#Time Travel Romance

[geminithetwins]

Timeline 1: Sol doesn't know Sunjae knows her, still he remembers and loves her unconditionally

Timeline 2: Sol chases after Sunjae, he falls in love with her even harder

Timeline 3: Teenage Sol rejects SunJae, he waits for her 15 years, didn't waste a second when Adult Sol says she liked him too, confessing his feeling then and there.

Timeline 4: Sol keeps hiding from Sunjae, he finds out the reason and says he would die happily if means he could have memories with her.

Timeline 5: Sunjae forgets Sol's existence, but he fell in love the moment he sees her.

If they love you, they'll love you no matter what- flaws, traits, features, looks, races, classes, genders, or religions. SunJae is the living proof of that.

[wangcairen]

Top 10 Ships

@circumference-pie - Since you tagged me, I'll play along.

Here are some of my favorite ships, in no particular order. Some are non-romantic.

Jiang Xuening x Xie Wei (the easy one!) from "Story of Kunning Palace" - gif courtesy of #cdramasource

2. Tantai Jin x Li Susu from "Til the End of the Moon"

3. Kagome x Inuyasha from "Inuyasha"

4. Amber Bierce x Meoraq from "The Last Hour of Gann", image courtesy of @redsparrow-sketch

5. Yerin x Lindon from Will Wight's "Cradle" series, image courtesy of user dunkindrawz on reddit

6. Bren (the blonde human man) and Lady Ilisidi (the elderly alien in the background) from C.J. Cherryh's "Foreigner" Series. Maybe my favorite non-romantic relationship ever.

7. Amos Burton and Chrisjen Avasarala from "The Expanse" - #expanseedit

8. Claire x Jamie from "Outlander"

9. Yu Tu x Qiao Jingjing from "You Are My Glory"

10. Rocky and Ryland Grace from "Project Hail Mary"

Tagging @renewedmotionforjudgment in case she wants to participate, but no pressure.

[suburbanbeatnik]

In my quest to end my art block, I'm now working on a series of sketches featuring (slightly) AU versions of NNdP/HOND characters. It's for a future novel (working title: As Above, So Below) I'm outlining. The concept is a modern woman traveling back in time to the 1400s and meeting the historical characters who inspired Hugo's novel.

Here's the first sketch of Dom Gilles Thurel, Archdeacon of Josas (better known as Dom Claude Frollo), clasping his beloved tome of the Corpus Hermeticum.

[mortish-writes]

Hello, I hope you’re doing well! I’ve been very much enjoying both routes and look forward to seeing how each one plays out. I was, however, wondering if you’d mind sharing a few of your favorite historical and fantasy romances if you aren’t too busy. I saw you mentioned these genres and, as I enjoy your writing, I think there’s a good chance I’d enjoy your book recommendations. Either way, thanks for the updates~

Oh goodness, so many. I'll throw out a few names. So everyone knows the Outlander series, but not everyone knows Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. No time travel, but very similar vibe, awesome if you've ever spent your entire adolescence fantasizing about leaving society behind and living in the wilderness with a hot guy. Also in a similar vein as Outlander is the All-Souls trilogy. Hot vampire, babymaking, time travel, and an insane amount of low fantasy lore. The audiobooks are excellent.

Maya Banks has a lot of good historical romances with highlanders which is my guilty pleasure genre. I particularly like "Never Seduce a Scot" about a really sweet young deaf woman who's married to a grumbly laird.

One weird historical novel that I go back to over and over is called Prince Charming by Julie Garwood. Really old fashioned and has the wonderful Rosalyn Landor narrating the audiobook version. It's about a young British lady who (and I'm just pulling this from memory) travels to the America to collect a pair of children who have been orphaned. Her guide is this rugged, snarky American guy who (naturally) falls head over heels for the lady. Very cute romance with a solid dose of suspense and drama.

I hope this is helpful!

[scifrey]

What a flattering and wonderful bit of news to wake up to! TIME AND TIDE made the CBC's list of recommended fall books!

