Duties and Dreams by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free copy of Duties and Dreams by John A Heldt. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

From the author of THE FOUNTAIN and ANNIE’S APPLE comes a story that spans decades of conflict and change.

As World War I rages in Europe, the Carpenters and the Lees make a home in Southern California. Bill and Cassie add to their family. Andy and Annie start one of their own. Paul, a bachelor, enters the world of business. All find peace in a turbulent time. Then draft notices arrive, illness strikes a child, and life for two intertwined families takes a troubling turn.

Thirty years later, Emilie Perot, a beautiful resistance fighter, and Steve and Shannon Taylor, an American couple with ties to Paul Carpenter, conspire to escape Nazi occupation. Each seeks freedom and a new life in France’s Vosges Mountains, home of a legendary fountain of youth that can restore health and send visitors through time.

As events unfold in the different eras, the participants march on. All are unaware of the forces that seem determined to throw them together.

In DUTIES AND DREAMS, the epic conclusion of the Second Chance trilogy, several young adults find love, heartbreak, and redemption in a world of war, pandemics, and social unrest.

This is third and final title in the Second Chance series. It is fine as a stand-alone read but far better in my opinion to read the whole series.

The story has two main threads to it, set in different eras and different locations, so I’m particularly glad that the author always includes the date and location at the beginning of the chapters.

So the story begins in California in March 1918, where for those who have read the earlier titles, we quickly get introduced to new young additions to the Carpenter and Lee families. Also having both previously left the military, Paul and Andy are drafted back into active service. Should they see what World War I has to throw at them or take their chances on the potential good/bad odds of time travel? And of course, not all the family are aware that they have time travellers in their midst.

Meanwhile we skip to the other thread set in France in April 1944 where we meet Shannon and Steve Taylor and Emilie Perot, who are planning to time travel together in a couple of months time. One new character and two familiar names from the previous book, but also facing wartime issues, this time during World War II. How will their plans pan out?

And why are there two threads? What could be the links?

Besides wartime dangers, we see health issues to contend with, other surprise characters and disappearances.

This is a fabulous story complete with twists, bringing a great series to its conclusion.

Once again the author is painstaking with his research for incorporating fact into the fiction.

Duties and Dreams is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. A fantastic time travel tale, which I highly recommend. Now to wait and see what this brilliant author’s next writing project might be.

Here are my reviews of books 1 and 2 in this series.
The Fountain
Annie’s Apple

And you may also be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Then all of the Time Box series.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge
Crown City

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Annie’s Apple by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free copy of Annie’s Apple by John A Heldt. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Six years after emerging from a fountain of youth, siblings Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter, time travelers from 2022, make their way in 1911.

In New York, Bill and wife Cassie finish a year as educators and struggle to start a family, while Annie tries her hand as a society reporter. In Arizona, Paul and Andy Lee, sergeants and brothers-in-law, attempt to keep the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border.

For all, life marches on. Then the soldiers receive new orders, Paul and Annie meet alluring strangers, and the family’s fortunes take dramatic turns.

In ANNIE’S APPLE, the sweeping sequel to THE FOUNTAIN, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure in the age of factory fires, high society, and the sinking of the Titanic.

Readers’ Advisory: Annie’s Apple is the second novel in a family saga that spans several years. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They will be addressed in the final book of the trilogy.

This is book 2 in the Second Chance series and is set in New York in 1911/12. It is fine as a stand-alone read but far better in my opinion to read book 1 first. Therefore you may wish to check out my review of the first title The Fountain, which as the blurb implies was set five years earlier in 1905/6.

The tale starts with a fictional take on an actual disaster which happened at the Triangle Waist Company where journalist Annie was working undercover, really engaging and drawing the reader in.

Meanwhile her brother Paul and brother-in-law / boyfriend Andy are busy in the army on the Mexican border, whilst her other brother Bill and wife Cassie are hoping to start a family.

As the story progresses, other significant characters are introduced. Edith Utley, Annie’s new employer. The Rusk family including Charles, who takes a keen interest in Annie. The mysterious Shannon Taylor.

So who will Annie choose between Andy and Charles? What is Shannon hiding?

And of course we all know what other disaster happened in 1912, the sinking of the Titanic. Yes of course it has been incorporated into the tale.

