Defining Moments, Faye Hicks

Are you looking for a change of pace to shake up your reading habits?  Then this might be the book for you....

Scientist Ellie Ward has discovered a window to the past. In fact, she discovered it at her childhood home when she was nine and she’s been using it to extract herself from bad situations ever since. Each time it's returned her to the 'defining moment' in her past - the point in time where a bad decision set her on the path to tragedy. The problem is, Ellie never knows what her defining moments were and so she never has any idea how much of her life she's going to have to repeat to avoid her latest ordeal. When Ellie’s research takes her to a remote area of northern Canada, she faces yet another crisis when her small plane crashes in the bush. Seriously injured and stranded more than 2000 miles from her portal to the past, this time Ellie has no way to ‘rewind the clock’. 

Told from Ellie's perspective but through the thoughts in her journal the reader lives Ellie's past by following along as one of her fellow stranded passagers reads her journal to pass the time.  As the past unfolds it becomes clear that the simplest decisions made at the wrong time can have dire consequences.  But with Ellie's secret time portal she is able to keep going back and trying to get it right.

Spoiler Alert....It's hard to say more without giving away too much of the story.  I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very well written.  I was also planning on writing a more detailed review right up until I got to the end of the book which in my opinion didn't exist.  If you are looking for a general contemporary fiction that will get your brain thinking about life and the choices you make then this is a great book.  And very, very well written.  However, given that this is a Romance Blog Site I have to be fair to our readers and say that this has very little romance in it.  All of her relationships go south and I found myself hoping that in each repeat of her life she would find the key to avoiding her previous relationship downfalls.  It seemed that her last relationship was with the right guy but she still messed it up and has to try to once again go back in time to fix things.  Unfortunately, the reader isn't taken on this part of the ride and is left hanging wondering if she ever managed to get it right.  Beyond frustrating!  With another chapter or two this could have been a five strawberry book.  As it sits now - sorry but I'm going to have to say it's a three.  As I mentioned - if you are looking for a book that makes you think and you need a break from the romance group then this is overall is a good book.  Just don't hold your breath for a nice wrapped up ending.

RATING: Three Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

This book was given to us by the author.   Many thanks.