Return Once More by Trisha Leigh (The Historians #1)
Published by: Bloomsbury Spark
Publication date: September 29th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Time-Travel, Young Adult
Source: This book was given to me by Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
If you could learn the identity of your one true love—even though you will never meet— would you?
Years have passed since refugees from a ruined earth took to space, eventually settling a new system of planets. Science has not only made the leaps necessary to allow time travel, but the process engineered a strange side effect—predicting your one true love.
If you could save your one true love from an untimely death, would you be able to resist?
Sixteen-year-old Kaia Vespasian is an apprentice to the Historians—a group charged with using time travel to document the triumphs and failures of the past—and she can’t resist a peek at her long-dead soul mate in Ancient Egypt. Before she knows it, she’s broken every rule in the book, and the consequences of getting caught could destroy more than just her new romance.
Or would you have the strength to watch him die?
But when Kaia notices a fellow classmate snooping around in a time where he doesn’t belong, she suspects he has a secret of his own—and the conspiracy she uncovers could threaten the entire universe. If her experience has taught her anything, to changing history means facing the consequences. The Historians trained her to observe and record the past, but Kaia never guessed she might have to protect it— in a race across time to save her only chance at a future.
My Review: This story takes place in the far future. There has been a tragedy where Earth is no longer fit to live on so Earth natives have settled on different stars. Kaia is about to graduate from the academy to be a Historian. Her job is to go back to Earth’s past and to record its main events. She is to observe history, but can not interact with the people of the past because if she does, then it may change Earth’s fate. However, when she learns that her soul mate is destined to be Caesarion Ptolemy, the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, she abandons the rules and travels back in time to have a relationship with Caesarion. Little does she know that her romance with the Egyptian prince would soon have unforeseen consequences.
Kaia is a strong protagonist. She has a troubled past. Her brother was a traitor to the academy, and she is afraid to follow in his footsteps. She is very curious, and when she learns who her soul mate is, she is willing to put everything at risk to meet him. However, she is very observant and suspicious of those around her. She senses that there is a bigger problem around her. She is aware that her teachers are hiding something from her. Kaia is willing to break the rules and get in trouble to find out what they are up to.
Overall, this story is about friendship, love, family, sacrifice, and duty. While I’m not really big on sci-fi, I found this story compelling. I found the plot to be original and unique. I like the message of the story that history is important for the future. I really loved the historical aspects in this novel, where Kaia gets to travel back in time. I loved not only Ancient Egypt, but also the scene in Ancient Rome where Julius Caesar is assassinated. I also found the scene about the Triangle Fire to be powerful and moving. The characters were all lovable and each of the characters are helpful to the plot. I also love the world-building in this book. It had a nice ending, and I can not wait to read the sequel to the book. Thus, Return Once More is a delightful feast for fans of sci-fi and historical fiction lovers alike.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Nobles
AUTHOR BIO:
Trisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies, reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s-00’s.
Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who are numerous, loud, full of love–the kind of people that make the world a better place. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories–made up, of course, but true enough in their way.
Trisha is the author of THE LAST YEAR series and the WHITMAN UNIVERSITY books. She’s represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
To learn more about Trisha Leigh, please visit her at http://trishaleigh.com/.
If you enjoy New Adult books or a good contemporary romance, please check out my pen name, Lyla Payne! Find me on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
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