time travel romance series

Time Travel Romance Novels Beyond Outlander

Jessica Pryde

Jessica Pryde is a member of that (some might call) rare breed that grew up in Washington, DC, but is happily enjoying the warmer weather of the desert Southwest. While she is still working on what she wants to be when she grows up, she’s enjoying dabbling in librarianship and writing all the things. She can be found drowning in her ever-growing TBR and exclaiming about romance in the Book Riot podcast ( When in Romance ), as well as on social media. Find her exclamations about books and pho on twitter ( JessIsReading ) and instagram ( jess_is_reading ).

View All posts by Jessica Pryde

I love time travel. I will consume it in almost any format: prose, poetry, comics, film, television, radio drama. You name it, I’m there . I don’t know where my interest originally started, but it’s probably no coincidence that the earliest two adult books I recall reading were both time travel romance novels. To this day, a good time travel romance is a thing of beauty that I always find myself keeping an eye out for. 

There are several elements that play into making a time-travel romance successful. The biggest element is how the author establishes the HEA. Does the time-traveling protagonist elect to stay in their new time? Does the one who was traveled to somehow find their way to the other’s time period? Does the one who lives in the present find the soul of the one they met in the past? Or maybe something completely different?

Let’s look at a few to start with:

1. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

If you want a good example of an old-school time travel romance, you can’t go wrong with Deveraux. In A Knight in Shining Armor , we find out what happens when a young woman, abandoned and crying in a churchyard far from home, comes face to face with a real-ass knight, who is rightfully confused. Trying to keep the poor man alive is hard enough, but then there’s the whole being incredibly attracted to him thing.

If you enjoy that one, you might also find other books of hers interesting, including Legend , Remembrance , and Return to Summerhouse .

2. Love, Eternally by Morgan O’Neill

A flautist playing in an ancient ruin finds herself in the middle of the Roman empire. The Emperor is terrible, but a young senator catches her eye. Also, there’s a rebellion brewing, and Gigi is there to help fan the flames to dethrone a tyrant.

3. Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown

A woman from the future ends up in the past. Sounds pretty cool, right? In a world built on VR, Ginn, a VR designer, accidentally ends up in the 10th century. Multiple people have recommended this to me, and someone even said their husband told them “you didn’t tell me it was a romance—with the setting!” So yeah, if you’re into a lush depiction of a time period and a beautiful love story, this one’s for you.

4. The Duke and the Domina by Jenn LeBlanc

A reluctant duke marries a switch from the twenty-first century. That’s a hook. Grayson has been trying to escape his desire to submit, but that all goes to pot when he marries a woman who has awakened in a new body and a new time. Lulu is a professional dominatrix and she doesn’t want to be where she is, and isn’t sure she can trust her new husband. But it’s a romance, so they’ll figure it out.

5. Everything for Love by Marilyn Vix

Deidre is a Timeanaut. She travels through time using sex to power her travels.

Yeah, you read that right.

When she sees the same man in multiple time periods (I’m guessing unchanged? Because they’re not that far apart), she discovers that he, too, is a time traveler, and has been sent to save her life. They have adventures and make enemies and do all those things you’d expect people screwing with the timeline to do, including fall in love. But there are some complications with that, too.

6. Timeless and Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir

These are technically YA, but I loved Timeless so much. This book features an uncommon element in time-travel romance: the ability to go into and out of the specified time period. Usually, in one of these (thanks probably in part to Diana Gabaldon, NGL), the heroine (because it’s almost always the heroine) finds herself in a moment in history, and one of the most important plot elements is how to get her back to her own time (if, in the end, she even decides to do so). But Michele uses a journal to bounce back and forth between her own time and that of Philip, the boy she will eventually fall in love with. Also, it’s fun to get all the historical tidbits.

There are also some really, great, memorable, and iconic books that are more “time travel novels with romance in them” instead of the other way around. The love story isn’t always the focus, but these are definitely romantic love stories within the time travel story.

7. The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz

No matter if it’s more general fiction or four alarm fire erotic kinky romance, Tiffany Reisz is an amazing storyteller. Here, Faye falls into the ocean and breaks the surface in 1921, where the spitting image of her now-dead husband is staring back at her. Part love story, part supernatural, part mystery, this book is all the things.  

Also: If you want to become completely obsessed with the history of lighthouses on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, this book is the starting off point.

8. The Firebird   by Susanna Kearsley

Nicola has a gift that allows her to see the pasts of objects she touches. Working at a gallery, this is a cool gift to have, for obvious reasons. When she touches a small carving and discovers its intriguing history, she follows a girl into the past.

9. The River of No Return by Bee Ridg way

A man about to die in the Napoleonic Wars wakes up in the modern day. There is a guild of time lords masters travelers who tell him he can’t go back. But he longs for his lady love, and long after he expected to be able to return, he is sent back in time. There is adventure and intrigue in this one, but people also appreciate the love story.

10. Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with this movie. Superman and Dr. Quinn fell in love but couldn’t be together. That sucked. But then it didn’t. I loved it. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered it was a book. The book was a little different, but in essence was the same. A young man “falls in love” with a woman in a portrait and then finds a way to get to her time period in order to meet her. Things ensue.

If there’s one thing you might notice about this list of time travel romance novels, it’s that with the exception of Alexandra Monir, the authors are all white. Non-white authors are indeed writing about time travel, but if they are writing time-travel romance , I have not yet heard about it. In fact, I wrote an entire essay about why (in my opinion) it is difficult for black women in particular to write about a modern black character traveling backwards into any era (except maybe prehistoric). The same can probably be said of members of other races who have dealt with Western oppression, whether it was slavery, genocide, ethnic cleansing, colonization, or anything else on the massive list of sins our European ancestors dealt onto our ancestors from Africa, the Americas, the entire continent of Asia, and the majority of Oceania and the Pacific Islands. I would love to see someone successfully write a believable Outlander-style romance featuring a protagonist of color. Or even a modern-day story in the style of The Time Traveler’s Wife , but, you know, happy.

Give me About Time with people of color in book form. I’ll love you forever.

(Okay, so Courtney Milan  did  write a story in which Adam Fucking Reynolds travels in time and encounters Frederica “Free” Marshal, but it doesn’t really count, right?)

The other thing about this particular list is that it’s pretty damn straight. Do you have any favorite time travel romance novels featuring queer protagonists? I want to hear about that too.

Or just tell me your favorite time travel romance novels. I want to know. (Give me moooooore.)

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15 Fantastical Time Travel Romance Books

Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Louisa

Time travel has always been something that’s both fascinated me and intrigued me. Paired with romance, and you’re on to a winning romance trope!

Time travel love stories can be truly enthralling as love is explored between characters across different periods and places. 

As readers, we have often been whisked away to faraway moments in history beyond our imagination and knowledge, whether in the past to 17th-century Scotland or the future when Martians have conquered the earth.

And this makes time travel romance books so gripping for me; it’s not just the romance story but what I learn about history and cultures in a time beyond the one I know.

If you’re looking for a special time travel romance book that combines creative imagination, history, and love, then you’re going to love these 15 books… 

Affiliate Disclosure : This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through any of these links. 

What To Expect From Time Travel Romance Books?

Time travel romance books are known to combine elements of science fiction, adventure, and romance.

What I love about this genre is there are no limits. You can soar into a dystopian future, or back in time to a regency period.

Wherever your time travel plot takes you, you can expect to be taken on an imaginative journey where love transcends time and space.

These books often feature strong-willed characters from different eras or dimensions, who find themselves drawn to each other even though they are separated by time or circumstance.

Being from different generations and time periods, there are often cultural clashes, and different opinions on values, morals, or ways of courtship.

The character dynamics are one of the biggest reasons to read a time travel romance book, and they will be sure to have you questioning your own values and morals in today’s world.

Best Time Travel Romance Books

Now you know a little bit about the main features of the genre, it’s time to show you my favorite fantastic time travel romance books to leave you wishing time travel was real. 

1. A Highlander For Hannah – Mary Warren 

A Highlander for Hannah is a warm and easy-going, time-travel book with a slow burn romance story.

As the title suggests, the story is about the heroine Hannah and her budding relationship with Graham. Graham is a Highlander from the 1700s. 

Hannah summons Graham with a love spell purchased at a Renaissance Fair. Eventually, Hannah has to listen to her heart and decide if she wants to send Graham back to his own time at the next equinox.

Many readers describe this book as charming. Where many time travel stories can be action-packed, this story is more light-hearted and a book to cozy up with. 

View it on:

2. The River of No Return – Bee Ridgway

The River of No Return is an action-packed read. The story tells of Nick Devanant, who was set to die during the Napoleonic Wars but finds himself in London in 2003.

He eventually settles down as a farmer in Vermont. 

Nick is also a part of a time-traveling organization that is involved in intrigue and spying across different eras.

Previously a Lord, Nick navigates his new life while shadowed by The Guild (a guild of time lords), who want him on an assignment in the past. 

Nick also meets Julia, a woman from a neighboring estate.

Their romance is explored through all the action and mystery of Nick’s life as a spy and time traveler for the Guild. The mystery and romance are sure to leave you curious. 

3. The Winter Sea – Susanna Kearsley 

The Winter Sea tells the story of Scottish author Carrie, who treads the fine line between fiction and reality.

As a writer, Carrie starts recounting memories of her characters’ lives. A more imaginative way to explore time travel, this book transports you back to 17th-century Scotland. 

The time travel is done as Carrie recollects vivid memories of her book’s fictional characters. However, the reader is left curious as to what memory is, what imagination is, and what reality is.

The book also explores a secretive and tense romance between Carrie and her landlord’s son, Graham.

A more unconventional way to explore time travel, this story jumps back and forth through the visions of the heroine. A book that will spark your curiosity and leave you guessing til the end. 

4. Beautiful Wreck – Larissa Brown

Beautiful Wreck is about a girl who travels back in time and falls in love. Though it’s not anything new in terms of plot, it has been well written and the world-building is excellent.

Ginn is a virtual reality designer who surprisingly finds herself in 10th-century Iceland. Ginn’s current reality is dull as she exists in a future that is desolate and void of the romance she is craving. 

The book tells the story of how Ginn surprisingly finds herself in Viking Iceland!

She starts to enjoy the simple and homely life of the village she finds herself in and meets and falls in love with a native Icelandic Viking named Heirik. 

Although she finally finds the romance she has always wanted, she learns that love is much more complicated than expected. Henrik is reserved and tormented by what he believes is a curse. 

Penetrating his heart and also fighting against forces that try to tear them apart, this time travel romance lives up to the name of its title, a beautiful wreck.

5. A Knight in Shining Armour – Jude Devereux

A Knight in Shining Armour is a classic time travel romance book by author Jude Devereux .

It tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a real knight from the Elizabethan age in England.

The book unpacks the love between the heroine Douglass, a young teacher, and a medieval knight, Nicholas.

Douglass is in a dating relationship with a doctor who treats her poorly, and only when meeting Nicholas can she experience true love. 

Although the book is about finding true love, it also shows that love between people from different decades can be challenging. Nicholas and Douglass are tested when they are separated from each other to go back to their times. 

This book will captivate your heart as you become invested in the fight for love between the two main characters.

They fight to discover why Nicholas has come to the current day and how to save his life in the past. 

This is a must-read for fans of time travel, romance and adventure genres, as it combines all three in an unforgettable story.

6. What the Wind Knows – Amy Harmon

What the Wind Knows follows the protagonist Anne as she surprisingly finds herself in Ireland in 1921.

The context is war, and we also glimpse Anne’s inner turmoil as she struggles with hurt and navigates the past.

You are introduced to the history of The Irish Revolution in the 1920s and also to a mysterious doctor named Thomas Smith.

The book explores Anne’s struggles as she begins to fall in love with a man who becomes involved in the war.

Readers are mesmerized by Amy Harmon’s poetic writing and ability to capture the love and heartbreak between Anne and Thomas. 

What the Wind Knows brilliantly weaves history, love, and social commentary into one book.

7. In A Holidaze – Christina Lauren

In A Holidaze is a different take on time travel where the main character Maelyn (Mae) is stuck in a time loop.

She travels back in time, but again and again. She is given a chance to re-live the past as she sees fit.

The book’s romance is not too heavy as it’s about Mae’s budding crush on her friend Andrew. Reliving the past gives her the courage to express how she feels about him finally. 

Set during the Christmas season, it is also festive. This is a friends to lovers romance book with a story that is great for a casual, fun, and upbeat read.

8. Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This is a charming story about a coffee house in Tokyo that allows people to travel back in time.

It follows the story of four people who want to travel back in time.

Examining the reasons we love Before the Coffee Gets Cold provides insight into the motives behind love.

One story follows a wife as she travels to the past to meet her husband again and explores love with sincerity and honesty. 

Time travel in this book is not without its rules. Time travelers must return to the present in a stipulated time, and their journeys prove interesting. 

A moving and emotional read, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s novel is for those who want to dive deeper into time travel and deeper into love. 

9. Time and Again – Jack Finney

Time and Again is not only a love story between the main character Simon and Julia but a love story about New York…

The story tells of a 1970s man Simon traveling back to 1882 to solve a mystery plaguing his heart. 

This is one of the historical time travel love stories that is also an ode to the city in which it is set. New York is the third love in this book, with the author Jack Kinney capturing the city in its early years. 

His writing is gripping and makes it feel like you have been transported back to New York.

The romance is also a tale of choosing to follow the head or the heart, as Simon is torn between the present and the past.

10. Ruby Red – Kerstin Gier 

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier is a witty and lively story of young Gwen who lives in London but soon learns that she can time travel.

A time travel gene runs through her family, although she does not expect to be someone who can time travel.

Soon she is catapulted into time travel suddenly and an unexpected romance. To tell you who the romance is with would spoil the book. You would have to find out by yourself. 

The book is fun and an excellent read for younger readers.

The heroine is 16 years old, and we see the world through her eyes. Described as a clever story, Ruby Red is the easy-going read for your next pick-me-up book.

11. In Five Years – Rebecca Serle

In Five Years is a time-travel romance that fast-forwards to the future!

The main character Dannie finds herself 5 years in the future (through a vision, or is it a reality?), living a life she did not anticipate. She is living with a random man who is not her current fiance.

The book follows Dannie as she unpacks her life 5 years in the future.

A future she is not familiar with but one with desirable possibilities. In this book, time travel is a tool that helps her to ask, what does she want?

It leaves the reader also wondering, what if I could get a picture of my future? Would I change anything?

The author’s writing style is poetic and evocative, with descriptions that transport you to different times and dimensions.

12. Somewhere in Time – Richard Matheson

Somewhere in Time is a beautiful story of love that lasts the test of time and different periods.

It explores the complications that exist for a modern man as he falls in love with a famous actress in San Francisco in 1896.

The author, Richard Matheson, writes this book intricately and can describe the love between the two characters with warmth.

We learn about love at first sight and are taken away by the chemistry between the two main characters. 

The time travel aspect is a unique and interesting vehicle that drives the plot, but at its core the story is about love, sacrifice, and second chances.

This book is also excellent for anyone who loves reading books about historical America and San Francisco. 

13. More of Us to The West – Trinity Dunn

More of Us to The West tells of heroine Alaina’s budding romance with Jack as they are both stranded on an island after their plane crashes.

The only problem is that Alaina is already married to Chris. 

She struggles to make sense of her new romance and how Jack and she ended up stranded on an island, along with 11 other strangers.

The reader is torn between the past and the future as Alaina tries to make sense of her heart as she is torn between Chris and Jack. 

The book also lures you with a mystery you will be dying to solve, making it hard to put it down.  

14. Return Once More – Trisha Leigh

Return Once More tells of 16-year-old Kaia, part of a time-traveling group known as the Historians.

Set in the future where humans live on other planets, Kaia grows up quickly as she is taught to be a Historian.

She is tasked with going back in time to witness important events. 

Young and brave, Kaia is lucky enough to be told who her “True One” is. Learning that her true one is her soulmate, she is eager to meet him. 

This story explores Kaia’s relationship with her “True One,” Caesarion. Caesarion happens to be Cleopatra and Caesar’s son from the past! 

Expect nothing less than a creative and original narrative set in the future but also an exotic past.

This book does a great job of depicting a romance across two different cultures and timelines.

15. A Thousand Pieces of You – Claudia Gray

A Thousand Pieces of You joins heroine Marguerite as she travels through time and a different universe. Marguerite is on the hunt to solve a mystery close to her heart. 

Marguerite’s parents are the inventors of the Firebird, the machine that allows her to jump from one exciting universe to another.

While focused on her mission, she finds love along the way in the most unexpected places!

This book does a great job of exploring the heart of a young girl keen on an adventure but also open to love.

Part mystery, part romance, this book is a fast-paced and action-packed book that is great for younger readers. 

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Final Word on Time Travel Romance Books

So there you have it, those are the best time travel romance books. As you can see, there are a lot of great novels to choose from!

I hope you found something on this list that sparks your interest. If you have any more suggestions, let me know in the comments.

About Louisa Smith

Editor/Founder - Epic Book Society

Louisa is the Founder, Editor, and Head Honcho of Epic Book Society. She was born and raised in the United Kingdom and graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with a degree in Journalism. Louisa began her writing career at the age of 7 when her poetry was published in an anthology of poems to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Upon graduating university, she spent several years working as a journalist writing about books before transitioning to become a Primary School Teacher. Louisa loves all genres of books, but her favorites are Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, and Young Adult Fiction. Read more Louisa's story here .

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11 Best Time Travel Romance Novels: Sci Fi with a Kiss

Some say a great romance endures the test of time. The following novels make the case that even if time is not on anybody’s side, romance will find ways to circumvent the force of nature to rekindle. If the idea of the stubbornness of love floats your boat, here are some of the best time travel novels romance to tickle your fancy. Here are 11 of the best Time Travel Romance Novels out there to read right now!

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2011) by Yasutaka Tsutsui

Romance that involves a teenage girl almost always calls for some complicated story. Kazuko Yoshiyama, a middle school student, is just about to have a car accident one morning only to find herself transported back exactly to 24 hours in the past. She tells her friends about it and proves her new ability to time-leap by making accurate predictions about a house catching fire and an earthquake. In one of her repeated teleportation through time, she encounters a man named Ken Sogoru, who also is a time-traveller, and falls in love with him. As expected, it is a tricky love story because the man has to go and erase all memories of himself from everyone he has met.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003) by Audrey Niffenegger

Henry DeTamble (born 1963) has a genetic disorder known as Chrono-Impairment, which causes him to inadvertently leap through time to the past and future. He neither has control over it nor any idea where or when the next leap will take him. He doesn’t even know how long any trip will last. However, the times and destinations are usually tied to his subconscious. Following a meeting with his future wife, Clare, in 1991, Henry begins to time-travel to the past and meet with her younger version. They had first made love in 1989 or just about two years before the two met. Henry dies when he involuntarily jumps back to 1984 Michigan and is accidentally shot by Clare’s brother. It turns out that a version of Henry from the past can also travel forward into the future and reunite with Clare when she is 82 years old.

Outlander (1991) by Diana Gabaldon

Claire Randall is having a vacation with her husband in Scotland and suddenly leaps back through time into 1743. She is forced to marry a man named Jamie MacKenzie, although she gradually falls for him, anyway. Claire now has to decide whether to find ways back to the future and reunite with her husband or stay with Jamie whom she now believes is the love of her life.

Bid Time Return (1975) by Richard Matheson

Richard Collier has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Doctors say the tumor is inoperable, practically a death sentence for him. Out of desperation, he decides to live his remaining days at the Hotel del Coronado when he grows to love an actress named Elise McKenna. The only problem is that Elise has been dead for decades. Collier somehow discovers a method to travel back in time and live a love story with Elise. A doctor is not convinced about his ability and believes the whole thing is a mere fantasy of a dying man.

The Sense of the Past (1917) by Henry James

American-British author Henry James left an unfinished work when he died in 1916. The novel ended up getting published anyway, as The Sense of the Past, about a year later. It tells the story of Ralph Pendrel, who discovers that he can travel back in time to his ancestors’ by going to their London home. While spending time in the past, he falls in love with Nan, who reciprocates the feeling. James never had the chance to finish the novel, but leaves a note that Ralph either goes back to the present time and returns to another woman or stays in the past to be with Nan.

The Dancers at the Edge of Time (1981) by Michael Moorecock

First thing first, The Dancers at the Edge of Time is not a stand-alone title but a series of sci-fi novels comprising a trilogy and several short stories. It tells the tale of the end of time where the universe is about to collapse. Jherek Carnelian, one of the few naturally born humans, comes across a time traveler named Amelia Underwood and knows they will fall for each other. The series follows their journey together, bouncing back and forth in time. Their love might just be much more important than what it appears to be.

Time and Again (1970) by Jack Finney

Simon Morley travels back in time to 1882 New York City hoping to solve a mystery. He meets Julia on his journey and falls in love with her. Although she doesn’t return the affection in kind at first, her love for him grows naturally and their adventure is filled with joyful moments. The novel also offers a dense of action and mystery, bound by a love story.

What The Wind Knows (2019) by Amy Harmon

Anne Gallagher takes the trip to Ireland to scatter her grandfather’s ashes and discover more about his family tree. Soon enough, she finds herself lost in a fog and getting shot. Anne is not dead yet, a young doctor named Thomas Smith pulls her out of a lake to safety. Anne comes to realize she has leapt through time and is now in 1921. The young doctor turns out to be the guardian of a small boy, who also is Anne’s grandfather.

Time After Time (2019) by Lisa Grunwald

Joe Reynolds bumps into Nora Lansing, a beautiful yet out-of-style young woman at the Grand Central Station. While walking Nora home to Turtle Bay Gardens, she vanishes without a trace. About a year later, Nora comes back only to disappear again in more or less the same fashion. After some conversation with her father, Joe learns that Nora Lansing is trapped in a time loop and never able to leave Grand Central.

The Here and Now (2014) by Ann Brashares

Prenna James was originally from a place known as Postremo, a scary region of the world where everybody is prone to death-inducing mosquito bites. She moved to 21st-century New York about five years ago, but she never actually went anywhere because the two places are just about the same. The difference is that Postremo exists in the future. She is part of a group of people who travel back in time to prevent disasters. The rules in her community are simple: do not reveal your true identity, never tinker with history, and stay away from having intimate relationships with anybody outside the community itself. She breaks the last rule.

Opposite of Always (2019) by Justin A. Reynolds

Jack King, a senior in high school, believes he is about to embrace a world full of exciting love stories when he meets Kate, a freshman in college. It all seems like she feels the same way he does until one day Kate stands him up for prom and dies. Jack cannot believe such a sad story and begins to time-loop. He relives the relationship and is determined to change the outcome.

Have you read other time-travel romance novels? Do you find any of them providing a satisfactory solution to any time travel paradoxes? We’d love to hear from you.

Other things you might want to know:

Novels in the Outlander series:

• Outlander (1991)
• Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
• Voyager (1994)
• Drums of Autumn (1997)
• The Fiery Cross (2001)
• A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
• An Echo in the Bone (2009)
• Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (2014)
• Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (2021)

Besides novels, there are also novellas/short stories, audiobooks and even graphic novels.

Other popular books Amy Harmon:

• Running Barefoot (2012)
• Making Faces (2013)
• A Different Blue (2013)
• From Sand and Ash (2016)
• The Smallest Part (2018)
• Where the Lost Wander (2020)
• The Unknown Beloved (2022)

What is the first time-travel novel?

“Memoirs of the Twentieth Century” (1733) by Samuel Madden is said to be the first novel in which time travel to the past is used as the premise. That said, many regard H. G. Wells’s “The Time Machine” (1895) as the progenitor of time travel subgenre.

Check out other articles by month:

• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022

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80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch

With romance, adventure, and fun plot twists, these time travel TV shows are sure to entertain.

The time travel trope is quintessentially romantic, with different themes and elements giving it a desperate, romantic air. There is the lone time traveler, bouncing across time in search of lost love. Or a group of travelers unable to return home due to a rift in the space/time continuum. Better yet, the star-crossed lovers fated only to get snatches of time together.  Swoon . There is so much to love about time travel TV shows!

At  The Silver Petticoat Review , we love time travel TV shows so much that we thought a list of binge-worthy shows was necessary.

Depending on your taste in time travel stories, below are 21 binge-worthy dramas, romantic comedies, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories (plus 59 bonus recommendations at the end). Not all are traditional versions of the trope, but each one includes an element of time travel.

Get ready! Your watch list is about to become longer!

Note:  Availability for the “Where to Watch” sections are for the US and are subject to change at any time. It was last updated in December 2022.

BINGE-WORTHY TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS (#1-21)

(in no particular order).

#1 Timeless *

Synopsis:  With history threatened by an evil consortium, a historian, soldier, and scientist join forces to travel through time to save history.

Their adventures take them across history, where they cross paths with some famous and lesser-known figures in history. Yet, each time they save history, they risk changing the future.

Where to Watch:  The NBC series is available on Hulu or to buy on Digital and DVD.

* Timeless  is one of my favorite time travel shows! A lovely,  action-adventure romance  with time travel!

#2 Doctor Who

Synopsis:   Doctor Who   follows the trials of an extraterrestrial Time Lord. Known as the Doctor, he/she travels through time to solve problems and battle injustice across the universe.

Using the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) to travel, the Doctor recruits companions to assist him/her. With various incarnations,  Doctor Who  is a sweeping adventure in space and time.

Note: There are many iterations of  Doctor Who . Any would make our list of time travel series. Pick your favorite! The newer Doctors include Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. The new Doctor will be Ncuti Gatwa in 2023.

Where to Watch:  You can stream the classic series on Britbox and the 2005 revival on HBO Max. Both series are available to buy digitally and on DVD.

#3 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow   

Synopsis:  Time-traveler Rip Hunter sets out to save the world with the timeline in catastrophic danger. 

Rip brings together an unlikely group of heroes and villains previously seen in  Arrow  and  The Flash.  

These heroes and villains must come together before they can save the planet. But can they put their differences aside before time runs out?

See our  review of  Legends of Tomorrow .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix or buy digitally and on DVD.

#4 12 Monkeys * 

Synopsis:  Cole travels from a post-apocalyptic future to save the world from a lethal plague. He meets Dr. Cassandra Railly, a virologist, who joins him in his crusade.

It’s a race against time, as they trace the epidemic to its source and discover that appearances are deceiving and time itself is an enemy.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu or buy digitally and on DVD.

Related Post  Romantic Moment of the Week: 12 Monkeys: Cassie and Cole  

*Another personal favorite! When it comes to time travel shows,  12 Monkeys  hits all the right notes!

#5 El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Department of Time)

Synopsis:  A secret government agency recruits three people from different eras to protect Spain’s history.

They bounce through time, chasing time-traveling intruders bent on manipulating history for their own purposes.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Pantaya or buy on DVD.

#6 Travelers 

Synopsis:  Several hundred years into the future, the last humans discover a way to send their consciousness back in time. These “travelers” assume the lives of random individuals.

With only their knowledge of history and social media profiles to guide their way, the travelers quickly discover that experience in the 21st Century is as challenging as their mission.

Content Warning:  Rated TV-MA, the show has strong language, violence, and implied nudity.

#7 Scarlet Heart / Scarlet Heart: Ryeo

Synopsis of Scarlet Heart : A near-fatal accident sends Zhang Xiao, a 21st Century woman, back in time to the Qing Dynasty. It is Kangxi Emperor’s reign, and Xiao is now the teenage daughter of a Manchu general.

Known as Ma’ertai Roux, Xiao attempts to return to the future. Navigating new relationships and love, Xiao adjusts to her new life until, one day, it disappears.

Where to Watch:  Stream on  Viki .

Note: There is also a Korean version of  Scarlet Heart  called Scarlet Heart: Ryeo .  Read our review here . It is only available to buy on DVD.

#8 Making History  

Synopsis:  Misunderstood college facilities manager Dan Chambers discovers time travel, using pop culture to become a beloved 18th Century figure. However, Dan fails to realize the impact time travel has on the present.

When Dan causes Paul Revere to delay his famous ride, he alters the events of the American Revolution. Dan then recruits well-liked history professor Chris Parish for help in correcting history.

Where to Watch:  Rent on Amazon Video or buy Digital.

#9 Sleepy Hollow  

Synopsis:  Ichabod Crane comes back to life 250 years in the future, where he must solve a mystery going back to the time of the founding fathers.

However, he is not alone. Due to a blood curse, the headless horseman also returns to the living. The headless horseman begins a slaying spree in present-day Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod realizes that the headless horseman is the first of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Enter Detective Abbie Mills. Familiar with the supernatural, Abbie joins forces with Crane to stop the evil infecting Sleepy Hollow.

Where to Watch:  Stream  Sleepy Hollow  on Hulu, the CW app, CW Seed, and Tubi. You can also buy the series on Digital and DVD.

#10 Torchwood

Synopsis:  Former time agent, Captain Jack Harkness, leads the Torchwood Three to investigate unexplained extraterrestrial events on Earth.

The group, part of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute, battles supernatural threats outside the protection of the British government and law enforcement.

Where to Watch:  Stream on HBO Max or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  The series is TV-MA for strong language in a few episodes. It also includes occasional explicit sensuality, suggestive content, and violence.

#11 Being Erica *

Synopsis:  During therapy, Erica Strange shares her list of regrets with her therapist. In a twist in treatment, Erica goes back in time to those moments with a chance to make different decisions.

Faced with rewriting her past or leaving things as they are, Erica faces each moment with humor and a new appreciation for her choices.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Roku, Hoopla, Plex, and Crackle, and buy digitally and on DVD.

*The writing in this show is fantastic!

Content Warning:  Rated TV-14, it is, at times, TV-MA. There is sensual content, as well as nudity and some bad language.

#12 Heroes 

Synopsis:  Around the world, a group of ordinary people is discovering they have superpowers. One man wants their powers for himself.

To protect themselves, they must learn to help each other before he destroys them all.

Where to Watch:  Stream the superhero series on Peacock or buy digitally and on DVD. 

#13 The Librarians * 

Synopsis:  Based on popular TV movies,  The Librarians  are a group of people who protect magical items throughout time.

Consisting of an art historian, a thief, a mathematician, and a warrior, they travel through time to find supernatural objects and bring them under the protection of the Library.

Related:  Read our  romantic moment between Eve and Flynn from  The Librarians .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Hoopla, and Amazon’s Freevee. You can also buy it digitally and on DVD.

#14 Early Edition *

Synopsis:  Having lost his job and his marriage, Gary Hobson wakes up one morning to find a cat sitting on a newspaper bearing the next day’s date.

Gary quickly learns that this early edition allows him 24 hours to try and save many people’s lives.

Where to Watch:  All seasons are available for DVD purchase on Amazon Prime.

*This one is an outlier when it comes to time travel TV shows. The only thing that travels in time is the newspaper. Still, it’s Kyle Chandler….. swoon!

#15 Erased 

Synopsis:  Satoru goes back 18 years to prevent the passing of his mother and three classmates.

Where to Watch:  Netflix

#16 Outlander

Synopsis:  British Army Nurse Claire Randall is on her second honeymoon and looking forward to a career as an Oxford historian. Suddenly transported back to 1742, Claire finds her freedom and life are in danger.

RELATED: ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ Review: The Time Travel Romance is Irresistibly Good

To survive, she marries Jamie Fraser. An unexpected passionate relationship develops, and Claire becomes caught between two very different men in two very different lives.

See  our review of  Outlander .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix and STARZ or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  TV-MA with   explicit sensual content, nudity, assaults, and graphic violence.

#17 The Eternal Love 

Synopsis:  Unhappy with a forced marriage, Qu Tan Er attempts to end her life. She awakens from her failed attempt with the spirit of another woman inside her body. The modern Xiao Tan is Tan Er’s opposite.

Stuck in the past world, she cannot return to the present day. Whenever one of the women lies, the other person takes control. Soon, complications in love arise as the differing women fall in love with two different men.

What will become of the foursome? And will Xiao Tan be able to find her way back to her own time?

Where to Watch:  Viki

#18 Lost in Austen *

Synopsis:  This smart take on Jane Austen’s  Pride and Prejudice  finds modern, working girl Amanda Price trading places with Elizabeth Bennet.

Unable to return to her time, Amanda must try her best to fit in among the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys. Yet, her presence in the lives of these beloved characters sets changes to the course of the classic tale.

See our  Lost in Austen review .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Britbox Amazon Channel, Freevee, and Pluto TV, and buy digitally on Amazon or DVD.

#19 Continuum 

Synopsis:  Detective Kiera Cameron, a cop from the year 2077, and a group of dangerous criminals called Liber8 are trapped in present-day Vancouver. Kiera must stop Liber8 before they destroy the corporate world, altering the future as she knows it. She enlists the help of tech genius Alec Sadler to find a way back home.

In the meantime, Kiera takes a job with the Vancouver Police Department. With help from her partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra, they keep tabs on Liber8. Different beliefs and backgrounds lead to suspicion, but slowly, Kiera and Carlos learn to trust each other.

Where to Watch:  Buy digitally from the Microsoft Store or on DVD.

#20 Frequency

Synopsis:  Detective Raimy Sullivan has lived with the pain and resentment of her father’s passing for 20 years. She believes her father, NYPD Officer Frank Sullivan, was corrupt, resulting in his passing. However, everything changes when she hears his voice coming from an old ham radio.

With Raimy’s warning in his ears, Frank survives the attempt on his life. Yet, the change in the past ends in tragedy for the future. Separated by time, connected by an old radio, the two detectives work together to find a way to rewrite the past without losing the ones they love.

Where to Watch:  Stream on the CW app and CW seed.

#21 Seven Days

Synopsis:  CIA Agent Frank Parker receives a special assignment from the NSA. He must travel back in time to prevent current-day catastrophes.

Yet, there is a catch – he must do so within seven days. Using a time machine built from alien technology, Frank races against time in the past to save the future.

Where to Watch:  Buy on DVD.

Whether you are a fan of pure romance or romantic comedies or love the adventure of time travel, there is something for everyone on our list of binge-worthy time travel TV shows. So dip in and travel back in time with some of the most swoon-worthy characters out there.

*Denotes a personal favorite of mine.

EVEN MORE TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS TO WATCH (#22-80)

This section was updated in 2022 by Amber and Autumn (co-owners and editors of  The Silver Petticoat Review ). 

Numerous time travel TV series exist, and you can never have enough to watch! So, we thought adding a lot more to the list would be fun. 

Enjoy! We included a *star next to our personal favorites.

• #22:  356: REPEAT THE YEAR  (2020) – Korean Drama about ten people traveling back in time one year.
• #23: * THE 4400  (2004; 2021) – We recommend the original series over the reboot. Both shows have 4400 people appearing in the present day from different time periods, not having aged a day since they originally disappeared.
• #24: * AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.   (2013) – The later seasons of this fun Marvel series are all about time travel – and they are marvelous! The love story  between Daisy and Daniel Sousa  is perfect.
• #25:  ALCATRAZ  (2012) – Prisoners from Alcatraz disappeared in 1963 – only to reappear in the present day. The short-lived drama lasted only one season.
• #26:  ALICE  (2022) – A new time travel romance TV series on Kocowa and Viki.
• #27:  ALWAYS A WITCH  (2019) – A time-traveling witch in this Colombian series ends up in the present day.
• #28: * CHARMED (1998; 2018) – The original and new series about three sisters (and witches) include time travel episodes. Both shows are entertaining – but the original is superior.
• #29:  THE CROSSING  (2018) – Refugees from the future travel back in time to seek asylum.
• #30:  DARK  (2017) (TV-MA) – The German sci-fi thriller series deals with a time travel conspiracy in this hugely popular Netflix drama.

RELATED: 50 of the Best Romantic Period Drama TV Series of All Time to Watch

• #31:  DIRK GENTLY/DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY   (2010; 2016) – Time travel is involved in these two versions of the story about a detective investigating supernatural cases.
• #32:  * A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES   (2018) (TV-MA – mild) – A witch and a vampire fall in love while trying to unravel the secrets of witches, vampires, and demons. She can time travel and much of  Season 2  takes place in Elizabethan times.
• #33:  FAITH  (2012) – Lee Min-ho stars in this time travel Korean series.
• #34: * FELICITY  (1998) – The coming-of-age romance drama from J.J. Abrams ends with a time travel twist.
• #35:  FIND ME IN PARIS  (2018) – A children’s show about an Edwardian ballet dancer who transports into the future with a mystical necklace.
• #36:  THE FLASH (AND OTHER ARROWVERSE SHOWS)  (2014)   – The CW superhero show is fun, likable, and regularly has time-travel storylines.
• #37:  FLASHFORWARD  (2009) – Joseph Fiennes stars in this canceled too-soon series about people having visions of their future.
• #38: * FRINGE  (2008) – An FBI agent explores unexplained fringe science with a scientist and his son in this brilliant sci-fi series.
• #39:  JOURNEYMAN  (2007) – Kevin McKidd stars in this show about a time traveler who helps people.
• #40:  KAIROS (2020) – The fantasy thriller K-drama series is available to stream on Viki and Kocowa.

• #41:  LA BREA  (2021) – A sinkhole in Los Angeles sends a group of people to an ancient world. Soon, a family becomes enmeshed in a time-travel conspiracy. It’s super fun (if illogical) and crazy – especially by Season 2.
• #42:  LEGION  (2017) (TV-MA) – Dan Stevens stars in this bizarre Marvel series about a man with abilities. Time travel becomes a significant element in Season 3.
• #43: * LIFE ON MARS/ASHES TO ASHES  (2006; 2008) (TV-MA – mild) – DCI Sam Tyler wakes up in 1973 after being in a car accident. The spinoff series  Ashes to Ashes  is about another Detective who wakes up in 1981.
• #44:  LIVE UP TO YOUR NAME (2017) – It’s a rom-com time travel K-drama series about a Joseon doctor transported into the present day.
• #45: * LOST  (2004) – Survivors of a plane disaster discover they’re stranded on a mysterious island. Time travel plays an essential role in the  brilliant romantic series .
• #46: * LOKI  (2021) – Loki ends up at the Time Variance Authority – agents who stop time variants and monitor the timeline. Loki soon must fight for his survival as he travels through time.
• #47: * MANIFEST (2018) – The mystery genre series begins when a missing airplane reappears five years later – and no one has aged.
• #48:  MY ONLY LOVE SONG (2017) – An actress time travels to the past in a magical van in this historical fantasy romance show.
• #49:  NINE: NINE TIMES TIME TRAVEL  (2013) – A TV anchorman tries to change his past in this romantic K-drama.
• #50:  THE OUTER LIMITS  (1963; 1995) – The sci-fi show includes episodes about time travel.

RELATED: 10 Romantic Time Travel Movies to Binge Watch: I’ll Love You to the End of Time

• #51: * PRIMEVAL/PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD (2007; 2012) – Primeval and its spinoff (not nearly as good) follow a team of agents and scientists capturing prehistoric creatures traveling to the present day through mysterious anomalies.  Doctor Who  fans should like this one.
• #52:  * QUEEN IN-HYUN’S MAN   (2012) – A scholar travels into the future and connects with an actress in this charming Korean fantasy rom-com.
• #53:  QUANTUM LEAP  (1989; 2022) – A scientist (Scott Bakula) becomes trapped in the past and must leap between bodies and various times. The original show is superior to the new one, but the revival is still entertaining.
• #54:  THE PERIPHERAL  (2022) (TV-MA for violence and profanity) – Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this new science fiction series with an original time travel twist.
• #55:  ROOFTOP PRINCE  (2012) – The popular fantasy rom-com Korean drama follows a Crown Prince from the past transported to the present day.
• #56:  *ROSWELL  (1999) – Two episodes of the iconic paranormal romance series deal with time travel.
• #57:  RUSSIAN DOLL  (2019) (TV-MA for lots of profanity and some explicit content) – A woman from NYC finds herself stuck in a time loop in this Emmy-winning series.
• #58:  *THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES  (2007) – The  Doctor Who  spinoff is a teen series with fantastic writing about the Doctor’s former companion, journalist Sarah Jane Smith, and her adventures with a group of teens.
• #59:  SHINING GIRLS (2022) (TV-MA) – Time travel plays into this mystery/crime drama starring Elisabeth Moss. The ending could have been better, but it’s an intriguing, well-acted series.
• #60:  SIGNAL  (2016) – This is South Korea’s version of  Frequency .

• #61: SISYPHUS: THE MYTH  (2021) – A woman from a war-torn future journeys to the past to change future events.
• #62:  SLIDERS  (1995) – A group of friends travels into parallel worlds.
• #63:  SOMEWHERE BETWEEN  (2017) – A woman relives a week to stop tragic events from happening.
• #64:  *SPLASH SPLASH LOVE (2015) – This adorable rom-com miniseries follows a teenage girl as she travels back in time to the Joseon Era.
• #65:  *STARGATE: SG-1  (1997) – A military team and scientists are part of a secret group that travels to other planets and occasionally different times through Stargates.
• #66:  *STAR TREK TV SHOWS (INCLUDING THE NEW SHOWS, PICARD, AND STAR TREK: DISCOVERY)  (Some series are TV-MA)   – Time travel plays an essential role in the  Star Trek  universe.
• #67:  STEINS;GATE  (2011) – An animated series about time travel.
• #68:  *TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES ( 2008) – This is an underrated romantic sci-fi series starring Lena Headey.
• #69:  TERRA NOVA  (2011) – A family from a dying future is transported to the prehistoric era to a colony of humans trying to survive.
• #70:  THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH  (2020) – A romantic K-drama series about two parallel worlds where time travel plays a part.

RELATED: The Day of the Doctor – An Impossible Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Theory

• #71:  THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE  (2022) (TV-MA) – Steven Moffat’s new (but short-lived) romance series is about a married couple dealing with the problems of time travel.
• #72:  TIME AFTER TIME   (2017) – A short but sweet romantic series about a young H.G. Wells.
• #73:  THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959) – The iconic classic series includes episodes about time travel.
• #74:  TOMORROW, WITH YOU  (2017) – A man can time travel with a subway and tries to avoid his future fate while also falling in love.
• #75:  TUNNEL (2017) – A detective travels 30 years into the future when chasing a suspect through a tunnel.
• #76:  *TRU CALLING  (2003) – A medical grad student develops an ability to relive the previous day and help people. 
• #77:  *THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY  (2019) – The quirky series follows former child heroes as they try to save the world.
• #78:  VOYAGERS!  (1982) – The classic family series follows a young boy and a team of time travelers as they fix history.
• #79:  11.22.63 (TV-MA for violence and profanity)   – James Franco stars in this mystery series based on the novel by Stephen King about a teacher who travels back in time to stop the JFK assassination.
• #80: MR. QUEEN (2020) – A chef is transported to the Joseon Era into the body of a queen in this Korean Comedy series.

What are your favorite time travel TV shows? What do you think is the best time travel show of all time? Drop me a line below!

Featured image credit: Doctor Who (BBC), Continuum (Showcase), 12 Monkeys (NBCUniversal Television Distribution), Torchwood (BBC), and Timeless (Universal Television/Sony Pictures Television/NBC). 

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Catherine is an avid reader and a self-declared professional binge watcher. It's not uncommon to find her re-watching a series or movie for the umpteenth time and still be crying into a box of tissues. When she's not hiding in her closet to read or watch a show or movie, Catherine is a wife, mother, and, in her spare time, a lawyer.

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26 thoughts on “80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch”

thank you – have beeen looking forever for timetravel— y r we soooo fascinated– et me out of here i do not belon in this time — beeen this wy sincei ws 9 and read a book of a little boy being sent to mars after climbing a tree—- love fairies also — ok i am an old fashioned girl they used to call my pollyanna – then i became an out law—- my son in law does not beleive in annnnnythin but $$$$ and power– borrrrrring give me a gooood romance to live in.. oxoxoxoxoxoxox

This is a great list! I love the Korean drama Time Travel series. My favorites are Faith, Rooftop Prince, I love Lee Tae Ri, Signal and Tunnel.

Have you ever seen “Voyagers!”? It was like a predecessor to Quantum Leap and lasted 1 season on NBC. It stared one of the most beautiful men to ever grace television, the late Jon-Erik Hexum. He’s a roguish time-traveling pirate, Phineas Bogg, a Voyager that travels throughout time with a smart young boy and they have to fix moments where history’s gone wrong. It was a fun show. It’s definitely binge-worthy and Hexum was such a charming young actor. Although it was made with kids and education in mind, (Co-Produced by Scholastic) there’s plenty of romantic moments for Bogg!

He and Meeno Peluce (the boy, Jeffrey Jones) made a great team. I run a fansite and FB page for the series. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, and it’s currently free on NBC.com.

I own the series and I was heartbroken when Jon died. I recently bought the 30 episode tv show from the 60’s The Time Tunnel…. Now this was where most time travel shows spawned from. Especially Quantum Leap.

Nice list! Back to the Future made me a sucker for time travel plots. So would the cartoon count as one?

How can Outlander be #16?

You NEED TO READ – It clearly states that the shows are in No Particular Order!

You forgot ‘The Time tunnel’ – The first American time travel show

Goodnight Sweetheart is THE ultimate time travel show!

Maybe you guys can help me….. I’m looking for a series perhaps a movie….. not sure. only saw a piece of it and have been searching ever since. I even looked trough all the male actors to cross reference, nothing. It seem to involve time travel an attempt to shift history. Almost achieve the goal by manipulating the son of the leader – I know its horribly vague…. but he ends up speaking to his son. He explains the situation from a watchmakers point of view- His hobby is watchmaking….the comparison he draws between ‘leading’ or directing humans where they need to be is similar to the watchmaker making a clock. its been almost two years…. but so far no luck finding this series. Help 🙂

think you may be thinking of inception (link removed)

How could you not have Netflix’s Dark on this list?

I agree. Dark is a pretty good series (3 seasons on Netflix). It’s a German show so you have to up with English lip syncing, but once you get used to it, it’s a good show.

Absolutely the best time travel show ever made imo

It is on the list (#30).

12 Monkeys needs to be #1 … Pretty sure it’s the only show that properly does time travel and causality! Love it

Continuum seems to be right on the money as we see a few corporations [e.g., Amazon] displacing small business, and taking over government. Science Fiction frequently becomes Science.

Looks like Continuum is no longer on Amazon Prime (unless you want to buy it. Is it anywhere else?

It looks like it’s only available to buy on Digital and DVD/Blu-ray now.

Netflix’s DARK is the best Time Travel show ever made. Never believe anything else!

Timeslip UK kids show from 60`s predates all these and deals with past , future, global cooling(remember that) and cloning.

I’ve never heard of it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

It’s a indian movie named Time

Brødrene Dal og Spektralsteinene and Brødrene Dal og Mysteriet om Karl XIIs Gamasjer both have time travel as a key element. I prefer the former but both are pretty well planned out, although only the latter seems to remember concequences.

Thanks for the recommendations! 🙂

I like some others am trying to find a “Time Travel” movie that’s kind of like “If Only” Where a mans’ wife (Possibly Girlfriend) is killed in an auto accident an he keeps traveling back to that time to make her avoid it. He finds every time that it is avoided she is killed in another way. After so many attempts he goes back and gets in the car with her and they both die. So sort of like “If Only “ and sort of like the first part of “The Time Machine”(2002). I think the movie time-line was between 1970 and 2000 only guessing. I didn’t see the start of the movie. Always wanted to see it but the same accident happens or is averted only to have a new death.

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14 Titillating Time Travel Romance Novels

Discover love stories that transcend time.

Are you the kind of reader who thinks nothing could possibly be better than a historical romance? Time travel romance combines the historic romance tropes you know and love with elements of science fiction and fantasy, daring adventure, and the steamy tension of a culture clash. 

These temporal tales deliver the ultimate escapist fantasy! Whether you love second chance fiction or a modern fish out of water heroine, these 14 time travel romances novels will leave you swooning.

A Time to Change

By Callie Langridge

As a young girl, Louisa Arnold was fascinated by Hill House and the tragic tale of its owners, the Mandeville family. When she experiences a tragedy of her own, Louisa decides to roam the ruined corridors of Hill House, and finds herself transported 100 years into the past. 

Now a houseguest of the Mandevilles, Louisa becomes friends with Captain Thomas Mandeville, the eldest son. She knows he is fated to die during World War I—but can't help falling in love with him anyway. And now, she'll do everything she can to save him.

A Stitch in Time

By Amanda James

If you’re looking for an exciting and out of the box time travel romance sprinkled with humor, A Stitch in Time is a must-read. Disillusioned divorcée Sarah Yates is working as a history teacher when the mysterious John Needler breezes into her life. The handsome stranger tells Sarah that she’s a “stitch”—someone with the power to travel back in time to guide the path of history. As Sarah bounces from World War II era England to the Old American West to help historical couples find their happily ever afters, a romance of her own begins to stir.

If you find you can’t get enough of Sarah and John’s temporal romps, check out the sequel, Cross Stitch .

RELATED: 14 Paranormal Romance Books That Give Us Chills in All the Right Places  

Hungry for more romance books? No need to beg! Sign up for our free newsletter and get titillating tales delivered right to your inbox.

For All Eternity

By Linda Lael Miller

For All Eternity blends the excitement of time travel with the dark sensuality of paranormal romance. After a painful personal loss, vampire Maeve Tremayne uses her powers to travel back in time to the American Civil War. As she stalks the bloody, misery-laden battlefields freeing the suffering soldiers from the agony of war with her deadly bite, Maeve meets the kindhearted and mortal Doctor Calder Holbrook.

As a larger, darker war brews amongst the vampires, Maeve must resist as her hunger for the tempting doctor grows. Will she leave human worries behind her, or lure Calder into an eternal romance?

RELATED: 18 Vampire Romance Books with Serious Bite

The Medievalist

By Anne-Marie Lacy

According to family legend, PhD student Jayne Lyons believes she is a descendant of King Richard III—and she's determined to prove that Shakespeare unnecessarily vilified him, and wrongfully depicted him murdering the Princes.

While searching for Richard III's lost grave, she finds a silver boar pendant that magically transports her back to the 15th century. There, she finally meets Richard III for herself, and finds herself even more drawn to him than she ever could have imagined.

Christmas Moon

By Elizabeth Lane

Dramatic, gripping, and sensual, Christmas Moon follows the pregnant and unwed history teacher, Emma Carlyle. On Christmas Eve, Emma ventures out to Wyoming on a research expedition for her master’s thesis about the lawman of legend, J.D. McNulty. A snow storm swallows her car on her return trip home, and before she knows it she’s transported back in time to 1870—and going into labor.

Searching for help at a remote cabin, Emma finds the man of her research on the other side of the door. The two of them strike up a sizzling romance, but Emma knows something J.D. doesn’t—J.D. is supposed to die in a matter of weeks.

RELATED: 19 Holiday Romance Books to Light You Up This Christmas  

Anywhere You Are

By Constance O'Day-Flannery

New York Times bestselling author Constance O’Day-Flannery—the “Queen of Time Travel Romance”—strikes gold again with this romance between Mairie Callahan and Jack Delaney. In modern day Las Vegas, Mairie is getting some excitement out of her life by jumping from an airplane. However, this expedition puts other skydiving jaunts to shame when Mairie lands a hundred and twenty-two years in the past. From recent Civil War veteran Jack’s perspective, it just looks like an angel is falling out of the sky.

Jack thinks Mairie is crazy, and Jack just plain drives Mairie crazy. However, as the two navigate danger and race to find a plant that might save Mairie’s ailing brother’s life, a bond beyond friendship starts to blossom. But is it a love that can withstand the test of time travel?

RELATED: The 24 Best Historical Romance Novels That Will Steal Your Heart

The Repeat Year

By Andrea Lochen

One of the staples of time travel romance novels is the “second chance” trope , which Andrea Lochen’s The Repeat Year takes by storm. After a terrible year stuffed with a harrowing breakup, her mother’s infuriating love life, losing touch with her best friend, and the loss of patients at the hospital where she works as an intensive care nurse, Olive Watson is looking for a fresh start in the New Year. However, when she goes to sleep on New Year’s Eve expecting to wake up in 2012, she opens her eyes instead to the bedroom of her supposedly ex-boyfriend on the first day of 2011.

With the help of another more experienced “repeater,” Olive is given the chance to right all the wrongs in the past year which have led her down a path she’s not proud of. But will this opportunity give her the future she’s been dreaming of, or just cause new problems?

The Sterkarm Handshake

By Susan Price

The sci-fi romance Sterkarm trilogy starts out strong with The Sterkarm Handshake , laying the groundwork for a mega-corporation’s business plans for the resources of 16th Century Scotland. When the corporation—FUP—opens up the Time Tube to the past, anthropologist Andrea Mitchell is sent to live with the brutal Sterkarm clan to act as a translator and informant. Andrea is surprised by the warm welcome of the clansmen, and even more surprised to kindle a romance with the supposedly barbaric man, Per.

As tensions rise on both sides of the Time Tube, Andrea is stuck in the middle of the budding war. Will she remain loyal to her modern employers, or will she stay by the side of her anachronistic lover?

RELATED: Kilty Pleasures: 8 Scottish Romance Novels  

By Diana Gabaldon

Diana Gabaldon’s ongoing Outlander series is not only one of the best-selling book series of all time, but it was also adapted into a Starz television series in 2014. In the first novel, Claire Randall is a combat nurse fresh out of World War II. While on a second honeymoon in Scotland with her husband Frank, the brush of an ancient stone transports Claire back in time to 1743.

Caught in a dangerous game of politics and spycraft, Claire finds herself drawn to the Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser. The undeniable passion of Claire’s life in the past is at odds with the settled life she’s built for herself in her own time. As the series weaves history, romance, adventure, mystery, and fantasy together, Claire must decide which time period holds her future.

RELATED: 10 Books like Outlander That’ll Make You Want a Scot of Your Own

Whispers in Time

By Becky Lee Weyrich

Renowned psychic Carol Marlowe has been summoned to New Orleans on police business, but winds up on a wild adventure when a boat ride through the bayou transports her to the past. She's in someone else's body—someone who has a very handsome lover—and she's quickly caught up in a life of scandal and intrigue.

By Kerstin Gier

This internationally bestselling YA romance series, the Ruby Red Trilogy, was originally written in German. Now, it has been translated into English by Anthea Bell. Gwen Shepherd is a mostly normal sixteen-year-old girl living in present day London. The other women in her family are the unusual ones—gifted with the ability to travel through time. However, Gwen’s perfectly typical life goes awry when the time travel gene that was supposed to have skipped over her starts making her take abrupt and unplanned leaps into the past.

With no training on how to handle these jarring journeys, Gwen stumbles through fashion, manners, and secret societies. Not to mention her frustrating run-ins with her fellow time traveller, Gideon, who’s annoying, arrogant, and too handsome for Gwen’s sanity.

RELATED: 10 Young Adult Romance Books Readers of All Ages Will Love

Must Love Breeches

By Angela Quarles

When Isabelle Rochon stumbles upon a mysterious artifact from the Victorian era, she’s transported back in time to 1834 London. Lord Montagu plots a dastardly scheme of vengeance, but he needs a respectable woman on his arm to pull it off. While Isabelle works overtime to protect the truth of her origins and hunt down the time traveling artifact that’s been stolen from her, Montagu convinces her to feign a romance and act as his fiancée. However, the two find themselves battling not just their foes, but their growing and irresistible attraction to one another.

For readers who enjoy Angela Quarles’s work, she has three more books in the time traveling romance Must Love series: Must Love Chainmail , Must Love Kilts , and Must Love More Kilts .

RELATED: 15 Tantalizing Victorian Romance Novels

What the Wind Knows

By Amy Harmon

Amy Harmon’s most recent Irish romance novel , What the Wind Knows , brings intricate historical knowledge to a touching and passionate romance. When Anne Gallagher’s beloved grandfather passes away, she travels to Ireland to spread his ashes in his homeland. Overwhelmed by the man she adored and the wonderful stories he told her of his past, Anne is physically pulled back in time to 1921.

The Ireland of the early twentieth century is on the brink of war, surrounding the disoriented Anne with inevitable danger. When Dr. Thomas Smith takes Anne under his care, a misunderstanding leads him to believe that she is the missing mother of the young boy he’s been acting as the guardian for. Anne slips into the role of this vanished woman, caring for the child and falling hard for the doctor. However, as the war looms closer Thomas and Anne find themselves drawn into the conflict.

RELATED: 9 Must-Read Historical Romance Authors

By Alexandra Monir

High schooler Michelle Windsor moves to her estranged grandparents’ home in New York City after the fallout of a family tragedy. In the attic, Michelle discovers a diary from 1910 full of not only secrets, but the magical ability to transport her back in time. Thrown into a decadent masquerade ball, Michelle sets eyes on a mysterious young man who has danced through her dreams for as long as she can remember.

Michelle has her hands full trying to find a balance between her normal, modern life and her wonderful jaunts to the past. Things don’t get easier when she starts to fall hard for the boy of her dreams. Worse still, Michelle discovers that his fate is in her hands.

RELATED: 12 Teen Romance Books That Will Make You Fall in Love  

Keep Reading: 

9 Stellar Sci-Fi Romance Books

The 8 Best Fantasy Romance Movies That Make Us Believe in Magic  

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Beyond the Bookends

A Book Blog for Women and Moms who Love to Read

8 Tantalizing Time Travel Romance Books

Star-crossed lovers have nothing on these couples who are separated by time. Time travel romance books are really the epitome of fighting for the one you love. There is nothing more romantic than crossing the boundaries of time to find a way to be with the one you love.

These tantalizing love stories will make you swoon or at least they will make you look at love in a whole new way.

*Time Travel Romance books Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some Books have been gifted. All opinions are our own

Table of Contents

Best Time Travel Romance Books of 2023

The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Clementine has had her heart broken one too many times. She has inherited her beloved aunt’s apartment and is constantly mourning her loss. When she comes home one day and finds a man sitting there, she realizes that he exists seven years in the past.

And, the more time they spend together, the more she realizes she is falling for him. But she can never figure out when their paths will collide! This is a fantastic pick if you are looking for romantic comedy books.

Dead Romantics ( GMA Book Club Pick July 2022 ) was one of my favorite books last year and this book did not disappoint! This is such an adorable time travel romance book and is perfect for our ultimate beach reads 2023. I needed to include it in our list of adult fantasy novels as well! And if you are not a fantasy lover, you can definitely call this a magical realism book!

The Deja Glitch by Holly James

Jack has been reliving the same day for months and believes the only way out of this circle is to get Gemma Peters to fall in love with him. The Problem? Gemma has a feeling of deja vu, but she cannot remember Jack and has made a vow not to date musicians again (after her last boyfriend used her).

I had high hopes for this time travel romance and it did not let me down. Do not be worried that you will have to read the same things over and over. This book has a refreshing spin that was utterly enjoyable. Thank you for my gifted copy of this book.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman has a place in our hearts with all of her books, including Practical Magic (one of our favorite series). So it is no surprise that her newest book is on our list of time travel romance books. This is the newest Alice Hoffman book and it is a book lover’s dream come true.

This fantasy is a story of love, heartbreak, and the magic of books. Mia Jacob is on the verge of sinking herself into a river when the book The Scarlet Letter saves her. The words seem to tell her story of growing up in an oppressive cult where contact with the outside world is forbidden and reading books is a heinous crime.

Even more daunting is the inscription on the inside of the book that is inscribed to her. This is a time travel romance book as only Hoffman could do it. I loved the audio version of the book- it brought life and depth to this story.

Best Time Travel Romance Books

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #1)

How do we love Outlander? We cannot count the ways. There is a reason this is one of my favorite books of all time .

This epic story begins in 1945 when Claire Randall and her husband take a second honeymoon to the Scottish Highlands to celebrate being reunited after the war. When Claire touches one of the standing stones, she is transported to 1743.

This is when the real story begins. In order to stay safe as an English woman in Scotland, she must depend on Jamie Frasier for protection. This book is definitely at the top of our list of best romance novels of all time but you will love it equally if you love historical fiction , magical realism , romance , or witches . This is one of the iconic and epic time travel romance books that has it all and is perfect for a list of books like A Discovery of Witches . It was easy to include this on the best fantasy books for adults as well.

The Time Traveler’s Wife By Audrey Niffenegger

Clare and Henry have an unusual love story. They’ve known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, but got married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry was thirty-one. You see, Henry is an adventurous librarian who inadvertently travels through time.  

Why We Love This Book : I adore how this story explores very real challenges that any couple faces. With the added time travel element, it becomes an unforgettable pick from our list of romance books. The way that they fight for their love gives this book its clear spot on our list of best romance novels of all time. But be warned, this book may emotionally wreck you. Find This Book in Best Time Travel Books Like the Time Traveler’s Wife / Time Travel Books /

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

I absolutely loved Casey’s first book and had very high hopes for this one.

August moves to NYC and into a house filled with weird roommates. When she meets Jane on the subway, sparks fly immediately, and riding the subway becomes the best part of her day. The twist? Jane is displaced from the 1970s and cannot get off the train. As paranormal romance books go, this one is not to be missed.

I enjoyed this book but, I felt that there were some parts that dragged on a bit. It is very hard to find new ways to talk about a relationship that can only take place on the train. I loved the premise of this time travel romance book.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Do you love Christmas movies? Are you obsessed with Christmas Romance books? Do you need to swoon? ⁣ If you answered yes to any of those questions, stop everything and order In a Holidaze. This is possibly my favorite Christmas novel of all time and was a must for best holiday books. ⁣

I adored Mae and Andrew’s love story. It’s set up like Groundhog’s Day with Mae repeating the same Christmas vacation until she gets it right. Time travel romance at its best. And man… does she get it right.⁣ Peppermint kisses, sexy sledding, snowball fights, Christmas Tree trimming… this book oozes cheer-filled holiday goodness with a few scenes that are steamier than a cup of cocoa.⁣

There is a reason this time travel book made our Best Books of 2020 list! This is an adorable magical realism book and a real must-read.

Some Like It Plaid by Angela Quarles

In this story, our hunky future chieftain leaves 1st century Scotland for 2019 San Francisco to catch himself a wifey, whom he promptly teleports back to Scotland (Druid magic IDK) and shenanigans ensue.

This book set in Scotland is funny, romantic, and totally cute. I loved it! This is one of the time travel romance novels you will want to read again and again.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

I read this book set in Cornwall in only a few days because I loved it so much.  This is another book that I read this month that is the perfect pick for books like Outlander .

After Eva’s sister dies, she heads back to Cornwall England to find peace and rest.  What she discovers is more than she expects when she finds herself inexplicably back in time.  As her heart begins to feel again, can she find a way to heal her broken heart and find love? This is a wonderful time travel romance book that you will want to read again and again.

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

This setup of this time travel romance is the same as Outlander but in reverse! In the first part of the book, Douglass accidentally summons an Earl from the 16th century to modern England!

Dougless vowels to help return Nicholas to his own time, but not before trying to help him figure out who framed him for treason in his own era. But when he’s sent back and nothing changes, Dougless needs to head back to his time and try to save his life.

The attention to detail in the 16th century was reminiscent of Diana Gabaldon’s work. It’s a total must-read for fans of Jamie and Claire’s love story. You can find this one on our list of Time Travel Romance Books as well as 29 Books like Outlander for Fans of the Hit Series .

A love story that spans time is an easy pick for the best romance novels of all time

What are your favorite Time Travel Romance Books?

For more books like these, check out our complete list of time travel books.

Ultimate List of Romances

If you love time travel romance books, then this is the list for you! We have this list carefully divided by sub-genre.

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Must-Read Time Travel Romance Books

Feature image @bookish.hayden

When it comes to love, crossing the boundaries of time matters very little. Time travel romance novels remind us of that very thing, as we witness characters who have fallen into the past or sprung forth into the future. No matter the case, true love shines through and conquers all. That said, check out these time travel romance reads that will have you falling in love with every generation.

Here’s our favorite romance novels where characters travel far and wide>>

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

Jack and Kate meet at a party, where they spend the entire time bonding over cereal and their favorite movies. Soon the two are in love, and Jack is over the moon—but then tragedy strikes, and Kate dies. Only instead of losing her, Jack is thrown back in time, back to the beginning where they first met, where Kate is whole and happy again. Is this a chance for Jack to save Kate, or will playing with fate and destiny cause Jack to put someone else’s life on the line?

One Last Stop   by Casey McQuiston

August doesn’t believe in magic and cinematic love stories. She’s a cynical twenty-three year old living in New York City, waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and living with too many weird roommates. But then, one day on her subway commute, she meets Jane, a charming old-school punk rocker. Now August has a subway crush that has become the best part of her day. There is only one problem that August soon learns: Jane isn’t just a mysterious girl who dresses from a different era, she was uprooted from the 1970s. Now August will do everything she can to save the girl lost in time.

Here are the best books for Casey McQuiston fans>>

Intersect   by Elle O’Roark

In this second installment of the parallel series, Nick and Quinn are working to piece together the truth about the life they once shared. At first, Nick feels like something is missing from his past, but he isn’t sure what until he meets Quinn for the first time—or so he thinks. Quinn has dreams and memories of a life she shared with Nick. But this time, in this new era, if she wants to prevent history from repeating itself, she’ll have to use her unusual gifts and come clean to Nick about everything.

The Portrait by B.D. Anderson

Marleigh Winters thought she’d be bored at another yard sale her mother dragged her to. Yet she is thoroughly surprised when she discovers a portrait of a soldier, Winston Spencer, for sale. The painting seems like it’s almost alive, and when Marleigh takes it home, she realizes that the man inside is very much trapped in another era under a spell from a witch. Now that she is the owner of the painting, she can communicate with Winston who enlists her to help him break the spell. The attraction Marleigh feels for him is instant—but is Winston only using her to free himself, or could this love truly be real?

Here’s our favorite steamy historical romances>>

Out of Time, Into You by Jay Bell

Reggie Valentine just graduated high school. But instead of celebrating, he’s thrown into a freak accident where he lands in the 1950s. There he meets Daniel Parker, a man his grandmother used to date. Daniel is secretly gay, but he’s in an era that wouldn’t allow him to date or marry another man. When Reggie and Daniel fall in love, Reggie soon forgets any plans he has of leaving this generation. But can their relationship handle the constant secrecy and the intensity of an era that despises them?

A Highlander for Hannah by Mary Warren

Hannah Glenn wants something different from her life. Breaking up with her boyfriend and moving into her family’s farm seems to do the trick. Listening to her best friend, Hannah finds herself buying a love potion and casting a spell in the middle of the night. When she wakes the next morning, to her surprise, an undeniably handsome Scotsman from 1745 has landed in her barn. Graham MacNeil fell asleep in his uncle’s stable and woke up two hundred years later in a strange land. At first the two are shocked beyond belief, but as time passes and they await their only chance to reverse the spell, their attraction grows until neither is sure they want the spring equinox to come.

Don’t miss these novels set in Scotland>>

Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson

Andre Cobb thought his new liver transplant would be the start of his life. Instead, when he wakes up, he finds himself in 1969. Once he gains his bearings, he meets the charming and magnetic Michael. Only just as soon as he gets to know him, Andre slips back into the future, present-day Boston. There the family of his new liver explains the side effects of the transplant: time travel. Now Andre has to learn how to use these gifts from Blake, his donor’s brother, while slipping back into the past where Michael is. When he begins to fall for them both, Andre must soon determine if the love he wants is in the future or the past.

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes

Luis Gonzalez just wants to spend his prom with his boyfriend. Yet his high school is still too progressive in thinking after an incident in the 80s with one Chaz Wilson. When a hit to the head knocks Luis back to that exact moment in 1985, he gets to meet Chaz and change history by giving Chaz his first kiss. But it turns out their conservative school isn’t the safest place for either boy, especially when Luis’s estranged and homophobic father rules the campus. Will Luis make it back to his era, or will his actions only make things worse?

Borrowed Time   by Russell Dean

Tom Jacob thinks life in England is too mundane. His job is boring, and his love life is nonexistent. Convinced to spend the night partying, Tom agrees, but when he wakes up in Wales in 1889, a century in the past, he regrets listening to his twin brother. Now stuck in Cwm Newydd, a small village near Aberystwyth, Tom must overcome a few things like the language barrier and the suspicion of the town’s people. As he tries to figure out a way to get home, Tom begins to form bonds with a few residents, including a young boy who becomes more than he expected.

Before Time Runs Out   by Amy Matayo

Bree Sanders is failing the last graduate class that she needs to graduate. To ace her dissertation, she creates a Ghost Club similar to the one Charles Dickens made centuries ago. When she finds the original copy of Dickens’ work and gets instantly transported into his actual ghost club in 1870 England, everything she knows changes. Women wearing jeans and t-shirts are forbidden, so she’s forced to hide—but soon she finds Theodore Keyes, who was also transported to this era from Dickens’ old book three months ago. Together they agree to search for the book that will take them home. Yet as their attraction for each other grows, they’ll have to decide to stay in England where their love is blooming or leave and never see each other again.

Don’t miss these must-read historical romance novels>>

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About the author: shavantay minnis.

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Top 12+ Time Travel Romance Books (2023) A Timeless Selection

Time travel has continuously been used to develop central themes for books or devise a story's plot. Books that are themed on time travel will focus on depicting the results of the character's time-travelling into the past or the future.

The principle presumption of time travel stories frequently involves changing past occurrences intentionally or accidentally and how alterations to the past change the future or the present upon the traveler’s return. Best time travel romance books will focus on romance as the main theme.

What Are The Top Time Travel Romance Books?

Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander is a historical fiction book by Diana Gabaldon, first published in 1991.

The story begins in 1945, when Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is on a second honeymoon with her husband Frank in Scotland. While visiting a standing stone circle, Claire is suddenly transported back in time to 1743. She finds herself in the midst of dangerous political and social upheaval in Scotland, where she is considered an outlander and is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a young Scottish warrior, to protect her from being arrested as a spy.

As Claire navigates her new life in the 18th century, she struggles to reconcile her feelings for Jamie with her love for Frank. She also becomes deeply involved in the Jacobite risings, a series of political events in Scotland that sought to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne.

Throughout the series, Claire and Jamie's relationship evolves as they face many challenges and adventures together. They also have to deal with the fact that Claire is from the future and Jamie's time is not her time, and the fact that Jamie is wanted by the Redcoats. The story is set in Scotland, France and America and covers a period of 20 years.

The series is known for its rich historical research and its blending of genres, including romance, historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. The books have been adapted into a television series which has been highly successful.

Finding Lorena, by Michael Bartos

What would it be like to go back in time and live all over again, with what you learned and finding out what happened when you lived?

Connor Grace is hit by a car in Charleston and finds herself young again as a teenager in the late 80’s. In his young self, he finds the woman he is aware will become his lover and tries to correct his past wrongs. Miraculously, he is not the only one who has come back from 2018. He is also allowed to meet his mother, who died of cancer and his friend Oscar.

Connor was troubled by these deaths, and he is now allowed to keep away these premature deaths as he tries to understand the turbulent times he went through. What makes this time travel story unique is that Connor still has the memory of the life he had already lived. His knowledge appeals to other people, and his relationship with Lorena is honest and touching.

In this delightful read, time travel, charm, and a journey of self-discovery are unified into creating an adventurous, romantic story. Finding Lorena is an instant page-turner packed with twists. You will enjoy the characters used in developing impeccable storytelling.

Time Change, by Elyse Douglas

Time Change is the kind of book that will have you hooked right away. You will fall for the characters, and you will be compelled to follow them throughout the book in a quest to find out what happens to them in this captivating time travel romance story.

The year is 1948 when a celebrated actress, Rita Randal, comes across a strange man in her photographs. In 2019, Clint West, a writer, also comes across a strange woman in his photographs. The two occupy a beach house years apart, where they meet face to face in a very unusual moment.

Clint is trying to move on after his wife’s death, while Rita has left LA after a deadly confrontation. When they see each other in the photos, Rita is troubled, and Clint is bewildered. Clint delves into and finds out about time travel experiments performed in the 1940s. He meets with Oscar, who had previously been a time traveler and used time portals. Rita is wandering by the beach when a blue wave pivots and takes her to 2019(the future). She meets Clint, and their lives are incessantly changed.

