6. Across the Ages. (Timeless #4) Gabrielle Meyer. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, christian fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, historical romance]
First sentence: My bare toes dug into the hardpacked earth as I beat the rug on the back line, watching the dust melt away into the setting sunlight. It moved through the drooping Spanish moss on the ancient oak trees overhead, making me long for my troubles to fade away so easily.
The Timeless series has a relatively unique premise. I'll clarify if I can, for christian romance it has a definitely unique premise. Each book stars at least one heroine--sometimes two--that can time cross or cross time. They live two lives; they go to sleep in one time and awake in the other. Each book features a "love triangle" of sorts. Of sorts being the key word. For better or worse, the development of the love interest, the love story, the romance is ALL in one time period--for the most part. That might not be fair. It might be closer to 90/10 or 85/15. But without a doubt, ANY reader can predict which man will be chosen extremely early on. And despite the fact that the stories are about to be deeper and more layered than just falling in love, that development is on the lighter side. Every book *is* different. Which has kept me coming back. I am not always frustrated or disappointed. Sometimes I am entertained.
Caroline (aka Carrie, Caro, Carl) lives in 1727 and 1927. She has not known any other time-crossers which makes her in far worse shape than the reader of the series. She is clueless while the reader is not. This can be frustrating at times, but it is mostly forgivable and understandable.
The heroine--in both times--was annoying to me personally. Her life-choices while perhaps necessary for plot reasons are poor, very poor. Her reasoning or lack of reasoning is frustrating. In both time lines she decides to hunt for her birth mother. She runs away from home (in 1727), dresses up as a boy, joins a pirate crew, and goes off in search of her birth mother last known location some island. (I *can't* remember off hand which island.) She ignores all potential dangers going off the clue from a letter dated twenty years previously??? Anyway, it was the letter she arrived with as a baby to her grandfather's estate. in the 1927 timeline, she KNOWS her birth-mother is an outlaw (inspired by the real life Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde) and she seeks out all the clues so she can go meet her and have a little chit-chat. As if you could just approach a bank robber and say, HEY, I THINK YOU'RE MY MOM. I guess you could. But that takes a certain mindset.
I tentatively like the two timeline in theory. But it almost always comes to the point where you're tolerating one to get back to the other. I am never as invested in both stories equally.
I do think this book will be a better fit for other readers. You do have to suspend your disbelief and NOT overthink things. The more you are an over-thinker, the less you may enjoy this one. I do think you need a bit of patience allowing for the heroine to get caught up with things you already know. I think certain readers may be charmed by certain real-life inspirations.
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