Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Title: Timeless
Author: Alexandra Monir
Pages: 280 (ARC copy)
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 11, 2011

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.

My Thoughts (contains minor spoilers): For as long as she can remember, Michele's had the same recurring dream about a young, blue-eyed man. The dream always leaves her wondering and wanting to know more about him, but that's all she can do. Because he's not real, only a dream. But after a tragedy forces Michele to live with her grandparents all the way in New York City, and with the help of a key left behind by a family member, Michele is transported back in time and discovers that the mysterious man may not be a dream after all.

While I liked the idea of the story, it didn't hold my interest as much as I had hoped. I didn't feel a connection to the characters, and I also felt the relationships were a bit too rushed, which didn't make them seem very believable. Such as Michele and Philip's relationship. Michele has dreamt about Philip all her life, and Philip has seen Michele once before, but they didn't really know each other. When they finally met, there wasn't much suspense or build-up. They immediately accepted each other and fell in love. Then there's the ancestors Michele met. Clara, Lily, and Stella. I felt they also accepted Michele way too easily. First they freaked out, but after Michele gave them a pretty simple explanation as to why she was there, they calmed down and talked to Michele as if they've known her their whole lives. It just seemed too convenient.

As for the story, I didn't really get into it until the last 100 pages. I am glad that not everything was resolved by the end. I thought I had everything figured out too, and in a way I was right, but the ending still made me go, "How did that happen?" Thankfully, Timeless is not a stand-alone, and although this book didn't quite live up to my expectations, I'm curious to find out what happens next.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

ARC provided by Different Area Codes Book Tour.