Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I just wasn't pulled in, and interested in the story. The time travel elements made sense and were easy to follow, mostly. The characters and their interactions happened quickly and without deep, meaning or consequence. I did enjoy some of the humor that was a strong suit of the story. I do think this is more a me problem but I accept these review copies in exchange for an honest review. Sadly this wasn't for me but if you like a mash up of history and time travel this may be for you, it's worth trying.

Often I find I love these punch bowl novels more than most straight-up genre fiction novels. By punch bowl, I rather mean something like what I and my friends call “jungle juice”: a bottle of this wine, a bottle of this liquor, a bottle of that liquor, a bottle of champagne, a bottle of some clear soda like 7-Up, a whole lot of frozen, chopped up fruit thrown in to keep it cold and to mask the taste of the alcohol… You know? A little bit of everything thrown into one big bowl until it becomes something dizzying, delightful, and unpredictable.

That’s what The Ministry of Time is: part-spy thriller, part-time travel romance, part-science fiction novel, part-psychological fiction, a whole lot speculative fiction (which is really what this novel should just be classified as, but try telling that to marketers), and it’s all wrapped up in such lovely storytelling prose I can only describe it as literary fiction.

This book led me through hill and dale, up mountains and down into valleys. It was funny, only to take a steep drop into darkness. Romantic one second, only to turn around and be bereft the next. Often I didn’t know if I should be crying or not. Sometimes I’d find myself crying and didn’t know I had started. This story and these characters wound themselves around my heart, latching on with hooks, for good or for ill, and I knew this could only end in heartbreak but it was worth holding on anyway.

Insofar as the dynamic between our two main characters and their sociocultural norms and mores, that’s an intrinsic issue built into the framework of the book and is too much to explore in a review. It’s completely interesting, though. I highly recommend the whole thing.

I’m going to put it all out there at the risk of embarrassing myself and just confess that I had a bit of an obsession with Jean-Claude Van Damme when I was a wee thing. One of my favorite movies of his was Timecop—hold on—*fanning myself*—and this book has pretty similar vibes but not all the helicopter kicks. I quite like the premise; I am a SFF nerd and love time travel stuff. Bradley’s debut certainly has an interesting take and presents a character-centric novel that speaks more to humanity than to the theoretical side of time travel. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I also found the cohesion of time travel and its effect on the world and characters could have used some more development.

Bradley’s brilliance really shines in dialogue and storytelling. Several different people from different time periods get together and require assimilation into an environment of ultimate culture shock. All of these characters feel like they’ve been pulled out of literature from their respective eras. Navigating all of the cultural norms for each of those time periods and trying to navigate the complexities of acclimating all of these fish out of water was probably the best part of the whole book and quite clever to boot.

The problem with time travel, though, is that it’s pretty tricky to navigate and it’s been done a ton. I’ve read a few time travel novels that aren’t heavily focused on the technical aspects, and they work, but I was a bit confused as to how the stuff really worked here. The synopsis does say it’s a time travel romance, so I didn’t go into it expecting heavy SFF vibes. I feel like there was a bit of technicality that didn’t get fully developed and left me wanting more.

Because the book feels like it’s navigating so many different genres—romance, time travel, espionage, social justice issues, climate issues—the story line feels spread a bit thin for me. Just when things heated up a bit between Graham and his bridge, the story would shift focus to something else. Things would then slowly pick up pace and then shift again to something entirely different. If just the romance between the two main characters were pulled out of the book and bound by itself, I’m not sure it would take up even half of the pages. Plus, the end reveal just pours cold water all over the mood and sets the reader right back at square one. Two major plot lines really fight over the focus of this novel.

Despite that, I enjoyed it enough. I can’t give it 4 stars, but it was certainly good enough for 3 stars for me. The brilliant writing style and dry wit and banter made me laugh, so I compromised with a solid 3.5. I definitely recommend giving it a try.

My thanks to Avid Reader Press and Simon & Schuster books via NetGalley for the eARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Intriguing novel in which time travel has just been discovered and the British government decides to test it by pulling figures of history, who died in their own time, into the present. It’s a really creative concept and entertaining to see how the “expats” adjust to modern life, including Commander Graham Gore, who was rescued from a failed 19th century polar expedition. The crux of this book is a love story, which carries the story.

