Book Reviews with Talyn

Time and Time Again (A Collection), by Tamara Ireland Stone

Hello! And welcome to Book Reviews with Talyn. I'm Talyn, and I'd like to introduce to you an amazing collection of books by Tamara Ireland Stone (one of my favorite authors), Time and Time Again.

I've owned this book for about 5 years now, and it's seen quite a bit. A couple of moves, 3 different bookshelves, and 5-6 rereads over the years. I seem to always come back to it. My brother got it for me for Christmas of 2017, when we were extremely poor and living in the worst house ever. It holds a special place in my heart due to its magnetic writing and amazing love story. Enough background, onto the review! 

This collection of books is made up of the books Time Between Us and Time After Time.

These books follow Anna and Bennett, who aren't supposed to meet. This is because Anna lives in Chicago in 1995, and Bennett lives in 2012 San Fransisco. But Bennett was born was the amazing ability to travel space and time. The only catch: He can only travel within his own timeline. He can't go back before his birth, and he can't go forwards beyond the present day. It's explained very slowly, but very well in my opinion.

Anna is a track star, and first meets Bennett when she sees him watching her from the bleachers of the track she runs at the local university. But when she musters up the courage to acknowledge him, he's gone! Vanished! Poofed!

Later, when Anna runs into Bennett as the new kid in school, he seemingly denies ever seeing her before, but he reacts really weirdly to her name. This makes her think that he's lying.

And so their story begins.

After a series of inexplicable events, they start to get to know each other and Bennett tells Anna his secret. They start doing all the things couples do without forcing a label onto it. It's very much a slowburn. But I love slowburns! 

Through ups and downs, fights and do-overs, Anna and Bennett manage to stay together and figure out how Bennett can live two lives. One in 1995 with Anna, and one in 2012 with his family. They go on cute dates to Paris, Thailand, wherever they want to go. They give each other postcards and take pictures on old cameras. They make memories that last in the sands of Thailand, in the rocky mountains of Mexico, and on the bridges of Paris. If you love a cute love story, you're not going to be able to resist this one!

Anna and Bennett's relationship isn't perfect, which I love. Too many books give young readers the impression that they're going to find a relationship one day where they don't fight with their partner, and that's false advertising. But during this book, we get to see all of the ups and downs of their relationship. I especially love the way that Bennett makes things up to Anna.

Throughout this book we see a series of  characters, including Emma (Anna's best friend), both sets of parents, Brooke (Bennett's sister), and tons of other characters. They're all intricate and well written and amazingly thought-out.

From re-done days, to Thailand adventures, this book has everything needed to make an amazing YA book. Tamara Ireland Stone is a master of the craft and she deserves more fans than she has.

Out of ten, I rate this book an 8.5! It's a must-read! I have no doubt that this book has something for everybody who reads it. The only reason it didn't rate higher is because I wish it was longer, even though it's a solid 700+ pages.

Thank you for reading this chapter of Book Reviews with Talyn! Don't forget to comment, share and vote! I'll see y'all when I read another book.