Time After Time, by Lisa Grunwald

Who would not want to be transported to a different time when the world becomes too much? Even better, romantically. Time After Time is a magical romance story that will sweep any reader from the 1920s era into World War II and further. Influenced by Nora Lansing, a woman who vanishes from Grand Central Terminal, this one is a must-read.

Nora is a socialite and aspires to be an artist. When she meets with Joe, she appears to be out of place. He is captivated by her but is now hopeless when she disappears after trying to walk her home. His life and love’s focus now becomes finding her. Later, they form the “Terminal City”, where they create inexhaustible love and fully maximize the use of this space. When the construction of a different landmark impends their future, their love and freedom limits are tested.

Time After Time is an accurate illustration of historical fiction with a delightful twist. It is a blend of history, time travel, and a splendid romance not dependent on time.

Trapped in Time, by Denise Daye

What should a modern woman do the moment she finds herself trapped in the past without a prospective future? Find out from this tale of resilience, Trapped in Time .

Emma has sworn to never fall in love after she and her mother escape her brutal father. She has returned to school to further her studies in medicine, and she has better and bigger things to focus on. One day, heading home from a party and slightly drunk, a car’s shiny white light crashes towards her. She wakes up in 1881 Victorian London instead of a 21 st -century hospital and is now trapped in a time where anything she knew is thought of as witchcraft. It is a tough world for a woman who bears no status or riches. The bigger twist is that to survive, she must get married and marry well.

When the devised plan she had with her friend Lily does not go according to plan, she is caught up with John Evergreen and his family. She must marry the most powerful, feared and disgraceful England duke, William Blackwell. Being a modern woman, Emma comes up with tricks and uses her knowledge to remain ahead of society’s game. The twist is that what starts as a fight for her life may just become her opportunity to find true love.

This time travel romance book will keep your tension high from the developing twists. However, this is a story of the power of love and strength.

The Prophesy, by Kim Sakwa

If you love a time travel love story with staunch lovers and filled with hysterical humor, get yourself The Prophesy . The storyline employed will seamlessly carry you across centuries until fate unites the strong and likable characters. The creative plot connects Scotland’s 1500s with the 21 st century.

Gwendolyn Reynolds has a secure and stable career path being a well-established surgeon. She, however, feels very restless and is frequented by repetitive dreams. An inner urge leads her to leave her job and go on a soul-searching trip to Scotland’s coast. During a storm, she is forced off the road and violently enters the icy waters. When she resurfaces, she meets Greylen MacGreggor, a Scottish laird that she is destined to meet.

Greylen is waiting for an old prophecy in which he is to meet the woman he desires to come true. He could never have imagined or expected her to be from the 21 st century with an aggressive temper. The moment he touches Gwendolyn, he confirms that she is the one destined for him.

Sparks fly between them, and they find out that their fiery fate could be powerful and fatal. Is it possible for them to overcome time differences and find legitimate love?

When Lightning Strikes, by Kathryn Kaleigh

For lovers of historical time travel, this one is a must-read. When Lightning Strikes is an appealing time travel love story with a Cinderella twist. This book defies time and will alter your expectations as a reader regarding romance built upon time travel. The gripping and page-turning story will keep you yearning for more. It will make you believe that true love can conquer anything, even time.

When a modern girl goes back to her hometown, she is employed in a local historical house. The house has a lingering good-looking ghostly appearance haunted by a female ghost that the colonial man can only see.

The moment Hannah Sinclair is taken to her past, she finds out more details about her childhood other than the secrets. She realizes an overlooked time in a world with a homely sensation and a man who steals her heart with a kiss. What comes after? Find out in this intriguing story.

A Wagon Train Weekend, by Stephenia H. McGee

The characters in this time travel romance book are unintentionally sent on an adventure which will reveal their weaknesses and also assist them in growing their strengths. Collette Donaldson and Seth Stone had been in a relationship that was not working out well, and when they are transported back in time, they get to know each other and realize that they need God and one another.

Collette should never have introduced her boyfriend to her family nor taken him to her cousin’s wedding. After one terrible weekend, all Collette wants is to go home and work out her messed up relationship. They fight, have a flat tire, and are also inconvenienced by a storm, being forced to stay the night in a Victorian Bed and Breakfast inn. When Collette comes across her antique photo, the situation shifts from weird to unthinkable. Seth had been ready to propose, but now he is in great doubt.

They wake up in 1857 but are now stranded in a wagon train headed west on the Oregon Trail. Seth is hell-bent on getting home. However, they can only get out of their past by confronting the problems that are stealing and affecting their future. This is when they start getting to know each other better and rethinking their marriage plans.

Tangled in Time, by Barbara Longley

Regan MacCarthy inherited a gift from her Irish ancestors to see ghosts but wishes to give it back. As she attempts to return this power, she goes to Ireland to employ the ancient magic that pervades Newgrange, where a gorgeous warrior awaits her. He claims to be an old Celtic warrior and swears that he is not dead despite Regan believing he is a ghost.

Ahead of being cursed to a fae princess, Faelan was an elite Fionn MacCumhaill soldier. To free himself, he must fall deeply in love and sacrifice himself. The dilemma is, he is not recognized by many. Regan, however, is attracted to him and sees him, especially for his complexity. Faelan must work to persuade Regan to help him even as he falls for her. It is too late when he realizes that drawing her into the world endangers them both. This may lead to the destruction of his long-awaited happiness.

Time of the Rose, by Bonita Clifton

Madison Calloway’s life is filled with despair. She is downhearted following her divorce but has directed all her energy strength in her travel agency. She is from the 21 st century and is visiting Jackson Hole for business. Here, she meets a gunslinger at a shooting exhibition, and his skill captures her attention. He claims he is from 1878.

Colton Chase is pursuing his parents’ murderer. A mysterious flower takes him to more than a hundred years into the future. He is ready to explore his relationship with a good looking and feisty stranger.

They are drawn to each other, and Colton persuades Madison to spend a day with him. By accident, she returns to his time where he protects her, claiming to be his wife. Madison is reluctant about the whole situation, and Colton agrees to help her go back in her time, but he must first follow a lead for his revenge. As Madison tries to help him, she gets captured.

Will he be able to save her? and if so, can she choose to stay, or will she want to go back and leave him behind? Find out from Time of the Rose .

The Sunstone Brooch, by Katherine Lowry Logan

The Sunstone Brooch is an instalment of the incredible Celtic Brooches series. However, this one gets better and better. You will want to dive in as much as possible. The character development makes you feel like family with the adventure filled with much joy, love, and mystical mysteries. The dangerous adventure changes the characters’ lives risking the survival of the Celtic Brooches and the Clan.

Ensley Williams is getting ready for a dinner date with James Cullen Fraser and her cousin George Williams. As she goes through her jewelry box to choose a piece to add to her outfit, she picks a sunstone brooch that once belonged to her late mother.  Inside the brooch’s stone is an engraved inscription.

The moment she recites the words written in Celtic, she is taken into a scented fog and to the 1885 Dakota Badlands. There, she meets Teddy Roosevelt on his ranch. She is not in a hurry to return to the future as being on a ranch is her liking. James Cullen finds out that she has discovered and decides to keep his trip to find her from the family.

Ensley wants to go on a round-up while James visits the MacKlenna Farm to “borrow” gold. He ends up leaving Ensley with Roosevelt, and as she faces ranch struggles and challenges, he fights an evil force that throws him into a crucible that could bring the MacKlenna Clan down.

Falling through Time, by Nancy Scanlon

Since Fates determined that Reilly O’Malley would be the trainer and leader of a time-travelling clansmen group, he has been sure of everything. He has been to all physical and verbal battles, certain that he will emerge a victor. He lives up to all the titles given to him, confident that he will never die.

Since he met with Gwendolyn Allen many years ago, she has been in love with him. He is her best friend. However, her dreams are shattered when she accepts that Reilly may not reciprocate her love as he is focused on moving on, and somehow, he has.

Reilly is exhausted by living according to the Fates directives, and for weeks, he and Gwendolyn find themselves together. The Fates now choose to leave, and all that Reilly knows is strongly shaken. His other abilities begin to fall through time, and he may have to start trusting something else and not fate. Probably love.

Highlanders Captive, by Mariah Stone

This time travel romance book is for lovers of dauntless warriors, witty heroines, and appealing historical details. Amy MacDougall, a search and rescue officer from the future, has had several fears since her childhood and is lost in the past. She fears relationships, tiny and dark spaces.

When she is a chaperone for a school trip, she must face her fear of tiny spaces to save a student in a dungeon. A magical rock throws her in 1307 AD. There, she shockingly meets Craig Cambel, a powerful and attractive Scottish warrior. He declines to trust anybody; his sister having been kidnapped and abused by Amy’s clan. Cambel and his clan trusted Amy’s clan before. When he discovers her, he becomes established and locks her up to keep her away from warning his enemy. However, when Amy proves to be helpful to Craig and his people, his mistrust starts turning into desire.

Amy tries to find her way home, but her fear to commit is now vanishing, and she falls for Craig. Craig finds out about Amy, and his doubts are reignited.

Will, the disparity of centuries, break them apart, or will they concede to destiny and build themselves a happy future?

Final Thoughts on the best Time Travel Romances

Best time travel romance books are highly engaging and intriguing. Their explanations as time travels give an “imperative distancing effect “that metaphorically allows fiction to communicate present-day romances. This aspect and sometimes the paradoxes and opposite timeliness created are what makes these books enjoyable reads. Also if you are into historical fictions, check out our selection from 2020 and 2021 books.

My profession is online marketing and development (10+ years experience), check my latest mobile app called Upcoming or my Chrome extensions for ChatGPT. But my real passion is reading books both fiction and non-fiction. I have several favorite authors like James Redfield or Daniel Keyes . If I read a book I always want to find the best part of it, every book has its unique value.

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The 35 Best Books About Time Travel

Here's what to read after you finish Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Gabaldon first published Outlander —the book that would eventually inspire the television series starring Caitriona Balfe as Claire and Sam Heughan as Jamie —in 1991, and the ninth novel in the series, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone , came out in November 2021.

Ahead of the seventh season of Outlander , now's the perfect time (ha) to dive into time travel books. From time traveling romance to alternate realities to murder mysteries, there's something for everyone here.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Any list about time travel books must begin with The Time Traveler's Wife , right? This bestselling novel tells the love story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who inadvertently travels through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Plot sound familiar? The book was adapted into a 2009 film starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, and a 2022 TV show starring Theo James and Rose Leslie .

Read more: 20 of the best Time Travel Films Ever Made

A Murder in Time

Kendra Donovan is a rising star at the FBI, until one disastrous raid when half her team is murdered and a mole in the FBI is uncovered. After she recovers from her wounds, she's determined to find the man responsible for the death of her team—yet upon her arrival in England, she stumbles back in time to 1815. Mistaken for a lady's maid, Kendra is forced to quickly adapt to the period as she figures out how to get back to her own timeline. There are five books in the Kendra Donovan series , so if you love a time travel mystery, don't miss these.

Author Octavia Butler is a queen of science fiction, and Kindred is her bestselling novel about time travel. In it, she tells the story of Dana, a Black woman, who is celebrating her 26th birthday in 1976. Abruptly, she's transported back to Maryland, circa 1815, where she's on a plantation and has to save Rufus, the white son of the plantation owner. It's not just a time travel book, but one that expertly weaves in narratives of enslaved people and explores the Antebellum South.

Faye, Faraway

Diana Gabaldon herself called Faye, Faraway "a lovely, deeply moving story of loss and love and memory made real , " so you know it's going to be good. The plot focuses on Faye, a mother of two, who lost her own mother, Jeanie, when she was just 8 years old. When Faye suddenly finds herself transported back in time, she befriends her mother—but doesn't let on who she really is. Eventually, she has to choose between her past and her future.

The Eyre Affair

In this version of Great Britain circa 1985, time travel is routine. Our protagonist is Thursday Next, a literary detective, who is placed on a case when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel.

Bonus: The Eyre Affair is the first in a seven book series following Thursday.

The River of No Return: A Novel

Lord Nicholas Davenant is about to die in the Napoleonic Wars in 1812, and wakes up 200 years later. But he longs to return back in time to his love, Julia. When he arrives in modern society, a mysterious organization called the Guild tells him "there is no return," until one day, they summon him to London and he learns it's possible to travel back through time. A spy thriller that's also historical romance that's also time travel... Say less.

One Last Stop

Casey McQuiston's second novel ( following Red, White, and Royal blue, which is going to be a major motion picture this summer ) is a queer time-loop romance set on the Q train in New York City, and it's riveting. August is 23, working at a 24-hour diner, and meets a gorgeous, charming girl on the train: Jane. But she can't seem to meet up with her off the Q train—until they figure out Jane is stuck in time from the 1970s. How did she travel through time? Can August get Jane unstuck? Will they live happily ever after!? The questions abound.

What the Wind Knows

Anne Gallagher grew up hearing her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. When she returns to the country to spread his ashes, she is transported back in time to 1921—and is drawn into the struggle for Irish independence. There, she meets Dr. Thomas Smith, and must decide whether or not she should return to her own timeline or stay in the past. As one reviewer wrote on Amazon, What the Wind Knows is a "spectacular time travel journey filled with love and loss."

The Midnight Library: A Novel

Imagine a library with an infinite number of books—each containing an alternate reality about your life. That's the plot of The Midnight Library , where our protagonist Nora Seed enters different versions of her life. She undoes old breakups, follows her dream of becoming a glaciologist, and so much more—but what happens to her original life?

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.: A Novel

In this novel from Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland, magic existed—until 1851. A secret government organization, the Department of Diachronic Operations (or D.O.D.O. for short), is dedicated to bringing magic back, and its members will travel through time to change history to do so. As Kirkus Reviews wrote , the novel "blend[s] time travel with Bourne-worthy skulduggery." It's a delight for any fans of science fiction, with a slow burn romance between military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons and linguist Melisande Stokes.

This Is How You Lose the Time War

Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, this epistolary romantic novel tells the story of two time-traveling rivals who fall in love. Agents Red and Blue travel back and forth throughout time, trying to alter universes on behalf of their warring empires—and start to leave each other messages. The messages begin taunting but soon turn flirtatious—and when Red's commander discovers her affection for Blue, they soon embark down a timeline they can't change.

The House on the Strand

Set at an ancient Cornish house called Kilmarth, where Daphne du Maurier lived from 1967, The House on the Strand story follows Dick Young, who has been offered use of Kilmarth by an old college friend, Magnus Lane. Magnus, a biophysicist, is developing a drug that enables people to travel back to the 14th century, and Dick reluctantly agrees to be a test subject. The catch: If you touch anyone, you're transported back to the present. As the story goes on, Dick's visits back to the 1300s become more frequent, and his life back in the modern world becomes unstable.

The Kingdoms

It’s 1898 and there’s a man named Joe, who lives in London, which is, in this alternate historical, a part of the French Empire as in this version of the past, Britain lost the Napoleonic Wars. Joe has gotten off a train from Scotland and cannot remember anything about who he is or where he’s from. He soon returns to his work, and after a few years, he is sent to repair a lighthouse in Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides. Joe then finds himself a century earlier, on a British boat with a mysterious captain, fighting the French and hoping for a future that is different than the one he came from. If you're into time travel and queer romance and alternate history, this is for you.

The Future of Another Timeline

In 1992, 17-year-old Beth agrees to help hide the dead body of her friend's abusive boyfriend. The murder sets Beth and her friends on "a path of escalating violence and vengeance" to protect other young women. In 2022, Tess decides to use time travel to fight for change around key moments in history. When Tess believes she's found a way to make an edit to history that actually sticks, she encounters a group of time travelers bent on stopping her at any cost. Tess and Beth's lives intertwine, and war breaks out across the timeline.

Shadow of Night

The sequel to A Discovery of Witches , the plot of Shadow of Night picks up right where the story left off: With Matthew, a vampire, and Diana, a witch, traveling back in time to Elizabethan London to search for an enchanted manuscript. You really need to read the first book before reading Shadow of Night , but the series by Deborah Harkness is a swoony magical romance.

And: It's now a TV show! ( Season one is streaming on Amazon Prime Video .)

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

In The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, the same day happens again and again. Each day, Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered at 11:00 p.m at Blackheath. And each day, our protagonist Aiden Bishop wakes up in the body of a different witness—and tries to solve her murder. He only has eight days, and it's a race against time to solve Evelyn's murder and to escape the time loop.

Recursion: A Novel

In 2018 New York City, detective Barry Sutton fails to talk Ann out of jumping off a building. But before Ann falls to her death, she tells him she is suffering from False Memory Syndrome—a new neurological disease where people are afflicted with memories of lives they never lived. The dissonance between their present and these memories drives them to death. This is best read unspoiled, but it's undoubtedly a time travel story you haven't read before.

On the eve of her wedding day, Shay Garrett looks into her grandmother's antique mirror and faints. When she wakes up, she's in the same house—but in the body of her grandmother, Brandy, as a young woman in 1900. And Brandy awakens in Shay's body in the present day in 1978. It's like Freaky Friday , but with time travel to the Victorian era.

Here and Now and Then

Kin Stewart is a time traveler from 2142, stuck in 1990s suburban San Francisco. A rescue team arrives to bring Kin back to his timeline—but 18 years too late. Does Kin stay with his "new" family, and the life he's built for himself in San Francisco, or does he return to his original timeline? He's stuck between two families—and ultimately, this is a time travel tale about fatherhood.

A Knight in Shining Armor

Originally published in 1989, this romance novel features a present-day heroine and a knight from the 16th century who fall in love. Per the book's description: "Abandoned by a cruel fate, lovely Dougless Montgomery lies weeping upon a cold tombstone in an English church. Suddenly, the most extraordinary man appears. It is Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck…and according to his tombstone he died in 1564. Drawn to his side by a bond so sudden and compelling it overshadows reason, Dougless knows that Nicholas is nothing less than a miracle: a man who does not seek to change her, who finds her perfect, fascinating, just as she is. What Dougless never imagined was how strong the chains are that tie them to the past…or the grand adventure that lay before them."

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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40 Best Time Travel Books To Read Right Now (2024)

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Travel back in time with the best time travel books, including engrossing thrillers, romance, contemporary lit, and mind-bending sci-fi.

