Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest

Author: Julie Cross
Publisher: Macmillan 
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

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. 

(From Goodreads)

My thoughts:

I will be honest:  I've had this book ever since it came out, and haven't got around to reading it until just recently. I have no idea why. I was hooked on the synopsis as soon as I saw it. 
The story is told from Jackson's point of view, which I thought was interesting because I haven't read many books with a male protagonist, and I think it's nice to switch it around sometimes. 
The chapters are a fairly short length, and they all begin like it's a diary entry because Jackson is recording his time travelling process. I thought that was a really good way to start the chapters. 
Although it was a fairly lengthy book, I was really into the story throughout, and before I knew it, I had finished.
All the characters in this book were so believable, and I loved them all. You have Jackson the main character, and his best friend Adam; who is cool. Holly his girlfriend was such a caring person, and Courtney - Jackson's sister - was adorable. 
The storyline in general was interesting. I haven't read a book about someone who could travel backwards and forwards back in time. This book actually reminded me of the movie Jumper.
I thought it was great when Jackson went back in time and met the people he knew in the present. 
The beginning of the book got me interested straight away, and the ending left me in suspense, and now I can't wait to start the sequel Vortex. 
The cover to this book is great. I love how the guy character is reaching out to the girl like he is so close, but also so far. Like she's within reach, but can't get to her. That is pretty much what most of the book is about. Being so close to getting back to the present, but he can't get there. 
There's a traumatic event that happens near the beginning of the book that had me screaming out "Noooooo!!". From then on, I wanted to know what happened next. 
Overall, I give this book a well-deserved five stars because it had a strong storyline, the characters were great, and it was full of suspense. 
So if you like time travelling, secrets being revealed and romance, then definitely give this book a try. 

Video review:

Happy reading =)