Past Times Books in Order

Past Times is Nancy Moser's historical time-travel series built around one woman, one family secret, and one big idea: the gift of going back is not for curiosity, but for justice. The books follow Justine Braden as she moves from spoiled young socialite to someone who understands that a strange inheritance can become a serious calling.

That makes the series feel different from lighter what-if fiction.

In Where Time Will Take Me, Justine learns that the women in her family receive a startling ability when they turn twenty. They can travel through time. The gift can be accepted, ignored, or refused, but it is meant to be used with courage and purpose. Set against the late nineteenth century, the novel pairs historical atmosphere with moral stakes, which is very much Moser's territory.

The second book, Where Life Will Lead Me, keeps Justine at the center as she moves to Lawrence, Kansas and faces the next use of her gift. By this point the series is not just about whether time travel is possible. It is about what kind of person Justine is becoming. Can she act when action costs something? Can she trust the purpose behind what she has been given?

That spiritual thread runs through both books. Moser is interested in adventure, but even more in responsibility. Justine is not meant to fix everything, and she is not handed easy victories. What she does have is a chance to step into moments where someone has been wronged and where courage might still matter.

Readers who like clean historical fiction, faith-inflected speculative ideas, and a heroine who has room to grow will likely enjoy this series. The tone is earnest and hopeful, with enough danger and tension to keep the premise lively. It also helps that the historical setting is not just wallpaper. Manners, expectations, and geography all shape what Justine can do. Past Times is really about whether a person can be changed by using power well, and that gives the books more weight than their premise first suggests.