I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me

I tried to read this book so many times, reading it on my Kindle and then listening to the audiobook, but I just couldn't connect with the characters. Everyone was raving about this book, which is why I tried many times to get into it, but, in the end, I had to face defeat.

Thank you to Sceptre and NetGalley for the ALC!

‘The ministry of time’ is indeed a very weird mix of genres. We have sort of a spy theme going on, as the ministry of time is a super secret operation. Because of that, there are some mysteries to be solved and some investigations to be done. We have some romance. We have a lot of comedy. We have many discussions on the understanding of language, time, colonialism and other topics at an almost academic level.

I feel like some of the mediocre reviews stem from people having one expectation of this book and receiving another. I can only say, have an open mind. This book does a lot, but I also think it does it well.

We get to meet so many well-rounded characters that are a joy to read about. Graham, our Expat from the past, truly surprised me with his wit. His road to integration is so endearing, I would have been fine, had this whole book only been about him.

But the author also explores a lot of darker themes such as colonialism, exploitation and bigotry. I really liked the format of exploring meaning through dialogue and the thought construct that integration and collaboration have to be achieved through a common understanding of language (What did Y mean when he said X?). Even though the Expats all speak English, the evolution of the English language over the different eras still creates a language barrier between the Expats as well as their Bridges and anyone outside this project. The new realities of modern England are thought through sharing and collaborating on a word’s essential meaning, both in a historical as well as modern context (what did it use to mean, what does it mean now?). This is a very nonjudgmental, open-minded approach to not assume someone has malicious attentions, but rather has a different understanding of a meaning, which is a refreshing approach and a good reminder to reset sometimes in today’s cancel culture.

My only grime with this book is its ending. I’m not going to go into the specifics of it, to not spoil anyone’s read, but I found that it came on too suddenly on the one hand and that it was too open-ended and ambiguous on the other hand. There are also some aspects of the ‘ministry of time’ and their whole time travel operation that did not make any sense to me. I felt like the understanding of time and time travel one has at the beginning of the book does not match the one in the end. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention and missed some crucial information, though.

I think it’s a shame that there are so many plagiarisms claims about this book from people that clearly haven’t even read the book. Apparently, there’s a Spanish TV show with the same title, a pretty generic one at that, but this is where the similarities end. From what I have gathered, the Spanish TV show is more similar to the TV show Loki, which is in turn based on Comic books. If you dive deeper into this book, you will find that it is not merely about time travel (there’s in fact very little time travel and the whole plot apart from some of Graham’s flashbacks is set in one time), but rather explores human relationships, language, and dialogue and how they progress over time. It also views the power struggles of colonialism in an entirely new setting. So, if you are considering reading this book, please don’t be dissuaded by some of the negative reviews and the consequently lower overall rating of this book. While most books with the theme of time travel will have some overlapping, terminology or ideas on how time travel works, this is a truly unique read.

I have listened to the audiobook and can wholeheartedly recommend the experience. Some other reviewers said that the writing was sometimes a bit hard to follow, and I would suggest to these people to pick up the audiobook and give it another try. This book is so dialogue driven that the audiobook seems like the perfect format. The comedic timing of the narrators is perfect, the different accents and voices the narrators put on make it easy to distinguish the different characters during a dialogue, and it is easy to follow the overall plot. Like in any good comedy, I understood some jokes right away while some of them flew right over my head the first time I listened to the audiobook, but I think that just shows how many layers this book has. I will probably listen to this audiobook many more times in the future. I loved the narrators, especially the female one. She has a rare talent, being able to also voice male characters perfectly. So much so that I preferred her Graham to the original male narrator one. My only critique would be that the male voice narrating Graham and the Graham the female narrator was impersonating sounded very different from each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to leave this review.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley was an exhilarating journey that seamlessly blends elements of time travel, romance, and espionage. Bradley’s debut novel is a testament to her storytelling prowess, offering a narrative that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant.

The story follows an unnamed British-Cambodian civil servant who becomes a “bridge” for historical figures—referred to as “expats”—brought into a near-future London by a clandestine government agency. Her primary charge is Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian naval officer presumed lost during the 1845 Franklin Expedition. Bradley masterfully portrays Gore’s acclimation to the 21st century, capturing his awe and bewilderment at modern technology and societal norms. The evolving relationship between the protagonist and Gore is both captivating and nuanced, exploring themes of cultural identity, imperialism, and personal connection.

