Thank you NetGalley, Harper Muse and Jennifer Moorman for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Vanishing of Josephine Reyolds.
The magical realism of this story is not my favorite genre and I lost interest around the halfway point. I did finish reading but there was no wow factor to rekindle my effort to be more positive.
The characters are flat with too much telling and not enough showing. I missed the emotions and I was not immersed in the plot. It seemed repetitive and the time travel wasn’t real enough for me to believe or care if the outcome was going to be successful. I felt like an observer and wanted to participate more in action. This book was just not for me but others may enjoy it.

This is the story of a young widow, Josephine Reynolds, who makes a wish in her misery that she wishes she'd never been born. Soon after, she discovers her great-grandmother's historical home in Nashville is up for foreclosure auction. On a whim, she buys the house, for a fresh start. She starts to renovate the home, including finding the original door that went on the house. She also discovers that the house once held a speakeasy in the basement, something she didn't know about her great grandmother.

Once she's replaced the door, she accidentally discovers it's a portal back to 1927, where she meets her great-grandmother.

I found this an easy book to read, and I did enjoy the parts set in 1927. I liked the relationship between Josephine and her great-grandmother. I found the ending in 1927 a little rushed. I also at times found Josephine to be a bit annoying, especially in the last scene in the speakeasy.

Oh and one quibble that really annoyed me: Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (which features several places in the book) is not a song. My degrees are in music, and I found it grating to hear that work described that way.

(Additional thoughts are on my Goodreads review, behind a spoiler tag.)
I think there's a lot in this book that many will enjoy.

WOW. First off, thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Okay, you should RUN, don't walk, but RUN and buy this book. 5 stars. Absolutely amazing.
Why is it amazing? So many reasons. One of them is the way the author uses time traveling to have the FMC's great grandmother help her through a period of deep and dark grief. It just hits differently than a friend or therapist helping someone navigate their grief. With that being said, this would be a great book for someone who is dealing with the loss of someone, especially the loss of a spouse. Secondly, the author brings each character to life, making you truly care for them and feel their emotions with them. And OH the ending. I couldn't have asked for a better ending than what the author gave us- absolute chefs kiss.

A magical door that sends you to the past! Meeting the great-grandmother you adore and interacting with her! The warmth of family after a divorce! I mean, aren’t those promising? I’d love to know more. Unfortunately, none of those developments unfolded the way I had hoped. In the end, the book focused more on the romance than the family aspects. I also needed Josephine to really reflect on herself and find a new way to be comfortable as a woman that no longer centered her life around her husband. And then Josephine had one job,one single job to do! but still managed to be a blabbering mess. I won’t elaborate too much about this because I might spoil it. Overall, I was really disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way I expected.

I think my expectations may have been unfairly set before reading The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds. I saw someone compare this story to Outlander (one of my favorite television series), and other than the time traveling element, I completely disagree with that comparison.

I was expecting a moving story with a deeply emotional romance. And though Josephine had lost her husband, I never really felt her loss. The romance she found later on in the story didn’t make me feel much of anything either. The story stayed fairly surface-level, which made it hard for me to really find an emotional connection.

That said, this was a cozy story, and the consequences of Josephine’s wish added a little mystery and magic. If you’re looking for a magical realism story with a slower pace that you can really sit in, you may enjoy this.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus/ Harper Muse. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds comes out January 14, 2025.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is a fun magical story about finding yourself. I always get a kick out of time travel in books! I really enjoyed getting to follow up with Josephine on her healing journey and how a group of unlikely people helped make that possible. I’d recommend to people who love a little magic in their books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun book!! There were a couple of minor continuity errors, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I loved the ending, it was such a perfect full circle moment!

4 stars out of 5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for this copy of "The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds."

Time-travel stories are some of my favorites so I was excited to read this wonderful book about a grieving widow's careless wish and how it could affect her future.

Josephine has lost her husband and doesn't know how to keep going without him. Her sadness is so overwhelming that she wishes she'd never been born.

And then her sister sends a message that their great-grandmother's house is for sale and Josephine buys the house, determined to restore it.

I won't spoil how Josephine explores the house and discovers how to travel 100 years in the past, but she finds that aspects of her current life are starting to disappear. How can she alter the events in the past to keep her wish from coming true?

Really loved this story and the main character Josephine. Her story was so real and it felt like I was on her grief journey with her. The little twists and turns just made the story that much more engaging- I really enjoyed this more than I anticipated!

