What would you do if you could go back in time and change your past? For Eva Caldwell that question is a no-brainer. After her parents were murdered while she was away at summer camp, Eva was placed into the custody of her abusive uncle and bullied in school. She’d gladly go back and change it all. When her uncle passes, Eva discovers he created a time machine. The problem with the once-hypothetical question becomes changing the course of her past would mean giving up Casey McClellan, her best friend and the girl her heart has belonged to since she was twelve years old. Will Eva choose to save her parents’ lives or take a chance on the love of a lifetime?
M. Ullrich is a four-time Goldie Award finalist and a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, and she has been featured in The Advocate magazine. She currently resides by the New Jersey Shore, but dreams of living someplace a little less touristy and with a whole lot less road rage. When she’s not writing or working her full-time job, M. Ullrich appreciates the simple pleasures in life like breakfast foods and sweet treats, working on her artistic skills, and enjoying the company of someone who laughs at her ridiculous humor.
I have had a real up and down reader/author relationship, with Ullrich. I thought her debut book was okay, I loved Life in Death, and I just did not care for Fake It Till You Make It. I am happy to say we are going back up with Time Will Tell. This book is half YA, half adult, drama-romance with a little time traveling. When Ullrich writes drama-romances, I just seem to connect to them more.
When Eva’s parents are murdered, she is forced to move in with an abusive uncle. She finds solace in the safety of her neighbor and best friend Casey. When her uncle passes, Eva finds a time traveling device that belonged to him. Is she willing to risk changing her past if it means never meeting the love of her life?
This book deals with some tough subjects. There is bullying, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. The sexual abuse happens mostly off screen so to speak, but this book is still tough to read in parts.
This book really is divided into two parts, the YA part when Casey and Eva are teenagers, and the adult part when they are in their mid-twenties. Even though the trigger warnings took place in the YA part, I really liked that part of the book. I’m not the biggest YA fan, but I like YA books that make you feel, and this book did that. The budding young romance, “does she like me” is really sweet and well written. I was not as crazy about the second half of the book, but that is mostly because I did not care for the person Eva grew up to be, or her choices. But that is the whole point of the book, would you do things over if you could fix how you treated others.
I mentioned before how much I love loved Life in Death, I thought it was so well written. This book was well written in a way that mirrors that book. I thought Ullrich did a great job of showing the connection and chemistry the characters had together. This book is more drama-romance than it is time traveling. The time traveling aspects do not happen until close to the end. I don’t think the time traveling was handled the best that I have read before. I have a few unanswered questions and worries, but for the most part it was okay.
If you are an Ullrich fan, a drama-romance fan, or a YA fan, you will probably enjoy this. I’m happy to say this was so much better than her last book. I am now looking forward to what she writes next.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
This book is quite the paradox for me. And I'm not even referring to the time travel part. On the one hand, I wouldn't have chosen it if there wasn't the promise of reading about time travel and the resulting paradoxes from using it. On the other hand, the time travel part of the story is so wishy-washy and quite frankly, even unnecessary, I wish it hadn't been there in the story at all. Which of course, meant that I would never have chosen to read this book in the first place, because it is, gasp!, YA. And I would have missed out on a really well done and enjoyable YA/NA book. Quite the paradox, eh? Needless to say, it'll be hell to rate this book.
The book starts off really strong with a stunningly dark opening scene. Then it flashes back to the past, when the protagonists are teens in school. I seldom enjoy YA books, but this is actually very well done and enjoyable. Credit that to both girls getting their own POVs. Although the furious head-hopping from one paragraph to the next might be disconcerting for readers used to a more disciplined writing style, other than the occasional double take, I didn't have too much trouble following the POV switches. The thing about being able to get into both characters' heads in most situations is that it feels much less frustrating and confining. (Contrast this with Strawberry Summer, for instance, where being stuck with one POV meant I never really got to know the other, seemingly more interesting protagonist. And the skewed perception of first person POVs can be uber frustrating to read.) For me, the richer emotional returns outweigh other considerations. I am reading the book for the 'feels' (a euphemism for angst, hehe) anyway, so this is just right for me.
