So much of love comes down to timing. We are all like ships passing in the night, missed connection after missed connection — until we aren’t. If we catch each other at just the right moment in our lives, therein lies the chance to become something more.
But what if meeting your one and only wasn’t limited by being in the right place at the right time? What if your soulmate was someone who lived years, decades, even centuries apart from you? When two halves aren’t required to live within the same lifespan as each other, it opens all sorts of opportunities for an unexpected — and unforgettable — tale of romance.
It’s that limitless possibility that intrigues each author on this list. Characters fall back in time to eighteenth century Scotland, or catapult forward into a technological future, or even return to their own past to explore a whole new reality of what could have been. No matter what kind of time travel love story you’re looking for, it’s all here — so sit back and explore the full expanse of time and space from the comfort of your own reading nook.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Clementine’s aunt had always described her apartment as “a pinch in time” — a place where eternity looped around and moments melted together. But it’s one thing for Clementine to hear that, and another thing to come face-to-face with a mysterious man baking in her late aunt’s apartment. She soon discovers that this man is no ghost or home intruder — he’s Iwan, her aunt’s best friend’s son, and he stayed in that very same apartment exactly seven years ago. It seems that, for all her skepticism of the apartment’s magic, she’s fallen seven years back in time.
Clementine plans her life down to every detail — something she’s relied on to keep herself together after her beloved aunt’s passing. As she and Iwan grow closer, though, she begins to wonder if love is worth the uncertainty that comes with it. But what happens when Clementine meets Iwan in her own time to find him nearly unrecognizable? With accolades from Carley Fortune and Emma Straub, this New York Times bestseller will have you reaching for the tissue box, as well as for a slice of lemon pie.
Interested in what else Ashley Poston has written? Check out our interview with the author here about her newest release, A Novel Love Story.
Again and Again Back to You by Andrea Ezerins
You never forget your first love. That’s a saying both Marta and Kevin can attest to, even long after they’ve settled down with their respective partners. But decades after their schoolyard crushes and blissful year-long relationship — and long since the out-of-state move that tore them apart — Marta gets an unconventional second chance. With the help of spiritual guide Cholan, she learns to channel — to step back through time to a turning point in her life and catch a glimpse at the road not taken. Immediately, Marta knows that the moment she’d return to would be that fateful first love with Kevin. But is she brave enough to step into the past and see what she’d missed out on? And is there any chance of her and Kevin building back up what they had once held so close?
A true-to-life romance with a touch of magical realism, Again and Again Back to You invites us to see magic in the everyday — the magic of love, and of second chances. Andrea Ezerins’ lyrical writing wraps us in lush descriptions and transports us on an unforgettable narrative journey through time.
Interested in this novel? Read our full review here, and check out our interview with the author.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
While most 20-somethings are flocking to New York City with grandiose dreams of falling in love with the city, August has no such illusions. She’s in New York to finish her degree, and in Flatbush because it’s the only halfway decent place she could afford — living with three roommates, a dog in an apartment banned to all Libras. But there is one part of city life that calls to her — her subway commute. Or, more specifically, the punk girl, Jane, that August always seems to see on the subway.
The thing is, Jane doesn’t merely happen to live along the same trainline as August; her life is tied to that trainline. Jane can’t leave the confines of the Q train, and she’s been stuck on an endless ride since the 1970s. August is determined to help her — but with gaps in Jane’s memory, it may be a case too cold for even the most pragmatic investigator to crack.
Full of McQuiston’s trademark wit and passion, this novel encourages us to embrace the time we have together, rather than worry about its fleeting nature. Check out our full review of One Last Stop here, as well as our review of Casey McQuiston’s newest release, The Pairing.
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
The brilliant mind behind Practical Magic returns with her newest release, The Invisible Hour — a story of love, but also of one woman’s strength against a world that seems determined to pull her down. Mia Jacob is fifteen when she escapes the Community, an oppressive cult in Massachusetts that bans all outside contact. After a childhood under Puritan-like law, she finds solace and healing in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. But Mia’s past follows her like a shadow, and it’s only when she steps into another time that she’s able to escape it.
