The Ministry of Time

One of my favorite things to wonder is what a random person from the distant past would think of today’s world. If plucked from their time and dropped into ours, what would they think of electricity, internet, modern medicine? What about smaller stuff, like the way we talk, current fashion, and, depending on when exactly they’re from, how long everyone lives? It’s a fascinating thing to think about. And now I have a new thing to wonder: What on earth gave Kaliane Bradley the right to take this concept and break my heart with it!?

The Ministry of Time is a great example of a book whos author knows exactly what they’re doing. Kaliane Bradley has researched the time periods of her characters so well that they feel completely real and alive (and in the case of Graham Gore, he actually was alive in the 1800s as a member of the Royal Navy and an explorer, though very little is known about his life other than that). They jump off the page and say “Look at me! I’m from the past and I’m amazed by your world!” This is especially the case with Margaret, a woman from the 1600s, which we all know is a time when women weren’t treated very well. Margaret absolutely thrives in the 21st century, taking great interest in feminism, crop tops, and the freedom she never saw or even dreamed of in her life before time travel. I loved reading about her adventures and how she took to modern life with such gusto.

The romance between the MC and Graham is an extremely slow burn and I enjoyed every minute of it. Between the MC’s ‘modern-day woman’ views and Graham’s ‘man from the 1800s’ behaviors, they had some incredible, laugh out loud banter. Their relationship is complicated, but sweet, and I love that their romance isn’t the main focus. As the daughter of a woman from Cambodia, our MC is half british, half Cambodian, and she experiences thinly-veiled racism and xenophobia on a regular basis. As she shares her experiences, there are parallels between her story and that of Graham’s who, as an ‘expat’ (as they call the time-travelers), is something of a migrant himself, though he has come from the past rather than another country, which I found very interesting.

Although there was a part towards the end of the book that felt a little cliché, I am overall very happy with The Ministry of Time and I loved the ending. I’d easily recommend this one to anyone who loves speculative fiction, slow burn romance, or the concept of bringing people forth from the past to see what the heck they’d think of the future.

A civil servant in the near future is tasked with care of a time-traveler, a naval officer from 1847, Graham Gore. She is to observe him and help him cope with life in the present day. The Ministry, for whom she works, is said to be studying several time-travelers from the past to study the effects of time-travel on humans and on the timeline.

Gore and the other time-travelers are delightful in their wit, their charm, and their responses to the changes in their worlds. I enjoyed the humor and the characters very much. If everything didn't quite pull together, logically-speaking and scientifically-speaking, my response is, Oh well, and Who cares? Too much fun to miss this little gem.

Rating Description:

1.0 - DNF/Despise

1.5 - Almost DNFed and wish I had

2.0 - Almost DNFed but had redeeming qualities/just boring

2.5 - Alright with lots of notes

3.0 - Alright with notes but I'm not raving about it

3.5 - Technically good but I'm not raving about it

4.0 - Love but with notes

4.5 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book but still with notes

5.0 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book and notes are very positive

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I loved this book. I loved it so much that I took pictures of certain pages and highlighted the lines that really resonated with me. Heck, I even found myself chuckling while reading this.

What made me love the book?

As an immigrant, a good number of the things tackled here resonated with me. Despite being quite western in a non-western country, I did still face some challenges when I migrated. I found myself being more cautious and hesitant. But at the same time, I felt I had more freedoms with regards to a good number of things. These were things that made me relate to the Expats in the story and even the narrator herself.

I also found myself relating to the Bridges when they broached the topic of the LGBTQ+ and political correctness with the Expats. It’s similar to how, I guess, many of us grapple with discussing the same topics with our elderly relatives.

So, if I loved this book so much, why didn’t I rate it 5 stars?

Well, this book was great but not perfect. There were some details that I did not believe. And yes, this was a sci-fi book so I really should suspend my disbelief. However, I really didn’t think a government agency will just let you walk out of the building after being part of an incident and destroying a very valuable tech.

I also believe that there were certain things that I think were important that weren’t stressed enough or certain things would have been come off stronger if they were tied more closely together. For example, below were 3 things that could have made a stronger impact if they were tied more closely together:

1. Graham found it hard to believe people did so little to help when WW2 was ramping up. The narrator explained that people did the things they did because they were blindly following what they thought were good orders from those up the chain in commend.

