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The Traveling House
Not yet published
Expected 16 Feb 27A woman returns home and begins unraveling long-buried family secrets in this captivating novel of time travel, love, and legacy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Graceling Realm series.
In her mid-thirties, newly single and at loose ends, Matilda Frost has come home again. Settling back into a life she thought she’d outgrown, all she wants to do is hide from the world and devote her attention to building the miniature house she has been meticulously at work on.
Around her, things are largely the same. Her sister is still a force of nature. Her brother is still estranged, his whereabouts unknown. And her relationship with her best friend, Max, is still complicated; now back in each other’s orbit, old feelings might be resurfacing. But most familiar of all, her grandfather’s shadow still looms large over the house and the town. Decades ago, Grandfather Winthrop invented time-travel. His miraculous time-box stopped working when he died, and scientists have yet to figure out why.
When her beloved Uncle Ant disappears, Matilda realizes that in order to find him, she may need to dig into some of her grandfather's deepest-held secrets. But Grandfather Winthrop might not be the only family member with things to hide. . . .
In her mid-thirties, newly single and at loose ends, Matilda Frost has come home again. Settling back into a life she thought she’d outgrown, all she wants to do is hide from the world and devote her attention to building the miniature house she has been meticulously at work on.
Around her, things are largely the same. Her sister is still a force of nature. Her brother is still estranged, his whereabouts unknown. And her relationship with her best friend, Max, is still complicated; now back in each other’s orbit, old feelings might be resurfacing. But most familiar of all, her grandfather’s shadow still looms large over the house and the town. Decades ago, Grandfather Winthrop invented time-travel. His miraculous time-box stopped working when he died, and scientists have yet to figure out why.
When her beloved Uncle Ant disappears, Matilda realizes that in order to find him, she may need to dig into some of her grandfather's deepest-held secrets. But Grandfather Winthrop might not be the only family member with things to hide. . . .
Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 16, 2027
About the author
Kristin Cashore
19 books17.1k followersKristin Cashore grew up in the northeast Pennsylvania countryside as the second of four daughters. She received a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a master's from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College. She currently lives in the Boston area.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 1, 2026
When I saw that Kristin Cashore had a novel about time travel coming out, my excitement was sky high for The Traveling House. Shortly after I started the book, however, everything came crashing down.
Our main character, Matilda, is insufferable. She is ridiculously self-centered and incapable of looking outside her own situation—which I assume is the only reason she can't seem to put two and two together on just about anything. She is a terrible sister and friend, making it all the more confusing that Max remains so steadfastly attached to her. I could forgive her for doing him dirty when she was 20 (when she kissed him before promptly abandoning him with her then-boyfriend). But her continuous failure to understand why Max has cut contact with his father, who treated him and his mother terribly, simply because she lost contact with her brother when she was a teen is insane. She is thirty years old! How is she so incapable of any level of empathy?? Particularly for her supposed best friend! But I digress. All of this makes the humongous character growth she experiences in the last ten percent of the book hugely unbelievable.
Overall, the family is so dysfunctional it would border on comedy if it weren't so frustrating. The book is supposed to be centered around the complexity of the family dynamics, so this makes sense to an extent. However, each individual seems to represent a different caricature of a classic textbook therapy case (i.e. avoidant father, narcissistic mother, depressed teenager turned angry adult, etc.), which diminishes the emotional elements of the story.
Matilda spends inordinate amounts of time describing things around her for absolutely no reason (e.g. why are we hearing about the grass being cut several times). I assumed initially that it was breadcrumbing for Uncle Ant's disappearance, but that was not the case. The time taken on these inanities would be better spent experiencing and understanding the familial dynamics. Instead, a lot of heavy lifting is left to the caricatures. I think a third person limited point of view might have served this story better. We’d still have a focus on Matilda and her eventual character growth, but it would provide the opportunity for more emotional investment in the family at large. Regarding Uncle Ant’s disappearance specifically, I think flashbacks of him and Matilda's interactions would have resulted in greater payoff for the big reveal. As it was, I was very blasé about what was occurring.
