This was an entertaining tale that follows a teen boy displaced by the loss of his family, yet newly accepted into an upper level prep school on a scholarship. He struggles with the sorrow of loss and the struggle to find his place and fit in to this new life. His placement in the Historians Club changes his life even further, and that is where the adventure really begins. He finds friends, rivals and challenges the likes of which he has never before seen. This is a little bit Hunger Games but in a present world that includes high-tech gadgets and time travel. Through the challenges thrown at the club members, he finds his place and learns to face his fears - all while continuing to be true to himself despite the outcome. The character development and the interaction among the group is great, and the adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat! I loved the book and am so glad that it is a series, because I can't wait to see what happens next for this crew!

REVIEW: It had me hooked from the start. I'm not used to sci-fi, but I truly liked it. I enjoyed how the stories incorporated historical moments; you can always learn something new, even if it's just a little.
Although all of the characters are likeable, I particularly loved Edison's.
I have to admit that I wasn't expecting the results of the games; they were fine, but I needed more action or for them to be more exciting; they were too fast for me.
I'm going to read the second book since I'm curious about what happens next!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for offering an advance reading copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

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RESEÑA: Me atrapó desde el principio. No estoy acostumbrada a la ciencia ficción y lo he disfrutado. Me gusta cuando las historias introducen momentos históricos, siempre se puede aprender nuevas cosas, aunque sea un poquito.
Me gustó el personaje de Edison, pero a todos los personajes se les coge cariño.
Tengo que decir que no esperaba los resultados de los juegos, estaban bien, pero necesitaba más acción o que fueran más intrigantes, fueron demasiado rápido para mí.
Voy a leer el segundo libro, quiero saber ¡qué pasa después!
Gracias a Netgalley y a la editorial por dejarme leerlo a cambio de una honesta reseña.

Thank you to Tiny Fox Press, and NetGalley for the free book in return for my honest review.

The Time Trials was a super strong first book! The characters were well thought out, and likeable. There are 4 main characters that you meet and an adorable robot named Scrap. I loved the premise because, time travel? Yes please!

As we jump through time with the characters they encounter the history of the time as well. The history aspect was very well done, and not just brushed over.

The trials were so immersive and I could not put the book down!

As someone who has worked with the nuerodivergent community, representation is so important. To read about someone like you and feel like you might not be alone in the world is really awesome. Thank you to the authors for not just writing about able bodied/non neurodivergent people.

I can't wait to dive into the 2nd book!

Finn Mallory has his life turned upside down when he and his parents are in a horrific car accident. His parents die but he survives, with some cuts and scrapes, a minor broken bone, but a tonne of guilt upon him, as he feels that the accident was his own fault. One of the last things his parents did for him before the accident was enter him for a scholarship at an elite boarding school, wanting to give him the best possible life. When he gets offered the place, he takes it to honour their memory, despite not wanting to go.

When he gets there he soon realises he is seen as an ‘unfortunate’. He is the odd one out among a never ending crowd of super rich kids. These kids immediately begin to pick on him, mocking him for where he is from, his choice in clothing and his lack of social standing. He is saved by an invitation to join the history club. It sounds boring, but the head of the school makes it sound less than mandatory to join. Once Finn gets there he realises the most popular and beautiful girl in the school is a member, so he thinks he can tolerate it.

However, once the professor who runs the club explains what exactly the club really does, Finn soon realises he is in for much more than he expected.

This was a super fun, fast and easy read. I enjoyed the concept, as far fetched as it was. We will put aside how the logistics of keeping such equipment and training secret on a school campus works, as we are taking into account that we are reading about a time travel club. The story was engaging, the characters had some good diversity, and the challenges were interesting. There could have been some more depth in the trials themselves, with a bit more of the history in the locations and more detail around the trial and the team completing it to flesh the story out and give it a bit more of a sense of completion, rather than the focus on the relationships. But overall a good read and am looking forward to the second book.

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

I use paw marks rather then stars due to my reading buddy lol
The time trials by Jon McConnell and Dayna McConnell

Paw marks- 3

keywords- YA, competitions, friendships, mental health, boarding school, death and social standings

In short- A fun, quick read that takes an interesting look at history all mixed in with young love and the power of friendships

full review
read the book thanks to Netgallery
The time trials by Jon and Dayna McConnell is the first book I have read by these two authors and I wasn’t disappointed. The time trails feature a main young adult called Finn who have gone through something horrific before being offered a place in a fancy boarding school that could give him that chance at a better future, if he can be seen as something more then just the charity case.
We follow Finn while he tries to fit in before being offered to be part of a history team at one of the school clubs, what at first seems just another extra credit club suddenly become something that no-one could dream could be true.
As we learn along with Finn and his new team mates that time travel is a reality we watch as this team of unusual characters start to form fragile friendships and in some cases maybe something more.

