First of all, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is such a captivating story. The combination of sci-fi, magical realism, and espionage wrapped up in historical fiction was fantastic to journey through. It was a bit slow a first and there were a few editing hiccups that threw me off, but nothing major. The story really picked up at about the 1/3 mark and was both heartfelt and magical with a hint of danger. I felt for the characters and adored the atmosphere both in and outside of the Time Space. The balance of right and wrong were tested in so many ways, and the results were always a surprise. I look forward to more books by Hayley Gelfuso, such a great debut novel.

This book has enormous potential! Time travel, living in the memories of others, altering the past and its impact on the future, and on top of everything else the nefarious governments trying to control the present by editing the past. I was really looking forward to some level of investigation into these fabulous themes.

Instead a very intimate and compact love story, and one that seemed to repeat itself page after page. While I’m a sucker for a good love story (having married my soul mate!), but this is at best a decent love story, especially given the twist in name and identity. And aside from a single fully developed character, the other main characters are just not well developed.

This book is well written and has some poetic and touching moments but does not come close to realizing its potential.

I walked away from this book with mixed feelings.
It had a compelling opening. The central concept of a girl stranded in a time library is one I really enjoyed. Exploring the world through the eyes of Lisavet, a girl orphaned by the Holocaust, was deftly done. I found the character of Azrael interesting.
When things shifted to the Cold War era, however, I found myself struggling. The book started to feel like an appetizer salad at a nice restaurant: a little bit of everything but not designed to fill you up. I was intrigued by the idea of a time intelligence agency, and I liked Moira. However, I didn’t care about Amelia and thought she didn’t add much to the story. Jack was a very one-dimensional villain. I began liking Lisavet less and less and found some of her choices unfathomable. (The scene of her and Jack getting together was particularly unpalatable and felt wildly unnecessary; the consequences of that were never revisited.) There were random sprinklings of commentary on racism, intelligence agency corruption, and historical revisionism that felt more obligatory than meaningful. The ending was nice, but didn’t make sense to me: you’re telling me that erasing knowledge of a time library, and the extreme historical revisions that it spawned, hardly changed history at all?
However, I did overall enjoy the book. I think Ernest and Lisavet’s romance was lovely and I was rooting for them. I think the author has a talent for coming up with original ideas, and I look forward to her next work.

I am always so interested in books that involve time travel. It’s such a fascinating topic, and it’s always done so differently. Lisavet Levy’s story was so unique! I have honestly never read anything like this one. I fell in love with her and Ernest. I fell in love with their love story. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. And Amelia, this poor girl has been through so much, yet she was incredibly resilient.

I’m so excited for more people to get their hands on this one. It’s such a uniquely beautiful tale.

Thank you so much Atria books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved it!

Good story. Told in two time-frames. Lots of fascinating characters. The two main characters meet in both times, but one of them does not realize this until later. A little schmalzy at the end. Worthwhile and recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced eBook of The Book of Lost Hours. This book sucked me in from page 1. I was instantly captivated by Lisavet's story and how she adapted to her unique situation. It was very thought provoking and I loved the depth of all the characters.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I have never highlighted so much while reading before, but I was obsessed. The entire time I was on the edge of my seat. I loved every part of it and was kicking my feet and giggling or gasping at every piece of new information as I kept reading.

THIS BOOK WILL BECOME A BESTSELLER. If it doesn’t I might riot. I hope nobody share spoilers before it is published. I cannot wait to share it with my friends and family so we can discuss it together!! August cant come soon enough.

The Book of Lost Hours is described as “A sweeping, cinematic love story, this feat of imagination explores memory, time, and the lengths we will go to in order to protect the existence of those we love.”

It artfully jumps between two timelines and is so beautifully descriptive that you feel as if you in the book yourself.

Even better, this book was inspired by The Library: A Fragile History ??? I also love this book so this tidbit in the acknowledgments broke my brain.
The book has been described as a for fans of The Ministry of Time, The Midnight Library, and the Invisible Life of Addie La Rue. While I agree these books share some characteristics I don’t think disliking one of them should make you avoid the Book of Lost Hours. This book is also much more tangible with easier to follow timelines. The Book of Lost Hours also stands on its own as it is a story that has something for everyone. History, romance, geopolitics, imagination, appreciation for books, strong women, science, there’s literally so much packed into this book that I truly think anyone could find something to love.

On the surface The Book of Lost Hours is a work of fiction which shared a creative idea of if timekeepers and memories existed in books ones could access and change in a magical world. But on a deeper level it considers censorship, lost knowledge, and who is in control of history. It is such a mutli layered book that you won’t be able to guess what will happen next.

I loved every part of reading it and I cant wait to read it again.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. My opinion is entirely my own.

