Reviewed by Sid

TITLE: Paradox Lost

AUTHOR: Libby Drew

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

LENGTH: 228 Pages

BLURB: Time-travel tour guide Reegan McNamara’s job—taking eager tourists to whenever they want to go—is usually a breeze. A trip back to 2020 to watch a world-changing speech seems no different, until a woman runs away from his tour group before the jump home. Now her tycoon husband is demanding her safe return—or Reegan will lose more than just his job.

P.I. Saul Kildare’s business is running on borrowed time. Due to a messy break with the police, he can’t get a referral to save his life. When an enigmatic stranger bangs on his door one night and promises a windfall for a missing-person case, it seems too good to be true. But the two men have an immediate connection, and Saul can’t pass up the chance to spend more time with Reegan, even if he’s clearly hiding something.

Saul knows he shouldn’t trust Reegan, and Reegan knows he can’t get involved with Saul. But as their attraction evolves into feelings neither can deny, will they have the strength to take a leap of faith—together?

REVIEW:

Time travel fictions are really complicated, but the idea itself is enigmatic. Being able to transport from one timeline to another – may it be a travel forward or back – must be fantastic. I am sucker for the stories with such sci-fi elements in it … mix it up with some hot, steamy gay romance and you have Paradox Lost as a result. I felt totally spoiled.

Reegan McNamara is the co-owner of “Blast from the Past” – a company that handles time travel business. They organize tours for the clients and take them to any timeline in the past as per their choice! On a similar tour where Reegan takes a group back in the year 2020 to witness a moment that changed the whole world, he loses track of one of his clients, Silvia, who finds this tour as an opportunity for an escape from her battered life. However, her husband demands her back and Reegan is left with no choice other than to go back and find her. He knows that simply handing Silvia to her husband wouldn’t be a good idea. But he has to find her anyway, because being exposed to the paradox for a long time – the one that is created on travelling back into the past – it may endanger her life! And he has not much time left.

The first thing he does when he gets back in 2020 is to hire a bad-ass detective – Saul Kildare – who Reegan’s partner thinks would be best suited for the job considering the sensitivity of the matter and Saul’s past experience in the police department. Saul is surprised at first as getting a client seemed to have been a hardship for him too and here was one walking right toward him. But he is also suspicious a bit. He knows that Reegan is hiding a whole lot of information from him. With that being the case, investigating a missing person’s dilemma becomes all the more complex. To add to the mess, Saul and Reegan find themselves highly attracted to each other.

Saul grasped for a verbal handhold. “Are you trying to tell me you’re actually a client?”

“I’m trying to be, so can you stop it with the fuck-me eyes? They’re very distracting.”

The camaraderie between the two is an explosive mix of sweet, hot and funny from the first time they lay eyes on each other. I think Saul was the one who really got to me. His past and the back-story of his sister is truly heart-breaking. But he is not just a wounded soldier… he is a hero, who makes it all right by the end! His courage is marvellous.

The main concept of the story is a cliche, to be honest, but the way it is presented to tell Reegan and Saul’s story -it is unique. I liked the references where Reegan is surprised by a couple of things in 2020 that aren’t in the future anymore… like a microwave. It’s funny how he tackles it to heat up a cuppa and fails.

The future world that Libby Drew portrays is fascinating, yet, it seems not enough. A century is a long period of time and world development, technologically, that this story gives a picture of seems kinda backward. I had a hard time accepting the only thing a future holds for us are time travel companies or houses with greenery all over it! Still, this was okay for a change from all the over-exaggerated world building that are done in similar genre.

This one has some memorable action scenes! I was constantly on the edge of the seat because something or the other kept happening to the boys. Accidents, car crash, plotted killings … it was horrible. Although, I knew this would have a happy ending, I wasn’t sure right till the end. And believe me, I was holding my breath till that last moment. That’s how this story is written – captivatingly!

Then there was the elephant in the room that no one was ready to discuss about – how was their relationship going to work out when Reegan returned to his original timeline?! I had no idea how that would have been possible because as per the theories, people never survived the after-effects of a Paradox! Reegan couldn’t stay in the past and I assumed Saul wouldn’t be able to either for the same reason. The outcome to it was something I couldn’t come to terms with. But I decided to shrug and just be glad the boys got to be together after all!

So, if it still isn’t obvious to you, let me word it out okay? I LOVED this book and comes highly recommended for all the fans of sci-fi fictions, who love a gay romance mixed with it! 😉

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Carina Press  ::  Amazon  ::  ARe