Title:  Going Over Home

Author:  Katie Andrews Potter

Format:  Paperback and Kindle

Published:  2012

Synopsis:  (from Amazon)  Maddox’s life changed the day she read her real birthdate:  May 17, 1820.  Not 1990, like she’d been told all along.  Sure, there had been clues:  her mother’s old-fashioned style, the fact that her parents refuse to talk about her grandparents, but she never could have guessed they were actually from the past.  And if that wasn’t enough, now she has to go back in time to live for good.  She has descendants living now, and if she doesn’t go back their lives will never be.  Once she figures out how to go back in time, she struggles with the impending change her life is about to take, and her relationship with shy, unassuming Henry Yancey:  the man she is supposed to marry.  But if the decision to go back isn’t hard enough, she soon finds out there is someone who will stop at nothing to keep her from going back, and he’s running out of time.  Will Maddie fall for Henry, and will she be able to make it back in time before the portal closes?

My Rating: 

Mystery and suspense wrapped up in a genealogy-oriented fantasy; a clever concept.  The synopsis gives you the basic idea and I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t get too much into the storyline.

It was certainly a fun novel to read.  While I am not a big fan of sci-fi, and some would say this borders on sci-fi because of the time-traveling element, I quite enjoyed the book; it didn’t feel sci-fi to me at all.  It’s strange, an unrealistic storyline, presented in a very creative and dare I say, realistic way.  The author’s simplistic writing style helped carry the story and allowed me to read it quickly, which is good since I didn’t want to put it down.

You really fall in love with the characters, share in the dilemma, and become vested in the outcome.  The historical aspect the author brings to the story is an added bonus for those who enjoy historical fiction.  As a genealogist, I found myself wondering what it would be like to travel back in time and not only meet those who came before me, but share in their experiences first hand.  It also got me wondering whether some of my elusive ancestors stumbled into a time portal never to be seen again (or maybe they really were abducted by aliens!!).

Again, it was a fun novel to read.  I really enjoyed it and think that anyone who likes a good mystery or fantasy novel would enjoy it as well.

Purchase Going Over Home on Amazon:  Paperback or Kindle.