33 books like New Camelot

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?

Sarah MacLean went to Smith. So did I. Besides, I am famous for saying about myself at parties, “I’m not just a wallflower—I’m the wallpaper.” How could I possibly give a miss to a Smithie and wallflowers? I couldn’t. Three half-siblings hold a dastardly secret amongst themselves about their inheritance and the person to whom it really belongs. Ruling royalty of the darker side of Covent Garden, two of them live by their own code of loyalty, along with their beloved sister. I totally loved the research and detail that had to go into these books. Covent Garden was never so lascivious, and wallflowers never so appealing. The women show their moral backbones right alongside the Bastards and the sparks are illuminating. Go, wallflowers!

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.

Look. I could tell you it’s a modern-day gothic. I could tell you it wields its heresy to illuminate the true meaning of God. I could tell you she writes with the clarity of an imprisoned martyr watching the pyre being assembled outside her window. But, really, I just want you to know that I read Sierra Simone with a goofy smile on my face, marveling at how she makes the bonkers believable. She’s a surreal realist. There’s an energy here that’s simply unmatched. The book vibrates. And if you make it through Priest, might I suggest her New Camelot trilogy, which tackles the only thing more sacred than the Catholic church: the American presidency.

Count me in any time a book addresses the theme of “What makes a monster a monster?” One of the protagonists is Lord Wraith, a fun concept in itself as she’s an assassin cursed to take a wraith’s form once a month—but it’s really the other, manipulative human character who has a “monstrous” personality.

I already love that dynamic and the questions it poses, and throwing in an enemies-to-lovers angle and an unreliable narrator-induced plot twist over it really seals the deal on my love for this book.

I’ve read this one more than once, and I definitely plan to read it again.

I love, love, love fairy lore, but a lot of books with fairies cut out some of the darker aspects—and this one decidedly leans right into the morbid, deceitful side of fairies.

I adored the setting of the fairy court, and while I don’t always consider fairies to be monstrous, the Fae Queen has unique, see-through, glass anatomy and a decidedly inhuman demeanor that made it all the more satisfying when she started to fall for the human main character. I found the thrill-seeking personality of the main character to be refreshing, and her encounters with the icy queen had strong chemistry (in addition to being super steamy).

I couldn’t leave out one of my favorite monsters of all time: dragons. Also, I just love secondary-world fantasy, especially the kind that has important themes like the effects of imperialism and that are set in a shifting palace full of magical rooms.

This book beautifully executes one of my favorite relationship dynamics in fiction: the dragon love interest starts out ice cold and very gradually warms up to the main character as they get closer, and they both overcome their past traumas as their romance grows deeper. That’s the good stuff!

This book is just pure, sexy, chaotic fun (with sapphic monster ladies, of course). I’m an absolute sucker for a good genre-bender, and this one is not only chock-full of a variety of monsters, but it’s also a mystery, a comedy, an erotica, and a kind of Bildungsroman all rolled into one.

I laughed out loud more than once when reading this, and certain twists were executed so well that they had me flipping back to the beginning to find the clever foreshadowing. Also, the monsters are plentiful and their interactions are an absolute blast.

This was the book that made Jemma Topaz an insta-buy author for me.

I absolutely loved this quiet, lyrical novella with a sapphic sea monster romance and an underlying paranormal mystery that needs to be solved. The characters were flawed and real to me, and, like the rest of this novella, they were fully fleshed out despite the relatively few pages they have together.

The language is stunning, the pacing is perfect, and the sea monster lady is scaly and incredibly cool. I will be thinking about the impact this book left on me—and the way it proved to me that indie books can be very high quality—for years.