Review: Duties and Dreams by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Duties and Dreams by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

World War I rages in Europe, the Carpenters and the Lees make a home in Southern California. Bill and Cassie add to their family. Andy and Annie start one of their own. Paul, a bachelor, enters the world of business. All find peace in a turbulent time. Then draft notices arrive, illness strikes a child, and life for two intertwined families takes a troubling turn. Years later, Emilie Perot, a beautiful resistance fighter, and Steve and Shannon Taylor, an American couple with ties to Paul Carpenter, conspire to escape Nazi occupation. Each seeks freedom and a new life in France's Vosges Mountains, home of a legendary fountain of youth that can restore health and send visitors through time. As events unfold in the different eras, the participants march on. All are unaware of the forces that seem determined to throw them together.

I love books written by this author. His attention to detail and accuracy of history and the events during that time is second to none. It is then skilfully woven into the story of the family members that keeps your attention. Easy to read and understand you cannot help but live the story with them all.

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Review: Annie's Apple by John A. Heldt 4 of 5 stars

Annie's Apple by John A. Heldt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Siblings and time travellers Bill, Paul, and Annie Carpenter are in 2011 where they are based in two US states. In New York Bill and his wife Cassie are educators and struggling to start a family and Annie is working as a society reporter. In Arizona Paul and his brother-in-law Andy Lee are sergeants part of the effort to stop the Mexican civil war from spilling over the border into the US. Paul and Annie meet new loves, and there is drama, tragedy and adventure at a time when the Titanic sinks and there were factory fires.

I enjoyed this second instalment of the trilogy where as I expect from their author the historical events were very accurately told in the context of this fictional story. Whilst there was a fair amount of happiness in this book there were a number of very tragic events and they were all clearly told with sensitivity and the right level of emotion and empathy. This was easy to read, feel and understand. Things were changing at the end of this story and so I am looking forward to the direction their stories are taking in the final book and which events they are going to experience.

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Review: The Fountain by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Fountain by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Based in Oregon the Carpenters are a sad family - it is 2022 and Bill who is 81 has just buried his beloved wife, Paul who is 75 has terminal lung cancer and Annie who is 72 has been a paraplegic for many years. The retired professor Bill learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth is more than a myth and so he travels to Mexico to find out the truth. Within weeks the family have concluded that they have nothing to lose and so sell up and travel to a mysterious cave where they exit in 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland California only vaguely aware of the earthquake that will hit San Francisco Bay area on April 18th 1906.

I really enjoyed this story where the characters were clearly described and felt as if I could really experience what they were like and all the events they were living through. I loved the historical detail of the earthquake and the way it was woven into the story so that it was integral to the characters and events afterwards. It was easy to read, feel and understand. I can't wait to find out what happens to the family next as they continue with their new lives in the past.

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Review: Crown City by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Crown City by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two years after stealing the portable time machines from his deranged billionaire business partner Robert Devereaux the Lane family have arrived in 1963 and they have settled in Coronado in California. The three oldest children (Jordan, Jeremy and Laura) have some respite so that they can nurture their own relationships and start their families while putting down roots. The youngest Askley can thrive and be a typical fourteen-year-old for the time in high school. While there she finds popularity and romance after a classmate nominates her for freshman homecoming princess. Mark Lane's old business partner is still determined to get the time machines back and has sent hit man Silas Baines after the family. Can the family survive what is likely to prove the final confrontation and will Randy's careful preparation to sink Robert finally come to fruition?

I found it bittersweet to read this final instalment of the time box series. It was wonderful to once again read all about the family and their exploits (this time in 1963 around the time of the Kennedy assassination) and to finally get a conclusion to the multi historic year hunt for the family and the determination of hitman Silas Baines. Although they appeared to have tied up all the loose ends I do now wonder if any of them had to serve in Vietnam, what happened to Ashley - did she get to college, what did she study, did she end up with their neighbour for example. However, I did love the way that Robert and Silas were handled and their demise. Well written so that everything eas clear and easy to understand plus I felt as if I was living it. I love the way that this author meticulously researches each time that the series is set and I'm sure anyone who actually lived through 1963 would be able to relate to this book very well. I think you could read this stand-alone but really would get the best enjoyment if you read the series from the start.

