Book source ~ Tour

Isabel Sanborn and Diego Nadales broke up over a decade ago, but neither has gotten over the other. A chance meeting in Denver right after Isabel signs her divorce papers puts them on a precarious path to love. And destruction. The only way to save the world is for Isabel to go back in time, but there’s no return ticket and no guarantee the plan will even work. Will she take that quantum leap?

I’ll admit to being a tad confused in the beginning, but things are soon sorted out. Then there’s a bombshell (almost literally) and then I’m back to being confused. But that’s probably just me. There’s a reason why I don’t read many time travel books anymore and it’s because I can’t figure them out. They make my head hurt. Lol However, there are things in this story that are never explained or fleshed out. Some are just dropped in like a bomb, others are mentioned and then never heard from again. Or maybe I missed them? Not sure. Anyway, it isn’t until about 20% that I really became invested in the story. After that it’s a race to the end, to see if our world is saved. Or not.

There are three POVs and the story switches between Isabel, Diego, and a physics professor named Matt Hudson. I’m not sure I totally understand what was going on in The Magic Kingdom (it’s a nickname for a place, not really Disney Land), but the sci-fi mumbo jumbo takes a back seat to the characters and the world they are living in. I couldn’t help but cheer them on because they really needed the cheering. What a mess. Yikes! Plus, I really wanted Isabel and Diego’s story to have a HEA because of everything they had been through.  Do they? You’ll have to read to find out how it all ends.

Typically, when I post about an Audiobook, I close with a discussion about the narrator(s). But I'm going to start with it this time because Levine and deWard did such a great job, they're the highlight of the experience for me.*

* This is not a slight against the novel. They were just that good.

In my experience, when there is a male narrator and a female narrator—the female will read all the narration and dialogue in the female character POV chapters, and the male will read all the narration and dialogue in the male character POV chapters. But here, deWard reads all the female dialogue, no matter the narrator (and vice versa). That's a nice touch, and once I got used to it, I really appreciated it. Particularly, it helped the conversations between characters feel like conversations—there was a little bit of talking over each other, and so on. And when the two laughed together? That was either fantastic work by the narrators or by the editor (or both).

Levine, particularly when he was narrating the main male protagonist, sounded like a guy recounting a story from his past to a friend—and I could've listened to him all day. deWard was almost as good (the main female protagonist character was never as relaxed, so it would be out of character to sound that way—so it may be unfair to compare like that). They both made all the characters come alive (even the few I'd rather hadn't)—and made the experience richer.

This is a Romance/Science Fiction story. It's heavy on the romance (too heavy for my taste) and the SF is a wild, multi-dimensional/time travel story with the fate of the human race (throughout the multiverse) hanging in the balance. Orton typically balances the focused story on the central romance and the wider, all-humankind story really well—but she has a tendency to over-focus on the love story. That's going to delight many readers/listeners, but it was a stumbling block for me. Both are told with heart and humor (not getting in the way of drama), that will suck you in and not let you go.

I don't really know how to summarize the setup of the book in a paragraph or two—and the Book Blurb gives away a bit too much (but really is an entertaining blurb), so I'm not going to get into it more than I did in that last paragraph. Just trust me on this—if you like the feel of what I'm describing, give this a shot.*

* Or, fine, read the Spotlight where I've copied the Blurb.

The characters—from minor to major—are wonderfully drawn and fully-developed. There are a couple of characters that are technically allies to the protagonists (and humanity in general, but function largely as antagonists. And man, I really didn't like them at all—just as I wasn't supposed to. But those that you were supposed to like? I just wanted to spend more time with them all—the point-of-view characters in particular.

There are some wonderful dogs throughout the book, and I fully expect that they'll be pretty important before the trilogy ends. For those of you who prefer felines, there's one of them, too—and the inclusion of the inferior pet doesn't hurt things at all.*

* Man, I hope that comes across as tongue-in-cheek.

As I said, this is the beginning of a trilogy and ends in a way that practically demands moving on to the next volume as soon as possible (which is easy as the entire trilogy is published)—while not really a cliff-hanger, it sure works like one.

This was a fun novel—even if it's not really my cup of tea. I'd probably give it a 3-3 1/2 Stars, a fun read that I'd recommend...but that narration knocks it up to 4 (maybe I should give it a 4 1/2), a strong recommendation from me.

There's a little too much romance in this Romance/Science Fiction for my taste—but it's a compelling and entertaining read full of wonderfully drawn characters. I strongly recommend the audiobook, but if that's not your thing, I expect the print edition will almost be as good.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

This is incredibly well written. The beginning of the book was good, but no where near as good as the second part. Some of this is set in "present day," some a dystopian setting, ad some in the past/present. This is mainly a romance, but isn't super sappy. The rest of the story isn't just there for filler like so many other books in the genre.

