About this book:
“Libby
has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 colonial Williamsburg
and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one
life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. She has one conscious
mind but two very different lives and bodies.
In colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a
public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to
provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry
Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their
lives--and any hope of love--are put in jeopardy.
Libby's life in 1914 New York is
filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only
work she cares about--women's suffrage--is discouraged, and her mother is
intent on marrying her off to an undesirable English marquess. The growing talk
of war in Europe further complicates matters and forces her to make sacrifices
she never imagined.
On her twenty-first birthday, Libby
must choose one path and forfeit the other forever--but how can she possibly
choose when she has so much to lose in each life?”
Series: Book #1 in the “Timeless” series.
Spiritual Content- Ecclesiastes 3:11 at the beginning; A Scripture is
remembered; Church going; Many talks about God, His plans, & trusting Him; ‘H’s
are capitalized when referring to God; Libby wonders if God’s plan was for
her and her mother to push the boundaries in the eighteenth century; Libby gets
mad at God and feels like He abandoned her (she quickly changes thoughts because
she 1774 mother told her not to be bitter and angry); Many mentions of God, Him
choosing who is a time-crosser, trusting Him, & His plans; Mentions of prayers,
praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, reverends/priests,
& sermons; Mentions of a day of fasting & prayer; Mentions of being
blessed & blessings; Mentions of miracles & faiths; A few mentions of seeing
others again after their death (The word ‘Heaven’ is never used); A few
mentions of Christmas carols; A mention of women being in the clergy in the 1990s;
*Note: A mention of a woman
studying a genealogy book religiously; A mention of being careful not to make yourself
a god.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’; A bit of eye rolling; All
about many mentions of wars, revolutions, battles, bombs, fighting, injuries,
deaths, treason, spies, & executions (hangings); Many mentions of rumors
& gossip; Mentions of quartering soldiers; Mentions
of deaths & grieving; Mentions of slavery & slaves (including Libby’s
1774 mother is strongly against slavery since she lived in the 1970-1990s and frees
their slaves in 1774); Mentions of jails/prisons; Mentions of threats; Mentions
of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred (Libby in 1914 believes her mother
hates her and is incapable of love; she also slaps Libby; there is also a
mention of knives being attached to a chair to force Libby sit straight when
she was a child); Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of alcohol, drunks, & taverns;
A few mentions of tobacco & pipes; A few mentions of throwing up; A mention
of an assassination;
*Note: Mentions of a man saying
that women “have no sound reason, have very little humor, and are not honorable
enough to vote” and hopes that his fiancée-to-be is young and trainable *Spoiler*
This is from the man Libby is forced to marry *End of Spoiler*; A few mentions
of an old man wanting a young girl to be indentured to him; A couple mentions
of brand names (Diet Coke & Coca-Cola).
Sexual Content- To avoid the
spoiler, two sexual assaults (rape) happen *Spoilers but Major Trigger Warning*
Libby is forced to marry a man (in 1914 who is almost double her age) and wants
to avoid consummating the marriage, but when he is drunk, he rapes her twice.
