3.5/5.

This book was an easy and magical novel that literally transported you to another world. I had a lot of fun with it. I am not sure this is one I will remember forever, but it was really lovely in the moment.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for an ALC of this book.

Really interesting and inviting concept of Josephine going back in time in the ‘20s and trying to fix her great-grandmother’s timeline, while simultaneously trying to process grief and rediscover herself. It was also a fun, tho brief, look at the 1920s.

I liked the authenticity of how to manage the clothing and period differences, as well as the aging process. The vanishing parts were sort of reminiscent of Back to the Future and It’s a Wonderful Life.

It was very creative and tho I would have loved more 1920s I thought it was enjoyable and well done.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

I had the pleasure of reading the ARC of this amazing book and loved it. The audio version just kicked it up a notch!! Kathleen McInerney did an amazing job of bringing this outstanding cast of characters to life. I binged this in one day, absolutely phenomenal!

The ending had me clutching my pearls as if it were the first time I had heard the story. Jennifer has an amazing gift of writing magic into the real world; because why can't I find a magic door to another timeline? It could happen. Vivid attention to details when character and world-building for this book. Everything had a meaning, there were no wasted characters and the wrap up was seamless.
Again, an amazing coming of age, fantasy, dual timeline romance, with the perfect splash of magic!

Jennifer Moorman will forever be an auto buy author for me!

Thank you so much Netgalley, Harper Collins Focus/ Harper Muse, and Jennifer Moorman for this beautiful ALC of The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds.

Posted to Goodreads: 1/31/2025

This book is more than just a fun, time travel story. It shows a woman's journey of finding herself after loss, and learning how to live again, possibly one of the hardest things a person can do. The story follows Josephine, who makes a silly wish that changes her life, and the life of her great grandmother, Alma. Mixed with magic and emotion, this book will have you both smiling and maybe a little teary-eyed. I was able to listen to this audio book through NetGalley, and I hope that it finds more readers who will enjoy it as much as I did!

4.5 stars for this beautiful read about finishing yourself when you’re lost. Josephine’s husband passes away and she finds herself searching for a new home and finds her great grandmothers home for sale. From there we are treated to an extremely well written time traveling story. Heart warming and lovely.

This was such a phenomenal book! It has so many things I love. Time travel, duel timelines, a 1920s speakeasy, a woman trying to restart her life. What's not to love! These are some of my favorite book tropes.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is an enchanting blend of magical realism and historical fiction. Josephine is newly widowed and trying to start over when she purchases her late grandmother's home. A home that allows her to travel in to help her great-grandmother.

I really enjoyed this! I loved that Josephine was able to travel between different times and wasn't stuck in the past. Josephine was an all-around great character, and her relationships felt so genuine.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and enjoyed the narration very much. It's was engaging and performed perfectly.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Josephine’s journey from mourning her late husband to discovering her great-grandmother’s house and the mystery hidden within it kept me hooked. The time-travel aspect is fascinating, and I loved how the two timelines intertwined as Josephine learned more about her family’s past and the impact of a single moment. While the pacing felt a bit slow at times, the emotional depth and the way the story unfolded made it a rewarding read. 4 stars.

This was a really great story. It reminded me a little of Kindred but maybe a little lower stakes. I love the time traveling elements, along with the time period. I don't think that historical fiction is always done in a way that I enjoy - but this definitely was. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life - especially those from the 20's.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first book by Jennifer Mooran. I will for sure try another book by her at some point. I was hooked by this book from the first chapter. You can feel love from from the characters and hear their voices after you put the book down. I was extremley disapointed when the book was over. I found myself wanting more from the ending. But I am hopefull that the ending might lead to a 2nd book. Could you time travel though a door and if you could would you?

Josephine Reynolds is recently widowed and deeply grieving her late husband when she learns that her great-grandmother Alma's home in Nashville is in foreclosure. She buys it and sets about restoring it, and that's when she discovers its original front door in a salvage yard. The door turns out to be a portal into the 1920s, where she discovers a speakeasy in the basement and learns that Alma was killed in a raid. Can she alter the course of history to save Alma, without undoing her own existence?

I was so excited to listen to this book. The cover is just gorgeous, and I love the Roaring Twenties. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. The story progresses very slowly and I found my attention wandering a lot. The romance between Josephine and a man she meets in the speakeasy took up too much of the story for my taste. I did, however, enjoy the descriptions of 1920s fashion, drinks, decor, and more. And the ending was very sweet.

The audiobook narration was fine, nothing spectacular.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds provided plenty of the intriguing charm that magical realism offers. I enjoyed the setting of both the past and present being within a contained location, it was easy to imagine. The small bits of evidence of both timelines colliding as the story progressed was a neat touch. It was a slow paced book for the most part, which aren’t my personal favorite. However, the main events were interesting and I did enjoy the great-grandmother as a character, I could believe the sweetness and strength of her demeanor and imagine her as a vibrant and social young woman in the 20’s. The ending of the book was clever and I was satisfied with the conclusion.

