Becky's Book Reviews: 46. The Tides of Time

Wednesday, May 07, 2025

46. The Tides of Time

46. The Tides of Time. Sarah M. Eden. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, time travel, adult romance, historical fiction]

First sentence: Lili Minet had a price on her head. She stood in the shadows inside Saint Catherine's Church alongside a family she'd known for only a few days, hopeful that the reward for her capture would increase before the day's end. As far as she knew, no one had facilitated the escape of more people from the clutches of the Tribunal revolutionnaire than she. Four more individuals would, that evening, be added to the seventy-two already rightly credited to her.

Premise/plot: The Tides of Time is a TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE. Those three words may be enough of a hook for some readers. (It was for me). Lili Minet, our heroine, is on the run for her life in 1793 during the French Revolution. She's been helping people escape, but, her luck may have just run out. One of those searching desperately for her--for her harm--is her brother who is in full support of the revolution and the guillotine. When stormy seas lead to her being tossed overboard, she finds herself rescued by a lightkeeper, Armitage Pierce, off the coast of Loftstone Island....in 1873. As the weeks go by she adjusts to the strangeness of her situation. She loves Armitage and his grandfather. She loves the community on the island. She loves her new found-family. She can't quite forget her own brother--for good reason--nor the France she left behind. The Tides of Time can be cruel or kind--or both.

My thoughts: I LOVE this one. I do. Time travel is going to always have great potential for me. This publisher is known for clean romance, another win for me.

There are TWO things that might be off-putting to potential readers. (They weren't at all for me.) One, Lili speaks a mixture of English and French. There is a strong sprinkling of French phrases and sentences. It makes sense for the story. She is a French woman--obviously French is going to be her primary language, her first language, the language that she would speak especially when stressed or out of sorts. Two, the DIALECT of the island could be offputting. "She/her" "He/Him" "We/Us" essentially all the pronouns have vastly different usage. For example, "Her isn't hostile to me." "A calculated decision, that. I watched she make it."