Alexandra Monir
Timeless
Timeless, Book #1
Brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz
Warning: Some spoilers contained!
Synopsis:
What if the person you’re meant to be with lives in another time?
When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s family, she is forced to move from Los Angeles to New York City to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she has never met. In their historic Fifth Avenue mansion, filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers the biggest family secret of all–an ancestor’s diary that, amazingly, has the power to send her back in time to 1910, the year it was written. There, at a glamorous high-society masquerade ball, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life. And she finds herself falling for him, and into an otherworldly romance.
Soon Michele is leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves–and to contemplate a quest that will determine their fate.
Review:
I have always been a big fan of true love. But never of sappy or unrealistic love. I was a little iffy on reading Timeless for that reason, I had worried the story would be laden with clichés and a love story without much depth. I was SO VERY WRONG! Alexandra Monir did a FANTASTIC job of creating a lovely heart warming story of true love defying time and distance. The moment I sat down to read this book, I couldn’t go to bed until I was done.
Monir uses the main character, Michele, to narrate and she is relatable, kind-hearted, and selfless. I loved that Monir created a female main character who GREW from her struggles and never once expected anyone to save her. Michele’s character development is written very well and the wisdom she gains through her journey of meeting her ancestors and fighting for her relationship with Philip is realistic. I also appreciated that Michele learned how to be selfless in her love with Philip. I hadn’t expected the romance between them to turn out the way it did! I had expected a pretty little bow tie wrapped around the two of them and had even routed for that because the love story was written with such heart, but I was pleasantly surprised that Philip and Michele’s relationship goes in a different direction.
The city of New York becomes another character throughout the novel. Monir takes the readers back to the 1900s, to the glitz and glamour of a New York long before all the city lights and noises, when people ACTUALLY walked and enjoyed it! I so desperately wanted to travel back in time and walk the streets along with Philip and Michele. Enjoy the lavish Victorian style dressing and architecture. The descriptions were so enchanting and charming. Monir does a splendid job of taking readers on the journey through Michele’s eyes.
The music was also one of my favorite aspects of the novel! I loved that Philip and Michele created music together and how they expanded the love between the two of them. As a BIG fan of classical music and really musical in general, I had truly felt at home as I imagined Philip and Michele dancing at the ball and Philip playing Schobert on the piano.
The only downsides to the book were that the pacing was a little too fast and the story was a bit predictable in some instances. But never did it take away from my enjoyment of the story. The ending was VERY shocking! I am still a bit confused at it because the ending was left on a cliffhanger. I cannot wait to read the next installment! I am LONGING to know what happens to Michele and awaiting more adventures with her into the past.
Timeless is a remarkable journey of a love that expands beyond time. Intertwining Monir’s love of music with the elegance of a 1910’s New York.
Every hopeless romantic will fall in love with Michele and Philip’s story and will be waiting impatiently, just as I am, for the next one!
