Tempest by Julie Cross
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 352
Source: ARC from Smitten With Books ARC Tours
Rating:  
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world. – Goodreads

Review:
Oh, how I loved Tempest! I received this during an insane week at work and, because my free time was so limited, I read the majority of it in one sitting the day before I had to send it off to the next person on the tour. Our time together was much too short, but this is one read I’ll be glad to revisit.

Jackson was a great narrator. It was refreshing to have a male POV and he delivered the awesome with his charm, wit, and adoration for his girlfriend, Holly. Time traveling aside, he came across as a very normal guy and Julie Cross made him believable with his flaws and insecurities, too. I absolutely fell in love with him!

We all should know by now that I’m a sucker for a good romance and Tempest offered just that! Though Holly and Jackson were already in an established relationship (woot!), time traveling allowed a look into how they came together. Jackson’s interactions with the younger 007 Holly were absolutely sweet, while the scenes with 009 Holly gave a feeling of familiarity and ease… Oh, and sexy times (woot again!)! Because of the shooting that kicks off the story, there was also a lot intensity as Jackson tried to deal with his guilt and worry. All of this made for a very happy me.

The most surprising aspect of this book was how full of heart it was. While it delivered on the action and excitement I anticipated, I was taken back by the multiple times I found myself getting weepy. Jackson goes through quite the emotional journey in regards to Holly, not knowing who to trust, and his family. His ability allows him to experience some eye-opening situations, bring closure to things he wishes he could have done differently, and mature.

As enjoyable as Tempest was, it definitely felt like an introduction to something much, much bigger — in a good way. I can find it frustrating when details to the “big picture” are scarce and I can’t get a feel for the direction the story is going, but Cross managed to fill this book with a thrilling adventure, while at the same time setting up and offering a glimpse of what’s to come. Without giving away any details, at one point Jackson sees two very different futures and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together to those points. It’s going to be epic!

That ending? Let me go sob into my pillow. So perfect, so right, and yet absolutely heartbreaking. ARCs for books that I love always leave me feeling anxious for the next one, but the wait for this one already seems especially long… 2013?! Yikes. I will be waiting with a certain degree of misery to find out where the story goes next, but I have no doubt that Julie Cross will deliver with an equally amazing sequel.

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