My Link in Time / S.L. Baum

Genre: YA/Paranormal

Approximate word count: 50-55,000

Availability Kindle: YES    Nook: YES    DTB: Coming Soon

Author:

A former high school math teacher, S.L. Baum now works as a substitute elementary school teacher, chauffer for her kids, and novelist. She lives with her family in the Southwestern United States and has set her novels in some favorite vacation destinations. Baum’s first book, A Chance for Charity, was the first in The Immortal Ones series. My Link in Time is book two of the series.

Description:

In A Chance for Charity, we met Charity, an “immortal” who, although chronologically a senior citizen, stopped aging at a point where she can pass as a high school senior. That everyone thinks this is what she is raises eyebrows among some Telluride residents as Charity and Link (her mortal and now part vampire boyfriend) plan their wedding. Link struggles with controlling his newly acquired bloodlust as they prepare for Las Vegas nuptials. Surely a no fuss wedding should come off without a hitch, or maybe not.

Appraisal:

If you told me before I got my Kindle that soon I’d be reading YA paranormal books and enjoying them, I’d have laughed in your face. Glittery vampires aren’t my thing. But with my Kindle I found myself making a conscious effort in branching out, trying genres I’d avoided in the past. What I found is I did enjoy some of those books I wouldn’t have given a second glance in the bookstore. This series has been among my favorites in this genre. Analyzing why has been an interesting exercise.

My first thought was, “because it’s a light read.” But is it really? Yes, the target audience is less than half my age, but their reading ability isn’t that much different. Maybe it is lighter than books full of adult themes and language? For language, that would be true. However, Charity and her extended family deal with plenty of life and death situations; Much more serious than my typical day. Yet, because these are in the realm of fantasy, I think it’s easy to feel the intensity (a good read needs some conflict) without it feeling as real as a storyline that could actually happen in real life. But unlike the actual fantasy genre paranormal characters are often enough like me and operating in the same world as I am, so I can more easily relate to their stories.

The reasons I like this series, specifically, are easier to nail down. The character of Charity is very likeable. Her unique situation of being “older and wiser” yet having to fit in with the high school crowd is an interesting conflict. The dichotomy between having concerns that are often much different than her apparent peers and sometimes not provides plenty of interesting situations. Link’s adaptation to life as a part vampire living and interacting with a group of other paranormals also makes for a good story and should continue doing so as the series progresses.

With My Link in Time, Baum has taken a situation prone to stress in anyone’s life, a wedding, and cranked up the intensity. Charity and Link experience plenty of conflict while trying to make it to their “fuss free” wedding. It makes for an enjoyable and intense read while still allowing the reader to ignore the “real world.” On some days, that’s the perfect book.

FYI:

My Link in Time can be read as a standalone book as the key elements of the back-story are covered in the early portions of the book. However, like any series, starting at the beginning can never be wrong.

Format/Typo Issues:

As a beta reader, I read a pre-release copy and am unable to evaluate. However, I notified the author of all typos I found and believe they were corrected prior to release.

Rating: ***** Five stars