Time's Divide The Chronos Files (Book 3) by Rysa Walker

I have read all the books in this series, and there were still times while I was reading the book that I wondered where in time and place the story took place, and how things had shifted so drastically.

Physically, there are 4 major time shifts, and we learn much more about what causes a time stream. There's string theory and then there's the ultimate every decision creates a new parallel universe, and in this universe, the author has married the two. It created major issues deciding what was from "this" time stream (when it's shifted so far from what it started as in book 1), from "Other-Kate's" time stream (where we were in the novella 1.5), and from where we end up. It is also critical to the reads that the reader not just read the 3 main novels. The novellas matter to the current story, especially explaining the current Pru.

I did enjoy this story, and while I enjoy Current-Kate and Trey, my heart will always belong to Kiernan Dunne. I am very much Team Kiernan.

I must confess that halfway through the book I had no idea how she could possibly tie up all the loose ends. I also disliked every member of the 5th Column, especially Julia and Max, and even Charlayne and Bensen. I did still like Tilson. He's remained a very stable, likable character for me. The rest of the characters seriously twist and turn. I suppose it is part of the suspense and drama to never know beyond Trey and Kiernan (and sometimes not then!) who to trust, but I got emotionally tired of wondering who to trust. There were two loose ends that really should have been tied up, that I wondered about all night after I finished reading.

It turns out that the bad guys really are simply psychopaths, and that everyone else is much more complicated. That's not a spoiler. We do finally get to see 2308, but not as it should have been, but as it becomes after multiple time shifts. However, we do get a Terminator/Skynet ending. I suppose as long as time stays fixed as Kate is finished, that shouldn't be a problem, right?

While I would recommend this book to my students, the author is not kidding when she describes her book in Doctor Who "Timey-Wimey" terms. I was not certain I loved where we were at the end. Sometimes, I thought the story was just too convoluted, and I really, really loved the other books in the series. For me, the major twists (and there were many in this book) were too many. One would have been enough. There were just so many. I also think this book could have been 1/3 shorter and it would have been a great finish.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for an honest review.