🌀 My Review

First things first: this is Book 2 in the Madders of Time series, and you really should read them in order. Jump picks up several months after Hive ends, with no easy way back in. The world is fractured. The time machine is broken. The stakes are apocalyptic. I loved that there was no hand-holding — just instant immersion into chaos.

The dystopian world-building here stands out. Flooded skyscrapers, weaponized micro-drone bees, biodomes ruled by dangerous men, and a wormhole generator hidden like a mythic relic. It’s gritty, cinematic, and fully immersive. I could feel the damp concrete, the claustrophobia, and the immediacy.

And the characters? I felt every moment.

Diego wakes up chained, accused of terrorism and treason, with fractured memories. It hits hard. Isabel is trapped in a biodome, watching her life’s work turned into a weapon — heartbreaking. The tension between them, across timelines and broken realities, carries real weight. Orton develops these characters so carefully that each choice feels important. Every reunion feels deserved. Every loss stays with you.

The pacing rises and falls in a way that feels like real survival. Some chapters are full of adrenaline, while others slow down enough for the emotions to sink in. I loved that balance. It made the chaos feel real, not just nonstop.

Jump is smart, intense, and emotionally charged. It leaves you thinking about fate, choice, and what we’re willing to give up to change the future.

👩‍🚀 About the Author

D.L. Orton is the bestselling author of award-winning science fiction, including Crossing in Time. She lives in the foothills of Colorado with her family and (according to her bio) is building a time machine so someone can go back and do the laundry — which honestly feels very on-brand for this series.

She’s a graduate of Stanford University’s Writers Workshop and has published short fiction in multiple literary magazines. Her debut novel received numerous awards and a Publishers Weekly starred review.