2. The narrator inadvertently changed the future by doing something different. She also broke certain protocols.

3. At the end of the book, one of the points made was that we don’t need a time machine to change the course of history. We only just need to do better or be better people.

If those 3 things were tied more closely together, I think the message (that we should do better and not just follow things blindly) would have been stronger.

Now, I’ve read a few other reviews on this book and would like to go over some of them.

Prose:

I am aware that the prose was not necessarily some people’s cup of tea. But, quite frankly, I loved it. It was what separated this book from the other books I’ve read in quite some time. It was this weird mix of formal and flowery.

Some have pointed out that the author had a penchant for using highfalutin words that could have possibly made it harder for readers to digest it. But so, what if the reader had to look up some words? There’s Google. Use it. I think we could all use to broaden our vocabulary.

On top of that, the flowery words were in character of narrator whose specialty was languages.

Marketed as a romance when it’s not:

Honestly, I don’t know how this book was marketed. So, whether the marketing was deceitful, I can’t really tell. But there was romance in it. But it’s probably not the kind of romance folks expect these days in books given its contemporaries.

The romance here was subtle. It was a growing affection brought on by time and familiarity.

From the way Graham was described, we can tell that he was passably attractive. Not drop dead gorgeous or eye catching. He was okay looking. The most striking thing about him was his personality or, as they put it, his temperament. He was quite charming.

But this one line from page 108, really sold to me how magnetic he was to the narrator:

- He filled the room like a horizon

One review mentioned that the romance was quite one-sided. In a way it was. Given how the book was written we can only see the story from the POV of the narrator. We don’t really get much inkling of how it was from Graham’s side because the narrator also didn’t know. And it made sense that the narrator would not have seen obvious signs of interest from Graham given how he’s a man from the late 1800s who had been taught to not be forward towards women he deemed respectable.

There wasn’t much time travel:

I agree that there wasn’t much time travel. But I didn’t go into this book expecting them to be jumping back and forth in time often like it was ‘Back to the Future’. The closest comparison I can make is that this is a reverse Outlander. Or maybe that movie ‘Kate and Leopold’ with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. The bulk of the story was about how the expats were adjusting to the modern times.

When I read the blurb for The Ministry of Time I was immediately curious and it become one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

I was not disappointed! The ministry of time brings a new (at least to me) twist on the time travel books, as it focuses on the adaptation, assimilation of culture by people brought from the past. This is an absolutely wonderful set up to explore some very important issues - racism, colonization, feminism, gender equality, religion, climate crises etc - while also giving plenty of opportunities to do it with humor.

The writing was beautiful, engaging, and full of British humor that made me laugh out loud several times. The characters are interesting and sweet, and written in a way that made me absolutely invested in their successful adaptation and hapiness.

And Gore? I fell hard for this gentleman, and I'm not embarrassed about it.

This was a brilliant debut, and I'll be looking forward for more books by Kate.

I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton | Sceptre and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very entertaining cheeky romp featuring time travel, Victorian gentlemen, found family, cross-century teasing, and the most charming English dialects from previous and future centuries. Could have done without some of the typical time travel tropes that come in at the end, but all in all this was fun!

