I loved the premise of this book. It was so fast paced. The writing was exciting and kept me engaged.
What an enjoyable read filled with amazing characters

In the far off future, time travel has become a part of society. Reserved for the elite and the rich, occasionally someone must go back into the past as a ‘Corrector’ and fix a mistake a time traveller has made. A mistake that could end up wiping out the entire human race and change history forever. No pressure then. Correctors are convicted criminals, given a second chance at redemption by rerouting history back onto its correct course, on the understanding that they can never return to their own time. They’re disposable, and no one will miss them if things inevitably go wrong. Isobel is one such Corrector, and she’s determined to make her mission to 1270 France a success. All she has to do is save the crown of France by convincing a hot tempered young noble not to fight a losing battle.

I really enjoyed the insight into everyday life during the Crusades that are vividly brought to life here. The descriptions of weary soldiers and the struggle for food and the camaraderie between them all is vividly told and insightful to read about. It’s a side to the Crusades I’ve never really thought about, and it certainly made me want to look up more information about the time period. This was definitely a strong section of the book, and you could tell that a lot of research had gone into the story itself. It felt realistic.

On the other hand I found the sections relating to Isobel’s present our future) were not overly well developed, and there is little to no information or world building. I was never certain of what type of future Isobel came from, how time travel was invented or really works or even what kind of past Isobel had before she commits her crime than resulted in her becoming a Corrector (other than the odd allusion to sexual assault – which came out of nowhere). I often found myself confused when these little nuggets of information were dropped into the storyline without any real further explanation and are then never referenced again. It felt very all over the place, jumbled and not well thought out.

I also wasn’t keen on the tone the story takes in the latter third of the novel, moving away from action and adventure in time to become more romance heavy. The romance itself felt a little flat to me, rushed and not all that realistic. It also lessened Isobel as a character, as she becomes more reliant on her love interest rather than trying to strike out on her own and make her own future. Even before this romantic element, Isobel herself is a little reserved and unemotional with no real depth to her character. I think the story would have benefitted from keeping on track and sticking to the historical elements rather than trying to merge three genres into one. It doesn’t quite work.

This was an interesting idea, but the story itself feels rushed and the romantic element feels unnecessary to the story. If it had continued to concentrate on the historical and action packed aspects, this could have been a winner.

The book is easy to read and interesting. I like time travel stories and historical novels, so it was a perfect match for me. This book offers new historical information embedded in a gripping story. The historical facts are well researched and also the story about the future is thought through even though a bit sketchy. The characters are aslo a bit sketchy, I was irritated that jean was not a main charater as I expected. Isobel is not my favourite charcter, but I could understand her actions. I liked Charles the most, he was helpful and I felt secure with him. The story had some twists and I had the impression that the author thought it through.

"A Crown in Time" had a really interesting premise, but the author rushed through the story. The characters didn't really have time to develop naturally, the romantic relationships felt forced and the different historical events all happened way to quickly without really leaving an impact on the story.

Jennifer Macaire has a knack for transporting the reader in time, alongside her characters. In A Crown in Time she brilliantly depicts the raw and unforgiving era of the Crusades. The moment you step into the story, your senses are assaulted with images, odours, sounds and textures that all come together to sweep you off your feet and take you right into the black heart of the Dark Ages. Macaire knows her stuff. She comfortably navigates the era when and the areas where her book is set, and you as a reader know that you’re in good hands. Gone is the vague romanticism of the Crusades and in comes the stench of death, dysentery and unwashed bodies. The sea crossing to North Africa and back left me reeling with sea-sickness. The brutality of human interaction in those days made me thank my lucky star that I was born eight hundred years later.
Then there are the characters. Isobel, the woman who travels from 2900 to save the French dynasty, isn’t a pre-progammed robot. She is fallible. She makes mistakes. She is unsure about her task. The threat of time-erasure hangs over her head and she doesn’t quite know how to avert it. Things go constantly wrong and she responds as best as she can. You can tell she is lost and that she is on her own. She not only needs to fend for herself (and that’s not an easy task even for her medieval contemporaries), but she also takes it upon herself to take care of Charles, her streetwise orphan sidekick. And of course she is tasked with protecting Jean, the future father of the kings. She invests herself in that task on more levels than one. And it doesn’t quite go to plan. But she has to go on and every new chapter is filled with new challenges.
A visceral read, full of passion and heart.

DNFed at 29% due to the casual attitude towards rape and a general lack of engaging voice. Content warning: discussion of rape.

