I was excited for this book when I read the blurb as I’ve never heard anything like. I think the premise is an amazing idea and I will keep an eye out for Kalianes future works.

However, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I thought it was just okay. The writing style wasn’t to my taste and I found myself getting bored quite easily.

I’ve been so eagerly anticipating this book and it didn’t disappoint! I loved the concept, and keep finding myself bringing it up with friends to talk about it - for a history fan like me, this is a great read, especially being it focused on what it really means to be located in time as well as (very entertainingly) the bureaucracy and logistics of time. It lagged a little at times - bogged in all those details, and then sometimes rushed through explanations a bit - but I really enjoyed it. Funny and clever and snarky - and I loved the relationship between the main character and Gore! AH!

Interesting and entertaining time travel thriller. As time travel is discovered, five people are intercepted just before death from various eras to avoid creating changes in history. As a bridge assigned to mind one of those people, a disgruntled civil servant is caught up in a multi era threat while also managing her feelings and relationship with a man from the past. Interesting and well paced thriller.

I hope time travel doesn’t happen because this world is messed up enough without letting people who think they “know best” go and interfere with history. 🚫 ⌛️
I enjoyed this book; I wasn’t entirely sure that I would because of the references to historical events. As I was reading, I felt a sense of protectiveness toward the “expats.” I was saddened for them about not having the choice but to adjust and was rooting for them to make it. ❤️
“There is nothing left in the world that has known me for longer than a few months. I am a stranger in a strange land.” 🌎
I’m looking forward to hearing Kaliane Bradley speak about the creation of “The Ministry of Time” at one of her author events. 🗣️ 📖
Thanks, NetGalley, for the early copy. 📚

Time agency, Bureaucracy and companionship

This is a confident debut novel with a twist on the classic time travelling concept. Instead of the protagonist going back in time. How about they come to our time. The book felt fresh and engaging. At the heart of it is relationships. I especially enjoyed the ‘flashbacks’ to what life was like for Graham. I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for some escapism and a fun time.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

This book was wonderful! I read it in one day as I couldn’t put it down. This is a near future sci-fi novel. We follow a civil servant known to us only as The Bridge. She joins a mysterious ministry that has brought people from different historical periods to modern day. Her job is to look after and report on a man called Graham Gore who was taken from an arctic expedition in the 19th century. We see the year that they spend living together as Gore learns about (what to him is) the future and tries to assimilate.

There was so much to love about this, the writing is thoughtful and engaging. We have a fascinating exploration on the effects of time travel on individuals and the meeting of minds from the past and future. We delve into discussion on refugees, climate change, conspiracy the experience of being mixed race in the U.K.

The author has seamlessly blended so many genres. We have a speculative sci-fi novel, a spy thriller, a time-travel romance and it all works together beautifully. I was so impressed by this and I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

Honestly, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read! I felt the ‘hereness’ and ‘thereness’ throughout and loved the genre mixture. Romance, futuristic, crime, erotic, thriller were all in there and Kaliane’s descriptive use of language is out of this world. I felt like every word was true and cannot wait to read her next book!

3.5 stars

This book was not what I expected at all. Time travel and mystery abound, but there's more under the surface.

The story is told like a cross between a diary and a report, what all makes total sense as the story goes on. However, I didn't enjoy that style of writing and never gelled with the story teller at all.

The story was ok. Dragged in parts and rushed through other parts that I'd have liked more of. This does work well with the diary style of story telling, who doesn't dwell on the sad and happy parts when writing it down.

The characters. I adored Maggie! She was fun and embraced the world she was thrust into.
I didn't like the storyteller, the bridge. She felt flat and her romance with Graham reminded me a little of Stockholm Syndrome/Beauty and The Beast.
But Maggie and Arthur and Quentin were great characters.

I'm glad I stuck with the story. Without spoilers this is worth the read for the amazing end the author concocted, which I guess could also be a beginning?

Grab this book for a weekend read. Snuggle down and be pulled through the door.

Time travel is one of my favourite subgenres, so I was excited to read this one. Sadly it just didn't work for me and I found myself questioning too much instead if just suspending my belief and enjoying it as I have with other similar style novels.

This book was completely different from what I was expecting but I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a civil servant myself, I’m always intrigued by how they and their roles are depicted and this did not disappoint.

It’s a testament to the structure, narrative style and character development in this book that I liked it as much as I did. I normally need clear plot development from the outset and while I struggled to see where this story was going until Bradley was ready to let us see that the characters were compelling enough that I wanted to keep reading.

I loved the elements of humour that the time travellers brought to the story as they acclimated to a new time and I particularly thought that Arthur and Maggie brought a lovely warmth to the story which at times did provoke a lot of thought. I know it’ll be one I keep thinking about going forwards for various reasons (including a new interest with Arctic exploration).

