Hannah's Moon (American Journey, #5) by John A. Heldt

After struggling for years to have a child, Claire Rasmussen, 34, turns to adoption, only to find new obstacles on the path to motherhood. Then she gets an unlikely phone call and soon learns that a distant uncle possesses the secrets of time travel.

Within weeks, Claire, husband Ron, and brother David find themselves on a train to Tennessee and 1945, where adoptable infants are plentiful and red tape is short. For a time, they find what they seek. Then a beautiful stranger enters their lives, the Navy calls, and a simple, straightforward mission becomes a race for survival.

Filled with suspense, romance, and heartbreak, HANNAH’S MOON, the epic conclusion of the American Journey series, follows the lives of four spirited adults as they confront danger, choices, and change in the tense final months of World War II.

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I've been reading and enjoying John Heldt's books for years and I think I've found my favorite in Hannah's Moon.  I've enjoyed all his books- I'm a sucker for a good time travel story- especially one that takes me back to a certain time in history that I can become immersed in.  John Heldt is very good at bringing the past to life in his books.  In fact, one of his books was set in Galveston, TX and after reading it, I wanted to go there so much.  I'm finally going this summer!  :)

There is so much going on in this book!  The voice and perspective switches between four main characters- Claire, Ron, David and Margaret.  Their paths are separate, together, separate then together.  Each are on a journey together but also separately.  Things never go as planned and 1945 is a very volatile time in the US with WWII.  It kept the story moving along at a good pace and kept me so invested in the characters and what was going to happen next.  It was so good!  I loved the angle of adoption.  And the baseball moments!  I just love baseball.

This book is part of a series but can stand alone.  The end of this books brings many characters from previous books together so you may be a missing a bit of connection there if you haven't read the other books but nothing that is vital to this story or it's characters.

Content:  Mild swearing, mild violence

- I received a copy of this book from the author.  A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

Mercer Street (American Journey #2) by John A. Heldt

Weeks after her husband dies in the midst of an affair in 2016, Chicago writer Susan Peterson, 48, seeks solace on a California vacation with her mother Elizabeth and daughter Amanda. The novelist, however, finds more than she bargained for when she meets a professor who possesses the secret of time travel. Within days, the women travel to 1938 and Princeton, New Jersey. Elizabeth begins a friendship with her refugee parents and infant self, while Susan and Amanda fall for a widowed admiral and a German researcher with troubling ties. Filled with poignancy, heartbreak, and intrigue, MERCER STREET gives new meaning to courage, sacrifice, and commitment as it follows three strong-willed souls on the adventure of a lifetime.

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I've been reading John Heldt books for a long time.  It's time travel and it's historical fiction all wrapped up in one.  I love historical fiction and it's one of the things I love best about John Heldt's books.  He knows how to include so many historical events into his books and make things come alive that way.

In this edition, we get to travel with three ladies back to 1938 in New Jersey.  Each lady represents a generation in her family.  The beginning was really slow going for me.  Elizabeth, Susan and Amanda are basically the same person just in different stages of life.  They have the same personalities and the same voice.  It took moving farther into the book for me to be able to distinguish them by their circumstances.  All three were no nonsense, to the point blunt, educated and headstrong.  I didn't really click with their personalities so it was harder for me to make that personal connection and really feel emotions.

The history, like I said, is what makes this book for me.  There was so much going on in the time period these ladies traveled to.  The world on the brink of war, a world's fair, baseball greats, full service gas stations (!!) and an alien invasion.  Each woman in the book has her own reasons for traveling through time back to the past and I think, in the end, they end up achieving their goals even if they came about in an unexpected way.

Content:  drinking, talk about visiting a strip club, a few instances of profanity and mild swearing, sex behind closed doors, an affair.

September Sky (American Journey #1) by John A. Heldt

When unemployed San Francisco reporter Chuck Townsend and his college-dropout son, Justin, take a cruise to Mexico in 2016, each hopes to rebuild a relationship after years of estrangement. But they find more than common ground aboard the ship. They meet a mysterious lecturer who touts the possibilities of time travel. Within days, Chuck and Justin find themselves in 1900, riding a train to Texas, intent on preventing a distant uncle from being hanged for a crime he did not commit. Their quick trip to Galveston, however, becomes long and complicated when they wrangle with business rivals and fall for two beautiful librarians on the eve of a hurricane that will destroy the city. Filled with humor, history, romance, and heartbreak, SEPTEMBER SKY follows two directionless souls on the adventure of a lifetime as they try to make peace with the past, find new purpose, and grapple with the knowledge of things to come.

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September Sky is another time travel book by John Heldt.  This book takes place mostly in Galveston, Texas with a father/son duo who have traveled through time from 2016 to 1900.  Chuck and Justin travel back in time with the purpose of solving a mystery and saving a life.  Of course, it's never as easy as that.  They both fall in love and make some good friends along the way.  Oh, and they run into a few spots of trouble.  With a murderer on the loose and a devastating hurricane on the way, trouble might be putting it mildly.

One thing I really enjoy in these books is the bits of history that come through.  It's always nice to get a clearer picture of events in time while being entertained with romance and mystery.

This book took me quite awhile to get into.  It started out slowly and I had a hard time staying focused.  The book picks up steam about half way into it and by the last third of the book I was invested and fully into things.  It just took so long to get there.  This is definitely a plot driven book.

While I enjoyed many parts of this book, there were some content issues for me.  Several characters in this book have sexual relationships outside of marriage.  There are a couple encounters between a couple in a hotel that are filled with innuendo and descriptions of the scenes (handcuffed to bed, etc.) that I just didn't like.  The actual sex is not described in detail but it all just didn't sit well with me.  There are a few instances of mild swearing.