Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg follows Klara. Klara is shaken when her car almost hits a mysterious Scotsman who showed up randomly in the middle of the road. Little does she know, that will become the least of her problems. The Scotsman, Callum, has travelled far ahead in time. Soon Klara learns that she is the last Pillar of Time—she is an anchor point in the timeline and in possession of the hidden powers of a goddess. An enemy knows what she is and is hunting her down. Callum must protect her at all costs. Klara and Callum must work together to save the world as they know it.

This time travel urban fantasy romance with a splash of history is so much fun. I enjoyed every page. Please let there be a sequel!

3.75⭐️

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I have been waiting for over 5 years to read this story, so you can believe that I was extremely excited to receive an ARC of it. I’m not gonna lie, I had pretty high expectations for this book, so I am a little bit disappointed.

I feel like Callum was pretty bland and him and Klara had no chemistry together. Although, some moments were very cute and melted my heart 🥺💕

Sasha’s writing totally improved if we look back to her first books and I loved Klara. I also loved how much of her life she included in the story.

Time travel is one of my favourite genre bur Breaking Time didn’t do it for me. I felt a bit lost throughout the story, not knowing what was going on most of the time. I was hooked from the first 25% chapters but right from the 50% mark, I started loosing interest and it became difficult to continue reading a book I was so hyped for.

The story in general wasn’t bad. To the best of my knowledge, I think Scottish mythology and folklore was well incorporated.

The story just wasn’t for me.

I really wanted to love this one.... it has my favorite troupe in the entire world- time travel romance- and yet it didn't measure up in terms of writing. I don't mind that the concept/vibe of the story felt like Outlander...I mean, how does one come up with entirely unwritten ideas nowadays? But when the writing just feels lackluster I can't really get over it. Also, be sure to know that this is a Young Adult novel...with the cover and the concept, I thought it would be NA/Adult, but alas, it is not.

I loved reading this book! I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

Was provided a copy of Breaking Time through Netgalley.
DNF at chapter 6
I was looking forward to this book based on the cover and description. Honestly, the first thing that threw me off is I thought this book was more Adult, even upper YA. The cover and description definitely reminded me of Outlander so I was expecting something a little more adult. I love YA though so that doesn't bother me, but I was expecting writing that was more in line with upper YA.
The first chapter was hard to get through, but I kept going. I never try to judge a book by the first chapter, but it only went downhill from there.
The writing style was not my favorite. Within the first chapter I was cringing at some of the things being said. (All the things in the first fight scene)
Also, I didn't connect with the characters at all. By chapter three I was skimming.
Really the writing just isn't my style. And a few things like, "...the antiques her mother had painstakingly brought over from the states to give the manor its perfect Scottish charm." Made me cringe too. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something but what Scottish antiques are you bringing over from the states to make a Scottish inn feel more Scottish??
Overall, I'm not finishing it.

I was very excited to read this book as I love anything to do with Scotland. I have never read any of Sasha Alsberg's books before so I was excited to get the opportunity to do so. Overall, this is a very standard YA book, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that was just like a wow factor. The tone of the book was on the younger YA side, so this would be a great book for early teens and older middle school kids to get into as a bridge book. I liked the mythology and the romance wasn't bad, like I said, this was a very average book.

I liked it. Solid showing for a young adult. I was surprised at how long it took me to finish, though, because it just wasn't pulling me in after I put it down. It was just a nice story, flowing along. It ended on a cliffhanger, but I'm not sure I would bother continuing with the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard for the ARC.

I...am really confused. This is so similar to Outlander that I'm honestly surprised it doesn't somehow cross some copyright infringement lines. I was initially interested in this book because *Scotland*--it's such a cool place and for that to be the setting, along with time travel plot points, I was sold! But the tone of this book was really, really middle grade which, combined with the supposed age of the characters, just made the book feel badly written. All of the characters felt pretty underdeveloped, but the grandma was definitely the best of any of the characters. The relationship in this book was also pretty unbelievable, and not in a good way. It was so lackluster and awkward, very...forced? for lack of a better word. This was just a tropey, generic YA story for--I would say--young YA readers even though the ages of the characters would dictate otherwise. The tone is just not where it needs to be for anyone older than maybe 14/15 to really get into it. I would be interested in checking out this author's backlog or future books, because I can see potential for this author she just needs some more practice.

I loved this book. The story was stunning and the attention to detail is immaculate. Sasha's debut solo novel is a book all must-read.

This book was a DNF for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and the writing was mediocre, lacking anything to set it apart from other time travel books, particularly Outlander. While I liked the premise, and hoped it might add something new to very well trodden ground, unfortunately it did not do that for me.

Time travel books can be complicated - and I'll be honest I was a little weary of this being a "well known internet personality writes a book" situation. It was pleasantly surprised - as long as I didn't think too hard about the science fiction elements. It does give pretty harsh shades of Outlander (without all of the dated references/thought processes/internalizations/brutality that Outlander serves), but overall I feel like Alsberg took the time travel trope and made it her own. . .just don't think too hard about the specifics okay? You'll thank me later.

