Book Review & Giveaway: Tempest

Tempest

By: Julie Cross 
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Published By: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: January 17, 2012

Page Count: 352

Buy it at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Source:  ARC Provided by Publisher

Audience: Young Adult - Time Travel, Science Fiction


Teaser:


September 9, 2007 (9:20 p.m.)


Okay, so far all I had was a newspaper that said this exact date was two years in the past. Well..... the past for me anyway.


I ran down the sidewalk as the raindrops grew more frequent. I spotted a police officer standing under a tree and raced toward him, not caring in the least about getting soaked. "Excuse me. Officer. Do you know today's date?"


"The ninth," he mumbled, not even looking me in the eye.


"Of September?"


He snorted a laugh. "Yeah."


"Of 2009, right?"


He rolled his eyes and pushed past me. "Damn kids! 2009?"


The panic that followed his words felt like caffeine being injected straight into my veins. I used the bottom of my shirt to wipe the rain from my eyes and searched for a third source.

Review:

Tempest lives up to its name - its a novel that builds slowly, but soon gains enough momentum to keep you enthralled. When I started this book, I was slightly nervous. The plot felt a little similar to the movie, Jumper, that came out a few years ago. Both males jump out of their realities into different places. However, in Jumper, the jumps move people to different locations around the word. In Tempest, the jumps transport people to various points of time within their own lives. While the notion of time travel isn't a new concept in literature, Julie Cross puts some interesting spins on her universe that will appeal to readers of all ages.

Tempest is the story of nineteen year old, Jackson Meyer, a college student from the upper echelons of society.   On the surface, Jackson has a pretty amazing life - money, status, a great girlfriend, good friends, and the ability to jump back in time. However, Jackson isn't quite sure how his ability works or why he's able to jump in the first place. Working with his friend, Adam, Jackson seeks to figure out his ability. Along the way he uncovers secrets that have been buried for decades and life as he knows it will never be the same. I don't want to spoil anything, but I know many readers will love the dirt Jackson is able to dig up.


I loved the action in this book. It was a nice change of pace from some of the other books I have been reading. In addition, I really liked Jackson and the perspective he brings to the story. In my opinion, there aren't enough YA books with male narrators. Jackson isn't perfect, but his flaws make him real. The format of this book also makes it a more interesting read. However, I will admit that I had to do a little rereading because I couldn't recall what year Jackson was in at times. He is constantly moving between days and years. I also am not a huge fan of science fiction so I had trouble digesting some of the detailed explanations about Jackson's ability. Lastly, even though this has been billed as a romance, I didn't really enjoy the romance aspects of it. I was much more intrigued by the other elements going on in the book and barely paid attention to Jackson and Holly's romantic entanglement.


Overall, I would recommend this to fans of YA, science fiction, and Dr. Who junkies. There are so many things I'd like to tell you about this book, but I don't want to spoil anything so I will invite you to stop back by with your thoughts after you've had a chance to read this one.

One Last Gripe: The beginning was too slow and the ending was too fast. I am hoping the future books will have more balance concerning pacing.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: Jackson's relationship with his sister, Courtney

First Sentence: Okay, so it's true.

Favorite Character: Adam

Least Favorite Character: Chief Marshall

Summary:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. 

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. 

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. 

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him. 

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Want to win a SIGNED copy of Tempest? The blog tour has 5 copies to give away and one of them could be yours. 

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