Early Review: Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

October 7, 2013 / 3 Comments / Review, Uncategorized

Time After Time (Time Between Us #2)
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone (website | twitter)
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Source: eARC provided by publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Publication date: October 8, 2013 (tomorrow!)
My rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn’t. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds.

It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work…until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn’t want?

Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us’s Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.

Review:

Last year, I read and adored Time Between Us – I thought it went where The Time Traveler’s Wife didn’t with the time travel bit, and the romance was incredibly swoony.

I’m happy to report that Time After Time is JUST as swoony and as unputdownable as Time Between Us. I slipped effortlessly back into Anna and Bennett’s story, I was completely invested in their relationship – and the messiness of having a relationship with someone who’s essentially long-distance and who you can’t always count on.

To me, that was the most amazing, believable, and frustrating part of the book – because I really, desperately wanted Bennett and Anna to be able to make things work, but at the same time, my rational mind kept thinking, “If this was my friend, I would tell her to ditch him.” Because a relationship with someone far away is one thing, but a relationship with someone you can’t rely on, even when they promise to be there? That’s another thing entirely, and as someone who loves the Good Boys, it’s so hard to want Anna and Bennett together and know how difficult it’s going to be.

That aching longing for them to be together – that is the crux of Tamara Ireland Stone’s writing. She pulls you in completely and makes you believe every thought and behaviour in her characters. This time, she’s writing from Bennett’s perspective, and I really felt like she nailed the voice of teenage Bennett and his actions. You really understand why Bennett does the things he does, and because you’re getting it from his side, you can chide him AND understand him when he makes stupid decisions. =P

My only real problem with this book is that I feel like the climax became a bit of an anti-climax. The problems were solved a little too easily and obviously, and the entire story wraps up very quickly from there. Because of that, I felt that the story was a bit scattered and the ending felt a little bit flat for me.

Still, there’s a lot to love from Time After Time – and one of the best parts is that Tamara pushes the boundaries of Bennett’s powers even further – and this time, the consequences hit a lot closer to home. It’s a compelling sequel, and one that will definitely satisfy fans longing for more romance, more travelling the world, and more of Anna and Bennett.

Bonuses:

I gotta say, these bonuses are frighteningly similar to the ones for Time Between Us!

Heart-Squeezing Romance: Tamara Ireland Stone really knows how to write a good kissing scene. And good romantic dialogue. If I could just transport her words into my husband’s brain, that would be perfect. =p




Boy POV: The Boy with the Powers is the one that narrates this one…and it’s a great platform for us to understand his decisions as well as Anna’s decisions in the novel.



Travel: There isn’t as much travel in this one as there is in Time Between Us – but Anna and Bennett do go to Paris!












Music: This time around, we get more 90s music, but we also get some current music references as well – I love how Tamara puts so much of her own love for music into this series.

The Final Word

Time After Time is definitely a more than worthy companion to Time Between Us – both in the romance and in the time travel aspects. I really felt for Anna and Bennett, and you will, too. If you liked the first book, definitely go pick this one up. If you haven’t read the first novel, and you like 90s music, really swoony kissing, and travel, then what are you waiting for?

TIME AFTER TIME comes out tomorrow. Will you be checking it out? Did you read Tamara’s first, awesome novel, TIME BETWEEN US? Do you like complicated romances? How about time travel books? Boy POVs? Let me know in the comments!


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3 responses to “Early Review: Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

  1. I haven't read Time between us yet because of all those time travel elements. I tend to stay away for time travel books. This one looks great though. Love the cover.

  2. I haven't read this book yet. I already got a copy of the first book but because of my to-read list it'll take more time to get to Time Between Us. Reading your review makes me want to skip that list and start Time Between Us. Thank you for sharing!! ^_^

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