Review - Nomad by J.L. Bryan

I won Nomad by J.L. Bryan from Jenni @ Alluring Reads in one of her flash giveaways! Thank you Jenni!

I've had Nomad on my "looks interesting list" since I was part of the cover reveal for the book a few weeks ago. It should also be notated that this is the first book that I've ever read by J.L. Bryan, and it won't be my last.

Nomad's lead protagonist is 19 year old Raven a revolutionary who lives in the year 2064 where life isn't exactly a Utopian society. Raven has been fighting a guerrilla warfare against the tyrannic regime of Supreme Executive Logan Carraway for 10 years and in the process, she has lost nearly everyone she's ever loved.

When a chance comes along to change the course of history and stop Logan, Raven ends up being transported back in time to the year 2013 where she arrives with no recollection or memories of where she came from, or why she's in the middle of a highway with a backpack filled with items that obviously aren't hers.

Thankfully, she has a few trusty gadgets on hand that slowly brings her memories back to the reason why she is in 2013 in the first place, and what she has to do. She also realizes that whatever mission she's on, it won't be easy with Logan's Providence Security team hot on her tail trying to stop her in her tracks.

As for Logan, I would say that he's a stereotypical male character in a new adult setting. He's a charmer, he parties like it's 1999, he does things like rock climbing just for the thrill of it and probably to aggravate his family. He takes classes just to impress certain female acquaintances and he doesn't understand that his family is the cause of all future problems for the country until Raven comes along and enlightens him to that fact. 

Time travel has been a fascination of mine since I was knee high to a grasshopper. What can I say, I'm a science fiction geek! I've often wondered what it would have been like to go back in time and kill dictators like Adolf Hitler (Germany), Joseph Stalin (Russia), Mao Zedong (China), and others, and then return to my own time. Would it actually matter if the dictators were killed before they could commit heinous atrocities on their OWN people? Or, would someone else step up in their place and continue their evil machinations and therefore making the trip back in time seem useless? This is also Raven's dilemma she has to contend with. I love the idea of Paradox in that one mistake could have a devastating affects on the time line and even on your own life. 

There is a bit of everything thrown in to Nomad. You have a kickass heroine in Raven who is also very intelligent and makes some very interesting choices. There is also the obvious romance angle that New Adult is known for. There is the surprising appearance of a character named Eliad who shows up and apparently knows Raven and makes her think about the consequences of killing Logan. But, the bottom line is that nobody can help Raven. Not her best friend Kari, not her new roommate Audra, and not anyone from her own time period.      

Nomad is an extremely fast paced novel that I read in less than 5 hours. I loved Raven. I enjoyed reading about her thinking through problems as they come along, and she ends up making the best of a difficult situation. I will say that I am one of those readers that would NOT mind seeing Raven again very soon. I am especially interested in her relationship with the mysterious Eliad and what they do as nomadic time travelers.

Expected publication: July 26th 2013 by www.jlbryanbooks.com 

Author - J.L. Bryan
Title - Nomad
Self published by www.jlbryanbooks.com
Released - July 26, 2013
Genre - New Adult, Dystopian, Time Travel
Won from Jenni @ Alluring Reads