Thanks to Netgalley, Cameo Press publishing, and Catherine Taylor for this ARC. I’m generally not a fan of time slip novels, but this one was irresistible. The story revolves around a contemporary woman hospitalized in an old Victorian psychiatric hospital after people thinking she’s suicidal, and a soldier recovering from physical and psychological wounds from World War I. Somehow a portal in time is opened and these two lost souls are able to meet. This is definitely a book worth thinking about, in that reincarnation is a possibility, but in a strange way.. A 4 star review, which is great for a first book of a new author, of whom I’ll continue to read. Reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, Book page,and my book clubs

I received a complimentary copy of Beyond the Moon from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Genre bending! This was the great, dramatic love story of 2017 Louisa Casson, interrupted medical student, and 1915 Robert Lovett, artist and soldier. From the beginning, I never would have guessed that this novel would lead through the ins and outs of WWI nursing of soldiers and daily routines of the same. Very cool book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Time travel romances have a special place in my heart.

In 2017, Louisa was committed to a mental institution after doctors believed she tried to take her own life, despite her insistence that she didn't. During her time in the institute, she unknowingly comes across a portal to 1917 and is transported to the bedside of wounded and temporarily-blind Lieutenant Robert Lovett. She becomes a muse for him, not only to regain his strength and sight but to overcome the darkness of shell shock/PTSD. They quickly fall in love but have to overcome not only a 100-year time gap but the Great War to get their happily ever after.

I thought this novel was thoroughly researched, with descriptive and vivid details about WW1, the daily chaos and struggles the people in 1916/17 lived through and the brutal physical, emotional and mental effects it had on soldiers in battle and the nurses who took care of them.

Although the book was well-written with easy-to-follow time jumps and realistic war descriptions, I didn't connect with Louisa or Robert. I felt that their relationship was rushed with all the makings of an "instalove" and I was immediately put off. It wasn't believable or moving in the slightest. There was also too much going on, with too many plot points taking us in different directions. Honestly, their relationship took up maybe 20% of this book, with the rest being focused Robert's time in the war and Louisa's time in the asylum in 2017. I would've loved more of a slow-burn build-up between them, with a little bit less war.

In general, I don't read time travel anything, i'm not a fan of someone panicking as they try and fit in and make sassy comments about corsets. But the plot of this book seemed intriguing and it was until the very end! The pacing was really strange, but the read was enjoyable. The time travel bit actually seemed relatively believable, too in a way other books have not.

Louisa Casson's life is changed in a single night. After losing her grandmother, she drinks too much and accidentally stumbles down a cliff. She survives with little injury, but the medical professionals don't believe that it was accident. They see signs of suicide and a cry for help for help, so Louisa finds herself involuntarily committed to a mental institution at Coldbrook Hall. Surrounded by people with a variety of mental illnesses, Louisa tries to cope with her new reality as she works to convince the staff that she shouldn't be there. One day, she stumbles upon a forgotten wing of the institution. In a room lies a man named Robert Lovett who is injured and appears to be blind. As Louisa talks with him, she realizes that this man is a World War I soldier from 1917. As she gets to know him and their friendship builds, she finds herself continually drawn back to him, and eventually, she realizes that she must be in his life for a special reason.

Lately, I've been enjoying time travel historical fiction, so I was excited to give this book a try. As much as I wanted to like it, I was incredibly disappointed. The pacing isn't great==Louisa and Robert meet early in the book, and their friendship and subsequent relationship blossoms rather quickly. Just as I felt like I was getting to know Robert and enjoying his character, the plot turns suddenly, and Louisa and Robert end up in different places for a while. By the end of the book, I just didn't care that much about Robert again. I found myself bored at several places, and I never felt fully hooked by the story.

There were also a bunch of things that seemed out of place and hard to believe. Coldbrook Hall, where Louisa is committed, is such an awful place that I didn't find it realistic. Obviously there are probably institutions in real life that are poorly run and don't have great staff, but Coldbrook Hall felt like an over-the-top villain to me. Another thing that I didn't quite believe was Louisa's squeamishness when she was working in the military hospital. There were vivid descriptions of the brutality of war injuries, and I'm sure that would be shocking to many people, but Louisa was studying to be a doctor, so I wasn't expecting her to react like someone who has never been exposed to blood and gore.

I was also not a fan of the attempt to explain the time travel aspect. It felt forced to me, but I also really enjoy the time travel novels where the time travel remains more of a mystery and is just something that happens, so this could be more of a personal preference.

Overall, there are still some good aspects to the book. I did enjoy Louisa's character, and the story was a unique take on World War I historical fiction. It wasn't my cup of tea, but someone else might enjoy it!

