I have been on a magical realism kick as of late and have been eating up anything within the genre.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds follows Josephine after recently being widowed. Finding herself lost in her grief and unsure of what to make of her life after living so many years for her husband rather than herself, she sees her Great Grandmother, Alma’s house up for sale. Josephine buys the estate and learns more about Alma and her life running an underground speakeasy during the 1920’s. But the granting of a wish made by Josephine in the depths of her grief, may end up changing her future and that of her Great Grandmother forever.

The book started off relatively strong with Josephine's grief being the catalyst for many of her decisions going forward, however somewhere near the middle, the book started to trail off for me and lose some of its lustre. While the story is supposed to be somewhat ‘high stakes’ considering Josephine is literally fighting to save her Great Grandmother's life and by extension her own, it never feels high stakes. I never felt any real sense of urgency from Josephine. For example, even knowing what day and time the life changing event was to occur, Josephine literally left it till the eleventh hour to action any sort of concrete plan.

This book was good and the plot had so much promise, but something felt like it was missing.
A solid book, but just not quite for me.

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Collins via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A book with time travel? Sign me up. Josephine is suffering from grief of her husband and just wants to disappear. Be careful what you wish for. She is able to travel back in time where she meets her great grandmother who she needs to save. Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the advanced copy.

Time travel is one of my favourite tropes and I really enjoyed this! I loved that Josephine was able to travel between eras and wasn’t stuck in the past. Josephine was really well developed as a character and her relationships with other characters were all well done.

Josephine, newly widowed, purchases her late great-grandmother’s home. In her grief, she wishes to disappear, and discovers that, through the early death of her great-grandmother, her wish is coming true. She finds a way to travel through time, and works to save her great-grandmother’s life, and therefore her own

Widowed at 35, Josephine Reynolds, encouraged by her realtor sister Katherine, sells the house her late husband loved to buy their ancestral home, the Carter Mansion, out of foreclosure. Shortly after moving in, she hears music in the basement and makes the shocking discovery that there was once a speakeasy there, operated by her great-grandmother, Alma.

More shocking still is her realization that she can travel back to 1927, but once she meets Alma, parts of her current life start disappearing and she discovers her own existence is threatened by the possibility that Alma is killed during a raid of the speakeasy. As she voyages between the present time and 1927, she struggles to prevent Alma from being killed. She also meets Danny, a young widower who makes her see that her romantic life may not be over.

There are some signifcant holes in the plot, but that doesn't detract from the charming story. I loved the details of 1920s fashion and cocktails. Alma was delightful, managing to be maternal to a young woman she has no clue is her great-granddaughter. And the author manages to bring it full circle with a potential new love interest for Josephine back in the present day. #TheVanishingofJosephineReynolds #NetGalley

The premise was super solid, but I felt let down by the ending - it didn't seem to consider the consequences of the premise well enough.

What an absolute treasure this story was to read! The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman is a story of magical realism about a woman named Josephine who time travels back to 1927 to save the life of her great-grandmother Alma. Back then during the time of prohibition, Alma, who lived in the Carter mansion, ran a speakeasy in her basement. With Josephine recently becoming a widow and feeling somewhat depressed, she makes a wish that she later regrets. If she doesn’t go back and make things right, her great-grandmother Alma will die in a raid and then all of her future offspring including Josephine will have never existed. It’s up to Josephine to make things right. This was a really fun book to read, I really enjoyed reading about how they dressed during those times and the characters were all pleasant and very caring. Things sure were so much different back then! There’s a romance involved that even though it couldn’t ever go anywhere, it opened up the possibilities for future relationships. This is a book that you won’t want to miss out on, I highly recommend it. Now that I’ve finished this, I’m anxious to read all the other books by this author. I’d like to thank Taylor Ward, Senior Publicist at Harper Muse for accepting my request to read an early copy and NetGalley for the arc. I loved reading this story and I can’t wait to read more by Jennifer Moorman. I’m giving this a 5 star rating!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced digital and physical copies.

I’ve read and loved many of Jennifer’s books, but this one is my absolute favorite! The 1920s speakeasy and time travel vibes were right up my alley!

Things I loved:
- I loved that when Josephine traveled back to present day, her interactions in that timeline were not overly complicated.
- I loved that the time travel aspects were not deep seated in confusing timelines, and there were not a ton of twists to follow and understand. It was simple and lovely, and that’s what made the story so magical!
- I loved that there was a romantic element to the story — the ending gave me “The Age of Adeline” vibes — but it was more about family and what it means to find yourself again after being absorbed by someone else for so long.

If you love any of the things mentioned above, you will adore this book as much as I do!

All the stars for this gem of a novel! We meet Josephine Reynolds, newly widowed, and somewhat lost on how to move forward and start healing. Her sister Katherine urges her to make a few changes so she can find happiness again and so in a thoughtless moment Josephine wishes to herself that she were never born. The next day Katherine sends Josephine house listings in the area and to Josephine’s delight she spots her family’s old mansion up for sale. Wondering how it ended up foreclosed on, she buys it and sets in motion a chain of events that could alter her past and future, hopefully not causing her careless wish to become a reality.

