Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

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.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

Historical books can be hit or miss for me, especially when they're compared to something as epic as Outlander. I am a big fan of time travel, though, so I dove into this book attempting to keep my expectations in check in case the historical aspect dragged the story down.

It really, really did not do that at all.

The book starts out with some fantastic characters, not all of them nice (oh god, that grandmother!). Once Hope gets into the narrative properly, you really start feeling the span of the years and the story take on a whole new level of adventure.

The setting is rather rich. Any time I think I've read the most beautiful setting description of Scotland, I find myself proven wrong. That country is always beautiful and I've been lucky to find authors that can put that beauty into words..

The setting didn't overshadow the characters, luckily. There are some bold people in this story and a lot of witticisms that made the narrative interesting.

I'd recommend it for readers that like time travel and historical fiction. I see now why the tag line said it would be good for fans of Outlander (though maybe it would be a better precursor for fans that might want to read Outlander).

Music Recommendation

This piece by Chopin has a lot of the rising action and subtle periods that I think would have been perfect for Hope's journey through time.

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