I really enjoyed this one! Everyone knows I love a good time travel romance and I can’t believe this was a debut book. The tension and romance were beautifully executed and it’s definitely a light read for historical fiction lovers.

In the novel, Benny Jones, a typical teenager from the twenty-first century, discovers that he has the ability to time travel back to the Mormon pioneer days with the help of his grandfather. During one of his trips, he meets and falls in love with Mary Young. However, he can only travel back in time once a year on Utah's Pioneer Day, and he can only stay for one day.

Although I enjoyed the book because I am a fan of time travel stories, I think it should be categorized as a Young Adult book. While I'm not fond of books with a strong religious focus, I understand that this one intertwines religion with the time travel secret hidden in the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple.

This was the second book I read that was set in Utah. I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did but it was a great story. Benny could go back to the Mormon pioneer days one day a year but just for one day. He could only go six times though. His encounters with Mary and the rest of the Brigham Young family was interesting to read. Benny’s preparation for going each year was fun to read and then his plan for the final year was great. The ending was a fabulous surprise and it was so great.

Thanks to NetGalley and J. Lamont Jones for a copy of this book.

In this take on the time travel and dual timeline novel, twenty-first century teenager Benney Jones discovers a secret in the Salt Lake Temple that sends him back to the 1850s for one day a year. On his first Pioneer Day in the nineteenth century, Benny meets Mary Young, daughter of Brigham Young, and romance begins to bloom between the two. However, the community distrusts outsiders, Mary’s father wants to protect her, and Benny’s presence creates an unknown rival for Mary’s affections. Benny must solve a secret code so he and Mary can be happy together in the same century, but he is running out of the one thing he needs -- time. A fascinating and limited time travel story, Jones weaves historical fiction and fiction together in this novel to create this novel. Including several images throughout the novel helps readers visualize the narrative and continues to add to the story. Benny and Mary are straightforward romantic protagonists, and the addition of disapproval from outside forces increases the obstacles towards their relationship. A lighthearted and straightforward romance, Jones’s characters are the star of the story and the time travel aspect is well done, making this novel a fun read for historical romance fans.

This book was not for me. It was written in a way that you were observing one minute, and then right in the thick of things the next. Also, extremely Mormon, which is it's own religion so that was hard to follow. Lastly the ending was beautiful, but some of the book was slow and you had to work to get through it.

→One Day a Year+
Author: J. Lamont Jones
Genre: Christian, Romance
Age Rating: 10+
Spice: 0.5/5
Content Warnings: guns, a character is shot, some fighting, kissing (on page, not detailed) Will I read more books by this author if they have any? ABSOLUTELY HOLY SHAMOLEY
~Thoughts~
I loved this book so much. There are not words to describe the absolute joy I got from this book! It was a HEA, and the banter and tension was so expertly written. The fact its a debut novel just shocks me so much, I would have thought it a more veteran writer!
Thank you to Mr Jones and Netgalley for this incredible arc!!!!!

This was a perfect blend of adenvture and romance sprinkled with some good old fashioned time travel. It fed my Outlander hungry heart, and I was completely enthralled by this story.

I really loved this book! The writing was very well done and I really loved the main characters. This was a really refreshing book to read. And I would highly recommend reading it!

This was a dnf for me. I am okay reading religion based novels, but this was Mormon based that I am not familiar with at all.

This was a sweet love story that had to (literally) stand the test of time. Benny time travels and meets his love, Mary. He can only see her for one day each year and that is the only timeframe they have to nuture their romance. I wasn't sure about this book initially...how could the author make a viable story from this? I am so glad I read it-I was so very wrong to be skeptical! Really enjoyed this book! One thing I had wished I knew ahead of time was that this is based on the Mormon faith system. While there isn't a ton of impact on the storyline, there were things that I didn't immediately understand because I don't have a strong background on their beliefs. It didn't take away from anything and the faith aspect wasn't critical to anything, nut it did make it so I needed (wanted?) to look things up so I could understand at certain points. A good example of this was the concept of "sealing" a couple. Overall, a good and easy read.

This was a nice short novel about what you are willing to do for love. It was really nice to read through these pages and wonder what Benny would do, but I did not expect what happened at the end. The way it is written is something I did not often experience, the chapters are short and the sentences too. It gave to the book a very quick pace when the book was split in several years.

From the overview I knew it would have something to do with the Mormon religion, but I didn't know it would be a Mormon book. This should not be categorized under Christian as Mormon's have an ENTIRELY different set of beliefs, as is clearly seen in this story. It was creepy and odd and the language about the Mormon's disturbed me. Being sealed together...all the talk of eternal families...it was all very cult-like. IF you are Mormon and believe these things you may enjoy it--but if you are not Mormon then skip this one.

Sigh. I rarely ever have to do this. But I am going to have to give this one a DNF. I just can't get into the book and I think...or rather I know the reason is that it is written geared towards someone who understands the Church of Later Day Saints religion. I admit I didn't even think about it when I submitted a request. I based my request on the title and the beginning of the synopsis. But I'm barely into the book and I'm already not a fan simply because I don't follow the faith.

I think that if someone IS of the Mormon faith that they would probably enjoy this book. But it isn't for me.

3 Stars because I didn't love nor hate it. I just simply stopped reading it because it wasn't for me.

This story is good, but it should be labeled as Young Adult, possibly even children's fiction. I was extremely disappointed to learn I was reading the story of a 14 year old boy. The time travel element is excellent, but between the child character and the religious focus, this book just wasn't for me. But, it would be fully interesting and appropriate for a YA reader.

I decided to read this story, because of the time travel part. I’m always fascinated as to how a writer is going to portray time travel. I knew it was also listed as Christian, but I didn’t realize it was specifically about the latter-day Saint religion. I guess I’m glad I didn’t know because if I had, I probably wouldn’t have read it and I did like it - just didn’t love it.

How Benji time travels is a little convoluted, but I believe the author wanted to tell some factual history about his religion by having the main character travel back in time. I like the twist at the end. It is a good story.. The book ends with an authors note inviting the reader, to learn more about the actual people, place, and facts.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for this complementary copy and exchange for an honest review.