Here are 41 books that It Was Always You fans have personally recommended if you like
It Was Always You.
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I’ve always enjoyed books that make me think and question. I love that they lead me to further brilliant works that do the same. I love a book that challenges the rules of writing and takes you into another world. As a full-time thriller writer, it’s always good to read a genre different from your own. To enter a realm of magical realism is fantastic.
There is so much I can appreciate about this book and its craftsmanship. It is filled with beautiful imagery, an almost poetic message about life, love, family, and what really matters. It’s one of those books that makes you think about the world and life. It made me consider whether I would make such a deal with the devil where I could live forever, but no one would remember me.
I tried to imagine what it would be like to form a relationship with someone one day, and then the next day, when I saw them, they would have completely forgotten who you were. I would never be able to make long-term friendships. The fact that my life would really be one of solitude was quite frightening. I would never have anyone I could turn to in times of need. This book really made me think. It’s also the first…
"For someone damned to be forgettable, Addie LaRue is a most delightfully unforgettable character, and her story is the most joyous evocation of unlikely immortality." -Neil Gaiman
A Sunday Times-bestselling, award-nominated genre-defying tour-de-force of Faustian bargains, for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, and The Sudden Appearance of Hope.
When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she is convinced she's found a loophole-immortality in exchange for her soul. But the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.
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’ve been fascinated by time travel and speculative stories since I was a child. I grew up with The Tomorrow People and then later was captivated by Sapphire and Steel. While I love reading most genres and have a book blog and book column in the local press, I feel speculative fiction has just that little extra edge. It answers that clichéd questionwhat if? And transports you into magical visions of slightly different worlds. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have. And perhaps, one day, The Storytellers might appear on someone else’s. What a joy that would be!
I lost my mother, gosh, about twenty years ago and the idea of being able to time travel back and see her once more is irresistible. What makes this book even more special is that she goes back and meets her mother as an adult at a time when she would have been a child. She even meets her younger self. How amazing would that be? It raised so many thoughts in my mind. What would I tell my younger self, and would there be a way to save my own mother’s life? It’s both a fascinating concept and compelling story. I think anyone who has lost a parent will resonate with its beauty. The ending itself truly took my breath away.
'Nostalgic' The Independent 'Heart-warming' Platinum 'Uplifting' Cosmopolitan 'Beautiful' Stylist 'Quirky' Best
If you could go back in time to find answers to the past, would you?
For Faye, the answer is yes. There is nothing she wouldn't do to find out what really happened when she lost her mother as a child. She is happy with her life - she has a loving husband, two young daughters and supportive friends, even a job that she enjoys. But questions about the past keep haunting her, until one day she finally gets the chance she's been waiting for.
I’ve been fascinated by time travel and speculative stories since I was a child. I grew up with The Tomorrow People and then later was captivated by Sapphire and Steel. While I love reading most genres and have a book blog and book column in the local press, I feel speculative fiction has just that little extra edge. It answers that clichéd questionwhat if? And transports you into magical visions of slightly different worlds. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have. And perhaps, one day, The Storytellers might appear on someone else’s. What a joy that would be!
This book is heartbreaking and magical. I thought at first it was a romance novel, but a speculative twist took me by surprise. I became enthralled in those chapters not wanting to leave them. Not quite believing the brilliance of the premise. My daughter had gone through a very similar situation, so every emotion felt raw, and I completely engaged with Anna’s dilemma. How could she choose what to do? I tentatively told my daughter about it and after reading it, she agreed it was amazing too. The ending, which brought me to tears, is hopeful and poignant. It is such a unique story, but I won’t spoil it by mentioning the theme portrayed in it.
From the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author comes an emotional romance that is "beautifully written and plotted" (Candis).
This is not a typical love story, but it's our love story.
When Anna arrives in a Spanish beach town for a much-needed escape from real life, she isn’t looking for love. Until Adam sweeps her off her feet. There’s no denying their connection, and what begins as a beautiful romance soon becomes a vow to love each other . . . forever.
Years later, cracks have appeared in their marriage. In an attempt to rekindle their fire, they…
Growing up in a small town and realizing I was gay, I saw nothing but dread ahead of me. In graduate school, I came across a one-sentence description of Margaret Anderson as a “lesbian anarchist.” I knew I was home. My book is the first full-length biography of Anderson and her partner, Jane Heap. They went through a lot of crap–they were tried for publishing Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses–but above all, they were witty rebels, strong women, and proud and out.
This biography gives you the inside experience of one of the most visible lesbians in Paris during the mid-twentieth century.
Genet was the pseudonym for Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s correspondent for France. Flanner knew and wrote about everyone. Her column noting Anderson’s death is particularly touching. From Indiana to the City of Lights in one lifetime.
The daughter of an Indianapolis mortician, Janet Flanner really began to live at the age of thirty, when she fled to Paris with her female lover. That was in 1921, a few years before she signed on as Paris correspondent for the New Yorker, taking the pseudonym Genet. For half a century she described life on the Continent with matchless elegance.
When I think of the distant past, I imagine it being populated by those who were a bit closer to the magical world than we. The men (or were they wizards?) who raised the standing stones. The druids of the ancient Celtic world. Figures like Arthur, Robin Hood, and the Viking shamans who harbored a kinship with the waters, with the trees, and with the land. The magic of the past is like a song played on a harp, the echoes of which still waft through our world. Some of us can hear those echoes yet, and some of us write about them.
