3.75/5 stars

Science fiction is not usually my genre of choice, but this anthology provided a good introduction as many of them were very bite-sized and digestible. I also enjoyed that there were some LGBTQ+ themes and even science fiction based on other non-white cultures, as you don't get to see many of these in mainstream science fiction.

The concept of time travel is very fluid here. Some ways to travel through time seem close to Star Trek/superhero/general space travel, with a whole organisation devoted to time travel. Others are mundane, like a time travelling rock. This is proof to me of the infinite possibilities that exist especially in science fiction, and to some extent, fantasy, novels.

I wish we had more shorter stories. A couple of them felt a bit long-winded and took away from my experience.

This was a lot of fun. I love time travel stories, and this collection gives you a gorgeous bouquet of them - each with a sprig of romance tucked inside. Funny, charming, quirky, heartbreaking, they run the whole gamut. It was also really cool to see LGBTQ representation throughout - it's not emphasized to make the reader feel virtuous or for the publisher's marketing quota, we're just out here bending time and space and also people are queer, so deal with it. I love this approach and hope to see more of it. Recommended for fans of the Time Traveler's Wife and suitable for most YA readers.

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance is a short story collection edited by Jonathan Strahan and featuring quite an impressive list of authors—Alix Harrow, Zen Cho, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, and Sam J. Miller, among many others. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, and I knew from the first time I heard about it that I would love it. This collection has HEAs, HFNs, and heartbreak, all made more poignant by the complications of time travel. The collection has all sorts of time travel conceits, and a varied range of lovers, including queer and non-white ones, which I really appreciated.

I love sci-fi and usually dislike romance. I say usually because I really enjoyed this book. Some of the stories had the romance front and center and the time travel more to the side or background, in others the romance was more the side plot.

For example in the first story, Roadside Attraction, the main character goes traveling through time again and again looking for his destiny. He only comes to slowly realize where his destiny and romantic partner lies. In the second story, The Past Life Reconstruction Service, the romance is in every trip through time, but it is always so lovely.

If you love sci-fi and can at least tolerate romance this book is absolutely for you. If you love both then you are going to treasure this short story collection.

Diverse and creative stories of time travel and romance!

I loved the many different takes on worldbuilding this collection of short stories had to offer - the ins and outs of time travel, how it works, what it might be used for. That's what really stood out to me, as sadly most of the romances weren't that interesting. Some felt flat, either leaning towards insta-love or not enough chemistry, but the best ones managed to cram in enough emotion and deepfelt belonging to make the romance element believable.

The best ones of the collection was Time Gypsy (Ellen Klages), Letter to Merlin (Theodora Goss) and I remember satellites (Sarah Gailey), as they all seemed to have either the perfect amount of longing or some clever twist to the story, that made them stand out.

It’s been a good long while since I’ve read a short story collection, and thinking about how to talk about it is challenging, but this collection is certainly worth the ponder. The theme of time travel romance immediately got me interested, and the varied nature of the stories themselves <i>kept</i> me interested. I enjoyed how some stories were very contained, fulfilled stories/worlds, while others were more open-ended, making you pause and reflect on where the story could go or what kind of world it could take place in. There was a wonderful variety of emotional pay offs depending on the story, and the sexuality and identity representation was excellent.

My favorite stories were almost all the ones with tones of yearning of varying degrees: particularly The Lichens, and The Difference Between Love and Time. Some SS don’t always give you enough time to be intensely immersed, but two of these were highly successful there for me, Bergamot and Vetiver, and Time Gypsy. Many of these made me look forward to seeking out the authors’ other work, and to be on the lookout for the next short story collection that might speak to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book!

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance is, as the title may suggest, a collection of short stories with two dominant themes. Or requirements, depending on how you want to look at it. The stories all involve time travel – and romance. Best of all, the wide variety of authors involved in this project means that there is very little in common between each story, despite the themes they share.

I originally picked up Someone in Time because I spotted a few favorite names on the cover. However, I also went into this read, hoping to find a few new authors to love. That has always been my favorite part about anthologies.

