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I received this book as a gift. I have to say overall it's good- the plot was engrossing (if a little overly complex) and the writing smooth. However, there were a few annoyances with the characters that stopped this book living to its full potential.

STORY: We step into the shoes of Kate, who suddenly learns of her gift as someone who can use CHRONOS technology and that her grandmother is fashioning a scheme to stop a time-drive take over from Kate's grandfather. Generally I felt the story was well done, and the plot certainly held my interest.

However, there were some shortcomings. The pitch is completely at odds to how the story is presented, which I found very jarring. There wasn't much time to get to know the heroine Kate, as the author seemed much too keen to force the plot out. The plot itself has so many details and nitpicks to work through, which the author tries to address within the story, but I often found my attention drifting in these parts, especially as in the early chapters it's mostly information dumping from Kate's grandmother. A lot of these things could have been broken into smaller chunks and drip fed through the story rather than outlined in bulk so early on.

CHARACTERS: I found this a mixed bag. Kate is a generally likable character, though I didn't feel she had any particularly unique qualities. That wouldn't have been too bad, but there were several points in the narrative where Kate, having clearly stated or reasoned the dangers of an approach to a situation, goes ahead and does it anyway. Rather than come off as impulsive and reckless I felt this made her look like an idiot and it spoiled my enjoyment. Also, whenever Kate is around any 'potential love interest' male character, she seems to undergo a personality change and become a helpless heroine when clearly the author has given her character attributes (like martial arts) which shouldn't make this the case. This annoyed me.

Trey is a bit dull, and there seems pretty much no actual reason for his interest in Kate. A fairly forgettable character.

Kiernan, however, is much more interesting, and it's a shame there wasn't more of him in the story. He actually has his own motives and goals and provides a good unknown element to the story.

Kate's grandmother is also a more interesting character because she has vested interests that aren't in the heroine's interest all the time.

SETTING/ VOICE: The detailed descriptions of the costumes and historical settings were well done and it was easy to picture the scenes. The author clearly did a lot of research here and it shows. Kate's voice comes across strongly in the narrative and it was easy to get into her head.

PRESENTATION: the formatting was okay, but some chapters were in bold type for no apparent reason, and of a different font size. I didn't notice any typos, either. The cover is okay but not particularly striking and if not for reading the pitch it wouldn't have caught my interest.

OVERALL: I enjoyed this book; the setting and plot were intriguing and the writing is solid. However, the characters' motives weren't quite as strong in places and the amount of information dumping did bog the pacing down a bit. If you're looking for a staple fantasy romance, this is a good offering, but look elsewhere if you want more memorable or compelling characters,