39:120 All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

Tom Barren's 2016 is nothing like the one we currently live in. There, an unlimited supply of energy was created in the 1950s and led to a society where basic needs are always met and the only thing worth pursuing is entertainment. Now his father has created the ultimate entertainment device, a time machine but he didn't foresee all the problems that would arise when his disappointment of a son goes and mucks it all up.

But did he? Sure, he went back in time and kept the unlimited energy thing from ever happening but he is so much happier in this 2016. He has a better relationship with both his parents, a sister that did not exist in his 2016, and may have even found his soulmate.  Does he try to change things back to the way they were, the way he thinks they should be? Or does he enjoy what he has in this timeline?

That description of the book actually makes it sound interesting and so does every other description of it that I've read.  Too bad reality doesn't align with those. It read like three different books with the first book being dull and plodding and why would you even care about any of these characters? The second book got interesting. There was plot, there were interesting psychological questions being posed, the characters were more engaged (seriously, I want a book from his sister's pov after all the sh*t went down), and this is the book that I wanted to read.  The third book was just a rushed mishmash of gobbledegook that just did not work and made me want to throw things. There was no reason behind much of it in terms of the story I had been reading and enjoying and it just made me angry to have to leave that story for this one.  Honestly, save your time and money and avoid this.


Page count: 384p/8,251p ytd/282,690p lifetime

129:120 Sideswiped by Kim Harrison

A prequel story to The Drafter, we really get more of Silas's backstory at Opti and his theories on drafting, how it works and how certain people are able to do it, as well as how he meets Peri Reed and the impression she makes upon him.

I almost think this would be better to read before reading The Drafter to get a better handle on what is going on with that power and how it works.  It was a delightful read and I really enjoyed it.  I'm very interested to see where things are going in this world and I also hope to get more of these backstories in the future.


Page count: 80p/32,871p ytd/247,787p lifetime

98:120 The Drafter by Kim Harrison

The first in a new series by Kim Harrison, author of the Rachel Morgan Hollow series.

Peri Reed is a Drafter, a person who can go back a few seconds in their own personal time line and change things.  She is working for Opti Corporation and believes that she is a good agent working for the good of not only her company but also for her government to protect people.  Her new assignment seems totally normal until the CEO of the company she and her partner, Jack, are infiltrating comes walking into his office telling her that he has the list of corrupt agents and her name is on it.  His security guard comes in and shoots Peri which causes her to Draft to save her own life and in that time period, her partner changes everything and then helps to push the new timeline into her head to make that real and keep her from remembering the old one.

Silas is an anchor, one of the first and incredibly good, who no longer works for Opti but for the Alliance, a group who is trying to take Opti and their Drafting program down.  He is sent to get Peri away from Opti and try to extract information from her for that cause but now Opti has managed to cause a Draft and use that to erase the last 3 years of Peri's life and Silas's job has gotten much, much harder.  Peri now suspects that she can't trust anyone at Opti but she has no reason to trust Silas either.  The only thing she really knows for sure is that she needs to figure out what has been going on in her life for the last several years before she can move forward.

This was quite a departure from the Rachel Morgan series and while I don't always jump into new series, even by authors I love, if they don't seem intriguing to me but when the concept for this one was announced, I immediately put the release date on my calendar.  It's not quite my usual genre being more mystery but the time jumping aspect added in piqued my interest and I'm so glad I read it.  It's very different and very hard to put down but there is also a LOT going on that you are trying to keep track of and many different twists and turns.  Apparently this is the start of a new series so while this one wrapped up nicely there are enough loose ends dangling so it will be interesting to see where the next one goes.

Page count: 422p/26,051p ytd/240,983p lifetime