Untimed is an action-packed time travel novel by Andy Gavin, author of The Darkening Dream and creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter.
Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, his own mother can’t remember his name. So when a mysterious clockwork man tries to kill him in modern day Philadelphia, and they tumble through a hole into 1725 London, Charlie realizes even the laws of time don’t take him seriously. Still, this isn’t all bad. Who needs school when you can learn about history first hand, like from Ben Franklin himself. And there’s this girl… Yvaine… another time traveler. All good. Except for the rules: boys only travel into the past and girls only into the future. And the baggage: Yvaine’s got a baby boy and more than her share of ex-boyfriends. Still, even if they screw up history — like accidentally let the founding father be killed — they can just time travel and fix it, right? But the future they return to is nothing like Charlie remembers. To set things right, he and his scrappy new girlfriend will have to race across the centuries, battling murderous machines from the future, jealous lovers, reluctant parents, and time itself.
I don’t get many opportunities to read a sci-fi book with an added
steampunk bonus, so this was an amazing experience! The character development
was great from beginning to end. The main characters – Charlie and Yvainne (how
do you pronounce her name?) – grow up throughout each chapter; I always learned
something about them that made me love them even more. Both of them together
really made this book complete. I really felt a connection to them; they were
easy to connect to. I didn’t feel like the romance portion of the novel
overtook the plot at all. It was a nice mix of everything, and it never felt
like a forced relationship.
The plotline was… wow. Just wow. Awe-inspiring? Addicting? Fabulous?
Never wanting it to end? Yes, those words fit perfectly. It’s a time travel
book that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. It’s very different and distinctive,
both qualities drew me in. I never felt lost or like something wasn’t
connecting. Sometimes, in time travel books there’s an aspect that you say, “wait…
if that character did X then how did Y happen?” The reader will not get that
feeling with Untimed. I was glued to
every page; I did not want the book to end! The uniqueness, writing, growth,
and romance aspect was a huge plus. All around, I have to say I’m going to probably
re-read it two or three times.
5 Stars
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Genre – YA / Time Travel & Romance
Rating – PG
*Reviewed by Rachel*
This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.
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Thanks for the great review. It's so gratifying to hear you enjoyed it so much And Yvaine is pronounced E - vain. I'm very fond of her (and Charlie), they're like real people to me. I can see her scowl at me when I write something she wouldn't say :-)