Customer Reviews

Out of Time

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So many writers have problems with time travel, leaving large gaps and holes in the plot. Readers finish the stories saying, "But what about...?" These issues have been avoided in this case by not explaining in detail how the process works. And that leaves the reader with the joy of simply becoming immersed in an interesting and suspenseful story. The author has obviously done considerable research into WWII, particularly the daytime raids over the continent. But it's not just an immersion in history. Baird-Jones has populated the work with realistic and appealing characters. Of particular delight is the spunky twenty-first century heroine. (Hero really, using the current vernacular.) Mel is a TV reporter with a photographic memory whose show challenges her to participate in difficult adventures. And her sheer stubbornness has kept her from opting out--so far. The adventure into the past, however, leaves her wondering if perhaps this time she should have declined. The reason she didn't have that option is the possibility of saving her grandfather's life and meeting the hero of her childhood. No wonder this work won the 2007 EPPIE award for best mainstream fiction of 2007!

Originally posted at: [...]

Out of Time simply blew my mind with the intensity, scope and sheer magnificence of a well told and poignant tale about two people who did the impossible by falling in love.

First let me say that this story completely and totally impressed me. Not only did the scope of the adventure astound me but the writing itself is to be applauded. Even though there was a tiny amount of editing burps sprinkled here and there, it by no means knocked me from this story. The tale is so well told with gripping recounts of being in a WW II bomber that I was pretty sure I was wide-eyed as I read this book. At one point I had to step away because the suspense and drama were that well done. Of course I came back, how could I not? Ms. Jones had a way of taking this reader's imagination and plunking it down into the thick of things. I got the distinct impression that the author not only researched her facts but got them right, and her writing is such that she brought the grit and bravery of the past to life right before my very eyes. My mind is still reeling from the scope of the romance as well.

Mel, short for Melanie, is quite a woman. Her vocation in life inadvertently trained her for the most amazing and important investigation job in her career. What I liked about how Ms. Jones wrote her is the fact that she made it plausible for Mel to do the things she did. I really enjoyed her internal dialogue quips, her sense of self and her impulsive nature. Mel has a delightful sense of humor and a can-do attitude. I giggled with the differences between girls and boys and found it added another layer of authenticity, meaning I could visualize myself right there with Melanie, having the same issues. But somehow I don't think I'd be quite as sanguine about it as she ended up being. I guess it might have been because she knew and understood how to do things because of her TV show, especially that SEALS gig. My reaction might also have something to do with the fact that a person could be shot while doing it, and wouldn't that be embarrassing!

Jack is fascinating. He's the hero in the truest sense of the word. He's strong, capable, curious and smart. He has the rank of captain and he's a take charge kind of guy, but he's wary and cautious too. It was fun reading about this 1940s man having to deal with a twenty first century gal. I loved how he was both puzzled and intrigued by Mel and how he was drawn to her. The author did a good job of getting into his head. Jack also has this amazing theory that is the crux of the plot. He easily wrapped this romance reader's heart around his pinkie.

Speaking of getting into his head, this tale for the most part is told in Mel's and Jack's third person points of view. Ms. Jones also added the POV for the villains in the story because it was integral to the book. It worked and it helped me think of this adventure more as a movie like Gone With The Wind. Just like that famed movie, Out Of Time has a huge ensemble of characters that play integral roles in the storyline and that even includes a death or two. How the author kept everything straight really impressed me because the plot, progress and delivery were tight, logical and vibrant.

Emotion throbs and burns throughout this book once the action starts rolling. I felt the fear and desperation of the characters; their fierce determination and humor under battle conditions came across as well and I felt like I was right there with them. The gradual relationship between Mel and Jack is a slow and steady thread throughout the story. It's romantic and tragic and hopeful all at the same time. They both fight it for different reasons but its power and beauty could not be denied. It was a very tearful moment when they take the only steps they could to make it `real' in war torn France.

The ending isn't one of those chop-chop happily ever afters. It took its time to wrap up many threads and Ms. Jones did an awesome job of spreading the happiness, joy and love in believable and adorable ways. It made everything that Jack and Mel went through worth it. And it also hinted that there might be one more amazing adventure ahead of them. When I read that I vigorously shook my head because right now I think their romance is perfect and I want them to stay happy. They went through too much to get to their happily ever after and I want them to continue to be happy. Imagine me crossing my arms over my chest, my face in a pout - I like Mel and Jack, they're perfect together and for each other, and they better stay that way. So there.

Out Of Time has Oscar nomination written all throughout its very well written and adventurous pages. I can see this being turned into a movie because it is so fleshed out; details are so vivid and the dialogue matched true to the characters that they seem to jump off of the pages. Ms. Jones has a winner with this story and it's going on my keeper shelf. If I want to remember the sacrifices of the men from that war, (indeed any war our men and women fought in) if I want to remind myself how lucky we are to live in America and be Americans, all I have to do is pick up Out Of Time again, and I'll be right there, reliving it. If I want proof of the power and endurance of love in times of adversity, I'll remember reading this story. It's that significant and wonderful. This book gets an enthusiastic recommend from me.

And a very nice meeting it is too. Mel and Jack had me rooting for them in no time. My love of the WWII era was well fed in this one; I swear I heard Glenn Miller's band playing softly in the background. And if you have to sit through an air raid in the London Tube, Mel makes good company. A few dropped articles, and a copyeditor who doesn't know Goering from Goring, simply don't matter. The story and the characters simply shine. Well done, Pauline!

