Breaking Time

April 1, 2022
A Scottish beefcake tumbles through time. When a ruggedly handsome Scotsman stumbles into the road, New Yorker Klara Spalding's biggest worry is whether or not she hit him too hard with her car. But recent high school graduate Klara quickly discovers that distractingly muscular Callum isn't just any old sexy Scot: He's a sexy Scot from the 16th century! Callum's adjustment to his brave new world is second to his primary objective: to protect the Pillars of Time, fixed anchor points on the timeline that ensure the safety of time and space. It doesn't take pale, redheaded Klara too long to figure out that she herself is a Pillar of Time, one of the last to remain intact despite an evil force that lurks in hopes of destroying her. The two teens go on the run, and anyone who has read even the backside of a saucy paperback can see where this one is going. The plotting is weak, but the glances filled with desire pull their weight and fuel the endeavor. Callum and Klara are fun to spend time with, and readers will certainly root for them to get together. The action is crisp, the pacing is decent, and there are just enough gags to let the reader know that the author is more than in on the joke. The book ends on a cliffhanger that will have readers rolling their eyes and shaking the novel in gleeful frustration. A good time all around. (Fantasy romance. 13-18)

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May 2, 2022
Alsberg (the Androma Saga) combines Celtic mythology, a Scottish setting, and dreamy romance in this ambitious time-travel adventure. While seeking vengeance for the murder of his best friend Thomas, Scottish Callum is suddenly catapulted from 1568 to 2022. He materializes in the middle of the road, where 18-year-old Klara, who moved to Scotland to run bed-and-breakfast Kingshill Manor with her Scottish father following her American mother’s death, inadvertently hits him with her car. After a brief hospital stay, Klara helps Callum acclimate to the modern era and research Thomas’s killing. They soon discover that his murderer sought Thomas’s power as a Pillar of Time—a mortal vessel for the goddess Arianrhod’s “dominion over the sky, the moon, and even of time”—and that Klara shares this gift. Now Klara, pursued by Thomas’s killer, must grow into her abilities and thwart the ruthless murderer to prevent the unraveling of time itself. Employing lush prose through Klara and Callum’s alternating perspectives, Alsberg proficiently balances the pair’s struggle to survive with swoony slow-burn romance, making for an engaging time-hopping saga. All major characters cue as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media.

June 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-The year is 1568. In the flash of an instant, in a dark alley, young Scots boxer Callum sees his best friend Thomas attacked by a man hidden behind a dark hood. Rushing to help, Callum hits the man only to be thrown back; finally, with luck, he gains the advantage but then the earth falls away and he falls into a vast light. Meanwhile, Klara, an American running an inn with her father in present-day Scotland, is distractedly driving into town. Noticing something in the road ahead she discovers a young man, dressed oddly and obviously stunned. Klara takes Callum to her home where they try to discover what happened, why, and what to do next. Seeking advice from her grandmother who is wise in the ways of ancient Scots traditions, Klara discovers that she is the final "Pillar"-a link between time. The man who killed Thomas is also a beast who desires the power that resides within Klara and he is determined to send her to the Other World where she will be kept prisoner throughout time. While Callum is certain that his destiny is to help Klara, having failed to save Thomas, he is unsure of his ability to do so; Klara, although confused by her newly discovered status, is determined to live up to her destiny. Action-packed, romantic, and realistic time period descriptions engage readers. VERDICT Give this book to fantasy readers; they'll eagerly await the next book following this one's abrupt ending.-Connie Williams

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