A fall through time. A reckless witch. A war of monsters.Desperate to escape from her magical obligations, 17-year-old witch Desiree Campbell tries to teleport to Miami for spring break…but ends up in Cuba a hundred years in the past.Caught in the middle of the Spanish-American War, Desi struggles to navigate through the war-torn magical community of Santiago and find a way back to her own time. … way back to her own time. Oliver Gerrick, a handsome American soldier and warlock, offers to protect her in exchange for her help exposing the mysterious demon lord stalking the city.
But the more secrets Desi uncovers, the more she’s unsure if she can trust Oliver, or stop the demon lord from trapping her in 1898 forever.
Twisted by Time is book one of the Timecaster Chronicles, a fast-paced dark fantasy filled with romance, magic, and mystery.
Timecaster Chronicles
Book One: Twisted by Time
Book Two: Devoured by Darkness
Book Three: Bound by Blood
more
Twisted by Time by R.L. Perez is a wonderful story that I have read. This is book number one out of three in this wonderful start to a brand new series written by a brand new author for me and I can not wait to read the rest of this series. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about witches and fantasy.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love this book, time travel, witches and warlocks, demons, vampires, werewolves, trolls and santeria all in one book!
Oh, and obviously romance, since this is a fantasy romance novel.
The story captured me from the start, though at first I wasn’t too sure about the protagonist Desi and her friends, who have no interest in learning to use their magical skills properly and prefer to waste their time away drinking and having fun.
Kismet is Desi’s familiar and has brought her up and been her mentor since her parents died and is doing her best to prepare Desi for her magical heritage. Desi witnessed her demon hunter parents being killed by a powerful demon and she wants nothing to do with magic and wants to pursue a career as dancer.
When she can’t afford to fly with her friends to Miami for spring break, she attempts a teleportation spell to join them. It goes horribly wrong and deposits her in the past in Santiago, Cuba during the Spanish – American war.
There is a demon, who calls himself El Diablo and he is using the human battles as cover while he wages against the light magic covens to eradicate them so dark magic and demons gain dominion over the world.
Desi must now learn to use her powers and become a demon hunter, to help defend the coven that takes her in and if there is any hope of returning to her own time. Complicating matters are her growing feelings for the good-looking American soldier and warlock Oliver, who is also part of this coven and seems to be dedicated to helping the Cubans, but he is hiding something and she isn’t sure if he is trustworthy.
Desi is a conflicted and insecure character, but also impulsive and sometimes I wanted to shake some sense into her, but she is a difficult age and had a traumatic childhood experience and she develops and matures a bit over the course of the book, though her stubbornness and impetuous nature manages to get her and her comrades into trouble numerous times.
All of the other characters are very believable, though there is more focus on the stories of the light casters than the demons.
The world building shows that the author has done her research into the Spanish- American war, battles on Cuba and the religion of Santeria, which all makes a wonderful background to the magical battles and demon hunts that take place.
The magic system is a typical light versus dark scenario, but there is also a council that is supposed to keep the balance and peace between them; so the structure and hierarchy of the magic community is interesting.
This is a fast paced story with plenty of action, suspense and twists and turns, as well as human (witch/warlock/demon) interaction and romance.
Rebecca Winder is the narrator; her voice is well suited to the protagonist Desi and she does a good job of giving the characters different voices. However to me she seemed to speak too slowly and drawing words out, almost like a bit of a ‘drawl’. This was easily remedied by speeding up the playback and overall I enjoyed listening to her and hope that she narrates the next books in the series too.
I received this book in audio book format free from the author and am leaving this review of my own volition.
Narrator does a good job. She has a nice tone to her voice, and fits the character well. Good listening experience.
Interesting premise with Desi being a witch and the whole time-traveling aspect. Cool magical elements, and cool action. This story takes place in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. There’s lots of danger in the form of demons and an evil group of magical people. Witch Desi has denied her magical abilities; she wants to be a ballerina and just a normal type of girl. When her friends go off on a vacation she can’t afford, she decides to try doing a transportation type spell. Things go way wrong when she ends up in Cuba in the past; time traveling definitely wasn’t her plan. Especially, during war times. Since Desi didn’t do much training with her magic, she’s going to find returning back to her time a bit difficult. She’s a bit of a brat at times and there was a bit too much annoying teenager stuff going on, but she does show some strength. There’s still lots of room for her to grow in the next books in this series. I bought the boxset for the series, so I do look forward to reading the next books. There’s still lots of story to be told. There is a bit of cute romance too; didn’t quite feel the chemistry, but still some sweet moments. Overall, entertaining story!
I’m reading this as a prequel to The Nightcaster Chronicles since I had previously read that series. I said it when I read The Cursed Witch, I don’t like time travel stories. However, Ms Perez’s take on time travel is completely engrossing to me. Her world building is so fantastic. It’s sprinkled with factual historic events and then enlivened by her fabulous imagination. I love the characters here because they have such depth. The pain, anguish, love, hate, and fear they encounter feels real and I get that twinge of anxiety for them that only occurs in a will written book. I will be devouring this series shortly.
