I loved the reflective nature of this story. I felt that I really saw parts of myself in the Josephine character, and I felt that the conclusion was satisfying, and not taking the easy way out.

4.3 ⭐

What an amazing story! 🫶🏻

Plot: 5/5
Pace: 3+/5
Female characters: 4.5/5

I loved Josephine's journey coming back to life after a long year of grieving.
She felt lost and sad, but seeing how the women in her life helped her see the beauty of life was inspiring and heartwarming.

The magical element in the book is something I'm really drawn to (time travel) and I would like to read more about in the future.

The ending has me smiling and cursing a bit too. I think I needed a second epilogue 🥹

And I also think I need to keep an eye on this author and her stories.

// Thank you to Netgalley, Jennifer Moorman and HarperCollins Focus for the opportunity to read the ARC of this in exchange of my honest opinion //

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsFocus for the book#TheVanishingOfJosephineReynolds by #JenniferMoorman. This book is about grief, time travel and moving on and is absolutely amazing. Josephine is grieving her husband’s death and doesn’t want to move on and wishes she had never been born. After her sister convinces her to sell her home and buy her great grandmas house, she realizes it’s not like any other house. The front door has a key that sends her back and forth to 1927, where she will discover what it would be like if she was never born. Can she save her life among others before it’s too late?

I absolutely LOVED this book by Jennifer Moorman. A magical realism novel with time travel, a perfect cozy read for the winter. I could not stop listening to this book - the audio version was fantastic and kept me hooked the entire time. My first 5 star read of 2025!!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for allowing me to read and review this audiobook.

Though I appreciated the concept of this story, it seemed like something was lacking. Even though Josephine experienced a sense of urgency to resolve her wish, it felt as if she was dawdling for much of the book. It was charming, but there was still an element that felt incomplete.

This was a sweet, wholesome, and a wonderful audiobook. The narrator did a good job and her higher-pitch voice added to the sweetness of the book - without being over the top. There were touches of magical realism (time travel) and themes of family relationships, grief, new love, and change. If you’re looking for a southern fiction read that is positive and wholesome, I recommend this one!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this novel in exchange for an honest review.

3.5-The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds is a historical fiction, time travel story. It centers around Josephine who comes across a magic door for a home she purchases which was previously owned by her great grandmother. The door brings her to the 1920’s where she meets her great grandmother as a young woman. I absolutely loved this concept, and while I still enjoyed this audiobook, I think it had so much more potential. Without giving too much away, I felt like the connection between the timelines needed to be more fleshed out such that the reader understands the impact of something that happens in one timeline on what happens in the other. Additionally, I would have loved to have seen her sister play a bigger role throughout the novel.

Overall, I think it was an enjoyable novel, and I would definitely read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse, and Jennifer Moorman for this free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review! This was my first novel from this author.

I ADORED this book! Not only do we have magical realism, but historical fiction as a storyline -- the 1920's fashion, social scene, jazz and prohibition. (The 20's was always one of my favorite eras to research in school.) Josephine was distraught after her husband's death, unsure of the direction of her new life. A project to restore her great grandmother's home, was just what she needed to take her mind off of things. Who knew that just changing a door could alter the course of history!

Similar to Back to the Future and June Farrow, we have a story of choices and directions -- the, "what if's". I was fully invested to see what direction Josephine chose. So... Much...Fun!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds" and all opinions expressed are my own. I listened to the audio book. I loved the time travel storyline. Loved that it was historical fiction, characters were good! Sort of reminded me of Back to The Future though. Overall I liked it.

I really loved The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds! This book got me thinking—what if I could go back in time and meet my great-grandparents when they were young? What secrets might I uncover about them or even about myself? It’s such a beautiful story about family and the things we don’t always know about the people who came before us.

I also loved how the time-travel element was done—it felt so natural and grounded, not overly sci-fi, which made it even more relatable. The characters pulled me in right away, and the twists kept me hooked until the very end. It’s one of those stories that sticks with you and makes you think about your own family history in a whole new way.

I listened to an advance audiobook and have to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the chance to check it out early. The narration was fantastic and really brought the story to life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. The fabulous Kathleen McInerney does an exceptional job narrating this one and made it very enjoyable!!!

This one is a cross between Back to the Future and the Time Traveler's Wife and it works really, really well!

Josephine is a young widow who is depressed and in an early midlife crisis. Making a hasty wish that she should not have been born sets her up for an incredible life change. She purchases a family mansion that has gone into foreclosure and begins the process of taking the property back to its glorious origin. The first thing she does is replace the front door, which her broke uncle had swapped out the original door for a gaudy wooden one, to spite the neighborhood preservation committee. At the local restoration place, she trips across the original door and has it re-installed. This results in her time-traveling back to the late 1920's when her great grandmother owned the house and ran a speak-easy out of the basement. Discovering that her great grandmother Alma may have died in a raid sets in motion a series of events that result in Josephine re-evaluating her life.

