I was very excited to read this second book of the âWater of Timeâ series. I enjoyed the first one very much! You can read it as a standalone, but I believe you would be missing a lot.
Ellen is young, beautiful and dying of the same rare fatal disease that took her mother's life. As she grows weaker, she is resigned to her death and tries to enjoy life as much as possible. She knows her time is short. She is staying with Harrison, a wealthy, longtime family friend. He had worked with her father on a cure for Ellen's disease. Her father did find a cure in the discovery of an ancient holy water. The problem it is extremely rare and almost nonexistent in this day and time. Ellen refuses to take one of the 2 flasks that Harrison has acquired through great effort and expense. She believes it killed her father and her sister. To convince her, Harrison, a paraplegic, drinks one of the bottles. There is no denying its power. Seeking more water, she drinks the vial and transports back into England during the late 1300's, where her sister had been living for a year. There is so much unknown about the time travel and things do not go as planned. In fact they go horribly wrong.
This book was even more suspenseful and exciting than the last one! Ellen's perception of the era was very different than her sister's had been. She was naïve about the complications that were created by bringing her 21st century point of view and mannerisms into the past.
Once again Ms. Hedlund descriptiveness of the era was rich and detailed. I loved that she was able to see what Harrison's mansion and estate was like over 600 years ago! Sort of a like a medieval version of âif walls could talkâ. She also captured the thinking, reasoning and understanding of those living then. That was an eye opener! I loved peeping back in time with my 21st century lifestyle and knowledge while experiencing 14th century thinking. The plot is a gripping, on the edge of your seat race against time in a world they knew little about! It is one thing to read history, totally another to live it! Through the characters in the book was fulfilled two situations we can only dream about: being healed of an incurable disease and meeting with those that we have lost. I found this very satisfying and comforting. Once again Ms. Hedlund kept God as a focus of strength and trust for the characters to overcome the obstacles they faced.
I read the book quickly as I could not put it down. This amounted to some nights of very little sleep as I am a bedtime reader! It was worth it!
I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated are my own.
Ellen is young, beautiful and dying of the same rare fatal disease that took her mother's life. As she grows weaker, she is resigned to her death and tries to enjoy life as much as possible. She knows her time is short. She is staying with Harrison, a wealthy, longtime family friend. He had worked with her father on a cure for Ellen's disease. Her father did find a cure in the discovery of an ancient holy water. The problem it is extremely rare and almost nonexistent in this day and time. Ellen refuses to take one of the 2 flasks that Harrison has acquired through great effort and expense. She believes it killed her father and her sister. To convince her, Harrison, a paraplegic, drinks one of the bottles. There is no denying its power. Seeking more water, she drinks the vial and transports back into England during the late 1300's, where her sister had been living for a year. There is so much unknown about the time travel and things do not go as planned. In fact they go horribly wrong.
This book was even more suspenseful and exciting than the last one! Ellen's perception of the era was very different than her sister's had been. She was naïve about the complications that were created by bringing her 21st century point of view and mannerisms into the past.
Once again Ms. Hedlund descriptiveness of the era was rich and detailed. I loved that she was able to see what Harrison's mansion and estate was like over 600 years ago! Sort of a like a medieval version of âif walls could talkâ. She also captured the thinking, reasoning and understanding of those living then. That was an eye opener! I loved peeping back in time with my 21st century lifestyle and knowledge while experiencing 14th century thinking. The plot is a gripping, on the edge of your seat race against time in a world they knew little about! It is one thing to read history, totally another to live it! Through the characters in the book was fulfilled two situations we can only dream about: being healed of an incurable disease and meeting with those that we have lost. I found this very satisfying and comforting. Once again Ms. Hedlund kept God as a focus of strength and trust for the characters to overcome the obstacles they faced.
I read the book quickly as I could not put it down. This amounted to some nights of very little sleep as I am a bedtime reader! It was worth it!
I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated are my own.
Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) -
Time Travel + Christian Fiction + Chaste Steam + Marriage of Necessity + Second Chances
Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund, the second and final book of the Waters of Time series, met my high expectations as a much-anticipated new release of early 2022.
The concept of holy water connected to the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden having miraculous powers of healing and time travel was introduced in Come Back to Me and is continued in this story which features Ellen and Harrison, intriguing secondary characters from book 1. Harrison loves Ellen but won't act upon his feelings due to his disability and age. Ellen never imagined marriage and motherhood in her future because of her terminal medical condition and imminent death. The discovery of two tiny vials of holy water impacts their lives, as well as the lives of others, beyond their comprehension.
If the term "chaste steam" doesn't exist, I'm inventing it for this novel! Harrison's longing for Ellen before and after their marriage of necessity was intense but his actions didn't cross a moral line, and Ellen's feelings for Harrison grew as her future expanded. Jody Hedlund's writing is a great example that romance need not be explicit to express passion and desire.
There's a LOT of time travel in this story, and some of it became confusing, but I enjoyed the ride and was pleased with the ending for all of the characters, even though it felt a bit rushed.
I'm going to be book-bossy and insist that readers must read Come Back to Me before reading Never Leave Me. The framework for this 'world' is established in the first book, and the second picks up soon after the first ends without lengthy explanation (which I appreciated).
Thank you to NetGalley and Revell Publishing for the review copy of this fabulous novel.
Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund, the second and final book of the Waters of Time series, met my high expectations as a much-anticipated new release of early 2022.
The concept of holy water connected to the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden having miraculous powers of healing and time travel was introduced in Come Back to Me and is continued in this story which features Ellen and Harrison, intriguing secondary characters from book 1. Harrison loves Ellen but won't act upon his feelings due to his disability and age. Ellen never imagined marriage and motherhood in her future because of her terminal medical condition and imminent death. The discovery of two tiny vials of holy water impacts their lives, as well as the lives of others, beyond their comprehension.
If the term "chaste steam" doesn't exist, I'm inventing it for this novel! Harrison's longing for Ellen before and after their marriage of necessity was intense but his actions didn't cross a moral line, and Ellen's feelings for Harrison grew as her future expanded. Jody Hedlund's writing is a great example that romance need not be explicit to express passion and desire.
There's a LOT of time travel in this story, and some of it became confusing, but I enjoyed the ride and was pleased with the ending for all of the characters, even though it felt a bit rushed.
I'm going to be book-bossy and insist that readers must read Come Back to Me before reading Never Leave Me. The framework for this 'world' is established in the first book, and the second picks up soon after the first ends without lengthy explanation (which I appreciated).
Thank you to NetGalley and Revell Publishing for the review copy of this fabulous novel.
