Review: Even though I'm only on Chapter 7
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 27, 2012
While I am enjoying the book and am only in the earliest chapters I've decided to go ahead and write a review.  I believe I will enjoy reading all of this book but I feel compelled to write this review now instead of later.  This is the first illustrated book I've read since See Spot Run and my very reason for reading is escapism.  You see, when I read a book and the characters are described I can conjure up in my mind what the H/h look like and sound like...by having illustrations of the main characters I'm reading the author's ideal character and not my own.  I don't mind the shots that don't include the faces of the H/h but really despise photos of the characters themselves.  in fact, in an earlier illustration I believe the one where the heroine's head is supposed to be wrapped...the photo itself looks like the hero instead of the heroine.  I was reading The Richmond Rogues series several months ago and there were an assortment of baseball players that were in every book of the series.  Although I am too lazy to look up the series now I can remember that one of the main characters, in my mind, was described in such a way that all I could picture this man looking like was Johnny FairPlay from Survivor...not a great hero, however, there were personality quirks this ball player as well as the author's description that for me lead me to imagining Johnny FairPlay and by the end of the series I actually liked him.  If I read a western romance, for some reason, regardless of the character's description I hear Sam Elliot's voice.  I find the illustrations are ruining this book for me...I will finish this book and probably like it, but I would never buy another book from any author that is illustrated..your heros are your heros please let me imagine my own.....well unless you can get Keanu Reeves or Ian Sommerhalder to pose for you...lolOkay, I'm editing because I've finished the book...it took me 11 hours straight, watched the sunrise this morning and while I still hated the illustrations, I MUST say I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book.  After 741 pages I still didn't want it to end.  however there are still some unanswered questions for me....Gideon found similarities between his mother and Francine, which made me wonder if his own mother travelled thru time...also it's a stretch to list this as a time travel genre...Just because I can sew on a button it doesn't necessarily mean I can sew.  So just because Francine/ Madeline switched time zones at least from this story for me this wasn't a true time travel series...but that's fine because this book was just so damn good.  If you published your grocery list I would probably buy it and read it...lol but I'm hoping against hope you're not done with this series..well done Ms Leblanc.