In one day, I devoured Kaliane Bradley‘s debut novel, The Ministry of Time, and now I have all The Feelings.

The story is fantastically captivating but casually paced for much of the novel. While I sometimes felt frustrated with the almost sleepy plot development, I understand that the back story needs a significant setup. In the not-too-distant future, the British government stumbles on a means of traveling through time. They extract five individuals from history. As the “ex-pats” are monitored and introduced to the 21st century, the Ministry of Time selects, hires, and trains operatives to be “bridges” for the time travelers. Bridges and ex-pats will live together for one year as the government keeps tabs on their travelers.

Much of the story focuses on one traveler, Graham Gore, and the unnamed narrator, his bridge. Over the year, Graham acclimates, and the pair develop a friendship (and more). However, other developments begin to unfold at the Ministry, which puts the narrator, Graham, and all of the ex-pats and bridges in danger.

The rapid escalation in the plot pace was a little jarring, but it also propelled me to the finish. The writing is a little high-brow for me at times. I felt like the author was looking to fit in as many ten-dollar words as possible when simpler statements would have worked just as well. I needed to pause frequently to look up words!

Overall, this is an impressively ambitious science fiction story. I especially appreciated the romance, even with the heartache it entailed. I can’t give a five-star rave, but I give The Ministry of Time a strong three stars.