I really love the concept of this book and it was written in a really interesting way overall. It felt very filmic too.

Oh my. I loved this far more than I expected. Bizarre and brilliant. But for the disappointment of the closing chapters, it would be 5*

I was completely captivated by this scifi/romance/comedic/polar history/dystopian crime/time travel completely original mash up wrapped up in a brilliantly characterised and absorbing plot. What happens when the civil service gets their hands on a time machine and decides to test it by bringing into the near present day people from history who would otherwise have died just after they are transported. If something goes horribly wrong, well, they would have died anyway, right? So into the 21st century come a woman who would have been guillotined during the French revolution, a soldier from the Somme, a woman who would have died from the plague along with another man from the seventeenth century and a polar explorer. Assigned to each of these unwitting refugees from time is a civil servant, a bridge. Our unnamed narrator is tasked with living with Lieutenant Graham Gore, sweet natured, handsome, Victorian and rescued from death by starvation or cold, for a year to assimilate him into the twenty first century and, of course, spy on him. What she's not supposed to do is fall in love with him.

Weaved into this gorgeous time travel romance is a thoughtful musing on the privilege inherant in what makes one person a refugee and another an expat. Our unnamed heroine is a white-passing half Cambodian woman whose mother fled Pol pot's Khmer Rouge. Generational trauma, survivor's guilt, exile, exoticising and othering is so expertly woven through her thought process it enhances what is already a cerebral book. Also woven in is the author's own fascination with polar expeditions and historical crush on Lieutenant Gore, who will soon have a whole new army of fans thanks to this book.

Fascinating, beautifully written and unputtdownable, this is a wonderfully assured debut. Highly recommended.

Clear the decks, free up some time and settle down to read the novel of the year! What a book! The writing is concise and the plot pulls you in straight away. In my mind, this is a mix-up of Slow Horses, Ghosts and Cloud Atlas - a reverse time-travel scenario where a select few people from the past are scooped up and brought into a London in the very near future by The Ministry of Time. The star of the show is Graham Gore — brought back from the fated Franklin expedition in Northern Canada in 1865 - a charming man who will charm his way into your heart and mind. This book has stayed with me since I finished it and it will be hard to find a better one.

I never before understood what it would be like to fall in love with not only a man from the past but now a fictional relisation of one, and now my heart aches.

The Ministry of Time like all other ministries that are governed by the British Higher ups is riddled with bureaucracy, closed doors and an overwhelming heir of imperial superiority. A team of 'bridges' is set up to over sea the assimilation of a group of people plucket from time. We focus is on our nameless narrator who is assigned Grahame Gore of the ill fated Terror and Erubus expeditions.

Of course when you mess with time some is bound to get angry and thus we have the threat of spies from the future, conspirator bridges and maybe even the ministry itself set to sabotage the project.
In between all the paper shuffling we get to know our time travelers a little bette, as much as the narrator makes poor decisions she accepts her naivety which thankfully makes her more endearing than annoying.

I am never a fan of open endings I prefer closure, but my heart bleeds for a man who not only lived in another time period but likely froze to death. I want closure for him almost as much as I want it for myself.
Beautiful read.

Absolutely loved Kaliane Bradley’s novel. An intelligent, sexy time travel novel with a clear eye for geopolitics, climate change and colonialism. This book is a brilliant thriller with a love story at its heart.

Phenomenal! I loved the combination of genres, which created such a spellbinding book. This is a book that I had been waiting for for so long, without realising. I had always wanted a book that contained time travel and romance and this book definitely delivered.

I sometimes wished that there was more clarity between the protagonist and Gore. However, in the context of the book and the characters, it makes sense why they react in the way that they do. I also felt like the ending could have been explained more but it still made its point. I loved how it paid attention to the impact time travel has on the body, which is normally glossed over in sci-fi.

I definitely will be recommending this title in store and handselling it. I may also buy this as a gift for friends and family.

I very much enjoyed the array of characters and their situation - there are hints of the BBC comedy ‘Ghosts’ as the cast is made up of people from different times. The time travellers bafflement or total enthusiasm for present day living made for good reading.
5e plot got a little shaky at the end but on the whole this a riot of a read.

"You know, when you are out of my sight, I fear I've imagined you."

In The Ministry of Time we follow an unnamed British-Cambodian woman who is assigned to work as a "bridge" - helping people who have been extracted from their timelines because they were supposed to die, adjust to life in the 21st century.

There are 5 expats and they are all real historical figures. Our bridge's assigned expat is Commander Graham Gore, a member of the Franklin's lost Arctic expedition who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The story takes a turn once we discover not everything is as it seems, and the time travel mission has some hidden goals, as well as spies from the future.

Graham is such a charming character! You can't help but fall for him at the same time as the main character does, and you really can't blame her or yourself for it. He is indubitably confused by the situation he has found himself in, but he grabs life by its horns and makes the most of it. He explores the wonders of the 21st century & modern technology while still remembering his fellow expeditioners and feeling guilty for their disappearance and eventual death.
He is hilarious, gentle, loving and kind and the relationships he forms with the other expats (particularly Maggie and Arthur) show how much he cares for those around him.

Once the relationship between Graham and his bridge becomes romantic, we see how much he has longed for her during the year they were working and living together. He is an incredibly well written character, and I could imagine him as a real person during the entire time that I was reading the book, which doesn't happen often.

I loved the side characters, particularly Maggie who was at times even funnier than Graham himself, especially once she discovers social media and Tinder. Arthur is a shy but loving soul and I wish he had a better ending. I could honestly read separate books just about them.