I love time travel stories and this one has it all, including an old mansion, a love interest, and the roaring 1920s. I LOVED this book and cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy for my library. Thanks for NetGalley for an advanced copy.

The Vanishing Of Josephine Reynolds is the third stand-alone novel by American author, Jennifer Moorman. “I wish I’d never been born” is what thirty-five-year-old Josephine Reynolds mutters on a particularly bad day when she’s been widowed six months. She had moulded her life to suit his, so Nathan’s absence has eliminated Josephine’s purpose and direction.

But her sister Katherine is determined to bring back the Jo-Jo she once was, and has suggestions, starting with selling the house that was Nathan’s status symbol, a way to showcase his ambition and impressive lifestyle, but was never what Josephine wanted. The impetus to actually do so comes when she learns that Grandma Dorothy’s historic Victorian mansion in Bell Meade has been foreclosed on: she can easily afford the wonderful home their Uncle Donnie helped himself to when his mother died.

It's late September when Josephine moves into the Carter Mansion. The sound of music takes Josephine down to the cellar where she stumbles on a hidden door. When they open it, she and Katherine discover what used to be a speakeasy. A bit of internet sleuthing reveals that their great-grandmother, Alma, given the house by her first husband, Franklin Carter, ran the speakeasy in the late 1920s during Prohibition, and was once almost arrested during a raid.

Soon after getting essentials unpacked, Josehine’s priority is to replace the ugly front door Donnie put up, probably to annoy the fussy neighbourhood association. The door that Leo Freeman at the salvage yard shows her is perfect: it’s the door his father originally crafted for the house. His mother blessed it, and he even has the door key. This was meant to be! Leo does mention something about Alma being shot dead in a raid on the speakeasy, but she lived to the ripe old age of ninety-eight, so that can’t be right.

The new door fitted, Josephine spots some words engraved next to one of the glass panels, a Gatsby quote she recites just before turning the key and finding herself in the mansion’s foyer, being greeted by Alma Carter. She bluffs her way through, and begins to realise she’s stepping between dual timelines or, as she later understands, duelling timelines.

Back in her own time, Josephine notices that random items, clothing, furniture, photographs, seem to be disappearing, and her chat with Leo, the only person who might not think she’s crazy, leads to the conclusion that her throw-away wish might come true if the timeline in which Alma is shot prevails. If Josephine wants to continue to exist in the 2020s, she needs to save Alma’s life in 1927.

Moorman certainly evokes her era and setting, although her wordy descriptions of clothing, furniture and buildings do become a little tedious. The time-hopping is fairly well handled, with any anomalies put down to Josephine’s ignorance of quite how it works. There’s a good bit of drama in the climax, and a sweet, possible happy ever after at the end. An enjoyable time-travel romance tale.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Focus.

"The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds" by Jennifer Moorman is an enchanting mix of historical fiction, time travel, and magical realism. The story follows Josephine Reynolds, a young widow who, while navigating her grief, decides to buy her ancestral home. During the renovations, she stumbles upon a mysterious door that whisks her back to 1927, where she meets her great-grandmother, Alma, a lively woman who runs an illegal speakeasy in the basement.

While the novel offers a rich blend of emotions and settings, some readers might find the pacing a bit uneven at times. There are parts that dive deep into descriptive scenes, which can slow the story down for a moment. However, the main storyline remains captivating, and the magical elements sprinkle a delightful charm throughout.

In summary, "The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds" is a delightful read for anyone who enjoys a touch of magic in their historical stories. Moorman's storytelling encourages us to reflect on the lasting impact of family ties and the healing power of embracing our past as we move forward.

Loved it!!! This book is pure magic and beautifully written. I absolutely LOVED "The Magic All Around" and couldn't wait to read this. The book definitely didn't disappoint. Loved Josephine and Katherine's relationship. They were more than sisters to each other. Without Katherine, Josephine would still be miserable in the house that her husband designed without any of her input, wearing his shirts all day, not showering and hiding from the world. Josephine would never have bought the Carter Mansion, which had once been a wedding gift to her great-grandma, Alma, until her uncle Donnie inherited it. Someone needed to replace the turkey weather vane, shed and hideous door that the Neighborhood Association did not approve. Josephine made one little wish, which caused her life to change. Now she wants to save everything that's disappearing. It's horrible to say, but the death of Josephine's husband set her free to be her true self. Loved getting to know Alma and all her friends. The ending was perfect and especially when Josephine gets her unexpected visitor. My review doesn't do the book justice. It was a wonderful story.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters, story and writing style. I enjoyed how the book alternated between Josephine in the present and in 1927 while she's "visiting" her great-grandma Alma. Didn't Alma find it strange that someone just walked into her house? I couldn't put the book down, but was sad when I got to the end because I wanted to keep reading about everyone and see what's next for Josephine. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Absolutely love the cover of the book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from HarperCollins Focus through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“It’s not easy to believe, but it adds up. The strangeness of everything is difficult to ignore. It would be simpler to go with a logical explanation, but some things in this world aren’t logical.”


