Time's Divide

I loved all of these books. After reading this last one, I was inclined to type up my first book review. There are so many things I'm still wondering! When the timelines shift and there are double memories, the characters all experienced headaches. I had a couple of those myself just reading about it and trying to reconcile all the information from the multiple timeline scenarios. At some point I stopped trying to keep track of when they were, or how long Kate had been awake, so that I could just take the book as is and read it instead of questioning it along the way. Not like I could wrap my head around it all if I tried. I'm curious, did the author have to come up with hand-written timelines herself just to make sense of it? I'd like show more to see those. I also am confused after reading this last book of the CHRONOS file series. Confused because there was a tiny blip in a conversation between Kiernan, June, and Kate where June said Kiernan's mother died giving birth to a surrogate child of Prudence. I thought, surely by the end of the book there will be an explanation for that mention. But there wasn't!! So now I'm wondering, was Prudence Kiernan's mother? And if so, he had a relationship with her and also her niece...so that's strange. Also, when the baby Connor comes to the house at the end with his mother, and you realize that (the original) Connor Dunne was the great-great-great-grandchild of Kiernan & Kate, it makes my head hurt again. Katherine held her great-great-great-great-grandchild in this timeline (the new, different baby Connor), but wouldn't that imply that HER Connor, the one she was dating, was also her relative? I don't even know what to believe anymore. It was a great book though! Got me questioning which timeline I'm even in. But maybe I'm thinking too linearly, as Kiernan would say. show less

Time’s Divide satisfactorily completes the Chronos Files series. As before, I enjoyed Rysa Walker leading us on journeys through the past. In Time’s Divide you get to learn a bit about Houdini and his competitors. Here we will also spend time in her imaginative future, which we were given short glimpses of in the first two books in the series.

Unfortunately, Walker's presentation of the future is lurid and concerningly close to that which may be in our near future. It is claustrophobic and brings into play the worst of our historic and present selves. There is no nuclear family unit portrayed. It is elitist and hedonistic; a bit too close for comfort.

“Clothing appears optional, more for decoration than decorum. And the groupings show more are . . . odd. I’ve yet to see a woman stroll in without a man, although several groups of men have wandered in without women.”

“Those in power are literally treating those not in power as chattel, slaves. Work is hard to find. Some things are loose but there are very rigid societal norms.”

As problematic as the earlier books in the series, Time's Divide is confusing. In this book the timeline is still confusing but there is the added confusion of seeing characters first as good, then bad, and around and around. I'm dizzy again.

In conclusion, Time's Divide wraps up loose ends from Timebound and Time's Edge. You will get even dizzier but it is worth reading in order to conclude the series.

For Christian readers:
Having read the complete series now I would not recommend that it be read by teenagers. Strong and discerning believers only! Please see my review of Timebound as it covers my concerns regarding the entire Chronos Files series.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

For all of my reviews visit my blog at https://blessedandbewildered.wordpress.com show less

Combined review of all three.
A brief review of my reading timeline shows that I'm a sucker for time travel stories so I was already predisposed to like this. And this mostly delivers. Well plotted and paced and well worth the read. My only complaint and this is not really a spoiler but...the young adult trope of a strong female protagonist having to choose between two boyfriends is getting really old.

Time's Divide is the third and final book (so far) in the Chronos Files Trilogy. The first book was shockingly good, the second was even better, and the third has completely blown me away. What a stunningly excellent first writing accomplishment from the author. I was so sad when I finished this book, just so sad that it was over.

Kate and her circle are back, trying to save the world and fight Saul, Simon, and the rest of the evil Cyrists who just suck. They are just a bunch of vile, psychotic, power hungry time travelers who are out to get Kate, her family, her friends, and, oh yeah, approximately, 75% of the world's population.

A few new characters round out the regulars, a few new times and places are explored, and some actual show more historical events and people appear, like the previous two books in the series. There are still major surprises, just when you think that you have everything figured out.

This series must be read in order, there is no way around that. Pick up the first book and see if you can put it down before finishing.

**eARC netgalley** show less

I really enjoyed the first two installments of this trilogy. However, this book really didn't seem to have a direction. It meandered through the same time travel events that characterized the first two stories but without the same sense of adventure, suspense or intrigue of the first two books. The ending was anti-climatic, although there was a tender moment at the end. From beginning to end, This story may have been better as a duology or even a single novel.

A nice and satisfying end to a thrilling series. Got a bit complicated at the end, as all good time travel books do, but not enough to distract from a good read.

Best of the Trilogy

I enjoyed reading Time's Divide best out of the series. I found myself trying to guess who was really on Kate's side until the end.