There are basically two types of time travel, magical and science based. The magical sort is usually accomplished with an object or place suddenly transporting the unsuspecting person to a different time period. The science usually relies on some kind of machine that either transports the person or opens a portal to the time in history that they wish to go. This series is a mixture of those two types. There is machinery and computers, some of which was supposedly invented by Tesla, as well as the use of the ley lines to help transport the characters back and forth through time. They call the actual transfer through time ‘The Dim’. They also have the restriction of only being allowed to stay for 3 days and then they cannot ever return to that exact place and time. Other than those two restrictions, the rest of the rules of time travel apply here. Try not to change history basically.

This is a well done sequel to the first book. We pretty much pick up from where we left off in the first book. There are two factions of time travelers, that are competing with each other. One is somewhat more evil than the other, but as we don’t hear their side of the story, maybe they aren’t as bad as we are led to think, doubtful. Both side are seeking a way to make the traveling easier and longer and they both have their reasons why this is a good thing. Basically the Viators (the good group) finds out that the evil group is going to change something so they then try to stop them.

I like Hope and her friends for the most part. There are times that I was frustrated with her though. The first tenet of time travel is not to interfere in any way that would alter the time line, but Hope and her friends constantly talk and act in ways that make it hard for me to believe that they truly believe this. They go into their selected time periods with lots of research and knowledge of the events and of the society. So why are they shocked when they come up against some of that time periods societal norms that go against what we believe today. For example, Doug who is a young man of color, is told that he may not eat or sleep with the others when they arrive at the hotel they are to stay in New York in 1895. Both Hope and her friend Phoebe express shock and dismay at this. I guess it is one thing to read about it and another to see it in action. Hope’s eidetic memory gets them out of scrapes time and again and it does prove very valuable when she comes up against another time traveler that is a threat to her group and to the time period itself.

The romance in the story is not as prevalent as in the first book. But this is mostly due to Bran not being around as much. I really like Bran, even though I question his motives and loyalty at times. He does appear to truly care for Hope and it shows through his actions more times than not.

The depiction of 1895 New York City is well done. The author does not gloss over the poverty or despair of most of the population. But she contrasts it nicely with the glitz and glamour of the upper crust society. We get to see and meet the Vanderbilt family and their home and the surprisingly extravagant party they through. Also Nikola Tesla who is one of the most influential scientist/inventors of the time period. We also spend sometime seeing how people with mental health issues were treated during this time period, trust me it is not pretty. I had to skip a small part that got a little too intense and out of my comfort zone.

An engaging time travel series that is fast paced for the most part and hard to put down. I am looking forward to the next book to see where it takes our travelers and if they are finally able to defeat their rival travelers.

I have read Into the Dim twice (so far) and loved it both times. In this second book of the series, Taylor brings her readers back to the amazing world she created which includes time travel, historical settings and a diverse cast of characters.

Sparks of Light picks up two months after Into the Dim and I liked that things weren't all rosy for Hope and her friends after returning to present-day Scotland. They had lived through hell and the repercussions were believable and, for some, long lasting.

With the threat of Celia still lurking, the group is sent to late 18th century New York City to destroy a device invented by none other than Nikola Tesla. While I was slightly less captivated by this setting (compared to 12th century England in Into the Dim), this book is a solid follow-up that gives readers quite a ride. Taylor continues to weave historical elements and people into her plot seamlessly and while the book starts off slow she ramps up the pace with some edge-of-your-seat scenes. The plot has a much darker feel, is sprinkled with twists and focuses on big issues that influenced late 19th century New York - specifically racism, homophobia and the often horrific and gruesome treatment of people with mental health issues.

I'm always on the lookout for strong, interesting, well-rounded female characters and Taylor provides a group of women with a wide range of appeal - from the sassy, to the learned, to the loving, to the take charge kind of gal, Taylor shows that female strength comes in many shapes, sizes and personalities. The secondary characters continue to shine and add much to the plot and overall feel. I love Phee, Collum, Doug, Moira and Mac but, truthfully, Bran and Hope seemed to lose some of their luster in this book. Readers get more information about their shared past but the jumping back and forth between present and past interrupted the flow of the main plot and didn't add much insight.

There continues to be an element of romance but I liked that it doesn't overpower the plot. Is it odd that I'm not a fan of the Hope/Bran pairing? Perhaps. But, for a couple in love they haven't spent a lot of time together and it seemed that more page time was spent with Hope's friends telling her how much Bran loved her instead of showing the readers their bond. Truth be told, I still want to see Hope with another Viator.

