“The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend” by Annabelle Costa

By Melody Schreiber on June 11, 2014 • ( Leave a comment )

Title: The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend
Author: Annabelle Costa
ISBN: 9780985826352
Pages: 330
Release date: February 2014
Publisher: Dev Love Press
Genre: Chick lit sci-fi
Format: Ebook
Source: Review copy (TLC Book Tours/Netgalley)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

“Why is there a white rabbit with a clock around its neck outside my mad scientist boyfriend’s house?” Claudia finds herself wondering at the beginning of Annabelle Costa’s novel, The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend. Claudia runs through several scenarios (“Adam tossed the rabbit out the window to see if time flies”) before shrugging off the question, at least for the time being. She’s got bigger problems on her mind.

Such as: why has her funny, smart, super-loving boyfriend not proposed yet?

They’ve been together a few years, but they know each other so well, it seems longer. Plus, Claudia’s in her late thirties; she’s not getting any younger. Yet Adam keeps dodging her marital inquiries. It’s almost as if he’s waiting for something.

When Adam finally proposes, it’s not the plan she was expecting. Of course, she didn’t expect him to get down on one knee—he’s wheelchair-bound—but she didn’t expect him to whip out a time machine instead of a diamond ring. His proposal is quite different than the one she would prefer: He wants her to go back in time and prevent the accident that left him paralyzed.

But what happens to your future when you change the past?

The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend is a fun, if predictable, romp. Claudia is a snarky yet self-aware narrator. I loved the hilarious pie graphs and flow charts about time travel, such as a decision matrix for what to do if you’re sent back to prehistoric times (avoid T-Rexes!).

I usually avoid calling a book a “guilty pleasure,” especially when it comes to women’s fiction. But this story was light and fun, and finished it in a day or two. It’s like, well, The Time Traveler’s Wife as chick lit.

It veers into Wisconsin’s finest cheddar territory once in a while and doesn’t do a ton of favors to the role of women in science (“Sheesh. Time travel is complicated,” Claudia reflects at one point), but it’s not trying to take itself or anyone else too seriously. The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend is an entertaining and light-hearted romance.

In the words of Captain Hammer: “Not my usual, but nice.”

Quote of Note:

“Now don’t move,” he warns me. I stare at him. “What happens if I move?” He shrugs. “I don’t know. Something bad, maybe.” Something bad, maybe? Are you freaking kidding me? It’s not too late to change my mind. I don’t have to do this. I don’t have to be the first human subject for my boyfriend’s crazy invention. But when I look at his face, I know that I kind of do. He needs me to do this for him.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what other people on the tour have to say: