Title: Time's ConvertAuthor: Deborah Harkness
Genre: Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Headline Books
Published: September 25th 2018
Page Number: 480
Rating: 1/5
Summary:
On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life, free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply-held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
Fast forward to contemporary London, where Marcus has fallen for Phoebe Taylor, a young employee at Sotheby's. She decides to become a vampire, too, and though the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable in the modern world than they were in the 18th century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both - for ever.
REVIEW
Time's Convert was my most anticipated book of 2018. I was very lucky to receive one of very limited Advanced Reader Copies of the book and as soon as the proof came I dove straight in. The All Souls Trilogy told the story of Diana and Matthew on their quest to solving the mystery behind Ashmole 782. Time's Convert follows Matthew's son, Marcus and his girlfriend Phoebe while they go through their journey to be together.
Initially I really enjoyed the first few chapters I read. I loved being back into a world I knew and loved so much and seeing scenes with Diana and Matthew made my heart warm. However, I started to realise that what I thought would have been a story was starting to lag and feel like a diary entry. The story is told in 3 ways; Marcus' story of his childhood and how he got into the army and fought in the war. We then have Marcus' current story while being away from Phoebe and then lastly we have Phoebe's story while she goes through her transition. With this in mind I kept reading on in hopes Deborah would create a plot twist that would change the story but nothing ever came. It continued on the diary format, living each day as they came doing very basic things that Mundanes would do despite them being Vampires.
The one big thing that knocked me for six was the writing. The All Souls trilogy was filled with beautifully descriptive writings that captured the scenes and characters so well but everything in Time's Convert felt very simple. According to someone I spoke to on the book, Deborah said in an interview that the writing would be different because Marcus is 24 years old. However, that made zero sense to me because while Marcus was 24 years old when he was changed, he's actually over 200 years old so that doesn't really count as an excuse to the writing being lazy.
With the writing being lazy and choppy I decided to eventually DNF the book at page 207. I truly tried to conquer my way through the novel but I just couldn't force myself to do it. I was starting to dislike our main characters and I truly do not care for the storyline. I actually find it difficult how Deborah can carve a trilogy out of this because Time's Convert just purely feels like an after thought. As for now I'm happy to leave the All Souls series where it is. At the moment 2 episodes of the TV series have aired and I'm not liking the adaptation that much either. So maybe once the full series has aired I'll write a series review and give my full thoughts because I have a lot.
Thank you Headline for sending me an exclusive ARC to honestly review.
