discover the best time travel books where romance catches you as you travel backwards or forwards in time.
These romance time travel books prove that true love can conquer all, even the fantasy elements of time travel.
You are reading: Best time travel romance books
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Have you ever read a book about time travel and thought about what it would be like to travel back in time? be a time traveler who is taken to another land, another dimension and another time where by chance you meet the person of your dreams?
That may be fiction (as far as we know 😊), but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying being transported back in time with my beloved time travel romance books.
why I love time travel books
There are several reasons why I enjoy time travel romance books. while not as popular a romance book trope as others, I find them fascinating for a number of reasons.
time travel books with a look at history
I’ve always said that romance books offer much more than a happy ending. With time travel romance books, you also get an additional look at a different time period in history.
Whether the time traveler character travels backwards or forwards in time, these books give them insight into what it’s like to live in a specific time period.
I especially like time travel books where the character travels hundreds of years back in time. while the book may have started out as a contemporary romance, it evolves into a historical fiction or historical romance novel as the time traveler not only finds love, but has to adjust to the different lifestyles of the time. p>
It’s often the most talented writers who do their research to weave in the historical precisions that make time travel books a proper historical romance novel as well. i’m looking at you diana gabaldon!
finding love in romantic time travel books
Of course, I probably wouldn’t love time travel books so much if they didn’t provide a happy ending for their characters.
That’s why this list of books only includes romantic time travel books, though there are plenty of other popular time travel books you could read that don’t have the added love story component.
I especially enjoy the love story of time travel books because it shows how love really can transcend seemingly difficult circumstances and obstacles, including time.
It’s one thing to find such satisfaction in seeing two characters fall in love on the page, but it’s quite another when they can find each other and make it work when they’re from two different worlds and time periods.
mysticism in time travel books
I also love the mysticism often found in time travel books.
There is usually some kind of science fiction element to the time travel story to explain or attempt to explain how the time traveler was transported to a different time and/or place.
was it a time machine, or a magic spell or even a boring fairy or a god that powers the time traveler’s journey? I love the variety of creative explanations of time travel that the authors come up with!
That’s probably why I also enjoy fantasy romance books so much.
with time travel books, the mix of sci-fi and fantasy really creates this incredible backdrop for the love story that unfolds.
what you will find in this list of time travel books
This list of time travel romance novels contains some popular and well-known time travel books with some that may not be as well known but really intrigue me.
Of course, I’ve included some of my favorite time travel books, as well as a variety of romantic time travel books I want to read.
These novels span historical fiction and span both science fiction and contemporary fiction, young adult fiction, and fantasy. but isn’t that what you’d expect from a time travel romance book? a bit of the fantastical where love can conquer anything, including time and time travel?
If you want to get carried away by love and time, choose one of these books about time travel. Happy reading!
my favorite time travel books
outlander by diana gabaldon
In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse just back from the war, is reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a circle of standing stones. She suddenly goes back in time to 1743 and a war-torn Scotland where she meets a young highland warrior.
James Fraser, a young Scottish warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire, and between two very different men in two irreconcilable lives.
I’m not sure you can have a list of time travel books, romance books or not, that doesn’t include outlander! Diana Gabaldon has written an entire series of books about a woman who travels back in time and finds the love of her life, and it’s one not to be missed.
I had always been a lover of romance books, but it wasn’t until I delved into this series that my obsession began. The romance between Jamie and Claire is incredibly wonderful, but so is every other aspect of this book and series.
i loved being taken to the scottish highlands and learning about their history as much as i was glued to the pages to see how claire would fit into this new world and/or if i could find a way to go back to her time.
This is one of my favorite romance novels of all time and definitely the best time travel book that I can’t recommend enough.
beyond the mist of the highlandsby karen marie moning
He was known throughout the realm as a falcon, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman touched his heart, until a vengeful fairy took Adrienne de Simone from present-day Seattle to medieval Scotland.
captivated in a century that was not her own, too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Forced to marry Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm’s length, but Adrienne’s reservations were no match for Hawk’s determination to keep her by her side.
This time travel book is another must-read that kicks off a fantastic series of romance books. I love how moning pits a strong heroine traveling hundreds of years back in time against an alpha lord. they are equally paired with each other, which made for great chemistry.
This book also brings some fantasy elements that I love and that continue in the rest of the series. the mix of historical romance and fantasy made this one of my favorite time travel books!
a knight in shining armor by jude deveraux
Jumped by her boyfriend, Dougless Montgomery cries on a cold tombstone in an English church for her own savior. when out of the blue, a man appears, nicholas stafford, earl of thornwyck, the man who, according to his tombstone, died in 1564. dougless knows that nicholas is nothing short of a miracle: a man who doesn’t seek to change her, who finds her perfect, Fascinating, just the way she is. what dougless never imagined was how strong are the chains that bind them to the past, or the great adventure that awaits them.
This romantic time travel book also involves a character from the 16th century, but begins with an earl traveling back in time to the future, also known as the 1980s.
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I remember enjoying not only your connection, but also seeing the modern world through your eyes. There is also a sense of desperation and suspense in the novel given why Nicholas left and why he seeks to return to his time.
Overall, this is one of the most popular time travel romance books and well worth checking out.
what the wind knowsby amy harmon
When Anne travels to Ireland to scatter her late grandfather’s ashes, she finds herself abruptly transported to 1921 Ireland with the country on the brink of war.
but there is anne, injured, disoriented and under the care of dr. thomas smith, guardian of a boy who is strangely familiar. Mistaken for the child’s missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced that the woman’s disappearance is related to her own.
As tensions rise in Ireland’s fight for independence, Anne is drawn into the conflict alongside Thomas, where she is faced with the choice of leaving the life she knew or the man she has come to love. .
There is something magical about Harmon’s writing that captivates me with each book, even more so with this time travel romance.
While this is certainly a time travel book, it is certainly historical fiction/historical romance. Throughout the book, you will be transported to the trials and tribulations of the Irish leaders fighting for their independence from the British, narrated primarily from Thomas’ diary entries.
the romance was more of a subtle slow burn along with the backdrop of the story that unfolds in the novel.
I also liked that it was a “different” time travel romance book in which the character only traveled eighty years into the past to a world that still had modern conveniences. Instead of having to acclimate to a new age, Anne had to find her way in a world that she knew or assumed she was someone else.
I highly recommend it for both fans of time travel books and fans of historical romance novels.
on vacationby christina lauren
maelyn is vacationing in a cabin in utah with her family and friends. only she wakes up the morning after christmas having kissed her old friend, not her brother, who she’s had a crush on since she was a teenager.
That morning starts a time loop where she’s stuck reliving the same vacation, giving her a chance to correct the past.
i thought this time travel book was something new and fresh from the writing duo, christina lauren, who i adore. the time loop plot was overall an interesting twist that is very reminiscent of the movie groundhog day if you’re familiar with it.
What I liked most about using this time travel idea was the confidence it gave the main character, mae. Reliving the same Christmas vacation finally gave her the confidence to live authentically and share her feelings with Andrew, no matter what.
While this time travel book is also considered a Christmas romance book, it can honestly be read any time of the year because it wasn’t a great focus of the story.
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if you’re looking for a different kind of time travel romance book, and one that’s purely a contemporary romance novel, then you’ll want to read this one!
more romantic books about time travel
the time traveler’s wifeby audrey niffenegger
clare meets her future husband when she is six and henry is thirty-six, yet the two marry when she is twenty-three and henry is thirty-one. Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with a chrono shift disorder that causes her genetic clock to reset and throws him back in time.
with this time travel book turned into a hollywood movie, and now a tv series set to premiere in 2022, this is another of the most famous time travel books which is worth reading.
Although I loved the movie and can’t wait to see the series, I have yet to read the book, but it’s on my tbr list. I loved the love story between Clare and Henry, particularly their first meeting, but it might be the trials and tribulations their love faces due to Henry’s time travel abilities that impressed me the most.
Most time travel books focus on the main character going back or forward in time only once or twice to return to his own time, but Henry does both repeatedly throughout his life. is a unique twist to explore how a time traveler can find and keep love with her unique abilities.
one last visit to casey mcquiston
august hopes to see jane every day on the train. only her crush on the subway is impossible because jane is a girl lost in time, displaced from the 1970s.
This time travel book is Mcquiston’s long-awaited sophomore debut, which launched to great fanfare and was nominated for best romance book at the 2021 goodreads choice awards.
This time travel romance book adds a variety of options to the trope as it features a lesbian romance between a girl from the present day and a girl from the 1970s.
