3.5 rounded up. I love anything about time travel and so when I first heard about this book, I knew it was right up my alley. And it mostly was? The concept was great, and the execution was alright. I appreciated the author's note about her inspiration for the book, the story would have not made as much sense without that. I guess I personally was still lacking a little more background info on Gore. I know she tried to provide that with what I assume were his journal entries at the beginning of each chapter, but I at times still felt a bit lost with that part of the story.

Either way I did still tear through this book because I needed to know what happened! There were definitely some twists. I also enjoyed the love story, it was very sweet. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Inventive, different than anything else I’ve read. This book feels like a spy novel with a hint of romance that is not just about what we owe each other, our country, our time, but also what we owe to ourselves. This book was a bit overwhelming at first, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it.

Set in the near future and narrated by an unnamed main character, we follow a set of 'time ex-pats' pulled from various points in the past through a time door that the British government has commandeered and is using for...some purpose unbeknownst to us?

Our protagonist serves as a 'bridge' aka a glorified government-employed babysitter for one of the 5 ex-pats we meet as he adjusts to the present day after having been extracted from a failing Arctic expedition in the mid-1800s. Most of his characterization comes from the classic fish-out-of-water experiences the time travel genre expounds on; his bafflement over bicycles and pop music serve as most of the punchlines.

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

DNF @ 61%

For a book with so many fascinating elements, it was just a mindless read for me. I just wish Bradley had done something else with this concept and this plot than to write a tepid forbidden romance.

<b>Partial Reading Notes</b>

<i>Despite the amenities and pleasures of the twenty-first century, he was bored. He had been handed a plush-lined life, with time to read and pursue thoughts to the phantasmagoric end, totaled in whole seasons of the British Film Institute, to walk for miles, to master some art and paint to his heart's content. He did not need to work, to exchange the sweat of his brow.... And yet, he was bored from having no purpose. ...I was afraid he was getting bored of me. </i>

<b>Three (or more) things I loved:

1. The writing is good. Wonderful descriptions.

2. <i>I tried a cautious smile. "Careful," he said. "Your germs are showing." </i> I love a fish out of water!

3. The midpoint narrative turn is actually pretty great. I wish there had been more to suggest it throughout the first half.

<b>Three (or less) things I didn't love: </b>

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof. </b>

1. I don't really understand the flashbacks into his past.

2. I usually love time travel books! I love to watch the characters and author wrestle with the linguistic and narrative conflicts that arise naturally from the inclusion of fictional technology that's largely considered, if not impossible, then at least completely speculative. But Bradley simply bypasses this question and ignores the wealth of narrative and conflict treasures in favor of other questions. Like how would a Victorian sea captain from the 18th century respond to contemporary racial conventions? I don't think contemporary racial conventions as a theme are boring, but I'm not sure why an anachronistic perspective on them is suppose to be good entertainment.

Thank you to the author Kaliane Bradley, publishers Avid Reader Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of THE MINISTER OF TIME. I found an audiobook copy on Everand. All views are mine.

(Rounded down from 2.5 stars)
The premise of The Ministry of Time was intriguing and the first part of the book kept that promise. However, it got bogged down, boring, somewhere in the middle, which left me wondering whether or not I should plow ahead and finish it or “jump ship.” I decided to keep going and then suddenly, at about the 2/3 mark, I think, the book morphed into a sort of daft spy novel.

What we have here is a time travel story, but a unique one. A British ministry has acquired/developed a way to pluck people out of the past into the current time (which is the near future, as far as I could make out). They choose five people from various time periods, people that were going to die shortly, so that they could feel they weren’t going to change history by doing this. One woman was from 1665 (Great Plague of London) and another from 1793 (Robespierre’s Paris). There were three men: one from 1645 (Battle of Nasby, which was unfamiliar to me), one from 1916 (Battle of the Somme), and one, Graham Gore, from 1847, who was part of the ill-fated Franklin Arctic expedition. Gore becomes one of the main characters of the story, along with Maggie, from 1665. Maggie was my favorite character, but that doesn’t say much, because the other characters weren’t very engaging.

Gore was a real person; the others were totally fictional. The narrator is an unnamed young woman, whose job is to be the “bridge” for Gore, to help him adjust to modern times. She is mixed race; her mother is Cambodian and her father a white Englishman. (This impacts the story or I wouldn’t mention this.) Unfortunately, the author has Gore fall in love with his bridge and vice versa. There are some spicy scenes that one could skip over, if so inclined. The chapters are extremely long, interspersed with short supposed excerpts from a diary of the Franklin expedition.

In short, this book wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book! The Ministry of Time is part sci-fi (in its plot), part historical (in its characters), part contemporary (in setting and vibe). It has a smart plot-twist I didn't see coming! The ending is a bit abrupt, making me wish we had more time with the characters as their lives changed dramatically. This story has something for everyone: richly presented history (which was my favorite part, with more details about the inspiration in the afterword), spies, time travel, secrets, and a love story (or two, or three).

It took me 5 tries to get through this book. The writing style isn't my preferred style and it's also super slow burn. But I knew I would like it - I just knew it - because I generally love time travel books. I'm SO GLAD I stuck with it. The ending is DYNAMITE. Loved it so much.