Jennifer Moorman has done it again and pulled me into her magical storytelling. A story that captures the main character, Josephine, going through her grief after losing her husband and making a wish that could possibly change not only her life but the life of those around her. She must now figure out how to undo what she’s done before she is gone forever.
There was time travel, romance, friendship, loss and grief. Jennifer Moorman has a way of telling these lovely stories and adding a little magic to them. I loved the main character, Josephine, her journey is really quite beautiful. I found myself falling in love with all the characters in this story! The side characters all added their own beauty to the story. I love the way Moorman tells stories, I have been a fan of every book of hers that I have read. I love the magical touch to them and they are just feel good books.

Josephine Reynolds is widowed at 35 and in a complete rut in her life. She's stuck in grief and when her sister convinces her to buy the family home, that their uncle almost ruined, Josephine discovers she can time travel back to 1927 and when she comes back, she discovers things are disappearing. Will she be able to save the 1927 timeline so that she continues to exist? This book had so much emotion and I could not stop reading as I read about Josephine's journey. Definitely add this one to your TBR. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for a chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

What if a miss spoken wish had the power to change your life, and not for the better? This story explores Josephine's life after losing herself, both in her marriage and in her husband's death. She makes a wish that could have disastrous consequences. The wish, though, does allow her to time travel in order to hopefully fix the problem. In the process, will she find herself and possibly love? I enjoy an interesting time travel story, and this one was enjoyable.
I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own

Josephine Reynolds is grief-stricken and lost months after losing her husband of 15 years. She feels so low that she wishes she could just disappear. But when she buys her ancestral home and steps through its original door, she’s transported to 1927 and meets her great-grandmother Alma. All her wishing and time traveling set off an alternate timeline in which she really does begin to disappear, and she has to figure out how to stop it.

Josephine’s time is the Jazz Age is the most enjoyable historical fiction I’ve ever read! The characters are so sweet and the bonds are so rich. I wanted to find a flapper dress and a speakeasy! Jennifer Moorman’s magical realism is easy to believe. Her characters and story are like a warm cup of tea. She does a great job of processing real issues like grief and codependency through escapist settings and relatable characters. This was a unique time traveling story with a little fantasy and lot of love, and I highly recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Writing style
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Characters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Plot
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Premise
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pacing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Impact

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I quickly found that this wasn't for me because it wasn't what I expected. I expected a time-traveling story with suspense and hard-hitting character introspection around grief and finding yourself once you realize you've been molding yourself to whatever partner you're with.

While the character does find herself even though it took her husband dying, her sister telling her that she changes depending on the man she's with, and accidental time travel to realize and actually do something about her lack of authenticity, it bothered me that her journey involved another romantic relationship.

Overall, this lacked depth and interest to me. A lot of that is a me problem, though. I think a lot of people will love this book if they go into it wanting and expecting a feel-good historical romance with a happy ever after, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for something like that.

"Can one thoughtless wish erase a life?

Widowed at thirty-five, Josephine Reynolds wishes she could disappear, but her concerned sister convinces her to buy their ancestral home, a Craftsman bungalow in disrepair and foreclosure. It's a welcome distraction, and Josephine can't believe her luck when she finds the home's original door in a salvage yard.

When she installs the door and steps through it, Josephine is transported into 1927, where she meets her great-grandmother Alma, a vivacious and daring woman running an illegal speakeasy in the bungalow's basement. Immersed in the vibrant Jazz Age, Josephine forms a profound bond with Alma, only to discover upon her return to the present that history has been altered. Alma's life was tragically cut short in a speakeasy raid just a week after their fateful meeting.

Josephine has a chilling revelation - her own existence is unraveling/vanishing - and she must race against time to rewrite history. Josephine is desperate to not only save Alma but save her own future in a time-bending journey where past and present intertwine in a desperate battle for survival."

Always be careful to not Marty McFly yourself!

Jennifer Moorman has done it again with THE VANISHING OF JOSEPHINE REYNOLDS centered around a home full of magic, love, second chances and an ensemble of endearing people. We travel between present day to 1927 when Josephine discovers a passage in her home teleporting her to the days of her great grandma’s amazing life. Josephine is determined to fix a wrong while finding herself, forgiveness, community and of course - love!

Jennifer Moorman’s words transported me back to exactly what I pictured during the Roaring 20s - a time filled with incredible fashion, dance and fun! Makes me want to drive to the closest speakeasy and order a Mary Pickford and take in all the jazz music. This book gave me all the feels!

