Book Reviews by Lynn

If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?

When a faulty time machine deposits Diego in a towering evergreen, he knows he's in the wrong place—but has no idea he's in the wrong time. Naked and shivering in the chilly mountain air, he attempts to climb down, but slips, whacks his head on a branch, and falls into oblivion.

He wakes up inside a darkened room, crippled and disheartened, and must come to grips with the realization that he is marooned in a bleak alternate future. In this universe, what remains of the human race is trapped inside a handful of aging biodomes. With his mission failed, his world destroyed, and the one woman he loves, dead, he can find no reason to go on living.

But Lani, the emotionally scarred doctor who finds him, refuses to let him die, and as Diego heals, their relationship becomes... complicated. He struggles to let go of the past but is unable to get Isabel out of his head—or his heart. Just when it seems he may be able to find some measure of happiness in a world teetering on the edge of extinction...

Another note arrives from the future: Isabel is alive—but not for long…

Review 4*

This is the second book in the Between Two Evils series. I enjoyed this book more than the first one.

Diego is a fantastic character. I really liked him. He is kind and loving. There is a lot of cheesy/pun-y dialogue by him that had me rolling my eyes at times, but its all part of his charm. When the time machine (from book 1) malfunctions, he finds himself trapped eighteen years in the future. This future/parallel world has been devastated by a terrible event and the survivors are living in biodomes created by David Kirk (who is known as Dave Kirkland where Diego originally comes from). Will Diego find a way to get home to Isabel, or will he be trapped in this alternate universe forever?

This story is a lot less complicated than the first book and is based purely in the alternate world where Diego finds himself. The story is told mostly through the eyes of Diego, though other characters have their say too, mostly Lani, the unofficial doctor in the biodome (called affectionately the Bub by its inhabitants) and her seventeen year old daughter Shannon. These two characters play a major role in this story and I liked them both. A lot. They have a warmth about them that made them come alive, not to mention they are both stubborn and opinionated. There are also other characters that are introduced and give the story an interesting twist. One of them is Madders, a pilot who is a father figure to Shannon and encourages her to follow her dream of being an engineer. He doesn't actually make an appearance until late into the story but he too has a major role in this tale.

This book is action packed and took me on a wild roller coaster ride of emotion. There is even a hint of romance, and I found myself hoping that Diego and Lani would get together. However, his heart still belongs to Isabel. Diego struggles with his new reality and is determined to find a way to get home to her. I did find some of the story repetitive plot-wise to book one, which annoyed me, even though the scenes were completely different. I suppose this is the problem with time travel type stories, where the plot follows the same line even if events happen in a different way. The story does end on an exciting if somewhat heartbreaking climax and it left me in tears. Although not exactly a cliffhanger, it definitely made me eager to find out what happens next. I am now looking forward to reading the third book, Dead Time, as soon as possible.

DL Orton has written an intriguing time travel romance. I enjoyed her writing style, which is not as fast paced as some other authors I've read but it still had me turning the pages. The flow of the story is a lot smoother than the first book and this made it a more pleasurable read. I would definitely read more of her books in the future.

There are no scenes of an explicit nature, although there is mention of sexual activity. Having said that, I do not recommend this book to younger readers (under 16) due to the nature of the story. However, I do recommend this book if you love dystopian or time travel romances. - Lynn Worton