Review by Nicole O’Dell

Back in February, I reviewed WATERFALL, book one in the highly acclaimed River of Time series. Have you read it yet? If not, you need to, because you’re going to want to get your hands on book two immediately. And you’re in luck! CASCADE releases today.

CASCADE is the perfect follow up to WATERFALL and picks up right where book one left off. Gabi Betarrini (17) and her sister, Lia (15), are back at it again. Though they’ve returned from the Medival past to to their mom’s current-day Etruscan archeological dig, Gabi can’t stay. She must return to Medival Italy because Marcello, the handsome knight she fell in love with in book one, is in danger.

Still dressed in their Medival attire, Gabi and Lia convince their mom to travel back in time with them. When they arrive at their destination, they find themselves in the midst of accusations and backstabbing. Who are their friends, and who are their enemies? Even they don’t know for sure. In the midst of a war, the sisters realize that they are targeted. With a couple of swords and some blind faith,  these two teenagers are forced to fight for their very lives.

The combination of romance, adventure, and humor reach a delectable balance in CASCADE, and Lisa Bergren has done an awesome job of keeping the characters vibrant. The River of Time Series is one of my favorite YA picks so far. The bar is set for future YA romance. And, though the series is definitely YA fiction, I truly believe that any reader would devour these books.

That all being said, I do want to issue a bit of a disclaimer for the squeamish among you. CASCADE does portray quite a bit of violence–even some torture. I wouldn’t say it’s at all gory or sensationalistic–it is true to the story–I just wanted to make sure that any sensitive readers knew what they were getting into.

Be sure to read WATERFALL first, if you haven’t. Then grab CASCADE right away, because TORRENT, the third and final book in the River of Time series, will follow in September, 2011–right around the corner. Thank you to David C. Cook, publisher, for putting these books out in such rapid succession!

Read an Excerpt (WATERFALL):http://www.scribd.com/doc/46485013/Waterfall

Read an Excerpt (CASCADE):http://www.scribd.com/doc/52610822/Cascade-by-Lisa-T-Bergren

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 30 books, with more than 1.5 million copies sold. She just finished writing a Colorado historical trilogy (the first book, Breathe, Sing and Claim), and has begun a teen series called River of Time (Waterfall, book 1, comes out in February 2011).

Lisa’s time is split between managing home base, writing (including a fair amount of travel writing), consulting and freelance editing (with a little speaking here and there). She’s married to Tim, a liturgical sculptor, graphic designer and musician. They have three kids–Olivia (15), Emma (12) and Jack (7).

We have a copy of Cascade to give away to one of you! If you’d like to enter to win, leave a question for Lisa Bergren in your comment. I’m going to be interviewing her on Teen Talk Radio in a couple of weeks, and I’ll pass your questions along to her then.

About Maureen Bureson

I'm 63, from AZ, retired on disability, enjoy writing and reading, and am excited to discover all that P31 offers beyond the daily devotional

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