Have you watched it yet? If not, I’m sure you’ve at least heard of it because it is everywhere! Which makes me very happy as I’ve been reading Julia Quinn’s books for years so today I wanted to share with you more about the books and some other reading recommendations. If you loved Bridgerton, you will love these…
Now, before I get stuck into reading recommendations, I’ll pause here in case you hadn’t realised that Bridgerton was based on a series of books. Did you know?
When I shared the books on my Instastories a few weeks ago, I received loads of messages from people who hadn’t realised the Netflix show was based on Julia Quinn’s books, so yes, it is! And they are amongst my favourite books, so let me go on and talk more about them and the other books I think you will love if you like these.
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Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books
As you’ll have discovered if you’ve watched the Netflix show, these books centre around the Bridgerton family, the matriarch Violet Bridgerton and her 8 children.
The first season of Bridgerton shares Daphne Bridgerton’s story as she meets and falls in love with the Duke of Hastings. It also introduces us to her family and the world in which they inhabit.
This is the story of the first book, The Duke and I. There are then another 7 books, and given that they’ve released that next season of the show will be Anthony’s story, it looks like they’ll tell them in the same order as the books as The Viscount Who Loved Me is his story, the next in the fictional series.
I have noticed that these books can be a little tricky to get hold of at the moment, but they are well worth a read.
These will get you started, as they are the first five books in the series, and I believe they are getting more prints out soon. I did notice that Julia Quinn shared on her social pages recently that these books are once again topping bestsellers charts, which is wonderful to see.
Julia Quinn’s other books
Julia Quinn has written loads of other books outside of the Bridgerton series (all of which I have!) and more recently she’s been writing prequels to the Bridgerton books, sharing the stories of the previous generation.
If you want to try others, start with Splendid and take it from there.
Eloisa James’ Books
After I had bought and read all of the Julia Quinn books that I could, I moved on to trying lots of other authors, lots. Some I’ll mention later on in this post, whilst others I wouldn’t recommend as they disappointed. Some were just so-so. Until I found Eloisa James.
A breath of fresh air! As with Julia Quinn, I now have every book by Eloisa James and I have read them all several times.
Eloisa James has written a lot of books and there are several different series you can get lost in. It’s hard to know which one to recommend to your first as there are so many, but I’ll go for Desperate Duchesses as I love the Duke of Villiers and you really need to meet him. He is a character that grows throughout the series and I just love him.
She has also written a series based around well-known fairy tales and these are fun to read. They begin with this one, A Kiss at Midnight.
There are then plenty of others, and I enjoy them all, from the Essex Sisters to her most recent series, the Wildes of Lindow Castle. As I say, it’s tricky to know where to start with these, but go for the above and then delve in. Just check the running order for them so that you get to read the different series’ in order.
Sarah MacLean’s Books
After trying many other authors, I then stumbled upon Sarah MacLean and I was instantly hooked.
Again, I have all of her books and I just love them. I read these books within 24 hours when they arrive, every time, I just have to devour them!
I think Sarah MacLean has written some of my very favourite heroes and I love the witty dialogue that runs through all of her books.
I’d suggest you begin with the Rules for Scoundrels series, not her first but a great place to begin. You’ll then love them and get all of the others and work your way through her back catalogue, I’m sure. It kicks off with A Rogue By Any Other Name.
I also love the Bareknuckle Bastards books, set in the heart of Covent Garden. Jump in and come and meet Devil.
So Julia, Eloisa and Sarah are the three authors that I like to shout about. These are the authors whose books I always pre-order and look forward to. These are the books that I re-read if I need a little mood lift and they never disappoint.
Honorable mentions
As I mentioned, I’ve read a lot of fiction like this. I’ve tried many, many authors and the above three are my personal favourites.
I have also read a fair few books by Lisa Keyplas and Stephanie Laurens, and I’d say these are also worth a look.
You might then like to try Tessa Dare, Suzanne Enoch, Amanda Quick and Mary Balogh.
All of these are enjoyable, I just don’t personally rate them as highly as the three authors I’ve mentioned above and I don’t feel they have as similar a feel to them as the Bridgerton books, but you might well be different and prefer these, so give them a go yourself.
Hopefully this has given you loads of books to try, so please do let me know if you do read any of them, I’d love to know.
Also, I have read every Bridgerton book, more than once (more than twice, thrice and more!) so if any of you want to discuss them with me, feel free to message me!
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I will have to give these authors a try. I love thrillers mostly, and am a Big Fan of Louise Penny and her Detective Gamanche series. Louise is a Canadian author, from Quebec and she amazes me how she puts together her characters and the setting. I am also a Big Fan of Janet Evanovich the Stephanie Plum series. Janet’s books are laugh out loud hilarious. I’m not one for rereading books, but I have with both these authors and will probably read a third time. I’m currently reading The Lost Girls of Paris, by Pam Jenoff. I didn’t think I’d care for it, but I’m am enjoying it. A few others I’ve read The Au Pair by Emma Rous – really captivating!, Three Days Missing – very intense! by Kimberly Belle, Sacrament of Lies by Elizabeth Dewberry – another book I didn’t think I would enjoy, but did!, The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup – another riveting read, and last but not least Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I found all the books I’ve listed to be real page turners, and difficult to put down as I want to know what is going to happen.
Thanks! Sounds like you’ve really been enjoying these, you’ve got to love a page turner.