In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer - Timeless, book 2

Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until, that is, she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives forever. In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of an influential senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a Navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she's asked to join a hospital ship being sent to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she's a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon, yet unable to use her modern skills in her other paths. While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, and she's drawn to each man in different ways, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?

This is sort of a fantasy version of a dual timeline novel, in which the heroine exists in three timelines all at once. It has the distinct advantage over other dual timeline books by having the same main character in all three timelines, rather than different characters experiencing different stories. Often in dual timelines, one timeline is more interesting than the other, and I wish that the book could just be about that one. Not so with this book: while I was less interested in her 2001 timeline, her choices and events that occurred still had a major impact on her and her other timelines. As much as she tried not let it inform her choices, the knowledge and skills she gains from 2001 still affect her decisions in 1941 and 1861.

The stakes felt a little lower in this book than previous one, for all that Maggie is living through the start of essentially three wars. It's more her personal journey of deciding what is right for her; the decision isn't forced in the same way as her mother's in the previous book. Still, it's a highly enjoyable story, and I look forward to the next in the series!

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