Let me start by saying that writing book reviews is rare for me. Why? I don’t read many books because my dyslexia makes reading them difficult.
I understand the importance of maintaining independence and authenticity in reviews. So, I must ensure that my evaluations are based solely on the book’s merit and not influenced by personal connections or online interactions with the author.
This review concerns a book by an unfamiliar author I encountered on X (formerly Twitter) while promoting their work. It’s worth noting that promoting books on social media can indeed bring results. It’s knowing how to promote them that’s important.
Now that’s all out of the way, let me begin my review for the first book (in two years) where I’ve managed to reach the end without ever wanting to put it down and walk away!
Borrowed Time by Russell Dean.
Blurb:
‘Tom Jacob is bored with his life.
He’s stuck in a job he doesn’t like, his love life is non-existent, and he’s tired of being seen as boring and dependable, so when his wayward twin brother convinces him to spend a night partying instead of doing paperwork, Tom reluctantly agrees.
The following morning, he wakes up in a field.
In Wales.
In 1889.
Stranded more than a century in the past, Tom has to overcome language barriers and suspicion as he attempts to adapt to the world around him and find a way back to his own time, but with two people from the sleepy village of Cwm Newydd now missing, one local resident seems hell bent on pinning the blame for their disappearance on the strange Englishman who appeared out of nowhere.
Determined to find his way home, the discovery of a long-hidden family secret will change Tom’s life forever, and when romance comes knocking, he’ll be left wondering in which timeline his heart truly lies.’
What attracted me to the book wasn’t the cover but the blurb’s description of it as a time-travelling story. I love time travel. It’s one of my favourite genres (in the science-fiction category). But when I discovered this was a gay time-travelling story, my interest in the book grew even more. A gay-themed time-travelling story? That’s a first for me.
I wasn’t keen on the romance element of the book’s blurb. It’s a genre that has never appealed to me. When I hear or read the word ‘romance,’ I immediately think of silly movies like Notting Hill, Marley and Me, and Love Actually—movies that always send me to sleep. Would this book do the same? No!
From the moment I opened the book, I felt at home, all cosy with my feet up and a pot of English Breakfast tea on the go. The first page intrigued me and made me want to know more. I knew some of the story would be set in Wales, so perhaps this is what made me feel at home. Even though it starts in England, I knew (from the blurb) that Tom (the main character) would travel in time and end up in Wales. However, he didn’t get there quickly.
Although it took a while for the time travel to happen, the story’s opening was gripping, making me wonder what was happening in Tom’s life and want to learn more. Tom thinks he leads a dull and boring life, but it is anything but dull and boring in the opening part of the book.
Once Tom travels back in time to Wales (and he gets there in an intriguing way), the story shifts up a few gears and becomes even more gripping. I was so engrossed in what was happening that I did not want to put the book down, so I had to force myself to step away to deal with other matters (when they arose) that needed my attention. Otherwise, I would have read the whole book in one sitting.
‘Borrowed Time’ was often on my mind when I was not reading it. Even when trying to fall asleep, I found myself working out what would happen next and guessing how the story would end (I always do that). The chapters, some of which were a bit on the long side, all ended on cliffhangers, so the urge to find out was strong, but I rarely guessed what would happen next.
Something that has never happened to me before when reading a book is falling in love with one of the characters. Don’t get me wrong, Russell Dean described all his characters well, but one particular character stood out more than the others. Whenever that character disappeared from the story, I found myself urging them to return soon. That’s how much of an impact that character had on me. I won’t say which character I am referring to, but weeks after finishing the book, they often cross my mind, and I wish they were real.
Something else I loved about the book was the ‘old’ traditions played out by some characters in 1890s Wales. For example, in one scene, a bride empties a purse of pennies onto the roadside as she sets off to the church, and the children run to pick up as many of the pennies as they can. This is a tradition I remember well from my childhood, and it seems to have died out in recent years. It brought back many happy memories, proving that the author did an excellent research job while writing the book.
The book has many emotions—sadness, shock, and humour, to name but a few—all of which got my heart racing. My emotions often felt like they were on a rollercoaster while reading the book. That told me just how good the writing and storytelling were.
I mentioned earlier that I couldn’t help but wonder how the story would end. When I finally got to the end, let’s just say that not only did it take me by surprise, but it was an ending that pleased me, even though I wanted to burst out crying. Russell Dean scored a bullseye with the ending.
‘Borrowed Time’ deserves a sequel and would also make a fantastic movie or TV drama. It’s unlike anything I’ve read or watched before.
If you’d like to add ‘Borrowed Time’ to your ‘To Read’ list, it’s available at the following places.
Available as an E-book from these retailers.
More about Russell Dean: https://linktr.ee/russelldeanwrites
This is an important notice to anyone who writes book reviews.
Please don’t spoil books for others by revealing storylines, plots, or endings in your review.
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