This is a great story with some excellent twists, some of which I guessed and others that were a complete surprise. As always I love how fact is woven into the fiction excellently by the author.

Annie’s Apple is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. A brilliant time travel tale and now to wait for the release of the finale to the series.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster was not an event I was aware of, but I’ve now had a read about it on Wikipedia.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Then all of the Time Box series.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge
Crown City

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Fountain by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free copy of The Fountain by John A Heldt. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.

Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.

Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.

In THE FOUNTAIN, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life.

Readers’ Advisory: The Fountain is the first novel in a family saga that spans several years. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They are addressed in subsequent books.

This is the first book in a new series which has a different twist to the author’s previous series. Still time travel, but age changing too via the supposedly mythological Fountain of Youth.

The main characters are siblings in their twilight years and things are not looking rosy in 2022. Bill has just buried his wife, Paul has terminal cancer and Annie is in a wheelchair. The early part of the book concentrates on Bill finding out that the Fountain is indeed real and located in a remote area of Mexico. And then convincing Paul and Annie that they should all take a dip, along with the logistics of winding up their affairs, getting there and disappearing without other campers seeing. Not an easy feat, especially for Bill carrying Annie once the wheelchair is left behind.

They emerge from the Fountain in 1905, young and healthy. Bill is in his early 20s and Paul and Annie are in their teens. It works well how they have their life experiences behind them in their characterisation, now in young bodies. They travel from Mexico, settling in Oakland, California and have vague memories from their previous knowledge of “history” that there will be a serious earthquake in San Francisco in 1906, but can’t recall when exactly.

This is a great feature of all John Heldt’s stories. He is always painstaking at weaving historical facts into his books, with fantastic attention to detail. I didn’t know about the earthquake and nor did I know the geographical proximity of Oakland and San Francisco. The story indicates that they are across a bay navigated by ferry, which I could easily see is about 10 miles on GoogleMaps.

Their new life revolves around Oakland Preparatory Academy where Paul and Annie are students and Bill gets a job. Friendships and romance blossom as we meet new characters including Cassie Lee, a teacher along with her younger adopted brother Andy, who is in Paul’s class. More classmates including Pauline Wagner.

Chapters alternate as to from whose perspective. But there is always the looming threat of the pending earthquake. When will the disaster strike? And what will ensue? A brilliant page turner.

For those who are fascinated like me, I looked up the Fountain of Youth on Wikipedia. It appears to feature in many legends and I love how the author made it focal to this tale. And yes of course I researched the 1906 San Francisco earthquake too.

The Fountain is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. I highly recommend this excellent time travel tale and am eagerly awaiting the publication of book 2.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Then all of the Time Box series.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge
Crown City

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Crown City by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free copy of Crown City, the final installment in John Heldt’s Time Box series. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Two years after stealing portable time machines, the Lanes, a family from the present day, stop running and start living. They settle in the seaside town of Coronado, California, in 1963.

For Jordan, Laura, and Jeremy, the oldest children, the respite is a chance to nurture relationships, start families, and explore the country. It is an opportunity to put down roots.

For Ashley, the youngest, it is a chance to thrive. Now fourteen, she is ready to start high school, make friends, and make up for lost time. She finds popularity and more after a classmate nominates her for freshman homecoming princess.

Robert Devereaux could not care less. The deranged billionaire wants his time machines back and is willing to do anything to get them. He sends a hit man to the past, setting into motion a final confrontation between a hunter and his prey.

In CROWN CITY, the suspenseful finale of the Time Box saga, a defiant family finds romance, friendship, and danger as it navigates the final months of the Kennedy presidency.

Crown City is the fifth and final book in the Time Box series. You can read it as a stand-alone read but it is much better in my opinion to read the whole series, so here are my reviews of the previous titles in this saga.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge

The story starts where The Refuge left off. The time-traveling Lane family have just arrived in 1963. Their numbers have been bolstered by close friend Randy Taylor from the modern day and Sarah Gustafson from 1941.

The clan splits in two with Laura, Jeremy, Randy and Sarah taking a train trip round the country, packing in a lot of both iconic and personal moments in history such as seeing Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech.

