A fan of Bridgeton? Great, then we have your next reads that won’t disappoint. 15 Books Just Like Bridgeton
Go to the end of our list to find the prequel to Bridgeton!
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Table of Contents
1 Mr Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain
£2.99 Kindle Edition, £8.99 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor deserves his comeuppance…
The Honourable, excessively handsome, excessively wealth and perhaps a tad egotistical, Mr Malcolm is searching for a wife – but not just any wife. He’s armed himself with a list of ideal qualities that his future wife will have to embody. After years of searching, he’s beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon . . . until Selina Dalton arrives in town.
Selina, a vicar’s daughter of limited means, is thrilled when her friend Julia invites her to London – until she learns it’s part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr Malcolm, whose list has been discovered. Using the list, Selina is to play the part of his perfect woman, only to shatter his hopes at the most opportune moment.
Given their instant attraction, Selina is initially reluctant, but when Mr Malcolm begins judging her against his unattainable standards, she decides that it’s high time to bring him down a peg or three. For she has some qualifications of her own, and if he is to meet them, he must reveal the real man behind his carefully controlled facade . . .
2 Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
£4.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.99 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Oxford, 1879. A beautiful bluestocking is about to teach a duke a lesson….
Brilliant but destitute Annabelle Archer is one of the first female students at Oxford University. In return for her scholarship, she must recruit influential men to champion the rising women’s suffrage movement. Her first target is Sebastian Devereux: cold, calculating and the most powerful duke in England.
When Annabelle and her friends infiltrate his luxurious estate, she’s appalled to find herself attracted to the infuriatingly intelligent aristocrat – but perhaps she’s not the only one struggling with desire….
Soon Annabelle is locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own. She’ll need to learn fast just what it takes to bring down a duke.
3 A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley
£6.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.99 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Created by a shrewd countess, The Widow’s Grace is a secret society with a mission: to help ill-treated widows regain their status, their families, and even find true love again – or perhaps for the very first time….
When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband’s mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune – and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child – until The Widow’s Grace gets her hired as her own son’s nanny. But working for his unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honor – and unexpected passion….
A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin’s dangerous financial dealings for Lionel’s sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she’s breaking his rules and sweeping past his defenses. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust – but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together?
4 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
£4.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction.
In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire. Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers, and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs – the dreamers.
At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love….
A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.
5 The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles
£0 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.
Exiled to China for 20 years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry.
Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude…and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.
Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn’t the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it – they’re both going to die.
6 A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins
£2.99 Kindle Edition, £11.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
An intrepid female reporter matches wits with a serious, sexy detective in award-winning author Manda Collins’ fun and flirty historical romcom, perfect for readers of Evie Dunmore, Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare and Netflix’s Enola Holmes!
Of all the crime scenes in all the world, she walks into his. Twice.
England, 1865: Notorious newspaper columnist Lady Katherine Bascomb is determined to educate the ladies of London on the nefarious criminals who are praying on the fairer sex. But when her reporting leads to the arrest of an infamous killer, Katherine flees to a country house party to escape her doubts about the case – only to become witness to a murder herself! When the lead detective accuses Katherine of inflaming – rather than informing – the public with her column, she vows to prove him wrong.
Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham’s refusal to compromise his investigations nearly cost him his career, and he blames Katherine. When he discovers she’s the key witness in a new crime, he’s determined to prevent the beautiful widow from once again wreaking havoc on his case. Yet as Katherine proves surprisingly insightful and Andrew impresses Katherine with his lethal competency, both are forced to admit the fire between them is more flirtatious than furious. But to explore the passion between them, they’ll need to catch a killer . . .
7 To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters
£2.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
In this fresh and hilarious historical rom-com, an estranged husband and wife in Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attention – and maybe just win each other back in the process.
Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.
Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side – only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.
Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses – and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt, or will they continue to deny the spark between them?
8 Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce
£2.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
“Why would I talk to you about my life? I don’t know you, and even if I did, I don’t tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed. You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.”
1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Cafe is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.
2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right – if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting…
Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost…
9 Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
£6.19 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?
When his mother became president, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius – his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, US/British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: True love isn’t always diplomatic.