I was interested in a new institutional time travel series, being a fan of the St Mary’s Chronicles and Connie Willis’s books, but in comparison, this is very plodding. The narration often drops off to dump information about the 13th century in a dry textbook style that doesn’t mesh with the plot, and the main character is very hard to connect with. Having been a prisoner for many years, she has been ground down and has very little reaction to anything, other than a spectrum from nonplussed to miserable, which is not fun to read. Some of the info-dumping is repeated almost word-for-word, even in this first quarter. The narrative’s attitude to sex and rape is distasteful - in the first 25% the main character: allows a 16 year old to have sex with her (no prior hint is given and no consent is asked or given, she just goes with it when he ‘falls on top of her’ ); has sex with a man in order to hire him; and is raped by a guard, mentioning that she used to be raped in prison before so she knows how to tolerate it. None of this is presented with any more nuance than her having a meal, which to me was uncomfortable and unpleasant. I just don’t want to continue it.

An interesting read, it was factual and well researched, interesting characters but lacked a bit of spark or magic for me. It was well written and the author had a nice style, just not as entertaining as I had hoped

Publicity about this book talks about somebody being sent back in time to save the Crown of France, but it's not an actual physical crown that she is sent to save. Rather, she has to save the life of one young man whose descendants will eventually become rulers of France.
The plot’s immaterial, really. The book is mainly an opportunity to explore the world of the 13th century. There's a bit of history about the Crusades, but mainly it's social history. What was it like to live then? Dull, if the truth be told. If you want to get from A to B you walk. If you're lucky and rich, you may ride. There's a lot of getting from A to B in this book. Walking or riding, travelling takes a very long time and for most of that time nothing really happens. According to this story your journey may be broken by occasional extreme violence and quite a bit of sex, but much of the sex will be boring too. (A huge shame as Macaire’s other books include some brilliant sex scenes, both erotic and hilarious.) If your journey takes you across the sea, you will do it in a boat which, lacking portholes, will mean being shut up in a small, dark cabin. Inevitably this is, once again, dull stuff until you are caught in a storm when it is extremely unpleasant and for many of the travellers, fatal.
Our heroine's journey takes us to Tunis, on the Eighth Crusade. There are a couple of battles, but little detail of the military goings-on. There is rather more detail of the aftermath – the dead and dying and the general unpleasantness of war. As with most wars at the time, disease is an even greater threat than the enemy and when the army returns to Europe (more storms, more dull travelling) it's a great deal smaller than it was when it left.
All that sex results in pregnancy. (We are told that people are very relaxed about sex, but I doubt that that is true given that the danger of pregnancy – and the terrible consequences if unmarried – must have discouraged most young women from casual encounters.) Our heroine ends up with a baby, but no husband. Awkward. Fortunately, love (in the form of a kind older man) conquers all and we have a happy, if hardly politically correct, ending.
A Crown in Time is a great introduction to the 13th century and Macaire is certainly more fun to read than a school textbook. There's more than a little school textbook in it, though, the narrator often commenting on life at the time, with even the odd statistical snip:
“Childbirth was the main cause of death among women at the time, with one-third of the deaths of adult women due to complications.”
Read it if you’ve always wanted to know more about 13th century France or if you enjoy exploring new worlds in an undemanding story.

It's a fascinating mix of historical fiction and sci-fi with a well researched and vividly described historical background.
The story flows and the characters are well thought and interesting.
The only fault I found is that the book is somewhat lacking in the world building of the present time but it's nonetheless and excellent and entertaining story.
It's the first work I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I read it, then read it all over again. It was a well researched and fascinating story, full of adventure and romance. I fell in love with the characters, and hope to read more by this author. Why isn't she more well known? Highly recommended.

A Crown Through Time is based on the premise that some time in the future it will be possible to travel back into the past. One might be sent back into the past to atone for a crime committed in the present society, a harsh Orwellian place where verdicts are delivered by screens. In the case of Isobel, protagonist of A Crown Through Time, her crime is a road accident where a child has run out and was unfortunately killed. Children are so precious in this society it means Isobel is absolutely guilty. The set up,is superb. The Tempus University's Handbook is quoted as paratext on each chapter heading. This way we learn more about the fiuture society's briefings. Initially Isobel is horrified to be catapulted into 1270 and the unfortunate failure of that year's Crusade. Her mission is to persuade sixteen year old Jean de Bourbon-Dampiere to return to his family and save not only his life but a future dynasty of France. The story has the perfect three quest adventurers namely Isobel, Jean and Charles a waif and stray who becomes her page and is devoted to her. It is a story with many thrilling twists and turns. It is jam-packed with jeopardy. The characterisation and empathy displayed by some characters is terrific. I enjoyed reading the travel , the squalour of Crusader camps, struggles with poverty, the quest to survive, wicked priests, depiction of nobility and peasantry and this particular crusade which is brilliantly researched. I loved the scenes set in Navarre, the castles and manors. I was totally like Isobel transported into this world. This is historical Adventure at its best. It's excellently constructed with a dose of Monty Python wit, I won't tell you how Isobel resolves her quest at risk of giving away surprises. Read it and find out. I can't wait for the next book in this series. It is absolutely superb.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, was captivated as I followed Isobel and her companions on their journey - quite Outlander esque. Also really enjoyed the time travel concept - however the future world is never really explored - could be a place explored in future books. I will be reading more by Jennifer Macaire in the future.