This is one hell of a ride! It wasn't anything like I expected and tbh time travel and historical aren't my fav genres but I got sucked in by the hype around this book and it didn't disappoint. The two main characters are loveable and the concept is very interesting!

I received this book from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton | Sceptre in exchange for a free and honest review.

This book was a pleasant surprise and I throughly enjoyed it. The story is set in two time lines one in the past and another in the present. In the past the story follows Graham (a man brought from the past to the future) and in the present it follows an unnamed protagonist of mixed British and Cambodian descent. She is in-charge of Grahams assimilation and along this process she must deal with her issues regarding her ethnicity and place in society. This book was quite interesting and it had lots of twists and turns to keep the reader interested. I would highly recommend.

New author to me but what a find, the story is delicate and well written, I was lost in the pages and finding my imagination engaged. It's an easy to follow page turner with well defined characters.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

5/5 ✨

For how quickly I basically inhaled the words in this book, I’ve decided that I must give it 5 stars. It’s weird because I started off thinking this is a ridiculous premise but then a few pages later I was utterly hooked. It’s a fascinating concept - take historical characters out of their time and think about how you would assimilate them into the twenty first century. What would they need to know, what would they be confused by? Our nameless protagonist is a ‘bridge’ for just such a character - Commander Graham Gore has been ‘rescued’ from a gruesome Victorian-era death aboard the ill-fated lost Franklin expedition to discover the northwest sea passage. Suddenly finding himself in twenty first century England is quite a mind boggle. Cue romantic spy thriller time travel escapades. Sounds quite the hodgepodge I know, but trust me, it works. I didn’t love the latter chapters so much but it had a good ending.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Sceptre, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Deserves all the hype it’s been getting! I was completely swept away and lost in the world of this book. I have definitely been recommending it to friends!

This one caught me by surprise. It’s intelligent, witty, able to engage with difficult topics with humour and grace. It’s incredibly well written and completely compelling. The main character is an interesting mixture of striving to be true to her own sense of morality and a tangle of personal insecurities, some of which are related to her mixed-race heritage and her struggle to reconcile her desire to be British with her understanding of her family’s background. I just ate this up and was completely immersed, however if you are someone who wants action packed time travel or time travel romance, this may not be for you. It’s instead a deep meditation on ethical dilemmas and where the weight of responsibility truly lies. Nuanced, clever and very readable, this is a bittersweet favourite for 2024.

I really liked this one. I think the combination of time travel, historical reference and thriller like tension made it really compelling. I found the references to what is acceptable now vs in the past also really interesting. A great read I can see appealing to a lot of different readers.

Time travel books are generally not my thing but I had seen a lot of hype around this one and luckily it didn't disappoint. There is A LOT going on in this book so you need to just throw caution to the wind and go with it ! You have to abandon all sense of reality when reading and it ends up being such a fun entertaining ride ! Sometimes we all need to read something out of our comfort zone and far away from reality so if you're after some PURE escapism then go pick this up!

Liked this one. It’s very charming, and a pretty rare bird as a mix of romance novel, grubby spy thriller and near future dystopia. It’s a lot of things all at once, much like the main characters!

The Ministry of Time is an odd book! It starts well, with confident prose and engaging characters that develop nicely, and then things take a turn. A bit of tension is added near the start, then very little happens until the 80% mark, when the plot kicks in. The writing becomes sloppier, with odd turns of phrases that jar, and please please please, never feel obliged to write a sex scene ever again… The ending curiously felt rushed, given how little had happened in the proceeding 60% or so! That said, it's an interesting take on the time travel genre, just don't expect anything revelationary.

Delightful funny time travel based romp with dry (and not so dry) humour with a cast of credible characters against a well built worldscape.. Recommended

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and the author Kaliane Bradley.
I really enjoyed this book. Such an interesting premise and as other reviewers have noted, the relationship and banter between the narrator and Commander Gore is beautifully written and heart-warming. Bradley does an incredible job at making the 'expats' seem very vivid and real, interestingly the modern day characters aren't as well-rounded. I also had some laugh out loud moments as a civil servant.
Would really recommend as an entertaining read.

I enjoyed the start of this book, but struggled a little in the middle before it got a bit edgier towards the end. I liked the idea more than the actual book. It never seemed to quite build up to what I was hoping - perhaps too many trips to The Ministry but not enough actual time travel.

A very interesting concept for a novel. A ministry of time. Those who control time travel. Guinea pigs are characters from a bygone era. Interesting results putting them into modern society and their sensual relationships.

I’d you’re looking for something unique, romantic and probing, this is one for you. Or if you just love stunning covers this is a good one to get reeled in by - look at it!

Set in modern day England, we’re launched straight into the action. The British government are conducting secretive time travel experiments, whereby unwitting citizens of various historical eras are brought into our present day. Guiding them through this are translators, employees who, 24/7, aide our displaced ‘expats’ through the transition to modern day England.

This plot often requires a little bit of contemplation. It is a super examination of colonialism, class, sexism, and more beyond. At its heart, this mad sci-fi is really a romance. There’s a lot going on in this book, our central couple include an English translator of Cambodian descent vs an Arctic explorer from the mid 1800s. There’s plenty of dry humour and much to chew over.

I loved it. I thought the ending was inspired. I’d really recommend if you’re looking for something a bit different. Thanks so much to @netgalley for the advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

A different tack on time travel

For me this was a novel take on time travel. The characters are drawn together from different periods, and their stories and how they adapt to the 21st century are revealed in the first half of the book. This brings out some interesting threads when their minders have to explain modern life and some of the darker aspects of 20th century history.

The story takes on a more serious hue as the reason for their being drawn together and the risks and aims of the project become clear. Time paradoxes aside I finished the book deep in thinking that prevention is better than cure and wondering how future generations will view our actions.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

I was expecting to be blown away by this but it ended up being much more of a romance book than I was expecting. Some elements were great but overall it didn't live up to the hype for me. I know some people will (and do) absolutely love it though!

tldr: perfect time-travel adjacent book with a side of romance, for those who hate plot-holes and absurd quantum physics explanations

ARC review: i received an ebook for free in exchange for review; thank you to the publisher <3

I requested this after catching up on Loki season 2: time-travel with Miss Minute vibes? Count me in!
I'm generally upset at time-travel novels because they either try to convince me of some quantum physics bullshit, or add so many stupid plot holes we live in a gruyère. Thankfully, Kaliane Bradley has decided to be very light on the sci-fi aspect and focus on her characters instead. It does mean the conspiracy and spying parts of the novel are a bit light, but it gets compensated by interactions between the cast, and the great humor.

I loved seeing all the expats adapt to modern life bit by bit. It gave hilarious situations while meeting modern life, but K. Bradley didn't shy away from talking about more sensitive issues - racism, mental health, homophobia, sexism, ... to cite a few. She did so in a very balanced way, that didn't feel forced or out of place.

The premise sounds great, but the story is lost and rambling, right until the end where it gives you a lecture about the possible future of our world if we don't look after it. The story of the lost Franklin expedition is interesting, however fails to make a real connection with the plot. Some parts read ok, but others are like when a writer tries to write so cleverly and cryptically, but actually fail to make a lot of sense.

Completely brilliant, funny and heartbreaking. Who knew I needed a time-travel spy thriller romance in my life this badly?