When a mysterious time capsule leads a Toronto teacher to England, she discovers some loves are worth crossing oceans—and decades—to find, from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Bonam-Young.
When a history teacher receives a letter from her deceased grandmother revealing a secret love affair in the 1950s, it leads her to a time capsule hidden decades ago. But it’s the charming grandson of her grandmother’s lost love who changes everything, proving that sometimes the heart knows exactly where—and when—it belongs.
Hannah Bonam-Young’s Time Will Tell is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances, stories for star-crossed lovers and hopeless romantics. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s do it again.
Hannah is an Amazon bestselling romance author from Ontario, Canada. She lives with her childhood-friend-turned-husband Ben, two kids, and bulldog near Niagara Falls on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.
Hannah writes romances featuring a cast of diverse, disabled, marginalized, and LGBTQIA+ folks wherein swoon-worthy storylines blend with the beautiful, messy, and challenging realities of life.
When not reading or writing romance you can find her having living-room dance parties with her kids or planning any occasion that warrants a cheese board.
➜ Buddy read with the lovely Uswah. Thank you so much for reading this with me! 🩷
This was so, so adorable. I was swooning and smiling nonstop. I adored the heck out of Callum; the other characters weren't bad either—they didn't get on my nerves, thankfully. I do think the POV chapters were a bit long, but not too bad.
If The Seven Year Slip and The Exception to the Rule had a baby, it would be this novella. I loved the plotline and the emails in this novella. I'm usually a sucker for texts and/or emails in books, so that novella was very enjoyable to read. Their emails, their phone call, their first meeting—it was all SO CUTE to witness.
This was my first book by this author, and it didn't disappoint.
This was the cutest!! I really liked it, the number of times I giggled while reading this should be illegal. It truly delivered on everything but the ending, that simply wasn't enough!!
After her grandmother's passing, Georgia is left with a letter and a time capsule to unearth.. A time capsule containing the memories of a great love story.. Georgia contacts Callum, the grandson of the woman her grandmother loved, to find the key for the time capsule. As they get to know each through their e-mails, another love story might be in the making..
Georgia was such a great character, I loved her sense of humour. I absolutely adored Callum, he was so cute. I, too, would fall in love with him before I even met him, with the dimples and the British accent ahh.. I also loved Phoebe, she was hilarious.
I didn't think you could really deliver a believable love story through e-mails, but I stand corrected.. This was so sweet and endearing, I really enjoyed it. Their first phone call was adorable, I was reading it with the biggest smile on my face and the scene at the train station was so heartwarming.
The only complaint I have, and the reason I didn't give it five stars, is that we didn't get the scene of them opening the time capsule together.. That was a huge miss, it would've been such an emotional scene and the story felt unfinished without it..
I would honestly love to read more about them. I need to see all of their calls, their date, their time together and to learn more about their grandmothers..
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Amazon Original Stories for providing me with an ARC.*
To complete one of my goals for this year and to get into the spirit, I am attempting to read this series in its entirety by Valentine's Day while dealing with a reading slump. 💘 So, without further ado, let's get started, shall we…?
Even though the pragmatic in me wants to roll her eyes at the idea of it all, I am choosing to ignore that part of myself and say that I think this was very sweet and very cute. 🥰 The emails were my favorite part, and the ending made me smile like a fool because, good grief, Callum and Georgia were adorable! 🥹🫶🏼 So, it's safe to say, I truly enjoyed it! 🤭🩷
❗️Content Warnings❗️ Swearing: Yes Spice: No—only a kiss (🌶️/5)
This was such a cute, swoony, fun novella!!! The back and forth emails between Callum and Georgia had me smiling so much! 💗 Perfect slump breaker, I AM FINALLY FREEEEE (she says…)
A meet cute forced by a time capsule. Cute premise and I did feel chemistry between these two. Loved their meeting at the train station. Might have needed more in this book as it has the potential for a full blown novel.
Why did it take me so long to read something by this author? Oh my god, this is my favorite story in the series so far. It felt so short; I wanted to read more about the characters 🥹
I will definitely read more by this author soon because this has been incredible.
While I thought this one was cute, I didn't get that 'butterfly in your stomach' feeling like I did with the first one. I enjoyed the premise of this more, however! I think it had potential but overall it just felt like it fell a bit short.
The beginning of this followed with the email exchanges just didn't hit the same as the first one did either. It was more of a serious, straight to the point vibe rather than something goofy and dramatic. I also think this would be a good novella for those looking for a clean, romantic read for February!
HBY's writing style and banter has never really hit for me like other romance authors, so I felt at a small disadvantage before even beginning. Even if this one wasn't a hit for me, I think many people would enjoy this if you're a fan of hers! It wasn't bad by any means, just not a personal favorite. 🩷
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
𝓟𝓻𝓮-𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭: 💌🩷
Ya'll are gonna be so sick of my reviews as I binge these novellas I swear 😭 Although, I am not a HBY fan so I don't know how much I'll enjoy this 😅
This had ALL the potential to be a five star read, but unfortunately, it fell just short, and the reason is simple: length.
Hannah Bonam-Young created something truly special here. The premise is original, the dual timeline between past and present is beautifully woven, and the email format for a modern romance actually works. Georgia and Callum’s connection felt genuine, their banter was delightful, and the grandmother’s hidden love story added such emotional depth.
But here’s my frustration: this story deserved to be a full length novel, not a short story.
The characters needed more room to breathe and develop. We got glimpses of Georgia’s grief, her personality, her life in Toronto, but I wanted to dive deeper. Callum was charming and sweet, but I craved more layers, more backstory, more complexity. Their relationship progressed quickly (understandably, given the page count), but imagine how much richer it could have been with proper development.
