Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Published: January 11^th, 2011 (Delacorte Books)

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads ~ Amazon

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives. [Description from Goodreads]

When death steals the joy from Michele’s life, the last thing she wants to do is go live with her stiff grandparents in far-off New York City. The fact that they don’t want her there doesn’t make it any better, either. But then she discovers that the grand old house holds things that can transport her back in time to visit her relatives- and a certain dashing young gent that seems to show up everywhere in her life.

That’s when things get a little more complicated.

Thanks to Doctor Who, I’m constantly intrigued with the concept of time travel. The River of Time series really delivered, and I eagerly moved on to Timeless. There were several things I liked about it, though I can’t say it beats all else I’ve read in the genre. The characters, especially Michele, were difficult to connect with. Her reactions and responses seemed suited for a girl younger than her. In addition, Timeless lacked the usual intensity and peril that fills YA books nowadays, which didn’t make me like the book any less but made it feel a bit more juvenile. Because of those two points, I’d recommend this book for younger teen or tween readers. It’s no doubt, though, that mature readers could easily enjoy it as well.

I was surprised at the accuracy and preciseness of the history aspect. When I heard the book was written by a singer/songwriter, I had my doubts about how in-depth and accurate the historical facts would be, but it’s apparent that Alexandra did some thorough investigating beforehand. I loved that Michele traveled to different time periods- sometimes it gets monotonous when the time-travelling only involves one place in history. Each visit in time showed the reader a peek of the culture and tradition during that particular time period, and I loved that as well.

Now, I know others have raved on Phillip, Michele’s love interest, but I really didn’t find him that attractive. He was…perfect. Loving, gentle, honorable, and musically talented, all wrapped up in one handsome, dark-eyed package! Sounds nice, eh? I don’t go for the perfect type, though. I liked the romance between them mainly because they couldn’t be together (since they live in different time periods). I’m eager to see how they fix that little problem in Timekeeper (#2).

One thing I didn’t particularly enjoy was the writing style. It felt like I kept being told what was happening instead of letting me, the reader, put it together myself. Also, the science of the time traveling seemed kind of ridiculous and not quite believable. It’s tricky to make time travel seems believable, but some people have pulled it off nicely. Timeless? Not so much.

So while I can’t say it’s the best that I’ve read in the time travel genre, I did enjoy the story, particularly the romance and history aspects. I feel it might be more suited for readers on the younger end of the spectrum; I know I would have loved it more if I were a little younger. Either way, all qualms aside, Timeless is definitely an enjoyable read-something I much enjoyed myself. I wouldn’t put too much expectation into it, though. A fun read, but not one to be taken too seriously or looked at with too critical of an eye.

 

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*

Language: None

Violence: None

Sexual: Mild (Some kissing. Two characters contemplate sleeping together, but decide against it.)