About the Book:

In 1793, a storm propels Lili forward through time, kindling a love that transcends the ages.

Fleeing the clutches of Robespierre’s revolutionary Tribunal in France, Lili Minet makes a desperate escape on a ship headed to England, but her dangerous flight takes an unexpected turn when a violent storm catapults her off the ship and eighty years into the future, leaving her stranded in the unfamiliar world of 1873 England.

When lighthouse keeper Armitage Pierce rescues a woman from the tumultuous sea, he does not anticipate her silent, cold response to his gallant efforts. Though he is wary of this woman and her odd behaviors, he finds she is just as wary of him. And he can sense that she is not telling him something of great import to her. Only Armitage’s grandfather, a man seasoned by the mysteries of the sea, can seem to penetrate Lili’s defenses to offer her support. But as Lili heals from the physical and emotional wounds of her ordeal and Armitage continues to offer light and safety to her, a tender friendship blossoms between the two.

Yet the shadow of danger looms as the threat that chased Lili from France all those years ago reemerges in her new present. Together Lili and Armitage must navigate the challenges of a romance that grows to defy the boundaries of time and the perils that reach across the decades to ensnare Lili. As the storm clouds gather, Lili and Armitage face the ultimate test—discovering whether their bond is strong enough to rewrite the pages of history itself to save them and their love.

My Thoughts:

I like Sarah Eden’s writing and I’ve read almost everything that she has written. I also love time travel books so I was very excited to see The Tides of Time advertised and happy that I was offered a review copy to read.

The mechanics of the time travel were left a little more vague than some other tales. The how and why are wrapped up in speculation and seem devoid of any particular purposeful guiding power. Maybe that will be developed in the next installment in the series.

The book is well written and the character development is engaging and believable. I think Eden’s sweet spot is her Regency era society family novels and though she is a competent writer in other settings I have often felt like that special spark doesn’t always carry over. I wouldn’t say that about this book. Though the setting jumps between the French Revolution and an isolated island off of England’s south coast I felt very much immersed in both settings. The “spark” was there.

But the setting of Lili’s past and family became a bit of a barrier to my enjoyment of the book. I had less than no desire to read a novel about the atrocities of the French Revolution. Then there was the villain, with his hatred, his choices and stubbornness when the possibility to leave the path he had been on was offered. It was just plain heartbreaking. While the narrative was well done, Lili’s story is heavy and hard, filled with grief and sadness. Perhaps it’s just where I find myself these days, but the tension that drives the story and doesn’t leave even as the last sentence is written left me trying to decide how to rate this book. While Lili and Armitage have a beautiful narrative of building trust and then love, I felt that there just wasn’t enough in the love story to balance the weight of the grief for this to be considered an enjoyable read. I ended the book feeling weary of the ongoing fight, even while I appreciated the ways that hope was highlighted.

But maybe you find yourself with enough emotional space to walk deeply into a difficult story looking for the small glimmers of light and hope in the middle of a great darkness. In that case, this would be a good book for you to pick up.

I received access to read this book from the publisher. My thoughts in review are my own.