I received this book for free from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Timestorm by Julie Cross
Series: Tempest #3
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on January 28th 2014
Genres: Sci-Fi, YA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
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The battle between the Tempest division and Eyewall comes to a shocking conclusion in this final installment of the Tempest trilogy, where the need for survival stretches the boundaries of history, both past and future, and the world Jackson once knew is a place forever marked by the detrimental effects of time travel.
As Jackson recovers from his brush with death, he’s surrounded not only by the people he loves most—his dad, Courtney, and Holly—he’s also amongst a few of the original time travelers. As he learns more about their life and how this world began, it becomes apparent that they need to put a stop to Thomas and Doctor Ludwig’s experimenting at Eyewall Headquarters. What starts out as an escape plan becomes a war between time and humanity, between freewill and peace. It’s the battle Jackson was born to fight and he’s not about to back down. Not for anything. Not for anyone.
*Spoiler free for the series*
While I enjoyed Tempest and Vortex, this one was explosive to a whole new level!
I can count on two hands the number of times I was entirely surprised by an ending. I usually catch on, at least to some extent, to what direction it’s going to spin (mostly because I think up SO many theories that one of them has to be close to being right), but Timestorm is a freaking masterpiece of an ending that caught me completely off guard. It also left me in a puddle of emotional goo. It’s tragic, beautiful, and perfect for this story, but still, there is a part of me that is so torn! I guess we’ll call it bittersweet. The ending was not the only great part – though it is what turned it from a 4 to a 5 star – it’s a perfectly paced wild ride from start to finish.
We start immediately where book 2 left off – which was a monster of a cliffhanger – but we’re now in a new setting, one that is very survivalist-like in a place where they need to escape or they may never get out. This part is not the most fast paced in the novel as far as action, but it’s filled with a lot of important information about the history of time-travel that riveted me just as much. The time travel science is one of the most satisfying I have yet to read. It’s extremely well executed to the very end. However it’s also particularly intricate (as it should be, imo). You need to be mentally there at all times to fully grasp the meaning of the different time-travel jumps, their consequences on past and present, and how both worlds are connected. It does become hefty especially in book 2, but it works. It completely works! And honestly if I’d stumble upon a time travel novel that glazes over the details or lacks in complexity, it’s likely to be thrown in the pile of absurd time travel attempts full of contradictory nonsense.
Even with all the time travel flurry, the character development is not pushed aside. We end up with a fairly large cast that makes up this series, and every single one of them is three dimensional, opinionated, and just simply interesting. They all have a distinct part to play in this series, weaving and interlocking their lives and stories with Jackson’s. The time travel aspect also allows a lot of play with each character, where we get to see them at different times in their lives. This is carried out with excellence, bringing in a lot of emotional consequences as a result. The romance is also incredible and so unique. Imagine being in love with someone who has not met you in this timeline! I loved this angle from the very first book, and it continues to tug at my heart in this finale.
Like I said. The end was a major surprise. I had tons of theories on how it could end, and honestly they were all messy as heck. I mean there’s only so much that can be done with such chaos – or so I thought. I may be torn and emotionally drained, but I never expected to be so… satisfied with the conclusion. If you’re not a fan of this series yet, do yourself a favor and binge-read it stat!
5 Hot Espressos
Find my review of Tempest (Book 1), here!
Find my review of Vortex (Book 2), here!