waters of time – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary/Historical Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Revell
Release Date: January 4th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the last stages of a genetic disease, Ellen Creighton has decided to live out her remaining days at the estate of her longtime friend Harrison Burlington. Harrison cares deeply for Ellen, but as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, he’s never allowed himself to get serious in a relationship. However, he’s desperately trying to save her by finding the holy water that is believed to heal any disease.

When he locates two flasks, Ellen refuses to drink one of them because she believes the holy water killed her sister and father. In an effort to convince her to take it, Harrison ingests the contents first, and when Ellen witnesses the effects, she can no longer deny the power of the substance in the bottles. Dangerous criminals are also seeking the holy water, and Ellen soon learns they will go to any lengths to get the powerful drug–including sending her back into the past to find it for them.

Bestselling and award-winning author Jody Hedlund plunges you into the swiftly flowing river of history in a race against the clock in this breathtaking, emotional second Waters of Time story.

UNPOPULAR OPINION.

This did not work for me like the first book did.

Why?

I felt it was too repetitive to the first story. Same bad guy doing the exact same thing. Same reason for going to the past. Same things happening in the past. I don’t know, just a bit too many similarities for this not to drag.

The romance between Ellen and Harrison was really sweet. I did love the first quarter and last where they got a lot more page time together. There were some seriously swoony and charged moments between the two and who am I kidding, that’s ALL I WANT.

I mostly sped read through the later half of this hoping to get back to the main characters actually sharing the page. I wanted a lot more from the surrounding plot and it even took until 30% in to actually know what the whole story would entail. I don’t know, just wasn’t as captivated by this one y’all.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary/Magical Realism Romance
Language: very little
Romance: make-outs
Violence: mild
Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, kidnapping, loss of loved ones, full detail childbirth scene

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Historical fiction romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
Release Date: June 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.

That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.

William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund is your guide down the twisting waters of time to a volatile era of superstition, revolts, and chivalry in this suspenseful story.

AN INTRIGUING IDEA.

This plot was interesting!! It had been described to me as Outlander-ish (without a very long list of trigger and content warnings). I’d have to agree, this did remind me of that series, but it’s also very much its own book.

Marian was a intelligent woman who ends up in the 1300’s trying to save her Dad. Little does she know, she’s about to fall in insta-lust/love with William Durham. With the instantaneous nature of it all I never caught up to fully being invested in the romance, but I did like it by the end. They seemed well matched. I did wish I knew going in that this is a STANDALONE. The second book follow another couple. You’ve been made aware.

I definitely had a hard time putting this down. The story is engaging and the pace moves fairly quickly. I would have loved more set-up on both sides of the world, but it was good overall. More length would have made the present time period have a clearer direction. There’s much more here and I hope the second book will expand on that.

Overall audience notes:

Historical fiction + romance
Language: very little
Romance: kisses / heated make-outs
Violence: sword battles, physical altercations, being beaten
Trigger/Content Warnings: hostage situations, loss of a parent, loss of a spouse, brief mention of a side character discuss miscarriage, a sibling with a terminal illness