Beyond The Moon is a historical fiction romance with time travel mixed in too! It definitely sounds like my sort of book, especially with that fantasy aspect. Catherine Taylor has a unique talent of writing and I’d like to thank her for sending me over a copy of her book for an honest review as part of this blog tour!

Synopsis:

Outlander meets Birdsong is this haunting debut timeslip novel, where a strange twist of fate connects a British soldier fighting in the First World War and a young woman living in modern-day England a century later.

Beyond The Moon: Characters

Louisa Casson is a former medical student who finds herself at Coldbrook Hall psychiatric hospital. She’s strong willed and is dealing with the loss of her Grandmother, so as a reader I could definitely sympathise with her. Especially when she finds herself in 1917 and having to deal with problems she wouldn’t normally have to think about!

Her relationship with Robert gave me insta love vibes, and I honestly didn’t mind it due to how magical the time travelling aspect felt.

Robert Lovett is a Lieutenant and seemed like a more complex character. I found that I wanted to know about him more due to his experience with the first world war and living in that time period. His tentative feelings towards Louisa definitely made their story more realistic.

However, during the middle of the book, they are separated which is great for their own character development. But as a reader, I felt that their chemistry lacked as there wasn’t much dialogue as I would have liked. I felt more connected to the side characters such as Flora and Kerry, who both had a strong friendship with Louisa.

Beyond The Moon: Plot

In historical fiction books, I can always appreciate the amount of research the author has done. It’s clear that Catherine Taylor did that and it was enjoyable to read. The plot was thought out well, with the right research and detail. However at times, I did feel that there were some filler chapters during Louisa and Robert’s separation. Although they did add to the time travel aspect where Louisa deals with struggles as a woman in 1917. And Robert dealing with struggles that a soldier would have dealt with during this time.

The time travel wasn’t how it is usually written, which made it more enjoyable to read as it was unique. There wasn’t a clear, confirmed explanation but the ending was enough to satisfy my questions.

Overall, this is a great debut novel and I look forward to Catherine Taylor’s next work. Although a little rushed towards the end, beyond the moon is a read I would recommend!