Tempest (Tempest #1)

Steven Gould's Jumper meets Chuck (the TV series) in Julie Cross' Tempest.
Jackson Meyer is a normal nineteen year old, a college student, a son, a brother, a boyfriend, and a time traveler. Yes, a time traveler.Erase everything you've ever heard about time travel, ...it nothing like the movies" Nothing will change if he accidentally crushes a butterfly with his foot in the past. Nothing ever changes until he gets stuck in the year 2007 after two men burst in Jackson's girlfriend, Holly's dorm room and fatally shots her. In the attempts to return to his present 2009 and save Holly, he learns more about his abilities and his dad's somehow involvement in them. But, saving Holly has it's price.

This book has more than any other time travel book I have read. It has equal parts, of time-travel, mystery, secret-agent thriller, sci-fi, action, conspiracy, and romance. The writing is excellent, even with all the time jumping, time and place changing , it was never confusing. The story is so well-developed, you get stuck in the year 2007 along with Jackson, learning about the character's lives before Jackson (and you, the reader) know them. So fascinating. There were even some scenes that had me close to tears. I love the relationships between the characters and the characters individually. Adam,a science and technology geek who is friend with both Jackson and Holly, the constant companion and guide of Jackson. Holly, the girlfriend and the reason for most of Jackson life-changing decisions. Jackson's dad, a CEO, or is he?, The Enemies of Time, other time travelers like Jackson. Amazing interaction between characters.

Entertaining, engrossing and fast-paced page turner. I could put it down, can wait to read the complete trilogy. Love it. 5 stars.

One of the best books!

I'm not sure how I feel about this novel. It was an interesting plot and it kept me reading but I was not as excited to get to the end as other books I have read recently.

The characters are difficult to get a full grasp on since there is so much jumping around in time.

Jackson is the main character, which is refreshing for a teen live story- male POV, only he is a little obsessive about his girlfriend. He has the ability to time travel and the rest of the novel involves time jumping, trying to get back to the right time, and learning about his background. All of thus while fitting in a love story lost me a little.

This is the first of a trilogy- maybe it will make mire sense through the series.

Also- I'm my ARC I found a typo and that irks me because I wasn't even looking for any but this one confused me bc it changed the sentence completely.

I've heard quite the mixed bag of opinions and ratings when it comes to Tempest, but as for me, I quite enjoyed it. Something about it is holding it back from being a full 5 star from me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it certainly doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the read.

First, you know those books that move so fast you’re left sitting there going “what in the world…”? Well, Tempest was like that, but for some reason it totally and completely worked! Normally it drives me insane when a plot moves so quickly it’s almost a blur, but either I was just in the mood for it or Cross totally makes that work for her. It certainly makes sure there’s never a dull moment. That being said, Cross still managed to sneak some seriously heartfelt and touching moments in there. Yes, I cried.

Second, did you watch Jumper (if not, you’re totally missing out)? Anyhow, Tempest has a feel similar to Jumper while still managing to be its own thing. I liked how we get to learn basically everything right along with Jackson even if it had me trying to shake the book down for answers a few times. It made everything feel a little more real since Jackson was just as in the dark as I was at any given moment.
Adam was possibly my favorite character, though that’s probably just because he’s a super smart hacker/science nerd :P

The Nutshell: Tempest will keep you on the edge of your seat with the action as well as the mystery. The time traveling here is a totally new (and might I say AWESOME) compared to anything else you’ve ever heard about the subject. I love that among all the action and intrigue Cross still slipped in sweet moments here and there that even had me crying at one point. This book has everything from conspiracies to romance to a touch of scifi, so I’d say there’s a little bit of something in there for everyone.

What a thrill ride! Time travel is, of course, completely fascinating as a concept, but it's extraordinarily difficult to do well. Actually, I have no complaints with how Cross has done this. Way better than The Lake House any day.

What particularly intrigues me are the variations in time-jumping power and the other abilities Jackson seems to be developing. I hope more is learned about these and where the powers originally came from later on. The ubermensch theme is pretty cool too, especially since people with that mindset make awesome bad guys.

I never really bonded with Jackson as a character. He's okay, but I'm not sure how much I like him. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't have any particular love for any of the characters. However, I do really love the way the characters are together, the way they interact. Cross has attained something resembling actual human interaction, which is pretty fantastic.

Jackson and Holly are definitely put forward as fairy tale level love, and they are seriously drawn to one another from the first time they meet (and from the first time they meet again...haha). However, they did not immediately declare their love for one another or anything like that. Although the degree of their affection is extreme, as are the circumstances, the relationship moves in a believable way. They have hangups and little fights. These important details are left out of too much fiction.

On a somewhat related note, I really hope all teens are not this sexually active nowadays. When Jackson and Holly first have sex, he is surprised to discover she is a virgin, even though she's not even in college yet. He thinks to himself that it had been a long time since he had sex with a virgin, which leaves me wondering exactly how much action this guy has been getting and since when?

If you like action, romance, espionage and time travel, you will not want to miss Tempest. This is the first book in a series, which I have every intention of continuing with.

There's really not very much I can think to say about this that won't be spoilery. Every thought and emotion I had during this book has something to do with something huge that happens in the book. Although I can say that I'm absolutely in love with the cover. :) It fits so well with the book, and if we're honest, I'd love it even if it had nothing to do with the book at all.

Tempest is amazing, plain and simple. I fell in love with Jackson right from the beginning. (Well, okay, not right from the start. I was actually pretty bored in the first 10 pages, but after that, I was in it 'till the end.) It's not very often that I read from the perspective of a guy, but Jackson didn't disappoint. He was easy to relate to, but at the same time, it was easy to tell he was a guy. Jackson was exactly the type of hero I love - the closet type who you would never suspect, but you find out just how heroic he is.

Jackson's time-traveling is another thing I really loved. I can't say I've read many involving that, either, and I loved how Cross described it.

Holly is a character I'm a little unsure about. Sometimes I felt like she was being so strong in what she was facing, but other times I felt she was so weak and so dependent on everyone else that it was annoying. Holly is in a very unique situation, as is Jackson, but I felt like Jackson dealt with it a lot better than Holly. Maybe because there was actually something Jackson could do about it, as opposed to Holly who really couldn't do anything to change her fate.

The writing style was easy to read, but at the same time, it left an impact on me. Jackson's emotions came through so clearly, his despair at losing Holly, his fear that he wouldn't be able to save her when he goes back.

Admittedly, when I look back on it, the ending was kind of predictable. But when I was reading it, I wanted to scream and throw things at the unfairness of it all. Needless to say, I'm definitely dying for the next book. ;)

Overall: Tempest is an emotional rollercoaster with some adorable moments thrown in. It's a book that made me feel for the characters, connect with them, fall in love with them. And while I can't say I liked the first 10 pages, after that I couldn't stop reading. 4.5 stars.