The story of Eleanor and Robin works for the reader up to a point, but strains against the shifting time settings that add little to the narrative other than an expansive confusion. The plot doesn't advance, only the timeline and as a reader, this is frustrating and ultimately tedious. Eleanor is not a time traveller so there is no "fish out of water" pleasure usually found in time traveling books. She is also generally unaware of her time shifts, and it doesn't compel any reflection on her part. The various settings were moderately interesting, less so as they approach modernity. The surprise twist at the end is a literal deus ex machina disappointment. This book cannot decide if it wants to be a sweeping romance or a sci-fi twister, and unfortunately did not fully succeed as either. In some ways, it feels like a writing exercise in which the author replots and rewrites her central characters and narrative to test out different settings. The reader would have benefitted from a more fully formed novel.

I was attracted to the book because of the time travel theme and was content to go on the ride through Jane Austen-like chapters, wondering where it was going. I was often confused, however, when the time shifts happened. I thought it was because of the skewed layout in the e-reader, thinking that would be sorted after final editing, so I wonder, if it had had a friendly layout, it would have been easier to follow.
I came to really like Eleanor and felt sorry for all the reasons why her relationship with Robin was always just a breath away. It would have been a more satisfying end if they had ended up together. Did they really?
I was taken aback when Elizabeth turned out to be some sort of puppeteer in the future, pulling Eleanor’s strings for her unconvincing reasons. It just didn’t seem to fit the story that wandered through the ages. In fact, it jarred. I think it would be far better left out. It took a bit to get the momentum going again but I stuck with it and generally really liked the story.
Thanks for the opportunity to read the manuscript. It’s an interesting plot with believable characters.

Underneath the hood of this story of lovers meeting (and being mostly thwarted) throughout time there is a secret, but until it is revealed in the end there is something almost too clever, too tightly plotted about the rest of the book.

If you read it thinking you will enjoy a great romance you’ll wind up disappointed, because this book isn’t that story, not really. It’s one of those books that attempts a large-scale surprise that just comes off hokey and takes away from everything else that came beforehand.

The writing reminds me of old-fashioned stories critiquing society and class customs, but it seems to want to be a more modern-feeling book than that; yet the dialogue is pedestrian and the descriptions adequate, but not distinctive. Overall, an interesting idea executed blandly, and a bit confusingly, with a grand reveal that feels unsatisfying.
#Netgalley

I wasn't expecting this book to be a heavy historical fiction read. I enjoy time travel stories, but this was too boring and lacked the whimsy that stories of this genre require.

Eleanor is a woman outside of time. From early English history to the present day, hers is a life lived in subsequent time periods which converge at unlikely points. In Lesley Kruegers' newest time-bending novel, she explores the role of women through her main character touching on important themes like love and purpose, to name a few. A fascinating concept but often lost in a confusing rush of storylines set during pivotal moments in history. The author encourages her readers to fall in love with Eleanor and her beau Robin who meet again and again in each timeline. Although engaging and relatable in their final iteration, Robin and Eleanor struggle to connect emotionally in most of their previous lives. Adding in a jarring twist near the end, the author delivers a bewildering explanation for the previous chapters. Although the ending was satisfying up to a point, it is not one this reader will be adding to her library.

I'm usually a fan of time travel books and stories along those lines, but just could not ever get into this book....