Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the release of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't a bad book but It just wasn't for me. I think I was not invested in the story. I have had this book for a while. I was going to try to reread it but I just wasn't in the mood to try again. I may later and if so I will update my review on goodreads.

Unwinding Time by James Stoddah, Outlet Publishing Group, 2018.

This modern-day mystery was a delightful surprise that I finished at 2:56 AM, a few hours after I started it.

Over the eight years since her parents separated, turbulence and trauma in eighteen-year old Kayleigh’s life has left her with severe anxiety. Disinclined to further study, perhaps due in part to bullying at school, she opts to move to live at her grandfather’s and work in his book and gift shop.

The book starts with a realistic but stressfull episode involving driving through snow and slush, giving us a great introduction to the strength of Kayleigh's character.

The mystery stems from a piece of art that Kayleigh’s great grandparents found within a wall during renovations in what is now her grandfather’s sixteenth century home. Kayleigh is loved by her family and friends; she presents an appealing persona attractive to new acquaintances that like her and want her company. She is creative, an artist and a hard worker. As she asks questions, then looks for answers, her grandfather, best friend, her father and others she meets pitch in to help solve the puzzle.

I am not sure that either the title, the cover or the blurb does the book justice. I selected the book because I thought it was about time travel. I did not know it was a LGBTQIA book until after I finished it.

It is well written with a story that moves along at a good pace. The most surprising thing to me though is that the book was written by a man; the voice I heard as I read it was very much that of an eighteen-year-old woman in a style that very much suits a story featuring younger adults.

The ending is as wonderful as the Goonies’ Treasure Ship, both in the outcome of the solved puzzle and the way Kayleigh can show her love and generosity. I recommend this book.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Unwinding Time free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon review submitted, not showing up yet. Will check again later.

It's hard for me to write negative reviews, especially when it's obvious that an author took excruciating amounts of time and research to complete a full-length novel, but this one just didn't work for me. I even set it down and finished 2 other novels in the middle of this one just because I was so disconnected from this.

The summary really doesn't tell us much about this book, and I don't see any other reviewers who have provided a summary yet, so I'll try and give a better brief synopsis - Kayleigh, an 18 year old budding artist, is living with her grandfather Eddie at his farm. She's helping in his bookstore while working through some personal issues. It's often talked about through the novel that she has issues with her mom's many boyfriends, and has attempted suicide in the past (trigger warning!). Kayleigh, Eddie, Kayleigh's best friend Lily are the MC's, and they embark on a 'mystery' of sorts trying to uncover the origins of a wooden sketch found hidden in Eddie's home. The 'mystery' fleshes out and they eventually find that it's more than meets the eye. Throughout, Kayleigh has flashbacks of her mom's boyfriends and her poor upbringing due to the situation.

I found myself struggling to get through this one, never really connecting with any character or even the mystery itself. For the first time in a long time, I found myself skimming pages. Yes, there was a 'mystery' involved, but it's not a mystery novel. It's safer to call this an art history quest, and the 'mystery' is really more on par with finding out a story about your long lost ancestor. I wouldn't characterize this novel as a mystery at all to be honest.

In all honesty, I feel a bit deceived as well, since it was billed on Netgalley as a LGBT novel, and it definitely is not. Sorry, but one mention by the author of asexuality on the last few pages of a novel doesn't constitute theming a novel as LGBT.

Look - It was well written, and it's obvious that Stoddard did his homework and put in a lot of effort, but this type of novel is not my personal preference. I found it dry, boring, and was completely unable to connect with the characters or the story. If you like boring romps in the world of art history with a smattering of 'mystery' and more coming of age of a teenage girl, this is likely up your alley.

2 1/2 stars, rounded up to 3 only because I feel that others who appreciate this genre more than me would actually like this novel. It wasn't my cup of tea.

*Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.*

This was a interesting read. It was nice getting to know Kayleigh Halsey and going on the journey of her investigating and mystery and exposing and hundred year old secret.