Today is the release day for The Time Traveler’s Guide to Modern Romance by Madeline J. Reynolds. As a fan of romance this one sounded really interesting. Time travel can be a really fun factor in books. Thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing me an ARC on Netgalley!

Elias Caldwell needs more than his life in nineteenth-century England has to offer. He’d rather go on an adventure than spend one more minute at some stuffy party. When his grandfather gives him a pocket watch he claims can transport him to any place and time, Elias doesn’t believe it…until he’s whisked away to twenty-first-century America.

Tyler Forrester just wants to fall hopelessly in love. But making that kind of connection with someone has been more of a dream than reality. Then a boy appears out of thin air, a boy from the past. As he helps Elias navigate a strange new world for him, introducing him to the wonders of espresso, binge-watching, and rock and roll, Tyler discovers Elias is exactly who he was missing.

But their love has time limit. Elias’s disappearance from the past has had devastating side effects, and now he must choose where he truly belongs—in the Victorian era, or with the boy who took him on an adventure he never dreamed possible?

Review

I have to start off by saying that I love this cover! Purple is my favorite, so it definitely caught my eye, but I love the two characters in the pocket watch. If I saw this cover in the bookstore I would definitely pick it up to see what it was about!

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Modern Romance is a cute story and I read it in one day! The author’s writing is really smooth and I flew right through it. I loved that this book was told through two POVs, Elias and Tyler! As I’ve said in other reviews, I love it when I can read both sides of the stories.

Elias isn’t happy in the time he’s in. In many ways he’s way ahead of his time. He doesn’t really feel like he belongs and his family only seems to care about their reputation. Elias isn’t happy at all and his grandfather gives him a chance to find happiness. A pocket watch that can solve all of the problems, because with it Elias can travel to a different time. Maybe even find happiness somewhere else?

Tyler is also trying to find his own way. All he really wants besides his movies, is to fall in love. He loves both guys and girls and while he’s comfortable in his own skin, his school isn’t very diverse. Tyler has two great friends, but he’s looking for more.

I thought this book was very creative in how Elias appeared in the future. It was hilarious to see him discover so many new modern things and words he’d never heard of. Many situations had me laughing out loud. I really loved that as time went on Elias started to feel understood and maybe even loved.

I was quite surprised Tyler was so easygoing. I mean, someone appears in front of you all of a sudden and he just kind of went with it. I don’t know if I would’ve been that trusting. Tyler surprised me though, because instead of using Elias for a documentary he saw him as a human being who was trying to find his way.

While I really did enjoy reading this book, there were a few things that bugged me. While I love romance, the relationship between Tyler and Elias was too much insta-love for my liking. Of course, I get that they bond over something this big and the many things they have in common, but it was too much too fast in my opinion. That being said, because there was so much focus on their relationship, I felt the book lacked the whole time travel concept. I would’ve liked to have seen more of that.

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Modern Romance all goes really fast. I think things went a bit too fast. Everything went so quick and was solved without much effort. I would’ve even have loved to have seen more of Tyler’s film making or Eli finding his way in this new world while Tyler was at at school.

Even though there are some things I would’ve liked to have seen different, this is a fast and fun read. If you’re looking for some excitement with time travel and a cute love story, this is definitely the book for you!

I haven’t read many books that have time travel as a main part of the story. Do you have any recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments!