byrd was evil from the start because literally everything he did was creepy and he was the only main character who could really fit the villain role. However, I did not put together that he and Edward were the same person. I liked that twist as well as how everything came together with his pocket watch.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable read that I would recommend.
By far, the best part of this book was the author's unique writing style. It's casual and sarcastic, perfectly matching the theme of the book. She uses a very distinct voice that made me laugh out loud quite a few times.
My biggest issue was the pacing of the book. I was drawn in at the start with the enticing premise of a love story between a time traveler and an immortal. I also loved the ending which was funny, action paced, and kind of absurd. However, the middle sections of the book, consisting mostly of Zera passing time in the bunker, vague talk of "data", and a few side quests in different decades, really dragged on. I wish the book was a bit shorter in that respect.
Side note: I pretty much knew Byrd was evil from the start because literally everything he did was creepy and he was the only main character who could really fit the villain role. However, I did not put together that he and Edward were the same person. I liked that twist as well as how everything came together with his pocket watch.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable read that I would recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2024
This book is almost like it was made in a lab for me: time travel, bisexuals, semi-doomed lovers, and yet it didn't grab me. It is a fun read & concept though!
I will say I did nearly DNF in chapter 2 when I learned one of the characters full name is KISSINGER
I will say I did nearly DNF in chapter 2 when I learned one of the characters full name is KISSINGER
July 22, 2024
Loved it! 5⭐️💯
July 29, 2024
This book was such a wild ride, and I loved everything about it!
May 17, 2025
6.5/10
I read this as a judge for SPSFC4 - this review and rating is my personal opinion.
I'd like to thank the author for providing the e-pub of their book.
This is basically a slow burn romance with the relationship of two love interests slowly developing through the means of time travel. Earth is now scorched due to some cataclysm and in 2058 Zera (one of our MC's), is sent back in time to find out if there's any way of stopping this event from occurring. On her first jaunt back in time she meets Katherine who surprisingly recognises her. Zera starts going further back in time, meeting Katherine in each time period (starting from 1940s during WWII), learning about events leading up to the catastrophy as well as falling in love with her.
To be honest, romances are not my thing so this part of the story didn't really interest me, though I did enjoy the historical aspect of both women's experiences (Katherine's world weary lived in one vs Zera's surprise) especially how women were perceived, the modicum of women's freedom & the changes in women's clothing over different eras.
The whole world ending scenario part of the plot was VERY hand-wavy as it bought up numerous "but how did they...?" moments for me but really that part of the story was secondary to the whole romance thing.
Another issue for me was that the pacing, it really slowed down around at some point and by 62% i felt like I was wading through treacle and had to put the book down. I did consider a DNF but I wanted to know what exactly what the obvious bad guy was up to. I ended up skim reading a number of chapters until I got to the 90% mark and those final chapters were in my mind the best and most exciting part of the book.
Whilst this wasn't the book for me, people who don't want hard sci-fi, wanting a slow burn love story with some interesting historical moments should enjoy this.
I read this as a judge for SPSFC4 - this review and rating is my personal opinion.
I'd like to thank the author for providing the e-pub of their book.
This is basically a slow burn romance with the relationship of two love interests slowly developing through the means of time travel. Earth is now scorched due to some cataclysm and in 2058 Zera (one of our MC's), is sent back in time to find out if there's any way of stopping this event from occurring. On her first jaunt back in time she meets Katherine who surprisingly recognises her. Zera starts going further back in time, meeting Katherine in each time period (starting from 1940s during WWII), learning about events leading up to the catastrophy as well as falling in love with her.
To be honest, romances are not my thing so this part of the story didn't really interest me, though I did enjoy the historical aspect of both women's experiences (Katherine's world weary lived in one vs Zera's surprise) especially how women were perceived, the modicum of women's freedom & the changes in women's clothing over different eras.
The whole world ending scenario part of the plot was VERY hand-wavy as it bought up numerous "but how did they...?" moments for me but really that part of the story was secondary to the whole romance thing.
Another issue for me was that the pacing, it really slowed down around at some point and by 62% i felt like I was wading through treacle and had to put the book down. I did consider a DNF but I wanted to know what exactly what the obvious bad guy was up to. I ended up skim reading a number of chapters until I got to the 90% mark and those final chapters were in my mind the best and most exciting part of the book.
Whilst this wasn't the book for me, people who don't want hard sci-fi, wanting a slow burn love story with some interesting historical moments should enjoy this.
