Time and Tide is. an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. I didn't know what to expect, but the story was clever, the characters engaging, and the love story was heartwarming.

First off, content warnings all. There are multiple scenes of abuse and attempted rape. It doesn’t fully happen but it’s a very “saved by the bell” moment, and its graphic and disturbing enough that I could see it being an issue for some people.

This was a good novel. It wasn’t perfect or my favorite, but it was a very enjoyable read with some good characters and a lot of great scenes. For me, its on the cusp of a high 4-stars or a low 5-stars, and I wish I could give partial marks. If you like historical fiction, time travel, or novels that point out how terrible things could be in the past sometimes, then this is a great novel for you.

There was a lot of sweet moments in this novel that I appreciated. The HEA was nice and for the most part it was quite satisfying. The exploration of trauma and PTSD was something I appreciated and found realistic, given everything that the MC went through in this novel. That is something which is often glazed over or ignored. This novel was a page turner that kept me reading. The plot wandered a little bit but there was (mostly) a point behind what was happening and I enjoyed following the journey.

The author is a good writer. They did an excellent job of giving each character a distinct voice and personality, which sometimes isn’t the case. The scenes between the two MC’s particularly showcased this as their language usage was very different, which I particularly enjoyed.

A lot of elements in this novel were underdeveloped, or unrealistic. This could be due to the multiple sections where the timeline fast forwarded and we didn’t see all of the action, or just superficial writing. Some of the relationship development I would have liked to have seen happened off screen, which is unfortunate as its one of the elements I was most interested in for a novel like this. I think we would have benefitted from seeing more relationship development between the MC and love interest(s) (which would also be more of exactly what romance readers want!), as well as more scenes between the MC and Rosemary to help justify how Rosemary acted near the end of the novel (which came out of left field to me but didn’t surprise the characters).

Despite all of the difficulties that the MC encountered, I couldn’t help but find myself thinking that things went too easily for her. She went 200 years back in time, but happened to fall in with people who had money, and a convenient job opening she could actually fill, a queer woman, etc. I know its fantasy, but still! She also did a terrible job of fitting in, constantly using language and behavior from her time. I can easily see a time traveler having this issue, however I think it would have caused more of an issue in her day to day interactions than we saw.

I was sad that there was no closure or follow up with her family back in the future. I understand that she accepted her place in the past and lived happily ever after, and that there wasn’t any reason for it, but for some reason I was hoping/wanting for something. I don’t know if I’m the only one. Like sending a letter to be delivered after her disappearance telling people enough that they know she lived happily ever after, without giving away history? Lots of these time travel stories have the character return at some point, but I see how that wouldn’t make any sense in this case. It just left me with a little melancholy. I felt bad for her family, and the ex-girlfriend because breaking up with someone the day they die in a plane crash would suck.

More queer regency era novels!!!!!!! I’m so obsessed. Bridgerton got me back into my courting books and this one did not disappoint

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

While this novel seemed so interesting from the blurb, I found I couldn't really connect with the characters and it made it difficult to enjoy reading/finishing this book. Sam herself admitting adhering to a lot of bisexual stereotypes, which as I bi woman myself I was very conflicted on. I did enjoy watching to relationship between Sam and Daisy grow, but Sam always thinking she was the smartest person in the room really turned me off to her as a character. There were also a few instances of attempted sexual assault that kinda threw me for a loop as well. It was expected within the situation Sam found herself in, but it still made my skin crawl. Overall, I would still recommend this novel, just caution other readers to lower their expectations for what this novel is.

This was a perfect book to read for pride month! It's a queer historical/science fiction book and I loved it so much! I adore the Outlander series and when I read the synopsis and it said "perfect for Outlander fans," I knew I would love it!

Thank you yo NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

I’m very new to the regency era of books (thanks Bridgerton!) and this one blew me away. I loved every single thing and it was just riveting. I loved their relationship, friendship and their journey so so much.

This was fun and i enjoyed it for what it was but didn't fall in love with it!
The characters were good, i just felt that the writing style wasn't my favorite.

I adored the premise of this one, but the prose was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

I couldn't put this down. There were moments when the book had sudden twists that felt like the book was changing plots, but it all came together. The end felt satisfying.

I couldn't get past the first chapter of this book. The writing was very immature but dense, and I'm not sure why there were so many pages dedicated to the screenwriter's introduction.

Posted to Goodreads:

This was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, Frey's writing is undeniably engaging, drawing you into a richly detailed world with a captivating premise. The blend of historical elements with a dash of fantasy creates an intriguing backdrop that kept me turning the pages.

However, I found the pacing to be a bit uneven. Some parts of the story felt rushed, leaving me wishing for more depth and development, especially in the character arcs. The protagonists had potential, but their growth sometimes felt stunted by the fast-paced narrative.

Additionally, while the plot had its moments of brilliance, there were times it felt predictable. Certain twists and turns didn’t land with the impact I was hoping for, and the resolution left me wanting more.

This was an enjoyable read overall, but it didn’t fully meet my expectations.

That was incredible. I loved it so much.

First of all, it's not going to be for everyone. Most people I know won't like it. Totally fair. It's a sapphic regency time travel. You can read the summary yourself.

