"When the Day Comes" by Gabrielle Meyer - Timeless, book 1

Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. She has one conscious mind but two very different lives and bodies. In colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives--and any hope of love--are put in jeopardy. Libby's life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about--women's suffrage--is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an undesirable English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe further complicates matters and forces her to make sacrifices she never imagined. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other forever--but how can she possibly choose when she has so much to lose in each life?

In spite of the fantastical dual-timeline/dual-body concept, I wouldn't call this book a fantasy; it would be better described as a dual timeline historical, with a bit of a fantastic twist. It flirts with some of the time travel problems (like changing the future), but manages to bypass some of the bigger controversies (if you enjoy time travel fiction, you know how it can be; all those paradoxes, splintering realities, etc). Libby isn't really time travelling so much as occupying two different bodies in two different times, which simplifies matters.

This book did not go in the direction I was expecting. Before beginning, I assumed that Libby would eventually have to decide between two good options (probably falling in love in both, that sort of thing), but that's not it at all; she knows from the start where she wants to end up, but the circumstances of her dual lives puts her desires in jeopardy. And from that point on I had no idea where the story was going (a most enjoyable circumstance). It could have had several different endings, and the one it did have I didn't give serious consideration to until about a page before it was actually revealed. 

I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Timeless
1. When the Day Comes
2. In This Moment