I could barely finish this book because of the writing. It was Very very History heavy, long chapters, weird dialogue not listing who was talking. I thought the premise was very unique and it reminded me so much of the humans by Matt haig but it was the writing that made my rating

A cool and unique take on the time-travel novel, full of intrigue, thrill, and just enough romance to keep the pages turning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The British government, after discovering a door in time, have pulled through several “expats” into modern day London. These historical refugees, who originate from the 1600s to WWI, are assigned a Ministry employee to serve as their “bridge” to help them adjust to modern life. What follows is a genre-defying caper—part romance, part spy thriller, part meditation on history, race, and humanity.

I really loved these characters. The “expats” all had unique, well-developed personalities and I felt real affection for them. I really enjoyed the banter between the protagonist and her expat, a real-life 19th century Arctic explorer named Graham Gore, and the development of their relationship was a highlight.

My biggest gripe is with the book’s structure. Especially in the first half, I found myself struggling at times to get into a flow while reading. The book had longish chapters composed of many short sections. Several times, just as I was getting into a scene, it ended, often at the most interesting part. The reading experience felt a little choppy.

In all, this book took a big swing, and I found it to be a very promising debut. I will look for Kaliane Bradley’s future novels.

I feel like I'm gonna stay thinking about this book for a while.

In an alternate universe (or the very near future) in which time travel has been found out, our narrator has been given a promotion within the Ministry to work as bridge (or caretaker) for people that th Ministry has pulled out of the past and brought to the present. Our narrator has to then figure out how to acclimate a naval officer from the 1800s to modern day society. And then our narrator has to figure out her growing obsession (maybe too strong a word) for her 1800s client, And then our narrator has to figure out what seems like a conspiracy.

I make it sound a bit silly, but it was very thought-provoking and very easy and quick to read. There are some touches on racism, being white-passing, the future of the environment, ethics, and naivete and thinking you are the smartest person in a room. It was very interesting, and though I kind of wish it would have shaken out differently, I found the story to be very realistic, given that there is time travel. Context stays missing in regular adult conversations sometimes, people don't hear you out, and one can make mistake after mistake and not realize that any of it was ever a mistake at all.

I also thought the way the story was written was very intriguing. Some fourth wall breaks, some flashbacks, etc. I quite liked this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the e-ARC!

Ministry of Time is an inventive and original take on a time-travel romance. There are elements of history, science fiction, fantasy, and romance all seamlessly blended together. I love how serious themes are explored throughout, but the tone never feels preachy. In fact, I found myself laughing out loud at the antics of the characters more than once. Kaliane Bradley has written an utterly charming, effervescent tale with elements of the fantastical. The ending just left me wanting more, and I was sad for the story to be over. Thank you to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the review copy. Ministry of Time will publish May 7, 2024.

This one just didn't work for me. I DNFed about 40% through. The story kept getting lost in it's own attempt at quirkiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley. This was a charming tale of time travel, science fiction, romance, Arctic expedition, spies, racial identity, and family (the one we are born into and the one we make for ourselves). Our unnamed narrator is an agent assigned to a time traveling arctic explorer and follows her chronologically over the year she helps him integrate into our current timeline. It took me about 15-20% through to really get into the book but then I was rushing to finish. It was a truly unique and moving story.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this roller coaster of book. 4/5 stars, a wonderful read that I don't know if I'll read again.

I definitely went into this thinking it was gonna be a silly little time travel romance and got absolutely smacked in the FACE with how deeply introspective kailane bradley's writing is - not just about race and ethnicity but also about the roles that we as individuals play in upholding the system we're trapped in. the narrator's musings on race and identity really gave the whole time travel plot grounding in real life, and I think that helped me connect with her character more. bradley does quite a bit of telling and not showing with the plot points of the book that made me feel a little disconnected from the plot and characters at times, so having the narrator's thoughts about these deeply personal things made me feel like she was more real. I didn't think I would've gotten so attached to all the characters because again, bradley does a lot of telling and time passes almost nebulously in the middle parts of the book, but the snippets we're shown of these different characters are so full of life and individual personality and really helped endear me to all of them, especially gore.

the last bit is mostly due to my personal preference for happy endings. i'd classify this ending as more bittersweet/hopeful, and the tension between the narrator and gore kept building until it felt like I was standing on the edge of the 'will they or won't they' cliff, so the sap in me wanted a happy ending for them, but I think some things are done on purpose and for the better of the story, so I can't be too upset. anyway, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a little time travel book and also get their heart slapped around :)

A genre defying novel full of time travel, government agency’s, immigration, romance and millennial life. Safe to say i’ve never read anything like this and would definitely recommend it just for this reason.

