Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Series: Timeless (#1)
Pages: 304
Publisher: Delacorte 
Published: January 11th, 2011
IBSN: 9780385738385

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.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

It took me a while to get into Timeless, but after the first 4 or 5 chapters, I was pretty into it. The beginning just left kind of rushed to me, and when her mother died, there wasn't as much grieving from Michele as I would have expected. She adored her mother, but after a few days she seemed almost fine.

I couldn't really relate to Michele through the third person narration. I couldn't really hear her 'voice' or feel for her.

The plot, however, I loved. I love anything with time-travel in books, and Timeless definitely didn't disappoint. The twists were clever and obviously well-planned out. The ending tied up most of the main conflict.

The romance between Phillip and Michele felt a little forced at first, but it felt more realistic as time passed. Though, it felt as though they'd only seen each other a few times before things changed. I would've understood her pain over not seeing him more if they'd seen each other more.

The ending is satisfying, finishing with a small tease of what's to come in the next book in the series.

I give Timeless a 3 out of 5.