Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

Review:

Ever since I first heard about Timeless all the way back in 2010, I've been dying to read it. I love any book that involves time travel, especially when the said time travel involves going back in time. Plus I just adored the cover. I loved the colors and mysterious feeling it had. Therefore, when a copy of the book landed in my hands, I dived right into it, and thankfully, it turned out to be everything I hoped it would be and much, much more. Romantic, spellbinding, and suspenseful, Timeless contained so many fantastic aspects!

Michele Windsor has always lived a fun and nearly carefree life with her mother in California. The fact that she's related to the famous and wealthy Windsors doesn't phase her one bit nor does the fact that her father disappeared so suddenly when she was a baby. She's learned to live with these things. However, everything changes the day her mother is involved in a fatal car crash and doesn't make it. Suddenly, Michele is shipped off to live with her chilly and formal grandparents in a big yet imposing brownstone in New York City. Michele doesn't know what to make of it all. She knows she can't stand her grandparents, but she doesn't know what to do about it. She also knows they're keeping secrets from her, but how she can find them out, she doesn't know. Therefore, when she finds a way to send herself back in the past into the lives of former Windsors, she's thrilled. It gives her the reprieve she so desperately desires. What she doesn't expect though is the trouble and chaos that comes with it as well as the questions...questions that may lead her to answers she never expected.

As mentioned before, they was just SO MUCH to love about this one! For one, I adored Michele from the get go. I found her voice to be compelling from the get go so it was easy to get lost in her story. I thought Monir did a great job of developing Michele's character. Michele was someone who's been through a lot yet it's made her all the stronger. What I liked most about her character, though, was seeing how ready she always was to help others...from her ancestors to random people she meet in her travels, she played roles in nearly everyone's lives. I also really enjoyed seeing the past Windsor's from her eyes, especially since each and everyone was so different.

The plot in this was also a ton of fun. Monir did a great job of developing the time travel aspect in this one as well as tying it together with Michele's modern day life. I also loved the whole little forbidden romance angle she added in. It was innocent yet so sweet, and even though there's no way it could possibly work, it didn't stop me form rooting for it.

Lastly, Monir's writing was excellent, especially for a debut author. I'm curious to see how she develops this series as the books continue.

In all, Timeless is yet another book I highly suggest, but word of warning: the ending will have you dying to read the next book!

Grade: A+

Timeless (Amazon, BN, Goodreads) is now out in paperback!

Source: Publicist at AuthorsOnTheWeb- thanks Wiley!