93 Books Like A Dance Through Time

This was my first introduction to the Regency Era. The author wove in the Regency world in a way that made it easy for a reader new to the genre to understand. The characters were well-rounded and likeable, and the romance unfolded gently and believably. I fell in love with the hero as well as with Traditional Regency Romance. It was also the first romance book I read with a publication date of later than the 1950s that had a sweet, clean, and wholesome story (other than inspirational or religious stories). This book gave me hope that some publishers recognize that “sex sells” isn’t a hard and fast rule.

This book has fun, quirky characters and witty dialogue that made me laugh out loud. The heroine has a disability—unusual in historical romance—which makes her even more endearing. The hero has a secret identity which made for some fun scenes. I love the enemies-to-friends trope and this book deals with it masterfully with plenty of heartwarming moments. The characters taught me to look deeper into people and not make snap judgments about who they appear to be on the outside. Best of all, this is a swoony book that made my heart flutter, all without going into bedroom scenes.

Set in medieval Poitou (a region of France once ruled by the Kings of England), this romance has a likable, courageous heroine willing to sacrifice her reputation and her safety to protect her family from scandal and possible execution. With a balance of action, intrigue, and romance, it painted a vivid picture of the history of this region and the intricacies of the hazardous court of England. The tender, sweet romance unfolded beautifully and the prose was masterfully crafted. The author’s meticulous research inspired me to include historical and regional details in all of my writing.

A fun twist on one of my favorite historical tales, The Scarlet Pimpernel, this novel portrays the elusive hero as a brilliant, determined woman. The cast of characters is full and well-developed, including a dashing hero worthy of our heroine’s love. This story is beautifully written, has plenty of twists and turns, heart-melting romance, and a delightful happily ever after. 

I loved this book because it is another time-slip novel, but mostly because of the characters that Gabaldon has created. Claire is a strong woman both in the present time zone–post-war Britain–and the Scottish Highland time zone of the seventeenth century and the uprising. You sense immediately that she is in danger as the story is told from her point of view. 

I loved learning about the lives of the Scottish highlanders, how the story moves from one-time zone to another, and how the characters overlap.

As soon as I met her, I liked the main character, quick-witted, intelligent Alex, who found herself stranded in 1658 even though she is a woman of the 21st century. This is time travel where belief has to be suspended – easily, in this case – where the author combines two timelines into a credible and highly entertaining series of adventures for Alex and Matthew Graham, a 17th-century Scotsman.

Shades of Outlander? The time travel and the political events of the period yes – everything else, no. Miss Belfrage’s characters are very much her (and their!) own creation, her writing is snappy with excellent dialogue. Her historical detail is superb, while the plot itself is intriguing and complex and flows well through its twists and turns. This is the first in the series – a series that improves as it progresses like a fine, maturing wine. One of… show more.

Diana Gabaldon has written a whole series of long books—the Outlander series.

My favorite of these is the second novel, Dragonfly in Amber, in which the events from the first novel culminate in Clare and Jamie trying to prevent the Battle of Culloden in 1745. Jamie and Clare work tirelessly to help Bonnie Prince Charlie and his forces, though they know historically the Jacobites are doomed.

Their efforts are not intended to place Charles Stuart on the throne that is rightfully his so much as to prevent the destruction of the Scottish soldiers. As a result, they are forced to make some very difficult decisions and even hurt people they care about who do not understand their actions.

In The Sterkarm Handshake, the device for time travel is simply a tube; not magical, but scientific, down which modern ruthless developers travel back to 16th century Scotland. Here they meet with equally ruthless highlanders. The scientists are planning to plunder Scotland’s resources (the 16th-century locals have been plundering roundabout for years), and of course, the modern developers run into problems. As in all books of this genre, the characters who travel through time may want to fit in or may choose to reject what the past has to offer. 

The heroine, like similar time-travellers, falls in love with a long-dead character and here, there’s also the possibility of the 16th century Scots coming up the tube to 20th century England – a good twist. There are also some very satisfying links between past and present, moments where you smile and think, Ah, how clever!

This is the third in the Outlander series and was quite serendipitously the first of her books my husband and I listened to. He checked out the audio cassette version from the library and brought it on a kids-free trip to Maui…Maui, no kids, a hot-date-night book every day and night. This third book stands alone and has enough backstory to bring the listener/reader up to speed on this adventure/romance across time and distance even without reading Outlander or Dragonfly in Amber (which we did as soon as we got home). Living history through the lens of Jamie Frazier in 1740s Scotland and the Caribbean, and the dual time perspective of Claire, a 1940s time traveler is a riveting ride, again with characters that cause me to laugh, cry and, of course, bleed out. Ms. Gabaldon is also a gracious woman with her time and inspiration at writer’s conferences and… show more.

The fourth book of the series that spawned the hit TV show Outlander is notable for a number of things, not the least of which is the debut of Rollo, a wolf/Irish wolfhound hybrid who’s won in a game of dice by the Frazers’ nephew, Ian Murray.

Quickly becoming Ian’s shadow, Rollo goes on to be a constant presence throughout the series, sometimes intimidating, sometimes exasperating, and often comforting to those under his watch.

Rollo is a very good dog and a definite highlight of this dramatic series that’s a wild mash-up of historical and science fiction.