The premise of this book sounded right up my alley. Time travel is one of my favorite things to read about. However, this book fell flat for me. The idea of a “bridge” helping an “expat” from the past adjust to modern life while falling in love sounded so fun. Sadly, I just found it boring. DNF at 50%

📚Book review📚 :: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley has everything I love in a book: Time travel, quirky characters, the downfall of late-stage capitalism. It's unique and strange, sci-fi with subtle depth and complexity. It tackles not only global political incompetencies but also humanity's many failings over the last few centuries (including climate devastation, colonialism, slavery, racism, etc).

The writing style wasn't exactly what I tend to gravitate toward. I felt similarly to how I feel about Emily St. John Mandel's books. I would die for the story premises, the ideas but I struggle, for some reason, go connect to it the way I want to. It's 100% stylistic preference and doesn't reflect on the authors or these incredible books.

The Ministry of Time is a slow burn. It took me a very long time to get invested in the story. The romance was a nice spark and written really captivatingly. However, the plot came and went for me quite a few times. I lost track along the way of who was who and what side they were on (and what year?!). I think I'll read this book again soon in the future to answer the questions that are still lingering.

Overall, this is an important book. It's so much more than it appears to be at first glance.

The Ministry of Time and my love for it were both slow burns, but I can now say it's easily one of my favorite reads of the year. The different advertised aspects of the book are charming and not un-accurate, but the overall work and experience is greater than the sum of its parts. Our unnamed narrator begins the novel in perhaps the worst arguably-non-lethal situation you can find yourself in -- a job interview. Only after winning the job does she discover what the role entails. She is to be a mentor, liaison, or "bridge" for a person who has been kidnapped from the Past and is now an "expat" in 21st century London. To test time-travel technology, the British government has retrieved a handful of people close to death, so as to not affect the timeline. Commander Graham Gore, who otherwise would have died on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1847, has been assigned to our narrator. A majority of the novel is spent in the small scale. Our narrator observes and learns about Gore with the same, albeit bashful, obsession that Gore does the Present. Over time, you watch them delicately dance around each other's anachronistic methods of dealing with timeless feelings. Graham and the other expats provide enough charisma and entertainment to get you through stretches of time with little plot. The expats are fond of Spotify, but have mixed feelings on films. The food and Tinder are fun, but modern people have odd manners. There is an overarching apprehension of the purpose and future of the experiment, slated for a year, that leave an ominous edge to the fish-out-of-water shenanigans.

Happily invested in the charming characters and looming intrigue you don’t initially realize you're in the middle of a deftly constructed deconstruction of colonialism and both its aftermath and evolution. The narrator's relationship to her identity as the daughter of a Cambodian refugee adds wonderful depth and perspective to these quandaries. She is constantly weighing the questions of national versus personal identity and ethics, and what that means in all points of the timeline. Graham, a man from and of a British Empire past, is now able to influence and alter both the Present and the Future of the British Empire, not to mention the Present and Future of our narrator. Faced with the personified contradiction of these ideas, all previous notions crumble.

There are so many tangents and angles to follow or approach The Ministry of Time, but the sum of them all is a supremely stimulating and satisfying read. Following the theme of contradictions, it's both the perfect book to read on your own or to discuss and dissect with friends.

The time-toggling plot focuses on a British civil servant who takes a high-paying job on a secret mission, working as a “bridge” to help time-traveling “expats” resettle in 21st-century London. She falls hard for her charge, Commander Gore. As their relationship turns from the strictly professional into something more and uneasy truths begin to emerge, they are forced to face the reality of the project that brought them together.

Drama, intrigue, and romance ensue. This futuristic tale of time never appears to take itself too seriously. It offers a meaningful perspective on the challenges we face on the way we live and love today or does it? I’m not sure. I found this science fiction novel to not be a favorite time travel book. At times, it is very funny but it doesn’t change my feeling of something missing.

I loved the premise of this book. However, the author used so many ridiculous words that I was constantly looking them up to understand what was happening. As a reader, it made me feel like the author was in a competition for using the most poetic or profound vocabulary possible. This had promise but fell flat for me.

I so badly wanted to like this more than I did. Normally, I love a good time travel story but found this one to be very underwhelming. It was sadly disappointing. I had a hard time getting into it, and the writing style seemed disjointed. Also, the pacing seemed off. So much of the book was the characters just telling us every minute detail of their everyday life. Then suddenly everything just happens without much of any lead up. It's unfortunate because this really did have so much potential.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Could you imagine being snatched out of a distant time period and brought into this one?! If nobody has snapped up film rights to this book yet, I'd shocked. This book had a little bit of everything in it: time travel, suspense, thrills, romance, intrigue, you name it. It was fun! It was fresh! Time travel has been done to death and not well sometimes. The author kept it new and exciting because of all the other things going on. And tell me I'm not the only one who has fallen in love with Graham Gore! I loved the friendships he had with the others and how he cared for his bridge, his "little cat."

