THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley

So many time travel novels are about someone falling in love with a time traveler.  Such is the case here as well.  Five people are transported from various times in the past to twentieth century London and are collectively known to the title organization as expats.  A bridge—basically a chaperone/housemate—is assigned to each expat to help them adjust, monitor their activities, and report back to the Ministry.  Our narrator, Sarah, whose name I think is mentioned only once, is the bridge for Graham Gore, a nineteenth century naval commander.  All of the expats were presumed dead in their previous lives, and Graham was snatched from a failed Arctic exploration in which all of his fellow shipmates perished.  This is not my favorite time travel novel, as that honor goes to 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  However, I still found it to be a pretty entertaining read.  The two main characters are both charismatic, and the plot kept me engaged, despite the fact that distinguishing the characters was sometimes a challenge.  For one thing, the expats are often referred to by the year from which they were transported, and I found that aspect of the novel annoying.  Gore was 1847 or sometimes just 47, and I had enough trouble keeping up with the other expats, since their impact on the storyline waxed and waned, much less who went with what century or year.  The writing is passable and keeps the plot moving, but I hate foreshadowing in a novel, particularly in a suspenseful one, and there is some of that near the end that is wholly unnecessary.  Thank you to Book Club Favorites at Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review.