Parts of this really worked for me— I loved the expat characters, Graham and Margaret were especially endearing. The concept kept me intrigued. The dialogue was fast paced and fun. Then parts didn’t— the main character fell a bit flat, the world-building needed a bit more description for me to fully understand and the first half was slow.

I would recommend this if you’re looking for something quirky and plot driven with some nice character development. It is thematically a very thought provoking read done in a light way, which i think is the major triumph of this novel!

Such a fun, compassionate, singular book!

Part world-weary spy novel, part fish-out-of-water comedy, part romance, part social justice novel, a lot of speculative sci-fi, and time travel that mostly doesn't irritate me -- a feat in and of itself. Bradley's characters felt real from the beginning. I was invested in their relationships -- all of them, friendships, work relationships, romantic ones and adversarial ones -- always wondering how she'd pull it all together.

Looking forward to putting this in readers' hands.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

This was an interesting read for me. I was totally invested in the beginning, got kind of lost in the early-middle, but then probably about 60% of the way through, I became invested in it again. I loved the premise of the book and think it was done pretty well. There were times that I was confused, but I think wrapping your head around time travel can often be a little confusing.

I thought the characters from the past were very entertaining, and I loved the scenes with them, especially when several of them were gathered together. I enjoyed the relationship between the main character and Graham Gore, who she was the "bridge" for (a bridge was a person in present-day that was assigned to someone from the past to help them acclimate to the current time period).

This book was sometimes character driven, and sometimes plot driven. It's a mix of all different genres: speculative fiction, mystery, part spy thriller, and a hint of romance.

Overall it was an entertaining read and one that I'm glad I pushed through to finish (I had considered DNFing about 40% of the way through because I just wasn't invested). I'm probably in the neighborhood of 3.5 stars (which means I really liked it), rounding up to 4 for this review.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley is a breathtaking exploration of history, adventure, and the complexities of time travel. Bradley masterfully weaves together a captivating narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

The story centers around the enigmatic Ministry of Time, a clandestine organization tasked with preserving the integrity of history by preventing unauthorized time travel and correcting historical anomalies. As the protagonist, Agent Emily Caldwell, navigates through different time periods, Bradley skillfully brings to life a diverse array of settings, from ancient civilizations to pivotal moments in human history.

What sets "The Ministry of Time" apart is its meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy. Bradley seamlessly integrates real historical events and figures into the narrative, offering readers a compelling blend of fact and fiction. Whether it's rubbing shoulders with Leonardo da Vinci in Renaissance Italy or witnessing the fall of the Roman Empire firsthand, each time-traveling escapade feels immersive and authentic.

However, it's not just the historical elements that make "The Ministry of Time" such a captivating read. Bradley also excels at crafting well-developed characters that readers can't help but root for. Agent Caldwell is a formidable protagonist, with a blend of intelligence, wit, and vulnerability that makes her journey all the more compelling. The dynamic between Caldwell and her fellow agents adds depth to the story, as they grapple with moral dilemmas and personal conflicts while carrying out their mission.

Furthermore, Bradley's prose is elegant and evocative, painting vivid pictures of each time period and drawing readers deeper into the story with every page. From the bustling streets of ancient Athens to the serene landscapes of feudal Japan, the vivid descriptions transport readers to distant worlds and immerse them in the sights, sounds, and sensations of each era.

Overall, "The Ministry of Time" is a tour de force of storytelling that will delight fans of historical fiction, science fiction, and adventure alike. With its gripping plot, richly drawn characters, and meticulous attention to historical detail, Kaliane Bradley's novel is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers long after they've turned the final page. Highly recommended for anyone seeking an exhilarating journey through the annals of time.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is a first-person POV contemporary sci-fi following a civil servant who works for the Ministry and Graham Gore, a sailor from the failed Franklin Expedition in 1879, who is brought to the present day. The civil servant is Graham’s bridge and housemate and later his romantic interest as he learns more about the world since his time.