Lastly, the plot absolutely drags for the first two-thirds of the novel. When Matilda finally starts acting instead of thinking (re: wallowing) the pace picks up. I wish more time had been spent when she was traveling to the past. That deserved a few chapters. It is a bit confusing to me how her three-minute interaction with Toddler-Uncle Ant left such an impact that he remembered her well into his adulthood. I can give a pass to Child-Nora remembering Aberlin/Matilda in adulthood because they found a dead body together. If all of this happened a bit earlier Matilda’s development could have taken more time and been more believable. I truly believe cutting 30 pages at the beginning of the book and giving them to the end would have made for a much better book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.
Our main character, Matilda, is insufferable. She is ridiculously self-centered and incapable of looking outside her own situation—which I assume is the only reason she can't seem to put two and two together on just about anything. She is a terrible sister and friend, making it all the more confusing that Max remains so steadfastly attached to her. I could forgive her for doing him dirty when she was 20 (when she kissed him before promptly abandoning him with her then-boyfriend). But her continuous failure to understand why Max has cut contact with his father, who treated him and his mother terribly, simply because she lost contact with her brother when she was a teen is insane. She is thirty years old! How is she so incapable of any level of empathy?? Particularly for her supposed best friend! But I digress. All of this makes the humongous character growth she experiences in the last ten percent of the book hugely unbelievable.
Overall, the family is so dysfunctional it would border on comedy if it weren't so frustrating. The book is supposed to be centered around the complexity of the family dynamics, so this makes sense to an extent. However, each individual seems to represent a different caricature of a classic textbook therapy case (i.e. avoidant father, narcissistic mother, depressed teenager turned angry adult, etc.), which diminishes the emotional elements of the story.
Matilda spends inordinate amounts of time describing things around her for absolutely no reason (e.g. why are we hearing about the grass being cut several times). I assumed initially that it was breadcrumbing for Uncle Ant's disappearance, but that was not the case. The time taken on these inanities would be better spent experiencing and understanding the familial dynamics. Instead, a lot of heavy lifting is left to the caricatures. I think a third person limited point of view might have served this story better. We’d still have a focus on Matilda and her eventual character growth, but it would provide the opportunity for more emotional investment in the family at large. Regarding Uncle Ant’s disappearance specifically, I think flashbacks of him and Matilda's interactions would have resulted in greater payoff for the big reveal. As it was, I was very blasé about what was occurring.
Lastly, the plot absolutely drags for the first two-thirds of the novel. When Matilda finally starts acting instead of thinking (re: wallowing) the pace picks up. I wish more time had been spent when she was traveling to the past. That deserved a few chapters. It is a bit confusing to me how her three-minute interaction with Toddler-Uncle Ant left such an impact that he remembered her well into his adulthood. I can give a pass to Child-Nora remembering Aberlin/Matilda in adulthood because they found a dead body together. If all of this happened a bit earlier Matilda’s development could have taken more time and been more believable. I truly believe cutting 30 pages at the beginning of the book and giving them to the end would have made for a much better book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.
July 13, 2026
ARC. This book was a challenge. While the story was compelling, practically all the characters were difficult to like, Matilda read more like a seventeen year old than a 35yr old woman. This family isn’t garden variety dysfunctional to the point of being almost unpleasant to read. Have you ever read a true crime novel where it’s so unsettling you start to question if you actually want to know what happened, like these people are too horrible to exist. This book gave me that feeling which made this a hard to finish. I found it incredibly difficult to fathom why Matilda would ever come back to this town. Also I found myself getting bogged down in why Uncle Winchester is wearing a multi-million dollar watch while not paying his niece enough to afford an apartment, while said niece drives her buddy’s million dollar car but still has student loans from her 15mins in college. So your beloved uncle has an 11 million dollar painting but doesn’t offer an escape. Additionally the fact that everyone seems to have been aware of where Winter was well into the 2010’s and just didn’t ever mention it away from Nora. The music references made the story feel quite dated even though all this takes place in the future. Given that this is all taking place in the future the fact that no one used all that technology to make even a cursory attempt to communicate with one another just annoying. The most bothersome aspect for me was the resolution of the entire plot that Matilda was the driver of all these events, which requires a level of delusion by Nora that makes her seem dangerously unbalanced to point that it’s almost unbelievable she has a high responsibility career. Time travel ended up taking a backseat to why anyone would want to be around this awful bunch of people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to Read
June 19, 2026KRISTIN CASHORE ADULT TIME TRAVEL NOVEL........i feel faint....
