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nicolemhewitt's review
4.0
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Just as I'd hoped, 15 Minutes proved to be a time travel adventure with tons of twists and turns!
What I loved:
Converging pasts.
One thing that made this book different from other time travel books that I've read was the idea that Lara's memories from both versions of the past were converging. When she first changed her past, she only remembered her original life, but then she slowly started to gain memories from this new version of herself. This caused her quite a bit of emotional confusion, especially where her relationships were concerned. She had conflicting feelings about people - some based on her original life, and some based on her changed past - and she wasn't sure which set of emotions to trust. She wanted her original life back in many ways, but then the relationships in her new life were compelling too once she started gaining her memories of them - it left her confused and torn, and made for a much more interesting story!
The action.
This book was action-packed right from the get-go. It takes off running and the pace never really slows down - Lara is in a constant race to fix the past and then to fix her "improved" version of the past. It doesn't take long for Lara to discover that everything is not as it should be in her new life - not just the fact that her life is different, but that this new version of her life is much more dangerous. She has to unravel the truth in order to keep herself and her family safe.
The twists and turns.
There are some really interesting twists and turns throughout the book that keep you guessing. This is the type of book where you truly never know who Lara should trust or what's going to happen next!
The negatives:
The cliffhanger.
The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger - something that I pretty much saw coming based on what had already happened in the book. I felt like the ending to this one was drawn out just a little bit and wished that I could have just gotten back to the meat of the story (but I can't say much more than that). Still, I'm definitely wondering what will happen next!
The romance.
I didn't find myself being completely sold on either of the two boys that Lara is torn between, though I do think the guy she ended up with (maybe?) is the right guy. Probably. We'll see when we get to the next book.
If you enjoy YA and time travel tales, I'd definitely check 15 Minutes out! I give this book 4/5 stars.
Just as I'd hoped, 15 Minutes proved to be a time travel adventure with tons of twists and turns!
What I loved:
Converging pasts.
One thing that made this book different from other time travel books that I've read was the idea that Lara's memories from both versions of the past were converging. When she first changed her past, she only remembered her original life, but then she slowly started to gain memories from this new version of herself. This caused her quite a bit of emotional confusion, especially where her relationships were concerned. She had conflicting feelings about people - some based on her original life, and some based on her changed past - and she wasn't sure which set of emotions to trust. She wanted her original life back in many ways, but then the relationships in her new life were compelling too once she started gaining her memories of them - it left her confused and torn, and made for a much more interesting story!
The action.
This book was action-packed right from the get-go. It takes off running and the pace never really slows down - Lara is in a constant race to fix the past and then to fix her "improved" version of the past. It doesn't take long for Lara to discover that everything is not as it should be in her new life - not just the fact that her life is different, but that this new version of her life is much more dangerous. She has to unravel the truth in order to keep herself and her family safe.
The twists and turns.
There are some really interesting twists and turns throughout the book that keep you guessing. This is the type of book where you truly never know who Lara should trust or what's going to happen next!
The negatives:
The cliffhanger.
The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger - something that I pretty much saw coming based on what had already happened in the book. I felt like the ending to this one was drawn out just a little bit and wished that I could have just gotten back to the meat of the story (but I can't say much more than that). Still, I'm definitely wondering what will happen next!
The romance.
I didn't find myself being completely sold on either of the two boys that Lara is torn between, though I do think the guy she ended up with (maybe?) is the right guy. Probably. We'll see when we get to the next book.
If you enjoy YA and time travel tales, I'd definitely check 15 Minutes out! I give this book 4/5 stars.
kittehloaf's review
5.0
This book started out strong. I was hooked after the first chapter and almost felt like this would have some Dr. Who elements.
I was really excited. I finished the book within a week, spreading the reading out to enjoy it to the fullest.
It was a fabulous book and I was excited to know that there was a continuing series.
However, I did not buy the remaining books.
I read the reviews given for the last couple books and from what about 80% of people who have purchased said series, they were disappointed.
Incorrect use of words, poor editing skills, story starts weakening, etc etc.
Maybe if these elements are fixed, I'll purchase the series to see the ending result.
*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE TO GIVE MY HONEST OPINION
I was really excited. I finished the book within a week, spreading the reading out to enjoy it to the fullest.
It was a fabulous book and I was excited to know that there was a continuing series.
However, I did not buy the remaining books.
I read the reviews given for the last couple books and from what about 80% of people who have purchased said series, they were disappointed.
Incorrect use of words, poor editing skills, story starts weakening, etc etc.
Maybe if these elements are fixed, I'll purchase the series to see the ending result.
*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE TO GIVE MY HONEST OPINION
melindavan's review
4.0
I liked this a lot. It's hard to pull off time travel well, but I think this does a great job. Twists, turns, and at the end I'm still not sure exactly what was real, which is probably the point.
weweresotired's review
3.0
See more reviews at The Best Books Ever!
