Tempest by Julie Cross {Review}

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Source: Publisher for honest review

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy -- he's in college, has a girlfriend...and he can travel back through time. But it's not like the movies -- nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there's no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors -- it's just harmless fun.
That is, until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson accidentally jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he's stuck in 2007 and can't get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007, learns what he can about his abilities, and meets Holly for the first time...again. Soon he discovers that nothing about his life is what is appears to be, including his own father.
But it's not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these "Enemies of Time" will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time traveler. Recruit...or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he's willing to go to save Holly...and possibly the entire world.

I've heard quite the mixed bag of opinions and ratings when it comes to Tempest, but as for me, I quite enjoyed it. Something about it is holding it back from being a full 5 star from me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it certainly doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the read.

First, you know those books that move so fast you’re left sitting there going “what in the world…”? Well, Tempest was like that, but for some reason it totally and completely worked! Normally it drives me insane when a plot moves so quickly it’s almost a blur, but either I was just in the mood for it or Cross totally makes that work for her. It certainly makes sure there’s never a dull moment. That being said, Cross still managed to sneak some seriously heartfelt and touching moments in there. Yes, I cried.

Second, did you watch Jumper (if not, you’re totally missing out)? Anyhow, Tempest has a feel similar to Jumper while still managing to be its own thing. I liked how we get to learn basically everything right along with Jackson even if it had me trying to shake the book down for answers a few times. It made everything feel a little more real since Jackson was just as in the dark as I was at any given moment.

Adam was possibly my favorite character, though that’s probably just because he’s a super smart hacker/science nerd :P

The Nutshell: Tempest will keep you on the edge of your seat with the action as well as the mystery. The time traveling here is a totally new (and might I say AWESOME) compared to anything else you’ve ever heard about the subject. I love that among all the action and intrigue Cross still slipped in sweet moments here and there that even had me crying at one point. This book has everything from conspiracies to romance to a touch of scifi, so I’d say there’s a little bit of something in there for everyone.

Pages: 352

Series: Tempest #1

Rating: 4 stars 

P.S. I'll be doing a giveaway for an audio of Tempest on Saturday, so come back for you chance to win :]