Review: A Flicker in Time by Kate Serzenta

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free via Reedsy Discovery. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Series: Mine Through Time #2
Published: February 2025
Pages: 431

Synopsis

Boston, 2010. It’s been over a year since high-schooler Emily Willburne discovered she had the ability to travel through time – a power she thought she’d sacrificed forever when she rewrote her family’s fractured past. But just as Emily laments her lost potential, her ancestor and former time-traveling companion Will reappears asking for her help – stealing Emily away on an assignment that could restore the ability to travel between the centuries for both of them.

Boston, 1889. Lady Sylvia Ross is on the run. The beautiful British aristocrat witnessed her husband kill a man for a device she later fled with – and she has no idea of what it does or why he’d go to such murderous lengths to safeguard it. In fear for her life, Sylvia promises to hand the device over to a handsome stranger, Will, and his odd companion, Emily – but only if they escort her to America’s wild frontier first, where she hopes to reunite with her disinherited brother James.

Paris, 1889. Amidst the gaslights and glory of the Exposition Universelle, sinister forces conspire to restore their own ability to travel through time – and they require Lady Sylvia’s blood to do so. Will travels to Paris with Emily and James – where, amidst their own romantic woes, they’ll have to contend with kidnapping, coercion, and a complex conspiracy that spans the centuries. Unwittingly, they find themselves rewriting their own history even as they desperately fight to protect it for everybody else.

My Thoughts…

This review was originally published on Reedsy Discovery.

A whole year has gone by since Emily discovered she could time travel, embarked on an adventure across time to save her family, and sacrificed her power forever. Or so she thought. When her ancestor Will returns asking for her help with a new problem to solve in 1889. This time, their adventures will take them all the way to the frontier as they attempt to save a beautiful British aristocrat looking for her rogue brother as she flees her violent husband. A husband who is willing to kill over a mysterious device which might just hold the key to restoring Emily and Will’s time travel abilities for good…

Picking up soon after the events of the previous book, this exhilarating sequel to Time Watcher is sure to keep readers turning the pages well into the night. The stakes are high and the protagonists swoon-worthy, with familiar faces making a comeback and some new favourites being introduced. This series is comfort reading at its best, artfully combining adventure, humour and romance.

Emily’s growth as a character is just delightful, and all her interactions with other characters are laced with sarcasm and heart. Lady Sylvia Ross and her brother James are fantastic additions to the cast, and the touch of cowboy life that our heroes get to experience works beautifully to provide opportunities for depth and growth. The nefarious antagonists are just as mysterious and unsettling as one might expect them to be, implementing a plan that is sure to keep readers guessing alongside the protagonists.

A Flicker in Time manages to balance breathtaking adventures and a compelling mystery with lively character interactions, well-researched historical settings and moments of deep connection. Readers who enjoyed the previous book in the series will not be disappointed with the direction in which A Flicker in Time moves the story. If anything, they might be upset at not having another time travel adventure to dive into right away with Emily and Will.

Rating: 5/5