12 Time Travel Romance Books That Will Mess With Your Heart (and the Space-Time Continuum)
Time travel romance has one job: emotionally wreck you across centuries. Whether it’s a modern woman thrown back into the arms of a Highland warrior or a punk rocker trapped in a subway time loop, these books bend time, space, and all your romantic expectations.
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your soulmate was born 600 years too early (or too late), this list is for you.
Prefer to watch? Check out 5 underrated time travel romances I love:
This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.
What is a time travel romance book—and why do we love them?
Time travel romance books let us imagine the impossible: falling in love with someone from another time. Whether you’re into broody Highlanders, ghost pirates, or futuristic warriors, there’s something deliciously chaotic about watching characters try to make it work across centuries.
Readers often ask:
- Are time travel romances mostly historical?
- Do they always include magic or fantasy?
- Are they steamy?
Short answer: not always, but often. The common thread? Emotional tension and the feeling of being “out of place,” in more ways than one.
Time Travel Romance to the Past
Transcendence by Shay Savage
Time Period: Prehistoric
Tropes: Grumpy caveman, language barrier, survival romance
Ehd doesn’t speak. Elizabeth doesn’t understand where she is. Somehow, these two forge a deep, moving bond that transcends language and time. If you want a romance that feels primal and emotional—this is it.
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
Time Period: 1921 Ireland
Tropes: Irish rebellion, mistaken identity, slow burn
Anne travels to scatter her grandfather’s ashes but ends up in a war-torn Ireland with a man who might hold the key to both her past and future. It’s moody, romantic, and has that historical fiction polish.
Grab What the Wind Knows on Amazon
The Surviving Trace by Calia Read
Time Period: 1912 South
Tropes: Married to a stranger, enemies to lovers, mystery
Serene wakes up in 1912—married to a man who clearly hates her. There’s romantic tension, slow-burn passion, and a hint of mystery as she fights to get home… or not.
Grab The Surviving Trace on Amazon
A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong
Time Period: Victorian England
Tropes: Haunted manor, second chance romance, time slip
Bronwyn and William once met through a time slip as children. When she returns as an adult, their connection is still there—but so are the ghosts. Literally.
Grab A Stitch in Time on Amazon
Puck & Prejudice by Lia Riley
Time Period: 1812 England
Tropes: Time-traveling hockey player, fake marriage, literary banter
A hockey player time-travels to 1812 and accidentally becomes the solution to a Regency woman’s problems. A fake marriage, witty banter, and a little Austen-level chaos.
Grab Puck & Prejudice on Amazon
Sinful Scot by Julie Johnstone & Cecelia Mecca
Time Period: 1200s Scotland
Tropes: Highlander, family secrets, reluctant allies
A modern billionaire travels to medieval Scotland to find his missing mother—and meets a bold woman trapped in her own impossible situation.
Falling for the Highlander by Emma Prince
Time Period: 14th-century Scotland
Tropes: Fish out of water, reluctant laird, accidental love
Three sisters jump into a waterfall. Caroline wakes up in the 14th century and gets swept up in a Highland feud—and the arms of a laird who thinks she’s trouble.
Grab Falling for the Highlander on Amazon
Before Time Runs Out by Amy Matayo
Time Period: 1870 England
Tropes: Bookish love, dual POV, stranded together
Two people from different eras find themselves in 1870 London. They need the same magical book to get home—but falling for each other might change their plan.
Grab Before Time Runs Out on Amazon
The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
Time Period: Regency England
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, stuck in the past, opposites attract
Two bickering co-stars making a Jane Austen film adaptation get zapped back to the Regency era. Now they have to fake being proper while trying not to strangle (or kiss) each other.
Grab The Austen Affair on Amazon
Dual Timeline / Characters Who Move Between Past and Present
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
Time Period: 16th-century England & 1980s
Tropes: Emotional redemption, knight in shining armor, second chance
Nicholas dies in the 1500s. Dougless is crying on his tombstone in the 1980s. Time bends to give them a second chance—in both timelines.
Grab A Knight in Shining Armor on Amazon
Time Travel Romance Books Where They Come to the Present/Future
These are the flipped scripts: the time traveler shows up in our world, and nothing is the same.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Time Period: 1970s → present-day New York City
Tropes: Time loop, subway crush, found family, queer romance
Jane is stuck in a time loop on the Q train, displaced from the 1970s. August is the cynical girl who falls for her anyway.
A Highlander for Hannah by Mary Warren
Time Period: 1745 → present-day Midwest US
Tropes: Love spell, fish out of water, grumpy/sunshine
After performing a love spell, Hannah finds a shirtless 1700s Scotsman in her barn. He’s confused. She’s annoyed. Then things get steamy.
Grab A Highlander for Hannah on Amazon
Her Knight at the Museum by Bryn Donovan
Time Period: Medieval knight → modern-day Chicago
Tropes: Cursed hero, museum shenanigans, cinnamon roll knight
Emily didn’t mean to break a centuries-old curse when she kissed the statue she’s restoring. But now that the medieval knight is real, he’s wrecking museum exhibits and her heart.
Grab Her Knight at the Museum on Amazon
Final Thoughts
Time travel romance lets us explore love outside the boundaries of time, space, and logic. Whether you’re into ancient warriors, Regency chaos, or time-looped sapphics, there’s a book here to wreck you in the best way.
Read More
- 15 Historical romances set outside of the USA
- 12 Must-Read Regency romance series
- Feminist historical romance books
Pin It for Later
Join the Under the Covers Community
- Book Release Calendar
- Book Tropes Book Database
- Reading Under the Covers: Extra Bite – Exclusive Bonus Podcast Feed
- Additional recommendation lists
- Reading wrap-ups and our Bookish Brunch weekly behind the scenes newsletter
- Free downloads (activities, templates and more)
- And much more!