2/5 Stars

YA Fantasy about a girl, Klara, who has moved back to Scotland after the death of her mother. One day driving, she hits a man with her car, Callum, the beautiful Scotsman who fell through time. After they spend time together trying to figure out why Callum is here, why mystical and bad things keep happening, and ultimately the mystery of their feelings for each other.

SO, first of all, I want to say that I have read Sasha's work in the past (Zenith), and I absolutely loved that book. When I heard she was writing another book, specifically inspired after Outlander with her own red-headed twist on it, I was so excited; it was my most anticipated book of the year. And I want to give a big thank you that I was sent an ARC. Ultimately, after much deliberation and sadness, this book was just not it for me. The premise is spectacular, and I feel like there was so much more that could have been done with this novel. The magic, the characters, the story, it all felt so rushed and instant lovey, that I could not enjoy it, personally.

Sasha writes with beautiful prosody and her lyrical way of expanding the world of the book is truly ingenious. Her main character, Klara, whom I could see was heavily inspired by Sasha herself, was a kick ass heroine, deeply compassionate, and outstandingly witty. Callum, also, was a perfect specimen of a human being; however, I didn't like them together. I think their relationship sped up entirely too fast and the story was heavily written around their romance instead of focusing on Klara's journey. While this is dual POV, which I love, it still felt Klara-centric, and it should have stayed that way. The plot was not there much which did cause me to glaze over things quite a bit and have to re-read it. I felt bored throughout the majority of this book, and I cannot express enough how devastated I am by this.

One thing that infinitely saved this book for me was the disability rep. I loved seeing a neurodivergent character where their disability wasn't either a) mentioned once and then ever again or b) pitied, hated it about themselves, or wasn't there to serve as book buying bait. Knowing that Sasha herself has these disabilities made it all the more exciting for me. Klara was represented well, and I very much enjoyed her depth of self. Her perspective really threw you into her trauma, her pain, her desires, and into Scotland itself. If this book was just Klara going through shit and kicking magical, creepy ass, I would be super into it, but it wasn't, sadly. I feel that the romance was wholly unnecessary and stole too much attention away from what the book was meant to be. While it did leave off on a huge cliffhanger, I don't know that it's enough to keep me going in the series.

Sasha, I applaud the hard work you put into this book, and I can definitely see how you wrote your life into Klara. For that alone, takes a lot of courage. I genuinely cannot wait to see what comes out next of yours, because despite my thoughts here, you are still one of my favorite authors!

I had so much fun reading this book I've re-read it many times. it claimed my attention and affection, I recommend reading the book I'm eagerly waiting for the next to be published.

Hello, most gorgeous cover of all time. But unfortunately, Breaking Time fell into the category of "story didn't quite live up to gorgeous cover." There's always a risk of that happening, but honestly the story had a lot to live up to with this cover. It's just breathtaking.

Basically, this book just felt lacking for me. The characters were okay, but the romance didn't feel fully developed. There were several plot conveniences that were ridiculous (what kind of national library keeps their special collections completely unlocked with no security cameras?) and I was kind of confused about the magic and exactly what Klara could and could not do. And there were some cringy pieces of dialogue.

Overall, it had a lot of potential! I'm just being picky at this point. I think this book will find a home with many readers out there—I'm just not one of them. Except I won't forget this cover anytime soon.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3

Thank you, Inkyard Press, for the ARC!

I received this ARC from NetGalley. I do not normally enjoy books with time travel, but I enjoyed this one. The plot was fast paced and compelling. The story was beautifully written. You will like this book if you are a fan of outlander, romance, and adventure stories.

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