The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman

 

My thoughts

I loved this book. It was just what I needed to read. A touch of magic and love. A time travel that takes you back to 1927. To a time when things were so different but in ways the same. It was such a good story...

What if you could go back in time. Would you? If so, who would you want to meet? I'm not sure who I would want to see and talk too. Maybe a relative I read about in a genealogy report that I read about. He was called "The Lost Poet Of Georgia." A long time ago. That would be kind of cool, right? But at the same time it would be scary...

 Josephine Reynolds was grieving the death of her husband. As I read a little about him I didn't much like him. Or maybe it was just her. She gave up everything for him. All of her dreams. Even the decorating of their home was his choice. But she loved him and she was grieving for him. 

Josephine decides to sell the home she made with her husband and buys her grandmother's old home. The house is now in a historical district so there are things Josephine has to do to keep the house up. Including getting a front door. She finds the original door and has it installed. Things take a big turn now. One day Josephine walks in and everything is different. A whole different era for her. She's with her great grandmother, Alma. 

Alma ran a speakeasy in her basement back in 1927. It was booming and seemed to all be well. Something is going to happen though that may cause a big difference in her great granddaughter, Josephine's life. Josephine has to stop events from happening but how can she convince Alma that it's really true.

There is also love in the air. A birthday party. A raid. A discovery of self. I throughly enjoyed this book. It started out strong for me and ending right where it should have. A few things made me hold my breath and other's made me gasp out loud. This book is so good. Traveling back in time was fun. Thinking about who I would visit was exciting. A wonderful book...

Thank you #NetGalley, #HarperCollinsFocus, #HarperMuse, for this ARC.

About

Can an entire life be erased by one thoughtless wish that changes a single moment?

Josephine Reynolds never imagined she'd be a widow in her midthirties. Grieving and barely able to contemplate one more night alone, she carelessly wishes she'd never been born. At the exact same moment, her inbox dings with an it's a link from her sister that lists local foreclosures, and, to her immense surprise, she sees her great-grandmother's house listed and immediately conspires to reclaim it.

But as Josephine restores her great-grandmother's home to its original glory, she comes to realize not everything is as it seems. Replacing the modern front door with the original hand-carved and solid wood one, she notices minuscule words carved into the edging. As she speaks the words aloud and opens the front door with its original key, Josephine finds herself transported back almost one hundred years ago to a 1920s party thrown by her great-grandmother Alma.

A shocked Josephine fears she is losing her mind. Has her grief caused her to lose touch with reality? But it quickly becomes clear that her life and future--thanks to her throwaway wish--hinge on one single moment that happened almost one hundred years ago. The two parallel timelines start blending together, and Josephine witnesses her present life disappearing right before her eyes.

She can only hope it's not too late to save her own future.