Customer Reviews

Tumbling Through Time

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I loved this book. It delivers twice as much entertainment as most romance novels! Think one current and uniquely engaging heroine ("Seph") with two really sexy men, two great locations in two different centuries, a mystery to solve and great shoes, it easily delivers twice as many moments that leave you both sighing or laughing out loud, and a surprise ending that really delivers! It was a page-turner I couldn't put down, cliche as that sounds. Seriously, after I read the book I had to go to Ms. Cready's website (www.cready.com) just to see what's next! Now I can't wait for her next novel "Seducing Mr. Darcy".

I'm a big fan of the time traveling books. I love Diana Gabaldon's books as well as the Highlander books from Moning so I'm always on the lookout for a new one. I had high hopes for this book because it sounded like it had some humor, some romance, pirates and time travel and how can that go wrong?
The plot is confusing at times and the idea of a writer that falls into her own unwritten story and therefore can't control it is just a bad idea. She supposedly created the characters but yet she hasn't, the main character is a guy from work that she's attracted to and the bad guy is her boss that she hates and the plot revolves around some documents that no one can find because the woman that "wrote" the story doesn't know anything about them. That isn't much of a story, even an unwritten one.
I feel like this book was published in the idea stage instead of waiting until it was completely formed.

I thought this was silly at first but then I began to get into it more and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. There were some real laugh-out-loud moments, and I could share the heroine's confusion. I found the very end confusing, however, and disappointing.

Being a Pittsburgh native, there were a lot of small references in this book which tickled me. But they only hold so much weight.
Having been in a triangular relationship with someone named Tom also piqued my interest. But that is irrelevant.

The humor carried throughout the book can be refreshing, yet also tiresome. The historical references got dry for me, and almost seemed cut-and-pasted. I even found a spelling mistake (Nock Nock instead of Knock Knock) I know I sound like I am being overly picky, because I did enjoy the story as a light romp type of thing.

The book needed to be rounded out. The character of Mrs. Kenny, (the gypsy) had it been further developed, would have added a bit of intrigue. Why did she make the shoes? What were her motives? The sex scenes were neither here nor there, could have benefitted from more detail, or would have been better with less humor.

There were some things never answered, like the tattoos which appeared on Seph. That could have been better explained. And the ending was like a slap in the face, but Seph seemed not to mind.

Although I liked the book, and did not feel ripped off for buying it, I got the same feeling as when I read a Patricia Cornwell novel. It is like going to a good restaurant, reading the menu, ordering a tempting appetizer, and being brought out Jeno's Pizza Rolls. They are cute and crispy, but hardly satisfying.

This was such a fun read - not your typical romance novel! I loved the "time travel" element, as well as the fact that Seph had two romantic interests who looked like the same man (and Colin Firth, at that!), but at two different points in time. Also, there was a "twist" to the time travel - Seph was also a would-be romance writer and the "past" she lived through in the book was the romance novel story she had in her head. It was so different than other romance novels and I'm very happy to see that this author has another book coming out. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until August when Ms. Cready's next book, "Seducing Mr. Darcy" is published! Seducing Mr. Darcy

Quite honestly, I was expecting more from this book considering the interesting synopsis I had read. It was enjoyable, yes, but the plot became too convoluted with all the intrigue and shifting between centuries. The descriptions of the tricks Tom and Drum just didn't make sense to me, someone who knows nothing about naval maneuvers. I loved Seph Pyle, but the relationships she had with both Tom and Drum seemed odd and there was a lot of emphasis on characters who really had no role in furthering the storyline. I guess some people would be happy that the ending wasn't tied in a neat little bow, but it left me saying, "Huh?" The whole mystery of the missing papers left me confused, having Seph be the author but completely lacking control of any of the occurances was weird, and while admittedly funny, I was left feeling unsatisfied. Overall it was enjoyable (well...the parts I understood) and I am hoping the author will redeem herself with Seducing Mr. Darcy later this year...she seems to have potential minus a few glitches.

While I love time travel stories this one is real confusing....one minute she is buying shoes the next she is back in 1706. One of the main characters Drumm is aware who she is....yet she doesn't have a clue who he is or why she is there when she is the one that created him or so they would have you believe...If you don't have alot of patience don't bother reading this book. I know some reviewers loved this book but for the life of me I can't figure out why or how come they kept reading it. I personally stopped because it has started to give me a headache.

I wanted to like this book so much. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the story. Then the screwball comedy abruptly turned deadly serious. Which would have worked out all right, except nothing was resolved at the end. Tom's suffering was trivialized, and Seph didn't grow as a person, nor did their relationship. It was such a disappointment.

*** Back cover synopsis ***
Wandering the Pittsburgh airport before a business trip, Seph decided to kill time with some preflight shopping - anything to get her mind off Tom Fraser, her irresistible, dimple-chinned coworker turned travel buddy. So when a pair of to-die-for pink stilettos calls her name from a store window, she tries them on - only to be swiftly transported back to the eighteenth century and flung aboard a turbulent ship sailing the Mediterranean!
There, Seph is stunned to meet Phillip Drummond, an arrogant British pirate and the spitting image of Tom. Phillip has summoned her back in time to straighten out his complete mess of a life - for he is the burly hero in the romance novel she someday hopes to write, and she is responsible for his destiny. Seph starts to fall for the smolderingly sexy Phillip. And when Tom is thrown into the mix, she doesn't know what - or who - she wants. Seph soon realizes that spotting the perfect pair of shoes may be easy, but finding the perfect man can be a real trip.

*** Personal opinion ***
Wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be but it still holds some worth reading points to it. The characters' performances definitely made up for the unbelievable plot of events with the time traveling thingy. Seph's character is a very intelligent and independent woman who has really great wits. Sometimes her thoughts to herself cracks me up. Then there's the sexy-witted Captain Drum, he is such a sexy guy that would definitely make you want to wish you can travel back to 1706 to meet him ^_* . And then there's the ever so smart and charming Tom, a definite hottie that really turns you on.
In the bad side of the book, in my opinion, it was unbelievable how Seph could fall for Drum's "lack of evidence" claiming of how he is "her" character in her future fiction novel and the fact that he was the one that summoned her. The way how she accepted the time traveling situation was a little bit too calm. There wasn't really a clear explanation of how Drum could share Seph's thoughts and the knowledge of how he knew he was a character of her imagination. The book would've been more enjoyable if these mysterious were solved. The most disappointing turn of events in this book was the unclearness relationship of Tom and Seph. I was looking forward to seeing some definite answers but it seemed like their possibility of a blossom relationship relies on the readers' own imagination.

There aren't too many books that make me laugh out loud. I read this one day on a plane trip. I was afraid the guy sitting next to me was going to ask me to find another seat. Seph reminds me of Janet Evanovich's heroine, bopping between two hot heroes (who each happen to look like Colin Firth--I mean, what could be more perfect?) Cready has plotted a great story. Seph ends up back in time in a romance she hasn't even written yet. The hero in 1706 is a sexy privateer whose life she's ruined without even knowing it. The hero in present day is a handsome, smart co-worker who's been secretly in love with her since he met her. Lots of hilariously dead on office politics. And if any of you have ever had a boss you hate, there's a perfect villain. Such a romantic ending, I didn't even know which man to root for. A perfect twist. Read it!