Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Ministry of Time

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

18 reviews

kelly_e's review

adventurous informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Title: The Ministry of Time
Author: Kaliane Bradley
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 2.50
Pub Date: May 7, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Creative • Clunky • Predictable

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A civil servant starts working as a 'bridge' - a liaison, helpmeet and housemate - in an experimental project that brings expatriates from the past into the twenty-first century. This is a science-fiction story.

In a London safehouse in the 2020s, a disorientated Victorian polar explorer chain-smokes while listening to Spotify and learning about political correctness. This is a comedy.

During a long, sultry summer - as the shadows around them grow long and dangerous - two people fall in love, against all odds. This is a romance.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Ministry of Time was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases. The premise sounded fantastic, unlike anything I'd read before. I certainly had high hopes when I was gifted an ARC, and even more so after it was announced as a GMA bookclub selection. I definitely couldn't avoid all of the hype surrounding this one.

Unlike some other reviews, I thought it started really strongly. I was interested and the concept was fascinating. However, the tone and direction completely shifted several times, especially in the final third, making it feel like a completely different book and story each time. I believe I'd have liked it more if it had kept the same trajectory as the beginning and if I'd gotten to spend more time with each of the characters rather than focusing primarily on one.

Equal parts time travel, romance, and spy thriller, this novel tries to do a lot and really ended up not doing anything at all. It needed more character development, more editing, and more cohesiveness. The lack of character depth, made it hard to believe the romance. With very little direction in the writing, from one page to the next, I often felt like pieces of the story were missing.

There is a lot of social commentary sprinkled into this story. From colonialism and racism to power and sexuality to climate change and corruption, the author probably should have picked a couple areas to focus on rather than trying to do it all. It convolutes the actual story and maybe that was the author's intent. It just didn't work for me.

A criticism I have seen is that the middle is bogged down with historical details. I, however, liked learning about the expedition and Graham's life. Given his character is based on a real person, I think it was necessary to include these details in order to give the reader context. It was also interesting take on seeing this early explorer in the present day.

The Ministry of Time had all of the right ingredients, yet they didn't come together in a way that worked. I have to commend the marketing team as they have done their jobs in promoting this book and I have no doubts many people will love it. The execution just wasn't there to make this book a stand out for me. My opinion is definitely the unpopular one, so I would say give it a shot if it's something that interests you. I'd definitely be curious to read something else written by Kaliane Bradley in the future.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• fancy language
• stories that don't fit into a box

⚠️ CW: death, grief, violence, gun violence, war, murder, blood, injury/injury detail, cannibalism, colonization, genocide, racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, misogyny, sexual content, drug use, alcohol, cursing

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"If you ever fall in love, you’ll be a person who was in love for the rest of your life."

"It can get better, but you must allow yourself to imagine a world in which you are better."

"Forgiveness and hope are miracles. They let you change your life. They are time travel."

Content Warnings

mmccombs's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

Such a clever idea deftly executed. When I first started the book (on audio, which I don’t think I’d recommend), I was a little nervous things would get cheesy or maybe kind of weird/icky, but I quickly found this kind of bonkers concept to be handled with nuance. Like it’s a book about time travel, which can get sticky conceptually, but that’s just the beginning. It’s a story about intergenerational trauma, survivor’s guilt, climate (and just generally the future) anxiety, about how we can change the future by changing the present. I loved the characterization of each character, they felt lived in and real (if sometimes a bit goofy). The writing was so beautiful and precise, there was humor and romance and poignant lines, making this absolutely a page turner. Reading it physically definitely was the way to go, I felt I missed too much by listening to it (especially when things got time-travelly-twisty). This was so fun to read while also remaining very thoughtful, a gem of the year for sure!

Content Warnings

uniquelymace's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

dionnesims's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Okay, I enjoyed reading this book...I liked the mix of historical fiction and sci-fi, I thought the sex scenes were surprisingly hot, and the humor was dry which always gets a laugh from me. For the anime watchers reading this, it's a slice of life for sure. The ending was kinda roughshod... not a happy ending, not a sad ending, potentially a cliffhanger for a duology if she wanted. Ultimately an interesting concept and I'm glad I read it.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thanks to Avid Reader Press for the free copy of this book.

- What an inventive, emotional, and thought provoking book THE MINISTRY OF TIME is.
- This book is what I would call literary sci-fi, which is one of my favorite genre mashups. It’s also quite heavily character focused, with most of the action happening in the last third of the book.
- Despite my usual love of plot-heavy books, I was immediately drawn into the story of our unnamed narrator and her displaced-from-time charge.
- It’s easy to see how much research Bradley put into this book, but it never loses the intense emotion amid the historical tidbits.
- I don’t even have the space to touch on the elements of race, survivor’s guilt, and of catching someone up on centuries of history. There is so much going on in this book and I’m going to be thinking about all the pieces of it for a long time to come.

Content Warnings

sarahweyand's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

If you don't know me, know I am a time travel HATER. The biggest hater. So I surprised myself when I was looking forward to listening to this audiobook, where "Time" is literally in the title. I appreciated that for most of the book, time travel was a catalyst for the story to occur and not a primary plot element. I found the characters and their relationships with one another to be charming and endearing, if not fully realistic for the time periods they were from.

I enjoyed the spy thriller aspect of the novel as well, but not as much as the romance and character building. Unfortunately, this element takes over the plot towards the end of the book, and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the first 75%. I won't get into spoilers, but more time-travel based plot also comes into play here which I also didn't like (and am a little confused on the ending).

All in all, I really enjoyed most of this book, but the ending fell a little flat for me. I think it's a very strong debut and I look forward to keeping an eye on Bradley in the future!

Content Warnings