Praise for Red, White & Royal Blue:
“Effervescent and empowering on all levels, Red, White & Royal Blue is both a well-written love story and a celebration of identity.” (NPR)
“I took this with me wherever I went and stole every second I had to read! Absorbing, hilarious, tender, sexy – this book had everything I crave. I’m jealous of all the readers out there who still get to experience Red, White & Royal Blue for the first time!” (Christina Lauren, New York Times best-selling author of Love and Other Words and Roomies)
10 The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain
£4.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a shy 28-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness when she meets Ernest Hemingway and is captivated by his energy, intensity and burning ambition to write. After a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for France. But glamorous Jazz Age Paris, full of artists and writers, fuelled by alcohol and gossip, is no place for family life and fidelity.
Ernest and Hadley’s marriage begins to founder, and the birth of a beloved son serves only to drive them further apart. Then, at last, Ernest’s ferocious literary endeavours begin to bring him recognition – not least from a woman intent on making him her own…
11 The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
£0 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £7.37 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper…Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than 60 years.
It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever.
Key by key, Lettie’s life of impossible love, loss, and courage unfolds. It’s one that Caroline can now make right again as her own journey of self-discovery begins.
12 Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards Book 1) by Sarah MaLean
£4.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £19.68 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
When Wicked Comes Calling . . .
When a mysterious stranger finds his way into her bedchamber and offers his help in landing a duke, Lady Felicity Faircloth agrees – on one condition. She’s seen enough of the world to believe in passion, and won’t accept a marriage without it.
The Wallflower Makes a Dangerous Bargain . . .
Bastard son of a duke and king of London’s dark streets, Devil has spent a lifetime wielding power and seizing opportunity, and the spinster wallflower is everything he needs to exact a revenge years in the making. All he must do is turn the plain little mouse into an irresistible temptress, set his trap and destroy his enemy.
For the Promise of Passion . . .
But there’s nothing plain about Felicity Faircloth, who quickly decides she’d rather have Devil than another. Soon, Devil’s carefully laid plans are in chaos and he must choose between everything he’s ever wanted . . . and the only thing he’s ever desired.
13 Because of Miss Bridgerton: A Bridgerton Prequel by Julia Quinn
£3.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £- Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Go back to where it all began in this dazzlingly witty new series from New York Times best-selling Author Julia Quinn.
Sometimes you find love in the most unexpected of places.
This is not one of those times.
Everyone expects Billie Bridgerton to marry one of the Rokesby brothers. The two families have been neighbours for centuries, and as a child, the tomboyish Billie ran wild with Edward and Andrew. Either one would make a perfect husband…someday.
Sometimes you fall in love with exactly the person you think you should. Or not.
There is only one Rokesby Billie absolutely cannot tolerate, and that is George. He may be the eldest heir to the earldom, but he’s arrogant, annoying and she’s absolutely certain he detests her. Which is perfectly convenient, as she can’t stand the sight of him, either.
But sometimes fate has a wicked sense of humour…
Because when Billie and George are quite literally thrown together, a whole new sort of sparks begins to fly. And when these lifelong adversaries finally kiss, they just might discover that the one person they can’t abide is the one person they can’t live without.
14 A London Season by Patricia Bray
£2.59 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £10.60 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
Caring for eight siblings and burdened by a bankrupt estate, Jane Sedgwick happily accepts her aunt’s invitation to the festive London season. This could be her chance to find a wealthy husband and get the entire family out of debt . . .
But the upper crust of London bristles at Jane’s blunt country ways—with one exception: Lord Glendale. The handsome lord, not in the market for a wife, finds himself amused by Jane’s frank manner and he wagers that—within the month—even provincial Jane can be brought into fashion.
His plan succeeds only too well, as Jane blossoms into the most popular young lady of the season. Now, will Lord Glendale relinquish Jane to her newfound admirers? Or will he take the biggest gamble of all—and risk his heart in a challenging game of love?
15 Seducing An Angel: Number 4 in series (Huxtable Quintet) by Mary Balogh
£4.99 Kindle Edition, £7.99 Audiobook, £18 Paperback (click the image for an up-close look on amazon)
He must be wealthy, well-born and want her more than he wants any other woman. Those are the conditions that must be met by the man Cassandra Belmont chooses for her lover. Marriage is out of the question for the scandalous widow who must now barter her beauty in order to survive. With seduction in mind, she sets her sights on Stephen Huxtable, the irresistibly attractive Earl of Merton and London’s most eligible bachelor.
But at first glance, Stephen is convinced the alluring Lady Paget is the ideal woman to share his bed. There is only one caveat: this relationship must be on his terms. But a single night of passion alters all the rules. Cassandra is now in danger of losing the one thing she vowed never to give. And Stephen, who wants Cassandra more than he has ever wanted any woman, won’t rest until she has surrendered everything – not as his mistress – but as his lover and wife…