32 books like Bareknuckle Bastards

Best for last. Sierra Simone is a kick-ass writer. Steamy like nobody else is steamy. Fanciful. Well-read—she used to be a librarian. Smart, smart, smart, and not a show-off about it. The threesome who make the chosen family in these novels of the New Camelot eventuate in startling public roles. The first three tell the stories of the ménage; the last two are novellas, adjunct to the main story. The parallels between the original Arthurian legend and these are break-taking. Her storytelling is exemplary. Timing. Pacing. Convincing dialogue, and the sex is off the page. Not for the faint of heart, Sierra Simone is for the hard-core sexy and worth every second of reading time. When enough time has gone by, I’ll reread these. I know it.

Four wallflowers—one dowryless, one headstrong, one stammering, one decidedly… um, quirky—with a Christmas chaser about a brother to two of them, Lisa Kleypas is a gifted writer. A rare find in the world of Regency Romance these days. I read all of her Regencies. Her characters are smart, funny, and each one feels like a real person, unlike so many of the Regency debutantes written these days who feel to me like a composite from a self-help book example. I rooted for her wallflowers, and their stubborn brother the whole time. People bond in so many different ways in life—here, it’s their desperate intention to marry. They find true love and themselves at the same time. What’s not to love?

I fell over The Moretti Blood Brothers before I read J. R. Ward’s series. These are a little fluffier than hers. Romances, to be sure. Also, some bio brothers and some chosen. Again, loyalty through and through with a curious plotline about beginning to integrate the vampire Kingdom with humankind which is very cleverly done. Talk about allure. These are more like action films—fast, furious, sexy as all get-out and meant to be. I particularly like the backstories and the lineage issues. Royal bloodlines fascinate me. And still, the same backbone of loyalty, of taking care of business, and one another. Raven from Boots & Boas is known for saying, “Taking care of it means taking care of all of it.” Yep, these guys, too.

I lost sleep reading this book. Lying in bed, I told myself, “Just one more chapter.” The next thing I knew, it was morning, and I could hear the garbage truck in the distance. Did I put the book down and get my day started, or make sure the trashcans were put out the previous night? Of course not! I was engrossed. I needed more, and I needed to know everything! I needed to know what would happen to the main character and how the Black Dagger Brotherhood worked.

At the time, this book was like nothing else I’d read and my first experience with such a steamy story. But the sexy bits were just bonuses in a story that I found so very captivating I couldn’t put it down. I loved learning about the brotherhood, about Beth’s connection to it, and I loved the dynamics of the brothers, just… show more.

I loved this book because Penelope is supposed to be a means to an end, but she ends up being Bourne's everything.

Bourne wants revenge. He believes that his happiness lies in recovering the land that he foolishly lost in a card game. Penelope proves to him that regaining his legacy is not enough. She helps him rediscover the man he would have become if he hadn’t lost everything that mattered to him.

When he lets himself love her, he chooses to abandon his quest for revenge so he can be worthy. Bourne is an absolute sweetheart by the end and is completely devoted to his wife.

Little is more adventurous than a woman who owns a gambling hell, who has forged a path to success, and dares Society to judge her. I love Sarah’s depth of characterization and how she infuses her characters with a background and motivations that make their actions, even the questionable ones, understandable and believable. I find she always takes an insurmountable conflict and uses it to drive the characters toward change. I so admire Sarah’s ability to carry me on a journey that always ends with a sigh of satisfaction, and often a few tears.

This book is one of my favorites because it features a strong independent heroine and a duke who decides to be a better man.

Cassandra has no patience with Ashmont—none. She is appalled by his behavior, and she isn’t afraid to tell him. He, on the other hand, is almost immediately smitten with her. It isn’t easy for him to change from a disgrace to a worthy partner, but he doesn’t give up—even when she plainly tells him she won’t marry him.

She threatens to murder him multiple times, and the fight scene with the umbrella is permanently etched into my mind. He might have been wrong about a lot of things, but he loves her exactly as she is.

Any and all of Jenny Bayliss’s books can be read at Christmas and leave you feeling just as good as a hot toddy with the perfectly sized slice of spice cake.

Each of her books is a delectable treat and an immersion in the holiday spirit, but Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is my absolute favorite. Probably because I adore the heroine – Elinor Noel, or Nory for short. She owns her own vintage bookshop in London, but grew up in the English countryside.

Her parents’ home was near a posh private school, which Nory received a scholarship to attend. Throughout the years, she’s remained close with her old school chums and now two of them are set to be married just before Christmas in the old castle on the school grounds. 

Isaac has taken over as head gardener for the castle estate. He tormented Nory when they were children,… show more.

I know Things We Never Got Over, or TWNGO for those of us “in the know”, has gotten all the love, followed by Things We Hide From the Light, but . . . as good as Lucy’s latest releases are, Rock Bottom Girl is still my absolute go-to book by Lucy Score.

While I don’t normally love it when the heroine comes home practically destitute, Lucy makes our main FMC Marley such a loveable screw up that it doesn’t bother me. Essentially, Marley has come home to live with her parents in an effort to kickstart her life. She’s lost her job, her man and essentially all hope.

Even worse is that her blonde, bouffanted (is that a word) high school nemesis now lives next door and seems to have a perfect life. Add to that she’s forced to take a teaching job (and girls soccer coach position)… show more.

This book is one of the few slow burns I enjoyed, and the spice was worth waiting! Each scene between Noah, the grumpy single dad, and Shay, the plus-sized heroine, was laced with tension and attraction.

The characters were three-dimensional rather than merely archetypes, though I wasn’t too overwhelmed with backstory. This small-town romance was the epitome of sweetness.