Meanwhile the others settle in 2 locations near San Diego. Mark, Mary and 14 year old Ashley are in Coronado. They have chosen this location because they are hoping to nudge the timeline of events in Robert Devereaux’s history, Mark Lane’s crazy ex-business partner. Ashley enrols in high school and makes new friends. Whilst Jordon, Jessie and baby Penny are about 20 miles away in Lakeside.

And of course Robert is still combing historical records for clues as to when and where they might be, in order to set his hitman Silas Bain on them again.

But Randy makes trips back to the modern day to try to prod things into action there.

Are they safe or does danger lurk? And what about their efforts to change Robert’s history? Another fantastic page turner including buckets of history, teenage rebellion and romance.

Crown City is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. I highly recommend this book which brings a brilliant series to its conclusion, (no spoilers). And do I sense Craig might feature in a new series?

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Refuge by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Time for a review of the latest installment in John Heldt’s Time Box series. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

From the author of THE LANE BETRAYAL, THE FAIR, and SEA SPRAY comes the fourth novel in the Time Box saga.

Months after stealing two time machines, the Lanes, a modern family of seven, make a stand against the unhinged software mogul who wants them back. They travel to 1941 Oahu to eliminate the billionaire’s mercenary, an assassin who has chased them through time.

While son Jordan, a former intelligence officer, stalks his unknowing foe in the streets of Honolulu, his parents, younger siblings, and pregnant wife settle in the village of Laie, where love, friendship, and opportunity await. All seek refuge from the perils of time travel.

Hit man Silas Bain has his own agenda. He hopes to alter the events of December 7, 1941, and indirectly save a brilliant German physicist, his employer’s grandfather, from certain death. He has prepared for every contingency, except the charms of a beautiful heiress.

Filled with romance, suspense, and intrigue, THE REFUGE takes readers on a thrilling and memorable ride through the colorful, magical, and dangerous world of pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

Readers’ Advisory: The Refuge is the fourth novel in a five-part family saga that spans several decades. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They will be addressed in subsequent books.

The Refuge is the fourth book in the Time Box series.

Here are my reviews of the previous titles in the Time Box Series.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray

The story starts with the Lane family time-traveling to 1941 Hawaii. This particular time and destination have been chosen because they still have a link to modern day through close friend Randy Taylor.

And Randy has provided information indicating that this is where Mark Lane’s crazy ex-business partner billionaire Robert Devereaux has sent his hitman Silas Bain. For once not after the Lanes, but instead with a mad plan to alter the course of history at Pearl Harbour.

Just imagine the ramifications and repercussions if history is changed. So the Lanes step in to see if they can turn the tables and take out Bain.

The Lanes rent two cottages from Leilani in the small village of Laie, making firm friends with Leilani and family, whilst Jordan searches for Bain in Honolulu on the opposite side of the island. Will he be able to find him in such a large city?

Meanwhile they discover that Leilani is also a midwife (very useful with a new addition to the family due) and Jeremy makes a new friend, Sarah. But Sarah, a history student researching Ivy Trudeau, has spotted a connection. (Ivy was a character in an earlier book).

And of course it is not the only coincidence. I love how so many similar chances are woven into the story. Plus once again we get a surprise visit from Randy. And this time there are chapters set in Germany, featuring Max Roth, Robert Devereaux’s grandfather.

Death, danger, romance and a breadcrumb trail all feature in this brilliant page turner with plenty of twists and turns, right to the end.

The Refuge is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. Once again another epic read from John Heldt which I highly recommend. I can’t wait for the next book to be published which will be set in 1963.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Sea Spray by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Those who regularly discuss favourite books with me will be aware that I really love John Heldt’s time travel stories, so I was very happy when John asked me to review his latest book, Sea Spray. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

From the author of THE LANE BETRAYAL and THE FAIR comes the third novel in the Time Box saga.

Months after stealing two time machines from a madman who wants them back, the Lanes, a family of seven, seek peace and safety in 1927, the latest stop on a journey through time. For a while, each succeeds.

Parents Mark and Mary find housing in affluent East Hampton, New York, where a gracious elderly couple offers use of their mansion. Son Jordan and his new wife, Jessie, plan a family. Siblings Laura, Jeremy, and Ashley pursue fun and adventure. All form strong friendships with the Prices, a mysterious mirror-image family that lives next door.

