I received this book for free from Publisher, Library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor Series: Into The Dim #1
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on March 1, 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Time Travel, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 432
Format: eARC, Hardcover
Source: Publisher, Library
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"Instantly engaging, constantly suspenseful, ultimately poignant and satisfying. Loved it!"--Diana Gabaldon, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Outlander series
When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. And she's alive, though currently trapped in the twelfth century, during the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Passing through the Dim, Hope enters a brutal medieval world of political intrigue, danger, and violence. A place where any serious interference could alter the very course of history. And when she meets a boy whose face is impossibly familiar, she must decide between her mission and her heart—both of which could leave Hope trapped in the past forever.
Why Did I Pick This Book To Read?
Initially, Into The Dim by Janet B. Taylor appealed to me because it was compared to Outlander. I also thought the jacket copy sounded AMAZING. Straight up, I am almost always interested in a time travel romance. Still, I am a huge procrastinator and a huge mood reader. So, this book sat on the Kindle until I decided to really prioritize getting my Netgalley percentage into 80% compliance. Seeing Into The Dim on the shelves of my local library felt like kismet. Alas, it was not meant to be.
What’s The Story Here?
Main character Hope Walton is an American who lives with her father in the South. Unfortunately, her mother died overseas in an earthquake in India, or so that is what Hope was told. The story opens with the funeral of her mother and an empty casket. From there, her father announces she’s going to Scotland for the summer to stay with an aunt she’s never met while he goes on a cruise with this librarian that he’s hooking up with. So then we get to Scotland and Hope stumbles across this time machine in the basement of the estate where she’s staying and oh by the way her mom is trapped in the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I couldn’t tell you the rest of the story though.
How Long Did I Last?
I got to page 116 of 436.
Why Did I DNF?
Literally 116 pages of set up is SO boring. I want something to actually happen when I read a book. How do we get all the way to a quarter of the book with no time travel, no kissing, no nothing. Plus it is so full of information dumps. The whole how time travel was discovered and why they think her mom is stuck in the past is all revealed in a very long conversation. There’s no careful parceling out of information. To me, that just feels like poor plotting, pacing, and world building. I am not here for that at all.
Is There Anyone Into The Dim Would Appeal To?
If you are a diehard time travel fan, you may like this more than I did. Also people who are patient with books and patient with information dumps.
Other reviews of Into The Dim by Janet B. Taylor:
- Books & Cleverness – “It had everything I could ever want in a book“
- Novel Knight – “a lot of potential but nothing memorable“
- Book Birds – “a fun time travel adventure“
Purchase or Preview Into The Dim:
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