Books like 'It Wasn't Always Like This'
Readers who enjoyed It Wasn't Always Like This by Joy Preble also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy young adult time travel paranormal mystery suspense magic
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Draekora by Lynette Noni
“I swear by the stars that you and the others slain tonight will be the first of many. Of that you have my word.” With Aven Dalmarta now hiding in the shadows of Meya, Alex is desperate to save Jordan and keep the Rebel Prince from taking more lives... -
君の名は 2 [Kimi no Na wa 2] by Makoto Shinkai
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe story is set one month after a comet has fallen for the first time in a thousand years in Japan. Mitsuha, a high school girl living in the countryside, wants to live in the city because she is tired of life in the country. Then, there's Taki. He's a high school student living in Tokyo with his friends while working as a part-timer at an Italian restaurant... -
InuYasha, Vol. 1: Turning Back Time by Rumiko Takahashi
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsTransported back to Japan's feudal era, high school student Kagome accidentally releases the feral half-demon dog boy Inu-Yasha from his imprisonment for stealing the Jewel of Four Souls... -
Remember Me Tomorrow by Farah Heron
A missing student. A singular investigation. A new romance. Every bit of it is a mystery in a delightful novel of cosmic twists by the author of How to Win a Breakup.East House is the oldest and least desirable dorm on campus, but it has a draw for lonely university freshman Aleeza Kassam: Jay Hoque, the hot and broody student who vanished from East House five months ago without a trace...Categorized as:
mystery young adult contemporary time travel paranormal new adult fantasy length-medium -
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Rise by Kimberly Stedronsky
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRoam, imprisoned in an ancient land and left to the mercy of Troy's cruel reign, longs for freedom, her child, and West. Surviving with only Logan's presence to save her from certain insanity, she turns to herself and finds that she alone possesses the strength and power to save her own life. Deep within her soul, Roam remembers her timeless love for West and their child... -
My Fairly Dangerous Godmother by Janette Rallison
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSome people bomb auditions. Sadie Ramirez throws up during her tryouts on TV show America's Top Talent. Her performance is so bad, it earns her a fairy godmother through the Magical Alliance's Pitiful Damsel Outreach Program. Enter Chrysanthemum Everstar: a gum-chewing, cell phone-carrying, high heel wearing fairy godmother in training...Categorized as:
magic humor young adult contemporary paranormal fantasy legends & fairy tales time travel -
Black Blood by Melissa Pearl
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGemma's parents have put enough rules around her relationship with Harrison that she feels like she's living on parole. But she wins one battle—a summer job working for Harrison's step-father. It is the perfect chance to spend the steamy, hot Florida days with her boyfriend... -
Pure Blood by Melissa Pearl
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt is only a matter of time before Gemma's parents find out she traveled through time to bring Harrison back into existence. The fear of being found out is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she refuses to give up on everything she's fought for. Harrison is worth the risk. The couple draws closer together as they battle opposing forces from all sides...Categorized as:
mystery contemporary time travel paranormal fantasy historical young adult length-medium -
Roam by Kimberly Stedronsky
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWest Perry has spent his existence searching for- and finding- Roam Camden. In every lifetime that he has found her, he has set out to save her- and in turn, save our world. He has failed six times throughout history to protect her from an immortal evil... -
The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA graphic novel about a teenager who is swept up in a strange new universe governed by the rules of Gothic romances and must save it from an all-consuming evil in order to return home.One dark and stormy night, Haley sees a stranger drowning in the river. Since her greatest passion is Gothic romance novels, she knows her moment has come... -
Juliet by Anne Fortier
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsTwenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved Aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy... -
Draco Veritas by Cassandra Claire
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsDraco Veritas is the final installment of The Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Since it was started before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and set after it, it is now an alternate universe fic. It was very influential in the early days of the fandom, but became controversial when it was found that parts of it were plagiarized.It follows Draco Dormiens and Draco Sinister... -
Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThey exist in two different centuries, but their love defies timeCassandra craves drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger shows up on their private beach claiming it's his own—and that the year is 1925—she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making... -
Never Apart by Romily Bernard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHow many times would you die for love?What if you had to relive the same five days over and over?And what if at the end of it, your boyfriend is killed…And you have to watch. Every time.You don’t know why you’re stuck in this nightmare.But you do know that these are the rules you now live by:Wake Up.Run.Die.Repeat.Now, the only way to escape this loop is to attempt something crazy... -
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The Blazing Star by Imani Josey
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSixteen-year-old Portia White is used to being overlooked—after all, her twin sister Alex is a literal genius.But when Portia holds an Egyptian scarab beetle during history class, she takes center stage in a way she never expected: she faints. Upon waking, she is stronger, faster, and braver than before...Categorized as:
magic fantasy young adult time travel historical contemporary ancient times paranormal -
In Some Other Life by Jessica Brody
