The friend who'd lent me this book had done it with a grin and a sarcastic, "Have fun." She told me it was totally cliche and terrible and I had to read it (for those reasons). I read the description--her opinions seemed pretty accurate. Time travel is a no-no for me anyway, since there's no way anyone can do it properly (too many differing theories and paradoxes). 
 So I started the book, barely making it through the prologue, it seemed so bad. It wasn't until I was halfway into chapter one before I realized, like the smart 'merican blonde I am, that not only is this story set in London and is therefore written with British English, but it was also translated from German. This put everything into perspective and is probably why my friend thought so little of the book--because it was actually pretty good. Sure, you got the typical cliches--main character finally gets spotlight instead of her perfect cousin, main character stumbling into solutions, a perfect looking guy that she can't stand who's totally not the love interest, right--but apart from that, the story was actually really good. The time travel was handled pretty well for it being what it is, and my only complaint is the ending. It literally stops in the middle of the story. No closure whatsoever. Without spoiling it, it kind of goes like, Whoa, adventure turned a little sour there! It's okay though, we're safe now. Now let's wait to go home . . . -End- If there weren't an excerpt in the back for the next book, I might've thrown the book on the ground. But, whatever. 
 I'll most likely be reading the next one, not because of the pointless forced cliffhanger but because I actually liked the book. Who knew best friends could be so wrong about a book?