Readers are left with a slightly abrupt ending as well as a few unanswered questions that will make them eager to read the third book in the series. I strongly recommend reading these books in order. Overall, a great follow-up to a series that I regularly recommend to my library patrons, friends and family.

Note: This book has one of the most intriguing and funny beginnings that I can remember reading. You got me, Janet B Taylor. You totally got me!

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for Young Readers for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Man, I didn't think this could get any better.....man was I wrong!!



This one picks up where book one leaves off and man was it good. I will say that some things I kinda saw coming but others I didn't. This one is full of more time traveling adventure and a lot of really great twists. I am not going to go into too much with this one as I don't want to do any spoilers since this isn't out yet. But man I couldn't put it down. This one picks up two months after the events of book one and all the characters we have fallen in love with are back better than ever. I really liked that the author chose to skip two months because this gave the MC the time to get further in her training and things to really mesh together. It was perfect! This one is another you will want to have tissues on hand and make sure to have another book close by for when you finish it. Becuase the book slumps will be coming at you full force as soon as you are done!

Why, oh why, did I think it was a good idea to read the sequel?

I didn't have a great experience with the first in the series, Into the Dim, but I had this hope that MAYBE the sequel would be better. It happens. Sometimes. This, however, wasn't one of those times unfortunately. 

It's been a while since I left a book unfinished. After the previous one, I didn't have a high tolerance for any of the characters in Sparks of Light or a lack of story. Grace wasn't a favorite of mine to begin with and my opinion only dropped lower this time around. She hasn't changed, like at all. I don't care if she's a teenager, the way she acts towards other girls is pretty awful. She also comes off younger than her age and not in the good way (is there a good way with that?). Perhaps someone closer to her age would like Grace more than someone in their early twenties like me. Can't say. 

The story moved far too slow to hook me which, with a protagonist on my blacklist, wasn't a good sign. Taylor moves back and forth in time, alternating between past and present. Also, I recommend reading this right after Into the Dim because you'll likely be lost otherwise. 

Sparks of Light had potential. The series has potential. But neither books reached it. I left this book unfinished about two-thirds of the way through and have no intentions of giving it another shot. Not a good one for me.

This review is tough to write, because I CANNOT SEE THROUGH MY TEARS!

I would like to commend Taylor here, because in my opinion, she avoided the second book slump. When I first started reading this book, I was afraid I would not remember anything, since I had read Into the Dim back in 2015, but bits and pieces of the previous book were thoughtfully woven into the early chapters. That got me right back into the world and ready to go on a new adventure.

I was just re-reading my review of the first book, and I like this book for essentially all the same reasons.

What I Liked
The Time Travel: This time we travel to Victorian New York. Being in 19th century NY made me really appreciate NY now. I forgot how horrifying some aspects of life were back then, and I thought Taylor picked an interesting cross-section of social issues from that time period to explore. And, well, we also got to interact with Tesla, who is one of my favorite scientists, which was very exciting for me.

The Romance: I really feel like the swoon factor was turned up on this one. I found myself furiously highlighting passages from the chapters where Hope and Bran interact. I am so firmly aboard this ship with all my heart. And to compound their lovely love, we get to take trips through Hope's memory as she begins to find pieces of her past life, and when she first met Bran. *heart-eyes*

Apples = Love

The Family: Yes, I am taking the word family out of quotes, because this group of people are a family. They don't need to share blood to share the love and ties of a family. There are so many things that happen, which just drives the point home. There are some sacrifices, HUGE sacrifices made and some lines drawn and crossed, but this is exactly what family does for one another. There are some joyous times shared, and a some really sad times shared, and I am so happy Hope had all these lovely people there to share them with.

The Mystery: And the plot thickens. Just when you thought you knew what was going on between the Viators and the Timeslippers, Taylor introduces another wrinkle in the form of yet more nefarious characters. Our villain group is either growing or shifting. Not sure yet, but looking forward to finding out how this is going to play out.

The Science: Like I said, we actually get Tesla on page, which is cool. There is less geek speak in this one, as we kind of already know the science behind the machinery, but there is a little bit here and there.

BONUS - The Highland Games: This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Here the characters were all together celebrating their heritage. They were eating, drinking, dancing, tossing cabers, and there were some really romantic things that happened here too.

Overall: A strong sequel filled with action, happiness, swoon, and some serious tears there at the end.

