Time Bomb by Penelope Wright – A Book Review

Posted October 2, 2020 by Booksandblurbs in Reviews, Sci-Fi, YA / 1 Comment

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Time Bomb

(The Collapse – Book 1)

by Penelope Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sci-Fi, YA, Series Complete
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

Time Travel novels are hard… this is one of the better ones, with a YA (age only) approach. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

To save the present she must brave the past.
In 2019 a nuclear explosion flash melted Antarctica and submerged the world. Now it’s 2074 and sixteen-year-old Rosie Columbia lives with other survivors, clinging to life above the floodwaters on the top floors of Seattle’s skyscrapers. Rosie knows the secret work she does for her father, the president of The United Towers, is crucial. She travels back in time to steal tetanus boosters, vitamins, and other supplies that keep humanity going.

But when her stepmother pushes her down a flooded elevator shaft, Rosie’s only escape is to the past—without the time-travel chemicals she needs to return home. When she pops into existence in 2018, half-drowned and confused, a street-smart guy named Carlos takes her under his wing.

Rosie can run, but she can’t hide. The Collapse is coming, and if she doesn’t figure out a way to return to her own time she’ll die. But first, she has to remember who she is and what she’s fighting for.

My Thoughts on Time Bomb

Trippy

In 2074, the casual and rather safe world that we know is gone, replaced by treacherous floods, hunger, rising waves and a handful of brave survivors riding out the literal storm that is Earth. Into that world, there are still pockets of science and advancement, brilliant minds that concoct and develop amazing things…. like time travel. Paradoxes and relativity laws may prevent them from outright changing the future, but they can help it – by bringing back the most needed supplies from a time before the waves rose and the world fell.

Such is the life young Rosie leads. A Chrononaut by secret trade, she is the President’s daughter, and one of the few living souls who knows the truth of their miraculous vitamins and tetanus shots. Unfortunately, life for a time traveler is rarely easy, and when things go sideways, quite literally, Rosie finds herself in the past, far from her goal and far too close to the edge of destruction. It’s a Paradox in the making, and it makes for great reading.

Pros:

Interesting plot.
The characters are well developed, for the most part.
Breadcrumbs start dropping from the first paragraph.

Cons:

Some things are a bit too obvious.
Too short.

Perspective:

First & third person, with alternate POV in Third.

Ending Type:

Cliffhanger

Rating:

YA (entire series is YA, sexual content in later volumes is fade to black only)

Romantic Dynamic:

M/F (main characters. There is a F/F connection later in the series, for side characters again, fade to black only)

Character Age Range:

16+

My Final Verdict on Time Bomb

This is a well done novel, and a well plotted series. The characters are honest and robust, with a few exceptions, displaying human emotion and gravitas suited to the extreme situations they find themselves in. It’s a bit twisty and fully stimulating. Free on Kindle Unlimited.