I didn't rate it 5 stars because Samantha annoyed me in certain parts. She always has to be right at the expense of others. It causes problems for her, but she never actually overcomes it. Most romances I've read don't actually have character growth anyway, but it made me cringe to read those parts.

Aside from those moments, I was blown away by how well done this was. I'm not typically impressed with sapphic romances, but this one was so well done. The romance was believable and it wasn't anti men (probably due to Samantha being bi). The time travel was so well done and I was so happy at the end.

If it sounds interesting, you'll probably love it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

CW: language, attempted sexual assault, explicit sex (M/F and F/F)

Thank you author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!!

Ok so the first chapter I was like!!!! This is gonna be great!!!! And then for a while I was bored and kinda annoyed AND THEN! I was like oh yeah that was nice. But there’s something about the ending I was like bruh…

I had a good time reading it but at the same time I could’ve told you exactly what happened in the book right from the start except the ending isn’t as exciting as I would guesses which feels like a let down. Also it was longer than my brain was wanting to spend on this story and I don’t think there’s really that much more pay off for the extra pages tbh.

Time travelling sapphic love story??? Yes please! I devoured this book. Absolutely loved it.

Thanks so much for the Arc!

Time and Tide is the all encompassing time travel story of Samantha. After an unexpected breakup with her not-out-girlfriend, Samantha hops on a plane to Barcelona with a broken heart and just enough alcohol to make her feel light again. When the plane crashes, Sam is saved at sea by a ship, only nothing makes sense. Sam wakes up in the 1800's and is now surrounded by a captain, a huge body of water and the British army. This journey was fun, lighthearted, funny, and loving. Sam is an amazing main character that is resilient and brave. I love just about everything in this book. I thought it the writing was beautiful and the juxtaposition of the 1800's vs 2024 language and etiquette was so wonderous. I really enjoyed reading this, the love story between Sam and Daisy was growing, beautiful and earnest. Sam comes upon the Goodenough family and coincidentally meets Daisy, a young women who loves to read and write, but refuses to get married. This love that grows between these two is incredibly honest and real. It was a refreshing read, something I don't usually lean towards, how ever the writing made it easy to love.

I loved this fresh new premise on an "Lost in Austin" type book! I read this one at the beach and I think it was the perfect setting for reading it! It was (mostly) light (CW for attempted rape and multiple on-paper assaults). and it was paced quickly enough to keep me engaged all the way through! I think I personally would have liked to see the (inner?) desire for Sam to return to her own time or at least some, hmm (despondency? ) at her situation? But that may just be me and it might have changed the entire tone of the book to add those elements in. In any case - I think this was a very fun time-traveling regency book!

This novel has the perfect premise - sapphic love story with time travel and regency-era England! Unfortunately, I had to DNF around the halfway mark. The book starts depressing and just becomes more-so as it progresses. Personally, I find the “miserable gays” trope a bit overdone. Sad to have to pass this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! Content warning for sexual assault and abuse (I didn't know this going in, and there are a couple of pretty intense scenes of attempted sexual assault). Spoilers ahead with my full review.

As a queer person and lover of Regency-era romance (Jane Austen my darling!), a sapphic time travel story set in 1806 could not have been more appealing to me. I devoured this book very quickly, as it's mostly plot-driven, unlike novels written during the actual Regency era. I still found the characters well-developed, quirky, and even lovable, though I do think if this book was longer, there could have been more room devoted to developing some of the important side characters. I was sad that Fenton wasn't a bigger part of the story after the first half, as I thought his character was complicated and interesting, and I think that Marigold's dislike of Sam and their conflict could have been given more space as well. Sam's trauma is touched on many times, but could have been explored in more depth; her life in 2024 is given up just a bit too easily.

There was a good bit of sexiness throughout the book, though fair warning & spoilers ahead: there is both M/F and F/F sex depicted with some detail, and our bisexual MC, Sam, does have sex with a man who turns out to be her future girlfriend's brother which is a little uncomfortable for me to think too much about, personally.

I found most of the twists, especially the ending, to be pretty predictable, though not in an entirely bad way. Yes, I expected that Sam would turn out to be The Wealthy Widow, but that didn't stop me from looking forward to how that would wind up happening. I do think that the climax was a bit abrupt (no pun intended), and it almost felt like Frey was just ready to wrap up the story and so did a bit of fast-forwarding to get to the good part at the end. But given how awful Lewis is, the eventual resolution is deeply pleasing; I'm so glad it didn't happen off-page, with Sam just so happening to inherit as he dies or something or other. And boy do I love the ending - yes, let our queer Regency darlings have a happy ending, thank you very much!

All that said, if the blurb appeals to you, I think you'll like this book, and it is definitely worth reading for any fellow queer historial fiction lovers like me!
Rep: female bisexual Canadian MC, lesbian love interest, queer female Muslim ex

I love a sweet historic love story! This was a really entertaining story from the beginning. It kept me reading and I was so in love with the characters.

A sapphic time travel book that is focused in the regency era is such a fun concept and while I enjoyed parts of it the whole thing fell a bit flat. The story follows Samantha who is in a place crash and when she comes out of it, it is the 1800s. The story had several pacing issues throughout. It definitely stands out as I have not ever read anything similar and therefore I think others should give it a try as well.