Time-Travel has long been a staple of SciFi. I’m always a little wary when it comes to adding a time-travel thread to a hard sci-fi story. Done well it can be brilliant, done poorly it can turn into a big, obnoxious mess. On the other hand, time-travel can also be treated on par with magic. In these types of stories, there is almost no attempt at explaining the method, reason, or consequences. It may sound like I’m slamming it, but that’s not the case at all. I’m actually a HUGE fan of the Time-Travel Romances that blossomed in the late eighties-early nineties. These stories were often little more than a fish out of water story mashed up with a Historical Romance. They are unapologetic romantic fantasy, most often laced with a liberal dose of humor.  Time-Travel Romance faded from the limelight, but they have remained sprinkled among the romance offerings and the rise of ebooks has given them another avenue to make their way onto the market.

My ‘very good friend’ has a new time-travel romance short story out today, so this seemed like a good a day to showcase all my favorite time travel romances.

First, new out today, Her Viking Warrior (August 2012)

When a doctor falls asleep in the Emergency Room and wakes up in Viking times, how does she cope with getting back to the future? Or, after getting to know her Viking warrior better and using her training to help people who so desperately need her medical skills, will she decide she’s exactly in the century she’s supposed to be?

I’d be really grateful if readers would stop by amazon and “like” the book or vote for the tags. It is a short quick read and if anyone would be willing to post a review, drop Cheryl a line to request a review copy.

The Outlaw Viking by Sandra Hill (August 1998)

This book was the first time-travel romance I read and one of the first single-title romances I ever read. It had a huge impact on me. I laughed. I cried. I decided I wanted to one day be a romance writer.

As tall and striking as the Valkyries of legend, Dr. Rain Jordan is proud of her Norse ancestors despite their warlike ways. But she can’t believe her eyes when a blow to her head transports her to a nightmarish battlefield of yore—and there standing before her is the barbarian of her dreams. A wild-eyed berserker, Selik can slay a dozen Saxons with a single swing of his deadly sword—yet he can’t control a saucy wench from the future. In his eyes, Rain is a prisoner and he’d dearly love to avail himself of her medical skills—not to mention her considerable knowledge of the male anatomy. But the infuriating woman has ideas of her own. If Selik isn’t careful, the stunning siren might very well capture his savage heart and make a warrior of love out of . . . The Outlaw Viking
Mass Market Paperback, 446 pages
Published by Love Spell
Recently reissued by Avon

Kiss Me, I’m Irish by Bella Street (April 2011)

This story twists the traditional time-travel story by bringing forward a woman from the past and by adding in a faery.

Emily Musgrave is heading a direction she never wanted to go in Regency England–namely a convent to turn her from her waywardness. But it’s more loneliness than rebellion that motivates her to escape her certain fate. Liam Jackson is going nowhere fast in modern-day Tennessee. Playing his Dobro in seedy bars and backward dives along with his fiddling sister, Tinker, is doing nothing for his music career–and even less for the dark places in his soul. Pixie mischief can not only change time-lines, it can change hearts. Because sometimes a girl just needs a little magic in her life.
E-book Novella

Until Forever by Johanna Lindsey (Jun 1995)

Again, this book brings someone forward from the past – then turns that around again. This book had me laughing out loud. Not an easy task with me.

From the shadows of the past. Prim and beautiful professor Roseleen White clutches her new prized profession – a thousand-year-old Scandinavian sword. And suddenly, a dream stands before her: a magnificent Viking warrior sworn to satisfy Roseleen’s every desire. Until forever. Accursed for untold centuries, mighty Thorn is now enslaved to a woman. Yet it is Roseleen who is the true prisoner, held willing captive by a handsome barbarian who sweeps her back to the ancient past on a journey of sensual discovery. But only by banishing him from her life forever can Roseleen free Thorn from immortality’s chains – forcing her to make a devastating choice that will either imperil their future or preserve a love more powerful than time.
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Avon
Dreams of Stardust by Lynn Kurland (April 2005)

Jake Kilchurn travels the world to unearth exquisite stones for this one-of-a-kind creations, but it is during an unexpected side trip to Seakirk castle that he meets a cadre of ghosts discussing a timeless beauty who lived centuries ago. Amanda de Piaget is busy doing what she does best – fending off suitors – when she stumbles on a different kind of man. He is unconscious, dirty, and oddly clad. But unlike the other men who find themselves at Artane, Jake knows nothing about her – and Amanda finds herself strangely drawn to him. Time has brought them together to the safety of its walls, but only time will tell if they’ll escape those who would try to tear them apart…
Mass Market Paperback – 320 pages
Publisher: Jove Books; ISBN: 0515139483

Are you a fan of time-travel? What kind? And what books do you recommend?