We are finally back to the world of Stolen Time. It’s been so long since I’ve been in this time traveling world and unfortunately my expectations were not met? It felt very much like a second book syndrome. Keep reading this book review of Twisted Fates for my full thoughts.
Summary
As far as anyone in New Seattle knows, Dorothy has disappeared. The stowaway from 1913, the girl that Ash maybe—possibly—could’ve loved: she’s gone. And in her place is bloodthirsty Quinn Fox, silver-haired and vicious. But even though he saw her fall through the anil on their last ill-fated mission through time, Ash can’t stop himself from looking for Dorothy around every dark corner. What he doesn’t know, though, is that the girl he fell in love with is the very same one who is fated to kill him.
As Ash and his friends grow increasingly desperate searching for a way to head off the devastating earthquake threatening to tear down New Seattle for good, Quinn and Roman are working to take down mob boss Mac Murphy, who is attempting to use them to control time travel for his own selfish purposes. When they collide, can they change the course of the future entirely?
Review
I’m not sure if it’s just been too long since I read Stolen Time or what, but Twisted Fates felt very much like a second book syndrome to me. It was a three steps forward, two steps back kind of situation. I wanted to appreciate more of the stakes and the time traveling fixes, but they were getting lost in the pacing. It felt strangely slow paced considering we’re back in the time traveling swing of things. There were so many big moments that were supposed to resonate, but ended up feeling a bit hollow. I wish this book had been a bit tighter and maybe a duology?
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I appreciate the scope and the ambition of the Stolen Time series. It’s truly one that spans historical fiction all the way to dystopia, now, with science fiction time travel within. I love that! But this one just felt a bit stagnant. I’m not sure if I’ll read the third, I kind of want to because this one feels a bit like Umbrella Academy. But I need a bit of space to get over Twisted Fates. One element I really liked was the insertion of journal entries for the whole invention or development of the time travel. It was a fascinating addition, especially as we asked, a bit towards the end, if we can change the future. Overall, certainly the weakest, but I want to give book three a chance.
Find Twisted Fates on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.