I decided to check out this title as part of 2025 #CampNetGalley since the premise sounded promising to me. Even though I didn't finish in time to earn this year's badge, I'm glad I had a chance to read this debut novel and try something a little different to close out my summer reading. I found it to be an inventive story with a fairy tale feeling, which I enjoyed. The author did a great job of weaving in the twists of the story and competing timelines.

While the story was well-paced and complex, I felt like the story dragged at times and my reading pace was slower than I had thought it would be. Maybe it was because the varying timelines were fairly close in time (spanning WWII to the 1960s) and the chapters blended a bit together for me. For the story and the intertwined events in the various eras, it made perfect sense that the three timelines were so close though. Maybe the story paralleled the news too closely for me and I needed more of an escape in my reading life at the time I was reading it.

If you enjoy stories that include historical fiction, time travel, and political intrigue that ask how far you will go for the ones you love, you will likely enjoy this one quite a bit.

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the chance to read this debut novel as part of 2025 #CampNetGalley.

I used this as my choice for the 2025 BookRiot Read Harder Challenge prompt "read a genre-blending book;" the 2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompt "a book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons;" and, the 2025 Politics and Prose Reading Challenge prompt "a fantasy book."

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster.

This was an interesting read. There wasn’t anything really new or exciting in the book but the themes of time travel, storing memories and others experiencing them and the complexities of people who try to police these things lended to a complex plot.

The story is fully of morally gray people and situations. I was expecting more interference with time travel and espionage during the war but it’s not really how it works. The focus was on memories and what if people could take them or erase people from history.

Despite the espionage plot this story was dry it took me forever to read because after 20 pages I was wanting something else more interesting. I found I could only manage a chapter at a time until I hit the 80% mark. I usually read a book in 3-4 days and this took a month because I just didn’t find it enthralling to pick up. If I hadn’t gotten a copy to review I may have not finished.

Not only is it dull but some characters choices were so off putting. Not only that but the glaring plot holes bothered me.

The book itself is well written but the problem was lackluster genre defining moments. It’s really not a great example of historical fiction because so much of the story takes place outside of time and the events are made up. I’d call it speculative fiction. And it’s not a spy or thriller story because there’s no high stakes plot or action. It’s like passive espionage I guess.

I did like the moral complexity and some of the scenes. The challenge is if you try to say meddling in the past is dangerous, we didn’t get any supporting evidence. It’s was almost the opposite so I’m a little confused how to feel. Even though I wasn’t a fan I see some promise in the story to give it 3.25/5

ARC Reader

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into reading historical fiction or anyone that enjoys reading a book about books.

While most of the “twists” in the story were all very predictable to me, the story had me pulled in and wanting a happy ending for these characters. I was very satisfied with the ending.

I can definitely see this being made into a fantastic tv series.

I selected this book during the Camp NetGalley challenge and really thought I would enjoy it. While I normally enjoy a book with time travel, this one wasn’t jiving with me. I found the magical system to be a bit tricky to follow and didn’t enjoy the writing style. I unfortunately DNF this book as it wasn’t for me, but it’s great to see others who enjoyed it more.

Wow! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! This book will leave you wanting for more and the characters and storyline stick with you long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this page-turner!

Firstly, I LOVED this book!!

I loved the atmosphere that this story was told in. It greatly reminded me of the "World Between Worlds" in Narnia, or the Library setting in the TV show, The Magicians. I loved the characterizations, the plot and just the mysterious nature of the story.

Lisavet is such an engaging chracter too. I found that the plot/ways this story make you feel really got to me. The power of memories, whether tragic or fun are so powerful, and this story really was thought provoking. This falls in line with a lot of other books I have read recently that involve. multiple timelines, and I think there is something so fulfilling as a reader to have the imanation of multple things going on in space and time. The worldbuilding and setting are fantastic in this book and I give it a magical 5 stars! Seriously imaginative, and just incredible.

10/10!!! Run don't walk to grabn this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What a beautiful book of two people set in the Cold War Era that meet in a strange universe of a library encompassing the memories of time. Yet, with the power to control memories and time come those that want that power for themselves. It’s a lovely story of what you will do for those you love.

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This was such a fun read! This cinematic journey through time is exactly the kind of book I always enjoy.

The atmospheric quality and nonlinear timeline had me whipping through this book furiously to find out what would happen next. I loved the epic romance, the time fuckery, and the sense of suspense that pervaded the entire story. The twist was fun although I had figured it out much earlier than it was officially revealed. Overall a super interesting book that I will definitely be recommending to my time-travel-loving friends!

I really enjoyed this book. Such a beautifully written book that was intriguing and engaging. Fantasy and romance, time changing just really enjoyed getting lost in the best way

This is one of those books that will be with me for a long time. The way it brings up questions of time and memory, who controls the narratives we live in and our subsequent idea of what "reality" is is masterful. As the book jumps around in time, we receive insights and pieces of the story in a way that feels fairly fluid and has me coming back for more. I appreciate the historical fantasy aspect - it's not my usual genre but this was absolutely beautiful.

The Book of Lost Hours is a gorgeously imagined tale that blends historical intrigue with speculative wonder, weaving together the lives of Lisavet and Amelia across decades of grief, espionage, and the fragile preservation of memory. The concept of the time space, a vast library of human recollection, is both haunting and enchanting, and the novel shines most when it lingers on the power of stories to resist erasure. While the pacing occasionally falters and the dual timelines can feel uneven, the emotional depth and richly atmospheric prose more than make up for it. A thoughtful, beautifully written story about history, love, and the fragility of truth.

This was a great read. A very new story line that was very interesting and engaging. Would definitely recommend.
Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

Despite not being a historical fiction person as a general rule, this beautifully written bridge between the fantasy and historical fiction genres had me hooked from the beginning, and emotionally tethered to the characters' experiences until the very end.

One night in Nuremberg, 1938, Lisavet's father tells her a story about the liminal area in between time and space and the timekeepers who protect history by preserving the memories that are stored there. But Lisavet quickly realizes this is not just a story; this is the life her father and many others live, and she is suddenly left alone in that same time space in her father's desperate attempt to keep her--and his life's work--out of the hands of the Nazis. So Lisavet slowly learns the ephemeral and, at times, cruel existence of a timekeeper through observation and necessity, growing up among the lost memories she attempts to rescue from those that try to control the narrative of history. In Boston, 1965, fifteen-year-old Amelia looks on as her uncle Ernest, her last remaining family member, is buried. Little does she know her entire existence is about to change as she, too, is thrust into the dangerous world of timekeepers, and the truth of who her uncle was.

This book grabbed my attention with the intertwining of a few of my favorite tropes: secret libraries, time travel, and the liminal nature of memory (perhaps that last one is more a favorite theme of mine than it is a trope, but I digress). It absolutely does not disappoint; the story's characters are grounded and feel real despite their fantastical circumstances, hardened by their life experiences and yet still led by their respective ideals. The morality of temporal exploration, or deletion, is murky, and that weight is reflected well in the characters as they navigate the literal annals of history. The story keeps you on your toes, weaving our own reality with this high-stakes sci-fi/fantasy one, leaving the reader questioning what they know to be true... or at least what they believe to be true, and whether memory can ever be considered fully their own.

I cannot recommend this story enough, especially for the gritty realism that the character depth portrays: that we are all crafted by our experiences, but that we can also never truly trust what we know to be true, because our own memories, through time or outside interference, may be the biggest lie of all.

SO many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 5 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: August 29, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a26370b6-4099-420f-a791-01bd60daffee?redirect=true)
Review posted to Instagram: PENDING

Historical fiction and fantasy tied together what’s not to love. I didn’t want this book to end. I was really rooting for the main characters. The last chapter was short and confused me a little. It made me question if the chapter previously was real.

5 Stars! Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in the time space - an area where memories of past generations are kept in books, which can only be accessed by timekeepers with their specially designed watches. However now, the governments of the world primarily own those watches and are trying to erase memories to shape the future. Lisavet makes it her mission to save these memories, and while doing so, runs into Ernest Duquesne. Flash forward to 1965, we are also introduced to Amelia Duquesne, Ernest's niece. Ernest has recently died, and Moira, who oversees the US timekeeper program, needs Amelia's help gathering some lost materials in the time space. Is time linear? Is it a construct? Will Amelia and Lisavet be able to save the worlds they love so dearly?

I LOVED this book! 10/10 stars, no notes, it was WONDERFUL. I absolutely loved the concept of the time space and how the government erases memories to make us forget history, but there are people working behind the scenes to ensure that doesn't happen. Amelia, Lisavet, Moira, and Ernest were all amazing characters that were very fully fleshed out and had multiple layers to their personalities and how they go about navigating the world. This book is fully of twists and turns and kept me engaged the entire time I was reading it.

I'm shortlisting this as one of my favorite books I've read for 2025. Absolutely amazing storytelling, a unique concept, and incredibly well written. Make sure to pick this one up!

I loved this book! This is a sweeping, epic, magical love story. Set in WWII-the Cold War, and Time itself, the reader is transported just like the characters. I enjoyed how there were many different storylines and themes, but the book didn’t feel disjointed or overdone. Instead, everything fit together seamlessly leading into a book you won’t want to put down. Fans of Time Traveler’s Wife, Piranesi, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January may enjoy this debut!
The writing was a bit basic, but it did not distract or detract from the story or the plot. So creative!! Thank you for the free copy!

This was such a lovely read! I really enjoyed the dual timelines and the characters. Such a great debut novel

This book will have an everlasting presence in my heart. Every time that I picked it up, I was drawn into the story and lost myself to its world.
The concept of time is treated in such a captivating manner. Predominant themes in the book included an exploration into memories, time, ideas, the accuracy of history, and censorship. Also deeply felt, is the connection between the characters and the lengths to which a person will go to protect the ones they love - would you change history in favour of keeping someone you love safe?
This book was a page turner with loads of mystery as well. The pacing, world building, character development, and conflict were all pure perfection. There is actually not a single thing that I would change about this book.
Did I say that I loved it?
I have honestly been having such a hard time articulately how I feel about this story, but to put it plainly, I hugged the book when I finished reading it and I want to read it again now. I have also been telling anyone that I come across that they need to pick this book up now. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a digital early copy of the book and Simon & Schuster Canada for a physical arc of the book. The opinions expressed are given freely and are honest and my own.

I am so grateful that I discovered this book on Netgalley 🥺.

The author did an amazing job putting her imaginations to words. The time travel wasn’t confusing at all, I thought it was very well done. She also did a job telling history from different countries point of views.

The romance storyline was so cute, I loved how it was slow-burned, how they lived through memories and still found each other later. I also liked the Amelia and Anton subplot.

I didn’t see the plot twists coming at all!!! My jaws literally dropped when I got to that part lol. I was glad Lisavet/Moira beat Jack at his games and still got her happy ending with Ernest and Amelia.

This book is a revelation of what people will do to protect things or people precious to them and how these decisions may affect others.

It’s a bit long but I absolutely recommend.

Having this been offered as part of Camp Netgalley I was excited to read this book. It was so poetic in writing and a beautiful idea behind memories and what we do for those we love. I loved the story of Earnest, Amelia, and Liveset, from the first page to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange of my honest opinion.