Author: Jill Cooper
About the Book: I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….
15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.
But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.
The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.
Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.
15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.
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My thoughts: Talk about trying to wrap your mind around the complexities of time travel and what ifs! Lara has been told that when she jumps back into time, it is like she will be a hologram. People will be able to see her, but they will not be able to interact with her. This truth does not hold true in her case though. On her first jump she runs into a waitress and knocks her tray out of her hands. This knowledge sets off a chain of events that quickly escalate out of Lara's hands.
As the past changes, so does the present and Lara has a new family and a new boyfriend and doesn't know who she can trust. It is not the present that she wanted when she jumped into the past and now she knows she must jump again.
As you can see from the excerpts below - this book contains both action and romance. I think Ms. Cooper did a good job of letting you know which reality you were in as it could have gotten very confusing. It was also interesting to see how Lara's feelings and memories change after she comes back from the past. How hard would it be to be living one way of life and then 15 minutes later to have a totally new reality and new memories flooding your brain - but still have the old memories as well?
I look forward to reading more by Jill Cooper.
As the past changes, so does the present and Lara has a new family and a new boyfriend and doesn't know who she can trust. It is not the present that she wanted when she jumped into the past and now she knows she must jump again.
As you can see from the excerpts below - this book contains both action and romance. I think Ms. Cooper did a good job of letting you know which reality you were in as it could have gotten very confusing. It was also interesting to see how Lara's feelings and memories change after she comes back from the past. How hard would it be to be living one way of life and then 15 minutes later to have a totally new reality and new memories flooding your brain - but still have the old memories as well?
I look forward to reading more by Jill Cooper.
~I received a complimentary eCopy of 15 Minutes from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.~
Action
Locker 63.
My eyes sweep aisle after aisle until I find the one I’m looking for. It’s blue and unassuming, but it could unlock the secret to everything. I lick my lips as I insert the key, close my eyes, and with a prayer, twist.
Click.
The door opens, and inside I find more than documents. There’s also a pink hoodie, a duffle bag, and a fresh change of clothes.
What was I preparing for? What was I doing? I open the manila envelope on the bottom and flip through the documents—a lot of reports, surveillance photos, old newspaper clippings. I don’t have time to go through all of it now, so I stash them in my duffle bag and throw on some new clothes.
A tight-fitting t-shirt, pink hoodie, and comfortable blue jeans are my new outfit. It’s a weird choice for trendy, sophisticated Lara, but she was up to something big. Real big.
I lift the hidden duffle bag out of the locker, surprised at how hefty it is. I unzip it and find money inside. A lot of money. I touch it. Must be thousands of dollars bound together in neat little stacks.
My heart quickens as I wonder where it came from and what I was planning to do with it. If ever there was a moment for a flashback, it's now. A shining blue cell phone at the bottom of the duffle bag catches my attention. I pull it out and see a note stuck to it. In my handwriting.
Hide in the shower. Move fast.
Wide eyed and with a pounding heart, I slam the locker, grab everything, and run down the hall. I turn into the showers and duck into a stall, the vinyl shower curtain flapping against me. I still it with trembling fingers as I hear heavy steps enter the locker room.
Romance
I cover my head as a set of tires squeal. Donovan’s sports car pulls up on the curb to cover me. I dive into the passenger seat, my head down low and scream, “Go!”
Donovan peels away from the curb in a 180 and drives back the way he came. His eyes stay on the road, but his hand squeezes mine. “You all right?”
I nod and clutch the duffle bag to my chest. “Keep driving.”
“Where?” His eyes flash from the road to me.
“Police station. I need you to drop all this stuff off in case I don’t return.”
Anxiety creeps into his voice. “Return? Return from where?”
“The past.”
“Lara, you’re not making any sense.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” I bite my lip. “There’s no time to explain. I need to fix all of this so my dad was never framed and Molly was never kidnapped, and there’s only one way to do that. I need to go back to the beginning.”
Donovan drives under an old abandoned bridge. He cuts the engine and turns to me. His eyes study me, and I study him because I’m afraid the next time I see him, he won’t love me at all.
“How do we do that? Do we need to get into Rewind?”
I shake my head and stroke his cheek. “Not anymore.”
The features of his face are drawn together. “You never make things dull, you know that?”
I laugh and lean over. In the background, sirens wail and I hear a rush of footsteps. “Remember me when I’m gone.”
“Don’t talk like this. I could never forget you, Lara.”
When our lips meet, the moment is magical. I feel warm everywhere in the blanket of his love, understanding, and compassion. My mind opens up, and suddenly I remember everything.
Everything.
I wish to stay with him forever. I grip his jacket, and his arms squeeze me tight.
But in my mind, I see an alley.
About the author: I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.
But instead, I'll say I don't want to write like everyone else. I don't want to craft stories you've read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you've ever read.
I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad. If you do, then I'll have succeeded. If not, I'll keep trying.
Author Links: Jill Cooper, Twitter, Facebook
Author Links: Jill Cooper, Twitter, Facebook