I was not as impressed by this book as I was the first in the series. It just felt kind of pieced together and I didn't see much character development. Perhaps my opinions were colored by the fact that I read "The Last Magician" a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. That book, although the first in a series, takes a similar concept of time travelers in turn-of-the-century New York and does a much better job.
Because this book was the second in a series, I needed a little more time/effort spent on going back over background information from the first book. Even though I did read the first one, there were details I had forgotten and so I felt a bit lost going into this one, when things weren't explained very well. If one does read this book, I would definitely recommend reading the first one right before starting this one.
Also, I felt as though much of the emotional journey that the various characters were on were left to the first book, so this was like, "The Continuing Adventures of..." Nothing really new or exciting happens to them to affect them, unless one takes into account artifacts or information that they uncover. But if one hasn't read the first book, one will have no idea why those artifacts or information is important.
The action that takes place in the "hospital" didn't seem to really fit, either. It didn't really move along the story or have much connection to what was going on. All of the things at were relevant to he story, like initially meeting with Tesla, finding the villains, planning the climactic event at the end, all happened "off-stage." Even things like studying building plans were a little too conveniently added in all of a sudden, like, "Good thing I studied those blue prints last week back at home so that now I know we can sneak in through this windows over there."
This book could have bee much better, and I would definitely not recommend it if you have not read the first one.

I love a good time travel book. This was an average story, with some fun characters. A typical YA book, there is the expected hunky love interest. I liked the bit of history tossed in with Tesla. Overall, a fun read.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Books about time travelling seem to be in right now, and this series is as good as all the others, if not better. Into the Dim was a fantastic debut, and it's sequel just built on that, and grew into perfection.

In Sparks of Light, Hope is getting used to being back in the present time, in Scotland, complete with her previously lost mother, and new baby sister. She has a new family and friends, and a kind of boyfriend, but he's stuck in the enemy camp, so it's difficult. As a Viator, she is doing good in the world, ensuring that the enemy doesn't do anything to jeopardise the future. However, when she has to go back to 19th century New York, and meet with the legendary Nikola Tesla himself, she finds herself in danger of never being able to return home.

Hope is a character who grows more and more every time we meet. Now that she has people around her that understand her, and she has reunited with Bran, she has come into her own, and I wish I was her. Obviously, she is feeling stressed, that her mother is back home, though she is still not herself, complete with a baby sister - which leads to her parents marriage breaking down. When she has the opportunity to go on another adventure, and protect the future, she immediately jumps at the chance.

One thing I didn't enjoy was the New York setting, to be honest. Modern history is not a thing I really enjoy, and I found Victorian New York to be a bit boring. I did appreciate how much that Taylor had researched the period, and included real life people in the plot. Parts of the story line were unnecessary here, but I did enjoy the asylum arc.

Bran and Hope's relationship was better than ever, and I find myself wishing they were together more and more! It's unfair that they are forced apart so much, but that's life in a YA Fantasy. Hopefully in book 3, their relationship won't be as chaotic and separate as it has been so far.

I feel as though this book may have fallen in the sophomore slump category. Yes, I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I am looking forward to the next instalment, though, and hope that historical era they are sent into is as enjoyable as in Into the Dim.

The first book, Into the Dim, was really pushed as being a YA Outlander but oh boy was it not! Yes, there was time travel and some of it did take place in the Scottish Highlands, but that's where the similarities end. I thought that the first book was alright, middle of the road. An interesting read that I neither overly liked or disliked. However, this time around with Sparks of Light I quite firmly have an opinion and it's a very negative one.

This sequel was a huge disappointment. Yup, nothing about it captured the moments of excitement seen in the first book. It just falls flat, bogged down by old memories and a lack of transitions. It read as disjointed and unsure of itself. I was honestly never really sure if what was being described was something from the past or the current action. The constant struggle to figure it out in addition to the sluggish plot just turned me off completely. I read it through and stuck with it, but it was certainly a struggle!

The main character also got on my nerves. She was tolerable in the first book. I actually began to like her near the end but here all of the things I disliked take centre stage. My biggest issue? It's how she views other girls. In the first book she kept on putting down women who dress a certain way or are large chested. To her they were all promiscuous. It continues in this book as well to the point where it made her sound jealous, hateful and petty. I hate books where girls slam other girls for how they dress and equate it with their intelligence or sexuality. Who cares how you dress? So, you date a lot of guys, so what? STOP JUDGING!

