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Review: A Time Traveler’s History of Tomorrow by Kendall Kulper

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A Time Traveler's History of Tomorrow by Kendall Kulper

A Time Traveler’s History of Tomorrow
Kendall Kulper
Holiday House
Published November 4, 2025

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About A Time Traveler’s History of Tomorrow

A time-bending love story between a prickly young woman and a carefree stranger, who are tasked with saving the universe—after accidentally destroying it in the first place.

Genevieve Newhouse and Ash Hargreaves weren’t supposed to meet like this. Unless it was always meant to be . . .

Gen is a fastidious science prodigy with a chip on her shoulder, and she can turn herself invisible.

Happy-go-lucky Ash has just escaped a sheltered (read: cultish) childhood, and he can manipulate time.

The gifted eighteen-year-olds cross paths at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair, where Genevieve’s experimental physics project causes an apocalyptic explosion. Ash tries to avert catastrophe by gallantly rewinding time a few minutes, but instead, he transports them back to 1893. The duo finds themselves trapped in an unfamiliar, unwelcoming era, with no idea how to return to their own time—or if their own time even exists. Their cataclysmic leap across decades might have destroyed the world as they know it . . .

Fate and free will intertwine in this page-turning historical romance that sets two irresistible strangers down a chaotic, potentially apocalyptic path. “Will they or won’t they” takes on a whole new meaning as Gen and Ash fight for survival while falling in love.

Hand to fans of Immortal Longings and Anatomy: A Love Story, and don’t miss companion novels Murder for the Modern Girl and A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

My Review

I read The Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife by Kendall Kulper, which is about Genevieve’s sister Henny, two years ago, so I was excited to read this companion novel. The historical setting has the same noir feel as the other book, which I love. Most of the story takes place in Chicago in 1893, in and around the World’s Fair.

The chapters alternate from Genevieve and Ash’s perspectives, and I enjoyed both characters. I like that she is the scientist and he is the romantic, people-oriented person in the partnership. It would have been easy to write the characters the opposite way, and I like that Kulper challenged some gender expectations with these characters. Genevieve also finds a talented Black woman in 1893 who mentors her. That created some opportunities for the narrative to note the ways that misogyny didn’t only affect white women, but also women of color.

The pacing in the last quarter of the book felt so fast to me. I loved how quickly things unfolded, though I think I lost the thread of the character arcs for both Genevieve and Ash as they prepared for their big move to save the world and un-pretzel the timeline.

Despite that, I had a lot of fun reading this book. I didn’t realize that Genevieve and Henny’s older sister, Ruby, has her own novel: Murder for the Modern Girl. So I’m definitely adding that one to my reading list.

Definitely check out Kulper’s books if you enjoy a good historical novel with a bit of magical realism or fantasy elements.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used fairly infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have supernatural abilities, like traveling through time and turning invisible. At the beginning of the story, one character lives in a highly controlling religious cult community.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Two scenes include a person nearly falling to their death. Two scenes include someone nearly drowning. One person dies in the water. Someone collapses with some kind of apparent medical crisis. Reference to death in a fire (not shown on scene).

Misogynistic and racist characters restrict the ability of talented women and people of color to participate in the science field and/or receive credit for their work. References to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 and the Indigenous people and people of color incarcerated at the fairgrounds as part of an exhibit. The narrative also acknowledges the fact that certain cultures and people groups were excluded from exhibits on progress and science.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

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Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide
Pablo Leon
HarperAlley
Published September 2, 2025

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About Silenced Voices

In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Dos Erres Massacre with his own experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to depict a powerful story of family, sacrifice, survival, and hope.

Langley Park, Maryland, 2013.

Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about the life their mother lived before she came to Maryland. In fact, Clara avoids even telling people she’s from Guatemala. So when Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of former military leader Efrain Rios Montt, at first the questions he asks Clara are shut down—he and Charlie were born here, after all, and there’s no reason to worry about places they haven’t been. But as the trial progresses, Clara begins to slowly open up to her sons about a time in her life that she’s left buried for years.

Dos Erres, Guatemala, 1982.

