Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Bought

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

This book is so achingly romantic, and just so beautifully written, perfect for when you're in the mood for a sweet and swoony read!

The book starts off with an almost 'Gilmore Girls' kind of situation. Michele and her mother have lived apart from the rest of their family after Michele's mother fell pregnant at a young age by someone their wealthy family didn't approve of. They are very close, and share everything, including talking about Michele's recurring dreams about a boy with blue eyes.

When her mother is killed suddenly in a car accident, Michele is shipped off to live with her grandparents, who she has never met before in their New York mansion, and there she finds a key that can take her back into the history of the old house- to a previous occupant of her bedroom- the sad Clara, and where she meets a young musician with striking blue eyes...

It was interesting to see the many layers of history of a particular neighbourhood, as Michele helps out different of her ancestors at different points through time- and I enjoyed the descriptions of the changes of the New York streets over the course of the century, from the smoky gas lamps to the clip of horses hooves. And of course each time she travels back she keeps running into the lovely Philip!

Philip is nothing like the boys Michele knows from her time- he is a real gentleman, and their relationship is both innocent and passionate. You have to love these two together- their affair is just so... pure. And meant to be!

I liked that her time in the past had an impact on the present- that she was inadvertently responsible for the positives in certain situations- and the sheer genius of how cause and effect were ultimately circular. Every time Michele travelled back in time she helped out an old family member- and there was a purpose for her being there each visit. She has had a role in every major event in her family's past, and I loved the story of how her mother chose her name.

This book very cleverly weaves together the women from Michele's past- their lives and stories, alongside a love story with a beautiful boy who happens to be from a rival family, and an ongoing mystery about Michele's father and what happened to him.

Book 2- Timekeeper

Centering entirely on Michele and her feelings and anxieties, the atmosphere of the book is full of magic, romance and intrigue. A beautiful time-travel book with an interesting story- I really liked it. I thought the ending was a little bit weird and didn't make much sense, but it has caught my interest and I've already pre-ordered book 2!



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One of my favourite authors Colleen Houck has blurbed this book beautifully- this is what she said-

Alexandra Monir’s gift for description has wrought me a gift—a novel reminiscent of Somewhere in Time. I pined for the wandering hero, got lost amidst the New York glitter and opulence, and impatiently read on hoping the lost lovers would reunite. TIMELESS is a haunting, mysterious dream of an era gone by. A book you don’t want to miss.