I also loved how the two protagonists changed over time. Great character development there. Something that I think is less often explored in the typical 'long-time-no-see' and 'ooh-let's-just-pick-up-where-we-stopped' romances. In reality, people change. Life experiences change us. Sometimes for the better, other times for the worse. More often, a mix. I thought this was one of the most realistic depictions I've read that deal with this problem. And I wanted the young women to work it out between themselves. It would have been a great opportunity to see if they can overcome their differences, if love conquers all, even a gap as wide as your love being a completely changed person from the one you thought she was. But alas, just when I was so invested in their journey, the time travel bit intrudes. The ironic thing is, I powered through the book in 2 days, a record for me, driven mostly by the need to get to the deliciously dangled carrot of 'time travel' and the unraveling of the mysterious and shocking opening scene. But the more I neared the end, the more I wondered how the author was even going to work that bit of sci-fi in, or even, why bother, when the ladies can pretty much work things out among themselves the old-fashioned way. Hmmm....puzzling. But, I'm not the author, so....
And now we get to my raison d'etre for the book. I needed to remind myself that this is a romance, and to not expect a 'scientific' depiction of time travel with all the requisite technical mumbo-jumbo on how it works. The 'time machine' was underwhelming, and that's an understatement. But at least there was something, no matter how feeble it looked, unlike, say, Loved and Lost. Anyway, it wasn't the machine itself that irked me, it was how the inventor of the machine never thought to use the machine for all the great and wonderful (and relatively harmless) things he could have done, like say, gone back to the past and buy some bitcoins ;), or a few hundred shares of Amazon stock, or something less idiotic than what he did, and ended up being an all-around creep around his niece. For someone who considers himself an evil genius, he was incredibly stupid. Unfortunately, the protagonist (his niece) seemed to have the same general idea about how to best use the contraption to fix things. Sigh. This is a romance, I needed to remind myself yet again. And even though the ending seems like a tragedy, it's also at the same time, an incredibly feel-good happy-ever-after book. Both endings happened. Both endings are the truth. Now this is one time where 'alternative truth' rings...true. How weird is that? You can thank the paradox of time travel for it. Just don't get me started on how many versions of 'reality' the repeated time-travelling caused in the book. It hurts my head just to think about it.
In summary, totally pick this up for a lovely, angsty YA / NA romance. Don't mind the weird time travel bit. Its adds a bit of drama and excitement to the ending. Not exactly logical, though not completely egregious either, imho.
Book received from both Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review
My greatest problem with this book is one of preconceived notions, of presumptions about what the book would be about. I thought it would be a time travel book - and while it, ultimately, became one, I expected it to become one much sooner - like 10 to 15% into the story. Especially with that prologue.
But that isn't even the real issue - no, it's that this is a tragic love story, a tragedy. And I had expected a romance, or, baring that, a time travel story. And got a tragedy.
It's one thing to enter a story like 'Romeo & Juliet' knowing that it is a tragic love story. It's quite another entering thinking you are reading a romance.
I've grown up with science fiction - the first 'things' I read were science fiction stories. I've seen many variations over time - variations on just what time travel means, and what is or isn't possible. I've also grown up with the concept of multiple universes, multiple time lines. And the only way this story works, is by using multiple time lines/universes. It's inherent in the story structure. Hence my seeing this as a tragic love story. I'm not blind to the epilogue.
Remove the time travel aspect from the book description. Remove the time travel aspect from the book itself - and there would be a rather interesting book here. One filled with tragedy and abuse - and ultimately, one would hope in this altered book, redemption and happiness. Though, of course, it wouldn't have been 'perfect'.
The foregoing is why I had trouble enjoying the book as much as I might have otherwise. First off I was zooming along, awaiting the appearance of time travel plot - and not paying as much attention to the actual plot as I should have. Second off . . . well, all that stuff I wrote in that spoiler section above.
Rating: 3.33
November 6 2017
ETA: private notes have character limits, so I insert this comment here from another review.
Time Will Tell is the fourth book released by M. Ullrich but as the author indicates in her acknowledgments, this was her first attempt at writing a full-length novel. It comes across as polished, but the remnants of debut author linger on the early pages. Like other readers I was excited about the time travel aspect of the novel. Time travel does play a significant role in the outcome but is not the focus of this tale. Instead we are treated to a story of survival and the importance of best friends who accept you with all your many flaws and stand by you when life gets hard. Until they don’t, and you are left floundering and lost.