Included in this anthology, you'll find stories written by: Alix E. Harrow, Zen Cho, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, Nina Allen, Elizabeth Hand, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Catherynne M. Valente, Sam J. Miller, Rowan Coleman, Margo Lanagan, Sameem Siddiqui, Theodora Goss, Carrie Vaughn, and Ellen Klages.

As with any anthology, some stories sang to me, while others didn't connect. My personal favorites from Someone in Time would have to be Roadside Attraction, First Aid, and Romance: Historical. Read below for full reviews of them, plus all the others.

Roadside Attraction by Alix E. Harrow
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Roadside Attraction is the perfect start to this collection. It imagines what would happen if time travel was really possible – and treated like a roadside attraction (hence the name). However, Harrow takes this concept a step further, bringing in broken hearts and fresh love. Also, I love that it tackles the concept of destiny.
“The day after Candace Stillwater broke his heart, Floyd Butler decided – with the reckless haste of a twenty-one-year-old who knows they must act quickly, before good sense intervenes – to go time traveling.”

The Past Life Reconstruction Service by Zen Cho
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Zen Cho has a brilliant mind, can I start by saying that? This story explores what it would be like to hop into the lives of your past selves, glimpsing into the future. The romantic plot was a surprise but was perfectly worked into the narrative.
“You sure you don't have anything to ask? This is your last chance to back out.”

First Aid by Seanan McGuire
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Yes! I knew that Seanan McGuire's story in this anthology would be one of my favorites, and I wasn't wrong! First Aid starts out on one path, but quickly changes directions, giving the readers one roller-coaster ride with a romantic plot coming along for the ride.
“She bit her tongue as the tingle spread across her entire body, reminding herself over and over again that her name was Bridget now; this was a one-way trip, and 'Taylor' was not a girl's name in 1575.”

I Remember Satellites by Sarah Gailey
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I Remember Satellites kind of reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who. When you read it, you'll know exactly what episode I'm thinking about (I think). In this world, time-traveling is a job, and nobody wants the job that sends you back in time for the rest of your life. It's an emotional and evocative read, one that you shouldn't miss out on.
“Everybody draws the short straw in the end.”

The Golden Hour by Jeffrey Ford
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Huh. I like that The Golden Hour made me stop and think. A time-traveling writer bumps into another time traveler. What happens next? This was a fun and light journey, one that I really appreciated.
“I never directly confronted him on the outlandish nature of his time travel escapades.”

The Lichens by Nina Allen
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
The concept of time travel being used to access something vital in the past is not new. But Nina Allen makes it feel new here, and I love that.
“The eye was a mirror – it saw what you wanted it to see.”

Kronia by Elizabeth Hand
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Kronia is the perfect balance of a time travel story and a romance. It's like a less problematic version of the Time Traveler's Wife, but better? It's a love story told via vignettes, and it resonates beautifully.
“We passed each other twenty-three times.”

Bergamont and Vetiver by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Rating: ★ ★ ★
What would you do to protect the past (and thus the future)? Where do you draw the line? Bergamont and Vetiver explore this concept, creating a piece full of food for thought.
“The first rule of temporal research is do not mess with causality.”

The Difference Between Love and Time by Catherynne M. Valente
Rating: ★ ★ ★
I like the core concept of this one, but for some reason, I really struggled to get into it. It isn't the whole space/time continuum part (if it was, I wouldn't have read this anthology!). Maybe I just wanted more time to know the characters first.
“The first real actual word the space/continuum ever said to me was: “Nothing.”

Unbashed or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse by Sam J. Miller
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Ow. My heart. Ow. This story reads as far too read at times, and it is heart-wrenching. I don't know if I can describe it without spoiling it, so I'll say this instead: prepare your hearts.
“Your strength was mine, for the moment.”

Romance: Historical by Rowan Coleman
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Romance: Historical is one of my top three from this anthology. Not only did I love the writing, but the feeling this story evokes...it's hard to pass up. It's beautiful and very much hits on both the time travel and romance themes. Oh! And book lovers will appreciate it.
“Mum had always said she wasn't meant for this world.”

