Book Review: Overseas

'Overseas'
Author: Beatriz Williams

Format: ARC
Published: Putnam Adult; May 2012
Pages: 464
Genre: Historical fiction; Time travel; Romance
Grade: B
Source: Publicist

Synopsis: When twenty-something Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson attracts the notice of the legendary Julian Laurence at a business meeting, no one’s more surprised than she is. Julian’s relentless energy and his extraordinary intellect electrify her, but she’s baffled by his sudden interest. Why would this handsome British billionaire—Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor—pursue a pretty but bookish young banker who hasn’t had a boyfriend since college?

The answer is beyond imagining . . . at least at first. Kate and Julian’s story may have begun not in the moneyed world of twenty-first-century Manhattan but in France during World War I, when a mysterious American woman emerged from the shadows of the Western Front to save the life of Captain Julian Laurence Ashford, a celebrated war poet and infantry officer.

Now, in modern-day New York, Kate and Julian must protect themselves from the secrets of the past, and trust in a true love that transcends time and space.

My Take: When you read a book that involves time travel you have to go into the novel knowing that you will need to suspend your sense of reality a bit. I don't read a lot of fantasy books so sometimes that can be hard for me but when a book has a good enough premise I'll give it a try. I think Beatriz Williams novel Overseas has been related to The Time Traveler's Wife a lot and it is similar in that the men both time travel but that's about it where the similarities end. However, if you liked the romance and time travel of that novel, then you will probably be able to easily lose yourself in Overseas as well.

Overseas starts in modern day Manhattan with Kate Wilson, our girl about town, who works on Wall Street and is quite used to fending for herself but not that used to being swept off her feet by dashing men. One day at the office she is to present in a very important meeting to a big Wall Street aficionado, Julian Lawrence. However, what goes between those two is not all business, instead it's sparks! Although Kate doesn't understand why it's so instantaneous on Julian's part.

After some starts and stops in the romance department these two finally get together and it comes out that Julian is not all he may seem to be. He is actually a soldier from WWI who woke up after a major battle in a hospital in the modern day. Now he has been trying to figure his life out from there but his love for Kate is sure and strong. They have a connection, he believes, that goes beyond the modern era. 

However, not is all happy-go-lucky. Someone is out to get them. Julian knows this but Kate just thinks he is overprotective because he is rich and a bit old-school.

Even though this novel is incredibly long it is a real page turner. There is just enough of a mystery to keep you going and the passion between Kate and Julian seems so real (although it is rarely graphic). You want to find out how this whole time traveling thing works and why Julian believes he knows Kate from some time past. Also, who the heck is chasing them and why?

It all eventually becomes clear and I was happy with the way it all ended, even though I could have sworn it was going to go a different way! I love a twist. What kind of slowed me down was the fact that when they both worked on Wall Street sometimes the novel got WAY too into the ins and outs of financial deals and it bored the heck out of me. Also, in the middle, Kate and Julian had the same argument for probably 150 pages. That got old. I believe that is Williams' first novel and I really enjoyed it, it just needed to be tightened up a bit, which can easily happen with her next one, which I hope comes out soon because I am looking forward to seeing what's next from this new author!

Cover Lust: I wish this book evoked the sense of time travel a bit more.