May 25, 2025
I had really hoped to like this, given the beautiful cover and the recommendations of friends, but it fell a bit flat for me. The banter and chemistry between the leads is fun, but I wasn’t all that invested in the time travel angle (or the big mystery at the heart of it) which meant the book really dragged in parts. Ultimately, I thought it was fine, the line writing is solid, the character development is good, but the science fiction kind of bored me.
June 17, 2024
This book took me by surprise and is definitely in my top 5 for the year so far (and I've read 52). This is such a strong debut and I highly recommend if you are looking for a character driven, slow burn, sapphic romance (with the perfect banter) where one is from 2058 and has to time travel to save the world (while meeting up with the love of her life every 12 years of course).
Firstly, I absolutely love Zera (the MC) in this book but I don't think I'm going to have the popular opinion there. Zera is meant to be saving the world by time travelling to before the earth was scorched in 2040. However, she is the worst possible person to be sent on this mission as she is constantly getting distracted (and going on so many random adventures) because she is so hopelessly in love. I just loved how much she was obsessed with finding the love interest no matter what.
I was so confused at the beginning of this book but I was immediately hooked especially after
There is also a massive mystery element to this book as Zera is trying to find what caused the 2040 storm and also why Katherine seems to be in different times. .
I love how well developed the MCs were and that they felt so real due to all of their flaws.
The banter between the couple is possibly the best I've ever read. The use of names and nicknames to tease each other was so sweet and the way the characters are constantly joking around with one another is exactly my taste in romance. This book was the perfect balance of plot and romance for me.
The sci-fi concept sounded so interesting to me and I love dystopian books which is why I picked this up. This book felt so perfectly balanced between chapters in the future and the past. The explanations of everything were presented very clearly and I think were easy to follow along (which is good because I hate when books like this only vaguely explain things).
I absolutely loved the ending. The entire book, I was so scared as to how it was going to end as usually with time travel books, I love the entire book right up until the end. However, this didn't disappoint.
A random side note is that I loved how the author wrote about Zera being insecure about her small breasts (and being scared to wear a corset because of it). That made me feel so seen.
I am not a big fan of sex scenes most of the time but here I thought it was written well and in the perfect place due to it being slow burn. I also loved how conversations of consent were written very casually into the scenes.
This book is an unforgettable rollercoaster of emotions. At times it was so fun and fast paced. Others, I was on the verge of tears. It's the definition of a perfect 5 star read for me and I'm definitely going to be recommending this constantly on my bookstagram. I look forward to whatever this author writes next.
Firstly, I absolutely love Zera (the MC) in this book but I don't think I'm going to have the popular opinion there. Zera is meant to be saving the world by time travelling to before the earth was scorched in 2040. However, she is the worst possible person to be sent on this mission as she is constantly getting distracted (and going on so many random adventures) because she is so hopelessly in love. I just loved how much she was obsessed with finding the love interest no matter what.
I was so confused at the beginning of this book but I was immediately hooked especially after
There is also a massive mystery element to this book as Zera is trying to find what caused the 2040 storm and also why Katherine seems to be in different times. .
I love how well developed the MCs were and that they felt so real due to all of their flaws.
The banter between the couple is possibly the best I've ever read. The use of names and nicknames to tease each other was so sweet and the way the characters are constantly joking around with one another is exactly my taste in romance. This book was the perfect balance of plot and romance for me.
The sci-fi concept sounded so interesting to me and I love dystopian books which is why I picked this up. This book felt so perfectly balanced between chapters in the future and the past. The explanations of everything were presented very clearly and I think were easy to follow along (which is good because I hate when books like this only vaguely explain things).
I absolutely loved the ending. The entire book, I was so scared as to how it was going to end as usually with time travel books, I love the entire book right up until the end. However, this didn't disappoint.
A random side note is that I loved how the author wrote about Zera being insecure about her small breasts (and being scared to wear a corset because of it). That made me feel so seen.
I am not a big fan of sex scenes most of the time but here I thought it was written well and in the perfect place due to it being slow burn. I also loved how conversations of consent were written very casually into the scenes.
This book is an unforgettable rollercoaster of emotions. At times it was so fun and fast paced. Others, I was on the verge of tears. It's the definition of a perfect 5 star read for me and I'm definitely going to be recommending this constantly on my bookstagram. I look forward to whatever this author writes next.
October 18, 2024
I'll start by saying I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would/should have. Seeing this book without knowing who the author was, I would never have read it. I don't like romances and although I do love sci-fi/dystopian novels I didn't feel like the summary of the book was very focused on that aspect.