I have to say, this would have been a 5* book for me, but for the ending. I understood, I guess, why the story ended the way it did, but I don't know that I was entirely happy with it. There were some parts that were a little confusing, but overall, I really enjoyed the book. 4.5* read for me.

Thank you, Kaliane Bradley, I hope you keep writing. Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

The Ministry of Time follows a woman as she begins a new job within the Ministry. The Ministry is extracting people from the past who were going to meet their demise anyway and bringing them to the future. The main character has been tasked with being a “bridge” for her expat, which means she will help him assimilate into modern day Britain. His name is Commander Graham Gore, who is based on a real person from the past.

Seeing the expats navigate the present was the most interesting part of the novel. I enjoyed them experiencing modern day for the first time and most of the time it was humorous. The main characters relationships with the expats and the relationships between the expats kept the novel going, without them I doubt I would have finished the novel.

There were multiple times dynamics were introduced but were never fleshed out. For example, a character makes a revelation about a relationship and it is never brought back again. I felt like this was a missed opportunity to expand on technology’s impact in the novel.
The Ministry of Time promises sci-fi, thriller, and romance; however, it fails to deliver. It tries to do too much in too little time. I would classify this book as sci-fi due to the blending of past, present, and future, as well as the technology and overall premise. The “thriller” aspect of this novel was not exciting, not suspenseful, and when the big “plot twist” happened, I thought “eh.” The romance was awkward, uncomfortable, and not very believable. Add a dash of the main character trying to figure out her identity and ta-da, you have this book.

The characters in this novel needed to be more fully developed, the book needed to focus on one to two genres tops, and it could have easily become two novels to do everything justice.

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The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is described as "a time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all." This book was fun in parts, but it dragged a bit in other parts. And that description promised a lot more than was given. I do think that this book has a somewhat unique premise, and I enjoyed the historical references. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I think this book was really good, it just wasn't a book for me. I found myself getting bored and just not caring to pick it up but I have heard very positive reviews otherwise. I may try again at a different time but it didn't pull me in this time around.

This book confirms what I have long known about myself - I just don't like to read Literary Fiction. There is just something about it that will always make me feel a bit like an idiot partly because it makes reading feel like work. This is 100% a "its me, not you" sort of problem. I loved the entire concept of the book and I truly loved Graham Gore, but I felt like I wasn't able to follow the plot enough to really feel the suspense or understand the twists. I completely see how and why people love this book, but it just wasn't for me and mostly I am just so happy to have finished it.

Glad that I got to read this early. I thought that it would be better. A strange, dull story. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

A romp, clever, fun, funny, thoughtful, and nuanced, sci-if of a sort, time traveling, with a time-toggling plot, a spy story, a thriller, a romance, plus arctic exploration, the past and the present and the future, and what is history actually? Though I felt it rushed at the end, lots of threads and elements gathered too fast together, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, for the story, the writing, the nuances of how the present might be seen from those in the past and vice versa, politics and identity dealt with a light yet incisive hand.

Thanks to Avid Reader Press and Netgalley for the arc.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and I found it remarkably compelling. Really fantastic characters. I enjoyed it a lot!

This will be one of my favorite books this year. Imagine if time travel exists, but government red tape is involved. The story is a well-written page turner and very thought-provoking. This would be a good pick for a book club because there are so many potential discussion topics.

Time-travel is a tricky subject, both to read and to write about. When done well, time-travel stories can be suspenseful and thrilling. Hermione’s Time-Turner adventures, even with their flaws, taught me how much character writing can impact a time-travel plot. More recently, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle set up an unputdownable Golden Age mystery. And Loki has excelled by using time travel to perfectly characterize complex characters.

Many of my favorite time-travel stories have this “soft” approach. They set up some basic constraints around time travel - in which direction(s) can characters go? How do they deal with the time paradox? - and then get on with examining the human element. The most successful sci-fi/fantasy stories are those that engage me enough to keep my disbelief completely suspended. And so, when I learned about Kaliane Bradley’s new time-travel story, The Ministry of Time, I had high hopes.

The Ministry of Time bills itself as part romance, part spy thriller, and part workplace comedy. It follows a government employee (a “bridge”) in the near-future Ministry of Time, supporting the acclimation of one of the first ever time travelers. Over the course of a year, Commander Gore must learn to live in the present - but with so much change to absorb, and a mysterious force out to get him, will he and his bridge make it through? There’s a lot of human story to explore here, and I was excited to dig in and read Bradley’s take. (Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the gift copy!)

Wait, wait, wait… then hurry

The Ministry of Time promises the reader a lot of content. It’s firstly billed as a romance, and our bridge narrator certainly admires her ward. There there’s the spy thriller, AND the workplace comedy besides. And the fundamentals of a good time travel story, including the requisite surprise at technology, etc. It’s a lot to jam in to 300 pages.

Bradley does her best, but I found that the pacing of the story left a bit to be desired. In the early part of the novel, the writing focuses mainly on the relationship between Gore and his bridge. And to a certain degree, this makes sense, as Bradley has a lot to establish and explore. How would a nineteenth-century explorer react to the present-day? How would time-travelers in general react to each other? Why do these relationships even matter to us as readers? Are they worth preserving?

