Book Review: The Fair (Time Box #2) by John A. Heldt

I enjoy this author and his time travel family adventures.
The Fair (Time Box #2)
by John A. Heldt

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08C2RMG6Q
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 30, 2020
File size ‏ : ‎ 1423 KB
Print length ‏ : ‎ 329 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Time Travel Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

Months after stealing two time machines from a madman who wants them back, the Lanes, a family of six, seek safety and contentment in 1893, the latest stop on a journey through time. While parents Mark and Mary find relief at Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition, an extravaganza of science and splendor, children Jeremy, Laura, and Ashley find romance, friendship, and thrills.
Older son Jordan, meanwhile, heads west in search of answers. Grieving the loss of a lover from 1865, he travels to Virginia City, Nevada, where he integrates himself into a storied mining community and the heart of a pretty library clerk.
Billionaire Robert Devereux could not care less. Reeling from the theft of his million-dollar devices, he sends an assassin to the past to retrieve his property and rid the world of his former business partner and his troublesome clan.
Filled with humor, heartbreak, and suspense, THE FAIR follows a modern family on the adventure of a lifetime as they navigate their way through an unforgettable year in American history.

Review:
Mark Lane and his family (wife and four children) took two time machines from 2021 in order to keep them away from harmful use by Mark’s corrupt partner, Robert. The Lanes were regrouping in 1865 until their lives got complicated with the assassination of President Lincoln. Their presence in that time and place was revealed to Robert who sent an assassin, Silas, to kill the family and retrieve the time machines. At the end of book 1, The Lane Betrayal, the family made a last-minute escape to the 1700s to throw off the search and again regroup.

Now, in book 2, the Lanes have to escape Silas again, so they travel to 1893 hoping to get lost in the crowds attending the Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition. As the parents and three children explore the wonders of the Fair and make new friends, Jordan, the eldest son, takes a train west seeking to recover after losing his second lover in a year of life changes.

Jordan makes friends with a mature female librarian from Virginia City, Clara. Rather than continuing west, Jordan detours to Virginia City where he meets Clara’s ‘adopted’ daughter, Jessie. As Jordan and Jessie share time together growing a friendship, Jeremy is growing his own romance back in Chicago. The problem for Jeremy is that his first love is out of his reach and star-crossed.

Jeremy’s twin, Laura, makes friends with a spirited Irish lass, Prudence, who is an underappreciated commercial artist working in the Women’s Building of the Fair. Their friendship and interaction, as well as Jessie’s situation in Nevada, highlight the big changes for women’s rights that exist now that didn’t exist 120 years ago.

While the young adults are busy making friends, they are not forgotten in current times by Robert who is still obsessed with retaking the machines and eliminating the family. Robert has his company staff searching for clues to locate the Lane’s location in the past. No one knows that the Lane’s have one ally in the company who continues to try to protect them. He can only do so much and is unable to prevent the clues that surface that allow Robert’s scientists to send Silas back to attack the family for the third time.

I enjoy the blend of historic, relational, and suspenseful elements this author is able to weave in his stories. The personal relationships and historical details make for an engaging story while the author skillfully maintains a thread of tension for the danger that keeps the family on edge. The danger erupts in the last 15% of the story and had me reading on edge to know what would happen. I want to get the next books to continue following the adventures and suspense surrounding this family. I recommend the series to those who enjoy strong time travel adventures that include good character building and nice romance developments.

Source: June 20, 2021 received from the author. This qualifies for 2022TBR, 2022Alphabet, and 2022ebook reading goals.

The Lane Betrayal, Book 1 my rating 4.5