stories on time travel romance

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.)

You Might Also Like

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. 

Like this post? Don’t forget to save it on Pinterest!

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 .

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Site Navigation

Affiliate Disclosure : This website uses affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission through purchases made through this site at no extra cost to you. Epic Book Society is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Affiliate Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Join the Society!

Want to connect with other bookworms?

We've created a place where book lovers can come together and share recommendations and ideas with each other. There will be no spam from us, that's a promise .

Click the button below to join our exclusive Facebook group.

Contact Us: [email protected]

Follow our socials:

© 2023 Epic Book Society • Built with  GeneratePress

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>>

Recommend These Reads:

About the author: shavantay minnis.

Related Posts

Billionaire Romances to Add to Your TBR

Best Beach Reads of Summer 2024

Most Anticipated YA Romances of Summer 2024

Books About Best Friends Falling In Love

Most Anticipated Romances of Summer 2024

Sports Romances If You Couldn’t Get Enough of Travis and Taylor

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• The Inventory

The Greatest Time-Travel Romances of All Time

The greatest romances face the test of time — but what happens when two lovers are adrift in time and space? About Time is just the latest in a long line of time-travel love stories, and tales of time-crossed lovers. Here are the greatest time-travel romances of all timelines.

Related Content

Related products.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Teenage love is a tricky thing, and in the 2006 adaptation of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Makoto messes it up over and over again. After she discovers that she can literally leap through time, Makoto uses her power to play cupid not only with her friends, but with her own love life. She learns that relationships are complicated, even when you can arrange it so that certain conversations never happened. This beautiful anime film expands on the stories told in other adaptations of Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel. Makoto's aunt in the film is the protagonist of the original novel, and we see some of the ramifications of her own time traveling romance.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Throughout The time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger compares her main characters' relationship to that between a sailor and his wife. The description is apt as we see Henry and Clare torn apart again and again, never knowing if the storms of life will keep them apart forever. Henry suffers from a genetic condition similar to epilepsy, but instead of having seizures he travels through time. He and Clare struggle to lead normal lives despite his frequent disappearances. In 2009 Robert Schwentke adapted this into a film starring Rachel McAdams, the actress most type-cast as a time traveler's love interest .

Just after World War II, British army nurse Claire Randall is vacationing with her husband in Scotland when she stumbles through a group of standing stones into the year 1743. She wins the trust of a clan of Scotsmen after using her medical knowledge to relocate the arm of Jamie MacKenzie. One thing leads to another and Claire ends up being forced to marry Jamie, breaking her marriage vows to her husband in the future. The situation becomes further complicated when Claire realizes she is falling in love with Jamie. She must choose between trying to find a way back to her present and her husband, or staying with the man she now believes to be the love of her life. This sexy tale has gripped readers for over a decade. The eighth book in the series will be released in March 2014, and Ronald D. Moore is producing a television series based on the books set to come out in Spring 2014.

Somewhere in Time

The course of a life can turn on a penny as we learn in the 1980 film Somewhere In Time. The movie was based on Richard Matheson's beloved sci/fi book Bid Time Return. The story begins with Richard Collier having a strange encounter with an old woman who begs him to "come back to me" and gives him a pocket watch. Shortly later, Collier learns that she was Elise McKenna, an actress from the early 1900s. He grows enamored with her photograph and becomes determined to find a way to travel back in time to meet her. His former professor, who believes he has self-hypnotised himself back to the year 1571, teaches him how to will himself into 1912. When he finds Elise, their whirlwind romance lights up the screen.

Amy and Rory's storyline on Doctor Who

Amy Pond and Rory Williams are among the most popular companions in Doctor Who, and their romance stands out as one of the new series' best storylines. They have rocky moments, but seeing their struggles only makes their relationship stronger and more believable to the viewer. We get to see their relationship develop from Rory's one-sided teenage crush to Amy's willingness to sacrifice everything for him. It's difficult to pick one episode to represent their love story, but the tenth episode of the sixth series is a good place to start. The Girl Who Waited deals with some of the more complex issues with time travel and it's fascinating to watch these characters navigate a messy situation involving both a younger and older Amy.

Back to the Future

Oh Back to the Future, we will never get tired of your time travel hijinks. Marty McFly travels back in time to the 1950s, and in doing so, stops his parents from meeting for the first time. Instead of falling in love with George McFly when her father hits him with her car, Lorraine Baines starts falling for her time traveling son. Hilarity ensues as Marty must play cupid and get his parents to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance before he and his siblings disappear forever. Spoiler, he succeeds, and his parents fall madly in love. As George tells Lorraine, "I'm your density. I mean, your destiny."

Safety Not Guaranteed

A man named Kenneth posts an ad seeking: "Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed." Darius, a young reporter, is sent out with a group to investigate his claims and see what he's really after, or if he's just insane. After winning his trust, the two begin to bond. What follows is a beautiful story about two people learning to accept and trust each other's weirdness. They build a time machine, train, and do everything they can to prepare themselves for the future. Spoiler: The ending is subjective and we never learn for certain if Kenneth can successfully time travel.

Only Backwards

This short story explores the sweetness of a first kiss, and the sacrifices made for loved ones. Mason invents a time machine so he can revisit the most important moment in his life, but not everything goes according to plan. When he returns, every memory after that moment is gone. He is a teenager trapped in a 40 year old body, with no recollection of his beloved wife. They touchingly console each other as they navigate this strange situation. She tells him, "Don't worry...You won't be alone. I'll be here."

Midnight in Paris

Gil Pender doesn't have the best of luck with his time traveling romances, unless you count his love affair with the city of Paris. In Midnight in Paris, he is on vacation with his fiancee when he discovers that every night at midnight, he travels back in time. He finds himself in the 1920s and he encounters all of his favorite writers and artists from that time period. With his present-day romance going poorly, he falls in love with Picasso's mistress Adriana. They begin a relationship, but the present is always there, calling Gil back. This nostalgic movie is romantic, funny, and full of fantasy.

Sense of the Past

When Henry James died, he left an unfinished time travel romance novel behind. It was published in 1917 and spawned a play and two movies. In the novel, Ralph Pendrel discovers that by going into his ancestor's London home, he is also transported to their time. In this time period, he is engaged to a woman named Molly Midmore, although he finds himself more attracted to her sister, Nan. The notes Henry James left outlining the rest of the novel make it clear that Nan reciprocate his love, and eventually realizes that he is a time traveler. If the novel had been finished, Ralph would have had to choose between returning to his own time and another woman or staying with Nan in the past.

The Dancers at the Edge of Time

The universe is about to end, but that doesn't stop Jherek Carnelian from having love on the brain. From the moment he sees Amelia Underwood, a Victorian time traveler, he knows that they will fall in love. Michael Moorecock's series which includes An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands, and the End of All Songs, follows the lovers as they bounce back and forth through time. As the series goes on we see that their relationship is more important than even they could have imagined.