I loved this book! The world of magic that was created by Gelfuso was delightful. It caused me to think about how history is written in our own world and the importance of seeing things from others point of view. It also got me thinking about what I would do if I were in each character's position. I was excited to see how the story would end and how the conflicts would be resolved. Well written, creative and engaging, this book was a win for me

The Book of Lost Hours is a timely piece although set during and after WWII. This book made me think of ways people today are trying to rewrite history by banning books. I really enjoyed this take with a science fiction twist, although the physics of it all got a little complicated.

The Book of Lost Hours is a spellbinding tale of love, rebellion, and redemption. Lisavet is a child when she is thrust out of this world and into a hall where memories are kept - she grows up in this nowhere place, experiencing everything and nothing. She meets Ernest, a man working for an organization that meddles in history to serve its own ends. His niece, Amelia, is caught up in the clutches of this organization when her uncle dies and she meets the cold and beautiful Moira.

How far would you go for love? What does it mean for something to be history? The Book of Lost Hours grapples with these questions.

This is certainly up there with my favorite reads of the year. Evocative of The Starless Sea, The Midnight Library, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Book of Lost Hours holds serious potential for fans of romance, fantasy, and historical fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Atria Books team for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso is a highly imaginative story about Lisavet, who is living in the timespace where memories reside in books. Timekeepers destroy and protect memories to maintain a cohesive history. Lisavet meets Ernest, a timekeeper and a love story begins. The story is divided between Lisvet in the 1940s and
Amelia, Ernest’s niece, in 1965. She is recruited by Moira, who works for a CIA division called Temporal Reconnaissance Program. Amelia begins to learn that her family has been harboring secrets and Moira is at the center of her finding the truth.

I recommend this book for science fiction and fantasy readers. It’s a beautifully constructed love story that shows how love can endure through time. The plot can be complicated, I recommend not getting too caught up with the timekeeping and focus on the characters.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

What in the time-space mind-bending heck just happened?

This book took a bit of time to grow on me, but once I did, I could put it down- and that's saying something because I mostly read it on my phone during work training breaks. When I read this book I often listened to the soundtrack from Inception, which the book often made me think about. It also reminded me of the Adjustment Bureau. This book blends a lot of genres that I think people of different interests could enjoy. Science fiction, romance, general fiction, also magical realism and historical fiction.

As someone who loves HF, I loved learning about the characters as they jumped between different periods in history. Moira, Ernest and Amelia are some of the main characters that you fall in love with, but part of the interest in the story is that for a long period of time you can never really know who is the good guy and the bad guy. Government agents have gotten access to time and the ability to change and remove parts of history their governments don't like. There are rebels trying to stop them and allow history to not be forgotten. In the middle is Amelia, who recently lost her uncle, visited by the mysterious Moira who wants her help in finding out what happened to Ernest. Amelia learns about 'the watches' and is thrown into a world between books, memories and time, on a journey to learn the mysteries of the world but also where she really comes from.

I found the pacing for this book to be just right, and it soon became a page-turner. You do have to be focused on the book to not get lost in the time jumps and jumps between characters. I found this book a great adventure to hop into and was sad when it ended. I'll be looking for the hardcopy to buy!

Historical fiction meets science fiction in this love story through time. We meet a family of watchmakers during the Nazi invasion who are doing all they can to survive. Lisavet gets stuck in a library of memories waiting for her father to return… but he never does.

In this novel you have a little bit of everything! We see a little mystery as to how will Lisavet get back to the real world. We see a young love bloom and heartbreak. We meet Moira, our strong protagonist who will do anything for her job. Lastly we meet Amelia a young girl who has just lost everything and everyone important to her.

The chapters were greatly detailed and made me question things I hadn’t before such a time and memories. It makes you truly think of how history is written by the victor.

It's a commentary on what we'd give up for the chance to hold onto everything.

Lost in time space, this ARC copy of Book of Lost Hours, by Hayley Gelfuso, felt like a story read backwards at times despite its absolutely moving forward. Underneath all that time matrix and book burning, it's a conversation about how our desire to control information can distill our opportunities to inform or educate.

Overall, Hayley gives us a dynamic little story arc unfolding as a series of unfortunate events. It wouldn't be my usual theme, however, alongside the complexity of a main character who seems to keep making a few mistakes, a little dystopia can be good to stir up the pot.

Loved this! Complex characters and world with interesting character development. Especially the main character, Lisavet. Kept me hooked throughout.

Wow. What can I say? This was great. As I read more and more I couldn’t help but think “how can this only be the middle of the story?” It was so wonderfully intense at the right moments, that I kept thinking this had to be the climax of the story, but it wasn’t. It was all continually building and building all the way to the end.

Stories of time and travel can be hard to navigate, but I thought the author did a great job of it. I really liked the pacing and how the story came together as the timeline got closer and closer together. Not all of the twists were super shocking to me, but when I discovered a lot of of them for myself, I was still really excited and it was just a lot of fun to discover what was really happening in the time space.