[jessread-s]

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🏒👒Review:

This is a time travel romance everyone needs in their life!  

“Puck & Prejudice” follows Tucker Taylor, a pro hockey player who accidentally travels back in time to Regency Era England. Once there, he stumbles upon Lizzy Wooddash, the brazen contemporary of Jane Austen. The two enter into a marriage of convenience for their shared gain. Yet as sparks ignite, they soon realize that matters of the heart rarely adhere to carefully laid plans.

This book perfectly blends contemporary and regency romance while incorporating some of my favorite tropes of the genres: marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and one bed!

As a fan of historical romance books, Riley captures the era so well and I loved watching Tuck, this giant, lovable, teddy bear of a hockey player stick out like a sore thumb. This endears him to Lizzy and I adored the way she took him under her wing. 

I knew that they were perfect for each other from the start. Lizzy is a strong FMC who is very outspoken about her discontent surrounding the societal expectations of women. Because Tuck is from the where women have more rights and he has a sister that he cares deeply for, he is very supportive of Lizzy’s pursuit of freedom and her writing endeavors. The way he uplifts her when her family has put her down her whole life made my heart race!

In keeping with the times, the pair must follow the high stakes rules of Regency courtship, which of course only intensifies the palpable tension between them when fate forces them to share a bed and a carriage to keep up their ruse. The steamy scenes really hit when they could no longer resist temptation and finally let go! 

I cannot recommend this one enough and eagerly await another installment from Riley!

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[kc-wrld]

Bring Warmth to a Snowy day with the Korean Drama “Lovely Runner”

It's snowing today!! ❄️☃️ I haven’t seen this much snow in years! The first thing that came to mind was curling up in bed with a drama that matches the cozy vibe of falling snow. If you're looking for something heartwarming to watch on a snowy night, let me introduce you to The Lovely Runner. Watching it feels like being wrapped in a blanket of hope and love, and its snow-filled scenes fit perfectly with today's weather.

At the start of the first episode you might think this well end up being your typical idol-fan love story, but Lovely Runner is so much more. It's about the unshakable connection between Im Sol, a young woman who loses hope after a devastating accident, and Ryu Sun-jae, an idol whose words unknowingly bring her back to life. When Sol is at her lowest and with her dreams completely shattered Sunjae’s words became her reason to keep going.

Here is a Sun Jae quote that could uplift you too:

"Thank you for staying alive. Your loved ones around you would be relieved and be grateful that you're still with them. So, you should live your life today. Because it's a great day. It will rain tomorrow. As you wait until the rain stops, live another day. If you keep this up, there might come a day when life doesn't seem so miserable."

Why "Lovely Runner" is Perfect for Snowy Days

1. The Snow Symbolism: So many key moments in Lovely Runner happen in the snow-confessions, heartbreaks, and reunions. The snow represents both their challenges and their soft involving love. It's like the weather mirrors their story, making it even more emotional.

2. It's Full of Hope: The drama doesn't just focus on romance; it's about healing and finding purpose in life. Watching Sol regain her strength after a near death experience and Sun-jae faces his fears. It shows us that even in the coldest times(as it is outside) there's always room for growth and change.

3. The OST Brings the Drama to Life: The soundtrack is incredible! My personal favorites are:

"Sudden Shower" and "Spring Snow" I even posted these songs to my snow day story on instagram today!

So, grab a warm drink, wrap yourself in a blanket, and let Lovely Runner wrap you up in a snow blanket. It's the kind of drama that reminds you of the power of words, the importance of second chances, and how even on the coldest days, love can make you feel warm again. Not only that but get a glimpse of Sun Jae’s perfect composure and amazing smile.:)💙

Have you seen Lovely Runner yet? Let me know your thoughts and if there's a scene or OST song that you love!

Links to check out:

1. Behind the Scenes of Lovely Runner https://youtu.be/zfp85qRtqSo?si=gpzyjfFFKTzX-7_x

2. Listen to the OST "SPRING SNOW"

3. Another snowy drama to check out. My first Korean drama that started my binge watching!

https://youtu.be/Gp5bLVX3GAU?si=u63RmHwTJxRBuxj2

[lexxwithbooks]

📖: 𝑹𝒖𝒃𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒅 (𝐸𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛-𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑒 #1) 💎⏳

✍🏽: 𝐊𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐢𝐞𝐫

[autistic-authorowo]

Footnotes the visual novel

[blogthebooklover]

Romance Books Poll

[pwlyons]

“Out of Time” Available on Amazon

Eleanor Cleary faces two journeys through time, one to trace her past and one to find her future.

[keysandopenmind]

April is Paradox month...

I've been working pretty solidly on Wonderland for the last while, but I've been getting invested in the romantic subplots of the books I've been reading and I need to write some romance myself. So back to my timey-wimey romance, I go.

Here's a bit I wrote yesterday:

Professor Marlowe watches me as I leaf through the album. I shift under his gaze and turn another page. That’s when I see him. I pull the photo closer. It’s square shaped and has that fuzzy-around-the-edges look of photos from the 1970s. The photo shows a group of people in their 20s, arms draped around each other’s shoulders. The man on the left is wearing a striped turtleneck and jeans. And he’s the man who answered the door when I came by the other day. I’d swear to it. I look up at Professor Marlowe. He glances from me to the photo and nods. “That’s impossible,” I say. “And yet, you saw him with your own eyes.” I think back to what Doctor Day told me over the phone. “He’s… you?” Professor Marlowe nods. “I’ve spent my whole life trying to work out how I can do it.”

[con-alas-de-angeles]

Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

[wahlpaper]

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh Review

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachel Lippincott

CW: Swearing, Underage Drinking, Poorly Arranged Marriage, Misogyny, Past Toxic Relationship, Minor Injuries with Blood, Internalized Homophobia, Queerphobia, Classism, Abusive Parent, Past Death of Parent

3.5/5

I automatically chose to read Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh because Rachel Lippincott had once again targeted the niche audience I am a part of; queer Pittsburghers whose favorite genre is queer YA romcoms. After She Gets The Girl, a book which Lippincott wrote with her wife, Alyson Derrick, I assumed this book would also be a love letter to Pittsburgh. Although it missed that mark, which I will elaborate on later, it was a very intriguing book with a sweet romance and loveable characters.

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh starts with Audrey, a seventeen-year-old girl from 2023 Pittsburgh who gets transported back to North England in 1812. She lands in the field of an estate belonging to an absent father and a girl of high society named Lucy. Audrey realizes she only has 25 days to spend in the past, but not why she's there. She works with Lucy to blend into the 1800s and to solve her mystery. They have narrowed it down to two things that may be connected: finding love or regaining her passion for art, so they try both out. Only, Audrey isn't finding a spark with any of the handsome men around her and she can't stop drawing Lucy. Meanwhile, Lucy is trying to come to terms with her marriage arrangement to an awful older man. Will the two girls truly be able to help each other?

I normally avoid period pieces because the language it's confusing and goes over my head, but Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh is far more approachable. The language isn't too heavy and many things are explained on-page to Audrey. Having both Audrey and Lucy's POV helped with getting the full picture. Audrey knew things I did and served as fresh eyes to the 1800s. Lucy was in awe of the world Audrey came from. And well-versed in her own. The tropes used also helped with approachability, adding a familiar element. A training montage, an animal with an attitude, and kissing in the rain, all help this period piece feel like the modern literature it is.

Lippincott created a really enjoyable and well-developed cast of characters for her book. Audrey is thrown into Lucy's world by a curmudgeonly but secretly sweet old man with a backstory you'll want to stick around till the end for. Lucy's world holds 3 potential suitors for Audrey that would all be wonderful picks in their own right. They all have hidden depths beyond their attractive looks. Even the awful man that Lucy is set to marry is full of personality. The best of the characters in Lucy's life is likely Martha, the staff member of the estate who practically raised Lucy after her mother died. These characters and more all added something important to Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh.

