Mercer Street

A nice visit to a time gone by.

What made the experience of listening to Mercer Street the most enjoyable?

When my kids were young they enjoyed "The Magic Treehouse" series. Mercer Street reminded me of those books, as in many ways, it is a grown-up version with the same premise. A small group - in this case, a mother, adult-daughter, and grandmother -- take advantage of an offer to travel back in time, have interesting adventures, and return to the present wiser and more ready to deal with their present lives. Mercer Street is a street in Princeton, NJ, where the grandmother had lived as a baby, so the trio chose to visit that area in 1938. I thoroughly enjoyed the immersion into those calm, oblivious days before the U.S. was even fully aware of what was happening in Europe, and it was interesting to see the women try to come to grips with their new acquaintances' lack of knowledge given their own understanding of the impending upheavals. Each of the women forges relationships with people in the past, knowing both the real-life dangers to come and the possible danger of altering the time-line. How they manage those relationships: the grandmother with her own family, the mother with a scholar and scientist whose work will be critical to the upcoming war effort, and the daughter with a young German who has grown up in the U.S., provide the intrigue and passion to a good historical read. But the intrigue and passion are not of the "keep you up all night reading/listening" variety. It is a good story, and I'm glad I experienced it. I received a copy of the audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review, and I'm glad I got a chance to listen to it. Anyone who enjoys good historical fiction would enjoy Mercer Street.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Timely travel

This book initially was for a long drive time but was so interesting in its mix of then and now, I just couldn’t wait to hear it all. Wonderfully addictive.

Mercer Street

This was kind of 'Time Travel lite'.A mother,daughter and grandmother go back to an earlier time 'just to visit'.There is to be no meddeling w/time.Of course they can't resist and we never get to know how their doing this affects the long run.It is fun to think about the concept.I found either the writing or narration a bit weird.Chaz Allen has a pleasant,sing song voice that seems too pleasant even when trouble is afoot.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Professor Bell and His Time Traveling

I got this ARC via audiobook boom. Professor Bell is at it again. I enjoyed how he proved to the three ladies that he and his wife had actually done some time traveling. Amanda and Elizabeth were my favorite and I was glad that the author threw in the father and son team to help readers know that they were still out there doing something. Susan and her skepticism was funny. I am glad that she was able to do something after losing her husband.

Excellent Time Travel Book

I Love time travel books and this one was right at the top. The characters, story line and narration was great. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy by the author, narrator or publisher.

Interesting concept

What made the experience of listening to Mercer Street the most enjoyable?

The romantic tension of Susan and Amanda and the dilemma it created in the story development.

What other book might you compare Mercer Street to and why?

I do not like this question.

What does Chaz Allen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I enjoyed his voice and his inflections of the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Everyone needs a Magic Room

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review”.

Great Book with some time travel!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a great time travel book in the series..

John A. Heldt writes good books that also incorporate history, and this has both.

Chaz Allen is great at narration as well

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoy time travel books, with the interesting twists to them.. This book provided more history for me in regards to the beginning of WWII and how it started.

Which scene was your favorite?

Without giving anything away, the hospital scene with Lizzy and Elizabeth

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't have an extreme reaction, but it did give me a bit of a history lesson.

Also, this book had really good strong female characters, and I liked that as well.

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review."

An Enjoyable Historical Fiction

Mercer Street was a nice, enjoyable listen. I especially loved the time travel aspect. This made the story fun and adventurous. The characters were great. I didn't listen to the first book in the series but I don't think it was necessary, although I would like to continue the series. The only down side was that it was a little long otherwise it was an excellent listen.

Chaz Allen's performance was outstanding. He had a nice voice and was easy to listen to. He portayed the characters well and kept a good pace.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review."

A great story full of history and every day life

Ignore the fact that this is book 2 in a series. This book is completely stand alone. I am sure the other books are just as good and I will read them when I get the chance but, this book is a complete story on its own.

Time travel is a great topic because it allows the reader/listener to compare two (or more) time periods and learn excellent life lessons from the character interactions. This book is no exception. A great story without dealing with the mechanics of the travel itself.

The narrator on the other hand I did not care for. His voice was fine but the style of reading was annoying. But it may not be the narrators fault. The issues I had may have been in the story that way. This story has to be king of the pregnant pause. Almost every sentence was read in a way... that I can not find the words to describe. I have encountered it in one other series of books, (The Ultimate Gift). In fact I even checked to see if it was the same narrator. (It wasn't.) In that series it seemed to fit the story better than this one. However, I can see where it may have been done on purpose here as well.

No matter the issues, this was a great story. One that was very difficult to put down almost from the start. Worth every penny to purchase and I plan to purchase more in the series.


I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Another enjoyable book from J Heldt & C Allen

Any additional comments?

I seem to be attracted to time travel novels and John Heldt's books are always wonderful. Well written and wonderfully performed. I would absolutely recommend this book. More please!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.