Ever since I was a little girl, I have been a huge bookworm. I started out with the Magic Tree House series and Nancy Drew series (1-50 for sure). My mom read the first Harry Potter book to me and I was hooked on that series not long after. I read the Maximum Ride series, the Percy Jackson series, Stargirl, The Chronicles of Narnia, and -------. I remember taking so many trips to the library and absolutely destroying my library card from all of its uses. Since then, I’ve grown up and my taste in reading has also matured. I had a job and could buy my own books, which was basically handing me the keys to the universe (and an easy way to empty my bank account). I suddenly had the world at my fingertips, and I reveled in the power.
From the moment I first cracked open a Dr. Seuss book and took my first adventure back in time with the Magic Tree House, I was dedicated to every single book and series that I read (perhaps obsessed is a better word). Every character, every story, every place was near and dear to my heart and I would defend them until my dying breath.
One series, among all of the books I have ever read, has stood out. This series came as a recommendation from a friend and at first, I was apprehensive. There were a few concepts that I thought were overused and cheesy, but I was assured it worked. So, I dove right in and never looked back.
The series I’m talking about is The Immortal Descendants by April White. The first book, Marking Time, starts out with a teen girl (Saira) spray painting in a tunnel and being chased by unknown assailants who know exactly who she is, despite her having no idea. After reading the first few pages, I was hooked. Who was this girl? Who were the guys chasing her? How did the guy who saved her know she was going to be there and know exactly who she was? Why does Saira hate her grandmother? I had so many questions and none of them were really answered right away. I just ended up with more questions. The further I dived into the novel, the more I fell in love.
What really drew me in to this particular series, was the time travel aspect (i.e. why the first novel is called Marking Time). I have always loved history, so being able to read a book that throws the characters into the time periods I love to learn about was right up my alley. Who doesn’t love a little jaunt back to 1888 with Jack the Ripper running loose? Especially when the main character has no idea what’s going on.
Typically, when I read books, I’m pretty good at making predictions about what is going to happen. I call something in advance and am right sometimes. With this book, I had absolutely no idea. I had no clue what was going on until the second to last chapter when suddenly everything made sense. Everything clicked into place, my pores cleared, and the world seemed right. Marking Time had me guessing at every turn, able to pull a fast one on me and send me reeling.
Another part I really liked about this book (and series) is there was a love story, but it wasn’t typical. When she first meets him, he’s known her for a hundred years. When he first meets her, it’s moments after she meets him in the future. Freaky right? Their timeline is backward and they each know more about each other at specific points in time, but that doesn’t stop them from falling in love. What I really love about this particular novel and the way it handles the romance, is that it’s there, but it doesn’t overtake the story. She can still kick butt and take names, and then be at a loss when dealing with him. I also identified heavily with her because of this. I’ll be honest and say I haven’t had a whole lot of experience romance-wise, so to see a character around my age feeling the same thing as me was refreshing. I understood her confusion and wonder. I grew to adore these two together because they are the perfect balance and respect each other immensely. (#couplegoals)
But it isn’t just a time travel love story; it is sooooo much more. There are vampires and shape-shifters, but they are described and brought about in a way that is not cheesy and something I hadn’t seen before. The whole premise of the book is based around the Immortals; Time, Fate, Nature, War, and Death. Most of the characters in the book are descendants of these immortals (hence the series title). Each line of descendants has a specific gift that goes along with it. Some descendants of Time can time travel, those of Fate can see the future or tell emotions, Nature can change into various forms of animals (yes, including wolves, but not limited to wolves), War descendants like to cause chaos, and Death doesn’t really have descendants, but creates descendants (aka vampires). I won’t spoil it, but all of these fit together and cause a lot of problems for our kick-butt heroine who was thrown into this world without knowing anything. She struggles to find her place and navigate her new world with the little tidbits of information she gathers along the way.
At this point, I’m realizing that I’m doing an awful lot of blabbing. Every chance I get to recommend a book or series, I recommend this one. I fell in love with the story within the first few pages of the first book and have since fallen even harder. I found myself totally engrossed in the book and wishing I could be a part of it. The novel was unlike anything I had ever read before and I flew through the first book because I was addicted and needed to know what happened. These books are not very well known, which is why I always recommend it when I can, but is right up there with Harry Potter and so many others. When I say it is my favorite series, I mean it. I love this series for its own reasons and the same thing goes for every other series I’ve read, but this one is different. I mean it when I say that it is my favorite.
I hope that my background in books carries some weight and lets you realize how much my recommendations mean. I don’t just recommend books just because; I mean it 100%. So if you’re looking for something to read, and you love time travel, or vampires, or shape-shifters, or those who can see the future, or even if you just love a good story that is so well researched, check out this book. I promise you that you will get hooked and find yourself wanting to continue with the series. Until you get to that point however, I’ll leave you with a passage from the last book of the series Cheating Death:
“’When you think it through, it’s what we’re all doing – dying a little bit more each day as we wander through life. It kind of makes you want to look around and notice all the little things along the way.’
In that remarkably clear way young people sometimes have of viewing the world, he was absolutely right, and I’d had a very long life in which to discover the truth of his words. ‘It is amazing how complete a life can feel when it is full of the little things.’ I said quietly.”
