When Ash spots an ad for Retro during a depressing Instagram scroll, she’s surprised the algorithm sent it her way. She’s heard of recreational time travel, but it’s way out of her budget. Then she sees the caption: "Come away with us! We’re hiring." So begins Ash’s life as a Time Travel Agent, leading wealthy tourists on vacations to historical hotspots.
She takes bachelorette parties to live out their cowboy-romance fantasies in the Old West; she chaperones “’20s for your twenties” birthday excursions to speakeasies; she smiles politely as rich Wall Street guys give prospecting a shot during the Gold Rush. It’s all thrilling, outrageous, and totally surreal. Bygone America is just a Retro Metro ride away.
Despite Ash’s tendency toward cynicism, she finds herself swept up in her dazzling new job. Sure, Ash isn’t the actress she’d always dreamed she’d be. But isn’t this so much better? It’s like Ash’s life is a movie, complete with an impossible love triangle. But as her trips threaten to unravel her real life, she confronts an unsettling truth: Escaping into the past was never really an escape at all.
Retro, the debut novel from Jessica M. Goldstein, will be published June 23, 2026. Ballantine Books provided an early galley for review.
I enjoy checking out new authors as their first books often have a passionate fire behind them. This one has an interesting premise, plus the cover design and the aspects of time travel were instant hooks for me as well.
The story unfolds easily, starting with something familiar and slowly weaving in the spectacular. It was like easing into a swimming pool. Our protagonist Ash is a Millennial, but as an early Gen X I could appreciate her current lot in life. She is smart and resourceful, and just a bit cynical. I did enjoy the concept and worldbuilding; the new job at Retro is very ripe for plot potential.
The middle gets slightly "episodic" with chapters that appear more like standalone scenes rather than ones to continually propel the plot forward. At times, I felt that Ash was going through the motions, that it was just commentary. I even questioned, at several points, if I had missed the inciting incident.
Towards the end (last quarter), the pace and tension do pick up. The antagonist is revealed with Ash facing the complications. I feel this could have been layered in a bit more, especially in the middle, to foreshadow and build the tension.
I will certainly give Goldstein a look whnever she publishes her next novel.
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