Author: Hayley Gelfuso
Published: August 26, 2025, by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 400 Pages
Genre: Historical Time Travel
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Blurb: Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those have passed and accessed only by specially made watches once passed from father to son—but mostly now in government hands. This is where eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return for her. When he doesn’t, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the time space itself.
In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But when Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past—and the truth—might not be as linear as she’d like to believe.
The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and what we sacrifice to protect those we love.
My Opinion: I finished the novel days ago and it’s still echoing in my head. I’ve been circling around how to describe the experience, since it wasn’t just enjoyable, it was immersive, unsettling, and quietly brilliant.
Hayley Gelfuso pulled off something rare: she took two genres I don’t usually reach for, historical fiction and time travel, and wove them together in a way that felt fresh, emotionally resonant, and surprisingly intimate. The story doesn’t just span eras; it plays with identity, memory, and the slipperiness of truth. You know from the start that the characters’ paths will cross, but the when and how are part of the magic. There’s a slow-burn tension as you begin to sense that each person is more than they appear, and that their fates are deeply entangled.
Yes, some of the twists are easy to spot. But that doesn’t cheapen the experience. Gelfuso knows exactly when to drop a gasp-worthy moment or a quiet revelation that makes you sit up straighter. It’s not about shock, it’s about emotional timing. And she nails it.
This isn’t a book to nibble at. Read it in generous stretches. The shifting timelines and layered character arcs demand your full attention, and the payoff is worth it. You’ll find yourself questioning who’s “good” and who’s “evil,” and just when you think you’ve picked a side, the story nudges you to reconsider.
And the ending? It’s one of those rare finales that makes you flip back a few pages, just to make sure you caught it right. Miss a single phrase, and you might miss everything. It’s the kind of ending that begs for conversation; one you’ll want to dissect with someone else.
Honestly, I wish I could read it again for the first time. That’s the highest compliment I can give.
In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But when Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past—and the truth—might not be as linear as she’d like to believe.
The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and what we sacrifice to protect those we love.
My Opinion: I finished the novel days ago and it’s still echoing in my head. I’ve been circling around how to describe the experience, since it wasn’t just enjoyable, it was immersive, unsettling, and quietly brilliant.
Hayley Gelfuso pulled off something rare: she took two genres I don’t usually reach for, historical fiction and time travel, and wove them together in a way that felt fresh, emotionally resonant, and surprisingly intimate. The story doesn’t just span eras; it plays with identity, memory, and the slipperiness of truth. You know from the start that the characters’ paths will cross, but the when and how are part of the magic. There’s a slow-burn tension as you begin to sense that each person is more than they appear, and that their fates are deeply entangled.
Yes, some of the twists are easy to spot. But that doesn’t cheapen the experience. Gelfuso knows exactly when to drop a gasp-worthy moment or a quiet revelation that makes you sit up straighter. It’s not about shock, it’s about emotional timing. And she nails it.
This isn’t a book to nibble at. Read it in generous stretches. The shifting timelines and layered character arcs demand your full attention, and the payoff is worth it. You’ll find yourself questioning who’s “good” and who’s “evil,” and just when you think you’ve picked a side, the story nudges you to reconsider.
And the ending? It’s one of those rare finales that makes you flip back a few pages, just to make sure you caught it right. Miss a single phrase, and you might miss everything. It’s the kind of ending that begs for conversation; one you’ll want to dissect with someone else.
Honestly, I wish I could read it again for the first time. That’s the highest compliment I can give.