Table of Contents

Best Time Travel Books

Books about time travel promise to not only transport you across time periods and space – Doctor Who-style – but also tesser you into new dimensions and around the world. Most readers already know about classics like The Time Traveler’s Wife , A Christmas Carol , and The Time Machine .

For romance time travel, grab In A Holidaze or One Last Stop . For contemporary and new time travel books, Haig’s The Midnight Library and Serle’s In Five Years captivated our hearts and minds.

Recursion re-kindled our love for science fiction, and Ruby Red transported us to 18th-century London. Books like Displacement promise intuitive and raw commentary about generational trauma and racism in graphic novel form.

Below, find the best time travel novels across genres for adults and teens, including history, romance, classics, sci-fi, YA, and thrilling fiction. Get ready to travel in the blink of an eye, and be sure to let us know your favorites in the comments. Let’s get started!

Contemporary & Literary Fiction

If you enjoy contemporary and literary fiction filled with strong main characters, these are some of the best books in the time travel genre. Uncover new releases as well as books on the bestseller lists. Of course, we’ll share a few lesser-known gems too.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Would your life change if you had one seemingly real dream or premonition? What if some key facts were missing but you had no idea? Can we change the future?

One of the best books about time travel and friendship, don’t skip In Five Years . In fact, we read this New York City-based novel in half a day. Have the tissue box ready.

Dannie nails an important job interview and is hoping to get engaged. Of course, this is all a part of her perfect 5-year plan. Dannie has arranged every minute of her life ever since her brother died in a drunk driving accident.

On the night of Dannie’s “scheduled” engagement, she falls asleep only to have a vision of herself 5 years into the future in the arms of another man. Did she just time travel or could this be a dream? When Dannie arrives back in 2020, her life goes back to normal. …That is until she meets the man from her dream.

We were expecting In Five Years to be a time travel romance story; however, this is a different type of love and one of the best books about strong friendships .

Read In Five Years : Amazon | Goodreads

Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Translated by Geoffrey Trousselot | We just love Japanese literature . One of the most debated time travel books among our readers – you’ll either love it or hate it – Before the coffee gets cold takes place at a cafe in Tokyo, Japan.

Along with coffee, this 140-year-old, back-alley cafe lets visitors travel back in time. Four visitors at the cafe are hoping to time travel to see someone for the last (or first) time. The way each patron views the cafe says a lot about them. The details and repetition are everything.

True to the title, visits may only last as long as it takes for the coffee to grow cold. If they don’t finish their coffee in time, there are ghostly consequences.

Before the coffee gets cold asks, who would you want to see one last time, and what issues you would confront?

Along with the many rules of time travel, these visitors are warned that the present will not change. Would you still travel back knowing this? Can something, anything, still change – even within you?

The story has a drop of humor with a beautiful message. We shed a tear or two. Discover even more terrific and thought-provoking Japanese fantasy novels here .

Read Before the coffee gets cold : Amazon | Goodreads

If you are looking for the most inspiring take on time travel in books, Haig’s The Midnight Library is it. This is one of those profound stories that make you think more deeply . TWs for pet death (early on) and suicide ideation.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Imagine if you could see your other possible lives and fix your regrets. Would that path be better? Would these changes make you happier?

Set in Bedford, England, and at a library , Nora answers these questions as she intentionally overdoses on pills. Caught in the Midnight Library – a purgatory of sorts – Nora explores books filled with the ways her life could have turned out. She tries on these alternative lives, pursuing different dreams, marrying different people, and realizing that some parts of her root life were not as they seemed on the surface.

Find hope and simplicity in one of the most authentic and heaviest time travel novels on this list. Haig addresses mental health through a new lens that is both beautiful and moving.

With a team full of avid readers and librarians, discover our top selections featuring more books about books .

Read The Midnight Library : Amazon | Goodreads

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

Some of the best time travel books are those with alternate realities, including The Two Lives of Lydia Bird . There are content warnings for prescription pill addiction and more.

Set in England, Lydia and Freddie are planning their marriage when the unthinkable happens. Freddie dies in a car accident on the way to Lydia’s birthday dinner. In a matter of seconds, Lydia’s world falls apart. She isn’t sure how she will survive. When Lydia starts taking magical pink sleeping pills, she enters an alternate universe where Freddie is alive and well.

Caught between her dream world and real life, Lydia must decide if she will give in to her addiction – living in a temporary fantasy world – or give it up completely.

While the repetitive and predictable plot drags a bit – slightly hurting the pacing – the overall story shows emotional growth and the nature of healing after loss. And, as Lydia soon learns via her dreams, no love is perfect. Maybe her future was destined to be different anyway, which is reminiscent of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library .

Read The Two Lives of Lydia Bird Jose Silver : Amazon | Goodreads

The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North

If you are looking for more suspenseful books about time travel and like Groundhog Day , check out The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. However, this is not just one day on repeat; instead, this is a lifetime.

Harry August is repeatedly reborn into the same life, retaining his memories each time. No matter what Harry does or says, when he lands on his deathbed, he always returns back to his childhood, again and again. On the verge of his eleventh death, though, a girl changes the course of his life. He must use his accumulated wisdom to prevent catastrophe.

Read The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August : Amazon | Goodreads

An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim

When it comes to time travel books, An Ocean of Minutes is one of the most original takes about time travel’s effects on alternate history.

Polly and Frank are deeply in love in 1981 when a pandemic devastates the planet. By the end of 1981, time travel (invented in this alternate reality in 1993) has been made available.

Because of this invention, individuals can sign on to work for the TimeRaiser corporation in order to escape or save their loved ones in the present. Due to a flaw in the technology, though, they can only transport people for 12 years. This prevents them from stopping the pandemic by just 6 months.

When Frank gets ill, Polly signs up, both agreeing they will meet back up in 1993. Now alone in the future, Polly has to learn to navigate a world she has less than zero preparation for. In this world, she is a time refugee, bonded to TimeRaiser without a physical cent to her name.

Lim uses the time travel mechanic to cleverly explore the subject of immigration, forcing the reader to follow Polly blindly into a world they should know, but don’t. This is what makes An Ocean of Minutes one of the most unique time travel novels on this reading list.

Read An Ocean of Minutes : Amazon | Goodreads

Time Travel In Science Fiction

For fantasy and sci-fi lovers, take a quantum leap into fictional worlds, quantum physics, possible futures, black holes, and endless possibilities. See if you can tell the difference between the real world and new dimensions.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Recursion is one of our all-time favorite time travel books to gift to dads who love sci-fi. Can you tell what we gave our dad for Christmas one year?

In Recursion, no one actually physically time travels – well, sort of. Instead, memories become the time-traveling reality.

Detective Barry Sutton is investigating False Memory Syndrome. Neuroscientist Helena Smith might have the answers he needs. The disease drives people crazy – and to their deaths – by causing them to remember entire lives that aren’t theirs. Or are they!?

All goes to heck when the government gets its hands on this mind-blowing technology. Can Barry and Helena stop this endless loop?

Recursion is also a (2019) Goodreads Best Book for Science Fiction.

Read Recursion : Amazon | Goodreads

This Is How You Lose The War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar 

A Goodreads runner-up for one of the best science fiction novels (of 2019) – and one of the shortest time travel novels on this list – This Is How You Lose The Time War follows two warring time-traveling agents falling in love through a letter exchange.

Red and Blue have nothing in common except that they travel across time and space and are alone. Their growing and forbidden love is punishable by death and their agencies might be onto them.

In a somewhat beautiful yet bizarre story, we watch as Red and Blue slowly fall for each other and confess their love. They engage in playful banter and nicknames. Every shade of red and blue reminds them of each other.

The first half of the novel is a bit abstract. You might wonder what the heck you’ve gotten yourself into. However, once you get your feet planted firmly on the ground of the plot, the story picks up and starts making more sense.

We can’t promise you’ll love or even understand This Is How You Lose The Time War – we aren’t sure we do. However, this is truly one of the most unique sci-fi and LGBTQ+ time travel romance books on this reading list – written by two authors. Also, maybe crack out the dictionary…

Explore even more of the best LGBTQ+ fantasy books to read next.

Read This Is How You Lose The War : Amazon | Goodreads

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

A debut novel, All Our Wrong Todays is both a humorous and entertaining time travel book that speaks to how we become who we are.

In 2016, technology perfected the world for Tom Barren. However, we all know that perfection doesn’t equate to happiness. Barren has lost his girlfriend, and he just happens to own a time machine… Now, Barren has to decide if he wants to keep his new, manipulated future or if he just wants to go back home to his depressing but normal life.

Read All Our Wrong Todays : Amazon | Goodreads

Here And Now And Then by Mike Chen

Imagine getting trapped in time and starting over. That’s exactly what happens to IT worker, Kin Stewart, in one of the bestselling science fiction time travel books, Here And Now And Then .

Stewart has two lives since he is a displaced time-traveling agent stuck in San Francisco in the 1990s. He has a family that knows nothing about his past; or, should we say future. When a rescue team arrives to take him back, Stewart has to decide what he is willing to risk for his new family.

Here And Now And Then is a time travel book filled with emotional depth surrounding themes of bonds, identity, and sacrifice. Find even more books set in San Francisco, California (and more!).

Read Here And Now And Then : Amazon | Goodreads

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is one of the most unusual books about time travel out there.

Our protagonist Charles Yu lives in a world where time travel exists and is readily available to the average person. And yes, he is named after the author, and yes, it is as meta as it sounds; and yes, this is just the beginning of this speculative fiction time travel book.

Charles Yu’s day job is spent repairing time machines for Time Warner Time. But in his free time, he tries to help the people who use time travel to do so safely and to counsel them if things have gone wrong.

It’s no surprise that Charles’ entire life revolves around time travel since his father invented the technology many years ago. And then he disappeared. In fact, Charles is also trying to find out just what happened to his dad, and where – or when – he’s gone.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe won’t be for everyone, but it’s one of the best time travel books if you want delightfully meta, fantastically non-linear, and very very weird.

Read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe : Amazon | Goodreads

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

For beautiful, lyrical time travel novels about found family and love, The Vanished Birds is a must-read.

Nia Imani exists outside of time and space. She travels in and out of the world through a pocket of time with her space crew. They emerge to trade or sell goods every eight months. But eight months for them is 15 years for everyone else.

She has lived this way for hundreds of years. Though she has her crew, and there are people she shares connections with sporadically throughout their lives, she is lonely. And although she barely ages, she watches friends and lovers grow old and die.

One such person is Kaeda, who meets Nia for the first time when he is 7. The next time he sees her, he has aged 15 years, while she is only months older. She continues to come every 15 years of his life, always looking the same.

Then one day a mysterious, mute boy falls from the sky into Nia’s life. His name is Ahro, and there’s something extra special about him. Something that could revolutionize space travel forever. And now there might be people after Ahro who won’t love him the way Nia does.

If you love a character-driven book with exquisite prose – and a few time warps – this is one of the best time travel books for you.

Read The Vanished Birds : Amazon | Goodreads

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Night Watch is one of the most fun and thrilling books about time travel. It’s also a bit ridiculous and very very British.

Why can’t policing just be simple? All Sam Vimes wanted to do was capture and arrest a dangerous murderer. But thanks to those damned wizards and their experiments, he and the killer have both been accidentally thrown back in time thirty years.

And to top it off, the man who would have become a mentor to young Sam Vimes in the past has been killed in the process! How’s Vimes going to get this all sorted out?

The City Watch he’s spent years improving is just a bunch of semi-competent volunteers at this point. He’s got no money, no clothes, and no friends. But at least he’s making enemies fast. Can he catch the killer, stop history from not repeating itself, and get home to his family? Oh, and the city’s about to dissolve into civil war. Typical.

Night Watch is perfect if you prefer your time travel books to be fantasy-based.

P.S. There may be mild spoilers for previous books in the Discworld series, but this can be read as a standalone. And if you only ever read one Discworld novel, this is one of the best there is – and so far the only one of the Discworld books with time travel!

Read Night Watch : Amazon | Goodreads

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

The Future of Another Timeline is one of the few time travel books to explore history through a feminist lens.

In 1992, Beth – a high school senior – and her friends Heather, Lizzy, and Soojin attend a riot grrl concert with Heather’s boyfriend Scott. But afterward, one of Scott’s not-so-funny sexist jokes gets out of hand and Lizzy accidentally kills him. Now they’re on the run, and the bodies just keep piling up.

Meanwhile, in 2022, Tess is part of a group of women and non-binary people working together to change history. They have the use of five time devices which only allow them to travel backward and back to the present day – but never forwards.

Beth and Tess come from two wildly different times (1992, and 2022, respectively). But, while Beth is busy making history, Tess is quite literally trying to change it. However, both of them want the same thing: a better world. When their worlds collide, will they be able to save each other – and the world?

The Future of Another Timeline is a time travel fiction celebration of feminism and queerness with lots of sci-fi and punk rock thrown in. This is one of the best time travel novels for those who enjoy stellar women making history .

Read The Future of Another Timeline : Amazon | Goodreads

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

The Kingdoms is wildly imaginative and sure to enchant fans of time travel books, alternative history stories, and tales about parallel universes.

In 1898 Joe Tournier steps off a train and suddenly can’t remember anything that comes before that moment. The world he now finds himself in is as foreign to him as it is to us: an alternate history/reality where the UK lost the Battle of Trafalgar and is now a French colony.

In this world, the British are kept as slaves. Napoleon is a popular name for pets, and tartan is outlawed. Since Joe arrives on a train from Glasgow speaking English and wearing tartan, there is some speculation he might be from The Saints, a terrorist group based in Edinburgh fighting for freedom.

But all Joe remembers is the fading image of a woman and the name Madeline. Although he is identified by his owner and brought “home,” Joe is determined to find this Madeline. And his resolve is only strengthened when he receives a postcard signed ‘– M’ and dated 90 years in the past.

Discover even more books about Scottish culture, history, and everyday life.

Read The Kingdoms : Amazon | Goodreads

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

The Light Brigade is one of the best time travel stories for anyone who loves character-driven tales or books about war and conflict.

As war wages on Mars, the military has devised the perfect soldier to fight on the frontlines: being made of light. The Light Brigade, as they’re called back home, is made up of soldiers who have undergone a procedure that breaks them down into atoms capable of traveling at the speed of light. They are the perfect soldiers, but broken people.

The book follows one such soldier, Dietz, an eager new recruit who is experiencing battle out of sync with everyone else. Because of this, she – and we – see a different reality of the war than the one presented by the Corporate Corps. As Dietz becomes more and more unstuck in time, she becomes more and more unsure of her own sanity and the role she is playing in this war.

Read The Light Brigade : Amazon | Goodreads

The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way

You Look Like Death Volume 1 | Now a popular (and excellent) Netflix TV show, The Umbrella Academy is one of the best time travel books of all time.

One day, forty-seven children are suddenly and inexplicably born to women who were not previously pregnant. Eccentric millionaire Reginald Hargreeves goes around the world buying as many of the surviving children as he possibly can. He is able to get seven.

These children, it turns out, all have superpowers (except, it seems, for the unremarkable Number Seven aka Vanya). They become the crime-fighting group: The Umbrella Academy.

Fast forward several years, and Number Five, whose special power is that he can travel in time a few seconds or minutes per go, has mysteriously appeared after Hargreeves dies. And now he brings warning of an apocalypse – one which he insists none of his siblings will survive.

The Umbrella Academy series currently has three volumes, all packed with tales of time travel, parallel worlds, family drama, and lots of epic battles. We’ve absolutely loved this time travel book series so far; we can’t wait to see what Gerard Way does with future installments.

Discover even more great books with music, musicians, and bands.

Read The Umbrella Academy : Amazon | Goodreads

Historical Fiction

Travel back in time to witness wars and history. See what happens if you try to rewrite the future. Many of these historical fiction books with time travel promise to teach you more.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

We have a plethora of Agatha Christie fans amongst our Uncorked Readers , and Turton’s The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle is inspired by Christie.

Similar to Levithan’s Every Day , each day, Aiden wakes up in a different body from the guests of the Blackheath Manor. Trapped in a time loop, Aiden must solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder to escape. In the process, he navigates the tangled web of secrets, lies, and interconnected lives of the guests. Can he identify the killer and break the cycle?

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is an award-winning historical thriller and one of the best time travel novels if you enjoy Downton Abbey and Groundhog’s Day . Discover even more great books set at hotels, mansions, and more.

Read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle : Amazon | Goodreads

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Travel back in time to Scotland in one of the most well-known time travel book series (and now TV series) of all time. Outlander is a part of pop culture. A New York Times bestseller and one of the top 10 most loved books according to The Great America Read, get ready to enter Scotland in 1743.

Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, walks through an ancient circle of stones and is transported into a world of love, death, and war. This is a place of political intrigue, clan conflicts, and romantic entanglements. Claire must navigate the unfamiliar landscape while grappling with her feelings for the dashing Jamie Fraser.

Encounter even more cult-classic books from the ’90s like A Game Of Thrones , which is perfect for fantasy map lovers .

Read Outlander : Amazon | Goodreads

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

Written by bestselling author, Stephen King, 11/22/63 is one of the best award-winning time travel books for historical fiction lovers. Set in 1963 when President Kennedy is shot, 11/22/63 begs the question: what if you could go back in time and change history?

Enter Jake Epping in Lisbon Falls, Maine.  Epping asks his students to write about a time that altered the course of their lives. Inspired by one of those haunting essays, Epping enlists to prevent Kennedy’s assassination.  How is this time travel possible? With the discovery of a time portal in a local diner’s storeroom…

11/22/63 is one of the most thrilling and realistic books about time travel, according to both critics and readers.

Read 11/22/63 : Amazon | Goodreads

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

If you are looking for historical fiction novels about time travel that address slavery and racism, be sure to check out Butler’s Kindred. This is also one of the best books published in the 1970s .

One minute Dana is celebrating her birthday in modern-day California. The next, she finds herself in the Antebellum South on a Pre-Civil War Maryland plantation. Dana is expected to save the plantation owner’s son from drowning. Each time Dana finds herself back in this time period as well as the slave quarters, her stays grow longer and longer as well as more dangerous.

Examine the haunting legacy and trauma of slavery across time. For younger readers, there is also a graphic novel adaptation . Discover more books that will transport you to the South .

