Title: For a Lifetime
Author: Gabrielle Meyer
Series: Timeless, book 3
Major Themes: Salem Witch Trials, Aviation, Historical, Time-Crossing
Synopsis: After living with the unique gift of time-crossing for the past 24 years, twins Grace and Hope have to decide which time—either 1692 or 1912—they will stay in for the rest of their lives once their 25th birthday rolls around.
Having thoroughly enjoyed books one and two of the Timeless series, I eagerly anticipated the release of For a Lifetime. Meyer has tended to leave quite a cliffhanger at the end of each of her books up to this point, and combined with my normal impatience to see what happens next in a series, I couldn’t wait to get into it. Almost as soon as I got this story, I dove into it—and what a fun read! I think I got through it in two days, give or take a bit. This was a gripping story.
Publisher’s 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?
My thoughts:
It’s interesting to watch the story world grow along with the series. In each book, some new element is drawn into the story world, and in this story, the way twins and time-crossing work together was fascinating to think about. Even though it’s a complete impossibility, I find it fun to think about the “what-if” factor, and I feel like Gabrielle Meyer does that exceptionally well here.
There are parts of the story I didn’t enjoy quite so much as others. As in the other books in this series, the characters have feminist leanings, and that especially showed up around aviation in this story. This book also had a good dose of romance, with a few scenes having a bit more description than I thought necessary. Not enough to make me squirm, but it was there. I also struggled with the way the characters made decisions here; they didn’t spend much time at all praying about what they should do, even though they were presumably Christians—they mostly relied on their feelings to decide what to do.
Aside from that, though, I loved a lot of this story. The history was fascinating; both the aviation side and the Salem witch trials were events that I knew very little about, so getting to see history through the lens of the characters was quite interesting. I also thoroughly enjoyed the twin aspect of the story—getting to see how that worked out was a lot of fun! Then there’s Gabrielle Meyer’s writing style, which draws me in every time, and makes the book unputdownable.
If you don’t mind the things I mentioned above, and love historical fiction with a good dash of sweet romance, For a Lifetime could be perfect for you. I enjoyed this story, and am looking forward to reading more in the series eventually.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
WARNING: See the third-last paragraph. Unmarried characters hold hands or hug occasionally throughout the book, and there is some dancing. There is also some kissing in ch. 10, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, and 30 (usually, not more than one or two sentences about any kiss). There is lying in ch. 9, 21, and 25. There is some overarching lying through the witch trials, where people claimed to see specters and devils who were forcing people to do different things. Multiple times, there are mentions of people who were killed (usually hung) either because of their beliefs or because they were “guilty” of witchcraft. In ch. 13, a woman counsels another woman to do whatever she can (including using physical means) to make a man marry her. In ch. 14, there is an accident. In ch. 21, a character admits to being a man’s mistress and getting pregnant out of wedlock. Someone dies in ch. 27. In ch. 31, a husband talks about wanting to go back to bed with his wife.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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