Jon and Dayna takes us on a fast pace history adventure that give us tons of emotional depth as the characters deal with difficult families, mental health conditions, death and the awkwardness of boarding school and the school social ladder. The characters were fully 3D and their responses were realistic and relevant to their age and their situations.

I loved the history side of the story although I would have liked just to learn a tad more about the history points while they were preparing for the challenges or just after the challenges, as I found the second challenge was a bit bland as I didn’t learn much about the place which made it feel a tad less real, I would have also liked if the authors had given a little more time to giving us more information about the character that died as it felt like the person was a very throw away character and didn’t feel as impactful as I think the authors intended it to be.

Despite these small flaws it is a fun plot with an interesting twist on time travel and great for readers that love history and magical based competitions and shows in a sweet way the power of friendship and creating your own family. Plenty of potential for development and I look forward to more fun adventures with this history team.

Review also on my goodreads

Read as a ready-to-read ARC on NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Fox Press for making this copy available to read to NetGalley users

Jon and Dayna McConnell have created a deadly, YA novel, centred around a brutal competition which fits alongside the likes of The Hunger Games and the Inheritance Games, while being unique and having its own charms.

The idea of travelling back to areas of history to compete draws readers in, especially when revealed that events from the past cannot be changed, and the butterfly effect therefore irrelevant. It manages to have the deadliness of a killing competition, without travelling to a dystopian setting.

Each of our 4 main characters have wonderful unique personalities. We have our dark horse outcast in Finn, the popular, graceful one courtesy of Everly, bold and fiery Valerie, and the wonderful Edison.

I appreciated that a considerable chunk of a chapter was dedicated to letting the reader get to know Edison and his high functioning autism. The mention of the purpose of occupational therapy within this chapter showed an understanding of how professionals can work with neurodivergent individuals, but I would be intrigued to know how much research or knowledge of experiences was put into the character (If anybody knows I’d love to hear as I'm always trying to educate myself on areas like these!)

While I enjoyed the plot, and thought it was unique and well written, I felt there were a few downfalls.

The first half of the book was paced wonderfully, with the build up to each of the events and the strategy behind the team’s thinking. However towards the second half, it got a bit messy, particularly in the 3rd event, where I found myself re-reading sections to get a good understanding of what was happening.

The ending also felt very abrupt. With the book finishing at the announcement of the winners. I thought that we would hear more about the aftermath of the games (and Mordecai’s decision) at this point, which would then have led into the sequel of the book, as it reads as more of a standalone. However my judgement may change after reading the sequel.

All in all, the book is an excellent story within the YA subgenre of “deadly games” that stands out amongst others. While the book had some issues with pacing and the ending, it made for a pleasant and gripping read that would translate well to the silver screen.

4 stars

This book looked really good upon first time looking at it. I was intrigued to give it a read.

Unfortunately I was not interested after about the 4th chapter, wasn't what I was looking to read.

I was an ok book. The characters had a good story could have had more.

This YA sci-fi/time travel was the perfect escape. Who wouldn’t want to be invited to join a time travel school club, even if there’s a bit in the fine print about the dangers involved? The main characters (the outcast, the queen bee, the jock and the nerd) make a believable and likeable team who’s strengths and weaknesses balance each other. I enjoyed the buildup to the time trials as I got to learn a bit more about the characters. The actual trials were a little disappointing in their brevity. I think I would have preferred one trial per book so that I was able to feel immersed in each historical event. Autism seems to be the new default disability but here it’s treated with sensitivity and how the other characters react to it is revealing. This husband and wife writing team has a crisp effortless style. Its great to read a book who’s characters can speak rather than just swear! I can’t wait for the next one! Highly recommend

Time Trials is an amazing book that’s impossible to put down. The concept behind the book is clever and well thought out. I thought the time travel scenes were well thought out too and just plain fun to read. Finn is a likeable character and the intertwining of music in his life. I am really excited to read the second book in this series to see where the authors take this gang of competitors.