Billionaire Robert Devereaux could not care less. Reeling from the theft of his million-dollar devices, he sends a hit man to the past to retrieve his property and rid the world of his former business partner and his troublesome clan.

Randy Taylor, who programs the machines, is determined to stop him. He tries to undermine his boss and save the Lanes, even as he tries to help his mother beat a deadly illness. He pines for the day he can join his fugitive friends and rekindle a promising relationship with Laura Lane.

Filled with romance, humor, and heartbreak, SEA SPRAY follows a modern family on the adventure of a lifetime as they navigate their way through the exciting and often dangerous world of Lindbergh, Gershwin, and Fitzgerald.

Readers’ Advisory: Sea Spray is the third novel in a five-part family saga that spans several decades. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They will be addressed in subsequent books.

Sea Spray is the third book in the Time Box series. You may see my 5 star reviews of book 1 The Lane Betrayal and book 2 The Fair.

Events in the previous book see The Lane family moving on again from 1893 Chicago., but this time with a new family member, Jessie wife of eldest son Jordan. They all head to a beach in East Hampton, New York and then use a Time Box to travel to 1927. Will they be able to put down roots this time?

Meanwhile Mark Lane’s ex-business partner billionaire Robert Devereaux in the 21st century is still after revenge. He wants the Time Boxes back and the Lanes eliminated. His inner team are searching records and photos for clues as to when and where to dispatch hit-man Silas Bain.

Can the Lanes’ close friend Randy Taylor put a spanner in Devereaux’s plans?

The Lanes bond with neighbouring family, the Prices who seem to have secrets of their own. Throw romance, fun, friendship and heartbreak into the mix.

As per usual, John Heldt has done painstaking research into the period, weaving prohibition, aviator Charles Lindbergh, composer George Gershwin, baseball players Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig plus references to F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby into the storyline.

Not being familiar with the geography of the area around East Hampton, I did have to resort to Google Maps to see where the harbour and island mentioned in the book were situated.

I couldn’t put this fantastic page turner down. There were so many great twists and turns.

Sea Spray is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. Once again another brilliant read from John Heldt which I highly recommend. I can’t wait for the next title in the series.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Fair by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have now read quite a number of time travel stories by John Heldt and enjoyed them all immensely. So I was very pleased when John asked me to review his latest book, The Fair. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

From the author of THE LANE BETRAYAL comes the second novel in the Time Box saga.

Months after stealing two time machines from a madman who wants them back, the Lanes, a family of six, seek safety and contentment in 1893, the latest stop on a journey through time. While parents Mark and Mary find relief at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition, an extravaganza of science and splendor, children Jeremy, Laura, and Ashley find romance, friendship, and thrills.

Older son Jordan, meanwhile, heads west in search of answers. Grieving the loss of a lover from 1865, he travels to Virginia City, Nevada, where he integrates himself into a storied mining community and the heart of a pretty library clerk.

Billionaire Robert Devereaux could not care less. Reeling from the theft of his million-dollar devices, he sends an assassin to the past to retrieve his property and rid the world of his former business partner and his troublesome clan.

Filled with humor, heartbreak, and suspense, THE FAIR follows a modern family on the adventure of a lifetime as they navigate their way through an unforgettable year in American history.

The Fair is the second book in the Time Box series. You may see my 5 star review of the first title The Lane Betrayal here.

This story starts where The Lane Betrayal ended with the Lane family time-travelling again, firstly a brief stop in the 1790’s and then onto the Gilded Age, visiting Chicago in 1893 at the time of the World Fair.

But Mark Lane’s corrupt business partner Robert still wants those two time travel boxes back and accusations are flying at friend Randy. The team are scouring public records from the 1790s for clues.

Meanwhile Mark’s eldest son Jordan needs time alone (as the blurb says to grieve for the loss of a lover from 1865, I won’t say anymore as I think the blurb has said too much, for those who may not have read book one yet). He heads west, ending up in Virginia City, Nevada.

New friends and significant others are made. And Jordan takes big risks without consulting the rest of the family.

So have the Lanes covered their tracks or will there be breadcrumbs for Robert to find? And will they do anything that disturbs the timeline?

Once again John Heldt has delivered a brilliant page turner with plenty of twists and turns, which I couldn’t put down.

