ARC REVIEW: INTO THE DIM by Janet B. Taylor

INTO THE DIM by Janet B. Taylor

Summary: 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.

Title: Into the Dim

Author: Janet B. Taylor

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: March 1st, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

 

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC! 

If you have a Scottish relative that lives nearby that you can bully, or you can pull off a Scottish accent yourself, I highly recommend reading this book aloud. Or have bagpipes playing over your headphones. Or both for maximum effect. 

*clears throat* anyway!

Firstly, I was terrified of reading this book. Through the years the genre of time travel in YA has grown stale, boring and terribly predictable and I had developed an aversion to the topic. I had no idea how INTO THE DIM would fare, but it sounded much too good to pass up. 

And I'm very glad that I didn't slide past this book. 

INTO THE DIM was a masterpiece, it has to be said. Janet's imagination is beautiful and her storytelling ability exquisite. She has crafted a tale that will inspire everyone everywhere to delve into history a little bit deeper. 

Hope, our heroine, was a character that I really identified with. She never felt like she fit in and has a large amount of fears and phobias. Though it would probably hurt like hell, I would adore having her memory. I've always been rather envious of those with perfectly photographic memories. Hope was incredibly likeable and a joy to read about. 

There is no love triangle for those who are picky, just lots of hot boys and lots of feelings. Both happy and sad. And lots of pain, of course. The romance was a perfect blend of sweet and sizzling that you need in your life. Janet used an era that I had never read of before, so it was great fun diving into another time of our history while learning new things the entire way. Warning: this book will make you stay up until the wee hours of the morning reading everything to do with the twelfth century and Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

I wish I could gush about this book forever! No review could ever do this book justice. Make sure INTO THE DIM is on your To-Read list, because this stunning debut is certainly not one to miss! Romance, adventure, high stakes and shocks at every turn. This book will leave you willing to jump into the Dim for more.