Thank you Elise for the arc!!! 💓

I read a time travel book when I was younger and it honestly changed my brain chemistry, ever since I’ve been looking for another one, and it did not disappoint!!!

The story follows Mariella who is studying at university. She takes medication to stop the illness she has, waking up with electricity in her body and waking up in other places. It is the same illness her mother had and she will do anything to stop it. When Parker and Rose turn up she feels like she’s met them before and she’s thrown into a world of time travel where nothing is what she expected.

This story was so so amazing!! The love story between Parker and Mariella honestly had me sobbing. The premise was so smart and so well done. A lot of questions were proposed in this book, I wish a couple more had been resolved, but I cannot wait to continue with this series!!!!

Within the Space of a Second by Elise Helliwell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

Time travel, mystery, forbidden love - this book had me hooked from the start and refusing to put it down. ⏳💫

Mariella is carrying the weight of grief and fear after her mother’s death, only to discover journals that shouldn’t exist. What unfolds is a beautifully tangled story of time travellers, secrets, and one slow-burn romance that absolutely made my heart ache.

Parker is charismatic, frustrating, and swoon-worthy in equal measure, and the chemistry between him and Mariella? Deliciously tense. Every stolen second felt precious, and every choice came with real stakes.

What really stood out, though, was how this wasn’t just a love story - it’s also about legacy, loss, and trying to piece together who you are when everything you thought you knew is shaken. The fantasy subplot weaves seamlessly with the romance, and the emotional beats land perfectly.

This was the kind of book that left me thinking about it long after the final page - a heartfelt, clever, and deeply romantic read that fans of slow-burn, time-bending love stories will eat right up.

What a moving, mysterious and magical novel this is. And that cliffhanger ending 🤯

The author did such a fantastic job at slowly revealing the magical elements within this story, uncovering just enough at a time to keep me hooked without leaving me confused by not explaining anything at all (many other books that I’ve read this year have fallen victim to this, and I am so grateful that this one didn’t do that).

The characters had such believable interactions, the relationships were well established and the writing itself was beautiful. I enjoyed the multi POV and appreciated the mix of long and short chapters, as it made this feel like a very quick read.

I don’t always love time travel in novels as sometimes it opens a can of worms, but the system that the author built in this novel is solid and I’m looking forward to exploring this further in the next book.

There has been so much hype over my socials for this book and now I know why. I can’t believe this is a debut. What a stunning read