The Fair is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. As usual, another fabulous read from John Heldt which I highly recommend. And I’m really looking forward to reading Sea Spray, the next title in the series.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Lane Betrayal by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Regular readers of my blog may recall that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed quite a number of time travel fiction titles by author John A Heldt including all of his last series The Carson Chronicles. Well he is back with a brand new Time Box saga and I have had the pleasure of reading the first title in the series, The Lane Betrayal.

And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

From the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage, American Journey, and Carson Chronicles series comes the first book in the Time Box saga.

Virginia physicist Mark Lane has a problem. Weeks after privately creating two time machines, he learns his corporate partner wants to use the portable devices for nefarious purposes. Rather than give him the chance to do so, Mark takes the time boxes and escapes to the relative safety of 1865.

For Mark, wife Mary, and their children, the adventure is a chance to grow. Mary runs a business. Jeremy, 19, and Ashley, 12, befriend escaped slaves. Laura, 22, finds her place as a nurse. Jordan, 25, falls for a beautiful widow. All hope to find peace in the past.

Billionaire Robert Devereaux has other ideas. Shortly after Mark’s betrayal, he sends an assassin to 1865 to retrieve his property and set matters straight.

Filled with romance, suspense, and history, THE LANE BETRAYAL follows a modern American family as it tries to find security and contentment in the final weeks of the Civil War.

The story starts in August 2021 when Mark Lane is forced to bring forward his plans to wreak havoc on the company’s servers before escaping with the time travel machines by 6 hours. If he fails, his corrupt business partner Robert plans to use them to change and manipulate history for his own purposes. The plan to time-travel from their own backyard has to be axed. A high speed police chase ensues before he reunites with his family at their back-up rendezvous and they vanish into thin air, travelling back in time to 1865, towards the end of the American Civil War.

But with no transport of their own, this means they need to now make their way back to Fredericksburg and this is the start of where things begin to unravel. One of them is arrested, property is seized, something is lost.

Meanwhile Robert is hot on their heels in attempting to reverse the damage Mark has inflicted in the modern day and in following the cookie crumb trail to pinpoint the time they travelled to. He will stop at nothing to get the machines back and hires an assassin to send back in time.

With money no object, the assassin kills on a whim. Can the Lane family sort themselves out and evade this assassin?

This book is a real page turner with so many twists and turns. And once again the author has put lots of effort into researching the historical period.

The Lane Betrayal is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. I highly recommend this book and am very much looking forward to reading book two, The Fair which was published this summer.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 

Camp Lake by John A Heldt

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Regular followers of my blog may have caught some of my reviews of book titles from The Carson Chronicles series by John Heldt. This is probably my all-time favourite book series and this is a bittersweet moment, as it is now time for me to share my review with you of the final title in the series, Camp Lake.

But firstly, if you wish to catch up on my reviews of the earlier titles, you may see those here.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song

And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Phoenix, Spring 1983. For the Carsons, five siblings from the present day, it has come down to this. Find the parents they have chased through time for more than two years or go home and resume their lives without them.

While Adam and Greg remain in Arizona and Natalie searches the country for leads, Cody and Caitlin travel to a summer camp in Maine, where their mother and father met as counselors. The twins, now 19, hope to intercept the older versions of their parents even as they work beside the younger ones.

All of the Carsons prepare for a reunion that seems inevitable. Then tragedy strikes one family member and seductive strangers pull two others in unhelpful directions as a summer of promise turns into one of uncertainty and sacrifice.

Filled with humor, romance, and heartbreak, CAMP LAKE, the poignant conclusion of the Carson Chronicles series, follows the lives of several spirited adults as they confront choices and change the era of big hair, space shuttles, and video arcades.

In earlier books, the modern day time-travelling Carson family had been unsuccessfully trying to reunite with their parents Tim and Caroline in 1889, 1918, 1943 and 1962. And they also gained a few significant others en-route from different eras, who have coped remarkably well.

In this story they now reach 1983, the year their parents originally met at summer camp. They are now getting rather strapped for cash which could impede the search, until Nick discovers his multi million inheritance from his aunt. Wise investments had been made following tips from the Carson clan.

