Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Title: Waterfall
Author: Lisa Tawn Bergren
Series: River of Time, #1
Genres: Historical Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: David C. Cook
Date Published: February 1st, 2011
Edition: Paperback
Rating:

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

My Review:

Waterfall will grab you from page one and not let go. Complete with mysterious caves, time travel to the 14th century, full-fledged knights in shining armor, sword-wielding battles, traveling throughout the country, forbidden romance, and adventure around every turn, you will not be bored. I definitely loved this book. It had such amazing reviews that I just had to pick it up. While I’ve read adult historical romances before, I’ve never really read a young adult historical romance. But I am a fan of mixing time travel in a historical (like in Outlander). It just makes things so much more interesting and you get a more modern perspective of how things are so different in the time they traveled to.

The main character, Gabi, is easy to love. With both parents being archeologists, she has a little bit of knowledge about certain historical events and ways of living, which definitely gives her an advantage. She’s able to befriend Marcello, who rescues her from the midst of battle she falls into and takes her to his castle (lucky lol). The only problem is that she’s somehow gotten separated from her sister. Despite the confusing turn of events (you know, traveling back several hundred years and all) her main mission is to find her sister and get back to her own time. But falling in love along the way wasn’t part of the plan.

I also definitely loved the handsome knights she’s surrounded by. Hey, a girl could’ve fallen into worse hands, right? On top of that, the visuals and story really suck you in and take you to that time and place. It was so easy to picture everything going on and I got through the book way too quickly!

Overall, this was a great book and I can’t wait to see what happens next. There are a few moments here and there that drag a bit, but it really wasn’t bad and the very action-filled parts more than make up for them. If you’re a fan of young adult historical romance with a time travel twist, then definitely pick this one up.

P.S. The Kindle edition is only $0.99 on Amazon right now! Although the cover is so gorgeous and pretty to look at (and feel — it’s velvety smooth lol), if you’re really wanting to read it, I’d say give it a shot. What’s to lose with $0.99?