Review'd: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Book Review:

Title: Timeless

Author: Alexandra Monir

Published: January 11th 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads Summary: 

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.

DeLibrarie (Nichole) Review:

This book had such a unique and interesting story line; it was fresh and new in my opinion. The idea of going back in time to meet your ancestors and to fall in love, especially after having just gone through such a huge loss (read and you'll find out what loss that is), is really beautiful and fantastical. You go on quite the journey with Michele and it leaves you begging for more with one of the biggest cliffhangers I have read in a while (apart from Wildefire by Karsten Knight). I almost wish this wasn't a series because I want to read the next one so badly! It was beautifully written, too. I felt everything just as much as Michele did and being the history-lover that I am, I loved going back in time to see how things were. The only thing I was disappointed in was the climax. I felt like the big discovery that Michele makes which leads to the race of her life (see Goodreads Summary above) was very anti-climactic. It didn't seem like a very big deal and I thought Michele was just being silly by choosing to do what she did. I just think that it could have been a bigger deal and that more could have happened between her and her love interest. It turned into more of Michele on a journey learning about her ancestors than it was about being in love and trying to be with him. It was sort of a coming of age story and I was left feeling unfulfilled, that is until the cliffhanger. The cliffhanger was the type of thing that I was waiting for throughout the entire second half of the book. So that's why I give it 4 stars instead of five; because I felt like it was missing that big something during the climax. However, the cliffhanger, and I'm sure the second book too, both make up for that. Can't wait for the sequel!!!