“The next grouping is an invitation for us to come into Spider’s parlor. And the last…” As her voice trailed away, she gave a violent shudder.

Peter grimly finished her words, “The last grouping indicates that Spider is waiting for us. We’re walking into a trap.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Laura said firmly. “We have to find the location of Spider’s parlor before he kills Phoebe!”

Book: Time Trap by Danele J. Rotharmel, Prism Book Group, 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 16+

Subjects:

Summary: An ordinary time counseling trip takes a very unexpected twist when the time counselors disappear. When the first man disappears, everyone assumes he’s simply gone back to his alcohol pursuit but when Drake and Phoebe - two more disappear, no one can deny something strange is going on. Soon, a letter arrives demanding two of the directors come and face the kidnapper. Peter and Laura cautiously follow the clues straight into to the kidnapper’s lair where they face a game of life and death. In the meantime, Dan and Gillyflower are facing a personal crisis as Gillyflower finds herself in the hospital giving birth to their firstborn and facing heart problems. Nicki, the young girl the missing cadets were counseling finds herself in danger as well and gets brought to the present time where her current time self becomes acquainted with the TEMCO staff and gets drawn into some interesting experiences, particularly with one man who seems quite attracted to her!

Notes: Time Trap is the second in the Time Counselor Series. The series focuses on the concept that inventions have been made to allow people to travel through time. They use this for the purpose of counseling people who are facing serious decisions that will lead to a life of crime or suicide. In this book someone had been advised to discontinue a relationship with a man. The man is seeking revenge against TEMCO, wanting to see all of them destroyed. He goes to elaborate lengths to not just hurt, but actually do prolonged torture to those in his captivity. The big theme in the book is love and what it looks like and how to know who to marry. There are three sets of characters making decisions about love. They are seeking to follow God’s leading on relationships. One has made a decision to not kiss anyone until marriage and is waiting for someone who has made the same choice. One is told by someone from the future who they will eventually marry and has to make the choice to love that person even before they have time to build a relationship. One character uses the technology to study someone’s past and makes the choice to pursue and love them based on what they know of that person and their character. All of that characters are seeking to be very intentional about their pursuit of relationships.

There is also an element of trusting God even in the midst of terrifying times – Dan and Gillyflower facing the health issues, Phoebe facing the torture, Peter and Laura walking straight into what they know is probably a life-threatening situation. Overall, the spiritual elements are present and a huge part of the life of the main characters.

One note is that the book was very hard for me to get into. I enjoyed it once I got over a third of the way through and got more familiar with what characters were which and how things worked. It seems as though it is a series that needs to be read in order if the reader is to understand what all is going on. There were a number of elements I had a difficult time understanding. And there are nine main characters in the story, most of whom you get part of the story from the viewpoint of. I suspect this problem would be solved if I had read the first book in the series though.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it!

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Danele is giving away a package that includes an autographed paperback copy of both Time Tsunami and Time Trap, a Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord” journal, a lovely coffee cup, and a 4X4 picture frame. Click here to enter:https://promosimple.com/ps/a5da

You can learn more about Danele by visiting her blog athttps://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/