The title of this book, Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh, is false advertisement. That isn't a reason not to read the book. It is still a cute queer time travel romance, but it's important to know what you aren't getting into. Although I have never read Pride and Prejudice, I have it on good authority that this isn't a modern-ish adaptation of it. The only connection is that it takes place in the regency era. It also barely features Pittsburgh. It's there when Audrey is in her own time and she thinks about it a little bit, but that's all. Audrey has a line in her head where she mentions the "polar vortex that hit Pittsburgh a few years ago", taking me completely out of the book. It reminded me that Lippincott isn't from Pittsburgh and is older than her characters. Audrey would have been 4 years old at the time and a real Pittsburgher always calls it Snowmageddon. I had assumed that the 1800s portion would take place in 1800s Pittsburgh. I am still left wanting a book with this premise.

The queer rep in this book was both romantic and realistic. I appreciate that it addresses how it may be far more unsafe to be openly queer in 1812, but it can still be a problem in 2023. I related to neither girl knowing her queer identity at the start of the book, despite the obvious signs. They're both only about 17, which is around the time I started being honest with myself about not being straight. It takes time for some people. Thankfully, this couple had some people on their side in 1812. Queer people were not unheard of then, despite the secrecy.

If a WLW regency romance with time travel appeals to you, give Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh a try! Rachel Lippincott understands how to write two clueless characters falling for each other, and that alone would make this book worth reading. If you happen to know of any other Pittsburgh romance books, send them my way!

[scifrey]

Okay, so remember how I've been Ded Of Editing this last year and just absolutely consumed by bookish stuff?

The bookish stuff is now out in the world.

TIME AND TIDE

Releases November 2024.

Exciting news: the eGalley is up on NetGalley and Edelweiss! This means, with the promise of an honest review, you could potentially read the book right now. However, if you're not interested in an ARC, you can preorder your Copy Here.

*

Historical fiction with a touch of time travel, for fans of Diana Gabaldon, Alexis Hall, and Olivia Waite’s Feminine Pursuits series, where a modern bisexual woman is thrown into Regency England and must figure out how to survive, while she falls in love with a woman who will become a famous author.

Just a twenty-first century gal with nineteenth-century problems…

When Sam’s plane crashes catastrophically over the Atlantic, it defies all odds for Sam to be the sole survivor. But it seems impossible that she’s rescued by a warship in 1805. With a dashing sea captain as her guide, she begins to find her footing in a world she’d only seen in movies.

Then Sam is betrayed. At the mercy of the men and morals of the time, and without the means to survive on her own, she’s left with no choice but to throw herself on the charity of the captain's sisters. She resigns herself to a quiet life of forever hiding her true self. What she doesn't expect is that her new landlady is Margaret Goodenough—the world-famous author whose yet-to-be-completed novel will contain the first lesbian kiss in the history of British Literature, and a clever woman. Clever enough to know her new companion has a secret.

As the two women grow ever closer, Sam must tread the tenuous line between finding her own happiness in a place where she doesn’t think she’ll ever fit in, and possibly (accidentally) changing the course of history.

[powermove102]

Analysis of time travel romance: how problematic?

The concept here is an insight into time-travel couples and how problematic their relationships are.

Definition of a time-travel couple here is that at least one person in the relationship has to have access to time travel, and use it in a way that influences their romantic relationship with someone. ‘Problematic’ can be in a variety of ways, let’s just see what sticks out in each case, you’ll get what I mean.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2003/2009) - Henry and Clare

I will be fully transparent, reading the book for the first time recently is what made me go into analysing this stuff, because I was wondering if time-travel romance is inherently problematic due to the nature of knowing each other at different times and such. 

In this case? Absolutely. There is seemingly nothing that should keep these two together as a couple apart from the fact that they both absolutely love to bone. I’m serious. There’s a weird deterministic bond between them, where instead of using time travel to create a loop in their wider existence that the romance is then stuck in (such as in DARK, will mention later), their romance IS the loop. 