Will I read the third book? Nope! After this disaster I have no inclination to do so. There are so many other time traveling books to keep my occupied. I highly suggest the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier. Then there's Passenger by Alexandra Bracken that's been sitting on my shelf for ages. Any other YA time travel books to suggest?

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

Janet B. Taylor returns to her Into the Dim series with Sparks of Light, the second book in the series. I really enjoyed this sequel. It was a little slow at first but once they arrived back in time the pace really picked up. This time around you get a lot of flashbacks from Hope that help you learn more about her and Bran's past. While I liked learning about their shared past, sometimes the flashbacks seemed to slow things down.

This book finds Hope and the Viator's going back in time to Victorian New York to meet Nikola Tesla. They must convince him not to complete work on an enhancement that will allow them to control how long they are able to stay in the past. Not everyone on their team agrees, as Collum and Phoebe want to use the enhancement to find their dad.

A new villain makes his debut with Gunnar Blasi. Celia sends him back with a team of Timeslippers to get the enhancement from Tesla. They want the enhancement to help their team to further their goal of finding treasure and changing the past to suit their needs. Blasi has other plans that lead to some twists and turns for Hope and her friends.

I really enjoyed this sequel. It was a little slow at first but once they arrived back in time the pace really picked up. This time around you get a lot of flashbacks from Hope that help you learn more about her and Bran's past. While I liked learning about their shared past, sometimes the flashbacks seemed to slow things down.

If you liked the first book in this series then you will enjoy this one. Janet B. Taylor has a knack for being able to pull you back in time along with her characters. The expected release date is August 1st 2017 wherever books are sold.

After reading Into the Dim, I could not wait to read this sequel. Hope’s adventure into the past was well written, romantic, adventurous, and packed with little historical tidbits. I expected more of the same and more. Unfortunately, this second installment was a little lacking.
The writing throughout the book was a little stunted. I did not flow as the previous book did and found its reader setting the book down, rather than staying up all night. Hope’s romantic interludes felt forced and over the top, as if they were placed in as an afterthought to bring romance into the story.
The history was great, on the other hand. Taylor definitely researches her history and gave Tesla a great character with as much information that a reader could want. I would love to see more little insights and cameos of historical figures.
What is, I think, most frustrating is Hope’s “gift”. The idea of her with a eidetic memory is a cool thought that could be a great characteristic of our female lead, but, if read carefully, does nothing for this novel. Hope, though smart and creative, does nothing with her memory to move the story along or help the other characters. She may recognize people, places, and times. She might remember something from her readings that give insight to a situation, yet, in the end, it is normally something unimportant to the plot, someone else already knows, or information that leads another character to bring everyone to safety.
After the first book, I was hoping for so much more from this second installment. I had wanted a little more refining in the writing and more character development for all the characters. I, regrettably, feel that this went the wrong way.

I was not able to download and read the secure copy on my bluefire app. It downloaded but wouldn't open and said "no valid license was found"

I really liked this book even though I never read the first one. It was witty and fun and the Sci-fi aspects are wonderful for people new to the genre like myself. I highly enjoyed letting myself get lost in the story and it didn't take me much time at all to finish. It has a lovely story, and I don't want to say too much because it is the second book in a series and I don't want to spoil anyone but, it is really worth the read!

In preparation for reading this, I read the first book in the series. I have to say, I found the first book much more intriguing. While the first book had the kind of character growth that I like to see, this one just had the same people basically doing the same thing in a different time. It got boring very quickly. It doesn't help that the main "romance" of the story bores me, and I did not find it compelling in the slightest. Overall, I will probably not reread this once it comes out, as I was not interested in the story now.

I apologize that I'm unable to review this book as I'm only able to download those in Kindle format.

Thank you for this book. Unfortunately, since it is not in kindle format, I am unable to read it.

While I really loved the first one in this series, Into the Dim, I had a bit of trouble getting into this one. All of the characters are still around with their Scottish humour, family banter and tender moments (gaelic phrases of love are always good!) and there is another new adventure for them to undertake, this time heading to New York in the late 1800's. There was adventure and thrills, and fancy dresses and institutions, some swoon and even some grief after losing one of the group.
I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy this one as much.... maybe I wanted a bit more of Bran! Overall, a 3 1/2 star 'good read'.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for the ARC via NetGalley.

Downloaded the only option available; as an Adobe file. Unable to read file on my two android devises. Would love to read this book.