Transcendence by Shay Savage
Genre: Time Travel/Prehistoric Romance
Series: n/a
Publication Date: February 13th 2014
ISBN: 9781495416040
Page Count: 312
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Copy: Own Purchase
Reviewed by: Lynsey
Buy Link: AMAZON

Ehd’s a caveman living on his own in a harsh wilderness. He’s strong and intelligent, but completely alone. When he finds a beautiful young woman in his pit trap, it’s obvious to him that she is meant to be his mate. He doesn’t know where she came from; she’s wearing some pretty odd clothing, and she makes a lot of noises with her mouth that give him a headache. Still, he’s determined to fulfill his purpose in life – provide for her, protect her, and put a baby in her.

Elizabeth doesn’t know where she is or exactly how she got there. She’s confused and distressed by her predicament, and there’s a caveman hauling her back to his cavehome. She’s not at all interested in Ehd’s primitive advances, and she just can’t seem to get him to listen. No matter what she tries, getting her point across to this primitive, but beautiful, man is a constant – and often hilarious – struggle.

With only each other for company, they must rely on one another to fight the dangers of the wild and prepare for the winter months. As they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time.

REVIEW

Ehd and Beh forever!

This was one of those titles whose premise was just too intriguing to resist! I stumbled across it via Goodreads (thank you to whoever rated it five stars and therefore made it appear in my updates feed! I'm sorry I can't remember who it was to thank you properly). I mean, a caveman and a modern-day woman, divided by a language barrier and about a gazillion years of evolution, thrown together in a virtual melting pot just to see what happens? I don't know about you, but I needed to see how that turned out! Then, to find out it was all written in the caveman's POV? Ah, I'm in literary escapism heaven!!!!

Seriously, it was so much fun, I couldn't tear my eyes away form it. And what I really loved was because it's all written in caveman Ehd's POV, we can only deduce from his descriptions where (and when) Beh comes from. How he describes her funny clothes, the coloured smudges on her eyelids, her shiny straight hair that smells of fruit. This isn't the first romance I've read where the hero and heroine don't share a common language, and I'm definitely finding that I really enjoy stories with this trope. The fact that they have to learn other ways to communicate means I get more of what I love - the small actions, movements and gestures, facial expressions and meaningful looks that often portray much more than words ever could anyway.

In terms of plot, essentially, I've already summed that up for you - it's simply what happens when these two very different creatures are thrown together in isolation during dangerous times and with a limited ability communicate. Added to this is the fact that Ehd has been alone for several seasons and was just about to let the hunger take him, when Beh appeared out of nowhere in his pit trap, and suddenly he has a reason to live, to hunt, someone to protect - a mate. It just might not be quite was Beh is looking for at first... :)

Ehd's narration was so adorable! His confusion over his new mate's strange behaviour and annoying squawking sounds it too cute! And why doesn't Beh know she's supposed to be making baskets out of the reeds while he hunts? Everyone knows this! lol. Also, once the sexy times started, it was so great to see Beh could teach Ehd a thing or two as well!

The only slightly difficult pill to swallow regarding this book was how we're reading Ehd's narration, written in perfect English with a decent vocabulary, and yet Ehd cannot, and will not ever, be able to speak due to a little thing called the Broca's area of the brain, which he doesn't possess, as described in the author's note at the beginning. It seems a little incongruous, but... I so don't care! I wouldn't have wanted anything but his perspective on events, because it was so endearing, so enchanting...Gah! Even when he was being a typical caveman and a bit of a butthead, because we knew what he was thinking, it all made perfect sense. *sigh*

I think I pretty much recommend Transcendence to everyone. Usually, I single out fans of a particular genre, but I think this has such broad appeal I can just give it a blanket recommendation as a must read for the whole world. Please, go and grab this book. You will not regret it!


5 Stars ★★★★