Thanks to the NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

After seeing some people on Bookstagram sing this books praises, I was super excited to get to read it! But unfortunately it ended up being a let down for me. I don’t know if I had hyped it up too much in my head, but I found it quite boring and underwhelming and with flat characters who didn’t develop at all.

4.25 stars

What an absolutely marvelous story. Never did I think I would love this book as much as I do now. The whole premise of time-travel is by far nothing new, yet this novel is a surprise in every aspect. The Ministry of Time features an eccentric cast of characters—all from past, present, and future. The narrator, our female main character whose name we never learn, applies for this government job and everything snowballs from there. The nail-biting and mysterious plot, told through flawless writing, brings this book together and makes for a stunning mix of fantasy, as well as historical and romantic fiction.

I was so excited when I read the blurb for this book. Sadly though, even though the concept was interesting and intriguing, the style of writing and eventual path it took didn't quite do it for me.
I did finish but, maybe I shouldn't have as it did all feel a little flat.
What I did like was the way that people from way back when in history, who would have died, are scooped up and whisked back to the present day, paired with someone tasked with helping then acclimate, known as a "bridge" and then follow as they adjust to life in their new worlds.
I think maybe the main issue I had was that the people they scooped up were not at all interesting to me. Also I found the writing style to be a little heavy and arduous.
Even the ending wasn't enough to pull me back fully. Which was a shame.
But, as I always say, not every books suits everybody. Life isn't that easy, and would be boring if it was so... My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was actually surprised at how much I did, being unsure exactly what to expect from it when I started. I ended up reading it in a single day, which I think says a lot!

The mix of *things* worked really well here. We have a spy novel, time travel and romance all mushed together to deliver a wild and incredibly clever journey.

The story is initially presented as a time travel novel, but I found it to be much more of a character novel. The time travel is never really explained in any sort of scientific way, and the focus is instead on how these historical people can adapt to the future they have found themselves in.

These historical people, our characters were by far my favourite part of it all. The 'expats', those who have been pulled from the past were wonderful, so well realised that I kept expecting them to walk through my door. They had their own vivid identities, and getting to learn who they were and who they think they want to be in this new life was fantastic. I would happily read several books about them and their friendship. Aside from the 'main' expat Graham, I loved Maggie and want her to be my friend for real.

As I said before, I read this incredibly quickly. The plot flowed well, with a gradual increase in tensions all culminating in a frantic dash as we reached the last 20%. Bradley writes in a way that I always enjoy too. snappy and just descriptive enough to set a solid scene but not overly so. The tone was also great, I described it as witty and serious at the same time. We have moments where characters are agonising over identities and purpose interspersed with humour that genuinely made me laugh out loud.

Overall, this was an excellent read. Entertaining and thought-provoking in equal measure, and I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an arc in exchange for a review.

What a read and oh boy do you need your wits about whilst reading this one it was amazingly clever.
This is a story that has everything I love in a read it kept me completely immersed in the story and the pace just never let up right the way through till the shocking final conclusion which blew my mind and I was so surprised that I reread the previous few pages just to make sure I had it right !!
Apart from being so well crafted the book also has a lot of humour and romance and to be honest I don’t usually like romance books but this was done in such a good way that I actually enjoyed that part of it and I put that down to a very clever author who got the balance just perfect, she also dealt with the time travel element superbly well and with a cast of excellent characters also a big thanks to her for a wonderful 5 star read.
So a fabulous book and one I can highly recommend it’s very different and one not to be missed.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a compelling and engaging cross-genre combination of time-travel, mystery/thriller, historical fiction, and romance. It had a lot to pack in, and it did it very well.

According to the blurb: “In the near future, a disaffected civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test the limits of time-travel. Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, assisting and monitoring the expat known as '1847' - Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to the Arctic.”

The first half of the story is establishing Graham and the other expats in the 21st century. This part of the book is a charming fish-out-of-water tale, as the expats try to adjust to cultural and technological differences from their own time. The main expat character, Graham, is incredibly likeable. He has a laid back, sarcastic take on the world, and his dry observations of what he seems around him are insightful and often pithy. I also really enjoyed the character of Maggie, from 1665, whose joyous and boisterous reaction to the pleasures of 21st century living were delightful, and made me laugh.

I don’t generally read historical novels, so it was an added interest for me that Graham Gore was a member of the Franklin Expedition, an ill fated expedition into the arctic.

The friendship between our main character (whose name, weirdly, we never find out) and Graham grows throughout the first half of the book, and continues to blossom as the story progresses. Most of the first two-thirds of the book are taken up with establishing the characters and the romance. There’s even a bit of smut thrown in, for those who like that in their books.

As the plot develops, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems with The Ministry, and our intrepid band of expats and ‘bridges’ are both caught up in, and try to navigate, the unfolding events. The time travel elements were quite satisfying - the time travel ‘door’ isn’t fully understood by The Ministry, and the cautious approach to time travel contributed to the plot. At about 80% of the way through the story, the pace picks up, things start to come to a head, and it became a real page turner.

Only one niggle for me: I would personally have preferred a different balance between the character/romance development and the mystery/thriller elements of the plot (less romance, more plot) - especially as, despite the focus and detail on their relationship, I never really felt the emotion in the romantic relationships.

But regardless of this, it’s a cracking story, with something for everyone, and a masterful combination of genres.

Thank you #NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton / Sceptre for the free review copy of #TheMinistryofTIme in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was good fun. After reading 'In Ascension' last year and loving it, I wanted to read more 'literary' science fiction novels. This is less scientific and a bit lighter, but it certainly fits the bill.

It is set in our time and the British government has somehow acquired a time travel device (we learn later how, and it's quite funny) and our main character - a young translator - is tasked to act as 'bridge' for one of the time travelers that is brought in from the past: a Commander in the British Navy teleported from 1847 during the lost Erebus expedition.

It is in fact the charming and quite brilliant Commander who carries this novel, as he gets used to (and appalled by) the 21st century with its lack of manners, dubious morals and mind-blowing technology.

When the Commander accidentally discovers a mysterious device, things take a dark turn and it appears they are part of a plot that involves multiple generations.

Set in the near future ‘the Ministry’ seemed quaint, old-fashioned and somewhat clumsy in what it was setting out to do. With the advent of a working time machine, they have plucked four random people, about to die from disease or in battle, out of a range of time zones (1645, 1665, 1793, 1847 and 1916) to study if they are able to habituate to modern times.

After a period in a health facility each person was assigned a ‘bridge’, someone to live with them and show them the ropes while still being regularly monitored for a year before being encouraged to find a profession or job and be self sufficient. Our narrator is assigned Commander Graham Gore from the doomed 1845 Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. She is biracial with a Cambodian mother and British father, previously a language specialist in the MOD and is told only that she will be responsible for assisting an ‘expat’ from history and coordinating with the Ministry teams assessing them.

All seems to be going well for the first year as the ‘expats’ acclimatise to modern times, learning how to operate modern inventions, move around London and blend in (in their own fashion), however there is a spy in the Ministry with another Agenda that will place them all in danger and scuttle everyones plans.

This is an unusual blend of speculative fiction, scifi, spy novel, time travel, thriller and slow burn romance. It didn’t quite work for me, although the writing is strong, the story intriguing, and a lot of fun is had as the time travellers learn about modern devices and social changes. A lot of important themes were also explored (although generally not deeply) -refugees, immigration, war, climate change, time travel, racism, misogyny, homophobia to name a few.

Somehow it all works, although the time travel plot and the Ministry’s simplistic and inept handling of it wasn’t quite convincing enough for me (although it did feel very British!), particularly given that is set in the near future. I enjoyed the excerpts from Gore's diary, interspersed with the narrative, as the expedition goes disastrously wrong and the men are gradually lost. The build-up to the ending is also quite slow, but the ending was well done as was the major twist. I can see this working well as a TV series (the BBC has acquired the rights).

Beautifully written but quite meandering. A story about time travel that is not a thriller but rather a pondering on belonging (with a splash of romance).

Our unnamed narrator is what they call a Bridge, a guardian/caretaker bridging the gap between the expat’s past and their settling in the present. Between the often funny, sometimes difficult, journey of settling a Victorian naval man in the home of 21st century female civil servant, you may start to get an uncomfortable feeling that all is not right with the Ministry of time.

It’s time for me to accept speculative fiction isn’t for me. I enjoyed parts of this story but on the whole found it quite hard going. I could have done with someone explaining everything to me at the end.

It’s beautifully written and I really liked how self aware the narrator was, that she was complicit in something dodgy but that it was better and safer to be a part of it than on the outside. Those parts had 1984 vibes which I liked. I also found the parallels drawn between the time expats and the narrator’s Cambodian heritage really powerful, how neither quite fit into the box prescribed.

My main problem with this book was that it was both too much and not enough. Too many characters, too many genres and yet great gaps of pages where pretty much nothing happened. When something did happen, I’d forgotten which characters it affected and frankly it felt like it came out of nowhere.

I’ve heard loads and loads of great things about this book and this is just one bookdragon’s opinion.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my review copy.

Really enjoyed this! A novel about the practical implications of time travel and the knotty ethical implications of how to integrate someone into a new time period without running roughshod over their intrinsic personality. There were plenty of twists and turns in the plot but this didn't obscure the very human nature of this experiment with time travel.

I felt the characters came alive with all their historical idiosyncrasies without feeling like caricatures - in particular I thought that the relationship between Lola and Commander Gore was well handled, especially with the tricky position of being a 'bridge'.

Would recommend this book - I can see myself reading it again in the near future!