Thanks to Catherine Taylor, The Cameo Press Ltd., and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book!

After accidentally almost falling to her death, Louisa Casson winds up in a mental hospital, accused of trying to commit suicide. She discovers a "secret passage" to an abandoned part of the hospital that served as a medical hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I, 100 years ago. While exploring, Louisa somehow finds herself transported to 1917. She and a wounded British officer, Robert Lovett, become besotted with each other.

This book not only jumps between time periods; it also jumps between the points of view of Louisa and Robert. The author makes these transitions beautifully and it isn't at all confusing. She also clearly did her research because the scenes depicting the horrors of The Great War are vivid and realistic. The author also seems to be aware of the not-so-ideal conditions of today's public mental health facilities.

This was a lengthy novel, but I never got bored and it never seemed to drag at all. I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to reading more from this author. I thought it was a very strong novel, especially for a debut effort. It is historical fiction/romance at its best!

As always, many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advancec copy of this book!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Catherine Taylor's book Beyond The Moon.

I normally do not read romance novels but was intrigued by the historical aspect and mental health issues.

I was not disappointed! Going back and forth from 1916 to 2017 the characters were personable, deep and well written.

I enjoyed learning more about WWI, the public's attitudes, what the soldiers had to go through and the medical practices of the time.

I found the main character, who starts out in 2017, to be incredibly strong and resourceful. Through her mental health "issues", I learned how badly the system is still broken.

Overall I really enjoyed reading Beyond The Moon and look forward to read more books by Catherine Taylor.

This book is a time travel romance set in present day and the WWI period, with the story being told from the POV both leading characters. Louise, a medical student in present day, is unwillingly committed to a psychiatric hospital which also served as a hospital for wounded soldiers in WWI. While exploring an abandoned wing of the facility, the she hears a call for help, opens a door and is transported to 1916, where she meets Robert, a wounded British officer. Over the next several days, she returns to the room and develops a romantic relationship with the officer. What follows is the typical time travel between two periods, with Louise travelling back in time to save Robert. The author did a great job of incorporating small details so that I could often see or almost smell the scene. However, on occasion, there were too many details, and I found myself skimming past some of the text in order to move to the next action. I also felt there were too many plot lines incorporated and the story line rambled a bit. I did enjoy the style of writing and would read another book by this author.

This is a story that crosses time Louise from 2017 and Robert from 1916, the Coldhaven Hospital seems to be the catalyst to this melding of time. Eventually, Louisa crosses over to 1917 and begins to search for Robert in France his last known posting, she is serving as a VAD nurse except she has become Rose according to the papers she was carrying. Robert still dreams of her only he really thinks he dreamt her up but still wishes he could see her again. The book takes us to the battlefield, prisoner of war camps and the hospital wards hopefully it will take these two people back to each other,

When I first started to read I expected a typical time travel romance. Very light reading. This book is something both different and the same. It is the same in that it is about time travel and romance, but it is a very good historical novel about world war 1. It brought to life some of the horrors of war in the trenches, and what people will go through to find each other.

Very enjoyable time travel novel. Well researched, exciting and romantic with an excellent sense of time and place. Highly recommended.

Louisa Casson has attempted suicide, or so the modern medical world has decided. Sent to a psychiatric facility, she is resistant to any therapy and frightened by the patients. Wandering off one day to the abandoned section of the hospital, she meets a wounded soldier...from World War I. Suffering from hysterical blindness, Robert Lovett can not initially see this woman but nevertheless falls in love during her visits. When the truth is realized that they exist a century apart, he returns to combat. She begins an arduous journey to reunite with him, despite the obstacles to prevent this. She embraces a new identity, Rose Ashby, a nursing volunteer who sees firsthand the horrors of war and the primitive medical treatment available. Through her skilled writing Catherine Taylor enables her readers to take this leap between both worlds and to follow the course of the time-crossed lovers.

Great book! Interesting spin on a time travel romance with a happily ever after. 4 out of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book and really loved it! The story is well written and the characters are unforgettable. I hated to put it down. I especially enjoyed being taken into the past. A great look at WWI and 1916.

Two and a half stars rounded up.

Well, at first I thought this would be a refreshing little recommendation. Instead, it turned into a weird sort of faux-Outlander that didn't even hold the advantage of the dude being kilt-clad and sporting a sexy brogue. Where to start? Perhaps with the good, the bad and the ugly of the plot points and issues addressed in the book.

The Good: realistic war grit, grave condemnations of the state of modern-day mental health programs in the U.K., and...the cover? I think I missed what the title is all about, though.

The Bad: realistic war grit, to the point that injuries and illness and filth and stuff is just, TOO MUCH. I felt ill at parts. Also, instalove between the two leads, and the romance on the whole feeling distinctly unconvincing. Why risk death and dismemberment and getting lost in time to go save this dude that I can't even believe you love?

The Ugly: There's a scene where, spoiler alert, the main two hook up, and this is only like 30% into the book. I should mention first that the female protagonist is a near-rape victim and definite sexual assault victim otherwise, so this scene, occurring with the male character in a sort of frenzied state of desire, read like rape. He's all I can't stop myself hope I don't hurt you, and it was offputting as hell.
Also, the Timey Wimey stuff? Completely ridiculous, I have never heard of this take on time travel, where you sort of astrally project into your soul's prior incarnation? What the... I guess the best part was that it was unique. And there's a part at the end where our protagonist has to ... "timehop" rather quickly to gather pertinent information from the future, and it was just implausible.

Overall take: I mean, it was a quick read I suppose, but there was a looooong boring middle part, so I could have easily stopped reading. And the romance was... whimsical? A bad sort of fluff? I don't know, something was unappealing.

In the year 2017, Louisa Casson finds herself in a rather perplexing situation in Beyond The Moon by Catherine Taylor. Through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself getting drunk on a long saved and cherished bottle of brandy along the cliffs near her recently departed grandmother's home. After her mother's early death, she is then pawned off on her grandmother by her father who chose to instead spend his life with his new girlfriend instead of living with Louisa. After years of being raised by her grandmother, Louisa then ends up caring for her grandmother in later years as the cycle of life turns.

As she drinks herself into oblivion, a cold and rainy blinding fog sets in and Louisa struggles to find her way back. Meanwhile, the cliff collapses and falls towards the ocean. Somehow Louisa manages to hold on and only falls part of the way though, between the drink and the fall, she is knocked out cold. Once rescued, it is believed that this was a suicide attempt on Louisa's part and is admitted to Coldbrook Hall psychiatric hospital in Sussex, England. Coldbrook Hall is now a miserable for profit institution that offers only the minimum of care but was, at one time, Coldbrook Hall military convalescent hospital, back in 1916 during WWl, which was a much nicer place. The original building was a beautiful facility with nice grounds for the patients to go out for some fresh air. Much of the story takes place within these confines during both periods of time.

Though Louisa was not suicidal, no amount of reasoning will convince the authorities otherwise; hence, Louisa is, more or less, being held captive with no family to speak up for her and vouch for her sanity. Having no other option, she learns how to cope and maneuver her way around with help from Kerry, a schizophrenic patient whom she befriends, who gives her tips on survival while incarcerated.

Kerry shows Louisa a secret passage to a closed off part of the hospital that they wander off to during smoking breaks. During such an excursion, Louisa takes her own little tour of the building only to find herself entering a room where Lieutenant Robert Lovett, an injured soldier, is in need of help. If being committed to a psychiatric institution isn't enough adventure for you, this room is where Louisa drops down the rabbit hole, so to speak, as she finds herself in the year 1916.

It takes a little while for Louisa to figure out what's going on but finds that she is captivated by Robert which has her continuing her visits between time periods. Between the planned demolition of the blocked off wing and Robert's commitment to the war effort, we see the couple develop an amorous love obsession while trying to find each other around extreme circumstances that keeps them apart.

Taylor writes about many of the horrendous conditions Robert is exposed to involving putrid body parts, rats, mud and exposure to the elements. In some ways, it was reminiscent of David Halbertam's book One Very Hot Day which details a day in the life of a soldier in Vietnam. Neither are for the squeamish! The same can be said of when Louisa ventures back in time to live the life of Rose Ashby as a VAD (a volunteer nurse's aide) for the war effort while searching for Robert.

Jumping time periods, as well as telling the story from the point of view of each of their lives, can be quite confusing, but Taylor does a fine job at keeping everything straight and in perspective. I never got lost or confused as to what was going on or where we were at any given time.

Ultimately, this was much more a love story than some sort of sci-fi or paranormal novel, though could easily appeal to those with an interest in those areas. The book is fairly lengthy but, with that said, I still would have enjoyed a little more story. In fact, my only complaint is at the very end with how the author chooses to leave Robert and Louisa. Not the inclusion of what was written but that I would have appreciated at least a few lines or so about how they went on to live their lives. Not much but just a little taste of what they eventually did with this extra time given them. This was an enjoyable story that had my attention through the entire book and would easily recommend to those who like such books. Would also make for a good movie that, if done well, would appeal to a mixed audience with its blending of both love and war. Hopefully, we'll get to see that one day.


Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

View review on my blog, Tea With A Bookworm:
https://teawiththebookworm.blogspot.com/2019/07/beyond-moon-by-catherine-taylor.html

My Goodreads review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2913478586?book_show_action=false

I love time travel books! At times I the found the war chapters alittle drawn out and boring. I would have liked maybe more at the end. Overall I enjoyed it! Thanks to Netgalley for the copy

Romance isn't my usual reading fare. But I decided to give this one a chance because of the time-travel element (a current research interest) and the historical time period. World War I has always interested me because it was such a game-changer in warfare.

The book is beautifully written. It shifts between the past, when Robert fights in the war and recovers from his injuries, and the present, when Louisa fights to maintain her sanity in a psychiatric hospital. Overall, I found the historical parts more compelling than the present day ones.

Here's what I enjoyed.

1. Excellent portrayal of World War I

Taylor's words capture the horrors of trench warfare. Rats eating bloated corpses. Trench foot. Fear of a gas attack. Filthy, half-starved soldiers, weary of war, uncertain what they are fighting for anymore. Leaders writing merciful lies to victims' families--a sniper, one shot through the head, your son died immediately-- though the dead often die in agony. And back home in Britain, the powerful men who, from the safety of their own offices, are ordering more men into the battlefields. Taylor takes us there, into the trenches and makes us experience it along with Robert.  

2. Interesting insight into WWI-era medicine

Doctors tell Robert that his shell shock is the "result of a shell exploding too close to the head, causing lesions. 'An invisibly fine molecular commotion in the brain'" (chapter 10). A hundred years later, our understanding of this has changed. It's fascinating to read and compare the differences in medical knowledge. 

When Louisa accidentally ends up in 1917, people mistake her for Rose Ashby, a VAD nurse in a hospital in France. The nurses and doctors do their best. But the young men brought in from the nearby battlefield are often too wounded to survive. Things that are routine now--blood transfusions, chest compressions, antibiotics--were either experimental or completely unavailable. 

3. Louisa and Robert's first encounter

It takes a while to get to the romantic leads' first meeting. Robert is calling for help, and Louisa can't turn away from any injured person, even if they are unseen. Even when she knows she'll be in trouble with the psychiatric hospital staff for being in an off-limits part of the building, her instinct is to help. And so she goes to Robert. 

Both are drawn to one another. Obviously! But it's not just a physical attraction. It's a feeling of kinship: they are both unhappy, fearful, and lonely. They fill a need in each other's life. It's lovely to see them fall in love, even when being together seems impossible. 

4. Interesting minor characters

Robert's best friend is a conscientious objector/painter named Edgar. He's a fascinating person. I was also intrigued by the various ways the author uses Marisa, Flora, and Kerry, women that Louisa grows to care about. 

There are a few weaker areas, though.

It took me a while to warm up to Louisa. While her depression is understandable, she seems purposeless, like she is drifting through despair. Her backstory about her troubled teenage years and abandonment felt underdeveloped, too. Once she meets Robert and her compassionate side reawakens, I started to like and root for her. 

Also, I never quite bought the medical rationale for admitting Louisa into a psychiatric hospital against her will. The doctors are insistent that she's suicidal, though she knows better, but their evidence is circumstantial. (Where I live in the U.S., the process is also more legally complicated and not entirely up to the doctors.)

I also never understood how the visiting psychiatrists to Coldbrook Hall Hospital don't see how cruel the head nurse is nor how the hospital's "care" isn't helping the patients at all. They seem oblivious. Other than the medications, the hospital seems more Victorian than 21st century, and certainly doesn't reflect recent reforms in psychiatric care.

Overall, this is a strong novel.

If you like historical romance, you might enjoy this. I've read it compared to the novels of Diana Gabaldon and Kate Morton. While I haven't read Gabaldon, I think Beyond the Moon is a good fit for Kate Morton fans. 

Thanks again to NetGalley and AuthorBuzz for the opportunity to read Beyond the Moon in exchange for an honest review.

Note: This review will be posted to my blog on August 9, 2019. https://meredithrankin.com/beyond-the-moon-catherine-taylor/ I will also place a link to this review on Pinterest on 8/9/19.

I am usually a fan of ww1 and WW2 stories and this one was promising with the added bonus of being trapped unwillingly in a mental facility. Something just didn’t work well though for me for this one. Maybe it was the romance (who falls in love literally at first sight, who really truly has no friends or family who care for them?)
Maybe it was how some of the storyline gaps were just left gaping open, never to be acknowledged. Maybe it was the ending that, well, just ended. A decent story, but I had to force myself to finish as it just didn’t hold my attention and intrigue me to go on.

This was a great time travel novel told between modern times and WWI. I was rooting for the main characters the whole time! Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel.