Title/Author: The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
Publisher/Date published: Dutton, April 23rd 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository
Goodreads summary: “You are now a member of the Guild. There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.
In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance.
I am a bit unsure of how I should review this book. There were some really good parts and some stuff that didn't make all that much sense to me. Let me try to explain.
I thought the writing was really good, it was engrossing and Bee Ridgway really managed to make me excited about time travel again. The only problem was that she got me all wanting to know EVERYTHING and we barely got answers. Nd while the writing was good, I did still feel like barely anything happened. The plot was SO SLOW. I was still entertained, but looking back, there were huge stretches of the novel in which nothing actually happened to propell the story onward.
I liked Nick, he's a truly good guy. I liked that he adjusted to the 21st century and how he at first had trouble accepting that he couldn't go back and then that he could in fact go back! I mean, I can totally understand the doubts and hesitation that comes with something like this! Julia was a bit too passive for me to truly connect with her. I wasn't completely sold on the romance between her and Nick either. I mean, his sorta obsession with her is based on one moment. It felt a little too much like insta-love too me and while I do think they had a connection, it wasn't enough to fully convince me.
But oh my lord, I absolutely ADORED Arkady, Nick's Russian companion! He is the most quotable of the characters and says things like "Because it's beautiful and romantic to do so" and I LOVED it! He may not always be a good guy, but he's such an interesting, passionate character that I can forgive him for this.
I think what bothered me the most is that the plot was moving along at a turtle's pace and then all of a sudden it just ended. And I just have all these questions! It doesn't say anywhere if there'll be a sequel! And I'm... confused. I hate it when endings are like that! It makes me reconsider the whole book because it leaves me with a bad feeling.
So I'm a bit unsure about The River of No Return. While it was an entertaining story, the plot dragged a bit and then the ending just threw me completely off! The whole time travel concept Bee Ridgway introduces us to is fascinating, but I still have so many unanswered questions. I really hope there'll be a sequel!
My rating: 3,5 stars
I agree with you. I found it a bit slow and would have liked to know more, too. I thought the ending was far too abrupt. Even if there is a sequel (I think there is), I believe a novel should be finished in a satisfactory way, otherwise it's not a novel, but only the first part of a novel. :-)
ReplyDeleteTHANK GOODNESS. I read this and was like "What am I missing?" because it's getting such stellar reviews. But it was super slow and hardly anything was answered. And while I did like Nick and Julia overall, they TOTALLY had an insta-romance thing going on. Grrr... There must be a sequel coming eventually (because what a stupid way to end it, otherwise) but I'm not even sure I want to read it now, you know?
ReplyDeleteArkady was awesome though :)
The cover of this book is so pretty. But covers aside, it sounds like this one is a bit slow-moving, and I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for that type of book these days. I'm intrigued by the idea of this story though, so I might pick it up and give it a try!
ReplyDeleteSound like the book had it's pros and cons but that over all it was a very good read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a time travel bok in a while so I'll try to give this one a try :D