Josephine Reynolds is a grieving thirty five year old widow who goes out on a limb and buys her families historical old mansion in Nashville to change up her life. She has begun to realize that she had lost herself in her marriage and is now opening up to new ideas and finally becoming her own true self. When she replaces the front door of her new home with the original found in an a salvage yard things go a little bit sideways. Every time she leaves and locks the front door she time travels back to the roaring twenties during prohibition. She meets her great grandmother Alma and is horrified to learn that the speakeasy Alma runs out of her house was raided by police and Alma was killed. Josephine is determined to not let that happen and travels back and forth in time trying to keep her family member alive because if Alma dies, Josephine will never be born. This was a fun premise and a pleasant read with a little bit of romance thrown in for spice. I enjoyed the descriptions of the period clothing. Recommended. 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for a chance to listen to an ARC version of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I wasn't able to focus on the audiobook. After about 20% through I ended up stopping. The story was overly focused on home features and I couldn't get grounded on a compelling narrative.

Really liked this book. It is very well written and descriptive- I could easily picture the house with the beautiful door to another era and the speakeasy. The idea of being able to travel back in time to interact with a family member is delightful and thought provoking. I thoroughly recommend this book.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review and to the author for her lovely piece of work.

First off, I absolutely love the narrator. It's the same narrator that does all of Mary Kay Andrews's books, and I've always loved her style of narration. I liked the book a lot. Going back to the 1920s during the 2020s feels fitting, and I felt like the novel had enough history to not only be believable, but also to be just a little educational. I loved the time travel transitions, and the love story included.

Magical realism is definitely more my thing than most fantasy, so I went into this novel with high expectations. While there were some aspects of the story that felt farfetched, even for magical realism, it was an overall good read. I really liked the adventure Josephine took to the 20s and how impactful it was on both the 20s characters as well as Josephine herself. There was just enough suspense to keep the reader entertained, despite the heavy amount of exposition. Thanks NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced audio copy of this novel.

Have you ever heard the saying Be Careful What You Wish For? Well that's the premise of The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds. Josephine is dealing with the sudden loss of her husband and the fact that her life was completely absorbed by him that she felt this overwhelming loneliness. In a true moment of despair and sadness she wishes she had never been born, once she utters those words it sets off a chain of events that will challenge her understanding of reality and the power of her own choices. At her lowest point she is given an opportunity to reclaim her great-grandmother's house, which to her is a symbol of her heritage, so with the prompting of her sister to reclaim her own life she purchases the house. As she starts to restore the home, the story takes a different turn when Josephine discovers a hidden connection to her past, leading her to a 1920's party hosted by Alma, her great-grandmother. As Josephine discovers a way to time travel back and forth between the past and present she understands that she has a bigger responsibility then just getting to know a spunky family member. This is my first book by Jennifer Moorman and I enjoyed how she weaved together the whimsical, emotional and thought-provoking tale of Josephine Reynolds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. After Josephine becomes a widow at a young age, she needs to make some changes in her life to try and heal. When her great grandmother's house comes on the market, she is immediately interested in purchasing it. There are several renovations that need to be done on the home to bring it back to it's original beauty and one of the first changes was replacing the front door back to the original door specifically made for this house which was found at a local antique store. This door was perfect and also had some beautiful hand carved words engraved at the bottom, Josephine read the words out loud and then inserted the key and what she walked into was not the house in the current timeline but the house as it was in the 1920s which also included
her young great grandmother and the illegal speakeasy in her basement. i really enjoyed this dual timeline travelling back and forth between her great grandmother's world and her own. It was well written and very entertaining. Enjoy!!!

This was a beautiful and fun story of time travel and family and annoying neighbors.
The characters felt very rich and engrossing.
I got to meet the author at a library event and she is just as real and incredible in person as you would expect from her books.
Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC!

this book starts out kinda slow but give it a minute... it's gonna blow your mind.

So Josephine can't seem to get over the death of her husband and she moves into her grandmothers old house when it goes up for sale... She makes a wish that she didn't exist... what happens? She ends up in the past with her young grandmother... the speakeasy that she ran now turns into a deadly night and it's up to Josephine to save her grandmothers life and her own.

It is literally a book about Josephine finding herself and choosing to live. It was a beautiful book of self discovery and I loved all the characters. It was fun! Who doesn't love the roaring 20s. Josephine starts out kinda bland and unexpressive and I think that was to show us that she took on the personalities of the people around her, including her husband and alone she felt unmoored. It took a while for her to become real to us because she didn't feel real for herself and was building herself up.

loved it. I really did!!

4 stars

This was such a cool book. As an avid reader, I am always impressed with plot lines that really feel fresh and new, and The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds ended up being a really fun, different story. Time traveling is a hard subject to tackle in a book, but I felt like Jennifer Moorman did an excellent job with it and really created a unique, captivating story.

I was excited to receive this as an ALC! I have been seeing great reviews from friends and ended up really enjoying this as well.

As someone who would give anything to spend time with my grandparents again, I found this premise absolutely heartwarming. The magical realism of a door that can transport you to the past and see your great grandmother is so fun. The authors note of the inspiration behind the book was cool to hear!

TW: loss of a spouse.

Without giving too much away, this was also a beautiful love story.

I went into The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds hoping for an engaging mystery, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. While the stakes were set up to be high, the execution lacked the tension needed to make them feel real. The ending was predictable—not in a satisfying, well-earned way, but in a way that made it clear nothing truly bad was ever going to happen. If I had to sum it up in one phrase, I’d tag it as #happyending.