The twins Caitlin and Cody secure posts at summer camp, not only working alongside the “younger” versions of their parents, but sharing cabins with them too. Is the timeline safe, as younger Caroline seems more interested in Aussie Tom Sullivan than in Tim Carson? What will happen if Tim and Caroline don’t fall in love? And Cody falls for Karen, but she has a major secret of her own.

Meanwhile Tim and Caroline are looking up relatives whilst trying to avoid difficult encounters with their younger selves. On visiting Tim’s grandmother Elsie, they discover that she actually attended Natalie’s wedding back in 1962. But a few weeks later when Natalie tries to visit Elsie, she sadly finds her great grandmother has died a week ago. It is a timeline wobble, as history foretells that Elsie originally did not die until September. How are the Carsons causing these the distortions? Will they still manage to reunite and return to the present day together?

Another brilliant story in this fantastic series, which I just couldn’t put down. There are so many twists and turns. I have great respect for this author who puts so much research into his stories and really brings the characters alive.

However there was one bit of the book I didn’t like and unfortunately it was chapter 1. So for anyone reading this as a stand-alone, keep reading past the first chapter and the rest is great.

Camp Lake is available on Amazon, currently priced at £3.28 in Kindle format is also available in paperback. I highly recommend this book and am rather sad that the series has now drawn to a conclusion.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 

Caitlin’s Song by John A Heldt

I was delighted to receive an email from author John Heldt asking me if I would like to review his latest book Caitlin’s Song. This is the fourth title in The Carson Chronicles series, which is a series  that I just can’t get enough of. I’ve really enjoyed the previous three titles and you may see my reviews of those here.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush

To find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Love, courage, and commitment take center stage as the Carsons, a family of time travelers, continue their saga in the great American West.

For the Carson children, ages 19 to 29, an unplanned stop in 1962 is a chance to grow. Adam, Greg, and Natalie begin lives with new spouses in Boulder, Colorado, while twins Cody and Caitlin get their first taste of college. All plan to resume the search for their missing parents as soon as they can.

For Tim and Caroline Carson, a planned stop in the rendezvous year of 1972 is a nightmare. While reading about their children’s lives in 1962, they learn that one has crossed paths with a killer. Faced with limited options, they race back to the past to reroute history and prevent a series of murders.

In CAITLIN’S SONG, the fourth novel in the Carson Chronicles series, members of a modern family find romance, adventure, and terror as they seek answers and each other in four memorable eras of American history.

To put you in the picture, the time-travelling Carson family have been unsuccessfully trying to reunite with their parents Tim and Caroline in the previous books in 1889, 1918 and 1943. But they have picked up a few significant others en-route from different eras, who are adjusting remarkably well.

But due to a car chase under gunfire at the end of Indian Paintbrush, they entered the portal six hours early and have now ended up in 1962 instead of their planned destination of 1972. They know that they have no chance of finding their parents in 1962, so instead of doing a scattered search like in earlier books, they travel to Boulder, Colorado to settle for a 6 month stay until the winter solstice with Nick’s relatives.

Twins Caitlin and Cody enrol at the college in Boulder, where they both have a ball of a time with new friends and dating, helping Caitlin to come to terms with her bereavement back in 1943. Although why does the Cuban missile crisis not pan out like they all know from history. Has the timeline wobbled? And if so, why?

Meanwhile Tim and Caroline are searching the records and have spotted a news snippet on the car chase and worked out that their children have ended up in 1962 although they have no idea whereabouts. They hire a researcher to do a nationwide search and as they browse the results, first delighting in the news of Natalie’s marriage and Greg’s baby, but then shock, horror at the dreadful news article from December 1962 of a murder in Boulder.

Tim and Caroline’s new plans to hop to 1962 themselves are thwarted by loss of documents. Instead they travel back at the September solstice to 1941, where they hope to prevent a murderer being conceived. Will they be successful? How will things pan out?

Another fantastic story in this great series, which had me on the edge of my seat at times. I just couldn’t put it down. I’m always amazed by the level of detail that John manages to weave into these stories. He is painstaking in his research.

Caitlin’s Song is available on Amazon, currently priced at £3.01 in Kindle format. I was also pleased to see that all four titles are now available in paperback too, as that makes them accessible to a wider audience. Although I love it as part of a series, it also works well as a stand-alone read. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next instalment to be published.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

Visit Yet Another Blogging Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.