Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Sparks of Light (Into the Dim #2) by Janet B. Taylor

Book info:
TitleSparks of Light  
Author:  Janet B. Taylor
SeriesInto the Dim #2  
Release Date:  August 1st, 2017
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin
Pages:  448
Formats:  Hardcover, ebook
Find it: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksTBDGoodreads

Synopsis:

For the first time in her life, Hope Walton has friends . . . and a (maybe) boyfriend. She’s a Viator, a member of a long line of time-traveling ancestors. When the Viators learn of a plan to steal a dangerous device from the inventor Nikola Tesla, only a race into the past can save the natural timeline from utter destruction. Navigating the glitterati of The Gilded Age in 1895 New York City, Hope and her crew will discover that high society can be as deadly as it is beautiful.


Book Trailer Courtesy of The YA Book Traveler
 



My Review:
My rating:  5 stars

This sequel to one of my favorite books of 2016, Into the Dim, definitely did not disappoint.  This time the characters have a different time period that they will have to visit in order to solve their current issues.  Hope's mother is back, but she is suffering basically PTSD from dealing with being left with the cruel man she'd been stuck with back in time.  Not only is she back, but Hope has a new little sister.  Her father is asking for a divorce, happy with his new wife.  This makes one more emotional issue for Hope's mother to deal with.  While Bran had to go be with the woman who had tried to say she was his mother up until now, their enemy, he comes back to see Hope when he can, but when he comes back, he has some alarming news, news that sends them on their next trip back in time.  This time they will need to meet up with Nikola Tesla, and hopefully get him to stop working on the instrument that could mess up the careful time travel the Viators have tried to perpetrate.  This time we have Doug going back, and he's never been able to go because of his seizures.  But since he is best to work with Tesla, being the one who knows the most about what is going on, and kind of a Tesla expert, he is chosen to go, despite Phoebe's pleas about his safety.  Of course the fact that he is partly black will cause issues in how he can be a part of the group back in the time period.  It is after the civil war, but still things are not good for black, or even mixed race people like Doug. 

I liked that not only did we get a glimpse into a world with John Jacob Astor and the Vanderbilt's, a look at Nikola Tesla himself, but a dangerous glimpse into the world of the insane asylums of the time, women being committed by their husbands, the type of experimentation with lobotomies and other cruel procedures.  This added an aspect to the overall story that wasn't expected, but definitely made for a very interesting twist.  While they still also talked about the rules of not knowing about your past self/future self, as well as not changing any big events, like the fire that destroyed Tesla's lab, a very tragic death of someone in the team makes the rules seem like maybe they were made to be bent at the right times.

Of course we're once again left without the villain being brought in, not to mention that there is now someone even more dangerous out there, working with, or around the villain from before.  That means that there MUST be a third book.  And I will be waiting on the edge of my seat to hear news for that one.


Book 1 Info:
TitleInto the Dim   
Author:  Janet B. Taylor
Release Date:  March 1st, 2016
Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages:  432
Formats:  Hardcover, ebook, audiobook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

Synopsis:
When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.      


Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens. 

My rating:  5 stars      Check out my review HERE.   

About the Author:

The 2013 winner of the coveted #PitchWars, Janet B Taylor, has four years' experience writing web content for a major television network fan site (CBS) that garners over a hundred thousand hits a day. Janet travels extensively to those places where her novels are set, often roaming around at night to commune with the famous historical figures about which she loves to write. She is a member of several writing organizations, including the SCBWI and the Historical Novel Society, and lives in a tiny town in Arkansas with her family.


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Giveaway:

  • 3 winners will receive a finished copy of SPARKS OF LIGHT, US only.
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

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Week One:

7/24/2017- a GREAT readReview
7/25/2017- Lisa Loves LiteratureReview
7/26/2017- YA and WineGuest Post
7/27/2017- Ex LibrisReview
7/28/2017- Once Upon A TwilightInterview

Week Two:
7/31/2017- Seeing Double In NeverlandInterview
8/1/2017- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview
8/3/2017- Two Chicks on BooksInterview  

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8/4/2017- The Bucket ListReview