The stars aligned to ignite my passion for magic-realism romance after a few things had happened. 1) I got heavily into the idea of the multiverse and alternate realities in high school, having been inspired by my physics teacher. 2) I read and fell in love with The Time Traveler’s Wife (see list!). 3) I binge-watched the incredible sci-fi show Fringe, which deals with parallel universes and time jumps. 4) I decided to write my first multiverse romance, inspired by all the above factors and more besides. Since then, I’ve focused most of my reading on romantic novels, with those that share a magic realism twist being auto-reads—of course!
While not perhaps a “romance” novel in the established-formula sense, this book is achingly romantic. This epic story truly focuses on the gradual development of the two protagonists’ relationship and how time travel both created and challenged their love. This book ignited my passion for magic-realism romantic novels and remains one of my top books of all time.
I adore the contrast of romantic love between two seemingly destined souls and the brutality of some events caused by Henry’s uncontrolled time travel. There’s also the tricky angle of the age gap (only sometimes, depending on where Henry and Clare are in their lives, but it is occasionally extreme), which the author doesn’t shy away from. And I confess this is probably the book that made me sob the most!
Now a series on HBO starring Rose Leslie and Theo James!
The iconic time travel love story and mega-bestselling first novel from Audrey Niffenegger is "a soaring celebration of the victory of love over time" (Chicago Tribune).
Henry DeTamble is a dashing, adventurous librarian who is at the mercy of his random time time-traveling abilities. Clare Abshire is an artist whose life moves through a natural sequential course. This is the celebrated and timeless tale of their love. Henry and Clare's passionate affair is built and endures across a sea of time and captures them in an impossibly romantic trap…
I loved everything about this book: the dreamy New York co-op apartment setting, the relatable main female character Clementine (a book publicist!), the lovable main male character Iwan (a chef!), and the fact that they lived seven years apart. I found it had the perfect balance of witty banter, romantic yearning, depth of feeling, and a sense of place. It also deals with tougher issues, such as grief in Clementine’s loss of her beloved aunt and a sense of self in Clementine’s search for her future path and the aunt’s own background.
And, like every true romance novel should have, that incandescently happy ending! This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year.
"A gorgeous love story from one of the finest romance writers out there." —Carley Fortune, New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After
A Most Anticipated Book by Entertainment Weekly ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ PopSugar ∙ Real Simple ∙ BookRiot ∙ and more!
An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.
This book is everything a magic-realism romance should be—captivating, romantic, ethereal, and satisfying. As a total sucker for parallel worlds, I love the alternate-reality element of this novel. Each night, our protagonist Lydia has lifelike dreams of an alternate path in which her boyfriend Freddie didn’t just die in a tragic accident. The potent pills her doctor prescribed to help her sleep after his death are taking her into this magical dream world in which she would much rather live than reality.
I love how this seemingly ideal dream world is juxtaposed with the reality Lydia is forced to live while awake and her gradual awakening from grief into a new world of love. It’s moving, tender, sweet, and totally dreamy—literally!
Two lives. Two loves. One impossible choice. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick One Day in December . . .
“I read The Two Lives of Lydia Bird in a single sitting. What a beautiful, emotional gift Josie Silver has given us.”—Jodi Picoult
Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.
Cesca Major's book is my pick in the spate of recent time-loop novels that feature romance. The Groundhog Day concept, where the protagonist repeats the same day over and over to (hopefully) get it right, is fertile ground for a great romance. Who hasn’t wished they could get a do-over with a loved one or potential partner?
Our protagonist, Emma, keeps reliving the day her husband, Dan, died after being hit by a car after a marital fight. I love Emma’s agony in trying all the possibilities to avoid Dan’s death, to the extent of virtually driving her insane. The lack of consequences, given she always wakes up on the Monday morning, is another thing that pushes her to increasing extremes.
This is not a typical romance, but the focus on saving her marriage no matter what makes this book a perfect magic-realism romantic novel. I also adore the London setting!
A heartwarming and emotionally poignant time-loop novel about a stressed woman who must relive the same day over and over, keeping her family and work life from imploding as she attempts to spare her husband from an unfortunate fate.
It is an ordinary Monday and harried London literary agent Emma is flying out of the door as usual. Preoccupied with work and her ever growing to-do list, she fails to notice her lovely husband Dan seems bereft, her son can barely meet her eye, and her daughter won’t go near her. Even the dog seems…
Ahh, Tia Williams, how I love thee. Out of the two perfect New York-set romances she has written, this one is the one that has a somewhat unexpected magic realism twist. This Harlem-based beauty follows two timelines—the present day of our protagonist Ricki, an impulsive, artistic florist with a mission to revitalize Harlem with flowers, and the 1920s jazz-soaked Harlem Renaissance era of our romantic hero Ezra, a grumpy, mysterious jazz musician.
The perplexing nature of how their worlds intersect and the deep passion of their relationship gives this romance so much fire and drive. It’s also very much a love story to Harlem, with a fabulous sub-plot about Ricki’s community initiative and how her colorful friends get on board. I honestly couldn’t put this one down!
'A spellbinding modern fairytale, sexy and warm and full of hope and the power of love' BOLU BABALOLA
'Funny, sexy and breathtakingly romantic' EMILY HENRY
One florist. One pianist. One love story . . . One hundred years in the making.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn't one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she's the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a more exciting life awaits her.
So, when she is invited to rent the bottom floor of a Harlem brownstone, Ricki…
Ever wondered what if? I have! As an immigrant, I’ve often wondered about alternative lives. I’m also equally enamored with sci-fi movies as with romance novels, so I wrote a multiverse-hopping romance!
In my book, Chicago marketing executive Millie—who always chooses the wrong men—finds a door that thrusts her into alternate realities. What if she’d married her nice-but-dull college boyfriend? Or was she dating that tech billionaire? Or she’d made some truly terrible life choices? Millie gets the chance to explore her what-ifs, good and bad. But what if she can’t find the life she wants with the guy she is pining after? Then again, what if she should have sought something else—or someone else—all along?
Tasha and the Biologist is the second book in the "A Better Man" series. It's a contemporary romance about second chances, two lonely birders, and the healing power of love.
Tasha Moore is a visiting nurse with a family secret. She just went through a bad breakup. Caleb Drexel is a bird biologist trying to start a new life in a small town. He just got out of an unhappy marriage.
What happens when hope and romance bloom between these two nature lovers?
Tasha He was handsome, confident, nice, smart—a good guy. How did he end up here in the middle of Indiana? And how did he know so much about whooping cranes? I’d never met someone as passionate about birds as I was. Was it too soon for me to be thinking about love again? Caleb She was sweet, kind, caring—a nurse and a birder. I really liked her. Maybe more than liked. And I’d only spent two hours—three, tops—with her. Yet, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone for at least a year after my divorce.
