Book Review: Tempest

TITLE: Tempest
Book 1 in a new series
AUTHOR: Julie Cross
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Time travel, romance, drama
PREMISE: A boy goes back in time to save the girl he loves.
MY REVIEW: Tempest is a hard book to review because honestly as a book it's okay. The writing is decent, the plot is easy to grasp, it doesn't really get dull, and so on. In short: it's readable. I've certainly read worse. I think the thing that will make people decide if they like it or not is just whatever your hang ups are as a reader. If you aren't really a detail oriented reader who doesn't get bothered by the little things (lucky you, how I wish sometimes I was a reader like this, I'd probably enjoy more books then) then you'll probably enjoy this book.
But if you're like me and you tend to get bothered by the whys, the hows, and the what's the point of all this then this novel will most likely drive you bananas like it did with me. I'm sorry but the time travel here like with all YA novels using time travel so far MAKES NO SENSE. I don't understand at all how he can "jump" back into time (which by the way is totally stolen from the movie Jumper) and I REALLY don't understand what the point of the time travel is if jumping back doesn't even change anything. I mean talk about pointless time travel. Nothing changes? Then WHY BOTHER? Just...what? I'm sorry this point here makes absolutely no sense to me. So why did he stay in 2007 then? Why is he researching this ability at all if it's so useless? This one thing makes the character motivations or him as well as his enemies (who have SUCH a ridiculous name. Enemies of Time? Really? If this were Doctor Who the Doctor would be making fun of these guys so badly and it would be rightfully deserved) just make no sense at all. Why are you guys bothering with all of this if nothing you do changes anything? Then there's little stuff like how while the romance is sweet I didn't get much of a connection between Holly and the MC and as usual boy narrator doesn't really sound like a boy. Plus it bugged me how the females in this book were basically useless and just there as love interests.
But as one can see by the wide and varying reviews this book gets how much you like it will probably just depend on you as a reader. Me I just think the book is average with details that slightly bug me but it's not horrible and for a debut could have been a lot worse. It was certainly a ambitious idea. I just sort of wish it had been a little more thought through.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the movie Jumper, time travel fans, readers not bothered by details
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five time travel machines