The best romance books where time is important

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a voracious reader of romantic fiction, and I’m always drawn in by books where time plays an important role. I love it when the characters have limited time and are on a countdown, or time is stretched out between their interactions, or when one single moment changes the course of their lives so completely. It always adds so much conflict and drama to a plot, as if time is a character in itself: it’s such a big thing in all our lives, but it’s also, in some respects, completely arbitrary. I love all these books because time and timing have such a big impact on the characters. 


I wrote...

The Happy Hour

By Cressida McLaughlin,

Book cover of The Happy Hour

What is my book about?

Jess is perfectly happy working in Greenwich market with her job in a cramped gift shop that sells trinkets to well-heeled locals and excitable tourists. She is also perfectly happy being single and with her small circle of friends. As long as she’s able to duck under the radar at work and in life, she thinks she’s doing just fine.

Then, one Sunday, Jess is thrown together with handsome, funny Ash as they chase a pickpocket, and before long, they are running into each other once a week. Jess starts to realize that their ‘Happy Hour’ is the brightest part of her life, and being perfectly happy doesn’t seem like enough anymore. But is one hour a week really enough time to fall in love?

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Twelve Days in May

Cressida McLaughlin Why did I love this book?

I fell in love with Lizzy and Ciaran as they tried to find their way back to each other after over a decade of not speaking. I loved the glamour of the Cannes film festival, which was a backdrop to the very real, human, unglamorous resentments they were harbouring, and I was gripped by the sense of time running out as the festival progressed.

The flashbacks to their time in France when they first met were gripping, and I was swept away by these two completely believable characters but was also caught up in the sizzle between them, and it’s such a funny, heartfelt book too. 

By Niamh Hargan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Twelve Days in May as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They haven't spoken for 12 years.
Can they fall in love in 12 days?

'I've been bowled over by this perfect little rom com . . . FULL of good lines and great moments' JANE CASEY

'Snap-crackling with wit and energy, ridiculously enjoyable' MHAIRI MCFARLANE

'Fresh, funny and beautifully written. Niamh Hargan is going to be huge' SOPHIE COUSENS

'A sweepingly romantic debut . . . it's sexy, escapist and FUN - everything a romantic comedy should be!' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

'Smart, funny and sizzling with chemistry - but with a big, tender heart' CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLIN

'I adored this thoughtful,…


Book cover of This Time Next Year

Cressida McLaughlin Why did I love this book?

I loved the premise of this funny, charming romcom, where two babies are born on New Year’s Eve, one minute apart in the same hospital. Minnie is a feisty, lovable heroine, and when she meets Quinn again when they’re both thirty, the dynamic sets the pages on fire.

I loved how the book was sprinkled with star-crossed lovers, fate, and the sense of magic and things being meant to be.

The surrounding cast of characters is also brilliant, and I felt like I knew them all by the end. It’s so heartwarming and romantic, and a book that’s dusted with stardust. 

By Sophie Cousens,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Time Next Year as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Their lives began together, but their worlds couldn't be more different. After thirty years of missed connections, they're about to meet again...

Minnie Cooper knows two things with certainty: that her New Year's birthday is unlucky, and that it's all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she's never met. Their mothers gave birth to them at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year's Day, but Quinn was given the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990--and the name Minnie was meant…


Book cover of One Moment

Cressida McLaughlin Why did I love this book?

I found this book so emotional: a book that deals with such difficult subjects and has heartbreak in it but is so uplifting, too.

Scarlet is killed in an accident and has to watch the people she loves deal with the aftermath. I thought Evie’s grief was so real, and I was desperate for her to find happiness again after losing her best friend. I am always drawn to a love story that seems impossible, and this one had me on the edge of my seat as Nate is drawn to Evie, but their happy ever after seems so out of reach.

I cried a lot but finished it full of joy and with a renewed desire to live life to the fullest. 

By Becky Hunter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One Moment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This heart-wrenching read about friendship, love, and loss tells the story of a woman grieving the death of her best friend and learning to embrace a future she never imagined—perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver. 

One moment in time can change everything...

The day Scarlett dies, her hopes and dreams for the future die with her…or so she thinks. Because she’s still here—wherever here is—watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most. She’d do anything to go back and join the living, especially Evie, her best friend who needs…


Book cover of London, With Love

Cressida McLaughlin Why did I love this book?

I felt every single emotion reading this book and felt as if I’d lived all the decades with Jen and Nick, who met as teenagers and soon became friends.

I love Sarra’s writing style, and I was fully invested in Jen and Nick from the very beginning, and found their complicated, messy relationship, which follows the most winding path, completely believable.

There was so much in this book that was unexpected, and by the end, I was a sobbing puddle of feelings. I know Jen and Nick will always stay with me, and I’m already looking forward to reading it again. 

By Sarra Manning,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked London, With Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A VERY special book. GORGEOUS, real believable and BEAUTIFUL' - Marian Keyes

London. Nine million people. Two hundred and seventy tube stations. Every day, thousands of chance encounters, first dates, goodbyes and happy ever afters.

And for twenty years it's been where one man and one woman can never get their timing right.

Jennifer and Nick meet as teenagers and over the next two decades, they fall in and out of love with each other. Sometimes they start kissing. Sometimes they're just friends. Sometimes they stop speaking, but they always find their way back to each other.

But after all…


Book cover of Ten Years

Cressida McLaughlin Why did I love this book?

I am a huge fan of an epic love story that spans years, and this book is one of the best I’ve read!

I laughed, cried, and swooned at the battle of wits between Becca and Charlie, and even though the book starts with such sadness, it is full of fun moments, sparkling dialogue, and real heart and emotion.

I loved being taken on such an intense, delicious rollercoaster ride of a romcom, and I want to press this book into everyone’s hands. It’s my favourite kind of will-they-won’t-they, and it’s such a satisfying, beautiful read. 

By Pernille Hughes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ten Years as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Some days I feel like I've lived more than one lifetime, so, couldn't we be right for each other this time around?'

Everyone is talking about this book:

'What an absolute page-turner!...keeps you guessing before pulling off THE PERFECT ending!' Anita

'Such a warm, lovely read with two characters you're desperately rooting for' Cesca Major, author of Maybe Next Time

'It's a total belter... I loved the slow burn and just the warmth and funniness of the writing. Was gagging for them to get it together' Kirsty Greenwood, author of Big Sexy Love

Becca and Charlie have known each other…


You might also like...

A School for Unusual Girls

By Kathleen Baldwin,

Book cover of A School for Unusual Girls

Kathleen Baldwin Author Of Sanctuary for Seers: A Stranje House Novel

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Loves God Mother to Many Wilderness Adventurer History Enthusiast

Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

A spy school for girls amidst Jane Austen’s high society.

Daughters of the Beau Monde who don’t fit London society’s strict mold are banished to Stranje House, where the headmistress trains these unusually gifted girls to enter the dangerous world of spies in the Napoleonic wars. #1 NYT bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this exciting historical series "completely original and totally engrossing."

A School for Unusual Girls

By Kathleen Baldwin,

What is this book about?

A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure "completely original and totally engrossing."

It's 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England's dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society's constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young…


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