TIME TRAVEL FOR BEGINNERS by Jaclyn Moriarty was a whimsical speculative fiction story about a mysterious Time Travel Agency in Sydney and three very 
different people whose lives become connected through it. Anna is a single mother looking for a fresh start, Teddy wants answers about his failed marriage, and Jade has her own complicated reasons for distrusting the Agency. As their stories begin to intersect, the novel explores regret, family, grief, relationships, and whether going back can actually help us move forward.
This was definitely a quirky one. There are multiple characters, intersecting storylines, family drama, romance, parenting struggles, grief, humor, and a whole lot of time travel woven together. I liked the slightly offbeat Sydney setting and the cozy feel of the Agency, especially with the coffee, baked goods, historical excursions, and eccentric people who work there.
Anna was my favorite of the three. She’s a single mom trying to figure out what comes next for her, and getting the job at the Agency gives her something she desperately needs: a reason to imagine a different future. I loved her enthusiasm, her curiosity, and the way she throws herself into the strange world of the Agency.
Teddy and Jade bring very different kinds of baggage to the story. Teddy is looking backward because he wants answers about his marriage, while Jade has much deeper reasons for being suspicious of the Agency and what it promises. I liked how their stories gradually started making more sense as the book went on. Their connections aren’t immediately obvious, and watching the pieces come together was one of the more interesting parts of the story for me.
TIME TRAVEL FOR BEGINNERS took a wildly imaginative premise and used it to explore some very relatable questions about regret, family, love, grief, and the choices that shape our lives. I also enjoyed watching the three storylines gradually come together and seeing how differently each character approached the past. Add in the quirky Time Travel Agency, Sydney setting, humor, and all those little questions about the roads we didn’t take, and this was a thoughtful and wonderfully unusual read.
THEMES & VIBES
⏳ Time-travel fiction
🔮 Speculative fiction
💫 Magical realism
📚 Women’s fiction
💕 Light romance
👩👧 Single-mom storyline
☕️ Cozy workplace setting
🦋 Interconnected lives
✨ Quirky & whimsical
💭 “What if?” fiction
Book Info:
Publication: August 4, 2026 | Berkley |
In her dazzling new novel, award-winning author Jaclyn Moriarty asks the question, if you could revisit one moment in your life, what would it be?
On a bustling road in Sydney, Australia, lies a nondescript storefront known simply as the Time Travel Agency. Inside, you’ll be welcomed by the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, a selection of baked goods…and the question, Where in time do you wish to go?
The guidelines are simple: you can go whenever you wish into the past, and there’s no fear of altering the present. Have tea with Jane Austen, scream at a Beatles concert, witness the Olympics in ancient Greece. Perhaps a more personal trip? Visit your long-lost grandmother, recapture the heady days of your youth, return to the idyllic time when your teen was a babbling baby—or watch yourself make the one decision that changed everything.
Is it a hoax? And if it’s real, what’s the catch?
When single mother Anna is offered a job at the agency, she glimpses the possibility of happiness. Meanwhile, Teddy’s a customer hoping to untangle his recently imploded marriage. And Jade, who has a deeply buried secret, despises the agency for offering false hope.
In Jaclyn Moriarty’s incandescent novel, Anna, Teddy, and Jade leap headlong into time, hurtling on a crash course toward one another. At turns entertaining and illuminating, Time Travel for Beginners explores the moments, big and small, that shape our destiny.
Please leave a comment