But by the middle of the novel, I found myself wondering where 2/3 of my promised genres were. Without getting too deeply into spoilers, all this early scene-setting means that the spy thriller elements are merely hinted throughout much of the early narrative. As for the workplace comedy - much of the comedy comes from the situational humor of displaced time-travelers. I suppose technically that’s all our bridge’s “workplace” - but The Office, this ain’t.

Genre tradeoffs

To some degree, this is not unexpected. Each of the advertised genres engages a totally different, often conflicting set of emotions. Romance requires vulnerability, depth of emotion, and personal, intimate relationships. Spy thrillers are fast-paced and suspenseful, with a strong sense of something big at stake. And office comedies, even the darker ones, require a tongue-in-cheek view at a workplace with fairly stable patterns - hard to do in a story set at a new government division.

It’s tough to balance all three: the personal and intimate with the grandeur of a spy thriller, the irony of a workplace comedy with the sincerity of romance. And Bradley chooses the personal route, focusing primarily on the romantic elements at the expense of both other genres. This is mostly a story of a time-travel romance, with a bit of action and adventure thrown in, and a workplace to add a delaying constraint. And there’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but for the surprise of it from the marketing. Readers of this blog willl know how much I dislike a bait-and-switch… So know, friends, that The Ministry of Time leans heavily on the romance, with a little bit of other genres thrown in for flavor.

Personal thoughts, exposed

The plus side of that romantic lean is a strength I wasn’t expecting: the personal storytelling. Bradley, a British-Cambodian writer, writes what she knows. Her protagonist is also British-Cambodian, and some of the most intriguing writing in the novel explores that identity and all that it confers. Bradley expends pages on what it means to be white-passing, how her peers react when they learn of her heritage. She writes about her character’s complicated relationship to her family history, and to her sister’s exposition of family stories. And she weaves an intriguing storyline with a Black co-worker, who reaches out in the hopes of minority solidarity in this strange government workplace.

These explorations come in bits and pieces and felt like the most realistic and deeply-considered writing in the novel. It feels like Bradley is weaving in real stories of real people, and I wanted to learn more about this family and its history. I also wanted to understand how her protagonist’s biracial identity might intersect with her relationship and her work - but Bradley, unfortunately, keeps this at a surface level.

Reader’s notes and rating (⭐️⭐️⭐️✨)

I wanted to love this book. Instead, I merely liked it - as a fun romance, with a bit of an action twist. I will likely pass it on to friends who really enjoy time travel stories, especially those with more of a character focus (including my partner) but am unlikely to revisit myself. Great for those who know (and like) what they’re getting into - three and a half stars.

Read this if...

Time-travel romance is right up your alley

You’re always wondering what acclimation would really take if one were to travel through time

You like the idea of an old-time romantic in a modern setting

Skip this if...

You’re most excited about the genre-blending elements of the story

You want a ton of action and clear, high stakes OR you’re hoping for minimal romance

You care a ton about even pacing or clear worldbuilding

The Ministry of Time was published on May 7, 2024.

*This will meet "has futuristic technology" for my 52 Book Club challenge this year!

This is a science-fiction story.
This is a comedy.
This is a romance.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley is like nothing I’ve read before. I was in awe of the author's unique and vivid writing style. I fell in love with the characters, and I found myself reading faster and faster to see what became of their story. I eagerly look forward to reading any of the author’s future work.

THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley is a unique debut novel which has received quite a bit of "buzz," including being named a LibraryReads selection for May, the #1 pick on the Indie Next List, and a starred review from Kirkus. I was excited to learn that it will become a six-part series for the BBC. Looking for time travel, romance, espionage? Then this book may be for you. Bradley, a British-Cambodian writer and editor based in London, has produced a work of which Ron Charles (Washington Post book critic) writes "Imagine if The Time Traveler's Wife had an affair with A Gentleman in Moscow." This new tale actually features five "expats," people who have been transported from their time to present day London and their "bridges," the Ministry staff assigned to be "day-by-day dictionaries" and help with assimilation in the 21st century. The unnamed female narrator is the bridge for Graham Gore, also known as eighteen forty-seven, who was an Arctic explorer and Bradley's inspiration for this innovative novel. There is a slow burn chemistry between the two and several ethical questions develop. The first third of the book, filled with banter is especially fun: "'You have enslaved the power of lightning [electricity],' he said, 'and you've used it to avoid the tedium of hiring help.'" But the tone changes as it turns more philosophical with THE MINISTRY OF TIME offering an intriguing perspective on time travel: "This was one of my first lessons in how you make the future: moment by moment, you seal the doors of possibility behind you."

This novel screams LOKI the TV show. It was fantastic, from the plot, to character development to world building. I could not put it down!

Thank you for this ARC! I loved The Ministry of Time. This is a wonderful debut novel and I will be excited to read more from Bradley. This story is an incredibly rich and covers a range of genres. The twisty ending was a surprise. I'm looking forward to the BBC adaption of this story.