Saturday, July 12, 2014

Now and for Never by Lesley Livingston




Published: May 27th
Publisher: Razorbill Canada
Pages: 312
Copy: Library
Summary: Goodreads

Past and present collide on the high seas when Clare and Allie hurtle back in time once more in a perilous attempt to retrieve Marcus Donatus—Allie’s blast-from-the-past crush—and put an end, once and for all, to the Time Monkey Shenanigans. But when Clare and Allie unexpectedly find themselves temporal stowaways on a Roman warship full of looted Celtic gold, sailing straight for the heart of a magic-fuelled maelstrom, there’s not much they can do but hang on for the ride—and hope Milo can tap into the Druid lore trapped in his genius brain to help bring them home, before it’s too late. The only thing that’s going to save Clarinet Reid and Allie McAllister now is if they join forces with old enemies, new loves … and unexpected friends

Now and for Never is the final book in the 'Never' trilogy and, I'm happy to say, did not disappoint in the slightest.  Clare and Allie are navigating through time once again to try and finally close the circle on their Roman/Druid shenanigans.

We pick up almost exactly where the story left off in 'Every Never After' with that damnable cliffhanger.  The story re-introduces us to some of the side characters from both earlier novels and continues to stretch the ingenuity of the main characters.  The twists and turns of this story are endless, but inevitably make sense and are fun to follow.  I enjoyed the character growth throughout the three book, but I think my favourite aspect was Ms Livingston's humour.

"For his part, Ashbourne was looking rather more subdued.  Clare recognized the look.  Her aunt was a formidable wielder of no-nonsenseness and level headitude.  With any luck, she'd already convinced Ashbourne to step aside and let the Time Monkey gang get on with it."  (P 62-3)

"You're a peach, Mags."
"Yes, well.  Delightfully fruity or not, my darling sister will kill me if you don't come through your summer vacation unscathed." Maggie held up one of the vials of blood. "So please. Go. Do the things you have to do to set this all to rights.  But I beg you.  Remain unscathed."
     Clare reached out and took the little glass tube, absurdly relieved that it was cool, not warm to the touch. "No scathing," she said. "Scout's honour."   (P 75)

A marvellous trilogy for time travel or historical fans, and if you haven't tried it yet, now's the time.

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