This is a well written story with strong, likeable characters. It was a pleasant change and a fresh story line for a historical fiction tale. I found it to be fast paced, believable and an all together, wonderful read! Highly recommend!!!

This is a time travel, dual timeline romantic novel and I thought it was fantastic. Very well done.
Josephine was a heroic character, with strength and courage to travel back in time to save her family from extinction.
Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Focus for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have totally loved being swept away by this beautiful story!

Not my usual genre but after reading the synopsis I thought I’d give it a go and it was such a welcome change.
I loved the magical reality that released Josephine from her grief and took her on a mission to change the future and realise her own potential.

A light hearted beautiful story, totally enjoyed this read

On paper, this book felt like it was just for me. I love the 20s, time travel, magical realism, and a mystery that needs to be solved. I found the story intriguing: Josephine can step back in time through the door to her house, and the speakeasy, and having to save her grandmother to save herself. However, some things nagged at me. For instance, Josephine's relationship with her dead husband—she spent so much time mourning, but as the story progressed, I got the feeling that she wasn't happy in the marriage. And that's okay, I guess. I just felt that she had been married to this guy for a long time, and it seemed like she now realized she wasn't happy. At first, it didn't bother me; however, as the book progressed, she thought more about how controlling he was, how he swept her off her feet, and how she lived in a golden cage that she seemed to like—at least until he was gone, and she now realized everything. It's perhaps a small, thing, but it was just something that annoyed me throughout the story since she was at first so sad. Then, of course, there is someone else that she meets...also a thing that I was not completely sold on. However, it made the ending quite good. So, I will admit that it wasn't all that bad the romance part of the story.

I did enjoy the book, but not as much as I hoped I would. As I mentioned above, some things bothered me; however, I did love going back in time through the magical door and that her grandmother had a speakeasy. The story felt a bit easy to predict, but overall, it was a good story.

This book is beautifully written, featuring a parallel timeline, and a time-travel storyline with a historical setting. I enjoyed the story's pace and fell in love with the characters. The narrator did a wonderful job and was very easy to listen to. I loved this book, and I can't wait to add it to my shelf!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers

I ws given a copy for an honrdt review.

So before this book, i never read or even heard of this author before. So when i saw this being talked about on social media, i told myself i needed this book. Especially time travel and magical realism and going back to the 1920s. It reminded me of one of my favorite series of all time, the surviving trace by calia read. But without all heavy romance. You have a story about a woman who goes back and meets her great grandma and saves her but also chosing who she wants to me. This was one of my top favorites of this month

A fantastic premise, but unfortunately the completed product falls short. The writing style and one-dimensional characters made this book very difficult to finish.

A twist of fate allows widowed Josephine Reynolds to become the latest owner of the Carter Mansion. Travel along as Josephine finds herself stepping back in time through her own enchanted front door into the home once owned by her great grandmother. Once in the past, she finds herself on a mission to save her great grandmother’s life. Josephine must race the clock to change the past or she risks her present-day life vanishing.
I enjoyed this quick read. I loved the author’s note included with the book which gave us a glimpse of her inspiration in writing this story. She mentions seeing an old door years ago at a salvage store that left her day dreaming of all the history that this door had been witness to during its existence. This inspired her time travel story, complete with the setting of a home in the 20s with a secret speakeasy. Author Jennifer Moorman does a great job of weaving a time travel tale filled with mystery, new friendships and a dash of romance.

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

I received an ARC of this audiobook through Netgalley.

This was a kind of science fiction romance, more fiction than science, but there is time travel, a time-travel-mance? A roman-science-fiction? Whatever the proper (or even the best made up) term for this genre - it’s awesome.

It’s easy to imagine this fantastical story as being entirely plausible. Jennifer Moorman (the author) created gold with this book.

If you are into:
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Great Gatsy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Kate & Leopold (2001 movie starring Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan)
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
or To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
-then you might enjoy this book

I highly recommend this book to readers. I also highly recommend this book to movie writers & producers, because this would make a great movie!

Kathleen McInerney did a remarkable job narrating this book. A truly impressive narrator!

How I feel: Hopeful, happy, excited for life and possibilities

This is not for me. I loved the concept. A woman finding herself after allowing herself to meld with her partner, stepping through time and discovering family history.

Unfortunately it comes off incredibly juvenile. The narrators sweet voice added to that feeling.