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Review: The Refuge by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Refuge by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The modern family of seven people who had stolen two time boxes, the Lanes, decide to take a stand against the unhinged software mogul who wants to get them back. So they travel to 1941 and head for Oahu to try to eliminate the mercenary employed by the billionaire who has worked as an assassin and is chasing them through time. The eldest son Jordan was an intelligence officer and is trying to stalk their foe through the streets of Honolulu while the rest of the family (including his pregnant wife) settle in the village of Laie where love, friendship and opportunity await. Hitman Silas Bain has his own agenda as he wants to alter the events of 7th December 1941 and indirectly save a brilliant German physicist who is his employer's grandfather from certain death. However, he encounters the one contingency that he did not prepare for - a beautiful heiress.

This was certainly a packed instalment in the series that was set in Hawaii just before the fateful events in Pearl Harbour. As always, it was carefully researched and written in order to fit in with history as it happened (and was remembered). Carefully crafted into this were stories of romance, love and plenty of intrigue and suspense as we lived life through the events surrounding characters in this book. I was thrilled to see that Randy finally made a commitment to Laura as they definitely belonged together. Well written and easy to read and understand. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter in the story and wondering is that the last one and good finally conquers or will there be more twists and turns than we have already experienced so far.

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Review: Sea Spray by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Sea Spray by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Lane family had stolen two time machines from a madman and billionaire Devereaux who is so determined to get them back he has sent a hitman back in time to retrieve them and kill the family of his former business parter. For now, the family is seeking peace and safety in 1927 where the two parents Mark and Mary have found housing in affluent East Hampton, New York, where a gracious elderly couple offers use of their mansion. Son Jordan and his new wife, Jessie, plan a family. Siblings Laura, Jeremy, and Ashley pursue fun and adventure. All form strong friendships with the Prices, a mysterious mirror-image family that lives next door. Randy Taylor, who programs the machines, is determined to stop him. He tries to undermine his boss and save the Lanes, even as he tries to help his mother beat a deadly illness. He pines for the day he can join his fugitive friends and rekindle a promising relationship with Laura Lane. This book will follow the family as they navigate through the sometimes dangerous world of Lindbergh, Gershwin, and Fitzgerald.

This was as I would expect from this series, meticulously researched and the facts and events very accurate so that it was factually correct and totally in context. I liked the mystery of the next-door neighbours and the steps used to work out exactly was happening It was well written and it was easy to pick up the thoughts and emotions of all the characters. There were definitely some surprises on the way that was life-changing and I look forward to seeing how they develop in the future. Definitely recommended.

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Review: The Fair by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Fair by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Months after they stole two time machines from a madman and billionaire Robert Devereux who is determined to get them back, from his former partner and the rest of the Lane family (a total of 6 people) arrived in 1893 where the bulk of the family seek fun and excitement at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Parents Mark and Mary concentrate on the science and sheer splendour of it all, however, three of the children Jeremy, Laura, and Ashley find romance and friendship. The fourth child Jordan has decided to head west in order to find answers after his lost love in the previous book. Jordan ends up in Virginia City, Nevada, where he lands at a mining community and ends up in the heart of a pretty library clerk, Jessie. This book will follow a modern family on the adventure of a lifetime, as they navigate their way through an unforgettable year in American history.

This was a great story where there was a great mixture of joy, heartbreak, danger and drama. There was also time for some humour so it wasn't all serious events too. I loved the attention to detail for the period in history and the way that it was very different especially when compared with the events in their future. They did their best to immerse themselves into the time and the events as they happened which showed clearly that they were the right people to be travelling in the past. Well written and very enjoyable I can't wait for the next story in the series to find out what happens next and what scrapes they are involved in next. I also hope that they start to change certain behaviours in order to make like much easier in the future. Definitely recommended.

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Review: The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Virginia physicist Mark Lane together with business partner and billionaire Robert Devereaux, develop two time-machine boxes, but just before they are ready to be used he learns that his business partner intends to use them for nefarious purposes. He then, together with his family, decides to do all he can to prevent that and they take them and escape to a relatively safe time towards the end of the American Civil War in 1865. For Mark, his wife Mary, and their children Jeremy, 19, Ashley, 12, Laura, 22 and Jordan, 25 all find chances to grow as people as they all have their own adventures. However back in their home era, Robert Devereaux has a completely different view on the situation and works with the employees to fix a prototype box so that he can send a trained assassin in order to retrieve the time boxes and set matters straight with the Lanes. Will the assassin find them or will they escape?

