REVIEW: The Ministry of Time

Kaliane Bradley
Published: 7th May 2024
Genre: literary, romance, sci-fi
Spoilers?: no

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Storygraph | Goodreads

A BOY MEETS A GIRL.
THE PAST MEETS THE FUTURE.
A FINGER MEETS A TRIGGER.
THE BEGINNING MEETS THE END.
ENGLAND IS FOREVER.
ENGLAND MUST FALL.

There are several ways to tell a story.

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.

The Ministry of Time is a novel about Commander Graham Gore (R.N. c.1809-c.1847) and a woman known only as the bridge. As their relationship turns from the strictly professional into something more and uneasy truths begin to emerge, they are forced to face the reality of the project that brought them together.

Can love triumph over the structures and histories that shape them?

REVIEW: Annie Bot

Sierra Greer
Published: 19th March 2024
Genre: science fiction, thriller
Spoilers?: yes

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Storygraph | Goodreads

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

REVIEW: Star Wars: Queen’s Peril

Star Wars: Queen’s Peril by E.K. Johnston
Published: Disney Lucasfilm Press (June 2nd, 2020)
Genre: science-fiction, young adult
Subgenres: retellings and reimaginings
Rating: 6/10 👑

When fourteen-year-old Padmé Naberrie wins the election for Queen of Naboo, she adopts the name Amidala and leaves her family to the rule from the royal palace. To keep her safe and secure, she’ll need a group of skilled handmaidens who can be her assistants, confidantes, defenders, and decoys. Each girl is selected for her particular talents, but it will be up to Padmé to unite them as a group. When Naboo is invaded by forces of the Trade Federation, Queen Amidala and her handmaidens will face the greatest test—of themselves, and of each other.