For a Lifetime - Gabrielle Meyer - ★★★★.½

Author: Gabrielle Meyer

Series: Timeless, #3

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: May 7, 2024

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: The third book of the wonderful ‘Timeless’ series. Historical fiction with excellent research and intriguing timeslip elements that make you feel like you are reading two stories at once! Christian without feeling preachy. Strongly recommended! Though it can be read as a standalone, better to go in the right order and experience the brilliance of the entire series.

Plot Preview:

Grace and Hope are identical twin sisters who have inherited their mother Maggie’s timecrossing abilities. The twins thus switch between 1692 Salem, Massachusetts and 1912 New York City. (If you’ve read the earlier books, you know how they timecross. I won’t repeat the same info!) Their twenty-fifth birthday is just a few months away, and by then, they need to decide which life they want to continue in. With the Salem Witch trials and the drudgery of their existence in 1692, and with 1912 offering opportunities of a lifetime for Hope’s dreams of becoming an aviatrix and Grace’s journalistic aspirations, their choice is clear – they want to live in 1912. But is life ever that easy?

The story comes to us in the first-person perspective of both twins, alternating between the timelines.

The first book of this series, "When the Day Comes", entered my life in May 2022 and blew me away with its innovative premise and intelligent plotting. A year later came the second book, "In This Moment", which was also fabulous but had a little too much romance and politics for my liking. This third book, a May 2024 release, takes the series back to the original high!

After two books about a timecrossing central character, I honestly believed that this third volume wouldn’t have much to surprise me with. After all, in how many ways can an author write about one person living two lives in two separate time periods? I openly declare: I was wrong!

Bookish Yays:

🥳 Again beginning by doffing a hat to the creativity of the series in terms of how its main characters get multiple simultaneous lives. Love this innovative premise!

🥳 A wonderful combo of historical fiction, timeslip, romance, and Christian fiction, but historical fiction is clearly the dominant genre.

🥳 The fresh feel of the plot despite being the third entry of the series. This book doesn't waste much time in introductions about the timecrossing, but jumps directly to the action.

🥳 The novelty of knowing right at the start which timeline the lead characters prefer. So the central conflict this time isn’t their decision over which life to choose but the challenges in their Salem lives until they can bid that era goodbye.

🥳 Grace and Hope are deserving main characters. As twins with contrasting personalities but with a strong bond, their interplay impacts the story as much as the external events do.

🥳 This series always has first-person writing, but for the first time, the first-person perspective is from two distinct characters. Each narration is well handled, as the twins’ individual personality comes out strongly through their voice.

🥳 Unlike in Book Two, the circumstances in the twins’ two lives are contrary to each other in almost every way. This makes each timeline feel distinct. The timelines aren’t politically intensive, so thankfully, I wasn’t affected by my limited knowledge of American politics.

🥳 The historical research is impeccable, further explained by the historical note at the end, detailing the author’s writing choices and the factual elements intermingled in the fictional content. Don’t miss reading her parting note as well.

🥳 The Salem timeline left me so uncomfortable! I’ve never seen this side of the witch trials portrayed, so reading that timeline felt quite claustrophobic at times, which is an indicator of how visceral the writing is. (Note that this timeline gets quite dark, so you better pick the book up when you are in a strong headspace.)

🥳 The aviation details in the 1912 timeline are equally stunning.

🥳 There is a romantic entanglement in both timelines (which is fine because this is marketed as a Christian historical romance), but this is focussed on only to the extent necessary. The love stories never overpower the core plot.

🥳 The Christian elements are exactly as I like them – focussing on Christian actions than on spouting biblical verses. The two timelines are quite opposites in faith, with dogmatism and rigidity being the hallmark of the Puritan era. The true test of faith is in times of trouble, and both the twins’ lives depict this well.

(Note: Conservative believers might not be happy with some of the content in this book. But as a liberal believer, I didn’t find anything offensive or awkward.)

🥳 The ending – practically perfect in how it ties all the arcs together, with a special guest appearance as well.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 As there is only one way this story could end, there is a greater element of predictability this time. I still love how the plot proceeded, but I wish there had been some suspense about the final resolution.

😐 The tempo is slightly on the slower side, especially in the first half, but I don’t mind this much. The story merits a gentle-paced development because of how intricate the subplots were, and it still progresses steadily enough without dawdling or rambling.

😐 There are many interesting secondary characters, but because the two leads get so much coverage, the rest don’t get that much page space. Maggie and Graydon, the twins’ parents, also have a relatively limited role in the story they are barely there in the first half! Of the two romantic partners, Luc was good but Isaac was too goody-goody. I am not sure if his portrayal stands accurate to the era he lived in. (On an aside, I am also not sure how there was no eyebrow raised in either timeline about the girls interacting with men without any chaperone around. I thought this was a prerequisite in both those eras; I could be wrong about this.)

All in all, this series has mostly been a delight! The three books I’ve read so far have offered plenty of insights, introspection, and joy. As a historical fiction lover, I find it delightful that each book offers me more than one historical timeline to indulge in.

This time, the climax offers no direct clue about where the next book will go and whom it will focus on! But I know that it is already in the works, and set for a November 2024 release. Only a six-month wait this time – woohoo!!! (There is an excerpt of Book Four, “Across the Ages”, provided at the end of this one, but I never read excerpts. I’d rather experience the whole story fresh and at one go.)

Heartily recommending this to all historical fiction lovers who don’t mind mild Christian content in the writing. With its intricate plotting and exceptional historical research, ‘Timeless’ is one of my favourite series. While each book functions as a standalone, I’d recommend reading the series in order so as to avoid spoilers about the earlier novels.

My thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for the DRC of “For a Lifetime”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.