At 11 years old, Lisavet Levy is not too old for fairy tales. Her father tells her of a mysterious place called “time-space” that exists to store the world’s memories, and of the time keepers who access it through magical watches. But it’s 1938 in Germany, and when the sound of trampling feet and breaking glass fill the street outside, her father bundles her up and shoves her through a door–and she discovers the tales were true! Her father never returns so Lisavet grows up in this liminal space between worlds and beyond time, learning about the world from its memories and its specters. When she begins to see men entering the space to destroy certain memories, she learns how to preserve at least some of them, at risk of being discovered and forced back to live within time again.

Meanwhile in 1965, Amelia is mourning the death of the uncle who raised her, Ernest Duquesne. At his graveside, she’s confronted by the unsettling Moira O’Donnelly, who claims she worked with him and insists on moving in with the grieving girl. In spite of their prickly relationship, Moira tells Amelia that people have been destroying the watches that allow access to the time-space, so that only government officials can enter and choose which memories will be allowed to survive. Amelia wants nothing to do with it or with Moira. However, the more she learns, the more intrigued about the past she becomes. Is her own story as rigidly determined as she has always assumed?

The Book of Lost Hours is an enchanting yarn. It’s a paean to the power of memory to shape our stories. With a deft brush, it addresses serious issues such as government overreach, the power of ideas, and the ability of common people to preserve them and fight. At the same time, it tells a love story between two people, between parents (and parental figures) and children. What are we willing to sacrifice to protect those we love? What price would be counted too much? A lyrical, well-plotted tale, this one is highly recommended.

This was a fun read! There are different time lines but they are able to be kept separate while reading. If you liked Midnight Library or Book of Doors, which I loved both, then I think you will enjoy this magical realism adventure.

Hayley Gelfuso’s *The Book of Lost Hours* is a blend of suspense, romance, and time-bending adventure. Gelfuso’s narrative weaves between multiple time periods, each layer adding depth to the central plot. One of the novel’s most striking features is its ability to combine elements of action and espionage with a poignant love story. It read like watching a spy thriller unfold on the big screen, while also telling a tale of love, sacrifice, and difficult choices. While the book touches on historical fiction, it also dips into science fiction territory, exploring how the past and future are linked in ways that transcend time. The time-bending plot threads, though seemingly complex at first, eventually come together in a satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion. Gelfuso does a remarkable job of tying up all the loose ends, leaving the reader with a sense of closure that is both emotional and intellectually rewarding. At its core, *The Book of Lost Hours* is a story that reminds us of how one change to the past affects the future and asks us to consider the value of our personal and collective memories.

4.75 stars

Lisavet became a resident of the Time Space at the age of 11, when Nazis come for her father, a revered timepiece maker. After promising to come for her soon, Lisavet never sees him again. She explores the area, realizing it contains books full of people’s memories. When she discovers German soldiers coming and going, burning memories of others, she decides to save the memories. Fast forward 20 years, and Amelia, the niece of an American Timekeeper, is thrust into the Time Space to solve the mystery of Lisavet and whomever killed her uncle.

I absolutely loved this book. The dual timelines that happen throughout the book kept me going to see how things would play out. After major plot points were guessed and revealed by halfway, I was really wondering how the second half of the book would hold up. It did not disappoint. Wonderfully thoughtful and great portrayal of love, loss, and the power of memories.

“It’s the place where conscious thought becomes a memory. Where the memories of the dead, and the thoughts of those still living, become something else.”

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria books. The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso was one of my picks for Camp NetGalley.

If you’ve dabbled in science fiction or astrophysics fact, you’ll be familiar with the idea the time and physical space are linked. Gelfuso went as fast as to make it a physical space only a few could access. Time is a library holding the collective memory of humanity in books, unless a government wants to do some revising.

What starts with a girl escaping the Nazis goes on to become grander and more dangerous than I was expecting. There’s espionage, danger, politics, love, and a little quantum theory. The prose is simultaneously accessible and beautiful. Lisavet and her journey will break your heart multiple times. There is nothing she wouldn’t do to protect those she loves, be it thwart a government or alter Time itself.

Because this starts small and grows into a sweeping, dramatic novel, the less I say the better. The ending was almost too perfect. It reminded me of the line from The Good Place about things being 104% perfect. I was a little too tidy but with the world being what it is, I can’t fault Gelfuso for it. 5/5

This book was so amazing. I was on the edge of my seat throughout it. This was an awesome and original read!

I want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.

The Book of Lost Hours is a split timeline novel mixing time travel fantasy and historical fiction. The book follows Lisavet, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi Germany, and Amelia, a young American living during the Cold War. Lisavet enters the “time space”, a place where memories are stored in books,in order to escape the Nazis. This was a good story with twists that kept is interesting but I think the connection to the characters was lacking and made the whole thing fall apart bit flat for me.

This was a book that took a while for me to get into, but once I got used to the timeline jumping and was familiar with the characters… yeah this was incredible.

Each character was so well-developed and their stories were so strong as soloists, and once you learned the connections that they shared it truly just continued to get better and better. The way that time shaped each and every one of them was beautiful and tragic at the same time, but it made for such a stunning read.

The concept of the book itself, with a time space controlled by government agencies and memories burned or rewritten in the name of the “greater good” was fascinating, as well as the many conversations it brought about in the book and had me going through in my own mind as well.

One star removed for the difficulty I found with the pacing in the beginning half, as I do wish that it started as powerfully as it finished, and for Jack. Sorry, but really, truly, not sorry.

This story ended on such a fulfilling note, and I love a book centered around time and the intricacies it invites just about every time. This one did it for me.

The Book of Lost Hours introduces two women navigating the mysterious time and space of a vast library that preserves the memories of history, accessed via heirloom watches passing through generations. I loved this premise! Eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy is hidden in this magical repository in 1938 after her watchmaker father pushes her through a doorway to save her during Kristallnacht. Trapped, she grows up among specters and books, witnessing lost memories while government agents attempt to erase inconvenient truths. When she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. She eventually meets Ernest, an American spy, who is Amelia's uncle.

In 1965, Amelia Duquesne is drawn into the same world when a CIA recruiter solicits her help retrieving a volume tied to her missing uncle Ernest—leading her on a journey where past, present, love, and rebellion collide.

This so reminded me of 'The Midnight Library' but the plot is a bit more complex. The characters are sharply written and very well deveoped. The author does a great job blending historical fiction with magical realism and adds a dash of time travel romance. The characters have so much depth and heart, that you are rooting for them, even as they make terrible decisions. The explainations of the time space science were a bit too technical, but added to the level of mystery as if it could really happen. If you love WWII historical fiction/romance/time travel and can suspend disbelief a bit, you'll love this story.

This was a wonderful debut! I’ll admit that this is not my usual genre, but I love time travel and multi-POV stories, especially with dual timelines. The writing was beautiful and it was the perfect blend of fantasy, romance, mystery, and historical fiction.

Full review to come shortly. Thank you to Atria Books for access to an eARC!

Let me begin by saying that I do not typically read/enjoy historical fiction, and this book, despite also being time-travel fantasy and romance, is very much historical fiction as well. The main timelines take place between WWII and the Cold War of the 1960s.

This book does include some of the things I do not enjoy about historical fiction. The period-typical misogyny and racism are very much present as obstacles to overcome.

That aside, the intertwining of time, memory, and consciousness is beautifully depicted. It's explained enough to make sense within the narrative, but not so much that you aren't left wondering and thinking about it after the book is over, which I like.

The romance is sweet and heartbreaking in equal parts. It's easy to imagine it as a happily ever after, but you're also left wondering with the very last chapter, which also adds a bit of Lady-or-Tiger uncertainty to the ending.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people who enjoy mid 20-th century historical fiction and time travel romances.

Books and time are bound not by clocks but by inherited watches, this novel delivers a moving journey through grief, memory, and the unreliability of history. Teaching the reader that some truths can only be found by confronting loss head-on.

This novel unflinchingly explores suicide, depression, grief, the trauma of the Holocaust, and the aching absence of father figures. And yet, within this darkness is a fierce tenderness—a belief in the redemptive power of memory and story. The time space itself is a breathtaking metaphor: a literal library of human experience, where even the most painful memories deserve to be preserved.

Reminiscent of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, this book blends fiction with emotional realism in a way that will resonate with readers who’ve ever longed to rewrite their past or salvage someone else's truth. I cried—more than once. This powerful time travel novel reminds us that stories are how we survive.

What would you do if you could bend time to your will? How would you choose to change time? How do you decide what is right? Would you burn the world to see the ones you love survive? That is what The Book of Lost Hours is all about.

Where do I even begin? This story was so moving, so heart-wrenching, and so full of love and tragedy. I was moved to tears more than once. Honestly, the only reason I ever put the book down is because I absolutely had to for life reasons. The set up is so simple and yet detailed. Without much explanation you are thrust into the world these characters inhabit and you don't feel lost. I felt like I knew the characters right away. Each one is so full of depth. Even when the characters make some not so healthy choices, I couldn't help but feel and root for them. Like real life, sometimes there is no good choice and the author portrays this beautifully.