Sharon K. Garner,
Sanctuary and River of Dreams

Mel is a fabulous character, and the story resonates for lots of reasons: the well realized setting, the emotions, the deft touch layering the plot. The action, the passion - this is a book that's got so much packed into it, the time travel aspect works beautifully, and there's a fresh realism to the book, and a classic romanticism. This is a great read!

This is book is a RIDE - you have to read it! My sixteen year old son and I both read this book in a weekend (we each had our own copy) and we couldn't put it down. The research of the time made the experience so real and believable - not easy to accomplish in a time travel type story. But the author pulls it off and it's exciting, humorous, well written. It's been a long tims since I've enjoyed a book so much! And it's not just "chick" material - my son is now wanting to read some of the author's other books! My husband is also reading it now and really liking it! He said it should be in every airport! This is a hit!!!

I really enjoyed this story, both as a romance and a detailed accounting of a piece of WWII story. I'd never read anything quite like it before. Highly recommended!

Out of Time is the story of a twenty seven year old woman name Mel who works as a television extreme terror factor protagonist reporter. She gets to be with many people whom you and I couldn't and do extraordinary things that put her life in real danger every time.
Between stunts she lives alone in her childhood home after her grandmother passed away. She loves the old place but it is as un-exciting as her personal life. Before her grandmother died she was doing an album of history about her husband who had died in the war against Hitler. And she feels she should finish it for all the war heroes involved with her grandfather. Mel's life changes drastically when she gets an envelope with old pictures form that era in which is a woman almost her twin displaying a temporary tattoo, a tattoo she got only days before. That same day at midnight she gets a phone call from the captain of the flying fortress, the Time Machine, her grandfather's war aircraft. The man who has never come to the survivors' get-togethers and no one knows why was in the other end of her phone. He asks to see her and she is excited because since the first time she saw his picture as a young child she has had a crush on him. He turns out to be in his eighties and handsome enough to make her heart skip a beat.
This is a great history book for all those who enjoyed stories about the war, yet it would appeal to anyone who wants to read a great "back to the past" book. The romance is not heavy in it, but is enough to make you feel for the main character's plight. The ending is perfect. It is another great work of suspense, coupled with heavy artillery, a German camp and impossible romance.

[...]

OUT OF TIME holds particular poingnancy for me as my late dad was with in the Army Air Force in World War II. This wonderful book would get 5 STARS from me, hands down, had it not been for two glaring mistakes and a minor faux pas or two.

In 1942, the historical time period for this book, the U. S. Air Force, as Ms. Jones suggests, did not yet exist as a separate armed service. Originally the Army Air Corps, it became the U. S. Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1940. It was NOT separated from the U.S. Army until 1947.

Their uniforms, flight suits and coveralls, etc. in 1942 were NOT blue as Ms. Jones writes. Like the rest of the U. S. Army in 1942, the Army Air Force wore olive drab wool uniforms in the winter and lighter weight khaki for summer. The USAAF did not adopt blue uniforms until they became the U. S. Air Force in 1947.

The term "neat" as in something is "really neat," as Ms. Jones uses it, didn't come along until the early sixties. I believe it was originally surfing slang. In the forties, the word of the day was "swell."

The manufacturerer of the B-17 bombsight is spelled N-o-r-d-e-n, not N-o-r-d-a-n as Ms. Jones spells it. Ms. Jones also failed to clarify that the bombardier actually flies the plane through the bombsight, which controls the aircraft's autopilot, during a bomb run.

Ms. Jones wrote that Jack and Norm were good friends, often paling around together. As a pilot, Jack was an officer, while Norm the radioman was an enlisted man. For the most part, officers and enlisted men did not "fraternize" with each other. It was actually against regulations. Jack and Norm would not have gone together to a pub as Ms. Jones depicts.

There were a few smaller issues, like a B-17 pilot and co-pilot would not be talking to each other in the cockpit in a normal tone of voice during normal flight, much less during a bomb run. Not gonna happen. Too noisy. They had to shout at each other or use the interphone (intercom).

That said, don't let any of the errors I've mentioned keep you from reading this book. It also has a few typos, but not so many they ruin the read. This book is a definite keeper for any romance reader's bookshelf.

You can't help but like Mel and Jack, the heroine and hero. I found Mel especially refreshing. She is the kind of woman that another woman could trust at her back, even with a knife in her hand. She is not your typical delicate, whiney, self-centered female. She's the kind of woman men respect on the same level as they respect each other. Kudos for these character, Ms. Jones!! Mel is awesome!! And Jack is YUMMY!

The author's facts were also dead on regarding the 8th AAF station at Bassingbourne Airdrome and the "Ragged Irregulars" of the 91st Bomb Group stationed there. She even threw in one of my heroes, Capt. Robert K. Morgan, pilot of the famous Memphis Belle.

She describes an air raid in London that makes you feel as if you're right there, experiencing every moment of it. And the ending...well, grab yourself a box of kleenex ladies. It's one of the most poingnant and satisfying endings I've ever read. Plus, it sets up a sequel so perfectly I sincerely hope Ms. Jones writes it. I will definitely be on the lookout for this aughor's books in the future.