A Different Time by Michael K. Hill Published by Tangent Press on July 2nd 2019
Pages: 200
Goodreads
Keith Nolan falls in love with a remarkable young woman from the past, talking to him on a home video she recorded in 1989. To keep their conversation going, he must find more of her tapes—while forces work against them both, and time is running out.
Dave from The Write Reads is running a huge book tour for A Different Time by Michael K. Hill. When I first read the blurb it reminded me of The Lakehouse. I loved that hoped and I hoped I’d love this book just as much. The raving reviews only heightened my expectations, which isn’t always a good thing.
The story is nice. Like I said, the concept of two lovers in different times reminded me of The Lakehouse. Just no mail box this time, but tapes. I guess I can see the romance of a cassette tape. Lindsey’s story starts the year after I was born, so I relate a lot.
Hill’s writing style is concise and quick. He doesn’t linger too much on description. Sometimes I think it even lacks. He focuses on the relationships between his characters, which is great. You can see them grow. Lindsey more so than Keith. I’m really glad he added her perspective.
The ending is emotional, and it definitely saved the book for me. If it had ended differently, I would’ve disliked the whole book. I won’t say too much about it since I don’t want to spoil it. Whatever you do, don’t stop reading until the last page. It’s worth it.
There’s one thing that made me not like the book as much as others did. That’s Keith’s attitude. He does everything in his power to get his hands on more tapes after he has seen the first time. Is it enough to fall in love with someone? Maybe. But he does everything for her. He loses his job, spends money on plane tickets without knowing he will find what he’s looking for, he doesn’t eat for a fortnight. It’s not healthy. I don’t think this is romantic. Don’t do this, please.
I give A Different Time three stars. I enjoyed parts of the story very much, and disliked others. Still, for a relatively short romance novel it’s entertaining.