Sisters Clara and Elena hear about the civil war every day, but the violence somehow seems far away from their small village of Dos Erres, a Q’eqchi Maya community tucked away in the mountains of Guatemala. They spend their days thinking of other things—Clara, of gifts to bring her neighbors and how to perfect her mother’s recipes, and Elena, of rock music and her friend Ana, whose family had to flee to the US the year before. But the day the Kaibiles come to Dos Erres and destroy everything in their path, the sisters are separated as they flee through the mountains, leaving them to wonder…Have their paths diverged forever?

My Review

Kudos to authors like Pablo Leon who draw attention to important parts of recent history. The story begins in 2013 and shows the two brothers and their mother living in Maryland. As Jose becomes curious about his mother’s life in Guatemala and the Montt’s trial for genocide, we begin to see scenes from Clara and Elena’s lives as young women fleeing the violence.

The graphic panels keep the story moving, showing the characters’ emotional reactions and allowing readers to fill in some of what’s left unsaid about the terror and injustice they face. The story shifts between the past and present timeline smoothly. I didn’t find it confusing.

The author includes facts about Montt’s trial and the frustrating outcome. It also helps to add context to reasons people immigrate from places like Guatemala and how the U.S. involvement sometimes exacerbates instability in the region. Both the discussion about the real history and the context of these events when considering current issues like immigration are important. I love that this book offers this story inspired by real events as a graphic novel, making it very accessible to teen readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to genocide and warfare. Racist statements against indigenous people.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own.

Review: A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price

Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

A Matter of Murder (A Lizzie & Darcy Mystery #2)
Tirzah Price
Storytide
Published November 11, 2025

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About A Matter of Murder

The thrilling conclusion to the Lizzie & Darcy Mysteries duology, following Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy from the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series!

A Bingley family curse looms over Lizzie’s sister and Darcy’s best friend—but are the dark forces at work supernatural or human?

Lizzie Bennet’s beloved sister Jane has just married Darcy’s best friend, Bingley, and the Bennet family and Darcy are paying the newlyweds a visit at Bingley’s family home, Netherfield Park. It doesn’t take long for their country retreat to turn into an investigation, though, when a long-dead body is discovered stuffed up the parlor chimney.

The locals are convinced that Netherfield is cursed, but Lizzie and Darcy know better than to believe in such nonsense and are determined to uncover the truth about what happened to the mysterious man in the chimney. But as they dig deeper into the history of Netherfield Park, they find that danger is waiting for them around every corner. Soon enough, they’re forced to consider if the curse might have some merit to it, or if there’s something—or someone—far more sinister behind their near brushes with death….

This duology closer is a daring and delightful conclusion to the chronicles of supersleuths Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy!

My Review

More cozy mysteries featuring Jane Austen characters! Yet again, I find that this book arrived in my life at just the right moment. It was a joy to read this. The writing is smooth, so I flew through the pages. The characters are engaging, and the setting enjoyable.

If you’re a stickler for your historical fiction *sounding* like historical fiction… the writing here might feel too modern for you, especially if you are looking for something written more like the original work. But if you simply need more adventures with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy at the helm, you definitely want to check out this series.

This is the second book in the “Lizzie and Darcy Murder Mysteries” duology, so if you’re new to this story universe, start with Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price, which is part of her “Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” series. (Sense and Second-degree Murder is still my favorite!) From there, you’ll want to pick up In Want of a Suspect, which is book one in the spin-off duology.

I especially love that the author offers Charlotte Lucas, who is a biracial woman in this reimagining of the story, an alternate, happier romance. I will always love the original story and respect Charlotte’s pragmatism, but I love that this story offers her the happiness she deserves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity a few times. I love Georgiana Darcy’s response to this.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
References to attending Anglican church services. At one point, a character wonders whether another is. *gasp* a Catholic.

Violent Content
Mr. Darcy discovers a body (sort of a mummified skeleton) in the fireplace flue. He examines the clothes and personal items the murder victim carried as well as noting evidence of a head injury. (Later, characters briefly recount a recap of what happened to this person.) A heavy object falls from above, seriously injuring someone. Someone kidnaps a character and holds two people hostage in exchange for another’s cooperation. Someone fires a handgun at another person. References to someone being sentenced to hanging. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
Adult characters drink alcohol occasionally. One character appears drunk at a funeral.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Grave Flowers by Autumn Krause

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Grave Flowers
Autumn Krause
Peachtree Teen
Published September 2, 2025

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About Grave Flowers

A twisty, dark royalcore fantasy that takes the courtly intrigue of Hamlet and infuses it with the vicious ambition of the Boleyn family. For readers who love Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas.