The first half of the novel has all the hallmarks of a sweet YA novel. Eva is young teen forced to live with her abusive Uncle following the deaths of her parents. Her neighbour and classmate Casey is the popular kid who defends Eva when she is bullied and is attracted to her in spite of Eva’s secretive nature. I was impressed with how the author handled Eva’s return following her Uncle’s death. I liked how this YA morphed into an NA with all the emotional impact, the hurt feelings, the questions and the doubts, the fact that both women had changed so much over the ensuing six years. It all felt very real. Actions have reactions and sometimes they are not the ones you were expecting. I liked that the author bent her early stereotypes of the popular girl and the freak allowing Casey and Eva’s personalities to grow and change as a consequence of their actions.
And then Eva is given the opportunity to change (fix) her past and undo the things she regrets. Many rules are broken in the butterfly effect theory of time travel but since this is, in essence a debut novel I won’t rag on the flaws in this version. What I will say is that I wish there had not been an epilogue. I was content with the ending. I found Eva to be noble in her efforts to shield Casey from the struggles she faced following Eva’s disappearance. To give one's life to erase the pain in the life of the woman you love? Beautiful and poetic.
Four stars for an entertaining debut read and clear evidence that M Ullrich has all kinds of talent.
ARC received with thanks from BSB via NetGalley for review.
I loved the beginning, shook my head at the middle, and am totally perplexed by the ending. Was it well written? Absolutely! Did I like it? Well, I'm unsure. So, so unsure to be honest. There are parts of this book that are brilliant, parts that made my heart hurt, parts that made me smile and parts that I thought what the bloody hell. This book is a conundrum.
Ok, I’m admittedly confused on how I want to rate this and I’m teetering on a very fine line here.
I’ve read all of Ullrich’s work at this point…and find that I prefer her stories that have a more serious tone to them. While I enjoyed both of her two more playful, less dramatic romances, this one and ‘Life in Death’ both made me actually feel instead of merely providing entertainment. I read for both reasons and since they aren’t mutually exclusive, when I can get both out of one book, I’m an exceptionally happy reader.
Some of the beginning portion of this is very difficult to read. While there aren’t explicit descriptions of abuse, Ullrich walks on the cusp of it here and the hints are enough to elicit an emotional response.
The writing in ’Time Will Tell’ is, as always with Ullrich, very good. I can’t help thinking, however, that something is missing.
I liked the flow of ‘Time Will Tell’ for the most part…I didn’t mind the 6 year lapse that occurred after Eva and Casey’s high school experiences together whereas I often find jumps in time annoying. I didn’t need to walk through those years with them to find out every detail in order to feel satisfied because Ullrich did a great job of filling in the gaps through the next few chapters. What I do, however, feel like I missed out on was whatever happened between ‘The End’ and the epilogue.
According to Amazon, this book is only 206 pages (it felt longer, in a good way...a lot of good stuff is jammed in those 206 pages), which is a bit short in comparison to BSB's already short standard of 264 pages. I really would have preferred the extra time *cough* 58 pages *cough* with Eva and Casey to figure out what happened in the aftermath of Eva’s ultimate decision and how they ended up in the events of the epilogue. It made the ending feel incomplete. When I read 'The End,' I was thinking "WTF? It can’t end like that!" Then I swiped left and found an epilogue. I expelled the breath I was holding and carried on. The epilogue didn’t make me feel any better…
Overall, this was worth the read and I would definitely recommend it. I was actually a bit enthralled through the entire book and just read, read, read until the last word. I loved it, but then felt like I was dropped off the edge of a cliff. I’m leaving 4 stars for now because I'm a bit disoriented from the fall...and dropping this into my to re-read pile. I'll see how I react when I circle back around.
Hmmm...I'm really torn about this one. It's another book I wanted more from. I thought the author did a great job making us love the main characters in the first half of the book. She made me root for Eva and Casey. The middle was very disconcerting and quite different from the beginning. Much darker. The end was abrupt and left me unsettled. Which is not always a bad thing. I gave it 4 stars because the writing here was good and the book is quite different from the norm.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book is ultimately about how much you would do for you one true love. Eva’s parents die unexpectedly and she goes to live with her abusive uncle. Her safe haven is her best friend Casey whom she is madly in love with. Casey wants nothing more than to keep Eva safe and has big plans for the future and all of them involved a better life for Eva.
This is the hardest review I have ever written – not because I didn’t love the novel, love is an underwhelming word in comparison to how I feel about this book, because the spoiler alert is high and I don’t want to ruin it for you. It’s important you know that there are many amazing things I am leaving out of the this review so that you can read this novel with fresh eyes and enjoy the book as much as I did because damn, is this book worth every minute of your time.
Eva and Casey have a friendship and love like no other. There is a level of acute understanding between them when it comes to everything about their lives except the love that they hide from one another during high school. I loved both these characters for very different reasons. I found Eva very alluring and she would definitely be a love interest for me but when it came to favourite characters Casey stole the show. She was beautiful, patient, charming and caring to a fault. The way she loved Eva lifted me up while breaking my heart at the same time.
There are moments in the book that captured my heart and almost left me breathless. M. Ullrich wrote some of the best lines I have read and struggle to forget them now weeks after I read this book. One example of lines that have stayed with me is:
“Tell me I’m not the only one who’s thought of this moment. Tell me that comparing every lover to you wasn’t sad and silly, that imagining you was pathetic”
M. Ullrich was also able to give the perfect amount of angst but not so much that it was tumultuous, which I find can be the case with other authors writing suspense.
The sex scenes in this book are probably the best I’ve seen from M. Ullrich, and she has written some great ones in past novels. They were sexy and intense whilst drawing from the love these woman shared. It was real and all consuming, I shudder to imagine it in real life.
M. Ullrich just keeps knocking them out of the park and I think she’s currently the one to watch in Lesbian Romantic Fiction. The standard of novels she’s producing are just extraordinary and I cannot wait for what comes next.
Another fantastic read from M. Ullrich. I’ve finished this in one sitting, It’s kind of dark and sweet a weird combo.
Frankly, I’m torn. And you will understand what I mean if you’ll read this. I also have a mixed emotions with the ending. It’s either you will like it or you if will not just same with the whole book.
The YA part is what I appreciate the most. I love that there’s so much history with them together. You will fall in love with Casey. (I actually did too) But the only flaw the I don’t like about her is that she’s too perfect. Even her family. She’s a dream girl.
Eva has been through a lot. The only good thing that happened to her is Casey. I love her and feel for her on the first part. But in the second I kind of pissed at her she doesn’t deserve Casey, I’m the Lizzy on this book.
There’s a twist but I kind of guessed it already. Overall this is a good read. Time travel is a interesting topic. What will do if you can change the past? The what if’s and the regrets. Now, because of this book I want to watch About Time again.
I was expecting more time travel, but it only happened towards later half of the book. I rushed and skimped through the later half as I kind of lost interest. I can’t help but think of Stephanie Kusiak’s Loved and Lost, the latter is a lot more satisfying.
I’ve generally liked Ullrich’s other books, some more than others, but I really couldn’t get in to this one. The beginning was fine, when it was just about Eva and Casey. But later, when the time traveling became a plot point, it really went off the rails for me. It wasn’t used effectively, and the ending was predictable and too easy. Looking forward to future works by this author.
I received an arc from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5
Time Will Tell is at it’s core, a romance. A friends to lovers sort with a little speculative fiction. The book starts with detailing the relationship between Eva and Casey when they were teenagers. When it jumps to them as adults and seeing each other for the first time in six years, this backstory makes it understandable why they would still be in love with each other. Even at a point in the beginning when Eva is receiving homomisic bullying Casey sticks up for her, even though it was a friend of hers making the comments. But the book also does nothing to be idealistic and pretend that six years apart means nothing, it really explored how years apart can and did affect their relationship.
Both of them were very complex characters. Eva losing her parents to murder and living with her abusive uncle was tough on her, the start of the novel discussing how it seeps into how she writes in her English class. Casey is also left burnt by her past with Eva and has trouble reconnecting with her when they see each other again.
I adored the romance in this. I got emotional at times and felt like they fit together very well. They really brought out the best in each other and they had a lot of chemistry. I really did care whether or not they were together in the end.
