Review : A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : A Tale of Two Centuries (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #2)
Author : Rachel Harris
Publication Date : August 6th 2013
Publisher : Entangled Teen
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Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

Personal Thoughts

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century was quite possibly one of my favorite reads last year. With the way the book ended, I was dying to get back with the adorable characters from the first book. Whenever I step into a sequel, there's always that nagging question somewhere in my mind as to whether the sequel would live up to the brilliance of the previous installment. With this book it seems, I might have been delusional to even have such doubts because Rachel Harris rocked it with A Tale of Two Centuries.

While My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century was Cat's story, A Tale of Two Centuries tells Alessandra's, her dear cousin from Renaissance Italy, story. Less was such a nice and naive girl in the previous book and it was a delight to watch her grow in this one. Behind all that prim and proper exterior lay a girl who craved a wild adventure. Luckily for our dear Less, she meets Reyna, the mysterious gypsy who has the ability to help people magically time travel. Less was such an endearing character. She had this sweetness to her that made her completely loveable. I found myself rooting for the girl from start to finish because she was just too adorable. When she first stepped into the 21st Century, she took some time to adjust to the new culture, technology and lingo. Her trying to learn modern English lingo brought about some hilarious moments in the book. A Tale of Two Centuries was the story of Less growing up. Like I said above, she was shy and naive at the beginning of the novel and Less wanted to mature. Gradually, the reader witnesses her blossoming into a young woman who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, follow her dreams and voice out her feelings.

Of course, Less didn't grow up all by herself. She had the support of Cat and Austin! Ah Cat! It was so good to be back with this girl. No matter what the situation was, she supported Less and was always there by her side. Their friendship was one of the highlights of the book for me. Plus, we also got to see some revelations concerning Cat in this book which will undoubtedly be developed in the next installment. Austin, the love interest, was such a charming and devilish hero. He sure made me swoon. At one point, I wanted Less to go back to 16th Century Florence, just so I could have him for myself, but then it dawned on me that I wasn't a fictional character and you can imagine my disappointment. Seriously though, the romance between Less and Austin was laden with chemistry and pretty much gave me butterflies in the stomach (Go read that first kiss! I might have combusted because of the swoon-factor!). But sweet kisses and swoon-worthy dialogues weren't the only aspect of their relationship. I loved how the two of them helped each other recognize the people they were hiding behind their surfaces. Austin helped to materialize the passion in Less while Less helped him realize that his life wasn't as bad as he thought it was. So yeah, in a nutshell, I thought their romance was all sorts of adorable and managed to draw a huge grin on my face.

I've mentioned this is my review of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, but I'll mention it again in this review as well because it's worth talking about. Rachel Harris has a beautiful writing style. She has the talent to describe scenes in such a way that it's easy to visualize it and feel like you yourself are in that scene. That strength of hers was very much prevalent in A Tale of Two Centuries. Her description of Less' first experiences on the jet-ski, on the roller-coaster and on the theater stage were so vivid that I felt like they were my own experiences. Plus, her writing was fluid, flowed beautifully and held my attention throughout the whole book. There was never a boring moment in this book and it was all very exciting and entertaining. In addition, the book had a lot of humor in the form of Less adjusting to the modern world and Cat's sarcasm. Everything about this book just screamed fun and trust me when I say that you're going to love reading this book. I'm more than excited for the next installment in the series. It's bound to be yet another thrilling read.

Characters that are beautifully crafted, a romance that will have you swooning, a picturesque writing style and a plot that is entertaining from start to finish, A Tale of Two Centuries has it all! If you're glum and having a bad day, read this book and it will immediately cheer you up!


Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

Thank you to Entagled Teen for the e-ARC of A Tale of Two Centuries.