Book Review: Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/09/08/b...

Grunwald brings the magical element of Stonehenge to New York’s Grand Central Station in the Manhattanhenge phenomenon when the sunrise or sunset perfectly aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan, creating a stunning visual effect as the sun peeks between the skyscrapers, an event occurring twice a year, close to the winter and summer solstices. Using this as the magical element for the basis of her story, and Grand Central Station as the setting, the book, available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, at your local library, or through the Libby App, should be a smash read; however, it falls flat.

Joe Reynolds, a lever man from Queens working in Grand Central Station, sees her for the first time in 1937. The young woman in a smudged blue dress, red lipstick and real pearl earrings seems so out of place on the main concourse, yet the instant pull is unmistakable. When he introduces himself to her, offering his help, her electrifying handshake captivates him further.

The last thing Nora Lansing remembers is going to Paris in 1925, coming home because her father was sick and being in subway accident and she thinks she died, yet she keeps coming back here, under the clock at Grand Central Station and each time she does, years have gone by and she remains the same, young twenty-three old girl, how can that be? In 1937, when she returns again, a railroad employee Joe asks if he can help her, the connection between them is instant and Nora asks him if he can walk her home, but she disappears in the in-between, the place she goes to when she’s not in the Station and no place at all since she has no recollection of it, before he has the chance to.

The entirety of Grunwald’s storyline is Joe and Nora finding each other again, learning about Manhattanhenge and how it impacts Nora’s ability to stay or flicker out. Through experiments of her ‘ghostly’ limits, they figure out the distance she must be within the Station without fear of disappearing, and they build a unique life together; however, the story drags on. It could be cut in half without impacting the outcome.

In Grunwald’s writing and editing process, fleshing out the characters was overlooked. In four hundred pages, there is no growth, no revelations; they remain two-dimensional entities. Joe’s constant need to hide Nora out of fear of losing her grew annoying. As did Nora’s resentment of her limitations, wanting to push the boundaries to regain the freedom she once knew. This is where Grunwald’s well-founded premise with the magical sun phenomenon fell flat, as she trapped her character in the confines of the Station as if she were a medieval princess locked in a tower. Why?

The predicament of Nora’s situation, her perpetual youth, Joe’s continuing on in age, his desire to see the world, and his firm resolution to remain by Nora’s side were all indicators of where this story would end. Since the characters are paper-doll-like, they don’t evoke the emotional response Grunwald was assuredly striving for with her choice ending. Rounding this book at a 2-star read or listen.



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