OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Secrets of Time" by Michael Bennett Wilson.]

“A huge wave raised its dragon-like head and loomed briefly over the craft. Unleashing itself on the hapless tiny vessel, the powerful force crashed down, splintering wood, ripping away canvas, and throwing the half-drowned boy into the blackened depths of an angry and unforgiving sea.”

This intense scene opens the prologue of the novel Secrets of Time by Michael Bennett Wilson. The reader is thrown into the action with no explanation of what is going on. Reading it, I was captured by the writer’s style. He is quite skilled with figurative language and imagery and uses intelligent vocabulary. I wondered who the boy was and why he was in this dangerous situation. Interestingly, these questions would not be answered until much later.

Chapter 1 jumps forward in time and begins the story of Jerome Martin, a socially awkward teen with only one true friend. He lives in the shadow of his athletic, popular, older brother who bullies Jerome. Their mother is divorced and slipping into prescription drug addiction. They live in a seaside town called West Air. As the story unfolds, we learn that most of the main characters are tortured by secrets from the past. The author skillfully drops hints without revealing the hidden truths that create a web connecting the diverse characters.

I thought this author did a great job with characterization. I quickly bonded with Jerome and his struggles with anxiety which were so accurately described. I was intrigued by the old, disillusioned shop teacher who seems to not care about anything, but takes a huge risk to help save a colleague’s job. I learned to hate the banker whose family controls the town by coercion, wealth, and threats. And I loved Abbie who is such a faithful friend to Jerome despite her own painful past. The author uses a third-person point of view and transitions the focus between various characters so the reader gets a deeper understanding of each one.

On the surface, this is a coming of age story of a teen who struggles to understand life. Deeper though, it is the story of a town struggling to face its past and find the freedom to create a new future. The only disappointment with this book involved style. After the intensity and vividness of the prologue, the rest of the book seemed a little less impactful. Still, the suspense of trying to piece together the mystery of the past kept my interest.

This book was well-edited and the writing flowed. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who likes a slower-paced, character-driven novel with an intriguing mystery pulling everything together.

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Secrets of Time
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I kind of a slow reader as i tend nit to rush with the words and i think this book do fit me. I love the story line and how it has been executed.

This review makes me what to pick up the book and read it myself. I love all of the action the reviewer speaks about.

I think the author is much imaginary and the standard of language is much impressive. Loved the story.

'Secrets of Time' that is indeed a nice title that resonates well with the story line. I like how the author makes good use of developing strong characters to pass the overall message. Insightful review this was

I love the prologue, because it is strong enough to pull the reader in. I wouldn't mind the rest of the book being a bit slower, as long as it is written in a way that keeps me interested in piecing bits together to understand the big picture. The characters also seem very realistic and relate-able, from Jerome being bullied to the wealthy banker who controls the whole town through corrupt practices. This sounds like a very intriguing read. Thanks!

Although this book seems like an interesting read, its slow pace will not make me check this out anytime soon. Good review.

Great review. It sounds like this one has quite a bit going on with an intriguing cast of characters. I like a book with secrets!

I love books where the cliff-hanger is at the start of the story, rather than the end as it usually is. Great review!

Franc93 wrote: ↑12 Nov 2018, 11:16 'Secrets of Time' that is indeed a nice title that resonates well with the story line. I like how the author makes good use of developing strong characters to pass the overall message. Insightful review this was

There is a great quote that uses the title too.

The title, "Secrets of time" got me, the review got, this is a kind of book I will like to read.

It is kind of disappointing when the book starts off with such a bang. It seems that sometimes the rest of the novel can't quite live up to that. Still, it sounds like an enjoyable enough book with great characters. Thanks for the review.

Now how are you going to hook us all in with such an intense opening scene only to let us all down by saying the rest of the story don't quite have the same level of drama and excitement? I do love stories where peoples' pasts and secrets slowly unravel. It takes a particular skill to do this piece by piece while keeping the reader hooked. This sounds like a good read

I definitely like the idea of a lot of imagery. Sometimes that gets overlooked in books. This sounds like something I would try. Thanks for a lovely review.

kfwilson6 wrote: ↑13 Nov 2018, 09:11 Now how are you going to hook us all in with such an intense opening scene only to let us all down by saying the rest of the story don't quite have the same level of drama and excitement? I do love stories where peoples' pasts and secrets slowly unravel. It takes a particular skill to do this piece by piece while keeping the reader hooked. This sounds like a good read

I know. The rest of the book was good, but jut not as amazing as the prologue. Still, it's a good one.