She meets him because he shows up at her doorstep, so to speak, and as an impressionable young child is amazed by the fact that he time travels right in front of her. He tells her about how they’re great friends in the future, and makes sure to stress many times how ‘what happened, happened’ and therefore you cannot change a single thing in the future, so she goes into her life KNOWING she will be with him, and this time travel thing has become so normal to her after all these years that there’s not even a thought in he remind to change that. 

He meets her because she finally finds him after a few years, and immediately they’re assumed endgame. Because that’s just how it is. 

There’s no choice in the relationship. Both seem fine with that, because that comfort, that stability, is nice for them, but let’s be outside observers and recognise how fucked this is. They both meet the other with full knowledge of everything about them, AND the knowledge that they will be together. Where’s the autonomy?

As to the relationship itself? Toxic. So enormously toxic. Apparently them both waiting for the second she turns 18 (while he’s in his 40s) is ✨cute✨ and ✨fun✨ and ✨endearing✨ and ✨not a problem, actually✨ … so he has to barely hold himself back from pouncing upon his future wife for the entirety of her being like 6 to 18 and then the moment it’s not a crime it’s normal to let him rip. And I know she was begging for it. Like literally begging and constantly asking to throw rules into the wind and have him take her before her birthday, but that’s because of aforementioned child coercion and the fact that her brain chemistry had in fact been altered when it came to dating autonomy (clarification: she no longer had any). ALSO he forces a kiss on her when she’s 15 and she is trying to resist. 

She also gets completely mad when he goes missing for long periods of time. I understand this is not great for a wife to have to deal with, but I thought you of ALL people would be the one to understand it and at the very least tolerate it and not bitch about it. Literally a lot of the time that he is not with you, he is visiting SMALL YOU, which you KNOW has to happen, and you KNOW happens, else you wouldn’t BE here NOW. 

Then we get to the pregnancy plot. It annoys me. Both are bitchy. It's frustrating. But the worst part is how they deal with Henry getting a vasectomy, which he does because, as far as he knows, they aren’t able to have children due to his condition, and every attempt that they take at it ends in miscarriage, which damages them both emotionally and hurts Clare physically. So snip snip. The fact that they don’t make this decision together is already an issue, but the worst part is that they work around it and have a kid anyway. This is where the book and movie diverge, and I’m not sure exactly why or which is worse, but here goes: 

The book has Henry getting the snip after they’ve agreed not to try for kids anymore (though the first time he tries to get it he DOESN’T tell her and never INTENDS to tell her, instead she guesses and gives in), and then a younger version of him travels forward, wakes up Clare, and has sex with her while his older self is sleeping next to them, while Clare is unaware that it’s the younger him. That’s literally the scene. He travels in, sees his wife sleeping, and thinks, ‘might as well smash, best ignore the other me but also not tell her about it’. I guess he doesn’t care about boning with himself an arm’s reach away, since he literally had sex with himself many many many times, but also when Clare SEES the older Henry in bed next to them, she CRIES OUT, then goes ‘well, I guess it’s not that bad’, and goes along with it. WHAT THE FUCK

In the movie, maybe so they wouldn’t have to have two Eric Banas, Clare’s so mad at Henry for getting the snip that SHE finds a younger version of him and initiates boning. BOTH versions are severely underfunded in the communications department, as Henry decides not to talk to Clare about his decision that no kids is best (a sensible conclusion, given the circumstance, but a warated conversation nonetheless), then in the book there’s something to be said for HIM taking away his OWN bodily autonomy by providing swimmers when he didn’t want to be providing them, but Clare, the one with a full awareness of the situation, fails to say anything when she realises what’s up, and in the movie it takes that concept all the way PAST 100 because she just reverses his ‘my body my choice’ decision. Like YES he should have told you he wanted to get a vasectomy but that's HIS choice babes.

Yes it all worked out with them having a kid, happy ending bla bla bla, but that’s what makes it WORSE. This was a TOXIC relationship with a very PROBLEMATIC start, middle, and end, which should NOT have had a SINGLE second of happiness and working out, but it DID and that makes me MAD.