Quantum Leap: Star Crossed

Sam Beckett's wife left him at the altar, but it didn't happen in every timeline. In Star Crossed Sam leaps back to Donna's college days long before their marriage is set to begin. He theorized that she couldn't commit to him due to issues with her father, and he sets out to fix them before it's too late. Al repeatedly warns him against this plan, but Sam loves her and will do anything to give their relationship a second chance.

Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are transported to New York City during the Great Depression — and I bet you can guess which ones falls in love. McCoy saves Edith Keeler's life, and Kirk falls in love with her. Edith is an impressive pacifist who would have gone on to delay WWII and indirectly lead to an Axis victory. Lovestruck Kirk must make a terrible decision—to set the timeline right with Edith's death, or change the course of history forever.

Time and Again

At the heart of Jack Finney's classic time travel novel is the romance between Simon Morley and Julia Charbonneau. The book has a complex plot full of action, mystery, and adventure, but the love story holds it all together. Simon Morley travels back to the 1882 New York City in order to solve a mystery. While in the past he falls in love with Julia, although she doesn't immediately reciprocate his feelings. Their sweet relationship has many memorable moments, but none as fun as the scenes of 1882 Julia experiencing 1970 NYC.

The Man Who Folded Himself

David Gerrold's The Man Who Folded himself gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "self love." Daniel Eakins is a college student who inherits a Timebelt, and with it the ability to travel through time. He uses it to travel to his future where he meets alternate versions of himself, and eventually having a sexual relationship with himself. He eventually meets a female version of himself, Diane, and they attempt to have a more traditional relationship, even having a child together. It's a strange sort of love story, but that doesn't make the book any less powerful.

Advertisement

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.

Co-founder and Editorial Director

Jackie is the mother of three children and a Speech-Language Pathologist who uses her love of books to create language-based learning opportunities in her speech therapy practice and with her own children. Her 20+ years of experience in regular and special education classrooms ensures the website content is relevant and informative. She started this website with Kirsten to share their passion for literacy with other moms and kids.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

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

This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

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!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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 .

@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-transform:scale(-1, 1);-moz-transform:scale(-1, 1);-ms-transform:scale(-1, 1);transform:scale(-1, 1);background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-1jdielu:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}} Best Books of 2024 @media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-128xfoy:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}}

'Tortured Poets Department' Literary References

What Really Happens at the Westminster Dog Show?

How To Read the Bridgerton Books In Order

Queen Camilla's Son Is Writing a Royal Cookbook

Amor Towles on 24-Hour Room Service

The Best Books to Read This April

Kate Middleton's Brother Is Writing a Memoir

Al Pacino Is Writing a Memoir

The 45 Must-Read Books of Spring 2024

How 'Shōgun' Adapted James Clavell's Novel

Inside Oliver Furth's Redesign of a Bel Air Home

12 Best Romance Movies Of The 2010s

• Romance movies have enduring popularity because they allow audiences to experience a range of emotions and escape from reality.
• The 2010s saw the release of many memorable romance films, from indie gems like Blue Jay to blockbusters like Crazy Rich Asians.
• These films explore various themes of love, including rekindling old flames, long-distance relationships, and the complexities of marriage, all while celebrating diversity and breaking stereotypes.

A romantic film will never go out of fashion, and the decade of the 2010s, in particular, had some great romance movies with epic love stories that last. Escaping from reality to get swept up in a good love story is a time-honored tradition, and plenty of audiences still yearn to see poignant romances on screens both big and small. A good romance will make a viewer want to fall in love when it goes right and cry their heart out when it goes wrong.

Romance stories have never gone out of fashion because love is an enduring theme in audiences' lives. Scientists have even studied the effect romantic cinema has on audiences; watching them can release stress hormones that can calm viewers and allow people to feel a deep range of emotions. Such is the power of a good love story, and the 2010s were full of them.

Blue Jay (2016)

Blue Jay simply depicts the fuzzy warmth of reconnecting with an old friend. This raw indie stars Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson as Jim and Amanda, high school sweethearts who bump into each other decades later. Both have moved away, but Jim has returned after his mother dies, and Amanda is there to help her sister, who is giving birth.

Where most romance movies would have the pair embark on a passionate affair, Blue Jay is a little more subdued. Jim and Amanda go to coffee together and do anything they can to keep the conversation going. The couple go to Jay's mother's home and play house, pretending they had never grown apart. Heavily improvised and filmed in black-and-white, Blue Jay explores the concept that two lonely souls destined to be can find their way back to each other.

Like Crazy (2011)

Anton Yelchin's Jacob and Felicity Jones' Anna are loved-up college students whose relationship hits a roadblock when she overstays her student visa. When the semester ends, she reluctantly returns to England to renew her paperwork, but the couple must maintain their relationship transatlantic when it doesn't go as planned. They try to move on, but their love is real, something they can't easily replace.

This Sundance-winning film's dialogue is mostly improvised, giving the effect audiences are watching a documentary. The actors were only given a brief scene outline during shooting, making many of the emotional scenes feel unbearably raw. Like Crazy is a fresh take on the age-old dilemma of maintaining long-distance relationships and wondering if one has chosen to tie themselves to the right person.

Before Midnight (2013)

The last in the Before trilogy, Before Midnight follows Ethan Hawke's Jesse and Julie Delpy's Céline spending a summer vacation in Greece with their children. The Oscar-nominated movie is about everything and nothing. In Before Midnight , Jesse is a celebrated writer, and Céline is an environmental activist. Although they are still the people they fell in love with, years of disappointment and baggage have changed the dynamic.

Before Midnight is an organic ending to this applauded trilogy. The narrative documents the struggles to keep love alive realistically and with a gentle touch. While most films would write melodramatic arguments between the couple, Before Midnight shows the irritability and gripes that anyone in a relationship will connect with. It's hard to disagree that the Before trilogy is one of cinema's best love stories .

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Starring Henry Golding and Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians is an escapist fantasy about an American woman meeting her fiance's wealthy family. Co-starring Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asian has stunning outfits , memorable characters, and a tender romance. This Cinderella story is a lavish romance, a movie rarely made in the 2010s.

Based on Kevin Kwan's best-selling book, this film was a game changer for both the romantic genre and casting in Hollywood. Many cast members became international stars after the movie was released, proving how important representation is in the industry. Although Crazy Rich Asians is a frothy romance from a distance, under the sparkles, the film is a subversion of Asian stereotypes and a celebration of Asian women.

A Star Is Born (2018)

It has been done three times before, but Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's sizzling chemistry stops A Star is Born from becoming another unnecessary remake of a classic movie . In fact, their chemistry was so hot rumors circulated that they were dating in real life. A Star is Born centers on an alcoholic rock star, Jason, and an upcoming pop star, Ally, who find what they need in each other.

Ally soon becomes Jackson's safe house, taking on the roles of lover, muse, and carer throughout the musical drama. Bradley Cooper's directorial debut is an epic tale of heartbreak, sacrifice, and abuse. Their love struggles as her career ascends and his descends. A Star is Born ends in one of the most heartbreaking scenes in modern movie history, all soundtracked to Lady Gaga's belting vocals.

