Review: Time in my Pocket

Okay so this is a very cool review for me to write, and one I am incredibly honored and excited to share.  

I actually worked with this author, Gina Dewink, at the RLS Foundation for a number of years. We actually worked remotely together (me from northern Florida and her from Minnesota) so we have only met in person one time. However, we became friends during our regular correspondence through work. I actually ate lunch with her and my co-workers from the Foundation with little Isaac in tow the day before I had to stop questioning my perpetual stomach upset-ness and take a pregnancy test and learned I would be a mother again very shortly.

But I digress ...

This review is for Gina's first book: Time in My Pocket. And folks, it is really, really good. 

I'll be honest. I don't have much time to read. And I love to read. So when Gina mentioned sending me a copy of her book in exchange for reviewing her book, I wasn't sure what to expect. A self-published by a first-time author. Would it be worth my precious reading time?

The answer: YES, YES, and more YES! 

I actually found myself yearning for my before-bed reading time so that I could have more time with the characters in this incredibly well-researched and incredibly well-done novel. In fact, I actually brought it with me for the reading time I get during bits and pieces of Abigail's ballet lesson and on the couch with kids swirling all around me. (I very rarely attempt to read during the day as I get frustrated when the kids interrupt me. But I simply could not wait until night time to keep reading.) 

It was THAT good.

Whatever I expected was BLOWN out of the water by this novel. Gina's writing was FANTASTIC. I especially loved her ability to paint a character in vivid imagery and colors. I could absolutely picture each of the characters both in present day and after the novel shifts sixty years in the past.

Did you know that most people in the U.S. check their smartphones 150 times a day? Keep this in mind as you think about what it would be like for a modern day housewife to be suddenly transported back to 1947 Hollywood in the body of a much younger woman?

While all of Gina's characters were well-painted, it is her drawing of Liza Anderson in Time in My Pocket that set the tone for this novel. I love the voice of the frumpy mom from my era suddenly finding herself living in the thighs of a buxom beauty from the 40's in Hollywood. Can you even imagine? 

Gina imagines for us and the voice of this character and the others who walk alongside her are brilliantly depicted in the pages of this novel. I'm sure we've all wondered what would happen if we were younger again. Or if we could live in a different era. But if we were doing so while quite aware that this wasn't our life?

I loved the wit and dangers intertwined into this novel. I loved that it combined romance and modern-day problems with those of the challenges of life decades ago. Oh the importance of a library before smartphones! And while I will refrain from ruining the book for you, I will say that I thought the ending was brilliantly done. Oh, and while there is a small amount of bad language in the book, I did think it was properly placed and overall a pretty clean novel fitting for younger readers as well.

Okay, I could go on and on. Instead, I'd like to do a giveaway of this book as I really would like to share Gina Dewink's writing with others. I also would really like to encourage you to go to Amazon and download or purchase a copy of Time in My Pocket for yourself. Simply leave a comment along with your email address below this post and in one week's time, I will randomly choose a winner!

Well done Gina! I am incredibly proud of you and proud to say I know you!

P.S. Oh and the cover of this book was SO WELL DONE! I absolutely thought it fit the novel perfectly!!!!