Here and Now and Then

I really wanted to like this. Aspects of it are very fun, but every time our main character Kin reveals to someone that time travel exists, they accept it so easily that it loses any impact and then I spend the rest of the time wondering why, for the average person in this novel, learning time travel exists is less mind blowing than listening to a particularly insightful TED talk or something. Imagine Peter Parker is revealing himself to be Spiderman to Mary Jane, and she replies “Cool. Was it tough to make the suit? Should we get Chinese for dinner?”

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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When I really love a book and don't know how to express it, I tend to ramble. Case in point:

You can have fun with a son
But you gotta be a father to a girl

Doctor Who

All Our Wrong Todays

Just One Damned Thing After Another

Paradox Bound

Here and Now and Then

Who

Outlander

had

(this next paragraph could get a bit spoiler-y. But not really, just in vague sentiments, no particulars...Still, skip if you want)

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from HARLEQUIN - MIRA via NetGalley in exchange for this post – thanks to both for this. These are my own honest – and hopefully not convoluted – thoughts and opinions.

It might actually be 4.5 stars. I'll have to let it simmer for a while.

An enjoyable book with some surprisingly heartwarming moments that had me tearing up. As a father with a daughter, not since Hyperion have I been so affected by time travel's impact on a father-daughter relationship. The end was very satisfying, if somewhat predictable. It wasn't the most action-packed book, but more of a slow-burn where you are trying to figure out what happens next when anything Kin does seems to keep making it worse.

I enjoyed the thoughtfulness put in to the ramifications of time travel and the limits and cost. If people could go willy-nilly whenever they wanted to what kind of chaos would that be? Kudos for a “believable” constriction on time travel.

I thought the characters were good, believable, pretty well fleshed out, if not compelling. The question of how well we really know people was a fun theme the book explored.

It isn't a long read, and I did really enjoy it.

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1MQJ7BLK29ZQH?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp


Kin Stewart is having a good life. He has a wife who loves him and a precocious teenage daughter who is the apple of his eye. He also has no memory of his past life when he was a time-traveling agent of the Temporal Protection Bureau. As an agent of the TCB, Kin would go back into the past - the present being 2142 - to eliminate threats to history. During one assignment, he lost his ride home and his memories.

18 years later, TCB rescues him and he discovers he has a parallel life in the future.

The book is plot driven with empathetic characters. The plot question asks how Kin will protect his daughter when he is not permitted to meddle with the past, even if it means protecting the life of his daughter.

I enjoyed this book, but it was pretty much a plot driven book that moved from point A to point Z by hitting all the points in between. Author Chen's writing style is similarly direct and light. It makes for a quick enjoyable read with a delightful and emotional ending.