The Place of All the Souls by Margo Lanagan
Rating: ★ ★ ★
The Place of All the Souls explores many different versions of time and reality, portraying two characters as they dance through the ages. In some realms, they are perfectly in love. In others, they've never met.
“A Dreadful howling climbed through Ciaran's dreams.”

Timed Obsolescence by Sameem Siddiqui
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I love the idea of two work-weary people crossing paths and stopping for a cat. The fact that they are both time travelers makes it all the better, at least for me.
“It'll be hard when they tell you that you can no longer be a Memographer.”

A Letter to Merlin by Theodora Goss
Rating: ★ ★ ★
I feel bad giving this one a lower rating because it is my bias showing. A Letter to Merlin is, as the title should suggest, a time travel adventure involving Merlin and Guinevere. Honestly, I am very very burned out on Arthurian stories, so I struggled through this one.
“Perhaps I have written to you more than thirty times, I don't know. I have lost count of how many times I have lived this life.”

Dead Poets by Carrie Vaughn
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I loved Dead Poets, especially for one quote in particular (see below). It's perfection, don't you think? Even if not perfect, it certainly is accurate. Throwing time travel into the mix just made this quote hit all the harder.
“The study of literature is the process of continually falling in love with dead people.”

Time Gypsy by Ellen Klages
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I adored the hopeful nature of Time Gypsy. As a fan of Solar Punk, I feel like we need more empowering and uplifting tales like this – perhaps especially in time-traveling stories.
“Sara Baxter Clarke has been my hero since I was a kid.”

3.75 stars (rounded off to 4)
I have always been fascinated by the concept of time travel and anything to do with time. I was really excited to read Someone in Time. It's a collection of wonderfully-crafted stories by some familiar and new-to-me authors. I enjoyed a lot of the stories; the way they began and ended was just perfect. In the span of a few thousand words, these incredible authors got me to love and enjoy their characters and settings. While there were some stories that left me feeling a tad bit confused, overall, I think I really enjoyed reading them all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Solaris Books, and all of the authors for this advanced digital readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

There is not a trope that I love more than time travel romance, or even just time travel in general. These 16 short stories all understood the assignment and each and every one is not only beautifully written, but the love described is both real and relatable.

Someone in Time does a phenomenal job of representing all walks of consensual adult love. The stories, although steeped in magical realism, are utterly believable and were mesmerizing to read. Although I could easily have read through this anthology in one sitting, I found I wanted to stretch my enjoyment of the stories out as much as possible. Some standout favorites include First Aid by Seanan McGuire, who never ever disappoints, Dead Poets by Carrie Vaughn, and Time Gypsy by Ellen Klages. There were a few stories that I found a bit confusing, but I blame that on my lack of interest in super futuristic technology than the writing itself.

Recommended for fans of diverse reads, Outlander, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Its always hard to rate and review short story anthologies. Some stories are outstanding 5 stars others didn’t quite grab me. Some authors are must reads for me others are new to me that I am now keen on jumping into their back list, others I am just not as fussed about.

However, with that I will say this is one of the best and most consistent collections I have read in a long time. I didn’t come across a single story I didn’t find interesting. All of them had such a unique take on love time. We really got Sci-fi of all types as well as the romance element was at different levels in each story too. I felt this kept the anthology really fresh. It made it more enjoyable to read through cover to cover, something I don’t usually do with anthologies, as each story was very distinctive in both voice and content that it didn’t begin to feel like the same story told over and over. I also liked that the introduction to each author and story were short and to the point, they didn’t detract from the story at all.

I think this would be a very good intro book to the different kinds of Sci-fi you can find for a non-sci-fi reader. It gives you a little taste of the creativity that sci-fi can have, the diversity not only in the characters and representation they have but also in what can make and good an interesting piece of Sci-fi writing. I think if you haven’t given Sci-fi a go this might be a good place to suss out what sort of Sci-fi/romance stories you might be interested in.