This was a great story that was incredibly well researched so that all the elements of the story that had a basis, in fact, were accurate. It was a mystery story too which definitely drew me in and kept me dying to find out what was going to happen next. I'm definitely invested in this family and their survival and can't wait to find out what adventures they have in new eras. Well written this was very easy to understand and enjoy. A great series that does not contain bad language nor overtly sexual content.

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Review: Camp Lake by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Camp Lake by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Carson siblings are in Phoenix in 1983 and they are in the last timeframe they believe they will find their parents before the need to go back to the present day with their families. Adam and Greg have remained in Arizona with their families, Natalie is using their scarce resources to search the country for leads and Cosy and Caitlin have travelled to jobs they have secures in a summer camp in Maine, which is where their parents met. Life then gets complicated as tragedy strikes as one of the family is injured trying to prevent a possible drowning of a student at the camp. This is the last cook in the Carson Chronicles series of books detailing their various adventures of the time-travelling siblings - can they find their parents before they have to leave?

Wow - so many events and details in this book. There were constant twists and turns which left you with lots of what-if scenarios, that to be honest I almost never got right! As always the author had done a great deal of background work so that the timelines and events were accurately depicted. I loved the characters who felt real so that I felt quite sad to realise this is the end of the series. Well written and very enjoyable.

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Review: Caitlin's Song by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Caitlin's Song by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Carson Children make an unplanned stop into 1962 and are based in Boulder, Colorado where Cody and Caitlin get to go to college. Their parents Tim and Caroline Carson are making a planned stop in 1972 but it becomes a nightmare when they read about their children's lives and discover that one has crossed paths with a killer. So broken hearted they race back to the past to reroute history. Will they manage and will the family ever meet up?

This is definitely full of lots of drama and excitement as we look at both the events in 1962 for the Carson children and those in 1972 for their parents. Woven into the story are events from those times in American history which are either big ones in general history or big ones in the history of the growing Carson family. I really enjoyed the events of a dream of Caitlin's as well as the events of the concert near the end of the story. Well written and very enjoyable I can't wait to find out what is going to happen to this time travelling family next and where they are going to go. Is this the time when they all meet or will then need another jump in time?

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Review: Indian Paintbrush by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Indian Paintbrush by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Carson Siblings have safely survived 1889 and 1918 and have now arrived in 1943 where they are hoping for a quiet life in their home state. The two oldest boys Adam and Greg want quality time with their wives, Natalie and Caitlin have romances with WW2 aviators and Cody becomes friends with a Japanese family in an internment camp. Whilst doing all of that they continue to search for their parents until the problems that they had in previous years come to haunt them and they end up making a breakneck race for survival - will they escape?

Goodness - this family know how to find trouble as they make another stop in time during their search for their parents. In many ways it was very enjoyable - normal life seemed to be part of the story for them all and it was lovely to see the three unattached siblings finding their own love interests and for those loves become something much deeper. Then life (and the story) threw a few curve balls and I started to wonder what was going to happen next. I won't spoil any of the story for you but just tell you that at different points I had hope, disappointment, heartbreak, joy and tears. The book was very well written and very clear and easy to feel and understand. My only problem with the whole book is wondering how I am going to cope while I have to wait for the next one to be written!

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Review: The Memory Tree by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Memory Tree by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Carson family may have barely escaped 1889 but they are now in 1918 and searching for their parents again. WW 1 is in full force and the family have dispersed in order to cover as many areas as they can so Adam and his pregnant wife Bridget are in Minnesota, Greg is in Mexico where he meets someone special and gets into danger again, the twins Cody and Caitlin are visiting an old friend from Pennsylvania and Natalie is being herself and working as a reporter in France talking to American servicemen to tell their stories. The Carson family find a lot of answers and peace in this continuation of the River Rising The question remains - will they find their parents?