I was excited to read this book, with it taking place in Scotland and time travel it had me very intrigued. Sadly it did no live up to my expectations. The writing was very juvenile, even for a YA book. The characters weren't well developed and the relationship between the main characters felt forced and awkward. Unfortunately this wasn't a book for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this story more than I did.
It started out great—Scotland, traveling through time, a murderous villain, a slightly cheesy but totally tolerable romance plot. The mythology was interesting.

But the overall tone of the book felt very juvenile to me—even for a YA novel. The main character was really difficult for me to connect with. I enjoyed her grandmother’s character a lot—wish we had seen more of her. There were lots of glimpses of potential goodness here, but I just think it missed the mark for me.

This book was GREAT I am so upset (but also excited!) that there's a sequel coming out. What a cliffhanger to leave off on. I found the world-building very believable in this story; it was seamlessly woven into the action, and the characters developed quickly but believably throughout! I thought it was such fun to read another Scotland time-travel story that was a bit younger feeling and a bit more magical off the bat than Outlander (which is what I'd compare this to)- so if you liked Outlander you'll probably love this!!

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

After the death of her mother, Klara finds it hard to carry on with life as usual, instead she hides away from the world working at her family hotel and hiding college letters from her dad. The one night she does go out she hits something—or someone—with her car.
Prize fighter Callum grew up an orphan but he was never alone, for he always had his friend Thomas with him. But one night he stumbles upon a gravely injured Thomas in an alley and after grappling with Thomas’ assailant he finds himself transported through time from the 16th century into the 21st.
Callum and Klara must work together to travel to the mythic centres of Scotland to learn about the Pillars of Time to stop a dangerous demigod from usurping power.
Followers of book tuber Sasha Alsberg are curious to see how she tackles her first solo novel after co-authoring the Zenith duology with Lindsay Cummings. While at times I found Klara's voice a little too quirky and juvenile, I enjoyed Callum's voice and was overall impressed with Alsberg's growth as a writer. Alsberg has taken her love of Scotland and created a story of magic and adventure that will appeal to fans of Nora Robert's Awakening and Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever.

Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg

YA fantasy romance set in Scotland with woven elements of Celtic folklore, time travel, fairy rings, monsters, and gods

Set in both 1568 and 2022, this charming debut follows characters Callum and Klara after a series of circumstances bring them together through loss, time and space.
While this book is described as being similar to Outlander and The Crown Prince, despite the setting, mythology and time travel element, it is very much its own story. The writing is very contemporary and authentic for a college-aged gal character in 2022, so some readers may find it very colloquial. I myself, enjoyed Klara’s 2022 manner of speaking in contrast to Callum’s 1568. I was certainly drawn to this book because of the Outlander bit in the marketing, but before one begins reading, it isn’t Outlander.

Notes:
- A few typos
- A feeeew unanswered questions
- There are some scenes that I would love to see further sculpted and developed, if anything it has great bones that could be pushed further and more elaborately. It had a lot of potential and would love to see more world building/development in a second book.
- I’m very grateful or the representation of the dyslexia and ADHD variety!
- I was up until 3am because I just had to know the ending and was left concerned it ended 30 pages too soon. I hope this isn’t a stand-alone because WHAT?!!
- *loved* that Sam Heughan is in the acknowledgments
- Was so excited for a single bed trope and then…

Overall this was a sweet, quick, read with a dash of fantasy and a sprinkle of romance!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in the exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars

2.5/5 stars. To be released June 2022.

I was drawn to this book due to its setting - Scotland. Scotland is one of my favorite places in the world so I naturally wanted to pick this up. The book gives off Outlander feels as one of the character is transported to the future. The author implements a lot of Scottish and Celtic mythology and legend into this novel. I read about 75% of this book and then ended up skimming the rest. It was interesting, but not interesting enough to keep me engaged. The pacing and writing was okay, but I felt no clear connection to the characters or the relationship the two main characters developed. It was a interesting concept, but unfortunately that was not enough to keep my interest sparked.

Breaking time is perfect for fans of Outlander or for readers enjoying historical fiction, romance, fantasy. I enjoy the plot, world building and character development.

Breaking Time is a magical fantasy novel with time travel and beautiful descriptions of Scottish lands and old beliefs. Klara is a teenager who has decided not to go to college but afraid to tell her dad, had her mother pass away and moved back to Scotland all the the last year. She finally leaves the house only to think she hit someone with her car! Enter Callum by way of time traveling and the nasty magical beasts that are chasing them. This is a quick read with a little romance thrown in.

The historical locations visited within the novel created excellent landmarks providing insight into Scottish folklore. The writing style focused primarily on the emotions and physical interactions of the characters. In the process, the potential to explore in-depth world-building utilizing the scenery and locations was lost. Often long distances were traveled without context for sake of transition to the next plotline creating an indistinguishable timeline in a limited time frame.

A light read perfect for Young Adult readers who are new to the genre of romance.

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.