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an ARC of this book. My review is based on that copy. The published work may differ from what I read.
The premise and the ideas are laid out in a descriptive and economic way and Cashore establishes the setting and the feel immediately. The point of view character, Matilda, is acidic and sharp. I wanted to shake her, more than once, and I don’t buy her being 35. She reads as maybe mid twenties? And that’s generous. She’s remarkably immature for her age and has zero self awareness. Self centered, self pitying, highly avoidant, and whiny, she is almost impossible to root for. Other people’s issues and trauma are inconveniences to her own emotional state, and every conversation has to be about herself. She’s a pretty terrible human being. By the halfway point in the book I hated her so much that a growth arc was too little, too late.
In spite of the fantastical elements, the reality of family conflict and trauma depicted here rang true. The slow reveal of buried issues and secrets and history is compelling. I also found the clash of people with healthy boundaries vs people who don’t, familiar. Some of the characters in the family are HARD to deal with, especially through the lens of Matilda’s abdication of accountability. Her mother is a full blown narcissist, and the way we revisit childhood memories while Matilda is adamantly refusing to acknowledge the reality of her experience was painful and uncomfortable.
I liked the ideas in the story. However, this would benefit from a tighter edit. The pacing drags. The amount of navel gazing exposition by the POV character slows down the story to the point of making it challenging to stay engaged. There are chunks of the book that could be removed without changing anything important. It was exhausting being stuck in Matilda’s head the entire time, with her “woe is me” and “I’m too self centered to care about anyone but myself” attitudes. The story would have been so much more compelling outside of her head. This book needed more of the ideas and less of the main character.
The plot also goes off the rails. For ¾’s of this book essentially nothing happens. And then there is a crazy reveal, followed by crazier reveals, that come out of left field with little to no build up. The book goes from a painful family drama with a slightly fantastical setting, to a thriller with almost no transition point. The aftermath is drawn out, and Matilda’s sudden emotional maturity happens way too fast. It’s like a switch flips and suddenly she’s not the selfish asshole she’s been for the entire book.
It was so frustrating! There was so much potential! The ideas and the prose were there. The story and the main character just let everything down.
The premise and the ideas are laid out in a descriptive and economic way and Cashore establishes the setting and the feel immediately. The point of view character, Matilda, is acidic and sharp. I wanted to shake her, more than once, and I don’t buy her being 35. She reads as maybe mid twenties? And that’s generous. She’s remarkably immature for her age and has zero self awareness. Self centered, self pitying, highly avoidant, and whiny, she is almost impossible to root for. Other people’s issues and trauma are inconveniences to her own emotional state, and every conversation has to be about herself. She’s a pretty terrible human being. By the halfway point in the book I hated her so much that a growth arc was too little, too late.
In spite of the fantastical elements, the reality of family conflict and trauma depicted here rang true. The slow reveal of buried issues and secrets and history is compelling. I also found the clash of people with healthy boundaries vs people who don’t, familiar. Some of the characters in the family are HARD to deal with, especially through the lens of Matilda’s abdication of accountability. Her mother is a full blown narcissist, and the way we revisit childhood memories while Matilda is adamantly refusing to acknowledge the reality of her experience was painful and uncomfortable.
I liked the ideas in the story. However, this would benefit from a tighter edit. The pacing drags. The amount of navel gazing exposition by the POV character slows down the story to the point of making it challenging to stay engaged. There are chunks of the book that could be removed without changing anything important. It was exhausting being stuck in Matilda’s head the entire time, with her “woe is me” and “I’m too self centered to care about anyone but myself” attitudes. The story would have been so much more compelling outside of her head. This book needed more of the ideas and less of the main character.
The plot also goes off the rails. For ¾’s of this book essentially nothing happens. And then there is a crazy reveal, followed by crazier reveals, that come out of left field with little to no build up. The book goes from a painful family drama with a slightly fantastical setting, to a thriller with almost no transition point. The aftermath is drawn out, and Matilda’s sudden emotional maturity happens way too fast. It’s like a switch flips and suddenly she’s not the selfish asshole she’s been for the entire book.
It was so frustrating! There was so much potential! The ideas and the prose were there. The story and the main character just let everything down.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
My subjective enjoyment score is probably closer to a 2.5/5. I'm torn, because I really wanted to love The Traveling House. Kristin Cashore's Graceling series has a special place in my heart, and I requested this ARC without knowing anything about the story.
For the first few chapters, I was hooked. We learn that time travel exists and was created by the MC's grandfather in the 70s, but stopped working during his death years later. We got glimpses of how time travel affected the world, such as off hand comments made about areas of study in universities, and other low key references. That aspect reminded me of how flawlessly and subtle the world building was in movies like Looper or Chronicle, and what I like the most about magical realism stories.
As it became clear that the family dynamics, not time travel, was going to be the focus of the story, I hoped that the world building would still be a strong secondary theme, but it wasn't. And the family dynamics piece to me was the least compelling part of the book. As someone who's been around enmeshed / dysfunctional families, I had a hard time understanding why anyone in this family would still talk to each other. The MC's mother was awful. None of the characters had a redemption arc, and most were people I'd have cut off ages ago.
I've seen other reviewers talk about how insufferable the MC was or how young she acted, and I don't necessarily agree with this. I could see her being her current age (mid 30s) given her life experiences, and being unsure about a friend-to-lover possibility doesn't make you a bad person. Regardless, I had a hard time connecting with her.
A secondary focus of the book is the MC's miniatures, and I did love those parts.
Other reviewer comments are legit and I agree, such as the painstaking detail with things that don't matter much, and how the plot feels like it drags for the first 2/3 of the book. A time travel mystery dominates the last 10-20% of the book and was more interesting, but the twists felt both rushed and out of nowhere for me, and also wrapped up extremely quickly.
Overall? It's hard to say why the book didn't land for me. I think a combo of the pacing, the overattention to detail with certain things, the horrible family, and time travel and world building taking a back seat would sum it up. The author definitely delivered her usual beautiful prose. I just wish I liked the finished product more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.
For the first few chapters, I was hooked. We learn that time travel exists and was created by the MC's grandfather in the 70s, but stopped working during his death years later. We got glimpses of how time travel affected the world, such as off hand comments made about areas of study in universities, and other low key references. That aspect reminded me of how flawlessly and subtle the world building was in movies like Looper or Chronicle, and what I like the most about magical realism stories.
As it became clear that the family dynamics, not time travel, was going to be the focus of the story, I hoped that the world building would still be a strong secondary theme, but it wasn't. And the family dynamics piece to me was the least compelling part of the book. As someone who's been around enmeshed / dysfunctional families, I had a hard time understanding why anyone in this family would still talk to each other. The MC's mother was awful. None of the characters had a redemption arc, and most were people I'd have cut off ages ago.
I've seen other reviewers talk about how insufferable the MC was or how young she acted, and I don't necessarily agree with this. I could see her being her current age (mid 30s) given her life experiences, and being unsure about a friend-to-lover possibility doesn't make you a bad person. Regardless, I had a hard time connecting with her.
A secondary focus of the book is the MC's miniatures, and I did love those parts.
Other reviewer comments are legit and I agree, such as the painstaking detail with things that don't matter much, and how the plot feels like it drags for the first 2/3 of the book. A time travel mystery dominates the last 10-20% of the book and was more interesting, but the twists felt both rushed and out of nowhere for me, and also wrapped up extremely quickly.
Overall? It's hard to say why the book didn't land for me. I think a combo of the pacing, the overattention to detail with certain things, the horrible family, and time travel and world building taking a back seat would sum it up. The author definitely delivered her usual beautiful prose. I just wish I liked the finished product more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free copy from Dutton via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Release date February 16th, 2027.
I liked Cashore's work as a teen (Fire, Bitterblue), so I was excited to see how her skill would transfer to writing adult fantasy. In The Traveling House, Matilda is thirty-something, just quit her master of library science program, and has moved back to her small town to live with her parents. Matilda only wants a few quiet months to put her life back together, but her family's secrets about Matilda's grandfather, who invented time travel fifty years ago, may be coming back to haunt them...
Despite featuring time travel, The Traveling House is not a book about time travel. Matilda's grandfather invented time travel decades ago, it was confined to closed loops, and only he was able to use it. The invention of time travel doesn't seem to have affected history much, aside from a few sly hints that Cashore drops, like dramatically killing off a certain South African trillionaire. But the focus here isn't on how time travel has affected the world. It's about how time travel has affected Matilda's family and all the things they refuse to speak about (many). There's also a slow and gentle romance with Matilda's best friend Max, but while it's well-executed, their relationship is firmly a secondary plot.
For a book about family, I found much of the interpersonal relationships deeply frustrating. Matilda believes a healthy relationship is when there's no yelling, and gently condescends to people who do draw boundaries. Meanwhile, her mother runs her over like a steamroller... However, I'll forgive Cashore, since Matilda's arc is the realization that her attitude has genuinely hurt her loved ones, including her older sister and her best friend. And I liked how deeply felt and intense the relationships were. Cashore doesn't skip over the interpersonal drama—she lets it shine as the center of the novel. I won't spoil some of the later stuff, but I liked how Matilda's relationship with her beloved older brother was written. He left when she was fifteen, and the sense that she'll never know where he is, or get answers, or say goodbye, is devastating.
A quiet, slow novel as intricate and thoughtful as the tiny scale models Matilda builds. There's no saving the world or doomed empires or really all that much time travelling here, but that leaves Cashore with more space to shine an unflinching light on one thirty-something's complex relationship with her family. A lovely novel.
I liked Cashore's work as a teen (Fire, Bitterblue), so I was excited to see how her skill would transfer to writing adult fantasy. In The Traveling House, Matilda is thirty-something, just quit her master of library science program, and has moved back to her small town to live with her parents. Matilda only wants a few quiet months to put her life back together, but her family's secrets about Matilda's grandfather, who invented time travel fifty years ago, may be coming back to haunt them...
Despite featuring time travel, The Traveling House is not a book about time travel. Matilda's grandfather invented time travel decades ago, it was confined to closed loops, and only he was able to use it. The invention of time travel doesn't seem to have affected history much, aside from a few sly hints that Cashore drops, like dramatically killing off a certain South African trillionaire. But the focus here isn't on how time travel has affected the world. It's about how time travel has affected Matilda's family and all the things they refuse to speak about (many). There's also a slow and gentle romance with Matilda's best friend Max, but while it's well-executed, their relationship is firmly a secondary plot.
For a book about family, I found much of the interpersonal relationships deeply frustrating. Matilda believes a healthy relationship is when there's no yelling, and gently condescends to people who do draw boundaries. Meanwhile, her mother runs her over like a steamroller... However, I'll forgive Cashore, since Matilda's arc is the realization that her attitude has genuinely hurt her loved ones, including her older sister and her best friend. And I liked how deeply felt and intense the relationships were. Cashore doesn't skip over the interpersonal drama—she lets it shine as the center of the novel. I won't spoil some of the later stuff, but I liked how Matilda's relationship with her beloved older brother was written. He left when she was fifteen, and the sense that she'll never know where he is, or get answers, or say goodbye, is devastating.
A quiet, slow novel as intricate and thoughtful as the tiny scale models Matilda builds. There's no saving the world or doomed empires or really all that much time travelling here, but that leaves Cashore with more space to shine an unflinching light on one thirty-something's complex relationship with her family. A lovely novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Traveling House is a beautifully layered, quietly magical novel that blends time travel, family legacy, and emotional rediscovery into something both intimate and sweeping. Kristin Cashore has a gift for writing characters who feel achingly real, and Matilda Frost is no exception. Returning home in her mid‑thirties, bruised by life and craving solitude, she’s the kind of protagonist whose vulnerability draws you in from the first page.
The story unfolds with a gentle, compelling rhythm. Matilda’s miniature house project becomes a lovely metaphor for the way she’s trying to rebuild herself—piece by piece, detail by detail—while the world around her remains stubbornly familiar. Her complicated bond with Max, her force‑of‑nature sister, and the long shadow of Grandfather Winthrop’s time‑travel invention all create a rich emotional landscape that feels lived‑in and quietly charged.
Cashore handles the time‑travel element with a deft touch. It’s less about spectacle and more about legacy, grief, and the secrets families bury to protect themselves. When Uncle Ant disappears, the mystery deepens in a way that feels organic, pulling Matilda into a past she never fully understood. The revelations are thoughtful rather than explosive, and that restraint makes them all the more satisfying.
What I loved most is how the novel balances wonder with tenderness. It’s a story about coming home, confronting what you’ve inherited, and choosing what you’ll carry forward. Cashore’s writing is warm, textured, and full of heart—perfect for readers who enjoy speculative fiction that prioritizes character over chaos.
A captivating, quietly powerful read that lingers long after you close the book.
With thanks to Kristin Cashore, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
The story unfolds with a gentle, compelling rhythm. Matilda’s miniature house project becomes a lovely metaphor for the way she’s trying to rebuild herself—piece by piece, detail by detail—while the world around her remains stubbornly familiar. Her complicated bond with Max, her force‑of‑nature sister, and the long shadow of Grandfather Winthrop’s time‑travel invention all create a rich emotional landscape that feels lived‑in and quietly charged.
Cashore handles the time‑travel element with a deft touch. It’s less about spectacle and more about legacy, grief, and the secrets families bury to protect themselves. When Uncle Ant disappears, the mystery deepens in a way that feels organic, pulling Matilda into a past she never fully understood. The revelations are thoughtful rather than explosive, and that restraint makes them all the more satisfying.
What I loved most is how the novel balances wonder with tenderness. It’s a story about coming home, confronting what you’ve inherited, and choosing what you’ll carry forward. Cashore’s writing is warm, textured, and full of heart—perfect for readers who enjoy speculative fiction that prioritizes character over chaos.
A captivating, quietly powerful read that lingers long after you close the book.
With thanks to Kristin Cashore, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
July 7, 2026
*Review for an ARC received from NetGalley*
I wanted to like this book. The plot sounded interesting and it had the potential to be a great story…but it just did not live up to my hopes.
I honestly struggled to get through this one a lot and contemplated DNF-ing multiple times. Matilda is insufferable. Her family is insufferable. I do not believe she was 35, her thoughts and actions made me feel like she was a teenager. She was extremely selfish and didn’t think about anyone else. The fact that she had her “mantra” to repeat to herself that included her age almost felt like she was trying to convince herself she was actually 35. It just didn’t feel believable given her actions.
Max deserved better. He should not have had to wait for Mat to experience her own family being truly terrible for her to understand his relationship with his father and to stop judging him for going no contact. At that point to me, she lost her chance. But of course, like with everything else, she was making it about herself
I think I should have just DNF’d early on when Elon Musk was mentioned. If you have to make up a reason to justify that one of your characters owning a Tesla isn’t a bad thing anymore…just choose a different EV, or better yet, make up your own company in your fantasy time travel world and don’t bring problematic real world people into your story.
I wanted to like this book. The plot sounded interesting and it had the potential to be a great story…but it just did not live up to my hopes.
I honestly struggled to get through this one a lot and contemplated DNF-ing multiple times. Matilda is insufferable. Her family is insufferable. I do not believe she was 35, her thoughts and actions made me feel like she was a teenager. She was extremely selfish and didn’t think about anyone else. The fact that she had her “mantra” to repeat to herself that included her age almost felt like she was trying to convince herself she was actually 35. It just didn’t feel believable given her actions.
Max deserved better. He should not have had to wait for Mat to experience her own family being truly terrible for her to understand his relationship with his father and to stop judging him for going no contact. At that point to me, she lost her chance. But of course, like with everything else, she was making it about herself
I think I should have just DNF’d early on when Elon Musk was mentioned. If you have to make up a reason to justify that one of your characters owning a Tesla isn’t a bad thing anymore…just choose a different EV, or better yet, make up your own company in your fantasy time travel world and don’t bring problematic real world people into your story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I obtained an ARC through NetGally.
⭐️ 1 Star — DNF at 75%
I really love Kristin Cashore’s writing, so I had high hopes for The Traveling House. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.
The story had such a slow start that I struggled to become invested and found myself repeatedly reading a little, stepping away, and trying again. A couple of intriguing mysteries eventually piqued my interest, but the overall pacing remained too slow and focused heavily on everyday life and family trauma.
I kept pushing because I adore this author and truly wanted the story to click for me, but at 75%, I finally decided to DNF. By that point, I had fallen into such a reading slump that I knew it was time to move on.
I think part of the disconnect was simply expectation versus reality. I went in anticipating more time-travel adventure, mystery, and fantasy, but found a much more introspective, emotionally driven story than I expected. Some of the scenes also felt awkward to me, and I never fully connected with the story or characters.
Definitely a case of the right book for a different reader—this one just wasn’t for me. 📖✨
⭐️ 1 Star — DNF at 75%
I really love Kristin Cashore’s writing, so I had high hopes for The Traveling House. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.
The story had such a slow start that I struggled to become invested and found myself repeatedly reading a little, stepping away, and trying again. A couple of intriguing mysteries eventually piqued my interest, but the overall pacing remained too slow and focused heavily on everyday life and family trauma.
I kept pushing because I adore this author and truly wanted the story to click for me, but at 75%, I finally decided to DNF. By that point, I had fallen into such a reading slump that I knew it was time to move on.
I think part of the disconnect was simply expectation versus reality. I went in anticipating more time-travel adventure, mystery, and fantasy, but found a much more introspective, emotionally driven story than I expected. Some of the scenes also felt awkward to me, and I never fully connected with the story or characters.
Definitely a case of the right book for a different reader—this one just wasn’t for me. 📖✨
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really loved this! It was weird and unsettling and funny and frustrating - all in the best possible ways. The plot was complex without being unduly complicated - as were the characters and their relationships. It made for a smart and engaging read that kept my attention and my interest from the opening gambit right through to the end. I found the magical elements to be relatable and realistic in their presentation, even when they were odd and surprising as they played themselves out.
I want to devour everything I can find by Kristin Cashore now - her writing style was fabulous and the book was meticulous and an absolute shining star in my recent reading history! And how fabulous is the cover, by the way?? That, plus the title, were definitely what initially drew me to this one. The blurb helped. But then I started reading - and at that point I was all in, hook line and sinker!
(Incidentally, I hate writing reviews when I REALLY love a story and find it thoughtful and creative and original and wholly engrossing, because the complexity is usually very hard to talk about without spoilers, and I would not spoil a magical book for anything. Suffice to say that my dearth of details is actually my strongest support here - you have to explore and enjoy this one yourself, and I don't want to give you any preconceptions that might affect your read of it! Just know that I cannot recommend it strongly enough...)
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
I want to devour everything I can find by Kristin Cashore now - her writing style was fabulous and the book was meticulous and an absolute shining star in my recent reading history! And how fabulous is the cover, by the way?? That, plus the title, were definitely what initially drew me to this one. The blurb helped. But then I started reading - and at that point I was all in, hook line and sinker!
(Incidentally, I hate writing reviews when I REALLY love a story and find it thoughtful and creative and original and wholly engrossing, because the complexity is usually very hard to talk about without spoilers, and I would not spoil a magical book for anything. Suffice to say that my dearth of details is actually my strongest support here - you have to explore and enjoy this one yourself, and I don't want to give you any preconceptions that might affect your read of it! Just know that I cannot recommend it strongly enough...)
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm a sucker for a good time travel story, and this was that, but so much more. Mat is the granddaughter of the only person to time travel and the way this has impacted her life and her family is written in such a beautiful, winding and powerful way. The overarching theme of the trauma of secrets and how do you heal once they come to light are handled so beautifully. As is the relation with Max. I want to read it again knowing how everything turns out just to enjoy it at a deeper level.
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
REVIEW OF ADVANCED COPY RECEIVED BY NETGALLEY
i’m gonna be fully honest- this book was a challenge. i really liked the idea of this story but i found the characters difficult to like which to me is quite a deal breaker. the plot also feels a little messy- it totally went off the rails towards the end which just made it harder to focus on and finish since there was no real build up or any tension. this honestly had so so much potential and i hate that i don’t love it.
i’m gonna be fully honest- this book was a challenge. i really liked the idea of this story but i found the characters difficult to like which to me is quite a deal breaker. the plot also feels a little messy- it totally went off the rails towards the end which just made it harder to focus on and finish since there was no real build up or any tension. this honestly had so so much potential and i hate that i don’t love it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I love this one. The writing was tight, the plot was solid
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I'm not saying that this is a flawless book, but a time travel mystery IS a book kind of tailor made for me, so I was almost pre-disposed to like it.
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