Review: Brothers Across Time by Brad Boney

Title: Brothers Across Time by Brad Boney
Publisher: Brad Boney
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Time Travel, Gay
Length: 393 pages (approx)
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author

Summary:

Two bridges o’er water, one bound to the other, from present to future, from brother to brother.

Tony Bass longs for an adventure, and on a sleepless night in 1997, fate is about to deliver. His random encounter with twin brothers at first seems unremarkable, since it takes more than period costumes to stand out in Austin, Texas. When pressed for an explanation, the twins make an astonishing confession. They have traveled across time from sixteenth-century Venice.

Once Tony learns their enchanted gondola goes both ways, he convinces his brother Frank to take a vacation to 1590. There, Tony meets the beautiful and enigmatic Isabella, the daughter of a Venetian senator. But what begins as an innocent flirtation ends in crisis when Isabella gives birth to twin sons. The boys must be separated and raised in different centuries.

Eighteen years later, an American teenager boards the gondola and returns to the past to find his brother. While a struggling young man in old-world Padua embraces an unexpected future, which might just include romance with a handsome stranger.

This sweeping saga of family and friendship spans four centuries, three love stories, two generations—with one unassuming but kick-ass gondola…

Review:

Brothers Across Time by Brad Boney is a riveting time travel novel with a fantastic cast of characters and an engaging storyline.

In sixteenth-century Venice, unforeseen circumstances forever alter the lives of twin brothers  Bartolomeo “Bart” and Salvatore “Sal” Bonaguro.  In order to save Bartolomeo, Salvatore turns to their sister Sophia, who knows exactly what they must do.  Using an magical gondola, the brothers travel through time to  Austin, TX where they are rescued by Tony Bass and his twin brother Frank.  Tony and Frank teach the brothers about life in modern America while Bart and Sal provide language and history lessons for the time period they once lived. Tony convinces Frank to use the gondola to go back in time where he meets Isabella Loredan. Circumstances beyond Tony’s control force a premature end to their adventure. When the brothers return months later, their lives and many others are forever changed.

In the present, the four men enjoy their impromptu education on the various time periods. Frank and Tony assist Bart and Sal in becoming Americanized and they quickly procure new identities for the time travelers. Both Bart and Sal know they can never return to their former lives and they settle into their new lives.

Knowing the gondola will also work for Tony and Frank  is too tempting for the more adventuresome Tony to resist. However, Frank also must travel with him since the gondola only works if two people use it.  The two men are greatly enjoying their escapade but it comes to an abrupt end and they are forced to return home. However Tony has unfinished business in Venice and he convinces Frank to make another trip. Unexpected news awaits him and Tony is forced to make decision that alters not just his own live, but those of people he deeply cares for.

After this latest journey, life is never quite the same and it takes time to settle into a new life.  After a somewhat troubled beginning, the next several years pass without much difficulty.  When the time comes to reveal the truth about the gondola and time travel, another journey is planned. This trip culminates with heartfelt reunions and a plan that once again leads to unanticipated changes.

Brothers Across Time is an enchanting tale that will delight fans of time travel novels.  The novel is rich with historical details that bring this captivating story vividly to life. This latest release by Brad Boney has an imaginative and clever storyline, marvelous settings and interesting characters.  An absolutely delightful novel that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to readers of the genre.