What I enjoyed:
The pacing was excellent, I was never bored but also never overwhelmed. I saw a review saying they didn't like the linearity of the time travel, but I actually really appreciated it as it made things much less confusing. I am someone that will get caught up in trying to figure out the timeline and exactly what each character has or hasn't experienced yet, and the linearity made it so I could continue reading without getting caught up in those details as it was clearly defined.
I also enjoyed the banter between characters, I have never read such a dialogue-heavy book but I really enjoyed it. I saw another review that said reading this book was like watching a movie and I completely agree.
In enjoyed almost all of the characters (I will talk later about what I didn't like about them). I especially liked the main character, she felt very real to me. She was confident but still had some self doubts, brave but still had to talk herself through things, and she was funny (yay)
What I disliked:
I feel like in the beginning of the book we were told constantly that Zera was the brawn and Kissi was the brains, which in general I just don't consider to be an interesting dynamic. But my real issue was that the whole Zera-is-just-the-muscle never really added up for me, it seemed that sometimes she was an airhead and other times she was clever or made quick decisions under pressure (but maybe that was just character development and I didn't pay enough attention to the timeline of those events)
The only other issue I had was with Katherine's character in general. I just felt like we didn't learn enough about her, especially about her personality. Which means that Zera didn't learn much about her either, at least not enough to be getting distracted during her world-saving mission (that failed trip made me so upset with Zera omg).
Overall, it was a great read and I would recommend it to just about anyone :)
What I enjoyed:
The pacing was excellent, I was never bored but also never overwhelmed. I saw a review saying they didn't like the linearity of the time travel, but I actually really appreciated it as it made things much less confusing. I am someone that will get caught up in trying to figure out the timeline and exactly what each character has or hasn't experienced yet, and the linearity made it so I could continue reading without getting caught up in those details as it was clearly defined.
I also enjoyed the banter between characters, I have never read such a dialogue-heavy book but I really enjoyed it. I saw another review that said reading this book was like watching a movie and I completely agree.
In enjoyed almost all of the characters (I will talk later about what I didn't like about them). I especially liked the main character, she felt very real to me. She was confident but still had some self doubts, brave but still had to talk herself through things, and she was funny (yay)
What I disliked:
I feel like in the beginning of the book we were told constantly that Zera was the brawn and Kissi was the brains, which in general I just don't consider to be an interesting dynamic. But my real issue was that the whole Zera-is-just-the-muscle never really added up for me, it seemed that sometimes she was an airhead and other times she was clever or made quick decisions under pressure (but maybe that was just character development and I didn't pay enough attention to the timeline of those events)
The only other issue I had was with Katherine's character in general. I just felt like we didn't learn enough about her, especially about her personality. Which means that Zera didn't learn much about her either, at least not enough to be getting distracted during her world-saving mission (that failed trip made me so upset with Zera omg).
Overall, it was a great read and I would recommend it to just about anyone :)
July 22, 2024
Time traveller Zera is tasked with collecting data of a catastrophic storm but keeps bumping into the same woman in different eras. Why do they keep meeting? Why doesn't this mysterious woman age and can they change the future?
I had so much fun with this one. A sapphic slow burn. Not too many characters so it was easy to remember who was who. Didn’t get confused between Zera’s original year and whichever year she went to. Appreciated how Katherine was very aware of her situation and was TRYING to keep Zera on track. For a time traveller Zera gets distracted easily. It’s pretty easy to tell from the start that she's attracted to shiny things so it's not surprising when she gets to time travel she's mentally all over the place.
Katherine wants a cure for her immortality so she can age and live out her life as a regular human, Zera wants data about a storm that keeps repeating throughout history. They agree to help each other and over the few times they meet Katherine changes as a person. Katherine’s personality changes a lot over time behind the scenes so because I didn’t see her grow as a character I wasn’t a fan of the romance. It's only a slow burn because it takes a while in the books for them to make any move but technically they've only spent a short while with each other, maybe a week in total?
No spoilers here but the ending/reveal? I was suspicious but for some reason the reveal still snuck up on me. I’m sure most people reading this will put two and two together before I manage to!
Mild Spoiler:
While the time travel didn’t confuse me too much I felt like the plot got a bit lost/repetitive. Some things just seemed a bit too convenient. Otherwise I had fun.
3.5 stars rated up.
Author supplied me with a digital copy. All opinions are my own.
Open door romance
Sapphic
Time travel
Immortal
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