That time is the 1830s, and the place is Massachusetts — Mia’s home, as well as the home of the aforementioned Hawthorne. Here she begins a romance that readers may find unexpected, but will quickly warm to as Mia and Hawthorne forge a bond of two like-minded literary souls. The Invisible Hour is a love letter to books as much as it is an actual love story — it celebrates the connections we can make through literature, and how seen and appreciated we can feel merely by reading words on a page. And tying all these plotlines together is Mia herself — a strong, intrepid protagonist who dares to open her heart to love even after a life of adversity.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Speaking of falling in love with historical figures, we’ve come to Kaliane Bradley’s new release, soon to be adapted to TV by A24. This genre-bending adventure combines the futuristic tech of a sci-fi, the exhilarating pace of a spy thriller and all the warm feels of a workplace romance. Emily Henry says it’s as “electric, charming, whimsical, and strange as its ripped-from-history cast (extremely)” and we couldn’t agree more.
Readers are whisked into the pull of space-time to arrive at a near future in which time travel is possible — or, at least, being experimented with. A new government ministry has been put in charge of the project and have come up with the creative solution of plucking people from across time who will not be missed in the grand scheme of history. Our main protagonist takes on the job of being a “bridge” — the live-in assistant-slash-scientific observer of an experiment subject, referred to as an “expat.”
One such expat is Commander Graham Gore, who by all accounts died on the 1845 Franklin Expedition. He never expected to be pulled from the Artic tundra and into the future where women smoke, swear and — gasp — even live with men outside of marriage! But after a rocky start, he and the bridge begin to grow close — much closer than is strictly necessary for the mission. When the full motivations of the ministry come to life, however, the two of them will have to decide exactly what kind of a future they want for themselves.
To learn more about The Ministry of Time, read our full review here.
Before Time Runs Out by Amy Matayo
We’ve covered books with one time traveler for a protagonist, but what about a story where both romantic leads step through time? Such an adventure can be found in Before Time Runs Out by prolific romance author Amy Matayo. Herein lies a novel that’s part romance, part historical fiction and part academic mystery.
Graduate student Bree Sanders has just one course to finish before she earns her degree — so it’s really too bad she’s failing it so badly. Desperate for better results, she sets out on a madcap plan to improve her grade by any means necessarily. But those results may prove more than she bargained for when grabs a book from the library shelf and falls straight into Victorian London.
There, she crosses paths with Theo, a graduate student from 1947 who fell through the exact same book-wormhole as she just did. Their only hope is to locate the book that first brought them to the time of Charles Dickens. But as Bree and Theo grow closer amid their wild search, they realize that returning to their own eras would rob them of the rest of their time together. Author Amy Matayo delivers an emotional punch to this fast-paced, tension-filled adventure.
Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald
It’s 1937 in Grand Central Terminal, and railroad man Joe is looking at a woman who seems totally out of place. With her fashionable flapper getup and her enthusiasm for the booming economy of the Roaring 20s, Nora is an image of a bygone time there in the middle of the Great Depression. But as much as he’s entranced with how she’s gotten there, Joe is just as entranced by her on her own. When he goes to walk her home, though, there’s a problem — the moment Nora steps away from Grand Central, she disappears. Joe despairs at their lost connection — only to spot her again, and again.
Over the course of years, the two of them meet beneath the famous gold clock in the center of the main concourse in a moment that seems outside of time’s limitations entirely. But strict rules to Nora’s appearances must be adhered to, or else she disappears from Joe’s sight. And when plans for a new monument threaten Nora’s tenuous connection, she and Joe will have to fight to break her out of this time loop once and for all. This tender historical romance blends the extraordinary with the everyday to tell a heartwarming story of patience and devotion.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
It’d be impossible to talk about time travel romances without mentioning the giant stone circle in the room. With fifty million copies sold worldwide and an award-winning Starz TV adaptation to its name, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander is the pinnacle of its subgenre. And from our series reading guide to our own exclusive interview with Diana Gabaldon herself, it’s clear to see we’re fans of her work.
The Outlander saga follows Claire Beauchamp Randall, a former British combat nurse, on a trip with her husband just after the end of World War II. But while examining a stone circle up in the Scottish Highlands, Claire finds herself transported to the year 1743 — a bad time to be a Sassenach (aka, an outlander) amid bitter clan skirmishes and the fight for Scottish independence. Her only hope is in Jamie, a Scots warrior willing to protect her from the first rumblings of the Jacobite Rising. Gabaldon’s writing shines as she covers everything from Scottish history and period-accurate healing remedies to the passion growing between Claire and Jamie. And as for whether Claire finds a way to return to her husband and the 20th century, or stays behind with Jamie and the Jacobites — you’ll just have to read it to find out.