We never get the civil servant’s name as she is our POV character and she isn’t addressed by name. Our unnamed narrator is a biracial Cambodian-British woman who spends a decent chunk of her narration discussing different labels (‘refugee’ vs ‘immigrant’), being biracial and her family history (her grandfather was a political figure back in Cambodia), and different social movements (such as Black Lives Matter). It’s integrated in a way that doesn’t feel preachy but instead feels organic to the character and her Voice and gives us an exploration of one point of view regarding identity.

For Graham, he behaves in a way that is consistent with the time period he comes from but he also does grow and change as he learns more about the new time he’s in. Some of his language and behaviors change but he always smokes cigarettes when he’s stressed and he has some moments in his relationship with our POV character regarding sex and romance that feel old-fashioned to us but feel right to him. Of course, some of the language he and the other ‘expats’ (the people brought to the future) use is outdated and some of it is now recognized as offensive, but it’s handled well.

The romance between the narrator and Graham is a slowburn and we get some discussions around Queerness as it was treated in the past due to Graham having feelings for a woman from the era of the Black Plague who was a closeted lesbian and another time traveler, Arthur, who is in love with Graham. What I really liked about the romance was how Graham’s Victorian sensibilities come forward, with him being more prone to wanting the lights to be off and there being not shame but a kind of shyness towards sex and even discussing it.

I would recommend this to readers looking for a sci-fi grounded in our present time discussing current issues. fans of time travel novels, and those looking for a very richly characterized first person POV character.

This is a general fiction, romance, sci-fi & fantasy. From that perspective, it definitely lived up to the genre. Set in a not-so-future London city, the main character, (daughter of Cambodian refugee who escaped the Khmer Rouge) is working as a special agent in the Ministry of Time. The Ministry has managed to import into the present time 5 persons from the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries with the help of a time travel machine. Our MC is the handler of one such "expatriate", Graham Gore, who supposedly died in the Franklin Expedition to the Arctic Circle. When the Victorian Graham meets 21st century independent woman, sparks will fly in more ways than one. I loved reading snippets about Graham's past and his hilarious reaction to some of the mundanities of the present world. This was one of the better parts of the book and did elicit quite a few laughs. What probably kept me from really loving this story was the slow pacing, the use of highly advanced British vocabulary in paragraph-long sentences and the references to British slang from modern and Victorian times which I am not very familiar with. While I did find some of the expatriates endearing, I could not bring myself to really like any of the characters. The book also tries in its own way to deal with issues of racism, colonialism, misdirected Government projects, climate change and the like. Probably a case of Its not the book, its me. The last few pages did keep me on the edge of my seat so some redemption there. Overall, an original sort of read for fans of time travel romance with a historical twist.
Thank you Netgalley, Avid Reader Press and Kaliane Bradley for the ARC.

The Ministry of Time was a very medium experience for me - it felt for about the first 150 pages that we're just doing stuff (ie all vibes, no plot) and when the plot (finally) properly kicked off I was very into that portion of the story - but I was fighting for my life to get there.
In the vibes portion - I loved the characterization of the expats, it was very fun reading time travellers attempting to blend.
The book is comprised of many genres - spy, sci-fi, speculative fiction, romance, a touch of historical fanfictioning the male main character - so there is something for almost every reader to enjoy - but for the pacing.

Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review

Having read an interview with Kaliane Bradley in a promotional email about this book, I was intrigued. For me, this was one of those books that was never on my radar, just randomly fluttered by me in my rat race of a reading life and whoosh, scooped me up out of my reading slump and just like that I've found a treasure. This book was simply lovely. The premise was interesting, the characters were fully formed, and the plot was well balanced. There are so many different aspects of this story that could reel any potential reader in. It has time travel, romance, humor, espionage, and even mundane workplace drama. All of this and more entangle with larger social issues, but Bradley does such a great job of weaving each thread into the others that it is never jarring to read or so heavy in one aspect that it topples the story as a whole. One of my favorite books of the year so far. Never thought I would be enchanted in 2024 by a Victorian polar explorer but here we are. The power of storytelling.

A giant thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC of this book. I couldn't contain my excitement to see the approval notification on this title!