Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Tempest
by Julie Cross
Publication Date: 5 January 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback, ARC Copy
Rating: 5/5

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy. He’s in college, has a girlfriend, and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. That is until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit or kill him. Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly…and possibly the entire world. |Goodreads|

Fast paced, action packed and exhilarating. That's how I would describe this book in three words. Once I started reading Tempest, I couldn't put it down until I knew how it ended (and boy was that ending a tear jerk-er or what?!) I don't normally go for books that are written from a male's point of view purely because I find it difficult to relate to the main character, but I'm so glad that I took a chance on Tempest. 

The main character is a young college student by the name of Jackson Meyer. To me Jackson starts off a little too full of himself. He's rather good looking, he's rich, he has an amazing girlfriend and a geeky best friend. Plus he can time travel, which is always an exciting ability to posses. Basically things just seem to go his way. So the moment things start not going his way I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat and I thinking, 'let's see how you are going to work your way out of this one'. As the story progressed and I learnt more about Jackson, he started to become more endearing and I found myself relating alot more to him. I'll admit, I developed a little soft spot for him because he learns to appreciate what he had as he realizes exactly what he's lost. In the end I admired how much Jackson grew emotionally and how he matures at the end of the book.

The secondary characters were really well rounded and I found them very real and honest. I loved Jackson's girlfriend, Holly. I kept wanting her to mess up somewhere along the line because she's just such a kind and goodhearted person. Adam, Jackson's insanely clever side kick brought in much humor to the story, which I loved. At times I found myself laughing out loud at some of his anecdotes. Jackson's Dad brings some mystery to the story and at times I found myself doubting his honesty as well. But all in all these characters are well written and each have their own unique qualities that add to Jackson's story.  

I loved the pace of Tempest because it was neither too fast nor too slow. It was easy to get into and very difficult to stop thinking about once I had finished. It provided some food for thought, which I always find welcoming, and left me wanting more Jackson and Holly, action packed awesomeness.

I hope that in the not too distant future we will be seeing Tempest on the big screen but until then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Tempest. I am happy to place this one on my shelf next to The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games trilogy (yes, it is that good).