Wow - this is another detailed and historically accurate adventure involving the Carson family as they travel through time searching for their parents. Poor Greg always seems to be the one getting himself into trouble even though it is always not his fault and it was nice for him to finally have some happiness which I hope will point to a turn in his fortunes. Everything was well written and described in such a way that I could feel as if I was there experiencing everything with them. As for if they find their parents I couldn't possibly say.

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Review: River Rising by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

River Rising by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Adam Carson is 27, an Engineer and the eldest of 5 siblings. When their parents disappear Adam starts to search for answers as to what had happened. Finding a secret website he convinces his siblings that they are stuck somewhere in the 1880's and that they should all go and try to find them and bring them back. They split up when there and Greg goes to the Wild West, Natalie works as a journalist and the two youngest enrol in high school. Having no prior knowledge of the area nor the time are in they have to get used to the clothes, events and norms of the time which puts them in situations of danger, adventure and there are opportunities for love on the way.

This is the first book in this new series from the author and was a great start to a new time travelling series involving the Carson family and the adventures that they are involved in. There was plenty of drama, danger and even some romance in places, so it was a very enjoyable read. I liked the contrast between the events and experiences of each of the siblings which was a clever way to cover lots of different stories with a common theme to pull them together. The writing was of a good standard and it was easy to empathise with the thoughts and emotions as the characters went through the events in their stories. I'm looking forward now to the next instalment of their combined stories.

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Review: Hannah's Moon by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Hannah's Moon by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I voluntarily reviewed this book and I have not been compensated in any way.

Ron and Claire Rasmussen have struggled for years to have a child and have decided to go down the adoption route but finds there are still many obstacles and years of waiting in their way. Then in a phone call from an uncle she finds he has the secret of time travel. In a short time Clare, Ron and her brother David are transported to Tennessee in 1945 where there are lots of infants to adopt and not much in the way of red tape - sounds simple. However nothing in life that is worth having is ever simple and although they have met some really good friends they also find themselves in a race for survival.

I LOVED this story. It had lots of really great detail and references to events that happened during this time in history which the characters were involved in - sometimes intimately. There were lots of twists and turns in the story and although some events you just knew we likely to happen, there were still more than enough that were surprises. Everything was well written and I could sense the thoughts, emotions and feelings that the characters were experiencing. I won't give away any spoilers but there were a couple of moments that I certainly felt emotional about. A great ending to the series although I have to admit to feeling a little sad that it is the end.

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Review: Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

Doctoral student Cameron Coelho buys some private papers to help him with his dissertation on the 1920's, but when the 28 year old opens them and goes through them, he finds clues to an old mystery and the photograph of a beautiful woman who worked as a newspaper society editor who was then murdered in 1925.

Searching into the mystery in the papers and the woman in the photograph he found, he finds his way to a man called Professor Geoffrey Bell who is an expect on time-travel. Before he knows it, the lonely Cameron begins a journey into the 1920's discovering history, romance and intrigue as he lives through the age of Prohibition, jazz and flappers.

This was a fun story. It started a little slow but as he got further into the mysteries and events of that time I found myself swept away and reading faster. The descriptions of the events and people involved were detailed and clear and I could put myself in their position most of the time. It was nice to read about a tie in the past and learn a bit more about it. I liked the similarities to today when there was future time-travel involved.

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Review: The Mine by John A. Heldt 5 of 5 stars

The Mine by John A. Heldt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

In 2000 Joel Smith is an adventurous college senior who, just days before his last piece of work has to be handed in, is curious and enters an abandoned mine wondering what it's like in there. When he emerges from it, he discovers it is 1941, his cell phone no longer works and his money is no help to him whatsoever. He has to use his wits to get by and in the process meets new friends, gets a job, and witnesses history as it was then (a time when WWII was soon to start).

Joel has to handle living through a time in history without giving away the result, meeting his grandmother as a peer, and meeting a woman who turns out to be the love of his life. When he gets the opportunity to travel back to his own time, will he stay with her and affect time, or will he go back so that everything happens as it already has?

This was a lovely book that should be a salutary lesson to us all - think about the impact of what you do or say. I liked the way the story was told and the descriptions of the people, events and emotions involved in the story. I also liked the inclusion of areas where the war affected real people with real lives. I liked the ending of the story.


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