I cannot stress this enough that you need to read this book.

✨The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso✨

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Pages: 400

📝This was my #campnetgalley pick! I absolutely loved this book. It blends my favorite things: historical fiction and fantasy.

It kind of feels like the movie Interstellar blended with the book "All the Lights We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr, with a Cold War focus😅 If you love any of those things, you have to read this! The time space concept was really cool and the romance was swoon worthy.

💫Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks for my egalley💫

I received a digital ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I wanted to like this book much more than I did. I think the thing that made this novel so hard for me to enjoy was that the settings were not described well. I honestly think this novel being made into a movie would make it easier to understand. There would be more of a visual representation of the time space and how it all worked. The explanations of how the time space worked were so technical, that I would quickly lose track of what I was reading, and found myself re-reading whole passages to understand what was happening.

I did enjoy the parts where the characters were in memories. I wish the reader got to spend more time in these scenes to learn from the characters, instead of having all of the technical explanations before and after each time someone time walked. I feel like during the time walks was when the reader truly got to know the characters. So going back and forth just made things more drawn out and confusing.

#CampNetGalley #NetGalleySummerCamp #TheBookOfLostHours

This book alternates between two timelines seamlessly, jumping between two fierce, headstrong women and their experience with time space -- a never-ending library of memories accessed by watches passed down through generations.

I really enjoyed this book, although it did take me some time to get there. The first half took it's time world building and setting the stage for the page turning second half. I felt all the main and side characters had a good balance of reasons to dislike and love them, with most showing exceptional growth. The story really highlights the highs and lows of loss, love and the power of truth.

If you are fan of time travel romance like The Ministry of Time and The Time Traveler's Wife, I think this should definitely be on your TBR.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this E-ARC.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this E-Arc. All opinions are my own.

We start the book on Kristallnacht 1938, little Lisavet is saved by her father and put into the time space. Here she grows up, learning through history and what does it mean to be part of history. Told through different years, she meets people along the way, some of which are our other narrator POVs throughout the book. I found the seamless transition from POVs well done and each character had a distinct voice enriching the story with their own takes.

To get straight to the point- I absolutely loved this book. To be clear, it didn't start this way. I found the beginning of the book slow but engaging building up the world and setting the stage. Once I hit the second half of the book, I devoured it and can sincerely say I was satisfied with how everything was resolved. It is well written, and I think the concept stands well/believable in the resolution. I personally thought the final paragraph was devastatingly beautiful and will be thinking of it for a long time.

I do agree with the summary I think if you enjoyed the Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library this book is for you, but I'll also throw in The Book of Doors to that list. Truly a gem of a book.

The way this first chapter starts is the way all books should start. I was instantly drawn into the scene and into the story. I was in Lisavet’s bedroom listening to the bedtime story from her father. I saw the panic and fear on Ezekiel’s face on the night of Kristallnacht. I was in the void with Lisavet frozen in place. Again, this is just chapter 1.

The Book of Lost Hours explores the themes of who decides history, family dynamics, memories, and trust.

This was a very good debut novel from Hayely Gelfuso. She has done a great job of blending historical fiction with sci-fi and just a little mystery thrown if for good measure. There are parts you may see coming, but others that will make you gasp.

The prose overall was well done. The pacing was good and the last 1/3 of the book went by very fast. I had to know what happened next and barely put it down. The descriptive nature of the scenes painted such a vivd picture in my mind. There were scenes from ancient civilization to then current day to the fantastical space known as the Time Space. I think it is a good mix of character development as well as plot. The characters were believable and if you were suppose to dislike them, you did. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

My only con for this book was the science/fantasy part especially in the beginning. I struggled a little to follow exactly how the magic happened or found that it contradicted itself. At first I stopped to try and puzzle it out, but I found that decreased my enjoyment of the book so I just rolled with the story and embraced the science/magic for what it was.

I have not read either of the books to which this is compared, but in some ways (remotely) this reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and how memories are remembered.

This book is definitely one I would recommend.

Thank you Atria for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. #NetGalleySummerCamp

This was an amazing read. I hate that it took me so long to get through but it was mostly because I wanted to save this story. It's fantasy and romance with just the right balance. I highly recommend this story and by the ending the entire plot wraps up perfectly. Nothing left unfinished.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the time travel elements and the multiple POVs.