Tempus; Holly Lauren

Tempus was everything that every YA author should strive for.  Chapel Ryan, the POV character, understands that something about her is different from other people.  Those close to her tried to slough it off as a symptom of PTSD.   On top of dealing with this, she is mending the broken heart of first love, the gradual loss of a somewhat close relationship with her mother and a creepy stepfather that seems to be more interested in the results of his election than what is happening in his own house.   But rather than wallowing in self-pity she puts on a brave face throughout most of the book and focuses her concerns on finding out what is wrong with her and how to normalize herself.

Over the course of the book, Chapel finds a new love interest, Isaiah.  Ms. Lauren did an incredible job in building this relationship.  The chemistry between the two is perfect from the beginning and Chapel’s reluctance to trust another boy so soon after having her heart broken is played in a manner that shows inner strength rather than weakness.   At the same time, the mystery surrounding Isaiah is more than Chapel can resist and, eventually, a small crack in her self-imposed armor spurs the events that lead her to allowing Isaiah in just enough to solve her own mystery. 

The book kept me guessing all the way through the reveal of why Chapel had these mysterious episodes and who (or what, given the paranormal undertones of the novel) Isaiah actually was.  Never mind that as she made her journey to self discovery I wasn’t sure who was on Chapel’s side and who I wanted her to stay as far away as possible from.  Even her three best friends came into question in my mind somewhere near the end of the book.

Other reviewers have made mention of the grammar and formatting issues so, although I must point them out, I won’t harp on that here.  Because Ms. Lauren has acknowledged the feedback of her readers, and has expressed her gratitude for it, I also won’t let it hinder my review score and will, instead, focus on the exceptional plot and the brilliant writing style prevalent throughout the entirety of the book.

Let it be known that I do NOT enjoy YA romances; especially those with a paranormal tendency (although I’m a rabid fan of adult novels in this genre).  Upon reading two extremely popular series where the POV female characters felt so damn sorry for themselves all the time, I’d sworn off of them for good.   Having said that, I hope that the fact that I give Tempus a five star rating will convince others who have been turned off by the recent fluff of YA fiction give this unexpected treasure the well deserved benefit of the doubt.   

Note:  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for the review.  This did not effect the rating.

Pick up a copy of Tempus in either print or kindle on Amazon.com at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Tempus-Holly-Lauren/dp/1493513303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390610275&sr=8-1&keywords=tempus+by+holly+lauren