Read Kindred : Amazon | Goodreads

What The Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

A bestseller and Goodreads top choice book, if you devour historical Irish fiction, What The Wind Knows will transport you to Ireland in the 1920s.

Anne Gallagher heads to Ireland to spread her grandfather’s ashes. Devastated, her grief pulls her into another time. Ireland is on the verge of entering a war, and Anne embraces a case of mistaken identity. She finds herself pulled into Ireland’s fight for Independence at the risk of losing her future life. She also falls for another main character and doctor, Thomas Smith.

What The Wind Knows is one of the best time travel novels that both romance and fantasy readers can appreciate. Witness connections that transcend time.

Read What The Wind Knows : Amazon | Goodreads

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Known for being one of the best time travel books for thriller lovers, The Shining Girls also has the reputation as the spookiest novel on this reading list.

Kirby Mazrachi is the last shining girl – a girl with a future and so much potential. Harper Curtis is a murderer from the past meant to kill Mazrachi. However, Kirby is not about to easily go out without a fight, leading her on one violent quantum leap through multiple decades.

As Kirby races against time to track down a serial killer and unravel the mysteries of the House, encounter themes of resilience, fate, and the shining spirit that can transcend even the darkest forces.

Read The Shining Girls : Amazon | Goodreads

Time Travel Romance Books

We love a good time-travel romance novel, but we also understand how hard it can be to hold onto love when time is so unstable. From queer love stories set on trains to holiday celebrations, fall in love across time with these books.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

From bestselling author, Casey McQuiston of Red, White, & Royal Blue – one of our favorite LGBTQ+ books for new adults – don’t miss the most-talked-about book (from 2021), One Last Stop.

Twenty-three-year-old August is quite the cynic and living in New York City. Up until now, August has jumped schools and towns as often as you change a pair of socks. August has also never been in a serious relationship and wants to find “her person.” August’s life suddenly changes, though, when she meets a beautiful and mysterious woman on the train.

Jane looks a little…out of date… and for good reason; she’s from the 1970s and trapped in the train’s energy. August wants nothing more than to help Jane leave the train, but does that mean leaving her too?

A feel-good, older coming-of-age story, laugh out loud and be utterly dazzled as you follow love across time and space. You’ll cozy (and drink) up in the parties and community surrounding August. One Last Stop is one of the all-time best LGBTQ+ time travel books – and perfect if you enjoy books that take place on trains .

Read One Last Stop : Amazon | Goodreads

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is one the top time travel romance novels – and not just because the story features a librarian . We are so biased.

Henry and Clare have loved each other pretty much forever. Unfortunately, Henry has Chrono-Displacement Disorder, sporadically misplacing him in time. Of course, this time-traveling dilemma makes Clare’s and Henry’s marriage and future together pretty darn interesting.

Grab some Kleenex as they attempt to live normal lives and survive impending devastation. The Time Traveler’s Wife has also been made into a romantic movie classic . Watch even more fantasy movies with romance .

Read The Time Traveler’s Wife : Amazon | Goodreads

In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren

If you are looking for a sweet and sexy holiday rom-com set in Utah, grab In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren.

Mae leaves her family and friend’s Christmas vacation home after drunkenly making out with an old childhood friend. Blame the spiked eggnog. Unfortunately, Mae’s secretly in love with her best friend’s brother, Andrew. On the ride to the airport, Mae wishes for happiness just as a truck hits her parent’s car. 

Mae lands in a time-travel loop where her dreams start coming true.  Is it too good to last?   What happens when she isn’t happy once again? Is she trapped?

For holiday books about time travel, this one is sure to put you in the Christmas spirit if you enjoy movies like Holidates  or  Groundhog’s Day . It’s light with a happy ending – typical of this author duo. We also recommend In A Holidaze if you are looking for Christmas family gathering books – a big request we see here at TUL.

P.S. Did you know that Christina Lauren is a pen name for a writing duo, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings? Christina Lauren also wrote The Unhoneymooners , which was also hilariously enjoyable and set on an island .

Read In A Holidaze : Amazon | Goodreads

A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

For cozy time travel romance books and a feminist tale set abroad, try A Knight In Shining Armor .

Dougless Montgomery is weeping on top of a tombstone when Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, appears. Although this armor-clad hunk allegedly died in 1564, he stands before her about to embark on a journey to clear his name. Convicted of treason, Montgomery vows to help her soon-to-be lover find his accuser and set the record straight.

Read A Knight In Shining Armor : Amazon | Goodreads

The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz

Set in South Carolina, if you love lighthouses and beach vibes, you’ll find something enjoyable in the time travel romance, The Night Mark .

After Faye’s husband dies, she cannot move on and recover. Accepting a photographer job in SC, Faye becomes obsessed with the local lighthouse’s myth, The Lady of the Light.

Back in 1921, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter mysteriously drowned. Faye is drawn into a love story that isn’t hers and becomes entangled in a passionate and forbidden love affair.

Read The Night Mark : Amazon | Goodreads

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Anyone who likes their time travel books to have a magical love story should pick up The Seven Year Slip for their next read. It’s one of our favorite magical realism novels .

When Clementine’s aunt dies, she inherits her fancy New York apartment on the Upper East Side. Although Clementine would really rather have her aunt back and can’t imagine living in her home, she eventually forces herself to move in and inhabit her aunt’s space.

And not long after, she wakes up to discover a strange man in her living room… except it’s not her living room, it’s her aunt’s… from seven years ago. Clementine’s aunt always said her apartment held a touch of magic; sometimes it created time slips that brought two people together when they were at a crossroads.

But what happens when you start to fall for someone stuck seven years in the past? Clementine knows there’s no future together, but she also can’t let go of this link to her aunt.

Like her previous speculative fiction romance, The Dead Romantics , Ashely Poston’s unique time travel tale is full of heartache and grief. However, it will also make you swoon. Basically, this one is a must if you are a fan of time travel romance books.

Read The Seven Year Slip : Amazon | Goodreads

Classic Books

No time travel reading list would be complete without the classics. Below, uncover just a few great time travel novels that started it all.

The End of Eternity by Issac Asimov

The End of Eternity is said to be one of Asimov’s science fiction masterpieces. This is also one of the most spellbinding books about time travel – although some criticize the story for its loopholes.

Harlan is a member of the elite future known as an Eternal. He lives and works in Eternity, which like any good time travel novel, is located separately from time and space.

Harlan makes small changes in the timeline in order to better history. Of course, altering the course of the world is dangerous and comes with repercussions, especially when Harlan falls in love.

Read The End of Eternity : Amazon | Goodreads

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

It goes without saying that Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is one of the most famous and best time travel books for classic lovers – and a literary canon-worthy Christmas novel.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy, lonely, and cruel man who truly has no Christmas spirit. Haunted by the ghosts of the past, present, and future, Scrooge must find the ultimate redemption before it’s too late. Does he have a heart?

Find even more classic and contemporary ghost books , including a few unique takes on ghosts.

Read A Christmas Carol : Amazon | Goodreads

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five is a somewhat bizarre time travel book about finding meaning in our sometimes fractured and broken lives. It’s also one of the most popular books published in the ’60s .

Similar to The Time Traveler’s Wife, Billy Pilgrim is “unstuck” in time in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Drafted into World War II, Pilgrim serves as a Chaplain’s assistant until he is captured by the Germans. He survives the bombing at Dresden and ultimately becomes a married optometrist. Things get a little wild…

Suffering from PTSD, Billy claims that he is kidnapped by aliens in a different dimension. Like most time travel novels, the story is out of order and Billy travels to different parts of his life.

Aliens come in all shapes and sizes; have more alien encounters with this reading list .

Read Slaughterhouse-Five : Amazon | Goodreads

A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

First published in 1889, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is one of the most popular classic and satirical time travel novels that’s set close to our childhood home. Having grown up in CT close to the old Colt factory, this story makes us smile.

Hank Morgan supervises the gun factory and is knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he finds himself in Britain about to be executed by the Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table in Camelot.

Morgan uses his future knowledge to his advantage, making him a powerful and revered wizard, which unfortunately doesn’t quite save him as he hopes. Not to mention that Morgan tries to introduce modern-day conveniences and luxuries to a time period that isn’t quite ready for them.

Read A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court : Amazon | Goodreads

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

The Time Machine is one of the best frontrunner time travel books of all time. Published in 1895, the Time Traveler recalls his exhausting time travel adventures to incredulous believers. He even disappears in front of them.

Blended with fantasy and science fiction over the course of 800,000 years, the Time Traveler battles “bad guys.” He also loses his time machine, debatably falls in love, and meets the underground dwelling Morlocks.

Read The Time Machine : Amazon | Goodreads

Young Adults Books

For young adults and teens – plus adults who appreciate YA – read the best middle-grade and high school time travel books. We’ve included more time travel graphic novels and manga here too.

Displacement by Kiku Hughes

For historical YA graphic novels , Displacement is one of the must-read books about time travel that will teach young readers about generational trauma, racism, politics, and war.

Follow Kiku, who is displaced in time, back to the period of U.S. Japanese incarceration [internment] camps – essentially glorified prisons – during WW2. Kiku begins learning more about her deceased grandmother’s history, which mirrors the horrid actions under former President Donald Trump. How can Kiku help stop the past from repeating itself, and more so, how can we?

In a simplistic but powerful style of storytelling, Hughes’s emotional YA WW2 book is accessible to young readers. Displacement is also one of the shorter and quicker books with time travel on this list. Find even more LGBT+ graphic novels to read – one of our favorite genres.

Read Displacement : Amazon | Goodreads

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Changing the past can be pretty tempting. We’ve even seen that The Flash cannot resist. However, altering the course of history can be dangerous…

The first of two YA time travel books, Nix is the daughter of a time traveler. Her dad can sail anywhere on his ship, The Temptation. Her dad has his own temptation, though: to travel back to Honolulu in 1868, the year before her mom dies in childbirth. Nix’s father threatens to possibly erase her life and destroy a relationship with her only friend.

Discover even more great books about maps. Or, travel via armchair with these ship books.

Read The Girl From Everywhere : Amazon | Goodreads

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Translated by Anthea Bell | If you are looking for time travel in books and enjoy YA historical fiction, try Ruby Red , which is the first in the Ruby Red Trilogy.

Gwyneth Shepherd quickly learns that she can easily time travel, unlike her cousin who has been preparing her entire life for the feat. Gwyneth wants to know why such a secret was kept from her. There are so many lies. Gwyneth time travels with the handsome Gideon back and forth between modern-day and 18th-century London to uncover secrets from the past.

Back in our MLIS and library days, Ruby Red was one of our favorite YA time travel books to recommend since so few knew about the series. Just a small warning that this enemies-to-lovers trope is a tad sexist, though. Find books like Ruby Red on our books with red (and more colors) in the title reading list .

Read Ruby Red : Amazon | Goodreads

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A little creepier for young adult time travel novels, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is all about time loops. We’ve only read the first in this eerie series that mixes manipulated vintage photography with a suspenseful and chilling story.

Jacob discovers a decaying orphanage on a mysterious island off the coast of Wales. Known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the building isn’t exactly abandoned… Jacob runs into peculiar children who might be more than just ghosts.

If you are looking for Kurt Vonnegut-esque time travel books for teenagers, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is for you. Find even more great adult and YA haunted house books to add to your reading list .

Read Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children : Amazon | Goodreads

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

One of the most well-known books about time travel for families – made even more popular by Oprah and Mindy Kaling, A Wrinkle In Time , is the first book in The Time Quintet .

Although a time travel book series for elementary and middle-grade students – and also a 1963 Newbery Medal winner – adults will love the lessons and whimsical sci-fi quality of A Wrinkle In Time.

Meg Murray and her brother, Charles Wallace, go on an adventure in time to find and rescue their father. Their dad disappeared while working for the government on a mysterious tesseract project.

Watch this thrilling time travel adventure mixed with a coming-of-age story and a little girl power, too.

Read A Wrinkle in Time : Amazon | Goodreads

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Translated by Lasse Christian Christiansen and Amber Tamosaitis | This YA sci-fi romance manga is one of the most endearing time travel books you’ll ever read.

On the first day of 11th grade, Naho oversleeps for the first time ever. She also receives a letter that claims to be sent from herself 10 years in the future. The letter tells her both of the two big things that will happen to her that day as proof of sender: she will be late, and there will be a new kid in class named Naruse Kakeru from Tokyo who will sit next to her.

Naho is unsure if she trusts the letter, or whether or not she should heed its warnings – especially since it talks about past regrets and trying to undo them.

Orange is an adorable, but heartbreaking time travel manga that teaches us the meaning of friendship, love, regret, and so much more. If you’re looking for the best books about time travel for teens, Orange is the perfect option (and adults will love it too).

Read Orange : Amazon | Goodreads

If you devour the time travel genre, don’t miss these great movies…

If you enjoy books that take you back in time, you might also appreciate these top movies with time loops . Would you be able to fix past mistakes, fall in love, and you know, maybe not die this time? Find out if these protagonists succeed.

Travel Back In Time With These Reading Lists:

• Best ’90s Books
• Iconic ’80s Books
• Best WWII Historical Fiction

Christine Frascarelli

Dagney McKinney

45 Comments

Hi, nice list but just FYI you have one of the novels named incorrectly: it should be All Our Wrong Todays, not All Our Wrongs Today.

Thanks for letting us know! Every year, this list grows, and sometimes we miss a few mistakes.

The Things Are Bad Series by Paul L Giles is the funniest, most insightful time travel books I’ve ever read. It has everything!

Thanks so much for the review and rec!

Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain is an engrossing time travel book that I enjoyed immensely.

Our readers and contributors are big Diane Chamberlain fans. Thanks!

A huge time travel fan. A great list. Another time travel book recommendation: Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montemore. Wonderful story.

Thank you so much for the kind words and recommendation! We’ll have to check it out.

Great list, thanks. I also love seeing all the recommendations in the comments. I would add the Chronos Files series to your list. And, of course, the film ABOUT TIME, which is fantastic!

Thanks so much for the recommendations. We appreciate it!

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GREAT BRITISH BOOK CLUB

19 Books Like Outlander: Scottish Time Travel Books for People Who Like Outlander

In some cases, we earn commissions from affiliate links in our posts.

Often when a book series gets adapted for TV and becomes popular, it spawns a host of imitations – and renews interest in similar titles that have been around for ages. That's exactly what has happened with the popular Outlander series . Scottish time travel books are hot, and while Outlander is certainly the most popular, it's neither the first nor the only book to tell a story of romance and adventure across time.

If you've exhausted all that the Outlander series has to offer, you may be looking for more like that. Below, we take a look at some of the best and most highly-rated books like Outlander – tales of time travel, romance, and adventure in Scotland.

19 Books Like Outlander: Time Travel Books Set in Scotland

Though you could certainly make the argument that other, non-Scottish time travel books and typical Highland romance novels are great things to add to your post- Outlander reading list, we know there many times when you don't want something “sort of like” what you just had. You want more of the very same type of thing.

So, with this list, we've tried to get as close as humanly possible and stick with ONLY Scottish time travel stories with some element of adventure and romance. The majority of the entries are series rather than single books, so in those cases we've listed the first book to get you started.

Bethany Claire's Morna's Legacy Series

Schoolteacher Brielle Montgomery reluctantly joins her archaologist mother on a dig in Scotland, only to find herself transported 400 years back in time. Suddenly, she's thrust into a life where she's about to marry Eoin Conall, an almost impossibly sexy Scotsman who doesn't like her at all. He's only following through with the marriage because of a promise to his dying father.

When Bri enters the picture, he notices something has changed about his wife-to-be, and it's a good thing. Unfortunately, Bri knows her history and she knows Eoin's entire clan will be slaughtered. Can she protect her new love and save both of their lives?

To date, there are twelve books in this series. You can start with the first below:

Get it : Amazon Kindle | Amazon Print | Audiobook | Bookshop.org (supports independent bookshops)

Claire R. McDougall's Veil of Time

With her marriage over and her son off to school, Maggie takes some time out at a cottage near the ruins of Dunadd. When she awakens, she finds herself wandering the busy village of Dunadd – in the eighth century! She soon finds herself drawn to the handsome Fergus, brother of the king and father to a young girl who looks remarkably like her own late daughter. Torn between two worlds, will she stay with her new love or return to her old life that wasn't much to get excited about?

Veronica Wolff's Highland Series

Lily Hamlin is having a rough time personally, so she decides to go ahead and take that long dreamt-about trip to Scotland. While exploring the Highlands, she wanders through an overgrown maze with an odd stone map…and suddenly finds herself in 1654 Lochaber.

The widowed clan chief Ewen has no need for romance in his life, but when a saucy lass with a weird accent shows up, all bets are off. Though the romance is exciting, Lily soon realises her new life comes with its fair share of danger.

Jessi Gage's Highland Wishes Series

When a single, expectant museum worker wishes on a Scottish artifact, she never expects her wish to come true – until she's magically transported back in time to the middle of the Scottish Highlands during the sixteenth century. There, she meets a poor, handsome bachelor who's known for being too “endowed” under his kilt to ever make a good husband.

Hazel Hunter's Immortal Highlander Series

Kinley's life is not going well. Suffering from PTSD and dealing with the end of her career, it all turns around when she suddenly finds herself in medieval Scotland. There, she meets Lachlan McDonnel, laird to a clan of immortal Highlanders – and the sparks fly.

This series definitely falls on the mature side of things, both in terms of sex and violence. There's also an element of fantasy that extends beyond the time travel part of the story.

Catherine Bybee's MacCoinnich Time Travels Series

Duncan McCoinnich had a simple task: time travel to a twenty-first century Renn Faire, deflower druid virgins, and go home. When feelings develop between modern-day Tara and sixteenth century Duncan, it all gets a lot more complicated.

Jo Barrett's Highlander's Challenge

Tuck is a personal bodyguard, and her latest assignment is certainly one to remember. It involves a kidnapper, an enchanted fountain, and a sixteenth century Highlander who wants nothing more than to lock her up and keep her.

Kim Sakwa's Lairds of the Crest Series

Gwendolyn Reynolds takes a soul-searching trip to Scotland, but when a storm forces her car off the road, she plunges into icy water and comes back up in 1426 Scotland. There, she finds Laird Greylen McGreggor, a man waiting for a woman foretold in prophecy.

