Member Reviews
This book was quite a surprise! A very well written and beautiful love story. Nicely detailed about the past including the clothes, mental institutions, and World War 2. Looking forward to reading more from Catherine Taylor.
Well written, well detailed and a beautiful love story. A time travel story at its best. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
I generally don't read books on time travel but I'm glad I made an exception.
This story was nicely done. It gave a fairly accurate picture of some of the horrors of World War I and the emotions of the solders. Describing the discomforts of finding yourself a hundred years in the past. The uncomfortable clothes to wear and how to use the chamber pot efficiently made me chuckle.
The awful treatment of the patients in the mental hospital in current times might not be the norm but those situation do still happen sometimes.
I had to DNF this book at about 7%. It's a really slow going book and I'm just not connecting to the characters. I loved the summary of the book and the idea of a time travel love story, but this book just isn't working out for me.
This book had me on the edge of my seat. a great premise and well laid out. will recommend this to everyone.
Louisa is a young woman who falls off a cliff while drunk. She survives, but unfortunately for her, when she wakes up in the hospital the doctors are convinced she tried to commit suicide (the spot she fell from is famous for that). They admit her to a psych ward for treatment due to her history of depression. This fateful fact changes the course of lives in past, present, and future.
I wasn't too sure if I was going to like this book or not, but when I saw how highly it was rated on Goodreads I decided to give it a chance; I'm glad I did. I ended up really liking it. I thought the end was a little rushed and confusing though; that's why this book only gets 4 stars. But overall I'm very glad I read it. Brava!
This is a time travel story...but don't expect Outlander. There are certainly time travel elements, but this plot is more a case of the main character trying to figure out where she's supposed to be/what she's supposed to do. Expect to be confused a lot. You have to pay very close attention to the timeline because even when the couple is in WWI, they go back and forth in time. The writing was good, though, and it all came together in the end. I might check out more of the author's work, might not.
*ARC via netgalley*
I was pulled into this story right away. Even though throughout the book, I never figured out why it was called Beyond the Moon.
It is an easy read even though I found that there were many (52) words that I needed to look up. Thankfully, I read on a Kindle and things are easy enough to look up. I had thought I was an intelligent person and good with vocabulary. But this pushed me past my limits.
I loved Louisa's character. As well as the others in the psych center. I wish I knew Robert's character better as well as his war buddies.
At first I was confused as to how the time change happens. So I just suspended disbelief. Then time changes permanently for her, you don't even need to think about it any more. And finally near the end of the book you are given the explanation.
This book shows the horrors that I unfortunately believe probably do still exist in some psych centers. As well as the horrors of war for the fighters and the hospitals after the battle is done.
While I wouldn’t quite put it on the same level as Outlander, this is a very good story with varied and well thought out characters. I very much enjoyed both timelines of this story as the parallels between “Rose’s” life and Louisa’s.
A debut novel featuring a young woman grief-stricken and alone in 2017 and mistakenly committed to a mental hospital who, in an abandoned wing, meets a young injured WWI soldier from 1917. This is a reincarnation story of two lost souls, who through overwhelming odds find each other during a tumultuous time in history.
I enjoyed this story. The section featuring nursing during WWI reminded me a bit of the Bess Crawford series. My only complaint is that it wrapped up rather quickly, and I would have liked more of an epilogue.
Thanks to #CameoPress and #NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
This book really surprised me, in a good way! After reading the description, I went into this book expecting some type of time travel romance, but it was so much more than that. In truth, the author, Catherine Taylor, wrote an epic novel. The main characters, Luisa and Robert, repeatedly showed acts of heroism throughout the novel in a variety of situations. We as the reader can’t help but root for them and hope they find the HEA they deserve.
I love historical romance novels but sometimes they aren’t done to the full extent. Luckily, Taylor brings us so deep into 1917, that she even goes as far as to use the language of that time period when narrating. While that might seem like a given, it is something easily overlooked other authors and easily picked up on as missing by the reader. It’s obvious that Taylor had really done her research into this period, and you actually feel that you too have time traveled back to France during WWI.
Personally, I feel that this book would have been better if made into a series. There was just so much going on and so many additions to the plot throughout the novel. I really began to wonder if Robert would even remember Luisa after everything that happened. I realize that the whole point of their story is that their love withstands time, but to be honest it was kind of hard to get on board with that based on the very brief romance they shared at the opening of the novel. So for me, the romance between our two heros really fell short. However, Taylor really makes up for that loss with the beautiful story she paints of a war nurse and a commander in WWI.
Definitely happy I read this book but would most likely recommend it as a historical novel rather than a romance.
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley for an honest review :)
Not-at-all a fan romance, but as a huge historical fiction fan, I wanted to give this book a try.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. But there were way too many things going on, not only hindered the flow of the story but also lost the focus occasionally. And the book turned out wasn't the kind of romance novel I had in mind. "Beyond the Moon" is a love story of two people who lived in different time periods. Their fate is re-written through time-traveling with the Great War as its backdrop.
