Charlie Ryan has had a tough start to life. His mother died young, leaving him in the foster system. Luckily, Gram was one of the good fosters and Ducky was a brother for life. But Charlie didn't tell even them about what had happened two months before his mother died. They had had a wreck that left her dead but somehow Charlie had used his mind to reverse the accident and bring their car back up the embankment in time to miss the car that had plowed into them. He was so young that these days he doesn't know if that really happened or if he dreamed it.

Juniper Trask knows it was no dream. Charlie is a Winder just as she and her whole family are. In fact, Juniper has been raised as a Winder and has risen to the top of the heap, a member of the ruling council that sets the rules. Her brother has left the Winders after being demoted from the enforcers, but he hasn't given up his powers. He somehow finds Charlie and brings him to New York where the Winders are gathered.

Charlie can't believe what Eamon tells him, but several demonstrations leave him believing that he is indeed a Winder. That means he can wind time back for seconds up to a minute or so, reversing actions that didn't turn out the way he wanted. He isn't sure what he thinks about it. There is a war going on between the Winders and the Faders and he wants no part of that, although he is pulled into it. There is also an internal war going on between the Winders and when that strikes close to Charlie, he is forced to use everything he has learned to save the day.

This is a debut novel but Ryan O'Nan is not a debut author. He has worked mainly in television on shows like Queen Of The South and Legions. The story is told in alternating viewpoints between Charlie and Juniper. I listened to this novel and the alternating voices worked to show each character's story. Readers won't be able to help thinking about what their lives would be like if they had the ability to roll back bad actions and relive them to make them turn out better. The book ends with a setup for further adventures with these characters so this may be the start of a series. This book is recommended for science fiction readers.

I'll be honest, I picked this one up for January LaVoy who, as always, gives a phenomenal performance. The book, however, was very much not my cup of tea. Charlie the Chosen One bulldozes over every other character in the book, pulling them into his orbit despite his lack of a compelling personality or any particular skill(s) - to the detriment of every other character. All the female characters are conventionally attractive and immediately obsessed with Charlie. The male characters... Who are they again? Did we have any male characters? This book wanted to latch onto the late 00s YA dystopian trend, but it's over a decade too late. We as a society have grown since then. And we don't need gender-based violence for shock value any more.

I've tried this audiobook numerous times now, and I just genuinely have no idea what is going on. I just don't think that this one is for me.

This YA sci-fi book gets an unenthusiastic meh from me. Sorry, I know a lot of you loved it, but the Juniper-Charlie push-and-pull never felt authentic to me. The whole story tried way too hard, and part of my disappointment came from neither character being very likeable, even though I think they were supposed to be. They couldn't be relatable, because they both had this superpower where they could, at great sacrifice to their strength, wind back time. But I had hoped they'd be likeable, at least enough so I'd care what happened to them. I just wanted both of them to stop being so stubborn and get over themselves.

Especially Juniper. What a PITA she was.

People keep talking about how "unique" the story is, and I didn't really get that either. It felt like most Disney plots, where the misunderstood underdog somehow gains the attention (first scrutiny, then adoration) of a reigning king/queen and they struggle to mesh their oh-so-different worlds together.

I will say that the narrators chosen for the the audiobook were pretty decent. January LaVoy and Daniel Sharman, well done!

Format: audiobook
Author: Ryan O'Nan ~ Title: Winders ~ Narrators: January LaVoy; Daniel Sharman
Content: 2 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

Sorry, this was not for me. I’m sure many readers will like this, but I’m not one of them.

I like the idea of winders, humanlike characters who can wind back time. There were 2 POVs: Charlie and Juniper. We get to know Charlie, who lost his mother and doesn’t know he is a winder. He experienced some of his superpowers but didn’t have a clue what that was. And Juniper, a prodigy, who becomes a member of the Council. She wants to know who killed her mentor. Audiobook often sounds like you are watching a superhero action movie, which can be a good thing.

Unfortunately, I disliked both main characters. In fact, I didn’t like any of the characters. Especially Charlie didn’t feel real, and he was so immature. When I listened to this audiobook, I couldn’t help thinking that this was probably written for a fifteen-year-old boy bursting with hormones. It seemed everyone was sexy, and the whole writing sounded so superficial. Often the only thing we learn about characters is their appearance and how attractive they are.

This audiobook has two narrators. The male narrator for Charlie, and female for Juniper. I liked both.

Thanks to Recorded Books the for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

I DNFed this at about the 15% mark. I found the beginning super intriguing and actually really enjoyed Charlie's POV. Unfortunately, I found Juniper's POV very difficult to get through and wasn't really interested in learning about the inner workings of the weird secret society thing. For now I am going to but this aside but I might pick it up again at a later date. I am in a weird reading mood at the moment and this was one I DNFed more out of "not for me" types of feelings so I might end up wanting to give it another shot later on.

This is a quick read. It's a very unique premise. I listened to the audiobook. I thought the plot was a bit complicated and was hard to follow at times. I think I'd have enjoyed this more as a book because than you can browse back if you want to look up something. The narration was good. I like that there were a male and a female narrator.

Do I recommend...yes! This was a pleasant surprise. Not sure exactly what I was expecting but it surpassed everything I wasn’t expecting lol. I’m hoping it is a series opener because it was left really open ended but I’m not sure. In Winders there is a secret society of super humans called Winders that are able to turn back time a few minutes at a time. One POV character, Charlie accidentally finds his ability turning back time after a tragic event and our second POV, Juniper was raised to lead in the society. Circumstances force them together and they team up to discover what is true and uncover secrets and lies. It’s fast pace and pretty exciting. I think a lot of people will like it and kudos to the narrators fabulous job on the audiobook.

