This feature is in association with NetGalley.
Many thanks to NetGalley and to Storm Publishing for letting me see an advance reader’s copy of A Time to Change by Callie Langridge.
I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way first, then we can settle down to all the positive stuff.
Firstly, this isn’t historical fiction, as it says on the cover. It’s a time-slip novel, which is a genre I don’t usually read and wouldn’t have chosen had I known. The main character, Louisa Arnold, also refers to it as ‘time travel’, but it isn’t really one of those either. It’s a time-slip.
Secondly, the book could have done with a final proofread, but there were only a dozen or so sloppy mistakes.
So now that’s over and done with, I really, really enjoyed this story and I’m glad I did choose it in the end. Once I’d got over and just accepted the time-slippery, that is.
Following a tragic accident, and sinking into the depths of despair, present-day (well, 2013-day) Louisa Arnold accidentally stumbles into the world of the Mandevilles immediately prior to the First World War. Being an avid history buff, she already knows the heart-breaking soul-destroying history of the once-wealthy family. But must she let history run its course or is she able to change the fate of the family, the house and the surrounding community?
The historic stuff is delicious and it takes up the majority of the story, which is lovely. The 2013 stuff is all about the hardships of a run-down local society filled with dead-end jobs and a hopeless people. I thought the balance was about right because I wanted to spend more time with the Mandevilles than I did with the Arnolds.
This is the first in a series of books about the Mandeville family, and I’m looking forward to reading Book 2.
Five stars.