Spike Jonze's science-fiction love story rethinks romance in the age of social media and handheld devices. Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a talented but lonely writer who is still trying to come to terms with his divorce. He starts to slowly start a bond with an AI operating system called Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).

Samantha grows past Theodore to the point that she is too curious and intellectual for him. Her explores one man's relationship with an electronic device and highlights how humans can use AI to fulfill their emotional needs. While most movies feature AI as a cautionary tale, Her celebrates how it could connect humanity's loneliest people.

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)

Set in coastal Brittany in the 18th century, Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a slow-burning romance between a portraitist, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), and the woman she has been commissioned to paint, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Portrait of a Lady on Fire depicts the pair as collaborators, eliminating any artist and muse cliches.

Love and art get entangled in this heart-breaking period movie. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the most significant lesbian dramas and love stories in modern cinema. This movie is a carefully compromised series of conversations between equals, with the art often mirroring their romance as it evolves. Not a single sentence in Portrait of a Lady in Fire isn't filled with longing and pain, with the silence often depicting their romance as many of their feelings can't be said aloud.

Carol (2015)

Carol depicts the universal emotion of longing. Adapted from a 1952 Patricia Highsmith novel, Carol is a slowly seductive romance between two women. When Carol orders an expensive Christmas gift for her young daughter, she leaves her leather gloves behind in the store where Therese works. Therese ships them back to her address, and their slow love affair starts.

The centerpiece of Carol is the coded lunch between the two women. They are second-guessing themselves, trying to understand what their feelings mean and where it could go. Cate Blanchett has never been more hypnotic than when she plays this titular character, whilst Rooney Mara is vulnerable and naive as the object of her affection. Carol portrays love at first sight in a way Hollywood hasn't in decades.

La La Land (2016)

La La Land is better remembered for not winning the Best Picture Academy Award than it is one of the best romance movies of the 2010s. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play Sebastian and Mia, two dreamers hoping to make it in Los Angeles. La La Land is one of the most brutal and beautiful depictions of how love does not conquer all and how dreams can get in the way of relationships.

The film uses song and dance to follow the musician and actress through their relationship. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling's chemistry makes it difficult for audiences not to root for them despite knowing they will likely never end up together. Despite La La Land's heart-wrenching ending , it continues to be one of the most romantic films of the 21st century.

The Big Sick (2017)

Medically induced comas don't scream romance, but The Big Sick turns their real-life trauma into one of the best modern rom-coms . Based on Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon's (who also co-writes the movie) real-life meet cute, The Big Sick is a genuinely funny cross-cultural comedy. It hits all the familiar beats of the rom-com genre, whilst also exploring Nanjiani's Pakistani-Muslim upbringing, arranged marriage, and intergenerational differences.

Kumail plays himself, the up-and-coming comedian whose overbearing parents are desperate for him to marry. They are setting him up with fellow Pakistani women, but he is smitten with Emily, a girl who heckles him during a gig. Then, one day, Emily lands in the hospital with a mysterious infection, and he finds himself at her bedside with her parents (Ray Romano and Holly Hunter).

About Time (2013)

Richard Curtis is the king of romantic cinema, having written Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, among others. About Time is Curtis' most moving and profound movie, using time travel to explore the many what-ifs of life and death. On his 21st birthday, Domhnall Gleeson's Tim learns that he can travel through time and uses it to woo Rachel McAdam's Mary.

Tim battles his awkwardness to try and win Mary over, using his time travel to rewrite bad dates and redo terrible sex. Although the romance between the charming leading pair is the center of About Time , his relationship with his father (Bill Nighy) will have audiences shedding a tear. About Time is a time-travel romance that asks big questions about love without sugar-coating the answers.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Call Me By Your Name is a romance made by the subtle hand of Italian film director Luca Guadagnino. The sun-soaked romance sees Timothée Chalamet's Elio falling for his father's colleague Oliver, played by Armie Hammer. Set in Italy in 1983, this sensual LGBTQ romance movie skips any of the stereotypical melodrama and is more about the things not said between the couple.

Call Me By Your Name is one of the most delicate coming-of-age movies of the 2010s. Chalamet, in his star-making turn, looks younger than his 20 years of age, while Armie Hammer's Oliver is a walking representation of masculinity. Despite the age gap, it never feels predatory, and Elio never stops feeling like a master of his own sexuality.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• Backchannel
• Newsletters
• WIRED Insider
• WIRED Consulting

By Matt Burgess

The Real-Time Deepfake Romance Scams Have Arrived

The compliments start flowing as soon as she answers the video call. “Wow, you so pretty, honey,” says the man on the other side of the screen. His video feed shows he’s white, with short hair, likely a few years younger than her, and is sitting in front of his camera wearing a plaid shirt.

“You’re looking different with that beard and stuff gone,” the woman says in an American accent as the conversation gets going. The man doesn’t miss a beat. “I told you I was going to shave my beard so I will look good.”

Except, he isn’t who he claims to be. His videofeed is a lie. And—beard or not—the face the woman can see over the video call is not his: It’s a deepfake.

In reality, the man is a scammer using face-swapping technology to totally change his appearance in real time. In a video of the call—filmed by the scammer’s accomplice likely thousands of miles away from the woman—his real face can be seen on this laptop alongside the fake persona as he speaks to his victim.

This self-shot video is one of scores posted online by scammers known as Yahoo Boys , a loose collective of con artists, often based in Nigeria. The video reveals how they are using deepfakes and face-swapping to ensnare victims in romance scams, building trust with victims using fake identities, before tricking them into parting with thousands of dollars. More than $650 million was lost to romance fraud last year, the FBI says .

A Yahoo Boy scammer uses multiple phones and face-swapping software against a victim. It’s one of two techniques the group uses for real-time calls.

The Yahoo Boys have been experimenting with deepfake video clips for around two years and shifted to more real-time deepfake video calls over the last year, says David Maimon, a professor at Georgia State University and the head of fraud insights at identity verification firm SentiLink. Maimon has monitored the Yahoo Boys on Telegram for more than four years and shared dozens of videos with WIRED revealing how the scammers are using deepfakes.

Juliane Bergmann

Julian Chokkattu

Charlie Wood

David Gilbert

A WIRED review of the videos and three associated Yahoo Boy Telegram channels shows how the con artists’ techniques have evolved as deepfake applications and artificial intelligence have improved. It is one of the first times the specific tactics and outlandish techniques of scammers using deepfake video calls has been documented in this detail.

The videos show Yahoo Boys using the technology on setups involving both laptops and phones. In multiple videos, the scammers often brazenly show their own faces, as well as those of the victims they are scamming. “I don't think they're doing this because they’re stupid,” Maimon says. “I think that they simply don’t care, and they’re not afraid of the repercussions.”

The Yahoo Boys are experienced scammers—and they openly brag about it. Photos and videos of their conning and recruitment can be found all across social media, from Facebook to TikTok. However, the cybercriminals, who have links back to Nigerian prince email scams , are arguably their most open on Telegram.

