I had the chance to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Once Upon a Time Travel by Sariah Wilson. You can learn more about Wilson here. You can find the book on Amazon (for my Kindle users) and it is free via kindle unlimited service program. Otherwise an electronic copy is retailed at $2.99 USD. The book was released on November 21, 2017, and I managed to read it in one sitting once I got my hands on a copy.
You can find more reviews here via Goodreads.
Based out of 5 stars, I would give this book a 3.5 not a solid four since there were things in the book that made me cringe (but not in the worse way) and there were questionable things in the plot. I blame the time travel aspect of the book. Here is the official blurb of the book:
Once upon a time…
Recent college grad Emma Damon knows the Rose Room in Hartley Hall is off limits, which is exactly why she can’t wait to get inside. Once she enters the forbidden room, Emma learns more about the history of the museum than she ever intended to know.
Waking up confused and shocked in 1816, all Emma wants is to return to her cozy home with flushing toilets and disposable razors. But when she’s mistaken for someone else, Emma must pretend to be everything she’s not. About to be engaged to the Earl of Hartley’s brother, Emma fails miserably at playing the role of a sophisticated lady.
Hartley is determined to ensure that the quirky and adorable woman marries his brother – despite his ever-growing attraction to her. After loving and losing, he refuses to fall prey to the shackles of love. But as his desire for Emma increases, he knows he must forfeit his happiness for his brother’s future. After all, there’s no such thing as happily ever after. Or is there? Source: Amazon.
I think the blurb does the book no justice at all. It was well written and despite it being a cliche in terms of setting the plot, it does has a nice surprising twist I will not ruin for some readers. As I read through the first few chapters, I simply got caught up in Emma’s world and related so badly to Emma since I was once a graduate student with no idea what to do once school was over. Emma was mostly likely with a few exceptions of when she acted immature and forgot to act like she wasn’t from the future, but she is young so that could be a good excuse to use. Hartley was the start of the show as was his aunt. The only thing that felt questionable was the time travelling and the time loop. Time travel is confusing and no absolute since it leaves loops that never end and if you think too deeply into trying to understand how Emma got into the past from the future and verse that thought the book could fall apart. But this is not a big honestly since the time travelling was just a plot device to get Emma into the past to meet Hartley.
The StoryI enjoyed it. The side characters from the past were developed enough so we got to enjoy why Emma loved these characters. Most of the attention and the perspective comes from Emma’s point of view and the inner monologues are funny and light-hearted while also youthful. Emma trying to befriend and romance Hartley has the right amount of pace to make it feel nature while also quick enough to keep out attention. I loved Hartley’s aunt and her small dog. I think Wilson does an excellent job of describing the time period but also keeping the reader interested in what we want to know or who we want to know about: Emma and Hartley from the view point of Emma.
Reason behind RatingWhile the story and the pace was great. The basic plot premise is something that is not new. It was great for what it was but a few days later and a book and half later and I barely remember the story so it is not worth five out five stars. For me five out of five stars means that book has moved me and has been engraved into my mind. It has me dying to read more of the series (if there additional books), and I always go back to these five out five books for once reason or another when other books simply do not cut it for me.
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