What a lovely and enchanting story. I really enjoyed this book and I didn’t want it to end. The writing was amazing. I enjoyed the character. Great narration.
I just all around loved this audiobook.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is one of the most beautifully written stories that I have ever read about loss, healing, self discovery, family, and believing in the impossible. This book is pure magic and transports you through time… literally to the 1920’s and introduces you to an era and characters you can’t help but fall in love with. I am so thankful to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the opportunity to listen to an advance audio copy. I highly recommend the audiobook, the narrator did an excellent job bringing this enchanting story to life!

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds was my first book by Jennifer Moorman, but it certainly won’t be my last. This book is a mix of a few genres: fantasy/magical realism/time travel, romance, women’s fiction (I hate that name), and historical fiction. It kept me entertained, for sure, wondering how events would turn out.

Josephine is widowed at age 35. Deeply grieving the sudden loss of her husband, she starts to realize that she had let herself “vanish” into whatever he wanted her to be and that she’d lost her sense of self along the way. One day, in despair, she wishes she’d never been born, not realizing the far-reaching consequences of that wish.

Her sister has started trying to encourage Josephine to get on with her life, to try something new or go back to something she wanted to do before her marriage. Her sister works in Nashville real estate and shows Josephine that their old family home, mismanaged by their uncle, is now in foreclosure. Josephine decides to buy it and restore it to its former glory.

I don’t want to spoil the story for future readers, but the publisher’s blurb gives a lot away. As Josephine and her sister explore the mansion, they uncover what looks like a former secret speakeasy in the basement. Via the newly rediscovered original door, Josephine finds herself transported to 1927, meeting her great-grandmother Alma as a young widow herself (blame WW1). Upon her return to the present, things start disappearing from her current life and she realizes she needs to go back and somehow stop her great-grandmother from dying in a Prohibition-era raid, to avoid her own existence going poof.

I loved the details of everything Josephine encounters in the 1927 timeframe. There were some wonderful characters, including a love interest for Josephine. How will that pan out? And will Josephine be able to warn the partygoers in time to avoid disaster? The current timeline also has some fun characters, including the obnoxious nosy neighbor who is on the committee/homeowners’ association that oversees what owners can and cannot do with their historic homes.

I had access to both the ebook and the audiobook and the narration by Kathleen McInerney was excellent. Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Book reviews

Wow, is all I can say about this book . It’s simply amazing!! I give this book 10 out of 10. I’m excited to read more books by Jennifer Moorman.
For starters the cover is beautiful. I know it’s the beginning of the year, but this is by far my favorite book, I have read in a long time.
The adventure, the theme, the storyline, the characters all pop. The author made me feel like I was there the whole time. I absolutely loved how she took each character and made them so realistic. And at the end, how she wrapped everything up. This is an amazing book. It’s a must read if you like time travel And mystery you must read this!!!

This one wasn’t for me. I was a bit too whimsical with the magical realism aspects of the book. While the story was there it just wasn’t really holding my attention.

Wow this book was so fun. I have never read a book with a time traveling storyline, but it was definitely a good time. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was pleasant to listen to.

I loved the relationships Josephine formed with the individuals from the past and I secretly wish she could have somehow ended up with Danny, but it's understandable that she didn't. I found myself wanting more at the end hoping there would be more ties to the past or that she would find love again with someone like Danny's great grandson.

I would definitely recommend this book!

This was a fun read. It’s not something I typically reach for but I am so happy I did. I am not sure I would have liked it as much as printed but the audiobook was wonderful!!

Intriguing premise but execution was clunky and, frankly, pretty boring. The characters were all quite one-dimensional (even our heroine Josephine was a dud) and I found I wasn’t at all invested in what happened to them.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse, and the talented author Jennifer Moorman for providing me the opportunity to listen to this early access audiobook, narrated beautifully by Kathleen McInerney. This was my first audiobook experience with her, and I absolutely loved her performance! She brought the characters and the world to life in a way that was truly captivating.

From the moment I began The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds, I was drawn into the poignant journey of our main character, Josephine, who finds herself grappling with profound grief after the sudden loss of her husband, Nathan. The premise is original and engaging, rooted in a moment of darkness as Josephine contemplates a life where she wishes she were never born.

Josephine's sister persuades her to purchase their ancestral Craftsman bungalow, one that’s seen better days, which serves as a welcome distraction from her pain. The plot thickens when Josephine discovers the original door of the house in a salvage yard; when she installs it, she’s magically transported to 1927, where she meets her daring great-grandmother, Alma, who runs an illegal speakeasy in the basement. Their dynamic is electric, and the Jazz Age setting adds a vivid backdrop to Josephine’s time-bending journey.

What I adored about this book was its exploration of grief and connection across generations, intertwined with the thrill of changing the past. The stakes rise as Josephine discovers that her newfound bond with Alma could alter her very existence, leading to a chilling revelation about her own vanishing.

However, I did knock off one star due to the ending. I found myself yearning for more depth and closure regarding Josephine's future. There were moments where my emotions were so intertwined with her journey—I laughed, I cried, and I wanted a deeper dive into what lies ahead for her.

If you enjoyed The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Posten or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab for their overall vibe rather than plots, you will likely find The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds to be a worthwhile read. Overall, this novel is a beautiful blend of history, emotion, and magical realism, and I genuinely hope to see more from such a talented author in the future.

Thank you once again to everyone involved in this wonderful audiobook experience!