“A sumptuously dark tale of revenge and atonement that beautifully explores the ties both duty and family use to claim us. From the first page to the last, I was dazzled.” —Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child

Marry the prince, then kill him.

Princess Madalina and her twin sister, Inessa, were born attached at the hand and separated right after. That’s the only time the sisters ever held hands. The girls’ personalities have been shaped in the Sinet family’s drive to make their kingdom more than what it is: unrespectable and loathsome, a damp place where deceit fills the palace walls like mold.

Madalina is different from her family. She’s considered the weak one and only finds peace in the garden, tending her magical flowers, which are pejoratively called grave flowers because they are ideal for torture and torment. Secretly, she dreams of escape and a new life.

Then Inessa, who was betrothed to the heir of a wealthy kingdom—Prince Aeric—gets trapped in Bide, a terrifying purgatory, and begs Madalina to set her free. Now, not only must Madalina take her sister’s place as Aeric’s bride-to-be, but she also must finish Inessa’s secret mission: Inessa wasn’t just sent to marry Prince Aeric, but to kill him, too, and solidify a profitable pact with his traitorous uncle.

On behalf of her family, Madalina will need to resist the infuriatingly clever prince—as well as her own heart—if she’s to free her sister and finish the job.

My Review

Dangerous plants star in this twisting tale of love and political intrigue. At first, it seems the flowers are simply a quirk of the fantasy world, and Princess Madalina’s passion project. As the story progresses, we learn more about the king’s experiment with them. It takes time for the connection between those experiments and the challenges Madalina faces to become apparent.

I liked the tenuous connection between Madalina and Aeric. They bond over their neglectful childhoods and the loss of parents they were closest to. They both hide big secrets.

I do wish there had been more explanation of Aeric’s behavior, though. Sometimes he would say wildly romantic things about wanting to protect Madalina forever and kissing no one else but her, as his betrothed. But then he would be aloof and remote at other times. I get that in those moments he withdrew on purpose. I think I just wanted a little more connecting of those two disparate parts of his personality, especially at the end.

Madalina and Inessa were born conjoined twins, separated at birth. The fact that they were conjoined is hidden from everyone but their parents. They each bear a scar on their hands from their separation. The scar connects them in strange ways, so the plot depends on conjoined twin magic in some places.

On the whole, the story world is dark and imaginative. I think that will appeal to a lot of readers looking for dark fantasy right now. The romance is tender and stays pretty PG, which makes this accessible to a broad audience.

Readers who enjoyed House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig or A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson will want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to human trafficking.

Spiritual Content
Grave flowers have supernatural abilities. Drinking the nectar of one flower reveals someone’s secrets. Another flower’s roots can devour a human. Madaline sees spirits or ghosts of people who have died. The people generally worship the Primeval Family, a group of powerful deities, who sit in judgment over humanity in the afterlife. One can sidestep facing judgment by being sent to Bide, a purgatory-like place.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Several descriptions of murder. After her death, Inessa visits Madaline, but her body undergoes strange changes, such as decay and a hunger for unusual things, including an insect. Between the chapters of the story, records of experiments with the grave flowers show violent deaths, some at the hands of the plants themselves. References to child abuse and execution. Brief body horror.

Drug Content
Characters drink wine at social events. The prince tricks Madalina into drinking more wine than she intended, so she lowers her guard in conversation with him. The prince is apparently drunk in several scenes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

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You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Alex Gino
Scholastic Press
Published September 25, 2018

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About You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

Alex Gino, the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Melissa, is back with another sensitive tale based on increasingly relevant social justice issues.

Jilly thinks she’s figured out how life works. But when her sister, Emma, is born deaf, she realizes how much she still has to learn. The world is going to treat Jilly, who is white and hearing, differently from Emma, just as it will treat them both differently from their Black cousins.