I will say the only issue with this book was the time travel. It actually doesn’t come into the story until 76% of the way through and it almost felt like a deus ex machina at that point. There was also the fact that at that point it felt very out of place in the novel. The addition of fabulism felt very out of place. It was an interesting part of the story but the story would’ve been fine without it, it just would’ve given a different ending and it wouldn’t have created the conflict it did, that being if Eva saves her parents even if that meant losing Casey, who she’s very much in love with.
Overall, I really did love this book. It was a very enjoyable read and deffinitely one I’d recommend.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review
I had a lump in my throat from about 17% onwards. Eva and Casey's story is powerful and utterly heart-rending. It begins with Eva lying in an alley bleeding contemplating her decision to save two people but it means the losing the love of her life. Then the time line changes to six years before where we meet Eva, an unpopular and bullied high school student. Her best friend and neighbour is Casey - beautiful, popular and smart.
Casey is a year older and constantly comes to the defence of Eva and doesn’t give a damn about what people say about their friendship. The story of their friendship is beautiful, poignant and with and air innocence in their unspoken feelings for each other. They’re both complicated characters whose pain and love is tangible.
I think it has a fantastic premise in conjunction with wonderful writing. I didn’t see Time Will Tell as a time-travel book so much as posing the question “if I could go back and change one thing, what would it be?” and from that point of view I think it was really successful. This is one of those novels that will stay in my head for a long time.
I think my problem with this book was the unbelievable and I know time travel isn’t real, I’m not referring to that, the relationship was the unrealistic one, there were times I couldn’t stand both MCs, so I couldn’t understand how they could stand each other, the time travel barely registered in the book, and when it did, it was bleh, at least to me.
It's a very interesting concept. I liked this book, especially the first part following the teenager characters. That part was a pageturner for me, but the adult part was a little less captivating for me. I liked the way it was concluded, even though the ending with the epilogue felt a little rushed. All in all, an enjoyable book, but it won't go in my reread pile.
I had this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
*ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review*
I have a slightly mixed reaction to this book. The concept behind this book is absolutely brilliant and I loved learning about Casey and Eva's past together. The author does a wonderful job of creating a really heart wrenching back story for Eva.
My reaction to the second part of the book isn't as positive and that is because I feel like the second part of the book is too focused on Eva and Casey's sex life and the story loses some of its depth.
The end of the story made up for the sex craze that occurred but I did feel like I was cheated by the twist at the end.
3.5! This was cute, but kind of cringey and the language was clunky at times. It felt like a fanfic, you know? Full of random emotions and events scattered around things they said. But still cute!! And I’m trash for epilogues so of course I had to round it up.
I will say (this is kind of TMI) when they were sexting, I was like [war flashbacks] with my ex-girlfriend lol it was so cringey I couldn’t wait for scene to be over bc I kept being reminded of when we did that and I was like Oh No™️
This is my 4th Ullrich book. I have enjoyed all of her books. I am not a huge fan of time travel books, so I was super leery of starting this book. It was the fact I enjoyed her other books that made the decision in the end. For me, this was a 3.5 star rounded up book. I enjoyed the YA portion of this book, more than the adult romance portion. I went into this book thinking it would be “butterfly effect” where actions would create ripples and impact the future. It wasn’t that at all. The time travel wasn’t as big of a role in the book as one may think going into the book.
I do not particularly enjoy YA books, but the YA portion of this book really was the reason I enjoyed the book so much. The YA portion does deal with some heavy issues: bullying, sexual abuse and physical abuse. However, the sexual abuse while implied it wasn’t written in a way making it difficult to read. I did find some of the other portions of the book difficult to read. Hard topics are often hard reads, but Ullrich did them well and I applaud her for writing it. If I rated the first 65% of the book, it would be 5 stars. Once Eva and Casey’s story moves to adulthood Ullrich didn’t lose me, but it wasn’t the same. I didn’t enjoy the characters as much, and I didn’t like where the story was headed. I didn’t love the ending, but some may disagree with me there. I started this book thinking I was going to love it, and in the end I did like the book but it wasn’t one I would put on my read over and over list. Don’t count this one out, I would recommend reading it and making a decision for yourself. I could see reviews being all over the place with this one.
I've always wondered what I'd do if I had an opportunity to go back to the past, so I really enjoyed reading this book. I guessed a few things about Luke at the start and felt rather smug when it was confirmed towards the end.
Eva and Casey were so sweet together when they were younger, it was sweet to read about their future. This is my fourth book by M and I look forward to reading the next one now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It is an interesting plot with an unimaginable decision... the book is sad and makes you think how you would decide in a situation like that. I really liked the book up to the last quarter - it kind of lost me. The ending was too abrupt and left me unsettled and wondering. The book is more in the YA category for me with romantic and drama parts in it.
What I read that attracted me to this book was that it was about time travel. Mhmm guess I got that wrong. I'm really unsure about this book. Ok, so time travel is out. How about romance. Guess what? nope it's a tragedy. Really?
Yeah, so all my expectations I watch as they flew out my open window. I do get annoyed when the book blurb doesn't match the book.
Huge disappointment. But give it a go you may disagree with me.
What a unique read. It was easy to care about Eva Caldwell because she wanted so much to be part of a family and loved. I rode the rollercoaster of pain, loss, and disappointment right along with her. Casey McClellan is her safe harbor as are her parents. Through Casey's parents, the reader is able to comprehend how Casey dealt with the unexpected separation from Eva. I also liked Casey's roommate Lizzy, direct and to the point and as Eva stated, a bit scary. The time travel was not as prevalent as I thought it would be and the ending was convoluted and left me shaking my head and going what the heck!
ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley with thanks.
This book is maybe half YA and half NA. We first meet Casey and Eva when they are 17 and 16 respectively. Eva's parents died when she was 12 and she has to live with her abusive, alcoholic, uncle Luke. Casey is her saviour and her refuge, both at school and in her darkest hours at home. But Casey is leaving for university and Eva doesn't think she will be able to survive without her. So she runs. What happens next is when you see the love of your life six years later. You're different people now. But the love is still there. Are they too different or is love enough?
I loved every single second of this book. It was brilliant. Eva and Casey. Their love for each other. It was so pure. So everlasting. One of those loves that in every life, every world, they are just meant to be together. One of the things I loved so much about their relationship, was their chemistry, and the way this incredibly talented, incredibly wonderful author, wrote the evolution of that chemistry. Their chemistry at 16 was very different than their chemistry at 24. You felt their chemistry, their passion and their yearning for each other when they were young and my god it just about killed you. And just when you thought it couldn't be any more agonizing, you realize grown up Eva and Casey are ten times hotter and more mature, but with the same passion and yearning and all encompassing love. It was brilliant to see that distinction and evolution. Something that made you feel the passage of time and not just be told that six years had passed. I guess I've read too many books lately that failed to show and just tell and this is why it stood out. But it really made me connect with the characters, their love and anguish over the years. Hands down brilliant. I'll say it again. I loved this story. Honestly, I think it's my favourite by M. Ullrich.
There are some very dark moments in this book and deep character flaws (Particularly in the first half of this book- physical, emotional and sexual abuse). But they were well written and emotional, and there was this perfect balance of dark and sweet that made the dark even more heart wrenching and the sweet even sweeter. I loved the evolution of the characters as well. It was natural and believable and only made me connect more with the characters. This was truly a brilliantly crafted book.
Honestly, the time travel aspect was a very small part of the book, and boy do I have a lot of questions about it. It was a tad rushed at the end. But it didn't take away form my enjoyment of the book at all.