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsKennedy Rhodes turns down an acceptance to an elite private school, instead choosing to stay at her high school and jump at the opportunity to date the boy of her dreams. Three years later, Kennedy walks in on that same boyfriend cheating with her best friend—and wishes she had made a different choice...Categorized as:
mystery young adult contemporary fantasy time travel high-school dystopian paranormal -
The Heidelberg Effect by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
Rated: 3.77 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsElla Stevens never knew a mother’s love. Her fierce independence was always seen as the keystone of her whole identity—unfettered by romantic involvements or family demands—until the day she moved to Heidelberg, Germany and her world began to unravel. There, she discovered the terrible secret her mother died to protect...Categorized as:
suspense mystery contemporary time travel paranormal fantasy young adult length-short -
Shadow of Time by Jen Minkman
Rated: 3.68 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAll Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship... -
How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke
The bestselling authors of The Good Widow deliver a modern, suspenseful twist on Groundhog Day that asks the How far are you willing to go to save the life of someone you love? Dom is having a very bad day—one he literally can’t escape. When Dom bumps into Mia, his ex-fiancée whom he hasn’t seen in almost a decade, he believes they’ve been given a second chance and asks her out...Categorized as:
suspense magic contemporary fantasy time travel young adult paranormal length-medium -
Clockwise by Elle Strauss
Casey Donovan has issues: hair, height and uncontrollable trips to the 19th century! And now this --she's accidentally taken Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Awkward. Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate...Categorized as:
magic contemporary young adult fantasy time travel paranormal historical american civil war -
Promchanted by Morgan Matson
Rated: 3.68 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo modern teens.One classic fairy tale.Absolutely no cell service.Stella Griffin doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her boyfriend dumped her three weeks before the prom— not ideal timing—she’s convinced every love story is a lie. She’s ready to skip the prom entirely. But she and her best friend, Nisha, have been planning for years to celebrate at Disneyland before the prom . .Categorized as:
magic young adult fantasy contemporary from hate to love time travel high-school humor -
Us in Ruins by Rachel Moore
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsMargot is on the quest to uncover and reassemble an ancient—and cursed—vase, with the help of a boy who went missing in 1932, because it's the only way to put back together her broken heart in this stand-alone adventure rom-com, perfect for fans of What the River Knows and The Lost City.The mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia hasn’t been seen since 1932, but Margot Rhodes is determined to change that... -
You, Me, and the Sea: A Novel by Meg Donohue
Rated: 3.74 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the USA Today bestselling author of All the Summer Girls and Dog Crazy comes a spellbinding and suspenseful tale that illuminates the ways in which hope—and even magic—can blossom in the darkest of places.To find her way, she must abandon everything she loves…As a child, Merrow Shawe believes she is born of the sea: strong, joyous, and wild... -
Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski
Rated: 3.77 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsA new life is just a phone call away! Devi's life isn't turning out at all like she wanted. She wasted the past three years going out with Bryan—cute, adorable, break-your-heart Bryan. Devi let her friendships fade, blew off studying, didn't join any clubs . . . and now that Bryan has broken up with her, she has nothing left. Not even her stupid cell phone—she dropped it in the mall fountain... -
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The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 30 ratings2018 Carolyn W. Field Award Honor Book2018 Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Teen ReadersWhen sixteen-year-old Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she's caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic... -
Jane in Love by Rachel Givney
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIf Jane Austen had the choice between the heart and the pen, what do you think she would do?At age twenty-eight, Jane Austen should be seeking a suitable husband, but all she wants to do is write. She is forced to take extreme measures in her quest to find true love - which lands her in the most extraordinary of circumstances... -
Everything I'll Say to You Tomorrow by Elísabet Benavent
If you could and rewrite your memories, would you do it? International bestselling author Elísabet Benavent explores doomed love, memories, and regrets in this sensational contemporary romance full of witty humor, emotional catharsis, and a satisfying happy ending.Fashion editor Miranda loves her work, and her high energy life in the hustle bustle of Madrid...Categorized as:
magic contemporary young adult time travel humor fantasy paranormal explicit-open-door -
Forgotten Time by Lorraine Beaumont
Rated: 3.40 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFORGOTTEN TIME IS the first book/part of Ravenhurst, a five-part International Best Selling Time Travel Romance Saga that spans the time from modern day to Victorian England and ends up in the age of Chivalry, with knights in shining armor... -
There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern
Rated: 3.69 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsSometimes it takes losing everything to truly find yourself... Since Sandy Shortt's childhood classmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding what is lost becomes her single-minded goal--from the lone sock that vanishes in the washing machine to the car keys she misplaced... -
The Door That Led to Where by Sally Gardner
Rated: 3.51 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsAJ Flynn has just failed all but one of his GCSEs, and his future is looking far from rosy. So when he is offered a junior position at a London law firm he hopes his life is about to change - but he could never have imagined by how much...Categorized as:
mystery young adult time travel fantasy historical contemporary paranormal length-medium
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