I am uncertain how I feel about the ending however. While I really enjoyed it and I’m happy with how it ended, I wonder what else it could’ve been. But it still gets a five star rating because that’s kind of the point of the story what could be what is and what isn’t.

Overall, really fun and intense at the right moments, with wonderful times of love and laughter and intrigue and anger and everything mixed in really well.

I’ve also seen a lot of comparison to “The Night Circus” and “The Midnight Library.” Personally I think the tone and intrigue is similar to “The Night Circus,” which is one of my favourite things about both books. I think it relates to “The Midnight Library“ in that it also takes place in a “library” and one travels through books, but otherwise they are very different - in a good way - books. Still in my humble opinion, someone who enjoyed both of those books will likely enjoy this one.

I received an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley in lieu of an honest review…

And honestly, this is a book I will want to buy for my own “memory time” shelves.

The Book of Lost Hours is a richly imagined universe where watchmakers have been walking (and altering) time and memories for millennia. Lisavet Levy's father, a watchmaker, hides her in the time space to save her on Kristallnacht. There she lives for years, learning how to travel the memories of the dead. When she meets and falls in love with an American timekeeper, she must answer questions about how far she's willing to go for love, to protect those she cares the most about, and to protect the integrity of history, memory, and time itself.

This was an enjoyable, mind-bending "invisible string" read.

Part historical fiction, part fantasy, The Book of Lost Hours is a sweeping story of time, family, love, memories, and our responsibility to all of these things. On the evening of Kristallnacht, Lisavet Levy becomes trapped in the Time Space, where she spends the next several years wandering infinite rows filled with books of memories. When she uncovers a plot to burn memories and change history, she makes it her mission to save those memories and prevent them from being lost forever. When she comes face-to-face with one of those timekeepers tasked with burning memories, it changes the course of everything, with implications not only for Lisavet and her new friend but also all of history.

I loved the twists and turns of this unique story, and the broader picture themes of the passage of time and the responsibility of individuals as part of a broader societal history. Would definitely recommend!

⏳✨ The Book of Lost Hours is a mind-bending, time-twisting adventure that had an excellent premise… but it also confused me.

In the 1940s, 11-year-old Lisavet Levy is hidden in the Timespace for safety, but when her father never returns, she realizes she’s trapped. Discovering that Timekeepers are erasing memories, she secretly preserves them—until Ernest Duquesne tries to stop her.

In 1965 Boston, Amelia Duquesne mourns her uncle’s death when she meets Moira, a mysterious woman who introduces her to the Timespace. Moira needs Amelia’s help to find a lost blue book that once belonged to Lisavet. But why is this book so important? And why does Moira need her specifically to find the book?

The whole concept of Timespace was brilliant in theory, but the execution left me scratching my head. The history of the Timekeepers, the watches, the meditation—how does it all connect? I kept waiting for that aha moment, but instead, I just went along for the ride. 🚀

That said, I loved the Timekeepers and the idea of storing memories in books. It was very magical. 📚💫 The book jumps between different timelines, unfolding the past and present simultaneously, however, the sheer number of POVs had me a bit lost at times.

But I was still interested enough to keep going. Overall I wish I didn’t have to work so hard reading this book to try and put everything together but I love timespace plots and I do think that this book could make a great movie.

3 stars

QOTD: Would you rather have the ability to travel through time or access lost memories? ⏳✨

Alternatively, the book has multiple POVs—do you love when stories unfold this way, or does it confuse you? 🤯👀

Thank you @NetGalley & @AtriaBooks for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just wow! This is a book that will stay with me for a long time!

In the early 1940’s when Lisavet Levy is just 11 years old, her father tucks her away into the time space to keep her safe. He promises to return, but after she waits for what seems like forever, she realizes something has gone wrong and he’s not coming back. She’s trapped.

The time space is where all memories are kept. When Lisavet realizes that timekeepers are destroying memories, she makes it her mission to save as many memories as she can, storing them away in her book. That is, until she meets Ernest Duquesne, who is very interested in what she’s doing, and tries to stop her.

In Boston, in the year 1965, Amelia Duquesne is mourning the loss of her Uncle Ernest when she meets a mysterious woman named Moira. Moira introduces Amelia to the time space, and recruits her in the search for a precious item. A blue book that once belonged to Lisavet Levy. Can Amelia trust her? And why does she want the help of a 15 year old girl?

I’m not kidding when I say that this has been my favorite read of the year! ❤️ The way the author so seamlessly combines the stories of Lisavet and Amelia is just pure talent! I am astonished that this is Hayley Gelfuso’s debut novel!! The author really did her research with this book. All the loose ends are tied up by the end, and you’re left crying both happy and sad tears. I really feel that this one is going to become a best seller. ❤️ I can’t wait to read another book by this author someday!

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion. I rate this book as five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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