Behind the waterfall waits 1796–and the girl who is slowly capturing his heart. But if Mark travels through time to save Susanna, will her brutal world trap him too?While mountain biking in the woods, Mark Lewis spots a mysterious girl dressed in odd clothing, standing behind a waterfall. When she comments on the strange machine he’s riding, he suspects something isn’t right. When Susanna claims … he suspects something isn’t right. When Susanna claims to be an indentured servant from 1796, he wonders if she’s crazy, yet he feels compelled to find out more.
Mark enters a long-distance relationship with Susanna through the temperamental barrier of Whisper Falls. Curious about her world, Mark searches through history to learn about the brutal life she’s trapped in. But knowledge can be dangerous. Soon he must choose between changing the past–or dooming the girl he can’t stop thinking about to a lifetime of misery.
PRAISE for Whisper Falls:
”Whisper Falls crosses over into so many different genres that I would recommend it to any reader who is interested in historical fiction, thrillers, fantasy, love stories or time travel. [Youth librarian, Boyd County Libraries WV, USA]
”The history is well researched, and readers will enjoy the realistic portrayal of (US) southern life in the late 1700s… Whisper Falls is a fun, action-packed story…“ [School Library Journal]
“Whisper Falls is captivating! The themes of love and hate in its many forms and nuances are timeless and will appeal to all generations… I had a hard time putting this book down until I had savored the last page. And I certainly didn’t want it to end. Another book? Yes, please!” MK Ward
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A heartwarming and whimsical read and an action-packed story at the same time. I love the magical element of being able to time travel through Whisper Falls. I love the teen romance between Susannah and Mark Lewis. The past and future was also interwoven and I love how the author shown the changes to the future because of the changes in the past made by Mark Lewis and Susannah. I just loved the story and would definitely read the book two.
This was a refreshing read, intriguing and compelling. I say “refreshing” because I haven’t read a book that I’ve wanted to give 5 stars to in a long time. I’ve given a hearty 4 stars, sure, but not 5. Even though the teen guy character does erupt with a fair amount of swearing throughout, he has a super engaging Voice—and he’s funny. I loved the idea of the two centuries meeting at the Falls, where modern-day Mark encounters 18th-century Susanna, an indentured servant. The tension ramps up as deadly deadlines approach (beware: some scenes of abuse included), and I really had to see what happened to these characters, especially Susanna. This book has well-drawn characters, a great storyline, and a very satisfying ending. It has a solid plot along with the “love”/romance, and seemed to be well-researched for historical detail.
Time travel is an exciting plot vehicle but many stories get lost in the complexities of the concept. Not this one! The story offers a small, contained view that allows the characters to flourish. Their stories are appealing and you will root for this heroine and her beau. Ms. Langston is very effective at creating sympathy and you will scream for justice for her characters.
Was really glad to see the “happily ever after” after getting invested in the characters.
A mysterious waterfall acts as a time rift and connects a modern day boy to a girl from Colonial America. The cover drew my attention and the premise sounded delicious so I gave it a try. I’m glad I did because this was one of my most engaging reading experiences of late.
The story is told with each main character taking turns narrating the chapters in first person point of view. Seventeen year old, Mark Lewis comes from an upper middle class background and he is off for the summer before his senior year. His family is warm and loving, but his parents are going through the beginning of empty nest with his older sister now living in Colorado and his mom switching up her nursing jobs to go from trauma to hospice. His parents balance care with allowing a certain amount of independence to him. Growing up overweight and picked on by bullies in junior high until he worked hard with his family’s support has also tempered him, but left him on the edges of the teen social scene with just one good friend who is away for several weeks staying with his dad. His focus is on training for the biggest mountain bike race in the state. He has his summer lawn care job to earn the fees and pay for his biking equipment as well as personal money establishing he can earn his way and not just mooch off dad and mom. He no longer has to worry about a girlfriend since the very popular, but high maintenance Alexis dumped him right in the middle of prom and other than the humiliation that night he doesn’t miss her presence. It is on one of his training runs that he first sees and hears the oddly dressed and mannered girl in the waterfall.