I received an ARC from Netgalley, and that's the only reason I bothered to finish this book. I was ready to give up after the second chapter, but I owed it to the publisher for sharing an ARC. Spoilers abound.

The book is a quick read (or listen, depending on the format) and the concept of the Winders was cool. I like that kind of superhero/sci-fi gimmick. That's where the positives ended for me. I'm not saying some folks won't enjoy it, they will. But this book was way too derivative and had unoriginal characters. None of it was able to pique my interest, let alone keep it going.

Everything about this book was juvenile; from the way the factions are described to the overly young protagonists and their persecution complexes. And that's not the worst part. Every female character is described as being insanely (conventionally) attractive. I still don't know what the male characters look like-only snippets were shared of their physical appearances. I'm genuinely curious to know what would have happened if any of the female characters in this book had been 'ugly'. Is it so weird to imagine you may interact with someone who isn't eye candy, and still has a role to play in your/the book's life?

That wasn't the only sexist trope in play, either. Ducky's girlfriend tries to seduce Charlie hours after meeting him. And she does it for no good reason than to be some kind of John Hughes archetype, and then she's never heard from again. Tristan is a duplicitous fiend. And Juniper... we're told she's this smart scientist who has been trained for action from childhood, yet she is a passenger for most of the story. As soon as she gets sucked into Charlie's orbit, Juniper's the one in tears, needing a pep talk and rescuing. Why? Because Charlie's the chosen one. The start of the book makes you believe that Juniper is our protagonist, but she's really just a catalyst for Charlie's new life. They meet at a time of grave tension, yet there's a lot of focus on them finding each other attractive and kissing during the denouement. Explain to me how these two people who have done nothing but antagonize each other are a believable couple?

The book reminded me a lot of the film 'Push', which also began with a confusing expositional monologue about factions. In the film, a young woman appears to be the protagonist, before it becomes all about Chris Evans' character. The similarities don't end there; there's a conspiracy within a central organization and the female protagonist continues her search for her long-lost mother. As I said, this book is very derivative, and it goes far beyond the 'Push' parallels I've mentioned here.

I could have ignored the similarities to other sci-fi if it hadn't been for the rampant sexism. I'm sorry, but was there a need for an attempted rape scene in there? I don't understand why, when pop culture wants to show how evil people can be, they always throw in sexual assault, but only limit it to female characters as victims. We get it, people are the worst, but if you can suspend belief enough to write about people rewinding time, you can also do it so that your fictional universe doesn't have gender-based assault in it.

I worry that the younger demographic that this book is aimed at will love this book and want it adapted for the screen. It'll look cool, but it'll be regressive as ever.

This book has a fun central conceit, but the execution and characters are so clichéd and stereotypical. I'd rather fast-forward through those aspects.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

When he was a kid, Charlie Ryan saved his mother from a car wreck with a skill he never spoke about. Years later, Charlie meets someone who knows about his skill. Juniper Trask lives among the secret world of Winders who have special powers to alter time. Her world is turned upside down with some new knowledge.

While I enjoyed the narration by January LaVoy and Daniel Sharman, I think this book would work better if read instead of listened to. I got lost a few times and it is much easier to flip back and reread a passage than rewind with an audiobook. I liked the concept of time manipulation and thinking about some of the related ethics. A bit too gory at times.

I received this book as an eARC audiobook from Netgalley. All opinions are my own!

Juniper is a prodigy, Charlie, not so much. Juniper is among the elite of the Winders. Charlie is trying to get his life back on track. But when their fates are wound together, can they wind back time enough to save their lives, and the world?

First off, I loved how unique the premise of this book was! It was such a great question to think about the ethics of being able to wind back time and alter the fate of everyone. I loved how the book dealt with this topic and the heavier aspects of the world. The premise was unlike anything I've seen before, and I really enjoyed how well done it was!

There were times where I wished the story was a bit faster-paced in the middle of it. But for the most part, I loved listening to the characters' stories and watching their fates collide. There were also plot twists that left me stunned and wanting so much more of the story. It was hard to put it down several times, and I loved getting so into the world.

If you're a fan of sci-fi, I would highly recommend this book!

This was a fast paced fun story! I finished it in one sitting!

Charlie & Juniper are the MC’s.

Charlie doesn’t know he has powers until he’s in a car accident that kills his mom and he winds back time to save her. Charlie has his own demons & shares a sense of loneliness with Juniper.

Juniper’s mentor has been killed & she’s given his council seat. She’s a Winder prodigy but feels there’s an even bigger mystery to solve than her mentor’s death.

We have a male & female narrator who take turns with our two MC’s POVs. They were fantastic.

There’s political intrigue, adventure, bad guys, good guys, it’s well written, the characters felt relatable & believable. I look forward to another book from this author.

This story worked for me. It’s fiction, it’s time travel, it’s great fun!!

Thank you NetGalley & Recorded Books for the ARC for review, I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. The description of this story was intriguing. Unfortunately I could not get into this book. It was too graphic and hard to follow for me. The narrators are great it’s the story itself that’s hard to follow. There are concepts mentioned that aren’t explained so certain aspects are confusing. I was unable to finish the book because I couldn’t follow what was going on.