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not only is jane transported to the future, but she’s also trapped in a subway train, which is a further plot for her and august to discover.
in five years by rebecca serle
when asked where she sees herself in 5 years in an interview, attorney dannie kohan is ready with her answer prepared. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep but wakes up in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and next to a very different man in 2025. five years in the future. Intense and shocking hour, Dannie wakes up again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. Determined to ignore the strange experience, she files it until four and a half years later, when she meets the same man from her vision from long ago.
serle’s time travel book was nominated for the 2020 goodreads choice awards for best romance book.
I love the twist of this romantic time travel book where dannie’s time travel experience only existed for an hour, five years in the future and how her experience influences her life as it unfolds the story.
if you are more interested in contemporary romance books about time travel, this is a good option for you.
the two lives of lydia birdby josie silver
lydia thought she would be with freddie forever, but then she died in a car accident. trying to get over her heartbreak, she enlists the help of her best friend, jonah, and her sister, elle, to open up to life, and maybe even love, again. But then something unexplained happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddy. Lydia now lives two lives at once. one in the past where freddie is alive and still has her heart and her real life in the present where someone else loves her too.
This time travel book is another contemporary romance that also received a nomination for the 2020 goodreads choice awards for best romance book.
The twist of parallel lives in this time travel book is reminiscent of the plot of the romantic movie, sliding doors, which I loved. I love the idea of living two lives with two loves and how you could choose between the two.
charming the highlander by janet chapman
When a plane crash leaves brilliant scientist grace sutter stranded on top of an icy mountain in maine, she finds herself alone in the wild with the only other surviving passenger: greylen mackeage, a sexy medieval warrior who has traveled in time to find the woman. she is meant to love.
Forced to survive the harsh winter landscape together, neither expects the fierce passion that erupts between them. But Grace isn’t used to letting her heart take control, and Greylen won’t settle for anything less than the surrender of her heart.
I’m such a fan of romantic novels with Scottish heroes that I already love this time travel book with the highland warrior.
This time travel romance where the character travels from the past to the future also features another one of my favorite romance book tropes: the forced proximity romance. add a blizzard and harrowing scenarios to survive, I love this book!
opposite of always by justin reynolds
When jack and kate meet at a party, they instantly bond, and before he knows it, he’s falling hard. but then kate passes away, ending the story for her, but does she? Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first met, and Kate is there again. she healthy, happy and lovely as ever.
Jack is sure he’s losing his mind, but he’ll believe in time travel if it means saving Kate’s life. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. and he soon has to find out what he is willing to do to save the people he loves.
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If you’re a fan of young adult romance, this is the time travel book for you. I can’t imagine it’s easy to believe in time travel, even if you do, especially if you’re a teenager dealing with loss.
The idea that actions have consequences and the possibility of changing the future is a very attractive premise for time travel books and I can’t wait to explore it in this one.
memory by jude devereaux
hayden lane, bestselling romance writer, has found her soulmate, or rather, created her: he’s her latest fictional hero. She barely notices when her real-life fiancé breaks off her engagement, visits a psychic to learn more about him, and tells her that in a past life, Hayden was Lady de Grey, a promiscuous woman from the city. edwardian england.
hayden can’t resist submitting to the magic of a mesmer. But the trick goes awry, and instead of just remembering her past as Lady de Grey, Hayden is living it.
devereaux writes another classic time travel book in this romance. fans of Edwardian era historical romance novels will devour it.
I want to see how Hayden survives not only his “new” reputation, but also the disturbing man who captures his heart.
time between usby tamara ireland stone
anna and bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 chicago and he lives in 2012 san francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him into a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may bring Bennett back to where he was. they belong, even when a devastating crisis calls into question everything they believe.
As the clock races, Anna and Bennett are forced to question how far they can push the limits of destiny, what consequences they can bear to stay together, and if their love can stand the test of time.
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This is a contemporary time travel book that explores the idea of whether or not you can control time travel, and the consequences that response can have when you meet the love of your life in another time.
I like that the time difference between the time traveler and the lover is not very wide, but that the time travel aspect is still an issue that can have a big impact on their relationship.
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susanna kearsley’s rose garden
When eva’s movie star sister dies, she leaves california and returns to cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers. Only there does Eva realize that the house where she grew up is not only the home of her old friends, but also of the people who had lived there in the 18th century.
When eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and speak with inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon falls in love with daniel butler, a man who lived long before she was born.
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Eva begins to question her place in the present, and as she lays her sister to rest, she realizes that she, too, must decide where she truly belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so strongly about. attracted.
Would you like to stay in the past with the man you loved if the person you loved was no longer in your present?