My particular favourites were the stories by

-Alex E. Harrow

-Sarah Gailey

-Jeffery Ford

-Catherine M. Valente

You will find sixteen short stories of time-crossed romance in Someone in Time. Editor Jonathan Strahan collected 14 original stories from notable authors to be featured alongside two existing tales that he favors. The anthology has a little bit of everything, and the collection’s diversity of storytelling, characters, and depiction of love is exquisite.

Roadside Attraction - Alix E. Harrow - After a breakup, Floyd tries to run from his problems by throwing himself through a time-traveling roadside attraction.

The Past Life Reconstruction Service - Zen Cho - Rui explores his past lives for inspiration after his latest movie failed, but he keeps encountering his soul mate who left him in the present day.

First Aid - Seanan McGuire - Taylor volunteered to be sent back to Elizabethan England to record history for a payout that will support her sister living in 2108.

I Remember Satellites - Sarah Gailey - A woman runs into a former lover after she is sent back in time to marry a prince.

The Golden Hour - Jeffrey Ford - A writer stumbles across a time traveler stuck in the past.

The Lichens - Nina Allan - Helen Stone meets a woman from the future who gives her an odd, but very important task.

Kronia - Elizabeth Hand - A narrator recounts all the moments they met and didn’t meet their lover through memories in time.

Bergamot and Vetiver - Lavanya Lakshminarayan - Oru Wellspring travels back in time to unearth the secrets of an ancient civilization’s water system.

The Difference Between Love and Time - Catherynne M. Valente - A narrator recounts their tumultuous relationship with the space/time continuum.

Unbashed, or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse - Sam J. Miller - Jackson revisits the past to undo a wrong.

Romance: Historical - Rowan Coleman - A woman working in a quiet bookshop discovers messages from the past in the form of book titles.

The Place of All the Souls - Margo Lanagan - Della encounters her past soul mate in the present day after she has created a family with someone else.

Timed Obsolescence - Sameem Siddiqui - Synaz falls in love with a woman in the in-between when traveling to the past to capture memories for clients.

A Letter to Merlin - Theodora Goss - Janelle is sent through time to become Guinevere to ensure that she betrays Arthur in each timeline.

Dead Poets - Carrie Vaughn - A literature professor in love with dead poets travels back in time to witness a moment in history.

Time Gypsy - Ellen Klages - Carol McCullough is forced back in time to find critical information about time travel.

Someone in Time displays the many forms of human connection that occur across years and sometimes, different timelines and realities. There are depictions of love, loss, and quirky experiences that can only happen when someone falls out of their timeline. Time travel is depicted as common as a roadside attraction in Alix E. Harrow’s tale and then becomes an advanced technological achievement fighting to keep the last members of humanity alive in A Letter to Merlin. It is both a tool for destruction like in Bergamot and Vetiver and something frivolous that can be purchased as seen in Timed Obsolescence.

One of my personal favorite stories from the collection is Unbashed, or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse. It is only a three-minute read, yet it overwhelmed me with the sheer force of emotions splayed out on those few pages. The Difference Between Love and Time also stands out as a weird and heartbreaking tale that personified the space/time continuum and shows how chaotic it was to love such a thing. I was also absolutely charmed by Romance: Historical and found it to possess one of the more satisfying conclusions in the collection.

I’ve only mentioned a few here, but I found something to love in each story that graced the pages of Someone in Time. This anthology is perfect for both hardcore sci-fi fans and anyone who may only dip their toes in the genre from time to time. With short stories, there is no time to get caught up in complicated space/time minutiae, but you can enjoy the premise and get lost in love along the way.

Rating: Someone in Time - 8.5/10

I must begin by saying that Jonathan Strahan is a fabulous editor, and he chose the cream of the crop for this sci-fi anthology; 14 of the 16 were original to this book, the other 2 being favorites of Strahan.

