Can you believe that Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is turning 35 in 2026? It’s since been transformed into a TV series that has captured the hearts of viewers, but the books remain popular for old and new fans.

So, it’s not surprising that it’s made it to the top of a few romance lists. One of those is Goodreads’ “Best Time-Travel Romance Novel” list, which is voted on by the users. It has confidently beaten out the likes of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux to sit at the top of the list.

‘Outlander’ by Diana Gabaldon Beats Out Its Competition

This list is voted on by users on Goodreads, and on the list of “Best Time-Travel Romance Novels,” Outlander gained a score of 168,189 with 1,688 votes. While The Time Traveler’s Wife lands in a respectable second place, the number of votes is drastically different, with just 760 users voting for it.

Part of this could be due to age. After all, Outlander was published on June 1, 1991, while The Time Traveler’s Wife was published more than a decade later on Sept. 1, 2003. However, there’s no doubt that readers quickly fell in love with Jamie Fraser, as he made it clear what a real man is.

‘Outlander’ Has Transformed Into a Whole Universe

While Gabaldon’s novel originally started as just practice, it quickly turned into a whole universe. Since 1991, she has published nine novels in the main series. There are also multiple novellas and short stories focused on Lord John Grey, who appears first in Dragonfly in Amber, and Gabaldon focused on other characters through a couple of other short stories.

The series has also been developed into a TV series, which is currently on its eighth and final season. There’s no doubt that this led to more readers finding the books. With long Droughtlanders, viewers have wanted to learn more about the backstories of characters and find out how the stories go by the original author.

It’s a series that you can go back to at different points in life, allowing different storylines to call out to you. Of course, it’s no surprise that it is at the top of the list when it comes to time-travel romance.