September Sky by John A. Heldt
(American Journey Book 1)
Publisher & Release Date: Self-published,
January 1, 2015
Time
and setting: 2016 Los Angeles, California, 1900 Galveston, Texas
Genre:
Historical fiction/Time-travel romance
Length:
412 pages
Heat
Level: 1 Scorching Hot Flames
Rating: 4 Gold Crowns
When
unemployed San Francisco reporter Chuck Townsend and his college-dropout son,
Justin, take a cruise to Mexico in 2016, each hopes to rebuild a relationship
after years of estrangement. But they find more than common ground aboard the
ship. They meet a mysterious lecturer who touts the possibilities of time
travel. Within days, Chuck and Justin find themselves in 1900, riding a train
to Texas, intent on preventing a distant uncle from being hanged for a crime he
did not commit. Their quick trip to Galveston, however, becomes long and
complicated when they wrangle with business rivals and fall for two beautiful
librarians on the eve of a hurricane that will destroy the city. Filled with
humor, history, romance, and heartbreak, SEPTEMBER SKY follows two
directionless souls on the adventure of a lifetime as they try to make peace
with the past, find new purpose, and grapple with the knowledge of things to
come.
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Vikki’s
Musings
I discovered John A. Heldt’s fascinating time-travel
stories a couple of years ago when The
Mine came up for review for Romantic Historical Reviews. I fell in love
with that one and went on to read every book he had published. When the offer
came to review September Sky, I
immediately asked to review it. Again, Mr. Heldt has written an intriguing tale
of adventure, mystery and romance.
Charles Townsend finds himself unemployed when his
newspaper downsizes. He chooses to join his son, Justin, and take a cruise to
Puerto Vallarta. While on the cruise the pair begin to grow an astranged
relationship. They meet a quacky professor who does a presentation on
time-travel. When asked to fill out a questionnaire, they both participate.
Shortly after their return to Los Angeles, Justin
receives a call from Professor Bell asking the duo to come for an appointment
at his office the next since he had liked their answers on the questionnaire.
The next day the professor offers them the chance of a lifetime, to travel back
to 1900. After taking time to discuss it, Justin convinces his skeptical father
to agree.
When they make the trip through the magical tunnel
and arrive in 1900 Los Angeles, the pair are supposed to travel to Chicago as
they had agreed to do, but instead, Chuck wants to go to Galveston and try to
right a wrong and save an innocent man’s life and make sure they leave
Galveston before the great hurricane in September 1900 arrives.
Will Chuck and Justin be able to change this piece
of history, or will two lovely ladies distract them from their goal and put
them in the path of the most deadly hurricane known to mankind?
This is definitely a plot-driven story and a very
intriguing one to say the least. Mr. Heldt gives a detailed account of the
horror that occurred in Galveston on September 8, 1900. His vivid descriptions
kept me on the edge of my seat for the last 25% of this book. There is no doubt
that he must have done a great deal of research, which gave authenticity to
this amazing event in history. This is what I love about his books.
Now for what did not work as well for me. I never
became fully invested in the characters and the emotions they should have been
feeling. There are actually three love relationships going on in this book,
Chuck and Charlotte, Justin and Emily and Wyatt and Rose. Of these three, the
one between Rose and Wyatt should have been heart-wrenching, but I never felt
the deep connection to their characters. That may be because the book is told
from Chuck and Justin’s point of view.
For most of the book, I felt as if I were sitting on
the sidelines and not a participant. That kept me from becoming emotionally
involved with what was happening to the characters, especially Rose and Wyatt’s
sub-plot. I did become more engaged with the happenings between Justin and
Emily toward the end of the book. In fact, I held my breath as the final act of
their story played out and found my eyes tearing up. The ending definitely
redeemed the story for me.
I do recommend September
Sky to anyone who enjoys a well-written adventure story with lots of
historical details, a decent romantic story line and plenty of action toward the
end. I will definitely read future books by Mr. Heldt because his stories are
always compelling and enthralling, as well as filled with accurate historical
details, and this one satisfied the history buff in me quite nicely. Happy
reading!
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