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is out January 14! Pre-order your copy today, clear your schedule when it arrives. You will thank me later when you get to the last words - it’s perfect!

Oh and while you wait for it, pick up The Magic All Around - another house you can’t wait to step into 💚🧡

Thank you to Net Galley for this early copy!

This was slightly different from the usual quite light magical realism books Jennifer Moorman writes, it felt a little 'heavier' to me, just as enjoyable but in a different way.

Josephine has recently lost her husband and is finding life very difficult, so decides (with the help of her sister) to make a new start, sell their old house and move to a new house, which is actually an old family house that her great grandmother first owned. Once there she sets about restoring it to fit in with the neighbourhood, and replaces the current modern front door with the original front door. But there were very small words on the frame of the door and when Josephine speaks them and goes through the door she finds herself back in the 1920s when her great grandmother, Alma, owned the house.

Alma was a wonderful character who ran an illegal speakeasy in the basement of her house. In the present day one report said she died on a certain day during a raid on the speakeasy, and one said she lived. Can Josephine make sure events happen so her great grandmother lives, and in turn Josephine is born... or will she disappear forever.

It was very enjoyable hearing about the speakeasy and the 1920s, but quite sad in parts too as Josephine needed to make sure events ran correctly and had to leave behind people she loved. But I really loved the ending in the present day which kind of made up for it!

4.5 stars!

but oh what to say— i've always found it so much harder to write about the things i've loved. and i definitely loved this. i loved the themes covered in the book and how there were discussions of grief, of family, of love. i loved how finding yourself after loss was a central theme, and how this wasn't glossed over and dealt with really well.

the character's in this were also easy to love, and i really enjoyed seeing josephine find herself and pick herself back up again after her grief. there were just so many strong female characters in this, and i loved the relationships formed between all of them. alma and katherine were particularly loveable. i will say the romance in this was fast, but i did enjoy it surprisingly enough. though that might just be because i liked danny and he had a couple of really good flirtatious lines in him that had me kicking my feet a little lol.

i loved the time travel aspect of this as well, and really enjoyed the 1920s setting. and oh, the ending! the ending was perfect and had me getting a little misty-eyed. the half star docked is just for some little issues i had with pacing (at times too slow, at times too fast).

all in all, this book is one about healing. of the importance of finding your people and not letting yourself drown alone in your grief.

thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC! i received a complimentary copy of this book, and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A beautiful cover, time travel to the 1920's, and the discovery of a generation of women tied into modern day? I was DYING to read this book.

Unfortunately, it fell a little flat. The writing isn't up to par with what the story could have been, and the inconsistencies in the time travel prove very distracting. I have a list of questions that might be spoilers, but they stood out glaringly.

1. How did the book Josephine brought back just turn into ashes? When she came back to her regular time, the book had aged significantly. Okay, I get that. But then she goes to bed in her own timeline, wakes up the next morning, and it's a pile of ashes. Why? Wouldn't it have just been gone or ashes when she came back? Why did it take overnight?

2. When she wakes up, she says she took a shower and got ready. Then later on she notices items are missing - including her shampoo and conditioner. She didn't notice that when she took her shower?

3. Did Josephine have the key, or say the words, the first time she went back and didn't realize it? But then on future trips she makes sure she is holding the key and says the words out loud. Then Eleanor takes the key and she doesn't time jump?

4. The whole idea of the "wish" thing doesn't make sense. And neither does Leo saying he must also be living two timelines. Felt like a cop-out.

5. If Lita from the costume shop doesn't remember Josephine at the meet-up, then that means Josephine doesn't exist for her - so why does Josephine in later scenes still have all the clothes and accessories from the shop?

6. Josephine states the kitchen is a mess, all the work undone, no sink, pipes burst ... then comes inside and washes out her mug. Where?

Okay. So all of that being said ... I really love the heart of this book. I love the characters, and while the romance is a little thick, it's sweet. But is it a little odd Josephine is now going to fall for Danny's great grandson?

As I feel with most house-centric books ... I wish there was more of the finding of hidden things/rooms/clues in the current day timeline from the past. And definitely more letters from Alma to Josephine, especially since they got to meet when Josephine was 7. I wish there was also a letter from after that.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved everything about this book. I connected with both Josephine and Alma, and constantly thought about what it would be like to spend time with relatives the way Josephine was able to. Jennifer Moorman writes in a way that does not make me feel like I have to suspend belief, and even though a big factor of this story was time travel, it was easy to follow. I did not find myself getting confused or frustrated keeping up with the changes in time periods.