What do readers think of Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty? Write your own review.

This was a very unique take on time travel. The author's extensive research on famous writers came out in very interesting vignettes, and the main characters in the book were likeable and relatable. The story itself was very original but complicated and at times confusing. Overall, it was a pleasurable read.

Time Travel For Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty is a fantasy tale. The author has managed, very successfully I might add, to mix a fantasy with real life situations. In this novel we meet, Anna, Teddy, and Jade, all of whom have serious regrets and questions about their lifes. By going to the store front called The Time Travel Agency, a place which offers people the opportunity to revisit a past time without changing the future/present. Ms. Moriarty has given us a good character driven novel where each of the main characters come to terms with their issues. Each character not only grows in self-awareness, but they all learn that the past is the past. There is nothing one can do to change it. All three characters find that there is much to learn and understand by accepting the past. The author has allowed all three of the characters to grow, be courageous, make their own choices and come to a final peaceful and happy place in their lives. Threw in some romance, some spirituality with the importance of friendship and you have a very good novel. I enjoyed this book.

This book offers an unconventional take on time travel. Although the beginning feels a little uneven, the story soon becomes engaging. Rather than focusing solely on time travel, it explores relationships and the question of how life might have unfolded differently. It is a light read, ideal for a long plane ride or the beach, but still has enough depth to remain interesting. The time travel agency reviews woven throughout became intriguing once their purpose was clear. At times, it was hard to keep track of the characters, especially their alternate versions, and the e-book format made it difficult to flip back for reminders. Overall, however, it was an enjoyable read.

4 ?

I have always liked time travel stories and this was no exception. The premise of a Time Travel Agency was creative and brought up many questions. How to suspend belief about the room and the technology? How do you not change the past with your visit? How does Partial mode work with the ability to reach someone if you feel strongly enough? I loved that most people didn't believe it was real. I also really enjoyed the public reviews sprinkled in. The very first one led me to believe the whole thing wasn't real which added to the tension. The dual stories kept me guessing about how it would all resolve. The characters were well developed and I particularly liked Katya - the absent minded professor. I also enjoyed the text chains between Teddy, Bollocky and Ribbons. They were funny and insightful. Problems I had with the story were that the Teddy/Anna story was too easy to see coming and I had trouble distinguishing between the two girls' story lines. I kept getting them confused. Overall, very enjoyable and I would recommend it. Thank you to Net Galley and BookBrowse for this advanced reader copy.

I would actually rate this book at 3.5 stars if I could. In my opinion, it was better than average but less than a full 4.

My primary reason for making that statement is that I found the book very confusing as it went back and forth between the main character's life to the journal she was keeping in hopes of turning it into a novel. I kept losing track which one was her real daughter and which was the fictional account and whether or not her sister was actually dead or not.

It is possible that I had this problem because I was reading an ebook version, which is not my preferred format.

I do enjoy time travel books in general and liked the author's premise of using a brilliant female scientist as the inventor of this specific mode of time travel. I also enjoyed the characters raising the question whether time travel was real or not and watching their opinions shift.

TTfB by Jaclyn Moriarty is fun, warm, and emotional. It doesn't hit you over the head with it's sci-fi themes and delivers a multi-pronged emotional story with it's three main characters. Their arcs are interwoven but not convoluting. By the end of the story, you're deeply rooting for all of them to heal/find happiness.

This was a delightful, unique take on time travel and it's purpose. I loved the focus character growth and their interwoven stories. It was a cozy magical realism story that really makes you think about what you would do if you were able to travel back in time.

Time Travel for Beginners is one of the most original books I've read this year. The premise immediately hooked me: a small storefront time travel agency that most people don't believe is real. Customers can travel to the past, but any changes they make create a different timeline rather than altering their own. It's a clever approach that avoids many of the usual time travel paradoxes while still allowing the story to explore regret, choices, and second chances.

The novel follows Anna, who takes a job as a time travel agent, Teddy, who begins using the agency to understand what happened to his marriage, and Jade, whose diary entries are woven throughout the story. At first their stories seem unrelated, but the connections gradually emerge and come together in a satisfying way. I especially enjoyed the reviews scattered throughout the book. They added humor and helped make the Time Travel Agency feel surprisingly real. The world-building struck a nice balance between explaining the rules (without science) and preserving a sense of wonder.

While the structure occasionally required patience as the different storylines unfolded, the payoff was worth it. More than anything, this book reminded me why I love time travel stories. By the end, I found myself wishing the Time Travel Agency actually existed.

A unique, imaginative novel that combines speculative fiction with an engaging character-driven story. 4 stars.