A big fantasy reader, Jilly makes a connection online with another fantasy fan, Derek, who is a Deaf, Black ASL user. She goes to Derek for help with Emma but doesn’t always know the best way or time to ask for it.

As she and Derek meet in person, have some really fun conversations, and become friends, Jilly makes some mistakes . . . but comes to understand that it’s up to her, not Derek to figure out how to do better next time–especially when she wants to be there for Derek the most.

Within a world where kids like Derek and Emma aren’t assured the same freedom or safety as kids like Jilly, Jilly is starting to learn all the things she doesn’t know–and by doing that, she’s also working to discover how to support her family and her friends.

With You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, award-winning author Alex Gino uses their trademark humor, heart, and humanity to show readers how being open to difference can make you a better person, and how being open to change can make you change in the best possible ways.

My Review

I’m so grateful that middle grade fiction includes work by Alex Gino. They are an incredibly talented writer, but more than simply having a gift with words, they have a wonderful way of bringing important conversations into the middle grade sphere and creating opportunities for MG readers to talk about these important things. I love how they never talk down to their readers, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end of this book acknowledging some components of the story and revealing some of the research done along the journey to bring it to the page.

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! is the second book by Gino I’ve read. I started with Melissa, and I knew before I’d finished that I would want to read more by this author.

In this novel, Jilly hears troubling news stories about Black teens and children being shot by police. In one instance, a Deaf Black girl is shot after she does not respond to police commands she cannot hear.

At the same time that the news stories unfold around her, Jilly experiences uncomfortable family gatherings. Relatives say sometimes well-meaning but racist things to her aunt, a Black woman. When a rift in the family occurs, Jilly wants to understand why. She wants to know what she can do to support her aunt and cousins.

Additionally, Jilly’s parents have a new baby who was born with hearing loss. As the family navigates medical questions and decisions, Jilly discovers she doesn’t understand a lot about Deaf culture.

It might seem like the book has a lot of threads running through it, and it does. Gino ties all these ideas together nicely through Jilly’s experience trying to learn the right things to say and sometimes making big mistakes.

Ultimately, Jilly learns that avoiding mistakes isn’t the solution. Learning to try, make changes, and brave uncomfortable conversations help her form closer bonds with people from different communities. I love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jilly has a crush on a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reference to police brutality and the deaths of two Black children at the hands of police. (Nothing happens on scene.)

Some racist or ableist comments. (No slurs used. These are more like microaggressions and ignorance, but still harmful and hurtful.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

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Come As You Are
Dahlia Adler
Wednesday Books
Published May 27, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Come As You Are

Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning – one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she’s accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.

When rumors and gossip about Evie’s housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation… but she’s definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn’t exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact – he’ll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It’s a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and – annoyingly enough – even physically, Evie’s quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she’s becoming certainly doesn’t feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she’ll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.

My Review

Okay, y’all. Dahlia Adler is one of those authors who just doesn’t get enough recognition. She writes emotionally real, genuine, and hilarious characters and character casts. I mean, I know she gets recognition. But like… every time I read one of her books, I go in expecting high entertainment and a fun story, and I get so much more. She seems to hit the perfect balance between humor and vulnerability. The friendships between characters feel as real and complex as those we encounter in real life. I love the antics between friends and the banter between characters with the potential to be more.

In Come As You Are, Evie has enrolled in boarding school to escape a horrifically toxic family situation. The only emotional hiccup for me as I read the whole book was that I wanted to grab Evie’s parents by the ears and shake them. Or, I wanted her to be able to do that. And the truth is, as the kid in the situation, it’s not her job to address the problem. She did fine. And the truth is that sometimes, we do not have the power to initiate a healthy confrontation with our families. Sometimes the healthiest thing is to find a way to create boundaries and space. That’s really what Evie did, and bravo to her for it.

I had a great time reading this book. Every book I read by Adler is my new favorite of hers, and this one is no exception. If you’re looking for a smart, funny summer romance, grab this one immediately.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used periodically.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex (not shown on scene). Evie notes that she caught her sister and ex-boyfriend in bed together.

Spiritual Content
References to Christian and Jewish faith services and practice.

Violent Content
List.

Drug Content
References to smoking pot.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.