The grandmother’s 1950s romance was absolutely captivating in the brief moments we got, but it felt like we only scratched the surface of what could have been an incredibly moving storyline. I wanted to know MORE about her life, her choices, the full scope of that forbidden love.
Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed this! It’s sweet, heartwarming, and well written. But I can’t help feeling like we were given an appetizer when I was ready for the full meal. This story had five star bones; it just needed more meat on them.
the setup… Georgia is a history teacher in Toronto who receives a letter from her grandmother following her death. In it she not only discloses that she had an affair with a woman in the 1950s but the two of them had buried a time capsule. Georgia finds it but the key is with her grandmother’s former lover. When she locates the deceased woman’s grandson Callum in England, they begin a flirty email correspondence.
the heart of the story… I loved this “meet cute,” unique in itself but the exchanges between Georgia and Callum were so much fun. They were the highlight of the story.
the narration… OMG! Victoria Connolly was delightful as Georgia and Maxim Reston’s voice just slayed me as Callum. I loved every single thing about their performance.
the bottom line… So much of the story used the epistolary format, one I enjoy immensely. The banter was lively and the romance developing in those messages felt real. The payoff was wonderful and this is best taken in on audio because the narration is superb. My first by this author and now I want her backlist.
Time for another short story from ‘The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances’ series 💖 🙇🏻♀️ ✨
Firstly, I am a big fan of Hannah Bonam-Young’s books so when I saw she had written a story for this series I couldn’t wait to read it! Hannah won me over with this short story just as she did with her full length novels. I just wish this one had been full length because it has SO MUCH POTENTIAL 🙌🏽
‘Time will tell’ follows Georgia’s story. After the death of her grandmother, a hidden family secret and buried time capsule are revealed, holding memories of a great love story. Georgia contacts her grandmother's lost love's grandson, Callum, in England. Together, they work on finding the key to open the capsule. Meanwhile, they slowly get to know each other via their back and forth emails. Georgia discovers some loves are worth crossing oceans-and decades-to find…
"Without them, there’d be no us.” 🥰 ✨
Y’all know I can’t resist a ‘pen pal’ story 🤭 Hannah delivered a unique and memorable spin on this classic trope. I loved how Hannah created such a genuine romance, it bloomed so sweetly and purely over time. I just wish we had more time with them to explore their relationship to the fullest. However, the epilogue at the end REALLY boosted this story to the next level.
I loved Georgia’s character, she was really down to earth and had a great sense of humour. Callum was such a great MMC too, he was utterly adorable ☺️
“I was smitten from the moment she asked if I was an intolerant toad,” 🐸
All round winner from me! My favourite of the series so far 👏🏽
Georgia Anderson is a history teacher in Toronto, Canada. Her grandmother Bonnie had passed away 3 weeks ago when she receives a call from her estate lawyer and is given a letter from Bonnie to her, where she tells her she fell in love with Martha Bennett in 1949, both attending the Universtity of Toronto. She was 18 years-old and they lived together in secret for 7 years, until she met and married grandpa Henry, breaking both their hearts. Martha returned to England in 1956, but not before they buried a time capsula, collecting some of their memories and treasures, the key travelling with her. Bonnie wants her to dig it up and inform both families.
Georgia finds Callum Lewis in England, Martha's grandson, also a doctor, sending him an email about the time capsula. The exchange of emails, and all the questions they ask one another, becomes a funny and flirtatious banter, both not being able to take each other out of their heads every single hour of the day. He sends her his phone number and she calls him almost immediately, talking for hours, with different accents, different ways of laughing and sighing!
Is Callum the one Georgia has been waiting for all her life and vice versa? Will there be an HEA for them though they never met face to face?
My favorite book of this series until now! And also my first by this author and I'm already smitten by the way she writes!
This was my favorite novella in the collection! The main characters’ grandmothers were in love when they were young, but at the time they couldn’t be together. Georgia’s grandmother left behind a time capsule filled with memories of their love, and in order to open it, the FMC has to find the other woman’s grandson—the one who holds the key.
I absolutely adore the pen pal trope, and oh my God, this was so sweet! Their chemistry was palpable, and their jokes and flirting had me smiling! Can I please get a full-length book about them?
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thoughts I'm ashamed to say that this is my first book by this author ( the others are still on my TBR ) this read was so fucking beautiful and again too short💔😭
Plot Summary When a history teacher uncovers a letter from her late grandmother about a hidden romance from the 1950s, she’s drawn into a long-buried mystery tied to a forgotten time capsule. As she pieces together the past, an unexpected connection with the grandson of her grandmother’s lost love begins to reshape her understanding of both history and the heart, suggesting that some loves are never truly lost.
THE SWEETEST LITTLE NOVELLA YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED!
This. Is. Absolutely. Adorable! 4.5 ⭐ Novella's are really tough for me to rate but this one the main issue is I NEED MORE! It was too short- I know, I know- NOVELLA! But it truly is full story worthy!
Duet narration available on Kindle Unlimited and the narration was 5 ⭐ Very short- at 1.5 speed this was over and done in 1 hour.
No spice lgbtq rep insta-love- as in a few days insta love- BUT!- it was well done and worked for the short story. Had this been a full length novel it would have been a little nauseating 😏
”Also, as you probably noticed, I’ve switched to my personal email. That way, we can both continue our feeble attempts at flirting uninhibited.”
i liked the concept of this one with the time capsule brining the two man characters together, i also loved the inclusion of their emails. i think it wrapped up a bit too quickly, but i enjoyed their dynamic more than i thought i would so I’ll take that as a win.