Susanna is an indentured house servant for the mill owner and his large family in her small village. Her father died and when her mother remarried, Susanna’s step-father indentured, or more accurately, sold her to the Pratts so he wouldn’t have her in his care. It has been many years, but she nears the end of her service and plans to leave her village to find work in the nearby capital city of Raleigh. Pratt is a hard abusive man and his wife and children tread carefully around him. Susanna takes the fallout from his anger. He beats her for every little thing and tries to beat any spark of resistance or independent thought from her head. This is why she escapes the house for an hour each evening for her break to be taken in blessed solitude down in the cave by Whisper Falls. Her master sends his son to spy on her and make sure she isn’t stepping out to see a man, but she eludes the boy so that she has one moment of privacy. It is there at the falls that she sees the young man with his fascinating clothing and the unique two wheeled transportation.
Mark and Susanna both treasure this connection through the falls after they figure out that they really are encountering a person distanced from them by 200 years. Mark is Susanna’s friend and escape she needs from her dreary life, but the knowledge he gleams from his research about the future of herself and those she cares about changes everything. She is determined to alter the future to save those she loves and in the process she may still lose it all. Mark is right there doing his part to help Susanna succeed and he is more vested in her life than his own so when the ex-girlfriend renews her interest, his best friend gets distant and a bully from his past threatens none of it seems important. Mark’s priorities are realigning, his perceptions are changing and he is determined to succeed where Susanna is concerned even if it means putting his own life in danger.
There are a few things that really caught my attention during this story and all of them I liked. Time-travel stories can get tricky for me. There is always a certain balance between moving the story forward and need to satisfy my curiosity of how it works. The short of it is that the author didn’t try to explain. It was like magic in that one ponders how it was done and then end up just enjoying the results anyway. Because of the strength of the story’s other components, I didn’t care that my curiosity was left unsatisfied. The magical and mysterious waterfall is almost a third major character the way it plays its part in the story as it is there during all major events and causes some of the tension.
Speaking of other components. It’s a time travel story so setting is huge. In this instance, I was transpired by how well Susanna’s Colonial American world was drawn. It all rang true and balanced well with her character development and story. It was there without taking over. The life of an indentured house servant was fascinating and not boring. I now want to know more about the period.
But, the author didn’t chintz on Mark’s setting either. Yes, it was modern so description wasn’t as detailed, but it was uniquely revealed through Mark’s eyes and his interests. I liked how not only is their time period a separation for them, but their class in their respective societies is different too and they have both gaps to bridge with their friendship and growing relationship. It was nice that neither make apologies for their roots, but learn to appreciate the other.
I thought the presence or lack of presence of family was interesting too. Surprisingly, it is Susanna who deals with the parent who checked out and leaves her to go it alone and try to watch out for her sister and herself and it is the modern Mark who has the attentive caring parents even though they both have careers. The extra scenes with the people in their daily lives was good so that Mark and Susanna were part of a larger story and not just isolated in their own little world.
Mark and Susanna’s characters were interesting and engaging. Susanna had a hard life and it tempered her into who she was. She tends to be focused, contained and takes charge. The taking charge attitude is what causes the most tension between her and Mark when they bristle over each other doing it. She hides her feelings and thoughts as the one thing that she can control since the rest of her is subjected to the whim of the Pratts. She has managed to find contentment in her circumstances by caring for the younger Pratts as her own even while dealing with the parents and old children circumspectly. She’s not a whiner and she makes the best of things. Her circumstances do lead her to assume the high road with Mark until he starts to prove to her that he has her back and he is worthy.
Mark has the ability to see beyond the surface with people and he values what is on the inside which is why he is drawn to Susanna and was always cautious around the modern-day kids. He respects Susanna and he wants to protect her when the people who should have protected her don’t. She brings out the best in him and those around him might not know his secret, but they see the changes in him. Helping Susanna causes a paradigm shift in his life and the fast track to adulthood. Being inside his head to experience his view of his family, his friends and acquaintance and his daily activities was fun. I loved experiencing stuff with Susanna, but there was just a little something about Mark that drew me more.
The story is part of a series so that even though it wraps things up in a realistic happy for now place, it was obvious that the end was just a bookmark for the next segment of Mark and Susanna’s adventure. The important stuff in the story does get answered and the reader isn’t left dangling in frustration. I had a few questions and things left outstanding, but I assume it gets dealt with further on. I look forward to what happens next.
As to YA warnings, there is a moderate amount of strong language and violence in the form of abuse to Susanna. Mid-teens to adults would probably be best.
I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy Time Travel Romance, but both Contemporary and Historical Romance fans would possibly enjoy it too. It is YA, but the themes and plotting make it have a more adult feel.
I was surprised by how much I liked this one! I can’t remember how I got the book — I think it was a freebie. But I got sucked in pretty quickly. This is billed as a time travel romance, and it’s sort of that… I guess it fits that category better than any other I can think of. But it really feels more like an adventure novel to me.
Susanna is a 17-year old indentured servant in 1796. Mark is a 17-year old high school student and competitive biker in 2016. The only part that requires suspension of disbelief is how they communicate with one another: the water of Whisper Falls acts as a portal between their worlds, and they each stumble across it on accident. Over time, Mark learns that Susanna is brutally treated by her master, though she loves his children. Since he’s from her future, he learns her fate, the fate of her town and of those she loves–and armed with this information, he travels through time to save her.
The chapters alternate between Susanna and Mark, and both characters are equally believable and compelling, I thought. I really root for both of them. The romance is there, but minimal, and it therefore manages to avoid becoming cheesy. I was a bit surprised by the ending, even though the story setup didn’t really allow for any other possible end… I still somehow didn’t think it would happen that way. But I’m glad it did. Definitely a fun, different read!
This is a fun to read time travel book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. It is somewhat whimsical as to why the falls would favor the two antagonists but it is very realistic and informative as to the characters and the eras in which they lived.
One of the better books I’ve read this year. I bought all the sequels and enjoyed them.
A great spin on the time traveling books. I got the first for free and bought the second one. Both were great. I couldn’t go on with the series because I just knew the heroine was going to do something really stupid in the next book and I couldn’t put myself through the stress of it. Great writing though and awesome characters.
I enjoyed this book, especially the historical information about indentured servants. While, I’m guessing there were many people treated well, this showed what could happen. It was thought provoking. The “time travel” aspect was entertaining and added a little relief from the horrendous situation the heroine was facing.
Please be aware that 3 stars to me isn’t a humdrum “good”. It takes a lot for me to get to 4 and “Awesome” to get to 5.
Loved the whole series. Had a difficult time putting them down.
I read all three books in this series and loved them. The main characters were honest, brave and selfless (mostly), and the ill treatment of lower economic and social classes in the past reflects current conditions. On the revolution!
too much profanity.
An interesting time travel book that blended the two time periods wonderfully. Susanna is a fascinating character. Her life as an indentured servant illuminates that time period. I loved the growth of Susanna and Mark’s sweet love story.
Mark is a real kid, complete with mountain biking on his brain, living in the present world. He chances on a meeting with Susanna, an also real kid, although an indentured servant, living in 1796. Excellent interaction between two VERY different young people in VERY different worlds. Must read!
I lost interest and haven’t finished it. Maybe I’ve read too many stories about people moving into a country house that winds up being haunted. This was not one of the better ones of this genre. Sorry!
Recommend this series…well written and truly holds the reader’s interest.
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the two worlds, present day and the 18th Century.
I enjoyed reading all three books. I really liked reading about indentured servants and the kind of lives they lived. Although this book is fiction, I would bet this was a pretty accurate description of their lives. At times, the story kind of dragged on, and yet you had to keep reading it! All 3 books are a must read!
A bit far fetched but I did like it. It was as easy read, not so many people that I had a hard time remembering who was who.
Would recommend it for a long cold winter day