15 Minutes is a fast-paced story about what happens when you try to change the past. That's always the warning of every time travel story, right: don't change the past, don't cross your own time stream, and everything should be okay. The Rewind Agency has rules in place to make sure you don't do that -- you appear in the past more as a hologram than a real solid person, so you can't physically change anything, you can only be there for 15 minutes, and they try to keep you away from times that have significant emotional impact for you. Only our main character, Lara, discovers that she can actually touch things in the past, which you're not supposed to be able to do. So she decides to use her time in the past to save her mother's life, with consequences she never could have imagined.
I liked the fact that there were consequences -- bad ones, even -- for Lara changing the past. It's always supposed to be a big no-no, but so many time travel stories seem to find ways around this in order to make everything work out. By Lara stopping her mother's murder, she has changed everything, and it's not necessarily for the better. It was interesting to see Lara have to grapple with this -- sure, her mother's alive, but everything is different. The change she made was not the change she wanted, and now Lara has the dilemma of figuring out how to put everything back to rights to a timeline that only she remembers.
I really liked Lara as a main character. She had the best of intentions, and as soon as she realizes how deeply wrong everything has gone, she wants to fix it, rather than just revel in her new life, which I think would be some peoples' natural instinct. She clearly loves her family, and, unlike a lot of other YA books, they are there for her when she needs it. Even in her original timeline, while her dad works lot to be able to provide for her, he's still a quiet presence in her life and she knows how much he cares for her.
I thought the conspiracy angle was well done, if a little bit predictable at times. The ending got somewhat hard to keep track of, which can sometimes be a given in time-travel stories. I don't often say this about books, but I wish this one were just a little bit longer so more time could have been taken in the ending. Overall, though, I really enjoyed reading this book. I read it in about a day, and had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know how it ended! The ending does mostly resolve things, but also sets it up for a sequel, which I will definitely want to check out.
15 Minutes is a fast-paced story about what happens when you try to change the past. That's always the warning of every time travel story, right: don't change the past, don't cross your own time stream, and everything should be okay. The Rewind Agency has rules in place to make sure you don't do that -- you appear in the past more as a hologram than a real solid person, so you can't physically change anything, you can only be there for 15 minutes, and they try to keep you away from times that have significant emotional impact for you. Only our main character, Lara, discovers that she can actually touch things in the past, which you're not supposed to be able to do. So she decides to use her time in the past to save her mother's life, with consequences she never could have imagined.
I liked the fact that there were consequences -- bad ones, even -- for Lara changing the past. It's always supposed to be a big no-no, but so many time travel stories seem to find ways around this in order to make everything work out. By Lara stopping her mother's murder, she has changed everything, and it's not necessarily for the better. It was interesting to see Lara have to grapple with this -- sure, her mother's alive, but everything is different. The change she made was not the change she wanted, and now Lara has the dilemma of figuring out how to put everything back to rights to a timeline that only she remembers.
I really liked Lara as a main character. She had the best of intentions, and as soon as she realizes how deeply wrong everything has gone, she wants to fix it, rather than just revel in her new life, which I think would be some peoples' natural instinct. She clearly loves her family, and, unlike a lot of other YA books, they are there for her when she needs it. Even in her original timeline, while her dad works lot to be able to provide for her, he's still a quiet presence in her life and she knows how much he cares for her.
I thought the conspiracy angle was well done, if a little bit predictable at times. The ending got somewhat hard to keep track of, which can sometimes be a given in time-travel stories. I don't often say this about books, but I wish this one were just a little bit longer so more time could have been taken in the ending. Overall, though, I really enjoyed reading this book. I read it in about a day, and had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know how it ended! The ending does mostly resolve things, but also sets it up for a sequel, which I will definitely want to check out.
hugbandit7's review
4.0
very action packed book with lots of twists and turns that I didn't expect! worth reading
shaxx's review
4.0
3,75* hvězdičky :) Cestování časem je jeden z nejlepších námětů na knihy, co znám. Líbí se mi, jak si autoři vytváří svá vlastní pravidla pro cestování časem.. :) Přiznávám, že na konci jsem byla trochu zmatená, takže jakmile tohle vyjde v češtině, přečtu si to ještě jednou :D
A byl by z toho super film! :)
A byl by z toho super film! :)
imsam's review
3.0
Started out kind of crummy with a forced romance, but got better as it went along. Pretty interesting near the end, mostly nice things to say.
apiratethatdoesnothing's review
3.0
What?! What in the world was this craziness? Mind was generally boggles throughout but the last bit had me in such a tizzy I almost just quit reading it! Cool concept though
sheffner07's review
3.0
There was a little too much angst and melodramatics at times for me, plus the whole love triangle was unnecessary, IMO.
However, the book was a very fast, fun read. I did really enjoy the time travel plot, and also thought the book itself was pretty clean, making it a good read for both younger and older teens. Not sure if I'll read the rest of the books in the series, but this book was still a fun way to pass a weekend.
However, the book was a very fast, fun read. I did really enjoy the time travel plot, and also thought the book itself was pretty clean, making it a good read for both younger and older teens. Not sure if I'll read the rest of the books in the series, but this book was still a fun way to pass a weekend.