Books
11 Books Like 'Outlander' To Help You Escape Modern Day Drama For A While
Time to dig out your stretchiest pants, practice your speech about cultural appropriation, and rehearse an answer for the inevitable question, "So what are you doing with your life?", because Thanksgiving may be over, but the family-filled holiday season is officially here. If you would rather to spend the next month reading instead of having heated political debates — or worse, forced conversations about the future — with your family, make sure to pick up one of these books like Outlander to help you escape the news cycle and get lost in the past this joyous but stressful season. Nothing tells your family "Don't talk to me" quite like a long book and a resting bitch face.
Now a critically acclaimed and commercially successful series on Starz, Outlander is also the title of the first installment of Diana Gabaldon's wildly popular book series-turned-franchise. Originally published in 1991, it introduces readers to the time traveling adventures of British nurse Claire Randall and her one true love, a gorgeous and fierce Highland warrior named Jamie Fraser. An electrifying blend of historical fiction, romance, fantasy, and mystery, Outlander was only the beginning of a literary sensation that has since taken over book clubs and television screens around the world.
The series, and later the show, hooks readers on its particular brand of fantasy, romance, and escapism, and who can blame them for getting swept up in the story's incredible action, heart-thumping romance, and thrilling time-traveling twists? Rich in detail an emotionally evocative, Gabaldon's series gives readers a vehicle in which to escape their own world and enter another one entirely.
If you've already blown through the Outlander series and are all caught up on current episodes of the show, try one of these 13 new historical fiction, romance, and fantasy novels perfect for Gabaldon fans.
'Seven Stones to Stand or Fall: A Collection of Outlander Fiction' by Diana Gabaldon
If you're longing for your favorite characters, Diana Gabaldon has a treat for you: Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, a fun and exciting collection of Outlander short fiction. Featuring Jamie, Lord John Grey, Master Raymond, and more, these tasty tidbits will make you feel like you're back in your favorite fiction world again, even if you're stuck at your weird aunt's for the holidays.
'Stars Over Clear Lake' by Loretta Ellsworth
It make not take you all the way back to 18th century Scotland, but Loretta Ellsworth epic romance will transport you back in time. Stars Over Clear Lake tells the story of Lorraine Kindred, who at the height of World War II was forced to make an impossible choice between her feelings for the man she loved, and the loyalty she felt for her country. Decades later, Lorraine returns to the place where it all happened, the Surf Ballroom, and is faced once again with the passion, the romance, and the secrets of her past.
'A Twist in Time' by Julie McElwain
In the second installment of the Kendra Donovan Mysteries, the series' titular heroine is trapped in 1815 and faced with an impossible challenge: to save the Duke of Aldridge's nephew from a false murder charge. She may be stranded in London hundreds of years away from her life as an American FBI agent in the 21st century, but that won't stop Kendra from doing everything she can to save her friend and lover from the noose, no matter how dangerous the mission gets.
'Hard-Hearted Highlander' by Julia London
If the steamy scenes in the Outlander series made you blush, wait until you feast your eyes on Hard-Hearted Highlander, the newest, and perhaps sexiest, installment in Julia London's The Highland Grooms series. Bernadette Holly is a ruined woman, but she will do whatever it takes to make sure her young charge doesn't suffer the same fate. Rabbie Mackenzie, a brooding and discouraged Highlander, is stuck in a forced engagement to Avaline, and even though he knows it is the only thing that can save his clan, he can't stop thinking about someone else: the governess of his betrothed. Will the two find their way into each other's arms, or will fate get in the way?
'The Night Mark' by Tiffany Reisz
You don't have to travel back to the 18th century to get all those romantic feels. Set against the alluring backdrop of a secluded lighthouse on South Carolina's shores, Tiffany Reisz's The Night Mark tells the story of a heartbroken widow who finds herself magically transported into the past, and back into the arms of the husband she has been mourning for years. Brimming with mystery, suspense, action, and time-travel fun, this time-travel romance is a must-read for Outlander fans.
'Highland Dragon Rebel' by Isabel Cooper
In the second installment of the Dawn of the Highland Dragon series, warrior and rebel Moiread MacAlasdair will do anything it takes to keep the independence her Scottish nation has finally won, even it if means forming a tricky new alliance with an unexpected character. A steamy, action-packed adventure romance fantasy starring a seriously kick-ass heroine, Highland Dragon Rebel will have Claire fans clapping with glee.
'Highland Flame' by Mary Wine
In this fun and sexy romp across the Scottish Highlands, two unlikely people — one, a rugged Highlander, and the other, a recently widowed Lady of England — cross paths and embark on a romance that will transform both of their lives. Laird Diocail still hasn't figured out how to run the crumbling castle, let alone the clan, left to him by his uncle when he stumbles upon lady Jane Stanley, a beautiful woman who he feels the immediate need to protect. The passion is immediately palpable, but will it burn out as soon as Jane sees what Diocail's life is really like? The fourth installment of Mary Wine's Highland Wedding series, Highland Flame will delight historical romance lovers and Outlander fans aline.
'The Stolen Marriage' by Diane Chamberlain
Tess DeMello was close to having it all — a successful career as a nurse, a happy marriage to her true love — until she finds out she is pregnant by another man, and suddenly, her whole world is turned upside down. Tess decides to leave her fiance and settle with the baby's father, a cold and mysterious man who lives in a secretive town where Tess feels constantly on the outside. When a polio epidemic takes over her new home, Tess finds passion and purpose as a nurse at a newly built hospital to treat the sick, but just as she begins to take control of her life again, her husband's behavior, and the home they share, become more and more dangerous. An exciting suspense tale about a marriage that was and a future that could never be, this is a page-turner Outlander fans won't want to put down.
'My One True Highlander' by Suzanne Enoch
In the latest No Ordinary Hero installment from bestselling author Suzanne Enoch, two members of neighboring clans find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict that forces them to chose between the loyalty they have to their families, and the passionate feelings they have for eachother. Filled sexy romance, thrilling action, a touch of clever humor, and evocative imagery readers won't be able to get enough of, this Scottish romance will make Outlander fans swoon.
'Tangled in Time' by Barbara Longley
In this paranormal, time-travelling romance, one woman will stop at nothing to save the man she loves from an ancient curse that control his life. Regan can see ghosts, a power she has always shied away from — that is, until she travels to Ireland and it shows her Fáelán, a centuries-old elite soldier who instantly captures her heart. As their worlds get more and more intertwined, Fáelán worries his curse will destroy their romance, or worse, Regan's life. A sexy and thrilling read about love, magic, and the powers of the Fae, Tangled in Time will leave even the most hardcore Outlander fans satisfied.
'Love Beyond Reach' by Bethany Claire
If you can't get enough of Jamie and Claire's time-traveling romance, you need to get your hands on Bethany Claire's Morna's Legacy series. In the latest installment, the titular witch Morna Conall wants nothing more than to learn to control the magic inside of her. That is, until she stumbles upon an injured stranger who needs her help to not only heal, but to find his way back to his own century, and her whole world is turned upside down. Will the love blossoming between these Morna and Jerry save them, or are the forces plotting against them too powerful to conquer? Find out in Love Beyond Reach.
