I’ve said on this blog multiple times now that I would eventually get around to sharing about one of my favorite book series ever–The River of TIme Series. Well, I’ve gotten around to it!
The River of Time Series, which, for ease of typing and reading, I will hereafter refer to as TROTS, is on my list of Top 3 Favorite Series EVER. There are a lot of books and series that I love and highly recommend to friends, family, and my social media “friends”, but there are three book series that have stood out to me above the rest for various reasons and now hold this special place in my heart.
This post will be the first in a three-part series featuring those three book series, starting with my top favorite, TROTS, and working down.
WHAT IS “THE RIVER OF TIME SERIES” ABOUT?
TROTS revolves around the Betarrini sisters, Gabriella and Evangelia–or Gabi and Lia, for short. A few months after the death of their father, American teenagers Gabi and Lia are spending the summer in Tuscany with their archaeologist mother. They’ve grown up spending every summer in this beautiful area of Italy, but after so many years of the same old routine, and with the damper of their father’s death, the prospect of another summer at a dusty dig site in the middle of nowhere is… less than ideal. But things get a whole lot more interesting when Gabi and Lia stumble upon a portal through time in an ancient Estrucan tomb.
The sisters find themselves in medieval Italy, caught, literally, between two warring city-states–Sienna and Florence. Did I mention that there’s also some incredibly swoon-worthy knights, Marcello Forelli and his cousin Luca, that are determined to win their hearts?
As you probably have guessed, Gabi and Lia eventually have to decide where they want to stay–their own time, where everything is safe and predictable, or in medieval Italy, where life is far from safe and predictable and yet has the potential to be so much more fulfilling.
WHAT BOOKS ARE IN THE SERIES?
The original trilogy is comprised of Waterfall, Cascade, and Torrent and was traditionally published by David C. Cook publishers. But the fan base for the series was clamoring for more, and Lisa also felt like there was a lot more of Gabi and Lia’s story left to tell. This led her to self-publish three more books: two novellas, Bourne and Tributary, and one final behemoth of an emotional roller-coaster, Deluge. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to find out Lisa was writing these additional books!
WHY DO YOU LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH?
This book series has captured my imagination unlike anything else I’ve read, aside from Narnia, which I fell in love with as a child. It sucked me into the story to the point that I felt personally invested in the lives of Gabi, Lia, and the rest. They became like family. That might sound odd to someone who’s only a casual reader or who perhaps has a different kind of imagination than I do, but I really feel that connected to these characters. Gabi’s–and later, Lia’s–narration of the books is literally laugh-out-loud hilarious and makes the story even more relatable to the reader. The sisters’ unwavering courage and their mantra of living life to fullest has been personally inspiring to me. And of course, who can forget about the swoony heroes of the series? The brave and charming Forelli knights, Marcello and Luca, and the handsome man we can never quite decide if we love or hate, Lord Greco, are still my book-boyfriends nearly eight years after first meeting them.
Just to show you how deep into these books I got, I’ll share with you a somewhat embarrassing story. When I read Deluge–which, for reference, largely centers around the Black Plague pandemic–and got to a certain heart-breaking scene, I was crying so hard that my dad came running into my room asking me who that we knew died. You can imagine his relief and yet continued concern when I explained that it was a fictional character I was so distraught over. If you’ve never cried like this over a book or even a movie, I promise I am NOT a complete loon! And if you are a crier like I am, thank you for understanding. Haha!!
The storyline of the series itself is just as amazing as the characters. If you want an action packed read that you cannot put down because you just have to see what happens next, then look no further than this series! I distinctly remember staying up until 3 AM reading Deluge, and while “re-reading” Waterfall, Cascade, and Torrent on Audible in January of this year, I couldn’t stop listening to the story, even though I’d already read the series twice before in paperback. I still couldn’t want to see what happened next, even though I already knew exactly what was coming!
BONUS INFO ON THIS SERIES!
- I have recommended this series more than any other book or series out there. Several of my friends from church read the series because of me, including our church’s music director, Natalie. I’ll never forget her texting me well after midnight one night to tell me she couldn’t sleep because she didn’t want to stop reading and, out of habit, felt like she should pray for the character’s safety because they were in danger. Haha!
- TROTS has spawned a spin-off series–The River of Time: California! The series is a duology (Book 1, Three Wishes, and Book 2, Four Winds) about a California girl who gets sucked back in time to the days of Spanish dons, ranchos, and pirates! While I didn’t love this series nearly as much as the original, it was still really good and I honestly would like to do a reread of it sometime!
- There is the possibility of more spinoff series in the future! Lisa has tossed around the idea for some time of writing another ROT series, either in the style of her California series or featuring side characters (namely some very mysterious Beterrani cousins) from the original series. I’m hoping for the later option, but I would gladly take either one!
- There has been talk for years now of TROTS becoming a movie or tv series! Lisa has had several meetings with producers and studios over the years, but so far there has been no takers. But with recent rise in original, exclusive content put out by streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Disney+, the odds are growing that something could work out one day. This series really would make such a great tv series (which I think would be the best format for it, though I’d be happy with a movie too!). It has all the makings of a hit teen series–action, adventure, romance, and a dose of sci-fi, courtesy of the time travel element. It would be a dream come true to see this possibility become a reality, so I’m crossing my fingers!
If you’ve never heard of this series before, or if you have but haven’t gotten around to reading it, I hope you’ll give it a try! I feel pretty sure you won’t regret it. **wink, wink** As always, you can click on the book covers in this post to view those books on Amazon. If you decide to read the series, be sure to let me know and tell me what you think about it! I always enjoy knowing that my sharing about books I love has helped someone else find a book they love too. And I could seriously talk about this series all day, so I’d love to chat about it!
Happy Reading, friends!