Bradley’s prose is both witty and evocative, bringing to life a richly detailed world where past and present collide. The novel’s structure, alternating between the protagonist’s perspective and third-person accounts of Gore’s experiences, adds depth and complexity to the narrative. The supporting cast of fellow expats and civil servants further enriches the story, each character contributing to the novel’s exploration of humanity, love, and the ethical implications of time manipulation.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was such an interesting science fiction mystery novel. The characters from the different time periods all felt fleshed out really well and i liked how they all had layers to them. The action scenes were balanced well with the quieter more tender ones too. I loved how it built up the world that made the time rescuing possible and i could easily see this getting adapted into a film or tv show.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is an imaginative and atmospheric journey through the intricacies of time and memory. In this unique narrative, Bradley explores how history, personal or otherwise, shapes and haunts the present. Blending elements of speculative fiction with deep emotional insight, the book invites readers to reflect on how the past continues to influence identity and destiny. Bradley’s writing is both lyrical and thought-provoking, crafting a story that’s as much about self-discovery as it is about the mysteries of time itself. This is a compelling read for fans of speculative fiction that tackles profound questions with elegance and depth.

This is a book about time travel, but my time travel is not explained. This is a book about romance, but you'll never understand where the romance comes from and the main character needs therapy to deal with her possessive tendencies. This is a book about cigaret, I won't comment on that one, but the narrator is obsessed with the smell of cigaret.

I choose this book because there was a huge hype around it and I still don't understand it. For me, the main flaw is that out of nowhere the narrator falls in love with whoever she was supposed to be protecting. OUT OF NOWHERE.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I didn't get a connection with the characters, they felt very flat.
The romance felt forced and didn't develop very natural.
The idea was great but unfortunately the execution was not.
The narration also was very monotone for the female parts.

I was really looking forward to this one. And it wasn't bad but is also did not live up to the expectations. This book maybe tried a bit to hard. The narrator did a good job though.

As a lover of Arctic stories and especially speculative stories set in the polar regions, I was the perfect audience for this book. I expected to love it, but found myself drifting off. The narration wasn’t spot on for me, and in the end I bought a copy and finished reading instead. This made the reading a lot better for me, interestingly, even though I’m such an avid audio listener.

I would have loved the story to have gone first her into the scifi and left some of romance at the door, as the mix of genres turned out to be a bit awkward for me-but clearly I am in the minority here as readers have loved it. I will look forward to the author’s future books!

Thank you for the audio ARC.

I actually loved it even though I’m not sure it totally accomplished what it set out to be. It tries to be a spy novel, a time-travel novel, historical novel, commentary of race and belonging in Britain, climate change, and so much more.

We follow a civil servant in the near future as she works as a ‘bridge’ which is to welcome ‘expats’ from the past who have been plucked from their timeline in history to be brought to the present. Her expat is from the Victorian era and was a navy commander. Just writing and thinking about it makes me want to revisit it! I think I might like it more the second time.

I gave it 4 stars and I think it might have a chance to be on the longlist of the Women’s Prize for Fiction next year – it’s an early entry on my predictions list, but we’ll see if it stays there!

I’m entirely unsure how to describe this book, except to say that it was easily the most unique and enjoyable read of the year for me. There’s something special about a book when you find yourself cackling within the first ten pages and reading passages aloud to your friends. A mix of literary fiction, science fiction, spy thriller and workplace comedy. I don’t know how it works, but it does. This is a must-read for everyone.

The Ministry of Time is set in the near future where the world is a different place. Time travel is possible and an experiment to bring people from history into the future goes ahead. Each person would have died at the time of being taken and their name is the year they were snatched from. Civil servants are recruited and trained as ‘bridges’ who befriend these historical figures and help them navigate modern life.
I loved the idea of this novel and found it unique and thought provoking. The characters are witty and the observations on how our modern life may look to people from the past is genius. I did find the storyline quite slow paced at times which was frustrating.

Such a great read. I found the beginning to be a bit of a slow burn but once I got into it a bit I was HOOKED! The characters and the story is wonderfully crafted. I loved this book. One of my top reads of 2024 for sure!

This is an incredibly unique romance/speculative fiction/literary comedy/time travel novel set in the near future, following a female civil servant who begins a job with a mysterious new government agency in which she becomes a 'bridge', living with, monitoring and aiding an expat from history - namely Commander Graham Gore who supposedly died on an expedition to the Arctic in the 1840s.

I really enjoyed this book; it feels distinctly unlike anything I have ever read before. The blend of mystery, romance, sci-fi and action works really well throughout, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you don't know what to expect from the narrative next. The prose style itself also feels quite unique - it is very dialogue driven, with little description, allowing you to fill in the gaps yourself, imagining the tensions and looks between the two central characters. I found this to be very effective and refreshing.

Ultimately this was a lot of fun, and an interesting reading experience. I'm not sure if it was slightly too unusual for me to fully connect with it, but nevertheless I would recommend this to anyone interested in trying something a bit different.

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.