Twisted by Time is a magical trip to the past for an encounter with the forces of nature and of sheer evil. Desi Campbell and her friends are witches and warlocks, living in discussing the situation with the demons becoming more active in their city in Wisconsin. Her boyfriend’s abuela has a home in Miami that she’d like them to use.They decide to go to Miami for spring break and she tries to cast a spell with the grimoire to get there. Her spell misfires and she finds herself in Cuba during the Spanish American war, but that’s not the only war going on at the moment. The demons are using the war as a front for conducting their own magical war. Their leader, El Diablo, is a 2nd tier demon and he’s trying to destroy every coven, witch and warlock, as well as any other magical creature. Desi isn’t alone for long as she meets a few witches and warlocks who are actively evacuating some of their injured coven. Alba, Elena, Ramon, Manuel and Oliver help her to understand where she is in time and what is happening. Oliver is an American soldier, sent to Cuba to help the Americans win the war. He witnesses the power she holds in her hands and was immediately drawn to her. Elena, a young witch, is jealous that Oliver is interested in Desi and warns her to stay away. Successfully, they work through the city, banishing or killing every enemy that gets in their way until El Diablo. He holds a special power over Oliver that Desi can’t ever begin to recognize. This is a marvelous story with an explosive plot and characters that jump right off the pages! The narration is impeccably done by Rebecca Winder and I have to commend her Spanish accent as excelente! Truly bewitching!
I loved the idea of the story with Desiree traveling back in time by accident. She finds her fellow magic users from the past. Desiree has fought against her gifts in the present. In the past her lack of knowledge is thrown at her at every turn. Some of the coven try to help her develop them, while others just think she is a burden and danger to their safety. I have to agree her lack of knowledge with her penchant for not listening to others and just going into situations without thinking are annoying. Book #1 was a good start to the series.
I was blown away by Ms. Perez’s debut novel!! It was so well written and kept me turning pages well into the night! There were some unexpected twists and turns that pulled me in, wanting to know more. I absolutely loved each of the characters in this story. I also enjoyed seeing how the main character, Desi, grew and matured throughout the first book. I can’t wait to find out what happens next to Desi and Oliver….and I NEED to know more about the mysterious Kismet. Well done Ms. Perez!!
Allow two days for this PG13 paranormal time-travel tale. I had an ARC and this voluntary review is my own opinion.
What an amazing story. It is jammed packed full of drama, suspense, mystery, and action. There are battles that keep you engaged with mystery weaved into it. It is extremely well written and the characters are stunningly developed. They have magnificent personalities that are felt throughout the story. I loved how the characters grow throughout the story. It is a fabulous time travel story as I do not normally read time travel stories as they tend to not make it easy to understand what time they are in. This one was clear and precise as it was easy to follow. I adored the story and can not wait for the next book in the series. This will not disappoint and is a must read!!!!!
WOW this is a great first book! Well written this story is gripping and intriguing and you get lost in this as we travel back in time with our kick ass female mc. There’s demons, witches, vampires, and werewolves, magic, Action, fighting, twists and turns and so much more that will leave you eagerly awaiting book 2!
I loved this book. If you like reading about magic, time traveling and even a little bit of history then this is the book for you. It is very well written and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Desiree and everyone else in the next book.
I was really excited to read this book, witches and time travel, sounded so cool. At first, it took me a while to get into it. I wasn’t a fan of our main character Desi. She’s so immature and I found her friends annoying as well. If it wasn’t for Kismet they all would have died for how careless they are.
Desi travels to Cuba 100 years in the past, I love that the women in the story are leaders and fight along with the men considering the time period. We watch Desi grow as a person; she’s still scared, 17 and fighting demons, I think she has the right to be scared, but she’s no longer selfish. I’m glad that she cares about Alba, Elena, Ramon and all the others to want to fight with them.
I was a little upset with the ending but after reading the sneak peek to book two I was fine with it.
Overall I think the book is great for young and older teens.
his was fantastic read! I love anything about time travel, obviously, but I loved the witch theme within this book. The protagonist was lively and bold and just fun to read. My favorite part was the wide cast of ethnic characters. Being Latina, I appreciated the research put in to this book to make the Cuban characters feel real. Great story!
R.L. Perez has a winner in this book! It started out slowly but that all changed as Desi’s transporting spell sent her back in time instead of just taking her to meet her friends.
From the moment she lands and finds out where she is as well as what time period she is in, her life starts to take on a whole new urgency and she finds out what she had determined not to become instead becomes all important as she is befriended and finds a home where she is accepted. It is a book that you’ll become so immersed in that you’ll forget what is going on in our world as you’re experiencing what Desi and her friends are doing in the battle against the demons of that time.
I would heartily recommend this book to all young adult and adult readers who love a romantic story interspersed with action, adventures and some twists I didn’t see coming I must admit.
Pick up this book today and see if you don’t love it as much as I do! I honestly believe you won’t regret reading it!
Kudos to you R. L. Perez for putting your story on paper and letting the world read it! I loved it and I am looking forward to the next book in this series to see what happens next!
I really enjoyed Twisted by Time (Timecaster Chronicles Book 1). It took me a bit to get into the book. But, once it hooked me I couldn’t put it down. The characters were well fleshed out. I liked the inclusion of Santeria since they were in Cuba. It gave a different element to the magic realm. The main character, Desi, matures as the book goes on. I can’t wait to see what happens with Desi, Oliver, El Diablo, and all the rest. I’m curious to hear more of Kismet’s story as well. I look forward to seeing what R. L. Perez comes up with next.
Desi has magical powers, doesn’t train with them as she should. Her friends are going to Miami and she can’t afford to get there so she takes her parents Grimoire and zaps herself not to Maimi but to CUBA you got it …..during the Spanish American War. She meets an American soldier Oliver. Anything I write after this will give away part of the story and the surprises in the storytelling are great so I don’t want to spoil that for you. But there a witches, warlocks, shifters, vamps, werewolves, all sorts of paranormals, fight scenes, jailbreaks, ships, dungeons. These are all in this story and it works. The story is not busy at all, they even fid time for a little jealousy and romance thrown in. I think that as a 1st story for this writer she nailed it. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for an honest review.
This was an excellent read until the end.