



Time After Time
A Novel
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4.2 • 186 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A magical love story, inspired by the legend of a woman who vanished from Grand Central Terminal, sweeps readers from the 1920s to World War II and beyond.
“Readers who enjoyed Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife will be enchanted.”—Publishers Weekly
“I utterly loved this clever, charming, hopeful tale of true love against all odds.”—Ariel Lawhon, New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia
On a clear December morning in 1937, at the famous gold clock in Grand Central Terminal, Joe Reynolds, a hardworking railroad man from Queens, meets a vibrant young woman who seems mysteriously out of place. Nora Lansing is a Manhattan socialite and an aspiring artist whose flapper clothing, pearl earrings, and talk of the Roaring Twenties don’t seem to match the bleak mood of Depression-era New York. Captivated by Nora from her first electric touch, Joe despairs when he tries to walk her home and she disappears. Finding her again—and again—will become the focus of his love and his life.
As thousands of visitors pass under the famous celestial blue ceiling each day, Joe and Nora create a life of infinite love in a finite space, taking full advantage of the “Terminal City” within a city. But when the construction of another landmark threatens their future, Nora and Joe are forced to test the limits of their freedom—and their love.
Praise for Time After Time
“I’ll never again set foot in Grand Central Terminal without looking over my shoulder for Nora and Joe, or marveling at the station itself—a backdrop as intriguing as the love story that unfolds beneath its star-studded ceiling.”—Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones
“In lively prose set against the fascinating history of Grand Central . . . Grunwald asks a compelling question: How long would we stay in one place [for love]?”—Time
“The spectacular Lisa Grunwald has written a classic story of fate, true love, art, and chance with truth and beauty. You will want to share it with every reader you know.”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of Tony’s Wife
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grunwald (The Irresistible Henry House) delivers a satisfying supernatural romance about lovers brought together across time. In December 1937, Joe Reynolds, a railway worker from Queens, meets an oddly dressed woman in Grand Central Station. Joe thinks Nora, who is dressed like a '20s flapper, looks like she's lost and offers to walk her home. She accepts, but as they approach her wealthy neighborhood, she disappears the moment he turns his back. She reappears each December, and each time vanishes when she strays too far from Grand Central. Eventually, by returning to the address where Nora told him she lives, Joe pieces together that Nora died in 1925, and, with the parameters of her existence set, Nora and Joe try to build a life within the walls of the station, dining at the Oyster Bar and meeting in rooms at the Biltmore Hotel. But as Joe ages and struggles to balance his love for Nora with the needs of his extended family, Nora stays the same age, living free from responsibility. Grunwald uses Grand Central well as a microcosm for exploring the changes to New York and the U.S. between the Depression and WWII, but the love story at the book's heart relies too much on magic, and simmering tensions (such as Joe's controlling nature) remain underdeveloped. Despite this, readers who enjoyed Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife will be enchanted.
Customer Reviews
Ghost Story for All Time
Review of Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald Adler
Do you believe in ghosts? If so and you prefer friendly ones, this is possibly just the book you are looking for. If not, please do not count out this interesting love story. For me, the jury is still out on ghosts. I hope there are ghosts, but I am for the most part relieved to have never encountered one. If my encounter could be like the one between Nora and Joe, bring it on! As I progressed through this historical novel, my questions/problems with the science and timing were answered enough to my liking so that the book was not ruined. Even more than the love story between Nora and Joe, though, I found that I enjoyed even more the historical background and information about Grand Central Station. I wish I had known the things I learned in this novel when a friend lived in NYC and I visited there several times a year. I would have thoroughly enjoyed investigating many of the lesser known “secrets” of Grand Central. This is an easy read for those of us who enjoy sci-fi and/or fantasy novels mixed with a sweet love angle. Even if you are not a sci-fi or fantasy fan but enjoy your love stories with a twist, you will like this one. Suspend reality for a few days and jump into Time After Time. I know that my next trip to NYC will include a day to get lost in the history of Grand Central Station.
Thank you to Random House (via NetGalley) for the opportunity of reading and reviewing this interesting piece of historical fiction.
Not Worth Your Time or Money
Time After Time has little (or nothing) to recommend itself unless you like superficial sci fi ghost stories. The characters are not interesting, and their relationship isn’t either. In fact, it turns out that one of the historical facts at the heart of the story, a subway crash outside Grand Central Terminal, never actually happened.
In summary, the plot is nonsense and not even historically accurate and the characters have all the depth and interest of a piece of paper. It’s too bad the female lead didn’t die in the subway accident in the first chapter.
Find another book.
Romantic and entertaining
Time After Time was a great read. It kept my interest throughout the entire story. The characters were likable and genuine.