Last night, I finished the Timebound trilogy, the beginning of The Chronos Files series by Rysa Walker. I figuratively patted myself on the shoulder for crying just a moderate, silent amount during the goodbye scene at the end.
First of all, I unblinkingly commend Rysa Walker for keeping so many timelines separate and yet also selectively together in the spiderweb of time travel. I wonder if Walker foresaw the constitutional tears being made by the Trump administration, or if she drew from facts about world history and the human psyche to form the pro -nationalist and -religious debacle within the trilogy.
My main problem with the books was the weird love-triangle. The triangle never should’ve existed! I can understand how the random initial meeting of Kate and Trey could be perceived as perfect, and also how the implicit trust evident in both versions of their love stories could be sweet, but believable? Not so much. I also see how Kate and Kiernan’s initial meeting at an inappropriate time in their lives could be perceived as wrong, and how their timeless, aggravated love story could be hot, but true love? Not so much.
The book’s central, first-person Kate deserves so much more than a man who’s not really in love with her (Kiernan), and a romance with Trey that seemed as genuine the second time around. Kate is such a kind and smart and witty girl who, like most teenage narrators of young-adult books, is way too clever and considerate to be a realistic teenager; nevertheless, I can imagine men of all ages and backgrounds falling for her. She’s pretty perfect. Rather than Kiernan, she should’ve found her own past-soulmate, not just Other Kate’s sloppy seconds! And she and Trey maybe shouldn’t have been quite so random or quite so trusting. Like, maybe he could’ve been Connor’s assistant, so he would’ve already known everything!
Okay, yes, I’m aware that I’m getting very emphatic (i.e., loony) about this. My only defense is that I always get really attached to books’ first-person characters. Hell, I even got emotionally tied to the narrator of Markus Zusak’s The Book Theif!
So anyway, Walker’s Timebound trilogy is definitely worth reading. I suppose it fits the sci-fi genre, although I’ve never been a fan of sci-fi, so don’t be deterred by that, if you’re not a fan either.
Until next time,
MAWR 🙂