In groups containing thousands of members, Yahoo Boys organize and advertise their individual skills for a smorgasbord of scams. They’re skilled social manipulators, who can have long-lasting impacts on their victims . Business email compromise , crypto scams , and impersonation scams are all touted in hundreds of posts per day. Members claim to be selling photo and video editing skills and entire albums of explicit photographs that can be used to build a convincing persona. Fake IDs and legitimate-looking social media profiles are for sale. Scam “scripts” are free to download.

“The Yahoo Boys have elements of organized crime and disorganized crime,” says Paul Raffile, an intelligence analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, who has investigated Yahoo Boys sextorting teenagers and driving them towards suicide . “They don't have a leader, they don’t have a governance structure.” Rather, Raffile says, they organize in clusters and share advice and tips online. Telegram did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment about Yahoo Boys’ channels, but the three channels no longer appear to be accessible.

The digital con artists started using deepfakes as part of their romance scams around May 2022, says Maimon. “What folks were doing was just posting videos of themselves, changing their appearance, and then sending them to the victim—trying to lure them to talk to them,” he says. Since then, they’ve moved on.

To create their videos, the Yahoo Boys are using a handful of different software and apps. WIRED is not naming the specific software, to limit people’s ability to copy the attacks. However, the tools they are using are often advertised for entertainment purposes, such as allowing people to swap their faces with celebrities or influencers.

The Yahoo Boys’ live deepfake calls run in two different ways. In the first, shown above, the scammers use a setup of two phones and a face-swapping app. The scammer holds the phone they are calling their victim with—they’re mostly seen using Zoom, Maimon says, but it can work on any platform—and uses its rear camera to record the screen of a second phone. This second phone has its camera pointing at the scammer’s face and is running a face-swapping app. They often place the two phones on stands to ensure they don’t move and use ring lights to improve conditions for a real-time face-swap, the videos show.

The second common tactic—shown below—uses a laptop instead of a phone. (WIRED has blurred real faces in both videos.) Here, the scammer uses a webcam to capture their face and software running on the laptop changes their appearance. Videos of the setup show scammers are able to see their own face alongside the altered deepfake, with just the manipulated image being displayed over the live video call.

Maimon says he and his teams have tracked down some of the victims, both in deepfake videos and photo albums being sold by Yahoo Boys, and have tried to contact them. WIRED was not able to determine the real identities of victims or scammers, and it is not clear how many times deepfakes have been used. Still, the videos appearing to feature victims reveal how the scammers build rapport with their targets.

Videos show scammers telling people they “love” them and frequently complimenting their appearance. In one video, a scammer says they want to travel to Canada to meet their target, and when they do, they will pay them “instantly,” suggesting the target has sent them money that the scammer has falsely promised to pay back. Other videos contain deeply personal information, showing the levels of trust that scammers can create with the people they target. “Some victims, they talk about their eating disorders, they talk about their depression,” Maimon says.

The videos are likely only a snapshot of the Yahoo Boys’ romance-scamming activity, and many of the videos they self-publish are partly intended to show off their capabilities to allow others to “buy” the approach. Raffile says that, as he investigated the groups for sextortion, he noticed most face-swapping was being used for romance scams. However, there were also instances where Yahoo Boys claimed to use deepfake “nude” generators on photographs .

The scammers can run face-swapping software on laptops. It mimics their facial expressions and mouth movements.

Artificial intelligence will supercharge scams. While deepfake videos have been around for more than half a decade —mostly used for nonconsensual pornography —they’re often glitchy and easy to spot. Lips don’t sync up as people talk, and errors are relatively trivial to detect. However, the technology is quickly improving and becoming easier for anyone to use.

Some of the Yahoo Boy videos are unbelievable, obvious fakes, while others appear plausible. When they’re viewed live, on a mobile phone, with unstable connections, any obvious flaws may be masked—especially if a scammer has spent months social-engineering their victim.

Rachel Tobac, the cofounder and CEO of SocialProof security, who along with company CTO Evan Tobac reviewed a selection of Yahoo Boy videos for WIRED, says she has generally seen some face swapping being used in romance scams over the past 12 months. “They were not super convincing last year, when I checked them out. This year, a lot has changed,” Rachel Tobac says. “Especially the ones where they’re able to change the pitch of their voice and the look of their face—sometimes changing skin tone, hair, eye color, everything’s matched. It’s pretty wild.”

The Yahoo Boys appear to often use existing personas and faces built into the apps. The scammers largely talk using their own voices, although in a couple of videos this may have also been altered. In many of the videos seen by WIRED, the onscreen characters can turn their heads but not move their entire bodies. Their lips and facial expressions move with those made by the face of the scammer. The capabilities of these tools will only improve over time.

Andrew Newell, the chief scientific officer at identity verification company iProov, says he has seen a “massive change” in the number of face-swapping systems being used in the last year, tracking more than 100 different tools. Only a fraction of these tools allow for real-time face-swapping, he says. “We have seen quite big advances in terms of how good these live tools are.”

While the Yahoo Boys may not develop their own software or be technically sophisticated, Maimon says, they are versatile. They’ll run multiple scams at once, speak with dozens of victims at a time, and different individuals will have the skills needed to complete an entire scam. “There's a constant evolution,” Maimon says.

Ronnie Tokazowski, the chief fraud fighter at Intelligence for Good, which works with cybercrime victims, says because the Yahoo Boys have used deepfakes for romance scams, they’ll pivot to using the technology for their other scams. “This is kind of an early warning where it's like: ‘OK, they’re really good at doing these things. Now, what’s the next thing they're going to do?’”

You Might Also Like …

In your inbox: Get Plaintext —Steven Levy's long view on tech

What if your AI girlfriend hated you? Meet the enraged chatbot

The showdown over who gets to build the next DeLorean

What’s the safest seat on an airplane ? All of them and none of them

Virtual briefing: Will AI kill the app ? Hear from our panel of experts

Matt Burgess

Makena Kelly

Dell Cameron

Andy Greenberg

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

Stephen Clark, Ars Technica

The 10 Best Time-Travel K-Dramas, Ranked

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.

Time traveling is a popular plot device that has been used across various genres, from science fiction to romance, in movies and TV shows like Back to the Future , Looper , and Outlander . This intriguing concept has also become a popular theme in Korean dramas. As K-dramas continue to captivate audiences worldwide, viewers are diving into the rich archives of past productions — unearthing hidden time-traveling K-drama gems that showcase a refreshing take on a popular trope .

Many historical dramas explore this concept in depth, oftentimes bringing a modern character to a more conservative past. These are also, more often than not, romance stories with a bit of mystery involved. Many times, time-traveling K-dramas incorporate a lot of humor and comedy, as one character (or multiple) exists in a timeline that they don't belong in. They don't know the ins and the outs, and that sets up for comedic scenarios. From the romantic fantasy of Splash Splash Love to the mystifying plot of Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo , each K-drama brings a different perspective to time traveling as a concept.