I loved this book. I can't say it enough. I need to buy this in paperback for my collection. I can't wait to read it again soon.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First off, I have to say hands down, M. Ullrich is one of, if not, my most favorite author. This book is a great example of why. She has the ability to take tough topics (such as bullying, sexual abuse, Death) and write them with ease and importance with never overshadowing the story that is the true focus. She makes all the moving pieces work and come together in a natural way. It’s deeply emotional and quite the roller coaster ride of ups and downs. There are times you just want to yell at the characters to change their mind, times you want to hug them and tell them it will be okay and times were you can only smile at the connection two people can have with one another. At the heart of this book it deals with grief and what if’s and even regrets of past mistakes and possible future mistakes. Those are all things we can connect with as people and our own choices in life. It brings a level of reality that you often don’t find in books. I appreciate the positive and supportive parents in this book because I feel more often than not parents can and are easily the villains in lesfic. It makes me incredibly happy to read about supportive parents in stories because while I know it’s not a reality for a lot of people, I hope that one day it can be. M Ullrich has a gift for connecting on a deeper level in her books. Not many authors out there can really achieve that. I was a little sketchy about the time travel aspect because I am not in to sci/fi anything but the reason behind it and for it and the end result that maybe even if you could change a significant event in your past, you’re still meant to be with that one person who fills your soul. I’ve read several reviews where a complaint was there are too many unanswered questions and honestly for me, I didn’t feel that way at all. Maybe it’s because I have a bit of an imagination and I don’t always like having everything spelled out for me every step of the way. I’ve read plenty of books by other authors where I was left wanting more, way more and I did not get that feeling at all here. It really was a perfect read all the way around with all the feels. I can’t wait for what comes next! 5/5 rating
I want to preface this review by saying, I did like this book but the summary is extremely misleading. When I first started reading Time Will Tell by M. Ullrich I thought I was reading a completely different book. Time travel is not the focus of this book. It’s in there, briefly, but don’t expect it.
Now on to what I liked.
I loved Eva and Casey’s relationship. We got to see it in the early stages during high school and how electric that attraction continued to be once they became adults. I’ve always wanted to read a book that showed that kind of evolution in a relationship. The intensity they fell into such an intimate relationship bothered me. How can Casey, who was so heart broken, forgiven Eva that easily? There was so much time spent in their teenage years, I feel as though their adult relationship deserved that attention as well.
While it was difficult to justify how ‘in love’ the two were to jump into sex, the scenes were written very well. I’ll give M. Ullrich points for that. A lot of previous F/F pieces I’ve read used really disgusting terminology when it wasn’t needed. Ullrich wrote hot scenes without the use of swearing or raunchy descriptions. So A+ there.
There were jumps in time, moments where I felt like there could have been more information so the storyline didn’t give you whiplash. The ending was a bit rushed. There was no explanation of how Eva came to her decision to time jump. If there were maybe forty more pages of story, it would have been perfect.
As is, it’s not my favorite. I’m not jumping to go read more of Ullrich’s work.
This is my first time reading anything from this author. I got gifted this book and ordinarily if i'm being honest i don't think i would have chose to read it based on the back cover.
However, i was pleasantly surprised by what this book had to offer. It's well written with an interesting and thought provoking plotline.
I think what i enjoyed the most was that the physical time travelling aspect of the book wasn't the main part of the story. Instead the author spends more time building and highlighting the relationship between Eva and Casey from young teenagers through to young adults. In between there's lots of play on the passage of time and how present time might be different if things were done differently in a different time - right down to how time changes people.
I loved the dissection of Eva and Casey's characters as they grow and the idea that finding a soul mate is a powerful thing to deny. I especially enjoyed how the book ended, it neatly tied everything together and left the future open to where ever Eva and Casey end up next.
I'll certainly be looking at what other works this author has to offer 😁
1 very disappointing star Well, to my great surprise and disappointment, reading this book was a deeply depressing experience. It's supposed to be a romance with happily ever after, but it reads like a tragedy with a cop-out ending. A very unhappy book with two unhappy leads, and their unhappy history. Despite the good writing, it totally failed to meet my expectations. I flat out didn't like it and hope to get rid of the bad feeling it left me with. So if you want to feel miserable this is the book for you. eARC by Bold Strokes Books
I loved this book! I am always impressed by Ullrich's creative style and original story ideas. Her main characters, Eva and Casey, were very real and believable from their individual flaws and struggles to each of their positive and strong traits. Ullrich's writing exudes a rare quality that always impresses me and quickly pulls me in. I found this story and how she wove it together to be very thought provoking from beginning to end. Oh, and if you are into hot steamy love scenes...a must read for all the right reasons!
i loved the book and all the twists although it was a little predictable.the character development was done very nicely. how both Casey and Eva grew and changed and that was more realistic. how people change with time and situation and it's all about becoming someone.i was very excited about the time travelling plot which indeed turned out good.