Book Review: Into the Dim

Into the Dim (Into The Dim #1)

by Janet B. Taylor.

Into the Dim This book caught my attention because it was billed as Outlander for teens. After reading it, I don’t think that’s an accurate comparison. Into the Dim does have time travel and some Scottish people, but that’s where the similarities end.

Hope has an eidetic memory, which is both a gift and a curse. She’s amazingly smart, but also very sensitive and easily overwhelmed. When her mother dies, her world implodes. She agrees, unwillingly, to spend the summer in Scotland with her mother’s family. There she learns the truth: that her mother is a part of a group of time travelers, and isn’t actually dead- just trapped in twelfth century England, by a group of rival time travelers. Thus begins Hope’s induction into the world of time travel, and the quest to rescue her mother.

What to say about this book? I whipped through it in an evening- a fun and quick read. I always enjoy seeing a new author’s take on time travel. This one took the idea of ley lines and places of power, and put a new spin on it with Tesla and machinery and a kind of lodestone-passkey angle. It hugs the line between myth/magic and science nicely. Hope as a main character and narrator was… ok. Having a photographic memory does not directly translate into common sense and the ability to pick up on really obvious things, let’s just leave it at that. I liked the peek into Eleanor of Aquitaine’s imagined life and court that we get when the rescue attempt is underway.

It was also a really easy read, in no small part because events in it were so predictable. Obvious romantic interest. Obvious complication. Obvious eventual outcome. Also, there was a big deal about trying to blend in when they were in the twelfth century, but the dialogue they were using really didn’t fit. The romantic storyline didn’t do it for me, either. It has all the trappings of insta-love, rather than something with depth. But I suppose we’ll see where it goes in book 2.

And I do intend to pick up book 2. Despite it’s shortcomings, I’m interested in the story and seeing where it goes.

If YA time travel adventure sounds like your kind of thing, give this a whirl. It’ll be out on March 1.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Into the Dim

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Book Review: Sorcerer to the Crown

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1) by Zen Cho. What do you get if you mix 1 part Jane Austen style, 1 part historical fiction, 1 part mystery, a whole lot of magic, and a dash of playful absurdity à la Gail Carriger? This fun book. Sorcerer to the Crown tells the story of Zacharias Wythe, the Sorcerer Royal, tasked with the upkeep and oversight of England’s magic: practices, practitioners, and general levels. He’s new to the job and already has a few things against him. 1) He’s an emancipated slave in a world of white men. 2) He […]

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Book Review: Doomsday Book

Doomsday Book

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis It’s a slightly futuristic England, and humanity has achieved the art of time travel. There are whole ‘history’ departments at Oxford dedicated to investigating different time periods – in person. Kivrin has set her heart on traveling to medieval England – specifically the 1320’s. And in the normal course of things, no problems would arise. Except that a virus spreading through Oxford infects her team, and results in her being sent to the wrong time, herself delirious with fever. Cue a sort of thriller as her team in the future tries to figure out what […]

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Book Review: One Day

One Day By David Nicholls I picked this up because I started seeing advertisements for the movie, and I generally like to read the book a movie is based off of before seeing the movie itself. After finishing this, though, I don’t think I’ll be running out to see the movie any time soon. I was torn about how to rate this book, because on a technical/language level it’s very well written, even quite lyrical at parts. The idea itself, telling a story of two people based on the same one day over 20 years, is also interesting, and carried […]

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