This is the start of what will be the Between Two Evils series. I was surprised to find out that this is the authors first book, no way does the book reflect reflect this. I am also super curious as to where the author will next take this series. Fingers crossed that book two will be as good, and that I have found an author to add to my must read list.

If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?

When offered a one-way trip to the past, Iz sacrifices everything for a chance to change her dystopian future—and see her murdered lover one last time.

After a perilous journey through a black hole, she wakes up on a tropical beach, buck naked and mortally wounded—but twenty years younger! With only hours to live, she must convince an enraptured but skeptical twenty-something guy to fix their future relationship and thereby save the planet (no one is quite sure why.)

But it's easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heartbreaker, save the world or not.

Across the infinite expanse of space and time, love endures...

(Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough.)

Review 3.5 rounded up to 4*

I received a complimentary audiobook code of this book in return for an honest review. However, I also purchased and downloaded a Kindle copy of this book.

The audiobook is narrated by Noah Michael Levine and Erin deWard. I really liked Noah's performance. He captured the character of Diego and the other male characters quite well. His voice was smooth and easy to listen to. Erin also did a great job portraying Isabel and the other female characters.

Isabel is a character I struggled to like. I found her to be extremely annoying and selfish for most of the book. When she meets up with an old flame outside of her divorce lawyers office, she has no idea how much her life will change. She will have to travel in time (and to a parallel universe) to fix the past to save her future.

Diego is a fantastic character. I really liked him. He is kind and loving. There is a lot of cheesy/pun-y dialogue by him that had me rolling my eyes, but its all part of his charm. When a mysterious object crashes into a building, it sets off a chain of events that catapults him into a deadly adventure.

I also really liked meeting Matt Hudson, who also has a say in the story besides Diego and Isabel. He's a physics professor and is drafted by the government to examine a mysterious object found in a burning building.

Time travel books are extremely tricky and this one is no exception. I must admit that I struggled with getting to grips with this story. I started to listen to the story on audiobook, then decided to read the Kindle book at the same time (sort of like a read-along). However, I ran into a slight snag. After the audiobook had been produced, the Kindle book must have been re-edited, as there were a few differences between them. This was a little jarring, so I continued reading the book and listening to it separately.

This book has a mixture of genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Dystopian and Time Travel, which, although well written, made the story feel too cluttered in my opinion. There is a lot going on in this story though not much gets explained, and there are several loose ends by the time the story ends. It is only in the last third of the book that the story begins to take shape. I didn't find myself as gripped by the story as I should have been and could put the book down for a few days and then go back to it with ease. However, having said that, I would read the second book in the series when it's released, just to find out what happens next.

DL Orton has written an intriguing time travel romance. I enjoyed her writing style, which is not as fast paced as some other authors but it still had me turning the pages. The flow of the story felt a bit jerky in the beginning, but got better as the story went on. I would read more of her books in the future.

Due to some scenes of an explicit nature, I do not recommend this book to younger readers (under 16). However, I do recommend this book if you love time travel romances. - Lynn Worton

Remember How It Feels to Fall in Love?

Race against the clock through a dystopian nightmare. Climb naked into an untested time machine (carrying only a seashell and a promise). Wake up twenty years younger on a tropical beach, buck naked and mortally wounded, with your heart in your throat. 

This is a journey of love, loss, and redemption that will make your pulse gallop and your palms sweat, have you laughing out loud through your tears, and leave you flush with the sublime pleasure of falling in love.

Amazing! I’m so embarrassed that it took me this much to finish it. I swear that it wasn’t because of the story, college sucks! It was such an engaging story, impossible to stop reading it. I really want to continue this series because I can guarantee you that it was worthy. Even with that f***ing cliff hanger at the end, typical of every first book in a series.

It’s not the typical dystopian story and it’s not the typical sci-fi one, it was a very well-done mix between those two genres. You have romance but not tacky or chessy. Iz is a strong independent woman who can easily kick ass and survive by herself while Diego is extremely meaningful to the story and an extraordinary human being.  What I truly enjoyed about this story is the fact that Iz is not a damsel in distress that needs her man to lead her and guide her to survival. Hell no! It might be the other way around...Another thing that I really adore about this story is that it’s told by many characters and not only by Iz, that gives the book a variety of points of view that makes it richer.

D.L. Orton is indeed an amazing writer! I will for sure try to continue reading this series.