Avril Borthiry is one of those writers who captivate you, hijack you and absorb you into the tale she tells. You can tell she feels the Historical Romance she writes, and she has the rare talent of imparting what she feels to her reader. This is a powerful tale. As with all of life, there is light and dark in this story, a battle between good and evil. You will love her characters. You will weep, suffer, bleed, and rejoice with them. Even after you finish reading, you will never really leave this book behind.
Alexander Mathanach is a Scottish knight; a man of noble birth haunted by a tragic event in his past. Those he loved betrayed him and almost destroyed his faith. Yet, despite his bitterness, he fulfilled the vow he made. As promised, he took the orphaned child from the abbey and raised her as his own, choosing to live a quiet life in the depths of a remote, northern forest.But Alexander is guardian to more than a young girl. He is also the keeper of a divine artifact, one that draws a terrible evil to his secluded doorstep. When his peaceful…
A few years ago, I began rediscovering my hometown of Denver as I walked neighborhoods and revisited landmarks of the city that I had not seen since I was a kid. Essential Denver highlights the fabulous things the city offers from my perspective as a Denver native. I encourage readers to explore Denver, plan outings, and become involved in the community. I hope this Denver book list sparks more interest in landmarks, treasures, and the history of Denver to ensure the city’s future is strong and vital.
I like reading about Denver's history, but I love seeing pictures bring that history to life. This book shows old pictures of buildings and compares them with the present-day look. In some cases, beautiful old buildings no longer exist or have been drastically altered. This is a great coffee table book.
Celebrating America's favorite cityscapes, this series combines historic interest and contemporary beauty. Then and Now features fascinating archival photographs contrasted with specially commissioned, full-color images of the same scene today. A visual lesson in the historic changes of our greatest urban landscapes.
Everyone wants to find romance. Some of us find it within the pages—or more than once. I also think romance gets a bad rap, but I for one love to fall in love repeatedly. It doesn’t matter if they’re fictional because when you read a story; you get lost in their world, as though you’re their friend, too. That is what I strive for when I write my characters. I write them as someone you could go out for a drink with and just have a good time. However, most of my characters experience life or death situations, but that just makes them stronger in the end, especially when I base them on my real-life experiences like in Tattooed Dots.
Confined Space is a book that clutches your heartstrings, pulling you in, and demanding you find out what secrets Coral is hiding. I love the way that Rowdy loves Coral and wants to protect her. How he wants to give Archer love too and take care of him. Even after the pain, Coral suffers she can find love again and move on.
E.M. Shue’s Confined Space is an emotional journey and romantic suspense written in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World.At the end of her rope, Coral Pierce decides to move on to a new town and start over. Sunnyville isn’t what she was expecting when she and her newborn son are involved in a serious accident. She soon finds herself entrapped within not only the car but the eyes of the firefighter helping her. But with her past issues she should just stick to talking to him, not thinking about what he looks like under his bunker gear.Tall, muscular, and independent Rowdy…
I’m the author of Fraternity: Stories. I don’t consider myself a fraternity bro, but I hold the Greek men and women I write about very close to my heart because I know the feeling of being young and lost and wanting a guidebook for behavior, and how easily the young can be exiled, in one way or another, by their peers. I feel for every young person who’s disgraced and humiliated, whether it’s on social media or in a tumbledown colonial with wooden letters nailed to the front. I also feel for every young person who lives in fear of disgrace and humiliation.
My wife and I and half of our friends have had the same experience reading this book, namely, bursting into tears while reading it on the subway. About half the stories in this collection have endings that are devastating/ecstatic gut punches, and the reason is that they are explorations of disgrace. Curtis is hilarious, but the everyday ostracizations that befall the young women in this book would tear you apart even if they weren’t funny.
In this dazzling literary debut, Rebecca Curtis displays the gifts that make her one of the most talented writers of her generation. Her characters—young women struggling to find happiness, love, success, security, and adventure—wait tables, run away from home, fall for married men, betray their friends, and find themselves betrayed as well.
In "Hungry Self," a young waitress descends into the basement of a seemingly ordinary Chinese restaurant; in "Twenty Grand," a young wife tries to recover her lost fortune; in "Monsters," one family's paranoia leads to a sacrifice; and in "The Witches," an innocent swim on prom night proves…
There is nothing I detest more than what I have dubbed the “John Wayne Mythos” – the idea the West was populated with righteous gunslingers going about “taming” the West by killing anyone who was not abiding by or submitting to white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant standards and morality. The West, of which Arizona was an integral part, was much more complex than this, and the heroes of legend were oft-times the real-life villains. I consider myself to be a historian of the “New Western History” school, which recast the study of American frontier history by focusing on race, class, gender, and environment in the trans-Mississippi West.
An indispensable resource for serious students of Arizona history. Includes biographical information
on anyone and everyone who served during this era from the governors to the school superintendents. Goof was meticulous in his research of the lives of these people and condensed them down into concise character sketches. Though the stories of these people’s lives are interesting, this is probably not a collection one would sit down and read through for entertainment. However, if one is in the business of writing Arizona territorial history it is a “must-have” series. I keep it on my shelf near my desk for easy access.