The Ministry of Time is an odd novel for me; for it has all the right elements of time travel and includes a modern ministry to deal with time travel issues. At the same time, it cleverly connects to the ongoing climate change crisis that the world is being gripped in and foreshadows future wars and how the earth will become terrible to live in. As someone who studied politics at the University of Portsmouth from 2015 to 2019, I witnessed the rise of the Far Right in American Politics and how it spread to European shores. And the reason is simple: People want more. People want to feel safe, and they will follow the rules without saying a word. Yet, when the characters from the past are transported into the 21st century it is an overwhelming transformation from their old pasts.

At the same time, I didn’t feel I was a part of the Ministry, nor did we get much perspective on different Ministry agents or how they dealt with time travel. I watched the original El Ministerio Del Timepio on Netflix set in Spain, which I felt was a better version. The reason is that the agents were recruited from the past, and they were dealing with the past itself. I find that format much better. I would say that the British version adopts a modern approach, in fact, more similar to Sky’s The Lazarus Project. This is a crossover between the Lazarus Project and Doctor Who, except more serious sci-fi. The characters within this novel have bubbling personalities, that resonate with their pasts and have some serious contrasts to the 21st century. Plenty of romance and chemistry between the vast and vibrant cast of characters pulls you into the story.

In the end, I would say that some parts of the story didn’t win me over when it came to the modern-day section. The pacing was slow in some areas, and some prose could have been improved rather it felt more like raw prose that hadn’t been rewritten. But still, I want to see more different formats of Time Travel Ministries being adapted to different cultures. The British version is another adaptation of this brilliant format. But I wish we would stop going into the modern day, and explore history. History is far superior to explaining the problems of the past. After all, the 21st century is the most comfortable period we live in, with fewer wars, and fewer famines, but human greed and politics always play a role because we always want more. Despite this, this novel is 100% worth a read. I would recommend picking it up.

What a fascinating book! I enjoyed this book and found the time travel intriguing, mind bending, and also sad. It's historical fiction, romance, fantasy, and a suspense story as well, with many twists along the way. Engaging and intriguing--hard to put down.
It was well written and I loved the descriptive language and unique and thought provoking metaphors.
I went to google, to read about the historical figures mentioned, and found that this book had such a solid grounding in history. It was well researched as well as being well-written and extremely creative.
This is such a strong debut novel. It's written from the POV of the Bridge, the main character who is tasked with minding the time traveling hero Commander Graham Gore. The Bridge's chapters are interspersed with narrative from Graham's original time line and the story is woven between those two narratives, slowly giving us bits of information that eventually make the story clearer. The format worked very well and kept a tension going that made the novel feel very well paced.
Gore is transported from the 1800s to modern times set in the not too distant future, He and a cast of other "ex pats" (s they are called here) have been brought to the present for closely guarded reasons that begin to be exposed as the book progresses. There is an ominous undercurrent throughout the book, a thread of unease woven through the narrative, intertwined with the wry humor, awkward juxtaposition of historical figures into modern times, and the mystery/thriller aspects of the story that also give us a bit of romance as well. These genres mix well together.
There is also such a well written study of colonization and colonialism, brought out in the narrative by the time travelers but also deeply rooted in the main character of the Bridge as well. It left me thinking about this book for days after I finished it.
Thought provoking, entertaining, riveting, extremely well written, and overall deeply engaging. A stunning debut. I will gladly read more by this author.
The narration was excellent.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. These are my unbiased opinions.

Really enjoyed the premise of this book and the interplay between refugees of time and place. The second act felt less developed and rushed sadly.

I really wanted to like this one as it has some of my favourite elements, like time travel, and I had seen many glowing reviews on social media but I just could not get into and I found myself bored. I am hoping this was just my mood a the time and if I revisit I the future I enjoy it more.

Fascinating! I really enjoyed the initial disparity between the “ex-pats” and their handlers, known as their Bridge.

Imagine travelling to the present day from the 1800s, where there is no internet, no Spotify, single men and women live together out of wedlock, women go to the pub, indoor smoking is prohibited and everyday words from your time, like “negro” are racist and you just don’t understand why! And as for no servants? Oh, but there’s a dishwasher and a washing machine, so no need to panic!

Commander Graham Gore is one of the few chosen to be transported from the 1800s to 20?? something in the near future. With a young, disgruntled civil servant as his “bridge”, the present day person responsible for helping the wide eyed time traveller transition into the current time. Their initial awkwardness grows into friendship and then a far deeper, romantic relationship.

This is a well researched, brilliantly written and serious book, but with a generous smattering of dry humour, which I loved. A refreshing and original book, which deserves every one of it's FIVE STARS. The mix of historical fact and fiction worked perfectly in this mixed-genre gem of a read. A time travel, spy, suspense thriller with romance and a bit of spice. Fabulous!

The audiobook was well narrated by George Weightman and Katie Leung, who brought the characters to life brilliantly.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Kaliane Bradley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in return for an honest review.