REVIEW: The Show by John A. Heldt

The Show (Northwest Passage #3)
by John A. Heldt
Self-published, 2013
[Goodreads] [Amazon]

Previous Installments: The Mine | The Journey

Seattle, 1941. Grace Vandenberg, 21, is having a bad day. Minutes after Pearl Harbor is attacked, she learns that her boyfriend is a time traveler from 2000 who has abandoned her for a future he insists they cannot share. Determined to save their love, she follows him into the new century. But just when happiness is within her grasp, she accidentally enters a second time portal and exits in 1918. Distraught and heartbroken, Grace starts a new life in the age of Woodrow Wilson, silent movies, and the Spanish flu. She meets her parents as young, single adults and befriends a handsome, wounded Army captain just back from the war. In THE SHOW, the sequel to THE MINE, Grace finds love and friendship in the ashes of tragedy as she endures the trial of her life.

Having read both of the previous two books in Mr. Heldt’s Northwest Passage series – and having a soft spot for time travel books – I was really excited when I was again contacted to read the third installment, which focused on the main female character, Grace, from The Mine. I particularly liked Joel and Grace’s story, and was eager to see how things would potentially come full circle. I’m happy to report that I was not at all disappointed, and was very happy to spend a few hours traveling through time with Grace as my guide.

I particularly liked how this book started off by showing us the fallout of Joel’s decision at the end of The Mine. I liked being able to see Grace’s reaction to Joel’s leaving, and give major props to the fabulous Katie, who so easily realized what needed to be done and immediately helped her friend. Grace was one very determined lady, and I love how strong she was to leave behind all she knew for the man she loved. It’s probably not the most practical way to go about life, but it sure is romantic! I also loved Joel’s character development. While we didn’t get to see a lot of him in this book, I very much enjoyed the glimpses of him we were allowed to see.

While this book has a very nice, easy flow to it, and I did find myself charmed by the descriptions of history, I did find parts of this to be a bit repetitive, particularly when events from The Mine were recounted. I also found the middle section to drag a bit pacing-wise, and some parts were overly descriptive, particularly when recounting minor details. This was definitely not helped by my impatience to get to the end of the story to see how things would eventually get worked out, and if I’d get the ending I was hoping for, of course. I felt so terribly for Grace and everything she was having to deal with (time traveling twice!) and just wanted it all to be fixed. I did, however, like to watch Grace wrestle with herself and what she wanted, and try her best to make a new life in her new setting. She did some definite soul-searching, which is always interesting to read about, and it really helped me feel for her and her situation.

All in all, though, this was a very satisfactory ending to Grace and Joel’s journey. I liked once again how the idea of time travel was used in this book, and the method developed to cause Grace’s impromptu trip to 1918. I also liked getting into her head a bit more, although I do think some of that could have been trimmed a bit just to help the story move along a little faster. I also wasn’t completely sold on the ending, which I felt was a tad too tidy, but I’d rather have that than the other option, so I shan’t complain too much! If you’d like to try a different sort of time travel story, this is a good series to check out. I’d certainly recommend it!