10 'The Great Doctor' (2012)

Created by kim young-hyun and park sang-yeon.

The Great Doctor takes place during the Goryeo Dynasty. An attack is launched on King Gongmin ( Ryu Deok-hwan ) and Queen Noguk ( Park Se-young ) one night, and it’s up to Captain Choi Young ( Lee Min Ho ) and his guards to protect them both. However, Queen Noguk is gravely injured, and no doctor in the Goryeo Dynasty is capable of saving her. The King then commands his guards to go find the doctor from the Kingdom of Heaven. When a portal opens up, it turns out that the Kingdom of Heaven is actually the modern era of Korea. Choi Young then finds a plastic surgeon – Eun Soo ( Kim Hee-Sun ) – and brings her back to his era, where she is trapped serving King Gongmin with no way to return home.

A must-see medical K-drama , The Great Doctor has a slow start, but it builds up quickly as the show progresses . A romance, forbidden by time itself, ignites between Choi Young and Eun-Soo , and viewers will be rooting for them and praying for a happy ending. The show also includes fantastical elements, such as extraordinary powers and magic.

Watch on Kocowa

9 'Tomorrow With You' (2017)

Created by heo sung-hye.

Yoo So-Joon ( Lee Je-Hoon ) is a CEO who has time-traveling abilities. Any time he uses the subway, he can travel into the future. Meanwhile, Ma-Rin ( Shin Min-A ) is a photographer trying to make ends meet after an unsuccessful career in the entertainment industry. Unbeknownst to her, So-Joon discovers when Ma-Rin is about to get into an accident, so he tries to save her, though he comes off weird and awkward. However, intentions aside, their fates become intertwined.

The concept of Tomorrow With You is interesting, and it’s rarely explored in time-traveling K-dramas. Usually, characters time travel unintentionally by supernatural means. But in So-Joon’s case, he decides when he wants to time travel . The romance will definitely grow on the viewers as they grow invested in the connection between Ma-Rin and So-Joon.

Watch on Roku

8 'Queen and I' (2012)

Created by song jae-jung.

Queen and I joins the ranks of Love in the Moonlight as an excellent historical K-drama due to its enthralling story. It follows two protagonists, Kim Boong-Do ( Ji Hyun-Woo ) and Choi Hee-Jin ( Yoo In-Na ), in their respective timelines. Hee-Jin is an actress in modern-day Korea, while Boong-Do is a scholar from the Joseon Dynasty. After almost being assassinated, Boong-Do ends up in present-day Korea on Hee-Jin’s film set. He soon learns that he is able to teleport back and forth in time, and the more time he spends with Hee-Jin, the more he falls in love with her, as she does with him.

Many time-traveling K-dramas focus on a prince and a lowly maiden — however, in rare cases like Queen and I and The Great Doctor , the cast consists of lower-ranking characters , like a scholar. There are plenty of comedic moments in the K-drama that make it worth watching, and viewers who love romantic comedies, heartfelt stories, and time-traveling will love this drama.

Watch on Tubi

7 'Familiar Wife' (2018)

Created by yang hee-seung.

Cha Joo-Hyuk ( Ji-Sung ) is a married man with two kids of his own. The problem is, he loathes his wife, and he has a negative outlook on life. Life at home is not perfect, and neither is his work life. He lives a somewhat miserable life, from his perspective. Life for Joo-Hyuk changes, however, after he visits a toll booth and puts 1000 won in it. He loses control of his car as it drives on his own, and he wakes up in the past, back before he got married. He shortly learns after traveling back and forth in time that he can change it if he so desires. And that is what he does — he alters his path by making deliberate choices to end up where he wants to be and wakes up in the present time with a new wife, Hye-Won ( Kang Han-na ).

Familiar Wife is a K-drama that is heartfelt, focusing on the idea that if one could change their life willingly, would they ? Most time-traveling K-dramas start off with a funny introduction, where characters are confused or startled by the sudden change in atmosphere and era. However, Familiar Wife starts off rather dark, making the viewer feel uncomfortable or miserable due to the realism incorporated. But such is necessary in order to provide a meaningful K-drama, which is what Familiar Wife grows to be.

6 'Splash Splash Love' (2015)

Created by kim ji-hyun and song jae-jung.

Jang Dan-Bi ( Kim Seul-Gi ) is a high schooler preparing to take entrance exams, which will ultimately decide the fate of her future. The problem is, she is bad at math, and she doesn’t know what she wants for her future. When the day comes, Dan-Bi becomes too overwhelmed and runs off. She sits on a bench all by herself, praying for a different life, when suddenly she hears drums coming from a rain puddle. She examines it and falls in, finding herself in the Joseon period. There, she is hired by the King to train him in mathematics, among other things.

Splash Splash Love is a very fun show that has all the defining characteristics of K-drama , which means it's focused on the characters. Taking place in the Joseon period, the main characters of Splash Splash Love , Dan-Bi and Prince Lee Do (Yoon Doo-Joon), are a fun pair that play off each other very well! Viewers will appreciate the common tropes: a woman disguises herself as a man, the prince falls for the maiden, a jealous queen , and a quiet bodyguard. It’s short and sweet, and any fan of K-dramas will love this one.

5 'Rooftop Prince' (2012)

Created by lee hee-myung.

Crown Prince Lee Gak ( Park Yoochun ), from the Joseon era, wakes up in the middle of the night as he finds his wife, the Crown Princess ( Jeong Yu-Mi ), dead in the lake. Many assume that she tripped and fell into the pond, but Lee Gak knows – with the help of three special advisors – that she was murdered. While an investigation is underway, Rooftop Prince cuts to the present time, following Park-Ha ( Han Ji-Min ) as she travels back to Korea to meet with her blood father with whom she lost connection after her stepsister abandoned her and ignored her pleas for help. Then four Joseon men are then transported to the present time after being chased by masked assassins and jumping off a cliff. From there, Lee Gak and his crew learn to live in the modern world while trying to go back to the Joseon period.

Rooftop Prince is full of K-drama tropes that fans know and love. It deals with amnesia–attained by Park-Ha after an accident, and she finds herself unable to answer why she was separated from her family. Rooftop Prince also deals with evil, second-female leads, goofy scenarios, and gimmicky love triangles. It’s also a unique drama where characters jump to the present time as opposed to past eras , which is always refreshing to watch in a time-traveling K-drama. Anyone looking for mystery in their time-traveling K-dramas will enjoy this classic.

4 'The King: Eternal Monarch' (2020)

Created by kim eun-sook.

In modern-day Korea, there exist two parallel universes. One universe follows the everyday life of modern-day Seoul, where there are prime ministers and presidents. However, in the other universe, Korea is still run by a monarchy, though it exists under present-day advancements. One day, in an alternate reality of Korea, a young prince by the name of Lee Gon ( Lee Min-Ho ) watches his father be murdered by an Uncle, and he is next until a mysterious stranger saves him. Meanwhile, in present-day Korea, a detective by the name of Tae-Eul ( Kim Go-Eun ) investigates that same man – Lee Gon’s uncle – who shows up covered in blood. Years go by for Lee Gon, and he grows into a King who searches for the person who saved him. He travels to the parallel universe of present-day Korea through a portal, and he meets his savior, Tae-Eul.