I haven't been this invested in a book since I read Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow in 2022, and I forgot what a beautiful feeling it is to get so lost in a book. I'm so happy I had the chance to read this before release and add it to my favorites list.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-galley in exchange for an honest review !

A struggle at first, but then I really enjoyed reading this book. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read it

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Ministry of Time'by Kaliane Bradley

The concept of 'The Ministry of Time' was interesting and the blurb sounded fascinating. However, I just couldn't grow to love the writing style and for me it just didn't end up to be my favourite book. Of course, it is an amazing concept and a lot of people should definitely read this and fall in love with it but I just couldn't connect to it sadly.

The Ministry of Time is an enormously satisfying book - I was left with the feeling that I had read an important novel destined to be a future classic.

A heady mix of adventure, science-fiction, romance, social commentary and humour that in less talented hands could have been a mess. But here Kaliane Bradley, in her debut no less, masterly balances these genres with a shining intellect, a rich vocabulary, and a great sense of pace.

A gripping yarn with much for the reader to reflect on. Thrilled it is to be a BBC drama.

This was a unique and interesting book. I really enjoyed the concept of the time travel and bringing particular characters from different times together. This book subtly tackles a lot of issues relating to how society has evolved over the last few hundred years as well as many ethical questions surrounding migration and assimilation. I could see this book making an interesting book club pick.
There are lots of great characters in the book and I found it fun and enjoyable to read.

Well-paced and funny, THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley is great for a slump. It’s not going to change your life, but I anticipate it being a buzzy favourite for a lot of readers this year. Pick it up if you like Outlander, R.F Kuang, charming males in period dramas, or preferably all of the above.

I’m not sure I was the correct demographic for this book but having said that it did redeem itself a little for me towards the end essentially where it took a more serious tone.
The basic premise of bringing back people through time travel from various points in history is a good starting point however I think this book tried to include too much. I found the first half of the book flitting all over the place and confusing. At attempt at humour came across as forced and flippant. But there is a good story here and I would certainly recommend to give it a go.

3.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and the publishers for this DRC.

I was really intrigued and excited to read The Ministry of Time. I picked it as a holiday read which I think was perfect: my platonic ideal of a holiday read is something immersive, readable, intelligent without being incredibly clever, and a fully realised world, and this totally delivered. Brief summary for anyone who hasn't yet encountered this one – nameless government employee is hired to look after a nineteenth century Arctic explorer, Graham Gore, who has been transported to the 21st century, nefarious things ensue.

I do have some qualms about the plotting and the execution of some plotlines – they were a bit blurry and confused and maybe felt a bit silly to me? – but in my opinion it also did lots of things right. Really liked Graham and the other time travellers, really liked the questions it raised about empire and immigration and the (terrifying) way climate change was addressed, really liked too the way the time travellers adjusted to the 21st century and the interrogation of value systems.

But I wanted a lot more of the things I liked and those elements of the idiosyncratic world Kalaine Bradley created – which I mean in both a complimentary and uncomplimentary way. It would have been fascinating to have delved more into how the time travellers acclimatised and I would have loved more of the interpersonal relationships of the characters I liked so much, but personal preference aside, I do think that more of that stuff and less of the (slightly messy) plot would have made it a better book. Thank u Hodder xoxo

I had heard a lot of talk about this and how funny it was, and with a premise like that I could not resist. This was such a treat. It felt so fresh and new. I loved how the travellers bonded and formed their own groups and interests. I loved the discussion of home and race. The romance was lovely in it but I do question the blurb revealing it when it doesn't happen until 3/4 of the way through. Nonetheless this was fantastic and I do hope we can revisit this world.

Time travel and government drama are the backdrop here to some truly marvellous characters. Imagine what you would get if you put a near-future British-Cambodian woman and a man who was raised at the height of empire together in a house. It makes for many scenes of hilarity and important conversations about the changes that have taken place. The dynamic between the MC and Graham is just delightful.

“You’re a musician. How can you have no sense of time-keeping?”
“You are a larger instrument than a flute.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”


It is primarily an introspective novel and slow-burn romance, at least until the last 25% or so, but the scenes are driven by dialogue so the pacing doesn't lag. Bradley explores themes of colonialism, slavery, language, being mixed-race, being white passing, exoticization of other cultures, and inherited trauma. The MC carries the inherited trauma of the Cambodian genocide with her and it sneaks into her everyday life and thoughts in unexpected ways.

I adored the secondary characters, too, especially Margaret.

It is rare to find a book that is equal parts entertaining AND contains so many important messages. I thought I wanted more from the ending but, having sat with my thoughts a while, I think it was a good example of an author finding that sweet spot of wanting more before it tips over into too much. And the last part of the book is written so beautifully I wanted to quote it, but I won't do that to you.

Kaliane Bradley's novel, The Ministry of Time, is garnering much advance praise. It is easy to see why - at its heart it is a human story with a sci-fi twist. That twist is pure simplicity and provides a number of intriguing what-if questions. It is the near future and time travel has been invented. The gatekeepers of this technology use it to save the lives of people who history considered dead before their time. Men such as Graham Gore, one of the men who sailed north to find the fabled Northwest Passage never to return home. In this novel, he is bought to the future. How will he settle in? What could go wrong?

This fast-paced novel is a lot of fun. It's probably not sci-fi enough for fans of that genre, but for those readers who love a human story told in unusual settings, this is perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Funny, enjoyable and quite weird !

Great, confident writing from an author who is working well above the level of new comer - can’t wait to see what comes next .

Definitely one to watch. Thank you for the original to read