a TeMPLe of WoRDS

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. No other consideration was offered, expected or received.

This is the third book in a series of books on time traveling. The first is about Rachel and a band of pirates, the second about Serena and the pharaohs of Egypt … and the third about Heather and Ammon, who are trying to put everything right again. They are all linked together and I suggest you read them in order or you will miss out on very important information. (My reviews on the first two will be coming soon.)

The idea – the plot – of this series is very interesting and this book brings to light what I always think about when the topic of time travel comes up – one little change will affect everything. I like how it is expressed – through notes, journal writing – memories of things that have happened, with explanations and thoughts from now, looking back, added in. The writing is well done and you learn a lot about the characters, especially the main one, who is forced to share everything, including feelings she didn't want shared.

I am torn on this one. I cannot stand Heather (I'll explain) and yet I couldn't put it down. There is a fun adventure in these pages, some intense moments – and there were parts that I really enjoyed. Seeing how things changed with each "fall" were captivating and I found it to be well written and exciting.

But then there is Heather. Until this series, I had yet to REALLY loathe a character in a book (even the evil ones), not compared to how I feel about these women. From somewhere around the second chapter, I realized what kind of person Heather was, and I didn't like her. She changed her life for a stranger, sure that he would want her without even knowing her (which, we find out, she did once before), then has the audacity to be cruel when she is the one who had ulterior motives in the first place. A nasty piece of work – spoiled, judgmental, jealous – looks down on those around her, blames everyone else for her problems. Because of her, I wanted to put the book down, but I kept reading, waiting for her to somehow redeem herself (as those who came before her had). In Chapter 9, I thought we (me, the reader, and Ammon) were finally done with her, but I was wrong.

      After their first "fall," she goes instantly from begging Ammon to be with her, angry that he does not want her, even trying to force him to do what she wants, to praying to God (in her head) that she can "keep" his brother Darius *rolls eyes* And it is only after finding out that Darius has several other wives (they were back in Egypt when pharaohs still walked the earth) that she decides to set her eyes back on Ammon.

      Heather never redeemed herself in my eyes (maybe she will in yours). Even though she did grow, she did see that maybe, just maybe, she had been wrong about some things, made the wrong decisions, I never cared for her, never cared what happened to her. I never believed that she cared about anyone but herself, no matter what she said, what she did, what she wrote.