Time Warper: Fated by Peggy Martinez
Clean Teen Publishing (c) 2015
Kindle Edition
Urban Fiction
Reviewed by Leah
This book and I had zero chemistry. That saddens me.
Summary:
When Sage Hannigan picked out the pendant in a little store, she had no idea that she was picking out a key to her own powers. A dream-filled night full of sleepwalking soon lands her in the early 1900s with no idea how she got there. Thanks to a sudden rescue from a vampire attack, she's introduced to a group of people eager to inform her of the world she's entered.
Sage is a Time Warper, and she's got a big event to deal with before she can make it home. Dealing with a certain Head Vampire as well as several other preternatural creatures isn't easy, yet it seems far more simple than trying not to fall in love with a man one hundred years in her past.
Initial Reaction:
This book and I lacked chemistry so much that I put it on hold for months after getting only 4% into it. Though the beginning of the book offers action and mystery, it did not hold my interests. This is the type of novel I believe you have to be in the mood to read, or else your experience is far less enjoyable.
Characters:
Sage Hannigan was a hit and miss for me. She had snarky, lippy, sarcastic moments and thoughts that I enjoyed to the fullest. What she also had was a tragic, touched-upon history that I barely paid attention to. She also had an incredible ability that she worked hard on controlling that wasn't nearly as cool to see in action as I hoped it would be. Along with the fact that she has an instant attraction to one man right off the bat. Add in another 'bond' with a vampire and my feelings for her hit a straight 'meh' streak. For the most part, there wasn't anything really wrong with Sage, but nor did she inspire me to continue her journey.
Dr. Aldwin Blake felt like an archetype. There was very little personality to him, in my opinion, other than what we see in several other YA novels. He was scarred (physically as well as emotionally) and moody throughout much of the novel. Many of the tender moments he had with Sage gave us very little in the way of his personality or allowed the reader to know why Sage felt so strongly for him. And the moments that could have given us bigger clues were given more as snapshots instead of as full scenes.
Elaine is one of those characters whose last name I can't remember. She's a strict, take-no-prisoners, dedicated member of Cerebus–a secret society keeping the preternatural world a secret. It is her job to train Sage how to fit in with early 1900s society. With rogue vampires on the loose, her stress level is a little high, and so are her expectations for Sage.
Travis and Phoebe are also cohorts in this little mission, but damned if I know more about them than key plot points that I don't feel like spoiling.
Soren is perhaps one of my more liked characters. He is a head vampire that knows a thing or two about the way the world works. His is a cool, calm facade equalized by his passionate nature.
Plot & Setting:
This is a first person perspective novel, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of setting. What I was treated to, however, felt authentic. It felt like a girl got dropped into another century and had no way to figure out what in the world was happening.
As far as the plot goes, I felt like it was predictable. Not in a way that I knew everything that would happen next or even that it felt regurgitated from every other YA novel. There was just a feeling that, when I was reading it, there was no suspense to it. The love interests were predictable. The ending was predictable. Much of the storyline gave little to feed the imagination.
Writing:
I don't know what to say. I think the best made up word I can say is: unengaging. Despite the action scenes, or the emotional ones, I never felt invested in the story. The writing didn't draw me in, but it also didn't repulse me.
Overall Opinion:
Meh. I think this is a clear lack of chemistry. Do I think other people will like it? Yes. Should you try it for yourself? Absolutely. I just think you need to be in the mood for this. Even when I was enjoying the book, I still wasn't invested. So this is something you really have to decide for yourself.
