Fast-paced and fiery, THE OBSERVER EFFECT begs the question of what happens to those we love when we try to interfere with history. Time travel tropes are explored in new and unexpected ways, with special nods to French history as well.

What a satisfying read! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book from start to finish. I can’t say I was looking forward to the 3rd book since I didn’t enjoy the 2nd book as much as the first. But I am so glad I still read it or I will be missing so much! It’s a fast-paced read and despite me being annoyed with Gabrielle during the first part, I can say that this was such an amazing novel. Joe can see the past and time travel. His questions are the same as mine and I’m glad these were answered by the Continuum. I am not the type to nitpick on every single “fact” like the others, and I am satisfied with what was given to me.

I have always enjoyed the dynamics between the characters in all three books. It adds excitement and fun to the story. The first book is a good stand-alone but, in my opinion, reading all 3 books will be so worth it. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is amazing, I couldn’t stop listening to it once I started!
Thank you, Netgalley & Author, for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

"We often see vulnerability as a weakness, but the truth is that strength is about being honest, authentic, and brave enough to show people who we are." -from chapter 34
And this is also why the book succeeds. It takes the time to show us not only what the characters are doing, but what emotionally drives them to do it. Even better, this is typically done through delicious subtext.

My full video review with detailed thoughts is at https://youtu.be/u59KqqJaLEw?t=798

In this book, Joseph Bridgeman is still picking up the pieces from his previous time travel adventures when he is recruited to a new mission. This one involves a 1873 opera house fire (yes, the opera does have a phantom, yes that phantom may or may not be a time traveller).

One of the frameworks of this book is putting together pieces without full context. And that is a compliment! This creates many little mysteries in this book (in how time travel really works, in character motivations, etc). Every time I figured out one of these little mysteries, I got such a thrill (and even when it turned out that I had reached the wrong conclusion, that did not lessen my delight). The main character is living a life in a parallel dimension than the one he is used to (kind of, it’s time travel after all), and having to adjust again and again to the curveballs that life throws at him. He is constantly dealing with situations without the right context, and having to work through it anyway. This gives the book such a rich layer of emotional complexity. It’s further impressive that these layers are a direct fallout of character actions in a previous book (and real consequences in a story are one of my favorite things).

(Coincidentally, my experience of reading this book was also one lacking proper context. This is the third in the series, and I haven’t read books 1 or 2. Being confused with the details of time travel ALONGSIDE the narrator was such a pleasure, and helped me feel like I was still along for the adventure. It’s okay to be a little confused in this book, because that’s part of the ride.)

AUDIOBOOK:
The audiobook was well done. The narrator, Ray Porter, provides an appropriate amount of emotion to the book (I especially appreciated the gravitas in the dramatic moments), and gives each character a distinct voice. However, I feel that this narrator was miscasted. Our main character is very British (in hometown and vocabulary used), and the audiobook narrator is American. No matter how talented the narrator is (and he is), that doesn’t stop the dissonance in my ears from hearing the story through the wrong accent.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

The Observer Effect is book 3 in the Joseph Bridgeman fantasy/mystery series.

Joseph Bridgeman is a time traveler who is also frequently tasked with resetting the timeline to repair history (not unlike the premise of the Loki show.) This story involved going to back to reset the events surrounding the burning of the Paris Opera. Joe is able to see the past, making him an asset to the Continuum, the organization managing the time travel operatives and their missions. A rogue time traveler who is able to evade the Continuum also becomes a complication and investigation target for Joe and the organization. Joe is also confronted with addressing the time traveling versions of himself who have previously dominated what is now his present and mitigating the damage that was caused.

I haven't read any of the other titles in the series, but was nonetheless able to pick up on the threads of the past story lines. This was a fast paced story, and I'm definitely interested in reading the previous titles in the series. The audio narrator was fantastic.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Nick Jones for the audiobook of the ARC

I tried a few times to get into this audiobook however something about the narrator didn't hook me.

The story seems well written and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had of read the ebook.

It is full of action and I loved the plot.

I did not realize this was a series and therefore I was super confused for most of the book. I did enjoy the narrator and the descriptions of characters and settings. I would like to now read the others!

The Observer Effect is the third Joseph Bridgeman time travel mystery by Nick Jones. Released 15th March 2022 by Blackstone, it's 344 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I have always loved time travel stories. I devoured every episode of Dr. Who, Star Trek, every story and book about time travel with gusto. Obviously some were better than others, but I loved (and still love) them all. This series is one of the better representatives of the genre. It's full of fun history and watershed moments for the reluctant hero, hapless but plucky Joe, to right and to try and help untangle. He's an unlikely everyman hero, really relatable, muddling along the best he can manage and trying to fix what he can fix.

The writing is solid and additionally filled with small comedic moments that made me grin. Mr. Jones managed to write believable flowing dialogue which is never choppy or uneven. The action flows and in between fighting for his life, Joe has a fair number of quiet scenes where he interacts with his family and friends and grows as a character.

It's an ensemble cast and like lots of very well written quest stories, every part is integral to the whole. The plot, denouement, and resolution are quite cleverly constructed and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series with anticipation. It's *full* of time paradoxes and the way the characters solve them are clever and believable (in context).

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 12 hours 7 minutes and is capably narrated by Ray Porter. He does an impressive job with wide ranging geographical accents and genders. I absolutely love his voice for Vince, who reminds me a lot of my very fond memories of Brian Glover in Mystery! as Magersfontein Lugg (Campion series). When the book started, I was afraid that Mr. Porter's very gravelly baritone would be too strong for the part (I "hear" Joe up in my head as very put upon and almost whingey sometimes) but I soon warmed to him and he's very versatile and definitely enhanced the read a lot. Sound quality and production values were high throughout the recording.

Five stars. Fun, clever, and entertaining. Five stars also for the audiobook version.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Observer Effect (Joseph Bridgeman #3)
Nick Jones
Joseph Bridgeman has a talent for seeing the past; Joseph Bridgeman is a time-traveler. This is the third book in the series. Joe is still adjusting to his new reality, perfecting his skills and developing new abilities as a time traveler. The Continuum, an organization of time travelers based in the future contacts Joe asking for his assistance. One of their operatives is missing, lost or trapped in the nineteenth-century Paris. The Continuum believe Joe is their last hope for locating the missing man. Joe and Gabrielle Green travel back to 1873. Gabrielle is a sarcastic time traveler that strongly dislikes Joe. The mission takes Joe inside a burning building, an opera house. Every time the missing man is seen he disappears. An adversary portends to lock Joe and Gabrielle in the past.
Joseph Bridgeman is living a life in different parallel dimension than the one he is from. He is trying to adjust to his new reality. Things are different in his new reality, and he doesn’t always understand it or know how to react. His sister Amy is an artist; there are clues hidden in her paintings. Vinny, Joe’s best friend is always ready to lend a hand in assistance.
The Observer Effect refers to Quantum Mechanics in which observing a situation or phenomenon necessarily changes it. When you observe something in the world you know that regardless of where and when you observe the object, it will always remain the same. However, in the laws of Quantum Mechanics observing something changes it.
Author Nick Jones allows the characters to have emotions. As readers we observe not only the actions of the characters but why they act and react the way they do. I enjoy time travel tales and this one does not disappoint!

This book, just like the others in the series, is outstanding. Ray Porter is the perfect Narrator for this series. It seems like it's set up very well for another book and I absolutely cannot wait!