Out of Time by Monique Martin
Out of Time is a well crafted paranormal romance story that centers around two characters, Simon and Elizabeth. Through means I won’t spoil, they go back in time to just before the Great Depression, and are stuck there until they figure out a way home. During their time together, they realize their feelings for one another, all while trying to survive in a time that isn’t their own.
The first half of the novel is amazing. The time travel is well done and fascinating, and the romance between the two leads is built up slowly and believably. I don’t read many novels with a romance at its core, so I don’t know the typical process. But the author didn’t drag out the romance throughout the entire novel, and this is a good thing. To me, that would be a little tedious.
It’s the second half of the novel, when a vampire is introduced, that kinda lost me. I definitely admire the guts this took and the imagination. I’ve never heard of a vampire / time travel / romance story before. But in this case, for me, the second half just didn’t work. I would like to have seen more time travel elements, and omit the vampire entirely.
My only other complaint concerns the amount of random happenings to Elizabeth. Between capturing the attention of a vampire, getting mugged, getting held at gunpoint in a bar, just too much “random” stuff happened to her.
However, nitpicks aside, awesome novel that I had to finish. The first half alone is better than a lot of entire books I’ve read.
Strengths:
- Excellent characters, especially Simon, Elizabeth, and the extras (Charlie and Dix).
- The romantic and time travel elements are awesome.
- The setting, pre Great Depression, excellent.
Weaknesses:
- Vampire element, while original and imaginative, didn’t work for me.
- Suspension of belief a little shaky when asked to assume so many random bad things can happen to one person. Elizabeth should at least carry a horseshoe or something.