When the story focused on the lives of the soldiers at the front and nurses in 1916/1917, the story literally stopped moving. When back in 2017, the negligence treatments of patients in the mental institution dragged to a point which slowed down the plot twist as well. The plot moved decently fast the first 100 pages then decelerated. The pace picked up again the last 50 pages or so. I rarely skim-through books but I did for this one. There were many irrelevant details and dialogues which didn't quite do much to the plot or the historical aspects the author wanted to write about.
As for the time-traveling twist... I can't say the "reincarnation" part was convincing. In order to enjoy the happy reunion of the two protagonists, however, I decided not to dwell too much into the flaws.
The author did a great job with her research about the war. Historical fiction readers would find this part gratifying.
"Beyond the Moon" was an ambitious attempt of mixing in multiple elements together. The attempt was bold yet the execution was done with mediocrity. Not a bad read but definitely not top-notch either. Overall, I liked it OK but probably not something I would consider to read it a second time.
I enjoyed this book. I am a historical fiction book lover. This was a different type of book as it was a time travel historical fiction. I liked the style and the characters. Would recommend this book!
Have pretty mixed feelings about this title. First, I'll start with the good. The quality of writing was very good. The writing style feels polished and elegant, especially during the WW1 sequences. Those sections are told with an enthusiasm and level of detail that could really be felt.
The shifts from the heroine's time at a mental institution and the hero's time on the battlefield contrasted in an interesting way. I enjoyed about the first half or so. There is also something about the elegant wholesomeness of this title (barring the love scene, which was pretty chaste compared to many romances) that make me think it could be a great grandma buddyread! Assuming at least one of you has an interest in period pieces or maybe studying WW1 in general.
There are some interesting facets to the love story. I liked Robert's uncertainty and complex feelings for Louisa around the midway point. Louisa finds an interesting friend in Kerry, who has some snappy dialogue. I just like seeing female friendships given time and space to flower.
Now for the not-so-good.
Around the 65-70% mark, this title started to lose me in a big way. I still saw it through to the end, but didn't feel as connected. Though the description mentions the love story prominently, I felt like this one didn't reach the depths that you'd find in a more focused romance novel. So much time (pages upon pages) is devoted to extrapolating on the war.
There are minute, lengthy descriptions of the heroine's duties as a nurse. The institution segments can also go into extended and nitty-gritty details that distract from important aspects. While it's fine for this to toe the line in favor of general fiction, there was potential in the romance that I felt wasn't fully reached.
More time should have been afforded to adding dialogue and inner thoughts between Robert and Louisa, and more flavor to both characters. They often come off as pleasant in a bland way.. I knew something wasn't hitting quite right when the Kerry/Louisa friendship was making a stronger impression on me than the Robert/Louisa love story.
But to sum it up, if you've an enduring interest in WW1, this book is understated as historical fiction. There is a high level of detail in those scenes.
Disclosure : Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an e-ARC of this title. Also note, the full version was released in June and is available for purchase. It's also (currently) on Kindle Unlimited.
Wow is the best word to describe this book. I was absolutely blown away by this book and that doesn’t happen often. I sometimes feel I have read every kind of story told different ways but some authors can just really make you think. This book is just so well written and different that made me have to stop and think about it. It’s written in first person POV from two completely time periods- one from WWI where he is struggling to cope with what’s going on around him. She is in psychiatric hospital where she was committed because they think she tried to kill her self. Two people, hundred years apart, completely different circumstances but both so desperate for a connection and love. This book is very detailed and the characters are so well written that you find yourself completely drawn into their worlds of war, violence, mental illness, and loss. I highly recommend it.
I loved this! The time travel aspect of a med student from 2017 thrown back in time to WW I where she falls in love with a British soldier is brilliant. This novel seems very well researched and true to life. The characters are realistic and I loved the plot twist near the end involving reincarnation. Brava for Catherine Taylor and #beyondthemoon and thank you to #netgalley for the prepublication read.
!Enjoyable read! The time traveling experience was a bit different at first but turned out to be a spectacular twist. Love how the emotions flow from the page straight to your heart and the book comes alive so vividly
As much as I wanted to love this one it had some issues. The pacing felt off, the somewhat insta-love was a put off in this one as well. The plot seemed a little messy and the story itself was just messy. Other things with the story felt out of place and the time travel explanation just didn't work out at all. I did love the characters but their story just didn't pan out so well for me. If this one gets rereleased after some reworking I would totally check it back out though.
I loved this book. It was so well written and researched. The historical aspect of the time travel was very detailed and atmospheric. It was a “feel good” book for me.
Many thanks to The Cameo Press Ltd and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.
I requested this book because of the thrilling premise but it fell a bit short for me. I had a hard time fully engaging the story and the characters. It may be one worth reading or trying at another time as I do love WWI stories and time travel stories, but I found that I just could not get into it or resonate with the story. I do love rich descriptions and historical stories told from the perspective of the main character, so that was a bonus for me. I still say it is worth trying and exploring for anyone else who is interested in the topic of WWI and time travel.
Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.