SANDS OF TIME TRILOGY

by

C.J. PETERSON

Young Adult / Christian Fiction / Science Fiction

Publisher: Texas Sisters Press

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

Appointed Time

All we have in this life is the time we are granted. Like sands of the seashore, our lives depend on where we land. Some grains of sand land in an oyster and are turned into beautiful pearls. Some land in the bottom of the sea floor and become beds for bottom feeders.

Blake and Holly Hunt and Adam and Deanna Roth all were created for a purpose by Professor Noah Roth. There were many years the genetic manipulation did not allow the babies to be viable…until the four. He had big plans for the children. Two nurses, Ben and Grace, had a different idea.

This is a tale of two sets of gifted children. One pair raised in a caring environment and taught to strengthen their gift with love and respect. Meanwhile, the others were raised under the strict and abusive conditions set by Professor Roth. When Deanna and Blake, raised by Professor Roth, are set free to retrieve the other two by whatever means necessary, chaos ensues. The first explosion will take place in a quiet little East Texas town called Willow Bend.

Amazon * B&N * Walmart * iTunes * Kobo

Race Against Time

Professor Noah Roth is possessive of his children – the children he created by genetic manipulation. When Ben and Hope took Holly and Blake to give them a better life, they knew their days were numbered. Continuously looking over their shoulders, they still missed it when the Clinic made their move by sending a group, along with two gifted, after them.

Adam and Deanna Roth thought they were on the right side of things until they ran into the other two gifted – Holly and Blake. Presented with another perspective, Deanna and Adam agree to help Holly, Blake, and Sheriff Wyatt rescue Hope and Ben — if they help Deanna and Adam rescue the other siblings still under the control of Professor Roth.

As the five head toward Maine, the youth group kids who become close to Blake and Holly decide to help by doing research. Unbeknownst to the kids, they stumble onto information the Clinic did not want out. After their homes are invaded, each of the kids must make a choice – join the others in the rescue attempt or stay home, putting their families in danger. Will they make it in time to help the others or will they be too late? It’s a race against time!

Amazon * B&N * Walmart * iTunes * Kobo

Out of Time

With the Maine Facility teens released and the Willow Bend teens safely tucked away, the next phase is to rescue the kids from the Wyoming and Oregon Facilities.

Colby is driving Holly, Blake, and Adam to the Wyoming Facility. Meanwhile, Wyatt is driving Deanna, Eddie, and Freya to the Oregon facility. Both teams are unaware The Professor is waiting for them with plans in place. With both facilities in lockdown, will the teens be able to rescue their siblings? Will Hope pull through from the damage inflicted by Professor Roth? Are the Willow Bend teens, Gemma, Bells, and Hope, safe all the way over in Philadelphia, or are they still a target? Everyone must be ready for this mental chess game. Moves and countermoves are being made. Calculations are continuously changing. Who will come out the victor? Will it be The Professor or the teens? Can the teens succeed, or are they out of time?

Amazon * B&N * Walmart * iTunes * Kobo

I am reviewing the first book in this trilogy, Appointed Time. This YA novel has a lot happening within the pages, centering around Holly and Blake, two infants that were taken from a facility with a maniacal professor that has taken great strides to manipulate the genetic code.

While the book spans 16 years, most of the story occurs when Holly and Blake are 16 years old. They have been homeschooled all of their life and are just now truly meeting other teens. This is also when the action picks up, as the two are targeted by two other teens, Deanna and Adam, left behind when Ben and Grace leave the compound in Maine with them to save them from what they knew would be a traumatic childhood.

I found this book to be fast-paced, especially near the end. I was intrigued by the plot and wondered how I would adapt if someone had changed my genetic code before I was born and I had remarkable skills. Holly and Blake are also learning more that will impact their lives. Holly is a sensitive soul, and her first foray into church with her mother brings about a very emotional response when she learns about the death of Jesus and the events surrounding it. While most of us take these stories for granted, imagine what it is like to hear them for the first time and how they might impact your way of thinking. The two also meet members of the opposite sex that interest them. That is a new set of issues because they have never dated before, and considering the threat their life is under, it isn’t a typical dating situation.

I appreciated the clean storyline, even with the relationship between Grace and Wyatt. Wyatt came into their lives when the kids were 1, and he couldn’t find any information on Ben. He had to be told the whole story to keep things under wraps and not be discovered by the professor or anyone he hired to find them. This starts a 15-year romance between the two.

The book leaves you hanging, which is to be expected since it is a trilogy. I don’t want to spoil too much since the best part of the book is the last third, when the action picks up, but I am curious about what will happen if they find the professor and the other children that were genetically manipulated.

While I enjoyed the book, I do wish that we had more of a backstory on Ben and Grace. All we know is that they are nurses in the clinic but nothing about their past or families. Plus, an old boyfriend of Grace’s shows up in Willow Bend, and he lives in Dallas. Where were they living when they dated? Grace was in Maine before coming to Texas, and there is a mention of an uncle in Louisiana. Also, what happened to Helena, Hope’s sister? Hope dies giving birth to Holly, and Helena just seems to fade away after the first few chapters. Also, how did Holly get her name? Hope told Helena to name her Holly but died before the child was born, and there is no mention of Helena telling anyone to name her Holly, yet that is the name on her birth certificate.

We give this book 3 1/2 paws up.

C.J. Peterson is a ten-time award-winning, multi-genre published author since 2012. She is also a podcaster, blogger, and publisher who knows how to relate well to folks of all ages. C.J. and her husband currently run a hybrid publishing company, Texas Sisters Press, LLC, which CJ and her sisters founded in 2019.

She has authored multiple series including the Grace Restored Series, the Holy Flame Trilogy, the Divine Legacy Series, the Sands of Time Trilogy, the Adventures of Chief and Sarge, plus her recently released time travel book with a twist, Chain Reaction!

“While the stories are fiction, the journey is real.”

Facebook * Instagram * LinkedIn * Twitter * Pinterest *TikTok

YouTube * Gab * Parler * Truth Social * Goodreads * Amazon Author Page

Texas Sisters Press Links

Facebook * Instagram * LinkedIn * Twitter * YouTube

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

TWO WINNERS

 receive the full eBook trilogy

 (US only; ends midnight, 2/17/23)

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each blog post on this tour, updated daily.

blog tour services provided by