For a Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

If you could time travel, what time period would you travel to?  I always loved the thought of time travel when I was young, but now in middle age, I realize I love modern sanitation and medicine too much to want to time travel.  If I did time travel, I think it would be fun to go back 100 years ago and visit my Great Grandparents when they were young.

Grace and Hope are identical twins that live in both 1692 Salem Massachusetts and 1912 New York City.  They live in 1692 for a day, and when they wake up the next day, they are in 1912.  In 1692, the Salem witch trials are starting to heat up.  The sisters start to get answers about the mysterious death of their mother when they were infants, while also fearing these answers could have them tried as witches.  In 1912, Grace is a journalist and Hope is a groundbreaking Aviatrix.  They must decide when they are twenty-five, which time period they will live in forever.  Which will they choose?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved Book #2 in this series, In this Moment, and I still need to read the first book in the series.  I liked how this book was written in a different way by having twin sisters.  The chapters alternated between the two sisters with one narrating the 1692 chapters and the other narrating the 1912 chapters.  About halfway through, the sisters switched who was narrating.

·       This book works as a standalone, but there are characters in it from the previous books which is fun.

·       The Salem witch trials have always fascinated and terrified me.  Grace and Hope are unmarried twenty-four-year-old women, which was old for that time.  They were in a precarious position as their neighbors started to be accused.

·       I enjoyed the mystery during the Salem time period about their mother.

·       I hated the stepmother from the 1692 time period. She was a good villain.

·      

I didn’t realize there was such animosity between Quakers and Puritans.  I am descended from both, so I found that to be very interesting.

·       The romance was complicated as in each timeline one sister loved someone who did not love them.

·       I have always loved books about flying and early aviation.  It made this book extra fun having a subplot about flying in the 1912 time period.   It was very early for flight and very dangerous. 

·       The author’s historical note at the end of the story was fascinating about both time periods.  She meticulously researched both time periods and based Hope on an early aviator named Harriet Quimby.  I want to learn more about her!

·       I enjoyed the excerpt at the end of the novel for Across the Ages, the next book in this series which will be out this November.

·       This book is a clean read and a Christian novel.

Favorite Quote – I love the first line: “It was a strange reality to be on the precipice of tragedy and not be able to stop it.”

Overall, For a Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer was an enjoyable time travel novel with a great plot and wonderful characters.  It was a great escape read for me during a very busy time.  I recommend this series!

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 BOOK DESCRIPTION

Grace and Hope are identical twin sisters born with the ability to time-cross together between 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, and 1912 New York City. As their twenty-fifth birthday approaches, they will have to choose one life to keep and one to leave behind forever--no matter the cost.

In 1692, they live and work in their father's tavern, where they must watch helplessly as the witch trials unfold in their village, threatening everyone. With the help of a handsome childhood friend, they search for the truth behind their mother's mysterious death, risking everything to expose a secret that could save their lives--or be their undoing.

In 1912, Hope dreams of becoming one of the first female pilots in America, and Grace works as an investigative journalist, uncovering corruption and injustice. After their parents' orphanage is threatened by an adversary, they enter a contest to complete a perilous cross-country flight under the guidance of a daring French aviator.

The sisters have already decided which timeline they will choose, but an unthinkable tragedy complicates the future they planned for themselves. As their birthday looms, how will they determine the lives--and loves--that are best for both of them?

AUTHOR BIO

Gabrielle Meyer (GabrielleMeyer.com) is an ECPA bestselling author. She has worked for state and local historical societies and loves writing fiction inspired by real people, places, and events. She currently resides along the banks of the Mississippi River in central Minnesota with her husband and four children. By day, she's a busy homeschool mom, and by night she pens fiction and nonfiction filled with hope.