Time Travel Adventure Review: Children of the Morning by Shanna Lauffey

Children of the Morning by Shanna Lauffey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic sequel, lot's of action.

I read the first in this series, Time Shifters, a while back and said I'd love to find out what happens next. Imagine my surprise when the author sent me a copy of Children of the Morning on the day it was released. That was a few weeks ago, but I finally got a chance to read it. Let me tell you, it was just as good as the first.

Here's what I liked. First, this installment is true to the story set up in book one. Sometimes sequels get a little sidetracked, but not this one. I think it's a sign that the author has taken the time to plan out her story ahead of time. She's also come up with a plausible set of constraints for Akayla's abilities and sticks to them. Second, action, action and more action. This story is wrought with near misses, sinister plots and danger, even more so as those targeting the main character's people become wise to her strategies. I also think it was a good move to push Akayla's ability to its limit and to put other constraints in place. Time and space are her playground, or at least they were, but as the story progresses, the playground is shrinking. Ok, third, nostalgia. As in the first story, Akayla spends a good deal of time in the past, namely Sacramento and L.A. California. As someone who has been there, I recognized many of the locations and thought their descriptions were spot on (and there are pictures!). Some of it saddened me, time passing and beautiful things lost to all but memory, but in a good way. Last, the romance. It's still a work in progress, which makes sense for a ten-part story. With eight books left, it would take some of the fun out of it if the love interest was resolved so early.

Now for the things I didn't like. Well, that's difficult, because my overall impression was very positive. I guess all I really have is there were just a few typos. Very few. Maybe five or six, tops. On the whole, though, Children of the Morning is a well-polished tale and I feel like I'm grasping at straws to find something I don't like about it.

I loved this book. It's a fantastic time travel adventure with a lot less down time than in the first book and a good deal more danger, and the romance is just right for this stage in the story. I think those who enjoy modern historical adventures, like the twists that time travel introduces, and enjoy a little clean romance will enjoy this story. Those who have lived in or visited the places described may find that adds a certain element of nostalgia. I highly recommend this book.

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