 When I picked up the book, I was exited about the plot: a secret governmental agency responsible for managing and safeguarding the course of history through time travel. It promised a blend of historical intrigue, adventure, and a touch of science fiction, all things that I typically love. However, the book fell short in several key areas.
I think that overall I need to agree that it feels a bit like a fanfiction. I will explain more now: First, the narrative felt disjointed and inconsistent (kinda like someone earlier said. Like a 14 year old fanfiction.). While the concept of time travel and historical manipulation is complex, the storytelling often seemed to lack direction. The pacing was uneven, with some sections dragging on unnecessarily while others rushed through potentially fascinating events and encounters. This  made it difficult to stay engaged and fully immersed in the story, again leading it to just drag out.
Character development was another huge issue. The protagonists, came across as underdeveloped and somewhat one-dimensional, ok super one-dimensional honestly. Their motivations and personal backgrounds were not explored in sufficient depth, making it hard to connect with them. Instead of feeling like fully realised individuals, they often seemed to serve as mere vehicles for advancing the plot. Or in a less fancy way, the characters all felt like puppets instead of actual alive people that the author is just guiding in their story.
The historical settings and events sometimes suffered from a lack of authenticity. As someone who enjoys historical fiction, I found myself frustrated by inaccuracies and that just makes me feel less connected as I know it is not actually accurate. I mean do your research properly. The book sometimes took too many liberties with historical facts, which, while maybe intended to help the narrative, ended up destroyingit in some ways.
The prose itself was another sticking point. While there were moments of evocative writing, these were overshadowed by a general sense of inconsistency. Some passages were beautifully crafted, drawing me into the world, while others felt clunky and awkward, pulling me out of the story. Like I felt I was on some kind of awkward rollarcoaster that pulls you back and forth.
Small line that I dont know where to put in the main subjects I like to keep in my reviews: THE ROMACE. I mean, it was not needed and felt all wrong to me. I would be fine without it in any and every way.
Small posetive thing tho since everything before was so negative: The concept remains a compelling one, and there were flashes of brilliance in the way certain historical figures and events were portrayed. The idea of exploring history through the lens of time travel is undeniably fascinating, and there were moments where the book's potential shone through.
Just overall sucks that my expectations and wants in this book were not met at all. The concept was so good, it just was way to inconsistent and not properly written. So in conclusion, it was a 2star for me. Borderline 1.75 but decided to keep it up at 2. 

Unexpected, filled with dry humor and complex layers

This was good, but was an emotionally heavier book than I anticipated. From the description I thought it would be quicker paced and lighter, and more romance forward than it was. The humor is very dry (which I enjoyed). There's a lot of focus on racial identity and generational trauma, which honestly fits perfectly in a setting where people from the past are dumped into the future. The slow burn romance is quiet and reserved, but was overshadowed for me by the growing sense of impending doom you start to pick up about a quarter in.

Pacing skips along at a very even pace. Highs and lows, action and intrigue kind of landed on the same level for me. Things are clearly being driven to a point and there is increasing danger, but I didn't always feel it. But again, I went in expecting something different so that might be my own issue.

I still really enjoyed it. It captured my attention quickly and easily. Many of the characters are charming. I'd recommend it for people who would be interested in the morality and possible paradoxes that come with time travel, with a hint of romance. If you're looking for a more traditional romance this isn't it. Not a straightforward Happily Ever After, but it wouldn't have felt right for the story if it had.

The Ministry of Time sits somewhere on the chronal courtship continuum between The Time Traveller's Wife and This is How You Lose the Time War. Apparently I've got a soft spot for timey-wimey romance.

Our protagonist is a “bridge” working for the Ministry of Expatriation. What that means is she's a live-in keeper and guide to the 21st century to one Commander Graham Gore. Instead of dying somewhere in the Arctic in 1847, Gore has been pulled into the present by the British government who have recently discovered time travel.

It's a bit cozy for a secretive government agency. Snatching random folks across history into the present, to hole them up in a lovely flat with a modern day member of the opposite sex is about as convoluted a meet-cute as you're going to get. The sci-fi equivalent of the busy big city executive going back to her home town to meet the chiseled Christmas tree vendor who's had a glow-up since his nerdy high school days. But hey, I'm all for a suspension of disbelief.

And it is interesting to see how these folks adjust to the new world. It's not just Spotify, airplanes, and washing machines, but the Holocaust, Hiroshima and 9/11. And what does it mean to exist centuries out of your own time? How does one maintain a “hereness” so fully removed from your temporal origins?

But that's all speculative window dressing to the slow burn romance on display. Bradley could have just as easily relied on the wonder of the sci-fi conceit, but instead the prose sparkles and Gore is overflowing with old world charm. He's got charisma for days, freed from the constraints and cold of a tireless Arctic expedition. In fact, all the temporally displaced “expatriots” are wonderfully realized eccentrics with a penchant for snappy dialogue. I just love the way Bradley turns a phrase.

There are disappearances and double-crosses, not to mention casualties and conspiracies to ratchet up the tension but in the end it's the characters on the page that won me over. This is made for adaptation and ripe for a sequel. I can't wait to see more from Kaliane Bradley!