Cascade by Lisa Bergren

Goodreads: Cascade

Series: River of Time #2

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

Source: Borrowed from a friend

Summary: Gabi and her sister Lia return to the fourteenth century, this time with their mother, in order to help defend the castle and the people they have come to love.

Review: Cascade follows very much in the footsteps of Waterfall, in terms of both plot and style.  Bergren continues to have Gabi think in a hilarious form of what she clearly believes to be modern “teen-speak,” which can be annoying unless the reader decides there is nothing left to do but take it in stride and laugh.  The strange “medieval-speak” is back, as well, with an overabundance of “nays.”  This time, the major discrepancy is that Gabi claims the medieval language is natural to her, but the consistent use of modern idioms in her thoughts suggest that she must be putting a real effort into “translating” her speech.

As usual, however, the language is just one of many things readers will have to accept if they wish to enjoy the plot.  The time portal follows no more logic than it did in Waterfall, and Gabi essentially explains it away by saying that it just does not make any scientific sense and that is all there is to it.  At the end of the book, she and her family make a major alternation in time that should have drastic effects by anyone’s standards of time travel.  It never does.  Time travel operates mainly as a convenient way to get Gabi and her sister to meet some attractive medieval Italian guys in these books and is clearly not bound by any reason.

And yes, the attractive Italian guys are back, and once again are the focus of the book.  The pattern of Waterfall continues.  Gabi gets captured and then Gabi gets rescued by the handsome Marcello.  She has all obscure talents necessary to help her survive, with her knowledge of astronomy being the newest introduced.  For a change in the pattern, however, Gabi occasionally shows some good sense and does what Marcello suggests she do, instead of charging into battle and thinking she can singly wipe out the entire enemy with her sword.  Overall, the plot if rather exciting, and anyone who liked Waterfall will enjoy Cascade just as much, or perhaps even more since all the introductory bits have happened already, and readers are left with pure action and romance.

Gabi’s relationship with God does not develop as quickly as her relationship with Marcello, however, and Cascade, like Waterfall, is a Christian book mainly in that Gabi thinks about God once in awhile and the romance sticks to pretty words, kissing, and hugs.  Gabi now prays a little more often, apparently out of desperation because her life in constantly in danger, and she has moved on from thinking He has a purpose for putting her in medieval Italy to being convinced simply that He must want her alive for something since she has not died yet.  Perhaps in the third book her faith will strengthen.  She will definitely have a rough time if she chooses to remain in medieval Italy without a conviction that God plays an important role in her life.

Cascade does has its flaws, but the characters are endearing and there is always something happening to keep readers entranced or in fear for Gabi’s life.  The romance is beautiful, and occasionally Gabi throws out some philosophical thoughts that are beautiful, as well.  The series remains a good choice for those who like romance and a medieval world that is surprisingly realistic in the fiction genre, even when mixed with all of Gabi’s notions that women are equal to men.