BWWM time-travel romance puts a Black heroine and a white hero at the center of a love story that crosses centuries, and usually puts a brilliant, capable modern woman into a world that has no idea what to do with her. If you have been searching for where to start, this guide explains what the genre is, the tropes you can expect and eight dark time-travel romances to try, organized by era.
A note on this list: every book below is published by Good Girl Romance, so this is a guide to our own catalog, not an independent review. Descriptions come from each book’s own blurb. These are adult dark romances, so please check the content notes at the end.
What does BWWM mean?
BWWM stands for “Black woman, white man.” It is a romance category in which the heroine is Black and the hero is white. Readers use the label to find stories that center that pairing, and you can browse every book with the tag on our BWWM romance page.
The tropes you will find in BWWM time-travel romance
- The scientist who does not believe in magic. In many of the books below the heroine is a doctor, historian, engineer or conservator who trusts facts until the world proves her wrong.
- Knowledge as power. What she knows about history becomes her only currency in a world where she has no allies.
- Captive to partner. The hero often starts as her captor or rival, with a tension-heavy slow turn into fierce protection.
- The possessive alpha. Expect heroes who are ruthless to everyone else and obsessed with her.
- The choice at the end. When a way home appears, does she take it?
Where to start, by era
Scottish Highlands
Black Skye by Ava Brown. A structural engineer, Dr. Nia Adebayo, is thrown from the modern world to 14th-century Scotland by a lightning strike at the Standing Stones of Skye, where she meets Lachlan MacAlpin, the curse-burdened Wolf of Skye. A dark BWWM time-travel Highlander romance.
Blood & Heather by Naomi Ross. Dr. Kenna Reid, a healer from the future, lands in 17th-century Scotland, where her medical knowledge is seen as black magic and the war-leader who captures her is the source of her deepest trauma. A standalone Scottish Highlander romance with a guaranteed happy ending.
Want a time loop instead of a one-way trip? Fifty Deaths for the Highland Wolf by Carissa Lance follows Zola Clarke through her fiftieth try at surviving the 1745 Jacobite Rising. For more, read our guide to dark Highlander romance.
The Viking Age
Fjord Lord’s Captive by T.S. Wilmot. Historian Dr. Seraphina James is hurled a thousand years into the past by a solar storm she predicted and captured by a clan of wolf shifters. An ancient prophecy foretold her arrival, and their Alpha recognizes her as his fated mate. A full-length standalone BWWM dark omegaverse Viking romance.
Savage Era by Vesper Cross. Dr. Kenna Amari translates Norse runes until a temporal rift drops her into 9th-century Scandinavia, where she is claimed by Jarl Bjordal, a possessive warlord. Rather than break, she uses her knowledge to outsmart his rivals and rises as the War Queen of Kattegat. It carries an author’s note about its mature themes and violence.
The Vampire Viking’s Claim by Cerise Lamonte. A British Museum heist goes wrong and Dr. Ximena “Xola” Okeke-Montez is dragged through a portal into a frozen pocket dimension by Jarl Eirik Halvarsson, a predator frozen in time. A high-heat dark paranormal romance with a possessive anti-hero and an Afro-Latina heroine.
Prehistory
Obsidian & Bone by Nia Ellis. Dr. Niobe Ayodele chooses a leap into an experimental energy rift over a bullet and wakes in a primeval world with a cyan sun and insects the size of hawks. There she meets Gruk, the scarred, silent Alpha of a starving tribe. A full-length standalone dark prehistoric time-travel romance.
1920s Chicago
Let History Burn by Lisa Jacobs. Museum conservator Amari Bell is sent from 2025 to 1925 Chicago by a cursed ring and lands at the feet of Dante Rinaldi, a ruthless, possessive mob boss known as “The Butcher.” In a violent past she only ever studied, what she knows about the future is the only currency she has. A dark BWWM time-travel mafia romance.
A post-apocalyptic future
Fractured by Simi Davis. Historian and fixer Dr. Zuri Diallo is pulled from her Chicago high-rise two hundred years into a frozen, post-apocalyptic future and captured by a werewolf pack whose Alpha is Lorcan. A BWWM paranormal time-travel romance with survival stories and enemies-to-lovers tension.
Quick picker
| If you want… | Try |
|---|---|
| A Highlander hero and a scientist heroine | Black Skye |
| A heroine who rules beside a Viking warlord | Savage Era |
| Wolf shifters, a prophecy and a fated mate | Fjord Lord’s Captive |
| Something totally different from historical settings | Obsidian & Bone |
| A mob boss and speakeasies | Let History Burn |
| A post-apocalyptic werewolf pack | Fractured |
Content notes
These are adult dark romances. Depending on the book, expect captivity, possessive and controlling heroes, violence and explicit love scenes. Several of the books are also set in brutal historical periods. Each book page lists its heat level and tropes where available, and the retailer page has the full description. Read it first if you have a theme you would rather avoid.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to read these in order?
These books are by different authors and are listed as separate stories, and some are described as standalones. Check each retailer page for series information before you buy.
What is the difference between time travel and a time loop?
In time-travel romance the heroine is sent to another era. In a time loop, she relives the same stretch of history repeatedly, as in Fifty Deaths for the Highland Wolf.
Keep exploring
Browse all time-travel romance, Viking romance and BWWM romance in the House, see the full catalog or join the newsletter for new releases and reading lists.