Initially, the Netflix K-drama The King: Eternal Monarch might be a little confusing. It deals a lot with parallel universes, and the information can be overwhelming and confusing at first , considering this is one of the first times – if not the only time – that a K-drama explores a universe where modern-day Korea is still ruled under a monarchy. But the slow build-up is well worth the wait, as a romance is ignited between the two leads. It’s a K-drama with a unique twist that viewers will enjoy and appreciate.

Watch on Netflix

3 'Tunnel' (2017)

Created by lee eun-mi and choi jin-hee.

Unlike most time-traveling K-dramas that focus on historical eras, Tunnel i s a K-drama that takes place in a fairly recent time period. Detective Gwang-Ho ( Choi Jin Hyuk ) is investigating a string of murders in 1985 involving young women, and upon chasing the suspect through a tunnel, Gwang-Ho loses sight of the perpetrator. He is then knocked out by getting hit in the head. Gwang-Ho then wakes up and discovers soon after that he is no longer in 1985, but rather, thirty years in the future.

Tunnel is a thriller K-Drama that differs from a lot of time-traveling shows. The romance is a subplot to the main plot and doesn’t exist for the most part. Rather, Tunnel focuses on familial love . The murder plot is an exciting bonus that will keep viewers and fans on their feet as they try to determine who the serial killer is and how Gwang-Ho will return to the time he belongs in.

2 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' (2016)

Created by tong hua.

Make-up artist Ha-Jin ( IU ) has just broken up with her boyfriend after catching him cheating on her with her best friend. Stuck in a slump, Ha-Jin sits out on a pier, drinking, when she sees a child drowning. She jumps in to save the child, and just as she swims to the surface after doing so, she is mysteriously pulled back down into the water. She then awakes in a hot water spring where several men are bathing. To her surprise, she finds out that she is in the Goryeo Dynasty, and the men she met were the Princes. She also eventually learns that she is no longer Ha-Jin but a woman named Hae-Soo who knows the princes well. With no way back home, Hae-Soo has to learn how to live in the Goryeo Dynasty and stay alive.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is another fun K-drama that plays around with the concept of body-switching as opposed to teleporting into a different era . It includes several male leads that the viewer will fall in love with and several love triangles that viewers will love. Not to mention, the show has its dramatic moments that will have viewers on the verge of tears. Buy on Amazon

1 'Mr. Queen' (2020)

Created by park kye-ok.

Jang Bong-Hwan ( Choi Jin Hyuk ) is one of the youngest chefs at Blue House, with a dream to become the first chef who “feeds the strongest.” He has a perfectionist, self-centered nature, and because of his insanely high ego, he mishandles a meal prepared specially for the Chinese Ambassador. This results in Bong-Hwan being chased by Seoul police, and he falls head-first into a pool of water. Upon waking, he learns that he is no longer Bong-Hwan, but rather Princess Kim So-Yong of the Joseon period.

Not only is Mr. Queen a classic time travel K-drama that many viewers will fall in love with, but it also includes the infamous body-switching trope seen in many classics, such as Secret Garden . This K-drama is filled with mystery as viewers are left to uncover the secret behind the attempted murder of So-Yong and the controversies behind her character. Mr. Queen is a worthwhile watch filled with lots of humor, provided excellently by the narration of Choi Jin Hyuk.

NEXT: The Best Heartwarming K-Dramas On Netflix Right Now

Tracing the evolution of lesbian cinema, from 'Go Fish' to 'Love Lies Bleeding'

Since the dawn of Hollywood, movies have played a prominent role in both the invisibility and visibility of lesbians. Even though the blatantly homophobic Hays Code era ended in the 1960s, it’s only been in the last 30 years that queer women have been able to be out in front of and behind the camera, quite literally showing the diversity of a community that encompasses a wide range of identities within one shared culture.

“There are little waves of momentum,” said filmmaker and historian Jenni Olson. “Being able to point to something that succeeds helps other filmmakers.”

In 2024, the fruits of lesbian labor can be seen in wide-release films like “Bottoms,” “Drive-Away Dolls” and, most recently, “Love Lies Bleeding,” but they’re just the latest in a series of moments Sapphic cinephiles are gifted once every few years. These moments started with the advent of openly lesbian films in the 1980s, with dyke bars and film festivals playing the polyamorous vampire flick “The Hunger,” the bisexual athletic drama “Personal Best” and Donna Deitch’s adaptation of Jane Rule’s 1950s divorce ranch romance “Desert Hearts” practically on a loop.

“There genuinely were not enough lesbian films,” said Olson, a former programming director at San Francisco’s Frameline LGBTQ film festival. She said lesbians got tired of being relegated to smaller theaters to watch the same films year after year, and recalled a “lesbian riot” erupting at the festival.

“The legend is that they stormed the projection booth,” Olson said, noting it led to a changing moment.

Seeking to help women and other marginalized filmmakers see their projects across the finish line, Frameline’s board brought in women like Olson to work with their gay male counterparts and launched a Completion Fund in 1990. The early ’90s was already a crucial turning point with the advent of “ new queer cinema ,” a movement celebrated by film critic B. Ruby Rich to refer to the success of emerging queer filmmakers like Todd Haynes, Isaac Julien, Tom Kalin and Gregg Araki, who were winning awards and distribution deals for their explicitly gay work.

Things didn’t change for queer women, however, until a scrappy little film out of Chicago called “Go Fish” made a splash at Sundance in 1994.

“It’s so great to look back and appreciate how significant ‘Go Fish’ really was,” Olson said. “It was the first widely released lesbian film that told the everyday lives of a young, racially diverse, politically engaged, contemporary lesbian friend group. We could watch it and say, ‘Oh, this is something that represents me. That looks like me. That looks like my life,’ in a way that hadn’t happened before.” 

Screenwriter and actor Guinevere Turner said by the early 1990s, she had watched practically every lesbian film and never saw herself or her friends represented in the limited portrayals available at the time.

“Lesbian films were starting to get a reputation for being kind of depressing and moody and low production quality,” Turner told NBC News. “At that point, I think the two words ‘lesbian film’ just sounded dreary to the world, like it was going to be some somber lonely lady on a fainting couch, which a lot of them were.”

Turner and her eventual collaborator, Rose Troche, met in Chicago in the early ’90s while both were part of ACT UP, a grassroots group working to end the AIDS crisis. The duo eventually decided to create the type of film they wanted to see.

“I had never even read a script, much less written one,” said Turner, who would go on to write the screenplay for and star in “Go Fish,” which would catapult her career and Troche’s.

Shot on 16 mm film in black and white, “Go Fish,” about finding love in Chicago’s lesbian community, was filmed over several years with nonactors pulled from diners and dance clubs to make up the community Turner and Troche, the film’s co-screenwriter and director, were part of and knew existed elsewhere.