As with most anthologies, the content of Someone in Time was quite diverse; the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters/story lines is what originally drew me to this book, and to begin with 2 queer romances was a delight. The majority of these stories do fit in the category of time travel, however I don't think that I would necessarily describe all of them as "sci-fi romance." There is a romantic underline associated with time travel in general, but the stories I enjoyed the most in this anthology were equally as sci-fi as they were romantic.

Roadside Attraction stands out as my personal favorite, a story about a young man in Kansas who discovers, through time travel, that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. (And, with whom he is supposed to be with.) Alix Harrow has such a gift with her heartbreaking story arcs, and I was happy that this story had a satisfying ending.

This collection of mostly queer stories is a treat for fans of time travel. Sixteen stories take you across a huge span of time and many places, from Earth to Space.

My favourite story was The Difference Between Love and Time, by Catherynne Valente, a mindboggling love story with the Space/Time Continuum as the beloved. I’ve never read anything quite like it. A close second was Romance: Historical by Rowan Coleman, set in a bookstore. I also enjoyed First Aid, by Seanan McGuire, a tale of time travel gone only slightly wrong, depending on your perspective. The Golden Hour by Jeffrey Ford turns the tables on the reader, and Timed Obsolescence by Sameem Siddiqui had possibly the best plot. Bergamot and Vetiver, by Lavanya Lakshminarayan, is a beautiful and evocative story.

Read particularly if you’re into queer love, as this anthology is heavy on that theme, but also read because this is a very good and very entertaining SF collection.

Rated: 8/10

Thank you to Rebellion Publishing and to NetGalley for this eARC.

This was great, I guess I need more time travel romance in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed each of these stories. I was initially interested in Cat Valente's story - which was wonderful of course - but each one has something to offer. From King Arthur's Court to the far future, each has its own take on the theme of time travel romance. I wanted to name a few stand-out stories except they all stood out, this is a well-curated collection. Short stories are normally not my thing but this one I thoroughly enjoyed.

I love books about Time Travel, and when I saw one of the stories was by Rowan Coleman I wanted to read the book. The problem is that a book of short stories, with no particular theme other than time travel, doesn't ensure you will love the whole book. Obviously I loved Rowan's story 'Romance: Historical', and adored the last story 'Time Gypsy' I rather enjoyed a few others but there were one or two I didn't enjoy at all.

All in all worth reading, if you are happy to skip over any that you don't really enjoy.

📚BOOK REVIEW: Someone in Time, edited by Jonathan Strahan📚

Format: ebook
Rating: 4/5
2022 Read #: 49/100

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to read this anthology ahead of release thanks to @rebellionpublishing

This anthology is a collection of short stories centred around romance and time travel. I’ll start by saying I generally do not read a lot of sci-fi, but that wasn’t a problem at all when it came to this book! The romance of the book made it accessible for people unaccustomed to reading sci-fi (like me), and the format (a series of short stories made it even more accessible. It meant there was less world building (which I personally find exhausting in sci fi and fantasy) and more character-driven plot.

I’m reluctant to name a favourite story since there are so many great ones that may appeal to different people, but I did love ‘The Past Life Reconstruction Service’ by Zen Cho, and ‘Dead Poets’ by Carrie Vaughan.

Someone In Time is available now!

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with a copy to review

'Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance' is a collection of sixteen short stories that use time travel as either the spark that ignites a whirlwind romance or as the out-of-control blaze that burns romance to the ground. I’ll admit, I’m generally not keen on time travel as a plot device. But I saw Zen Cho’s name on the front cover, and I love romance more than I dislike jumping through a crack in time or two.

The anthology opens with an introduction from its editor, Jonathan Strahan, who brings up the interesting point that, though we now think of time travel as a very science fiction-y concept, it was a device used by the writers of old and one which was more nebulous than mechanical. I was pleased to find a mix of both approaches taken by the authors included in Someone in Time.

Rather than the popular stories of time travel to far futures that we’ve seen plenty of before, the authors here seemed more concerned with the past. Call it a by-product of the (unfortunate, inescapable) truth of our time that the future only seems to hold more environmental doom. In 'Bergamot and Vetiver' by Lavanya Lakshminarayan and 'A Letter to Merlin' by Theodora Goss, these environmental themes beat alongside the romance at each story’s heart. Lakshminarayan’s worldbuilding is gorgeous and brings back to life the Indus Valley Civilization as the last hope for the future. Goss somehow manages to make Arthur and Guinevere interesting all over again through a girl from the future who is inserted into the past over and over again to save humanity from itself.

Other stories make travelling to the past more personal. In 'The Past Life Reconstruction Service' by Zen Cho, new Rekall-meets-your-past-lives technology makes an ageing man realise that the ex he let slip through his fingers has been his soulmate for a very long time. Cho injects her usual humour into the story, and there’s a great part with a cow and a particularly annoying fly. And in 'Roadside Attraction' by Alix E. Harrow, a young man throws himself into so many past time periods that it’s hard to keep count, all in search of his destiny. Except, maybe his destiny has been the other time travelling young man that keeps waiting on his return.

Another story that I think deserves a special mention is Sam J. Miller’s 'Unbased, or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse'. This is one of the shorter stories in the collection, but it had my heart in tatters (I’m still piecing it back together). Based on Indrapramit Das’ 'Karina Who Kissed Spacetime', this story follows Jackson, a college student who doesn’t walk his first boyfriend home because he’s scared and ashamed to be gay in an extremely homophobic environment. His boyfriend is fatally bashed on his way home, and Jackson’s regret tears space and time apart by creating timelines where he kept his boyfriend safe. This story takes ‘what-ifs’ and makes them reality, exploring the power of regret.

I’ve mentioned my personal favourites here – stories where the time travel and the romance left a significant impression on me. Others came very close, including 'The Difference Between Love and Time' by Catherynne M. Valente, where the space/time continuum is the narrator’s (kind of toxic) long-term love interest. 'Kronia' by Elizabeth Hand, which was disorientating in the best way, also offered a great perspective on memory as a form of time travel.

There weren’t many stories that I flat-out disliked. Surprisingly, one of them was 'Time G*psy' (censoring not in original title) by Ellen Klages. Strahan hyped this up in his introduction, but its execution felt rather immature, and the entire notion that women should be credited for their academic advancements folded in on itself when the love interest stole credit from another victim of research theft just because he was already . . . dead. Not to mention, ‘g*psy’ is a slur, and Romani culture is not an aesthetic. I get that the story was first published in 2006, but reproducing and praising potentially harmful language in 2022 is not okay?

I think the collection as a whole did a great job of being inclusive of queer love stories (most of the love stories were queer). I would have also liked to have seen more BIPOC authors in the line-up because the same old European past started to get, well, old. But for the most part, I’m glad to have spent some of my portion of the space–time continuum with 'Someone in Time'. I rate it 4 stars.

It’s always hard to rate anthologies, because the writing varies so widely. There are some really beautiful stories in here about love through time travel. I was pleasantly surprised by how many of these couples were LGBTQIA. <i>The Difference Between Love and Time, Unbashed, or: Jackson</i> and <i>Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse</i> we’re stand-outs, but a lot of these stories were forgettable.

I read the authors featured in this anthology and knew I had to read it.
It's a collection of time travel story, some are more on the romantic side and some more on the sci-fi side.
Not all the stories are at the same level but almost all are excellent.
I discovered some new authors and read new stories by author I love.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Someone in Time is an excellent collection of short stories, and each author crafts a unique narrative around the overall themes of love, relationships, time travel, and memory. My feelings about this book varied from story to story, with some being almost skip-worthy and others bringing me to tears. For me, the gems in this collection were “Romance: Historical” by Rowan Coleman, “Unbashed, or: Jackson, Whose Cowardice Tore a Hole in the Chronoverse” by Sam J. Miller, and “Dead Poets” by Carrie Vaughn.

“You can love the idea of someone to the core of your heart, seal that idea in amber, sink it in a well of longing, and never suffer any consequences.” – “Dead Poets”

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing me with this ARC!