Another major issue was Josephine herself. She was supposed to be a compelling lead, but I found her boring and uninteresting. Her personality felt basic, and I struggled to connect with her motivations. It didn’t help that the entire book was overwhelmingly white—so much so that I couldn’t fully understand or relate to Josephine as a character.

It’s disappointing because, according to the author, Josephine was a character she had been developing for a long time. Unfortunately, that time didn’t translate into a character or story that felt layered or engaging. Overall, this book was just mid—forgettable and lacking the spark needed to make it stand out.

Thank you @NetGalley for the audio ARC!
#NetGalley

My thanks for the audio ARC goes to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse. I'm voluntarily leaving a review, and all opinions are my own.

THE VANISHING OF JOSEPHINE REYNOLDS is where *Back to the Future* meets *It's a Wonderful Life.* And it has some of the vibes of *The Unmaking of June Farrow.* It's pure escapism.

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy

Josephine has lost herself in her marriage (and apparently this is a pattern with men in her life), and she's figuring out who she is and what she wants. I wanted her to move on from the "lost" phase a little quicker, even though that isn't realistic. I'm also not sure what I thought of the burgeoning romance. My questions are does she know who she is yet and is she even ready to flirt with love again? You'll have to see if you have those same questions. There are other questions I have with plausibility and the purpose of some characters.

I loved the setting in the 1920s timeline. Moorman addresses the conundrum of how we might perceive history to what it is actually like—not that we can find out from this novel, but I enjoyed the nod to that dilemma. It also touches on themes of women in society, friendship, family, and of course, love. Alma (Josephine's great-grandmother) is my favorite character because she's spunky and already moved through the grief of losing her husband. She uses some of the cliché phrases we associate with the 20s, and I honestly can't tell you if that was overdone or not. A socialite might have used more of the slang than others. I wish my great-grandparents were around so I could ask them.


I recommend this book for a light and cozy read. :) The narrator did a good job, and I enjoyed how she handled the cast of characters.

Happy reading!

This book is slow and needs to pick up the pace. It is also overly sweet. The narrator exacerbates both of those issues. The storyline is cute but the slow pace made me want to fast-forward.

A story about learning how to love again after heartache. One that will give you extra appreciation for family homes, historic properties and all the stories they hold. I loved the author’s inspiration for the story.

Josephine takes over her family’s historic home, and quickly gets engulfed into the past life. she discovers a magical door that takes her to the roarin’ 20’s where her grandmother ran an illegal speakeasy. She has to warn her Grandmother of a looming raid, before her Grandmother’s life ends. Race against time before her entire life disappears.

I loved the heartfelt parts of this story, and how it circled back to how the inscription got in the door at the end. Had me all in my feels.

“Among the whispering and the stars” this book definitely gave me magical door portal vibes from the likes of Matt Haig and Evie Woods.

I listened to this book and it was a great read . I thought I would not like time travel and was surprised at how it did not feel like a big difference in listen into the story.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


I absolutely adored this book. The main character was extremely relatable and the story line was great. Josephine is a widowed 35 year old woman who finds herself buying her family’s old home and while exploring find a secret speakeasy. From there she finds herself transported back to 1927 and must find a way to change history and save her great grandmother. Full of friendship, sisterhood and some romance this was a great little peace of woman’s lit that will stay with me for a long time! The narration was also great!

“Can one thoughtless wish erase a life?”


Thank You HarperCollins Focus and NetGalley for an ALC

Excellent book!! Very cozy and well written.. I love time travel novels and this keeps you interested all the way to the end!!

When I read the plot, I knew I had to read this book. Time traveling and the 20's? Yes! I received this as an audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The overall plot was fun, but I struggled with the execution and character development. Instead of being brought into the 1920's, it felt as if it was being explained to me and it took me out of the story several times. The characters also felt like they lacked some depth. Overall, it was just okay for me.

With that said, I could see a lot of people enjoying this. It is a light, easy listen. It would also be an excellent choice for a less experienced reader and/or someone who prefers light reads. It could also be a family friendly choice for a road trip.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds
by Jennifer Moorman
Narrated by Kathleen McInerney

Book rating : 3 stars
Audiobook rating : 4 stars
Overall rating : 3.5 stars

The audiobook was good. The narration was spot on and I really enjoyed listening to Kathleen McInerney. Will definitely pick up some books narrated by her in future.

The vanishing of Josephine Reynolds started out dull but soon picked up pace and got quite interesting. The biggest issue I found with this book is Josephine didn't feel like a character who is in her 35. She felt like a person who was very naive and not very mature or adult. She hasn't seen or known anything about outside world which kept nagging at my mind. And I found it hard to believe and I'm not sure of my reasoning.

There's nothing much exciting in the book but I liked how it turned out towards end. The dialogues between the characters felt very dull and boring sometimes. Otherwise it was okay. In the middle I found myself very distracted and not enjoying the story as much as I wanted to. But towards end it was pretty good especially the ending was perfect. And that increased my rating for the book.

I don't know what was the point of nagging neighbour coz it didn't add to the story exactly. Josephine can be really annoying at times. Elma although seems like a good character, I found her a bit pushy. If characters had been fleshed out better it would have helped the story more. Only Katherine was the character who I found endearing.

I found it odd that when Elma was this feminist kind of person, I didn't understand her need to start something illegal for the era especially when it didn't support her cause. Or maybe I missed something altogether, I am not sure. The ending was simply too good for me as I wanted it to be something positive.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.