Related stories:

• Lesbian cinema emerges from the shadows at NYC’s Sapph-o-Rama film event
• Kristen Stewart and her 'Love Lies Bleeding' co-star on bringing lesbian sex to the cinema
• 'Bottoms' reinvents the teen sex comedy with a fight club and a lesbian twist
• Lesbian bars, broken hearts and dildos: Beanie Feldstein on the wild ride of ‘Drive-Away Dolls’

They secured finishing funds from Frameline and a boost from Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, who connected them with producer John Pierson, who already had hits like Spike Lee’s 1986 film “She’s Gotta Have It” under his belt. Pierson’s signoff ensured that “Go Fish” had the unlikely but heartening distinction of becoming the first film to ink a major distribution deal at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, signing with The Samuel Goldwyn Co. to the tune of $450,000.

“It was very exciting to have something that was so uncompromising and from inside the community,” Rich said.

“Some of it is just right place, right time,” Turner said of the film’s success. “When independent cinema was really starting to be an exciting thing, it was like the 25th anniversary of Stonewall, and we hit a moment where k.d. lang was on the cover of Vanity Fair getting shaved by Cindy Crawford.”

Canadian filmmaker Patricia Rozema —  whose third film, the lesbian romance “When Night Is Falling,” was released one year after “Go Fish” hit theaters — said she was impressed with how “Go Fish” was not centered on a coming-out experience, as most previous lesbian films had been.

“I really loved how it was just not, ‘She’s coming out! Will she? Won’t she? Can she? Oh, but where are the boys?’” Rozema said. “It’s just a bunch of women living their lives and being who they are.”

Shortly after its Sundance premiere, “Go Fish” opened in theaters nationwide just in time for Pride Month in June 1994, with Turner and Troche receiving favorable press in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, and traveling around the world in support of the film.

They also found camaraderie and healthy competition with other aspiring lesbian filmmakers at the time, several of whom went on to write, direct and produce their own queer films. These filmmakers include Maria Maggenti (1995’s “The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love”), Cheryl Dunye (1996’s “The Watermelon Woman”), Lisa Cholodenko (1998’s “High Art”), Kimberly Peirce (1999’s “Boys Don’t Cry”), Jamie Babbit (1999’s “But I’m a Cheerleader”) and Angela Robinson, whose Sapphic spy film “D.E.B.S.” was also a sensation at Sundance as a short before being turned into a feature for release in 2004.

Robinson said “Go Fish” was “earth-shattering at the time,” leading to at least a decade of Hollywood taking a chance on lesbian filmmakers looking to make work with explicitly gay themes. Notably, after several lesbian films received R and NC-17 ratings, “D.E.B.S.” was the first lesbian film to be rated PG-13.

“There was a definite kind of energy and soup around that time,” Robinson said, “and it felt really political to even get your movie made. You really felt like part of the movement was also seen if you could kind of crash into Hollywood and get your movie all the way through all the barriers of the time.”

One of those barriers included casting, which was a struggle when even mini-majors and independent studios were looking for Hollywood stars to be attached to any given project. For “Go Fish,” Turner and Troche pulled in friends and women off the street, but for features that required professionals, there were very few lesbian actors out in the ’90s, and if straight actors didn’t pass on the projects themselves, their management or publicists did on their behalf with concerns about career repercussions.

When casting the leads for their 1996 debut “Bound,” Lilly and Lana Wachowski saw several established actors pass despite the fleshed-out characters of lovers Corky and Violet. Those roles eventually went to Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, who would eventually become stars due, in part, to their undeniable chemistry in the smoldering neo-noir, opening a door for actors (straight and otherwise) to see the potential accolades and attention possible for playing a lesbian part.

“It actually speaks a lot to Jennifer and Gina’s courage to take on these two roles that a lot of women passed on,” Lilly Wachowski said. “But Gina and Jennifer certainly saw that the script had a lot going for it and the way that we would talk about it because we were extremely interested in the culture.”

Like “Go Fish,” “Bound” also employed real queer women to be a part of the project (particularly the film’s bar scene), and queer sexpert Susie Bright both made a cameo in “Bound” and advised on the film’s Sapphic sex scenes, years before intimacy coordinators became a consideration. Two years after “Go Fish” premiered to a packed house at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre for Frameline, “Bound” played at the same theater to a similarly full house of lesbians and other queers who were shocked to see the leading ladies win in the end.

“We wanted them to have this heroic moment,” Wachowski said of Violet and Corky, the leads in “Bound,” adding that she was “happy and proud to have been able to give” queer audiences “this thing that they had never seen before.”

Olson recalled Troche sharing a similar sentiment at the 1994 premiere of “Go Fish” at the Castro Theatre: “I remember Rose saying to the 1,400 ecstatic lesbians, ‘I made this for you.’”

“Go Fish” and its contemporaries inspired a new era of lesbian filmmakers who brought an expansive view of what it means to be queer and a woman in different bodies and corners of the world, including Nisha Gantra’s “Chutney Popcorn” (1999), Alice Wu’s “Saving Face” (2004), Dee Rees’ “Pariah” (2011) and Desiree Akhavan’s “Appropriate Behavior” (2014). Around this time, Sapphic entertainment started to switch gears, with Troche, Turner, Robinson and several others turning to television when Showtime debuted “The L Word” in 2004. Running for six seasons, the Los Angeles-set lesbian series was another huge moment for lesbian visibility on screen, sharing several throughlines with “Go Fish,” including Turner’s recurring appearance on the show.

Despite the continued production of lesbian films during this period, they remained largely relegated to limited release. By the time “The L Word” went off the air in 2009, independent cinema had changed. Now, even though it’s easier than ever to make a movie, it’s never been more difficult to get it seen in a culture inundated with content. Without the Hollywood muscle of a producer like Elizabeth Banks (“Bottoms”) or a star like Kristen Stewart (“Love Lies Bleeding”) willing to bare all on the cover of Rolling Stone, LGBTQ film festivals are more necessary than ever for aspiring filmmakers whose work is not solely based on career aspirations, but on reflecting and reaching their community.

“It didn’t explode — it didn’t become bigger,” Rich said of lesbian cinema. “There is the sense in which the lesbian representation is always the bridesmaid, never the bride. We never really arrive, we’re always arriving.”

Three decades after “Go Fish” helped usher in an era of new lesbian cinema, the film is finding new audiences (and vice versa) with a new 4K print restoration that showed at Sundance this past January and at NewFest, New York City’s LGBTQ film festival, in April, with further screenings this summer. A retrospective of Rozema’s work played in both New York and Los Angeles this month, “D.E.B.S.” has just been announced as part of Cinespia’s Pride screening series in L.A. in June, and “Bound” has just been entered into The Criterion Collection.

Still, in three decades, there’s a lot left to be desired, with even proven creators like Turner, Wachowski and Robinson, all of whom have queer film and television projects in the ether that have yet to be greenlit, indicating that Hollywood might be stuck in yet another cyclical ebb for lesbian or otherwise queer content.

