Beatriz Williams - Overseas

A passionate, sweeping novel of a love that transcends time.
When twenty-something Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson attracts the notice of the legendary Julian Laurence at a business meeting, no one's more surprised than she is. Julian's relentless energy and his extraordinary intellect electrify her, but she's baffled by his sudden interest. Why would this handsome British billionaire--Manhattan's most eligible bachelor--pursue a pretty but bookish young banker who hasn't had a boyfriend since college?
The answer is beyond imagining . . . at least at first. Kate and Julian's story may have begun not in the moneyed world of twenty-first-century Manhattan but in France during World War I, when a mysterious American woman emerged from the shadows of the Western Front to save the life of Captain Julian Laurence Ashford, a celebrated war poet and infantry officer.
Now, in modern-day New York, Kate and Julian must protect themselves from the secrets of the past, and trust in a true love that transcends time and space.

Comment: I got my eyes on this book don't remember exactly when but it was after seeing it was one of the most talked about books in GR from 2012. I got curious about the blurb and decided to read it. I also don't remember when I got the book, probably by the end of last year...anyway, this month it was up to be read.

This story follows Kate Wilson's POV throughout the book, and how her life changes after she meets British legend of business Julian Laurence in a conference on Wall Street where she works. From that moment, Kate's life takes a turn she never imagined and it gets weirder the more she falls in love with Julian and how their fates are connected in a much more serious and deep way she never thought possible.

I liked this book. I think it had many good scenes and moments within the story line and despite the could-be-better things, it was overall, a good and positive work, considering it was the author's debut.
The story is divided into two time lines, the present, where most of the action takes place, and the past, 1916 where see small scenes at a time of what happens to the main characters during that time. This is a time travel story, so expect time travel things, although I must say this isn't the focus of the story, at least not in a way we might think would take over the story.

In the past we see Kate trying to save Julian's life and how she attempts to convince him - and how she does it - in order to save him from what will happen in the future.
In the present time, where most part of the action happens, we see their relationship develop, step by step, mystery after mystery, until they reach the point where the past actions make sense.

I liked the present time story line a lot, especially int he beginning. I was very curious and interested in seeing them fall in love and there was a time where we could almost feel what it was like for them to be at the point before they admitted their feelings were changing and getting stronger. I think that was the most successful part of the book, because after everything comes up in the open between them and who they really are, at least who Julian really is, I think the story started to drag a bit and even more, it started to sound a bit more unbalanced, which I think is due to the lack of polish, I think the author could have refined better certain passages and scenes because I really felt the tone and the consistency of what I was loving about it going down a bit.

There's a resolution to all this and this aspect of the story could have been also better presented. I felt it a bit rushed at the end, although I understand the way the author thought about things. There are many things to wonder about until the end, but surprises and finales apart, I think it could have been done better, in particular the hows of the whole thing.

The romance between Julian and Kate started really amazing, even despite the aspects other readers didn't like about it (the so called stalker scenes and the bossy moments). Personally, I liked it and thought it was developing greatly, but it all got confused and rushed at the end, which was a pity.
Julian is the most intriguing character and the parts of him that are doubtful and a bit inconsistent between time lines have an explanation I think wasn't that bad for the story, after all, people change and adapt to what surrounds them, right?
Kate is likable heroine although I think she exaggerated her reactions times enough to make it memorable, thus making her less attractive in general, something she didn't need, but whatever.

In the end, this is a very interesting romance, many wonderful possibilities and good scenes, but some things weren't done well enough to make it perfect. Still, I enjoyed it and hopefully will read more by this author in the future.
Grade: 7/10