An interesting spin on time travel and the butterfly effect. The narrators voice was very distinct and emotional while also being clinical, which made sense as I discovered more about why she was telling this story.

This is a first novel? Bradley's tale of involuntary time-travel, government bureaucracy, and true love, is dazzling and delightful. The writing, particularly the dialogue, is top-notch - clever and funny. The improbably romance between the 21st century civil servant narrator and the 19th century naval officer is pleasing on every level. Bradley manages to avoid the usual pitfalls of time travel novels and delivers an ending that is just as satisfying as the spectacular start. I can't wait to read her follow-up novel.

I loved the premise of this book, as it is completely unlike any other book I've read before. However, I found this book to have a mushy middle that I could just not completely get through, with so many other summer reading titles calling my name.

I picked this up and put it down an awful lot, and was in the middle of moving when I was reading it, so that may explain why I didn't ever feel fully immersed in the story. To be honest, I got a little confused between the different time travellers, and I'm not sure if it's because the ministry called them by different names than they called each other, or what.

I have no doubt this was a great book, and I heard about it constantly on all of the reading podcasts I listen to, but it was decidedly not for me.

#NetGalley
#TheMinistryofTime

This book manages to fit so many genres into one story — romance, sci-fi time travel, espionage thriller, quirky found family — and it's undeniably entertaining. I love the time travel premise and setup to the story, and Kaliane Bradley writes with a delightful sense of humor. I enjoyed the beginning of the book more than the end, but definitely a fun escapist read with something for everyone.

I’ve gone back and forth with my feelings on this book. It was super hyped and so I was very excited to read it and was instantly interested when I started. I don’t know if outlander was an accurate comp for this book so I went in thinking it was going to be different. This book is definitely more literary. Overall, I was interested and finished the book. By the end, I didn’t feel the buy in on these characters and felt myself just wanting to finish the book. I will say that I am excited for the tv adaptation of this book because I think the book lends itself to that format. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

There have been a host of time travel stories that came out in the first half of 2024 but The Ministry of Time manages to be one of the best. For fans of Ben E. Winters, Kaliane Bradley's novel imagines a future where the government assigns employees to act as a bridge to time refugees. There's a lot going here but Bradley manages to wrap everything up in surprisingly few pages. Sure to be one of the "best" of 2024, The Ministry of Time was one of the most engaging and fun books I've read in a long time.

Barack Obama and I are on the same page with this one. Three of my daughter's book clubs (don't ask. I raised a reader) have picked it and all love it.

Fantastic. Had such a good time reading this. I think it’s going to be a big hit because it has very memorable prose and plot, and it feels unique to a lot of the stories coming out lately. Very excited to see what’s next form Kaliane Bradley!

This story begins with a young woman receiving a stroke of good luck - she's hired for a plum job as a handler for one of several individuals plucked from various points in history so that the effects of time travel can be studied. Her assignment is "1847," a Victorian polar explorer named Graham Gore who died on an Arctic expedition... in 1847.
Unlike so many synopses, this one describing the novel as "a time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy," is pretty accurate. Readers who are more interested in the mechanics of science and hows and whys probably won't enjoy this as much; this is a literary sci fi novel along the lines of Never Let Me Go where the focus is on the characters, ethical dilemmas, and emotion. It gently, stoically explores imperialism and the refugee/immigrant/ person of color experience in a white culture, as well as ethics and personal responsibility. The writing is provocative and lovely, with piquant observations, moments of wry humor, an appreciation for history, and clear-eyed candor on the marvels and trappings of our modern world.
A couple hours before the end, the narrator referenced entering the "final weeks," and I thought a slightly despairing oh no because I didn't want it to end. This begins as an enormously entertaining book (especially if you're prone to, ahem, romances with Victorian gentlemen), but towards the end, it shakes off its restraints and also provokes genuine anxiety, tenderness, and empathy. This story surprised me in the best of ways and left me both yearning and hopeful.
4 stars for an incredible debut!!

I found this book to be kind of bland despite all the hype. I wish I liked it more. but the concept is really fun

I adored this book--it felt completely original and I was swept up in the narrative from the very beginning. However, I found that my ARC had some formatting issues which made it chanllenging to read.

A fun take on time travel. I was surprised by many of the twists the story took, and I thought the author did a good job withholding enough information that the reveals felt exciting and rewarding.

A new mysterious government organization, The Ministry of Time, has a fascinating function: use a time machine to rescue people from the past and bring them to the present. Amid this indisputably challenging endeavor enters our narrator. She will function as a ‘bridge’, a companion of sorts assigned to one of the time-refugees. She is tasked with helping him acclimate to a time he knows nothing about.

This book had just the right amount of science fiction to set up a story that is really about emotion and human connection. Filled with humor and wit, this unique story is an enjoyable, quick and fun read.

Ministry of Time was a highly anticipated read, and I am so sad that it did not work for me. It is likely a case of I am just not smart enough for this storyline.

There is a lot to like. My favorite part was the male lead is learning to live in the future. It was often hilarious and occasionally sad as I thought about my parents learning computers, etc. It taught me to give them a break when they ask me questions about Google.

I also really enjoyed the found family aspect of the novel. Many of the side characters added depth and brevity to the storyline.

Honestly, I think if I had been able to wrap my head around the science of the story, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. So, if you like hard science fiction with romance, I would recommend it.

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