“There’s a similar elation to that idea of me sitting in that audience in the Castro and being humbled that I was able to do this for all these people,” Wachowski said. “I’m just not satisfied enough, so I’m simultaneously fighting as hard as I can to get these kinds of films made while railing against an industry that I think is responding to a lot of the queer backlash that is going on in the world. So I’m happy, but I’m still pissed off.”

For more from NBC Out, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Trish Bendix is a writer based in Los Angeles. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Bustle and Conde Nast's them.

The newer, the better: How wheelchair users can travel smoothly

Chris Ricci can walk only short distances at a time, but he has traveled the world on his scooter.

The 57-year-old U.S. Army veteran has limited mobility stemming from a foot injury he sustained in the 1980s and related complications has found cruises an accessible way to explore destinations like Alaska or the Caribbean. Just this month, he, his wife and friends took a week-long Royal Caribbean International cruise to Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

Ricci, who is based in Lakeland, Florida, simply had to drive to Tampa to board the Enchantment of the Seas. “I think it’s pretty easy,” he told USA TODAY. They booked an accessible stateroom for the first time, too.

“It was really big,” said Ricci, who chronicles his cruises and other travels on his YouTube channel, Scootin Around the World.  “I had no problem getting the scooter into the room.”

Cruise ships can offer guests who use mobility devices an accessible, streamlined way to travel. But some extra planning can go a long way toward ensuring the trip goes smoothly. Here’s what to know.

How this adult-only cruise line integrated accessibility into its experiences

Do cruise ships have accessible staterooms for mobility devices?

Cruise lines do offer accessible staterooms, but they’re not all the same. “Make sure that you have the accessible room that's best for you,” said Joy Burns, organization and PR manager at accessible travel booking platform Wheel the World .

For instance, some staterooms may be better suited to motorized wheelchair users, but the setup may not be conducive for passengers who use other kinds of devices, according to her husband, Bert, who has been paralyzed since 1982 and has taken more than 20 cruises.

“If I got a wheelchair-accessible room that's made for a power wheelchair with a Hoyer lift, the bed’s up real high,” he said. “I can’t transfer with a high bed. I use a manual wheelchair, so I’m down low.”

Standard staterooms may also be able to accommodate mobility devices, but guests should familiarize themselves with cruise lines’ requirements.

Passengers booking a standard cabin on Carnival Cruise Line ships must have devices that can fit through a 22-inch-wide doorway, according to its website . The devices must also fold and collapse to allow for safe exit from the room (passengers cannot store mobility devices in corridors or public spaces).

“Guests who bring scooters that are larger than 21" (53.34 cm) wide, or travel with multiple scooters in the same stateroom, must purchase a fully accessible stateroom with a wider doorway (32”, 81.3 cm), or rent a smaller scooter appropriately suited for their stateroom,” the line said on its website. “Guests may be required to have their scooters sized at the time of check-in to ensure it fits in the stateroom.”

Major cruise lines typically have accessibility departments that can help guests navigate the process, according to Sylvia Longmire, an accessible travel writer who runs the blog and travel brand Spin the Globe .

“Talk to the accessibility department to ask the questions and let them know what kind of equipment you're bringing if you're bringing your own stuff,” said Longmire, who has multiple sclerosis and has taken over 30 cruises, most of which have been with a scooter or wheelchair. “Let them know what your ability or disability is, what your level is, what your accessibility requirements are. And that way, they can tell you what kind of cabin you might need, what location, (information) about the ship, and everything before you even call to make the reservation.”

For those booking through a travel agent, she said she “highly” recommends working with someone who has a disability or is an expert in accessible travel.

What cruises are best for guests with mobility devices?

Some destinations may also be better suited to guests with mobility devices than others. 

Once, during a New Zealand cruise, the Burnses’ ship hit some rough water, causing Bert to roll out of the casino and crash into the bar (though no one was hurt). Joy recommended researching the conditions of the seas. ( Click here for USA TODAY’S guide to the best times to cruise by region.)

She added that expedition cruises , which often feature activities that require guests to get on and off Zodiac boats, may not be as accessible.

What cruise ship is best for guests with mobility devices?

New ships tend to have more features that can make a trip easier for guests with mobility devices, said the Burnses and Longmire. Those include automatic sliding doors in public spaces, stateroom locks that allow passengers to wave their key to open the door and pool lifts.

“The newer the ship, the better the accessibility,” said Longmire.

Can I get a mobility device through a cruise line?

Guests can arrange to rent mobility devices through vendors like Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea (Longmire is a contract employee for Scootaround).

Rentals may also be available at the cruise terminal, and some lines have a limited number of scooters and wheelchairs available on the ship, according to Longmire. She estimated rentals can run from roughly $80 to $250 depending on the type of equipment, the length of time guests need it and other factors.

Do cruise lines have accessible excursions?

Yes, but options may be limited. Joy said accessible shore excursions available through cruise lines are “few and far between,” and she and Bert have taken cruises where there were none available through the cruise line at all.

Longmire noted that “cruise lines are entirely dependent on the availability of excursions with whoever they're contracting with.” If a given destination doesn’t have wheelchair taxis, for example, that limits cruise lines’ offerings.

Are there blind scuba divers? Here's the accessible way anyone can explore the ocean

When they are available through the line, Longmire said many of them are what she calls windshield tours – bus tours with a group of other passengers that might include one or two 15-minute stops to take photos. “And the rest of it is just seeing everything out the window,” she said.

However, she added that cruise lines “get a little bit better” each year about offering those.

Joy said passengers can also book accessible shore excursions through companies like Wheel the World. Longmire has had luck booking shuttles and tours directly through providers in various ports as well, though guests should take care to be back in time before the ship leaves.

Are tender ports accessible?

When it comes to accessibility at tender ports – where guests have to take a small vessel from the ship to shore – Longmire said it’s “not very black and white.” Cruise ships may let guests board tenders and some have technology to help passengers with wheelchairs do so, but the port’s capabilities may be different.

“Just because you're able to get from the ship to the tender doesn't mean that you'll be able to get from the tender to the dock,” said Longmire.

Rules may differ as well, with some lines allowing guests in manual wheelchairs to use tenders but prohibiting motorized devices. She recommended checking with the accessibility department about those policies.

The Burnses, for their part, have generally found tender ports to be inaccessible, and Joy suggested travelers review itineraries to see how many they include. 

Overall, Longmire said her experience on cruises has been “really good,” both for their accessibility and convenience (you can visit multiple places but unpack once, for instance). “I always recommend to wheelchair users for their first travel experience, like, if you don't get seasick and you’re okay with cruises, a cruise is the way to go.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

Duke University Blue Devils

Women's Tennis 4/29/2024 8:04:00 PM

Women’s Tennis Receives NCAA Tournament Selection; Will Travel to Knoxville, Tenn.

Players mentioned.

Iuliia Bryzgalova

Ellie Coleman

Emma Jackson

Shavit Kimchi

Thanks for visiting !

The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy.

We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here.

Thank you for your support!

was not found