ARC Review: Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone
17September 11, 2013 by Alice in Readerland
Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn’t. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds.
It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work…until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn’t want?
Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us’s Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.
Special thanks to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for giving me this title in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Time After Time will go on sale October 8th, 2013.
A long distance relationship between a girl in Chicago and a boy in San Francisco would be hard enough without the time difference, and I’m not talking about CST to PST, I’m talking about 1995 to 2012. And you thought relationships were hard enough without adding time travel. Just ask Anna and Bennett, who know by now that time is all:
Yup. what he said. A big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.
One of the definite highlights of the book for me was getting to meet Bennett’s sister, Brooke. Even though we didn’t really get to know her in Time Between Us, she (unknowingly) played a huge part in why Anna and Bennett even met, so it was nice to finally meet the girl who started it all. Full of jokes and energy, Brooke is currently back home in 2012, often texting her brother and lamenting how “boring” it is to be back in “real time” like a “normal” person, instead of back in Chicago 1994, going to concerts.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I also really liked how the Maggie/Grandmother storyline played out and I also really liked how Anna was into photography and traveling (which she does with or without Bennett). We also got to see more of Bennett’s life and friends, which seemed fitting since we spent Time Between Us getting to know Anna’s life. Plus, this book has Paris as a setting for a few scenes!
Cynical Cindy Says
Considering what a pivotal moment Emma and Justin were in Time Between Us, and how Bennett struggled with what happened to them in this book, I really wish their ending got closure. Without giving anything away, there was also something about the ending and crossing timelines that made me wonder if Bennett’s conclusion about Anna was really right or not.
Whether you’re looking for a romance book with a time travel twist and would be new to joining Anna and Bennett, or have read Time Between Us and are curious about what happens next, I’d recommend that you pick up Time After Time!
Alice in Readerland 
I am definitely listing this one!!
I hope you enjoy it; have you read the first one? :)
I adored Time Between Us, so I have been really excited to read Time After Time! :) Did the author provide a little recap in the beginning? I am just wondering because it’s been about a year since I read the first one, so I am trying to figure out if I should reread Book One before moving on to Book Two. Lovely review!
The first few chapters gave little recaps about what you needed to know, which was great because I haven’t read Time Between Us in a year either. :)
Sounds interesting! Now I just want to know if this guy’s time traveling in our current year, where’s my time machine?! Ha ha! Actually, I don’t want that kind of responsibility (trying to not break time travel rules and whatnot). Good review!
It’s actually kind of amusing me how Bennett talks about all the current 2012 things and it’s already 2013, not that that’s a big difference, it just makes me wonder what I’ll think of the book in another few years from now. :)
Wow, I totally referred to 2012 as our current year. *Facepalm* But yes, I can understand that sentiment, thinking back to just last year and wondering what you’ll think about it several years from now. It’s especially interesting on a day like today, when I actually remember very well what I was doing 12 years ago today, and thinking how much has changed since then.
AH YOU READ THIS I AM JEALOUS. So glad you liked it, this makes me happy :) I’m very intrigued about Brooke and learning about her and the grandmother more. (love the Dr. Who gifs and PARIS!) Too bad there wasn’t enough closure for Emma and Justin, that’s always frustrating. Lovely review, Alice!
Aw, thanks, I hope you get to meet Brooke soon. :) I had fun finding the gifs, and I thought Emma and Justin were cute in TBU, so I was sad that we didn’t get much closure/much resolved in TAT.
Great review! Sounds like my type of book! Thank you xx
Thanks for stopping by & commenting! :)
To me, this sounds like the sort book that’s at best going to end in a bittersweet way, so probably not my cup of tea. I love you review though and your choice of gifs!
Thanks, I had fun picking out the gifs! :)
I haven’t read either of these, but it seems like the have a pretty interesting concept behind them. It sounds like this one’s 1/2 companion novel, 1/2 sequel, which is cool. I shall look out for these. Thanks honey!
I like that it’s 1/2 companion novel, 1/2 sequel too, I’ve been really liking the companion novel trend! :)
Me to! Especially if they’re romance books. :-)
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