Contingency

Sage Hannigan Time Warper, Book 1

By: Peggy Martinez

Narrated by: Amanda C. Miller

Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Eighteen-year-old Sage Hannigan wants to get back to her own time, preferably one that hasn't been destroyed by an underworld plot brewing in Edwardian-era South Carolina. How hard can it be?

Sage never asked to be chosen by the Druid Priestess, Amerach, to become a Warper and she never asked to have the future hanging on her shoulders or to warp a hundred years into the past. She certainly never asked to meet Dr. Aldwin Blake, who would make her question her desire to get back to her own time. But if she fails her mission, people will die, history will change, and the present she wishes to return to will be no more.

©2012 Peggy Martinez (P)2014 Peggy Martinez

Interesting Time Warp - NA level?

Sage is an 18 year old who awakens 100 years in the past. As though time warping isn’t enough to cope with she quickly discovers that preternatural creatures - vampires, weres and shifters - believed to be the stuff of fantasy and myth are alive and well ... and threatening her life. Sage is rescued from the streets and brought to a home for young women. She is informed by her new friends that she is a Warper who has arrived so that she could prevent a disaster that would impact time.

The home’s proprietress, the scarred but still handsome professor, Dr. Aldwin Blake, and her young eager rescuer are part of a special society assigned to keep preternatural activities secret from the public. The team takes up the task of training Sage who must learn etiquette and dress suitable for the time period, defense with knifes and strategies, and how to control her own unique abilities. The plan is to have Sage inserted in the household of one of the strongest vampires in town so she can infiltrate his circles and learn what major threat is imminent.

Sage is attracted to Aldwin and thinks he likes her too but he remains aloof. Then she meets the remarkable vampire and finds an attraction there as well. Through bumbling luck as much as anything Sage and the vampire uncover hints that help them track down an assassin plan. Now the team has to step in to help prevent the murder that would change history. Sage is eager to help stop the danger but she isn’t sure if she will then get to go home to 2004, or if she wants to.

I appreciated the action and danger that were the base of the story along with the bits of historical clothing and features. The love triangle, although too swift and obvious, added some additional tension and interest, especially for the ending. There are some weaknesses in the story with Sage being viewed as confident and sure when she really is just a mass of confusion and pretty much inept. I thought the writing a bit more on the YA level than I like. (It is categorized for Ages 11-13 which I don't think is really accurate.) Still, the story was engaging enough to keep my attention for a quick listen.

Audio Notes: Amanda C. Miller did an acceptable job on narration. There is no real effort to make a distinction between many of the characters, but the narrator’s voice suits Sage who tells the story in first person. I enjoyed the quick audiobook for this story which I might not have chosen to read in print/ebook.