Janet Chapman's The Highlander Next Door

This one almost didn't make it on the list because it's a little different from the others. Rather than the heroine travelling back in time, it's the hero who travels forward to modern day Maine.

Maxine Mansfield's Time for a Highlander

History teacher Bethany Anne Anderson is killed on a trip to Scotland – but before she can pass on to the next phase, fate steps in and drops her into the body of twenty-one-year-old Lady Elspeth Frasier in 1643 Scotland. There, she must give a Highland laird an heir before she can move on.

Melissa Mayhue's Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband

In 2007 Denver, Caitlyn Coryell's life is falling apart. When she puts on an antique pendant, a Highland warrior suddenly appears in her bedroom, begging for her help. At his urging, she'll go back in time and marry him, assuming no one kills her first.

Ceci Giltenan's Pocket Watch Chronicles

This series focuses on a young woman who receives a mysterious pocket watch that allows time travel. Each entry in the series features a romance between one person from the modern world and one from some period in Scottish history – but the specifics always vary.

It's also worth noting that unlike many books in this genre, there are no explicit love scenes in these books. If you prefer less heat, definitely give this one a read.

Clover Autrey's Highland Sorcery Series

When a naked, bleeding Highlander appears in her modern-day kitchen, Charity Greves does what any decent herbalist would do – she heals him. What she didn't expect was to be pulled back to the 13th century where her Highlander is being held captive.

Each book in this series focuses on a different couple in a different time travel situation, and this is another series where the heat level is “safe to read with granny”.

Karen Marie Moning's Highlander Series

Hawk is a legendary predator in battle and the bedroom, but no woman has managed to tame him. When a vengeful fairy yanks Adrienne de Simone from modern day Seattle, however, he might just find his perfect match. She's having none of it, but he's determined to win her heart.

Allie Mackay's Ravenscraig Legacy Series

Tour guide Mara McDougall doesn't believe in ghosts – until she meets a handsome Scottish one on a trip to the UK. While this isn't strictly a time travel book, all the books in this series contain links between the past and present with supernatural elements. If you're looking for a slight twist on the genre, you may enjoy these.

Susan Price's Sterkarm Series

After a British corporation invents a time tube with a portal back to sixteenth century Scotland, they send representatives 500 years back in time to deal with a lawless clan of barbarians. Interpreter Andrea soon develops a bond with Per, the handsome son of the clan chieftain, Toorkild – but when tensions rise, she'll be forced to choose sides.

Lynn Kurland's MacLeod Series

In the New York City of 1996, Elizabeth Smith's writing career is stalled – until one day, she begins hearing the voice of a Scottish man calling to her. She thinks she's going crazy until she dozes off in Gramercy Park and wakes up in 14th century Scotland. There, she'll find herself face to face with the man whose voice filled her mind.

Callie Berkham's Time Orb Series

Each book of this series features a heroine transported to a different time and place – with the first novel dropping historian Abby Davis onto an ancient Scottish battleground. There, she'll save the life of a warrior, losing her time orb in the process.

J. Ardian Lee's Son of the Sword

This one's kind of an unusual entry because the protagonist is a man. Dylan Matheson is a relatively normal modern man, but when he picks up a magical broadsword at a Medieval Faire, he's transported to 1713 Scotland where Jacobite revels are fighting English oppression. There, he'll fight for the cause and attempt to win the heart of fair Caitrionagh, daughter of a haughty laird.

What's Your Favourite Scottish Time Travel Book?

Have you read any of these Scottish time travel books? What's your favourite? Do you have other recommendations? Feel free to share them in the comments!

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K-Dramas Like Lovely Runner: A Time Called You, Twinkling Watermelon & More

T he new fantasy-romance K-drama Lovely Runner has gained much popularity among the viewers since its debut on tvN . The series aired on April 8, 2024, on the network. Starring Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, the series revolves around the theme of time slip and time travel .

Some other notable K-dramas deal with time travel, romance, and more. Look at some intriguing K-dramas similar to the Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon starrer below.

A Time Called You

One of the most popular fantasy K-dramas of recent times is A Time Called You . It is similar to Lovely Runner’s theme of romance and time travel. The series premiered on Netflix on September 8, 2023. It stars Ahn Hyo Seop and Jeon Yeo Been as the leading pair.

A Time Called You chronicles the fascinating love story of two characters from two different timelines. The story unfolds when a woman, Jun Hee time travels to 1998 from 2023 and meets Si Heon, who resembles her boyfriend, who has passed away. Viewers can watch the K-drama on Netflix.

Twinkling Watermelon

Another K-drama similar to Lovely Runner is Twinkling Watermelon . It is a hit Korean series depicting a time travel story revolving around friendship, love, and family. It first made its arrival on tvN on September 25, 2023. The drama stars Ryeoun, Seol In Ah, Choi Hyun Wook, and Shin Eun Soo.

Twinkling Watermelon centers around a CODA boy, Ha Eun Gyeol, who time travels to the past in 1995. There, he meets with his father’s younger self and becomes best friends with him. The series also depicts two heartfelt love stories. The series is currently available on Viki and Viu in selected regions.

Tomorrow, with You

Tomorrow, with You is another noteworthy romance K-drama similar to the ongoing Korean drama series Lovely Runner . It first aired on February 3, 2017, on tvN. It stars Shin Min A and Lee Je Hoon as its central characters.

Tomorrow, with You follows the time travel story of a husband Yoo So Joon and his wife Song Ma Rin. The series depicts a story of selfless love. Viewers can watch the K-drama on Viki in selected regions.

My Perfect Stranger

Another time travel romance K-drama like Lovey Runner is My Perfect Stranger. Jin Ki Joo stars as the female lead, Baek Yoon Young, in the series, while Kim Dong Wook plays the role of the male lead, Yoon Hae Jun. The K-drama first debuted on May 1, 2023, on KBS2.

My Perfect Stranger tells the fascinating and unique time-travel love story of Yoon Hae Jun and Baek Yoon Young, who travel back to 1987. The K-drama is available to stream on Viki, Kocowa, and Viu in selected regions.

Alice is another highly arresting time-travel K-drama similar to Lovely Runner’s theme. It made its arrival on SBS TV on August 28, 2020. The series stars Joo Won and Kim Hee Sun as Park Jin Gyeom, Yoon Tae Yi, and Park Sun Young, respectively.

Alice depicts the time-travel sci-fi story of a woman who has a resemblance to a deceased woman. The story unfolds when she travels back to 1992 in Seoul and meets Park Jin Gyeom. Viewers can watch the series on Viki.

Some other noteworthy K-drama series similar to Lovely Runner include Familiar Wife, Blue Birthday, Splash Splash Love, and more.

The post K-Dramas Like Lovely Runner: A Time Called You, Twinkling Watermelon & More appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More .

How Hallmark Turned ‘The Way Home’ Into TV’s Biggest Time-Travel Drama

THE WAY TO A HIT

The sci-fi leaning “The Way Home” was a big swing for the Christmas-and-romance network. It’s now one of its biggest—and most unlikely—successes. Here’s how Hallmark did it.

The best time travel TV show right now is on Hallmark. That may sound shocking to everyone who only associates the Crown Media network with schmaltzy Christmas movies and the romantic adventures of small-town amateur detectives. However, The Way Home is breaking the Hallmark mold and bringing in new viewers at the same time.

The series centers on the women of the Landry family. The first season begins with Kat Landry (Chyler Leigh), newly separated from her husband, taking her disobedient teen daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) home to her family farm in Port Haven, Canada. It’s a chance for the duo to reset and for Kat to mend fences with her estranged mother, Del ( Andie MacDowell ), to whom she has barely spoken in 20 years.

Viewers are quickly informed that the Landrys were struck by tragedy in 1999 when Kat’s younger brother Jacob (Remy Smith) went missing and her father Colton (Jefferson) died three months later. The details of Jacob’s disappearance and Colton’s death are slowly revealed throughout the season after Alice discovers a mysterious pond on the Landry property with the power to transport her back in time to the months leading up to the fateful events.

The Way Home seamlessly combines family drama with mystery intrigue and, of course, the sci-fi element of the sentient pond that takes select swimmers to the time period it wants them to see. It’s addictive and heartwarming, and has become a key part of Hallmark’s expanding brand.

“This show is a breakout hit. It’s a marquee show for us,” Hallmark’s Senior Vice President of Development Laurie Ferneau told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed during the Television Critics Association Winter press tour in February. “We’re excited that the audience has really embraced it the way that they have because it was a bit of a risk. They are going on this journey with us.”

That journey began in an unexpected place and is taking the show, viewers, and Hallmark into new territory. The series is now a cable-topping and brand-renovating hit. On the occasion of Sunday night’s Season 2 finale, we spoke with the show’s creative team and Hallmark’s programming executive about the time-travel risk—and major reward.

The Way From Netflix

The Way Home was originally developed at Netflix with content executive Lisa Hamilton Daly before she became executive vice president of programming at Hallmark in 2021. She brought the Canadian series with her when she made the move from the streamer, and her new staff instantly fell in love with how the show embodied Hallmark’s energy in a way they hadn’t seen before.

“We read it. We loved it. It was so original, unique. It was based on a multi-generational family of women. It was so female-centric, and that really spoke to Hallmark and our brand,” Fernau said. “It’s emotional and there’s a lot of trauma—it’s all about healing the generational trauma—and that kind of stuff. We go through those highs and lows of tragic events. It gets that kind feel-good place in the end, which feels very Hallmark as a brand. We were very excited.”

The creatives behind The Way Home were also excited to make the move to Hallmark, instantly falling in love with the brand and its welcoming team.

“Honestly, it was the perfect fit. There really was never a moment where we had push back or we had to settle,” series co-creator and co-showrunner Alexandra Clarke told Obsessed. “It has always been this amazing collaboration. We all wanted to do the same thing and it felt so right to be at home on Hallmark.”

Calling Hallmark home has also meant there’s more room for The Way Home to thrive. If the series had stayed at Netflix, it might have been lost amongst the streamer's never-ending library of content and bundled with similar family fare like Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias (also developed by Daly). Now, the series can serve as a crown jewel for the Hallmark suite.

“I think the show actually fits better on Hallmark because the essence of it is so rooted in family and feeling at home,” explained Hallmark Director of Original Programming Kate Redinger. “It touched on everything we try to do. We didn’t strip back anything. It was exciting to really put it on a pedestal here and treat it as a marquee for us. Netflix has a million shows, a sea of shows, and it gets to be a special baby here.”

The Way From Christmas

That special baby is bringing in a lot of viewers to Hallmark. According to Crown Media, the show has brought in over 4.4 million viewers since the second season premiered in January and the program ranks No. 1 among households, total viewers, and women and persons 18+ in Nielsen’s ratings. The numbers are a pay-off for Hallmark’s advertising blitz strategy during the 2023 Christmas movie season, making sure audiences were aware of The Way Home Season 2 was arriving in the new year during nearly every commercial break in their holiday fare.

“During Christmas time, we advertised a lot for the season premiere. There was a lot of build to that January slot. We have a huge audience in that fourth quarter for Christmas,” Ferneau explained. Hallmark was looking for a way to keep that Christmas audience around, and The Way Home turned out to be the answer. “A lot of people come to us for holiday [movies], so a great way to retain them is to give them great content, elevated content, and this show is perfect for that. It’s above and beyond. We love that we’ve been able to retain a lot of the audience.”

Scheduling The Way Home ’s Season 2 launch in January, immediately after the Christmas rush, shows how much Hallmark and its team believe that the series appeals to its core audience, despite being a little darker and more layered than the usual content on the network. It’s also more evidence that Hallmark wants to prove itself as a content creator outside of the fluffy romance people solely equate to the network.

“It’s exciting that we are a part of this broadening of the network and telling a bit of a different story. We love being the guinea pigs for that. We take that role seriously,” Clarke said. "I’m so grateful that we wound up where we did because I think we have the most incredible fans, and that’s because Hallmark fans are just so dedicated and invested."

The cast is also aware of the show’s success, but aren't surprised because they’ve been singing the show's praises from the beginning. They are equally excited to see the growth of The Way Home from the first to the second season.

“Even our demographics have changed. We’re hitting everything. Parents are watching with their kids,” Chyler Leigh gushed to Obsessed. “It doesn’t really matter where you are at in life, people are just gathering for this show. It’s the greatest compliment that we could ask for and it’s even more motivation to bring it even more.”

Leigh’s co-star Evan Williams, who plays Kat’s childhood best friend and Alice’s reluctant time-travel guide in The Way Home ’s present timeline, has his own theories for why the series has resonated with fans so much.

“There is a wish-fulfillment thing in the show, this fantasy idea of can you go back and see what went wrong and fix it? I think that’s what’s really grabbing people,” he explained. “There’s a heart and healing part of it that is allowing audiences to really invest in the characters and feel like they are involved in things that actually matter in their own hearts. We hooked them with that and that’s the staying power. That’s the kind of thing that makes people want to share the word of mouth about the show. That organic swell of audience has been because of that.”

The audience has grown as The Way Home has expanded its scope. The second season is even bigger than the first, adding in a completely new and more complicated timeline into the mix.

The Way to the Past

The Way Home Season 1 bounced between timelines set in 1999 and the present day, but the mystery of Jacob’s disappearance brought Kat all the way back to 1814. As Alice also continues going back to the Y2K time-period, Kat is exploring the origins of her family farm and her town, which adds an entirely new dimension to the series.

“It is three shows in one. We have three separate casts. We have three separate sections of our wardrobe department,” Clarke detailed. “It was really daunting, but at the same rate, everyone really believed in the story. Everyone really wanted to make it happen. We’re small but mighty…We care so deeply about the story that we’re telling and we knew it was a big ask, but we’re going to do it. So yeah, there are a lot of 1800s scenes that are in the woods, but we wanted to tell the best possible story.”

The theme of Season 2 is origin stories. Kat is literally exploring the beginning of Port Haven, while Alice discovers more about her family in the years leading up to her being born.

“She thinks that her last trip in Season 1 is the end of time-traveling to see her mom as a teenager and to see Elliot and all of those characters that our audience really fell in love with. Kat has told her you never go back, but we learned pretty quickly in Season 2 that she does,” Sadie Laflamme-Snow told Obsessed. “I think knowing that the pond takes you where you need to go, she has things to discover about those characters and those adults in her life that maybe they have been trying to hide from her.”

Alice isn’t the only one struggling with time travel in the second season. Audiences still haven’t seen Elliot go through the pond himself, but Alice and Kat’s journeys force him to reconcile with his past in the present. It allows viewers to learn more about young Elliot’s home life in the aftermath of Jacob’s disappearance and Colton’s death, and the tumultuous relationship he had with his biological father. Knowing that history helps viewers understand why Elliot has been so harsh with Kat and her need to revisit the past. His distaste for Kat and Alice’s time travel culminated in a massive fight between Elliot and Kat in the season’s second episode, and has left Elliot trying to repair the resulting rift with the Landrys.

“Elliot [had] his work cut out for him this year. I think it’s a redemption arc, where we’re going to see Elliot trying to figure out how to own his authenticity, and hopefully earn his way back into the trust of the Landry family,” Williams said. Elliot left Port Haven at the end of Season 1 to give himself space from the angst of the Landry women's time travel, but Season 2 proves he is still very much on that journey.

“Time travel is dangerous. Elliot is aware of that because he’s been on both sides of the time travel paradox. It’s only out of love and care for the people in his life that he is trying to steer people away from the pond,” Williams revealed. “Sometimes the only way to [protect people] is by shielding them from truth that they can’t handle. That’s when you get into hot water and the more secrets you have, the more miscommunication you have, the more the plot thickens. It remains to be seen whether Elliot’s love and support can or will actually be taken [as protection].”

Laying the groundwork for these multi-generational stories starts early on. The time-travel element of the show requires the creative team to think years and seasons ahead. Kat’s journey to 1814 was teased in the very first scene of the series, and more Easter eggs have been planted along the way for viewers to fully understand further down the line.

“It’s a five-year plan, especially with a show like this. You have to know that ending three seasons in, four seasons in. If you do, then you can plant things as early as the very first episode that will make the audience feel secure in the journey and know that we have this path,” Clarke explained. “We know what we’re doing.”

Hallmark knows what they are doing as well. The Way Home is setting them up for a deeper exploration of different types of content and expanding their audience.

The Way to the Future

The Way Home has encouraged the network to be more ambitious and sprawling with its storytelling. Multiple movies in the Christmas lineup strayed from the typical small-town romance set up and explored sibling dynamics ( A Merry Scottish Christmas ), found family ( Holiday Road ), and yes, a couple of movies that even played with time like Christmas on Cherry Lane and A Biltmore Christmas . Fernau revealed that more shows and programming that take big swings like The Way Home are in the pipeline.

“The movie side is very romance heavy-love stories… We love doing those stories, but we’re just trying to have some fresh ideas and really dig deeper with more complex characters, more layers to the characters, but still have that Hallmark promise that’s going to be delivered,” the executive explained.

The success of The Way Home has brought new partnerships to Hallmark’s doorstep. And it’s great timing as the network’s competitor Great American Family continues to compete in Hallmark’s standard content lanes. Fernau elaborated that the network is looking ahead instead of backwards or at the networks around them.

“This show really allowed us to expand our footprint in terms of the industry. Agents, managers, producers and writers are looking at us in a different way and saying, ‘Oh, Hallmark is actually doing this thing.’ We’re getting pitches from talent we haven’t really gotten before. There are offers that are really impressive and exciting,” she said.

Fernau was firm that The Way Home plan does not mean the network is alienating its existing and fervent fan base. The executive team knows where the sweet spot is for their audience and are going to continue to develop content that appeals to those viewers.

“We’re just trying to keep this momentum going. When Calls the Heart is a beautiful period romance and has a huge audience for that. There’s also an audience for this show, and we’re really trying to find content that falls in the middle of those two things, but keeps us moving forward creatively,” she continued. “We really are expanding our programming. This is a great benchmark for that to see what our audience will accept from Hallmark. We can do this thing and we can do this other thing. We’re really excited about developing more content that feels more like The Way Home .”

The Way Home’s Season 2 finale airs Sunday March 31 at 9 p.m. ET.

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