I can understand Eve’s dilemma in this time travel romance book and I look forward to seeing how she manages to go back and forth in time.
transcendence by shay savage
ehd is a caveman who lives alone in an inhospitable wilderness. when he finds a beautiful young woman in his trap, it is obvious to him that she is destined to be his mate. he doesn’t know where he comes from, he wears some pretty strange clothes and makes a lot of noises with his mouth that give him a headache. still, he is determined to fulfill her purpose in her life: take care of her, protect her and give her a baby. elizabeth doesn’t know where she is or exactly how she got there. she is confused why a caveman is dragging her back to her cave house. With only each other for company, they must rely on each other to battle the dangers of nature and prepare for the winter months. as they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time.
wow, a romantic time travel book set in prehistory? I’m so willing to read this.
They say that love doesn’t need a language to exist and that couldn’t be more true with this time travel book where a character lacks the ability to understand language. It’s also a forced proximity romance where ehd and elizabeth have only each other to rely on.
if you want a fresh and different take on the time period of a time travel romance, check this out.
silent votes for catherine bybee
myra, a virgin medieval druid, flees five hundred years into the future to escape her death at the hands of a cursed witch and lands in the arms of a handsome but cynical 21st century policeman. police officer todd blakely knows that myra is hiding something from her but he can’t resist her innocent charms. Fate throws them both into a world of intrigue and mysticism. can todd be the true white knight she needs? Or will magic and the winds of time tear them apart?
I love that this romance book is an intersection between fantasy romance and time travel romance. instead of taking place in the past, it takes place in the future with the heroine traveling through time.
I can’t wait to see how an officer reacts to the fantasy and magic of myra’s story!
must love angela quarles chain mail
With an agenda strapped to her hip, the last thing Katy Tolson wants is a romance that threatens her orderly life. she’s ready to marry the confident but smooth guy, but something isn’t quite…right. A careless desire propels her through time to medieval Wales and into the arms of a knight in somewhat shining armor. Sir Robert Beucol, half Norman and half Welsh, lives in the shame of his father’s betrayal and swears to regain his family’s possessions and hence his honor. he seeks to prove himself to his king, not to be distracted by the mysterious woman with the pink toenails. I hope to travel to medieval times in this time travel book. Katy sounds like a woman after my heart with her agenda next to her, but I’m curious to see how she can cheer up with Sir Robert.
if you like time travel books with a bit of adventure, try this book!
stuck in time by denise daye
the day she and her mother escaped from her cruel father, emma washington swore never to fall in love. Now, Emma is a back-to-school Ph.D. student with bigger and better things to worry about. that is, until one night a car crashes into her, changing her life forever. Instead of waking up in a 21st century hospital, she wakes up in the backwaters of London, Victorian England, 1881.
Caught up in a time when everything she’s ever known is considered witchcraft, she soon realizes that her survival depends on the one thing she’s tried to avoid all her life: marriage. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she must be betrothed to none other than the most powerful Duke in all of England, the notorious and feared Lord William Blackwell. this sounds like a great marriage of convenience, a time travel book with a strong heroine and a captivating lord. In addition, she starts a whole series of romantic books about time travel.
I love romance books with reluctant characters who can’t help but fall in love when it’s the last thing they’re looking for, especially in a different century.
If you like historical romance novels, this may be the best time travel romance novel for you.
see you yesterday by rachel lynn soloman
barrett bloom hopes college will be a fresh start after a messy high school experience. but when she starts school on September 21, everything that could go wrong does. After the most terrible day, Barrett falls asleep in the common room only to wake up stunned the next morning to discover that it is September 21st. again. And after a confrontation with Miles, her nemesis from his Physics 101 class, she discovers that she’s not alone, he’s been trapped for months. When her attempts to fix his timeline fail, he agrees to work with Miles to find a way out. soon they’ll be exploring the university’s mysterious underbelly and embarking on wild and romantic adventures. As they begin to fall in love, they are faced with the biggest unanswered question in the universe yet: what will happen to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?
While this time travel book won’t be released until May 2022, it’s on my favorites list because I love Soloman’s writing and can’t wait to read it.
seems to be the perfect blend of college romance for new adults with a thread of groundhog day fun mixed in with enemies to lovers angle. I don’t know what could be better!
if you like time travel books that focus more on a time cycle than on long journeys, this is the book for you.
Don’t forget to share your favorite romantic time travel books in the comments below!
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