A nice and heart-warming read about a woman named Josephine who was able to travel back to year 1920s to save her great grandmother from death. Her great grandmother owned a speakeasy and she supposedly died from a raid.
I love time-travelling and magical realism stories. 11/22/63 by Stephen King is still one of my top fave novel written about time travel and I still pretty much think about the book and the characters until now. I'm searching for a read that will give me the same feels.
The concept of being able to meet a relative esp when they were your age is really cool. It's interesting to know how one's time leap can alter both past and future. You also can't help but contemplate if you had the chance to travel back in time to change a few thing, would you dare risk it? Even it means you wouldn't exist in the future, would you decide to stay in the past if it means your sacrifice is going to be much more worth it? This story focuses on dealing with grief, facing the unknown/uncertainties and a little bit of romance thrown it but not too cringe. I'm not a huge fan of the 20s era though but fans of the Great Gatsby will probably enjoy and appreciate it more. Though it's a bit predictable, I still liked it and I surprisingly did not find it boring at all.

4.3 ⭐

What an amazing story! 🫶🏻

Plot: 5/5
Pace: 3+/5
Female characters: 4.5/5

I loved Josephine's journey coming back to life after a long year of grieving.
She felt lost and sad, but seeing how the women in her life helped her see the beauty of life was inspiring and heartwarming.

The magical element in the book is something I'm really drawn to (time travel) and I would like to read more about in the future.

The ending has me smiling and cursing a bit too. I think I needed a second epilogue 🥹

And I also think I need to keep an eye on this author and her stories.

// Thank you to Netgalley, Jennifer Moorman and HarperCollins Focus for the opportunity to read the ARC of this in exchange of my honest opinion //

I like the concept and setting of this book. I was quite excited to see a woman who has let herself be defined by her husband and her relationship find her way back to herself. I wish that had been given more narrative focus than the new romance.
I felt this prose was a little overwritten, particularly the stage direction - we were given nearly every movement Josephine made, as opposed to broad strokes that allowed us to keep the action going, and the dialogue. However, it's possible the dialogue didn't hit for me more because I couldn't get invested in Josephine's relationship with her sister. They way they spoke to each other felt a bit stiff and unnatural for siblings to me.
Definitely more for fans of historical romance than those more interested in the fantasy/time travel aspect.

3.5–the description of this book really intrigued me. A widowed woman buys an old family home and uses an old family antique door to transport back to the 1920’s to meet her great grandmother and change the course of their lives. I give the premise an A, but the execution a C.

The pros:
-time travel( I’m such a sucker!)
-1920’s jazz age era was brought to life in this novel. It’s a time period I’ve always loved and been intrigued with
-Josephine’s family relationships were strong and I can always appreciate that
-I love the concept of going back in time and meeting our ancestors

The Cons:
-The widow backstory didn’t seem like it fit. It served as a catalyst for Josephine buying the house, but otherwise, it didn’t play enough of a strong role in the story.
-The romance woven through the story didn’t really feel believable and felt like an extra layer that wasn’t needed.

Overall, it was a fun read, but it could’ve been executed better.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I loved this book! I mean I loved it! This book had it all historical fiction, time travel and bit of magical moments. I feel into this story and was so sad when the book ended. I will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen to me. :)

This is a story of love, loss, some romance, a bit of fantasy and time-travel which certainly does take you on a ride, or should I say a journey you have never been on before! Josephine Reynolds finds a door and goes through it. But what is behind this magical door? 1927, Jazz, her great grandmother and a whole new world.

This is a very well written book and I couldn't put it down. It made me laugh and cry, I loved the feel of the book, the magic and fantasy and the storyline. It is easy to read yet it kept me enthralled and certainly kept me reading. I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a captivating read for anyone who has ever wondered about the power of human connection and the ripple effects of our choices, as it weaves a spellbinding tale of love, family, and the unbreakable bonds between generations, set against the vibrant backdrop of the Jazz Age.

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds’ by Jennifer Moorman is an enchanting blend of magical realism and historical fiction. The story captivated me from the first page with its vivid depiction of the Jazz Age and heartfelt exploration of grief and healing. Josephine's journey back to the Prohibition era and her connection with her great-grandmother, Alma, was beautifully executed. The pacing was perfect, and the author’s descriptive writing made me feel like I was truly there. I highly recommend this book to fans of time-travel novels and anyone looking for a story about love, loss, and resilience. 4/5 stars!!!

I wish I had better things to say about this book. I had high hopes—the synopsis made it sound like something I'd love. I started with the audiobook but had to stop almost immediately. The narrator’s voice drove me insane; it felt like she was forcing a breathy, syrupy Southern belle tone for a widow who had been married for 15 years. At the very least, this character was 33—not 12.

Unfortunately, the book itself wasn’t any better. Since I received my copy after its official release, I can only hope it underwent another round of editing before reaching the masses. The story dragged, lacked structure, and was riddled with plot holes. One major issue: the protagonist travels back in time in a way that should erase her own existence. If you've ever watched a time travel movie, you know interacting with the past risks making you disappear. Not in this book! Instead, she somehow creates multiple timelines where she both exists and doesn’t—without any logical explanation.