Tempest Review

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m a massive fan of all things time travel and so when I find a YA book with this very important element as part of the book, then I immediately start lusting after it, knowing that I’m probably going to love it. I’m happy to report that Tempest by Julie Cross lived up to my expectations and I really enjoyed it. The book was action packed and there was never a dull moment. Here’s the synopsis:

“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.”

When I first started reading this book, immediate comparisons with the movie JUMPER sprung to mind and I hoped that it would not just be a re-hash of the same story but then I realised that jumpers in the movie cannot time travel. Funnily enough, Tempest reads just like a movie and I understand that the film rights have been sold already and I cannot wait to see it up on the big screen. I would say that the plot was maybe a little farfetched at times but it was definitely interesting and creative. I’d love to learn more about the origins of time travellers and how the enemies of time came about and I’m hoping that this will come in the form of a sequel, prequel or spin off.

I have to say that I really enjoyed Jackson and Holly’s relationship but I did not like the fact that Jackson was always lying to her. I see why he did it (to protect her) but it disappoints me that he thought she wouldn’t understand. I also have a soft spot for Adam who is very cool in a smart-yet-geeky kind of way and I have no idea why but in my head he looked like Dev Patel (from Slumdog Millionaire).

As some of you may or may not know, I like to go on what I like to call “pre-order frenzies” and sometimes I’m lucky enough to read an ARC beforehand (if it’s releasing in the UK) and what has now become my test of whether I’ve enjoyed the book is to not cancel my pre-order and with Tempest, I have not cancelled.

Tempest was an unputdownable, compelling read and I’m pretty sure there is a sequel in the works. If I could time travel myself, I would be reading it right now.

Tempest was published on 5th January, 2012 in the UK and 17th January, 2012 in the US. There is a short prequel available for free entitled Tomorrow is Today which you can order from Amazon in the US and here if you are in the UK. To find out more about Julie and her books, please click here to visit her website. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter.