Erasing Time Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

I was totally thrilled when I was invited to be on the blog tour for ERASING TIME hosted by Fire and Ice. I’d been dying to read this book which sounded super awesome and it gave me the incentive I needed to move it to the very top of the pile.

I first heard about ERASING TIME a few months before its release. I loved the title, so I checked it out and the premise was so cool I just had to pre-order it immediately. And while the book wasn’t at all what I was expecting when I finally got the chance to read it, I thought it was pretty amazing in a totally different way and now I’m just dying to get my hands on the sequel.

My stop on the tour is a review stop, but there’s also a giveaway which follows below, along with links to the rest of the blog stops on the tour. Be sure to check them out, too!

Erasing Time by C.J. Hill was released in the U.S. on August 28, 2012 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to order online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both formats.

Published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, the print edition is 368 pages.

Erasing Time is the first book in a new series of the same name by the author. The sequel, Echo in Time is slated for release in 2013.

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The year is 2447. And in Traverton, scientists have discovered a way to find and bring someone from the past into their future.

But their very first attempt to find the scientist, Tyler Sherwood, has failed. Instead they’ve brought two time-riders to them, Sheridan and Taylor Bradford. Identical twins. And they have no way of sending them back to the twenty-first century.

Trapped. Unfamiliar with the language and customs of the twenty-fifth century, they must rely upon Jeth and Echo, two wordsmiths – historians – who have studied their century, to keep them safe.

Safe from the scientists who would seek to wipe their minds of all knowledge of their failed attempt. Safe from the Dakine rebels who would seek to capture them and use them against the government. Safe from the Vikers who would kill them without a moment’s pause.

And safe from the government who would never allow free-thinking and un-trackable visitors from another time to roam free.

With no way of returning home and no one else who seems willing to help, they’ll have to put their trust in Echo. Even if it means ignoring the fact that he has been keeping secrets. Even though he has a dark and mysterious past. Even if he hasn’t always told the truth. And even if his motives for helping them are suspect.

Because without his help, their chances at surviving in a future that’s almost as alien to them as being on another planet are almost non-existent.

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ERASING TIME is a clever, engaging and immensely entertaining story set in a future where the government keeps a tight leash on its citizens, where your actions are monitored, your beliefs are restricted and your ranking is what determines your worthiness. Full of surprises, twists and a fascinating look at today from the perspective of those in the future, this story will keep readers guessing and keep the pages turning.

More than just a time-travel adventure story and a love story with a dystopian setting, ERASING TIME offers readers food for thought as they are introduced to this society that exists over four hundred years in the future. Told through the eyes of Sheridan Bradford, one of two identical twins who has traveled time to land in the year 2447, and Echo Monterro, a citizen of Traverton who has studied the past and knows enough about the twenty-first century to be able to interact with Sheridan and her time-riding sister Taylor, readers will get to experience the future through the perspectives of someone familiar with the world and someone new to it.

Author C.J. Hill has imagined a world that feels both familiar and strange yet utterly believable. In her futuristic society, citizens live in controlled cities for their “protection,” religion has been banned, knowledge and learning are limited to a select few, science and technology are prized above history and language, animals are non-existent and movement is closely watched by both the government and the opposition.

And in this future, the powers that be use a ranking system to keep control, keep their citizens in line and keep them focused on something other than the fact that their lives are so restricted.

The author has created an incredibly likable and relatable character in Sheridan Bradford. She is smart, strong, firm in her beliefs, unafraid to take a stand, protective of those she cares about and willing to sacrifice herself for what is important. But she’s also kind, humble, vulnerable and not so perfect as to be unsympathetic.

While Echo Monterro remains much of a mystery throughout the story, the author gives readers enough of a peek at who he is as a person, what he knows and what he’s willing to do to make him just as easy to connect with as Sheridan.

ERASING TIME is a quick and captivating read that explores the implications of time travel, the bonds of siblings and the evolution of our society. And with surprise revelations throughout that will keep readers on edge, and with plenty of story left to tell in the sequel, this book is a must for those looking for an exciting, futuristic story that offers a bit more than just action, adventure and romance.

Reviewer gives this book…

On a personal note:

I did not expect to love ERASING TIME for the reasons I did love it. I expected to get caught up in a dystopian or post-apocalyptic society that was so completely alien to our own it was barely recognizable. One that was violent and harsh and savage. I expected to find myself following along as Sheridan and Taylor fought to return to their time in the twenty-first century while fending off criminally dangerous enemies at every turn.

I did not expect to be given as much to think about as I was. I did not expect to be as fascinated by the science, the technological advances or the natural progression of the language as I was. But I was completely and totally riveted.

I did not expect society to be as advanced and yet as repressed as the author made it. But it felt very real, very possible and very scary. The author created a world where every move could be monitored, every action questioned, every independent thought a risk.

I was skeptical at first about the futuristic fashions and the unusual names of the characters that were introduced early in the story. While I was immediately drawn in by the first line in the book – “It was as good a day as any to plan treason.” – I was unsure if I could connect with a character like Echo and a world that at first appeared garish and strange. But I did.

I worried that both of these things would be too much a stereotype, too outlandish and too unnecessary to the plot. But each of these elements was very much in keeping with the story and with the development of society.

ERASING TIME was a one-sit-read for me. The author’s writing had such an easy flow and I got lost in the words, the ideas and the world she created. I found Sheridan to be a character I very much connected with, although I had an instant dislike for her identical twin sister Taylor.

While at first Sheridan appeared to be the weaker character, she was the stronger of the pair. She stood up for what she believed in, was willing to sacrifice herself for not only the ones she loved but the greater good, and saw the importance of things beyond science and technology.

There are so many things I want to talk about that I loved about this story – the twists and turns, surprises and how certain puzzle pieces were put together – but as they are all total spoilers I can’t. While I may have guessed most of them, I still found myself just as excited when my suspicions turned out to be true as I would have been if I hadn’t guessed correctly or at all.

This book really got me to thinking about a lot of things – government, religion, politics, beliefs, history, language – which I did not anticipate going in. Which made me love it all the more. Because it wasn’t just a futuristic adventure. It wasn’t just a love story. And it wasn’t just a main character trying to overcome challenges. Though it was all of those things, too.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I just know there are so many obstacles ahead for the characters. I’m curious as to just what will happen next on their journey and whether they’ll be able to find what they’re looking for.

And no, I can’t say any more about just what I’m hoping will happen, or I will give away the ending. Which is not a cliffhanger, exactly, but which leaves so many questions for the next installment that it’s just as torturous as if it were.

I definitely need to re-read this book soon, as I want to see if there were a few subtle points I might have missed, things I might have overlooked in my haste to reach the story’s end. Things about the Dakine, the Doctor Worshippers and the Vikers. Messages the government might have been trying to push on its citizens. And just a bit more insight into Echo Monterro.

I love when I’m surprised by a book. I love when a book is more substantive than I anticipated. And I love being able to connect with characters that I never thought I could connect with. And ERASING TIME was the perfect unexpected surprise for me.

I am definitely looking forward to not only the next installment in the series, but other books by this author.

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Favorite Passage

There are three passages that I call favorites but they are all a little bit… or majorly… spoiler-y. So I chose to include just a part of one of the three that doesn’t reveal too much.

A voice somewhere in her mind said, This is a mistake. But then another voice countered, What does it matter now that everything you knew is gone? All that was left of her world were artifacts in vacuum-sealed boxes. It felt comforting to have someone’s arms around her. It made her feel like she wasn’t quite alone, like things could be normal again.

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To take a long look inside ERASING TIME courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins, CLICK HERE.

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The Book Trailer

About the Author

The publisher has generously donated one copy of ERASING TIME for giveaway at each blog stop. It’s US ONLY and you must be 13 or older to enter.

Giveaway ends on October 12th at 9:01 p.m. Pacific.

Enter in the Rafflecopter below….

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