I am struggling with how to even write a review for this book. The concept of falling through time into a parallel universe is great. That is the last thing I thought was great about this book. First, the writing is extremely juvenile and the book would benefit from both stronger editing and perhaps reclassification as a YA novel. Second, the MC was so incredibly irritating in every way. Third, time travel inevitably adds a lot of complication to a plotline and it was so obvious that Bailey tried so hard to get it right - but it ended up feeling so forced and took me out of the story. And, finally, if you're into Christian fiction that's fine but this book was NOT classified as Christian fiction and I think given the volume of WWJD? type content, it absolutely should be. I don't mind religion in novels when it adds something to the book, but here it was so much and so forceful that I think this should have been classified as Christian fiction so that those of us who aren't looking for that content would know not to read this one.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to NetGalley & its publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review!!

I’m gonna go ahead and give this book 5 stars ⭐️

While it wasn’t necessarily a “masterpiece”, it was thoroughly entertaining and I believe in everything that this book portrayed. I mean for starters, who doesn’t love a good time travel portal storyline?? And the twists at the end that tied everything together?🤌🏼🤌🏼 chef’s kiss.

Might I also add, I applaud this author’s boldness in acknowledging God as our creator. She was able to do this without it being over-religious. So honestly if others are reviewing that they had a problem with it, the problem is probably with them 🤷🏼‍♀️ because the author approached this so tastefully & modestly. I’d definitely read more by this author in the future!

This book definitely exceeded my expectations! I love time travel the author did such an incredible job writing this story.

Reminiscent of of an M. Night Shyamalan movie, The Portals of Sparkling Falls is an interesting concept. A young woman, Laura, hits her head and develops amnesia. In trying to figure out who exactly she is she sets off to explore the house she woke up in. She ventures down into the basement and is suddenly transported to a forest. No longer is there a snowstorm raging but instead it feels like summer. In this strange new land she finds a community who seemingly live in an entire different world. No electronics. No electricity. No cars. Simple homespun clothing and traditional gender roles is what Laura finds.

Laura is quickly taken in by the local aristocratic family and searches to find who she is and how to return to her home. Or did she even have a home and family? Small fragments of her memory return but not enough to tell her who she is or where she is from. At the same time, she’s trying to figure out exactly where, and when, she is now.

Laura attempts to get to know this strange town of Sparkling Falls and their even stranger customs. It appears that these people believe their world is only 240 years old and was created by a man named Litchfield. When a second child from the same family goes missing, Laura and her new friends will seek to understand the mysterious Sparkling Falls and its god.

I really enjoyed the vast majority of this book. I do feel it became sloppy towards the end and the emphasis on religion was a bit too much at times. It felt rushed towards the end and I found that quite frustrating. The twists throughout the book are very engaging and I initially did not see them coming at all. I’d recommend giving this book a chance.

This book had the most intriguing premise, a girl goes through a portal into a parallel world, that seems to live in an ancient past or maybe magical (you do have stones that shine brightly when wet with water), its a very mysterious story, because Laura, the girl that goes through the portal suffers an accident and loses her memory, only remembering her first name…

As far as the story goes, all the twists and turns make this book worth of being read, my only low side is that I felt a bit disappointed with the dialogues, they felt to me a little too basic, but again, can be my own bias against the dialogues and you could love those. At first we learn that things take place in the year 241, Rochelle the maid of the house where she will be staying in Sparkling falls, she is also a portal traveller, but to make things weirder, she comes from the future, so the year from witch Laura comes, Rochelle was a 3 years old child, this kind of twist in the plot makes things more interesting, after many twists and turns, things come together in the end, I don’t know if we will have a second volume, but this one feels complete.

I give it 3,5 stars and will jump it to 4 stars, because the story is good and makes us continue reading and coming for more.

You do have religion in this book, but Christianity is not the main religion, but to know more that, you’ll need to read because all I can say will only spoil your trip.

Thank you NetGalley and BHC Press for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

A very cute book starring a teenage girl, complicated like all teenage girls, but smart, empathetic and perceptive. After making who knows what disaster and losing her memory due to a fall, Laura ends up in a time-space portal that deposits her in Sparkling Falls. The small town seems to be taken over by the past, but if so, it is not the past she knows. Even the deity the villagers worship has nothing to do with the God she knows and has disturbingly human traits. Soon Laura discovers that she is not the only one from another reality and finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy. As her memory gradually returns, she realises that someone has been playing with space-time rather casually. Pleasantly unclassifiable, this is a genuinely entertaining novel and even the final hook, which hints at a sequel, does not bother. Too bad about the cover, because it is really ugly.

This is OK, not great. It's probably me. It has an interesting premise and a number of likeable aspects, but I didn't always stay engaged, and the religious aspects didn't interest me, although that didn't take away from the story either.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book because i love portal stories. This book is going to be hard to rate for me but i will try. I really wish the author didnt use amnesia in the book or at least more than 50% of it. I would have prefered more time on the world laura came into. the book as whole was a very interesting and unique concept. which saved it from a lower rating. I didnt enjoy the focus on christianity and felt as though the book was trying to convert me.which i dont enjoy in books and would have normally given this book 1 or not finished it. but the surrounding storyline saved it and was enough to keep me going until the end. Publisher may want to add this in the christian genre if its possible. It may help with sales.

Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read this “early”. DNF at 25%. This is not for me. For so many reasons, but I’m having trouble articulating why beyond the biggest one — The main character, Laura, is so irritating in all of her thoughts and actions. It goes between being absolutely unrealistic to oddly on the nose. Upon further inspection, this appears to be a rerelease of the book under a slightly different title, The Land Beyond the Portal, originally published by the author in 2011.

Basic and awkward writing. The Portals of Sparkling Falls transports a young girl into a world that seems to be without electricity and possibly in the past. Could she have been portaled into a cult?

I absolutely loved The Portals of Sparkling Falls, it was definitely an interesting reading. The author’s writing style is fabulous and I love the plot and characters. Definitely 5 stars for me, it’s an unique book that exceeded my expectations.

[A review is posted on GoodReads, StoryGraph and Instagram. Links are attached]

Laura loses her memory and ends up in a town called sparkling falls. The town has no electricity and it’s like living in the past.
I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in one day.