The second rape resulting in a pregnancy. There are obviously no details in the
actions, but his kisses and forcing himself on her and her weeping and begging
for him to stop are recalled and described; Libby’s 1774 mother tells her it’s
not her fault; Libby feels defiled and her heart broken; When the pregnancy is discovered,
Libby is very upset and wonders if she could possibly lose the baby (which she
knows she shouldn’t want such a thing to happen, but if it does, she wasn’t sure
if she would mourn the loss) and a maid offers her a vial of something that
will take care of the “problem” (Libby rejects it as she is now committed to
the baby); There is continuing mentions of his behavior from both of those
nights; After the first time, he apologizes to her and says he drank too much (which
he knows wasn’t an excuse) and it has caused a rift that he would like to
repair (he then gets drunk again and the second rape happens saying that he
wants her to know that he desires her); After the second time, he sends a
letter saying that he regrets his actions and hopes that she can try to forgive
him; Libby knows he wrote the letter because of possibly facing death in a
battle and wonders if she can trust him; She has trauma because of all of this
and reminds herself that there was beauty among the ashes (the baby); After the
baby is born, she is glad the baby looks nothing like him because she wants to
put the past behind her and that was “easier to do without constant
reminders”; During all of this, in 1774, Libby is in love with another man;
*End of Spoilers*; Libby stares at a man’s unbuttoned shirt; A man stares at
Libby’s lips & she wants him to kiss her (border-line barely-above-not-detailed
// semi-detailed); Four hand/palm kisses (up to barely-above-not-detailed), a
cheek kiss, four head/forehead kisses, a not-detailed kiss, five barely-above-not-detailed
kisses, seven semi-detailed (3 unwanted) kisses, and a detailed kiss; Remembering
kisses (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to be kissed, embraced, & for a man
to “overstep the bounds of propriety” just once; Touches, Warmth, Shivers, Butterflies,
Embraces, Dancing, Hand-Holding, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed);
Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of consummating marriages,
not letting a man touch you (a woman), & the consequences of it (pregnancy);
Mentions of kisses, stolen kisses, & kissing; Mentions of flirting &
flirts; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of chaperones & reputations (Libby’s
1774 mother scoffs that the idea of chaperones and told Libby that is was socially
acceptable in the 1990s to be about with men and should be allowed to be their
own masters, but Libby knows that in 1774, if she was alone with a man, her
reputation would be ruined); A couple mentions of boyfriends; A couple mentions
of a man looking up and down Libby’s body (twice); A mention of children being
the natural extension of the love a couple shares; Love, falling/being in love,
& the emotions;
*Note: Labor pains (x2, borderline
barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of Libby’s parents in
1914 no longer loving each other by the time she was born and being bitter
towards each other; A few mentions of a wife & baby dying in childbirth; A couple
mentions of a dress showing off Libby’s assets and another that has a low
neckline.
-Elizabeth “Libby” Conant/ Anna
Elizabeth “Libby” Wells, age 19-22
1st
person P.O.V. of Libby
Set in 1774-1775 and 1914-1916, 1921
384 pages
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One of my anticipated releases
for 2022. A book that intrigued me because of the plot.
But I am very disappointed.
The concept of this book was
interesting, but different elements and parts made me lose enjoyment in reading
it. I also found a lot of the book to feel depressing, but perhaps that’s
because what Libby was having to live through was depressing.
The main reason for the low star
rating could be considered to be a spoiler, but it is important to note if you
are sensitive to the topic of rape/marital rape. These parts are why I do not
recommend this book—especially for the target ages I review for.
Even though there were no real
details of those events besides him forcing himself on her and her weeping and
begging him to stop, the trauma of reading such things can be hard for those that
have this content as a trigger. My stomach has been turning since reading the
first one and only continued to be more upset as I continued reading as it
happened again and while writing this review.
I think, for some, it would be easy
to ignore that content because by the end of the book, it’s not mentioned as
much and the plot-line of God having reasons for everything comes in full circle.
However, for those that are triggered by this kind of content, it can affect them.
There were a few other elements
that didn’t sit well with me (such as Libby not being concerned about changing history
(including the winner of an actual war) if it saves the life of someone
she loves, the rapist being portrayed as a terrible human being prior to the
rapes and then apologizes and asks that she try to forgive him, some comments
about the future and not fully caring about that time period’s society norms,
& Libby being mad that something wasn’t fair). These elements alone would
have knock off stars, but added to the sexual content, this book instantly gets
a one star rating from me.
Once again, I’m sincerely asking
Christian Fiction publishers to get on board with a content/trigger warning at
the beginning of each book. This will potentially save the book from receiving
low rating reviews based on content and will help those battling thoughts about
such content. More and more secular publishers and authors are doing this for
the sake of their readers and ratings.
See y’all on Friday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
* I received this (Advance Reader Copy) e-book for free from the
Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest review. Having read an ARC, there are
some details listed in this review that may have been changed in the final
print edition.
