23 books like Scoundrels

This is book two in Hovland’s Mile High Matched series. Florist Jase Dvornakov cons cookie baker Heather Reese into pretending she broke his heart so his matchmaking family will give him space while he “heals.” Unfortunately, Jake’s manipulative Russian Grandmother—Babushka—is out for revenge and Heather is in her crosshairs. Between Heather’s naughty-shaped cookies, an interfering Babushka, and her frustrated grandson, this story is a hoot. Once Heather and Babushka team up, it’s all over for poor Jake. It’s not just the couple’s relationship issues, but their close friendships that make the story so engaging. I laughed out loud—a lot. Babushka makes appearances throughout the series and all the stories are great, but for the humor factor, this one is my fave.

This first book in Long’s Pennyroyal Green Regency series involves Colin Eversea, an innocent man about to hang, and Madeline Greenway, the woman hired to liberate him. Instead of receiving her fee for saving the most popular rogue in London, someone tries to kill Madeline. The couple embarks on a convoluted journey to unravel the truth with entertaining characters, interesting twists, and an uncomfortable discovery of self and one another. Long is one of the best at sexual tension, characterization, and setting. Her scenes are so very alive and active and full of humor. The Perils of Pleasure is a really fun read. 

This book by Julia Quinn will always be my favorite of the Bridgerton Series; I love her style of writing. The way she introduced Jack's character and the love story between these two was on the edge.

She had a lot of details, and each story flowed into the next. I was hooked when I knew it was a series and I'm still building on her collection. 

Romance with a side of attempted murder, anyone?

When I read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, I am immediately dropped in the middle of an intangible situation and this book delivers, over and over. Dean Robilard and Blue Bailey are two scared children living in adult bodies, and hiding within the confines of their complicated lives, and pasts marred by trauma.

I love messy characters trying and failing at life because their transformation is so satisfying. I always wonder, “How the hell are they going to get out of this?” The music element, this time in rock and roll, again shows the intricacies of the business and the effect it has on the characters' personal lives when trying to build a career and find love.

This is a book I both adore and abhor. Why would I say such a thing? Because my heart physically hurt in the reading of it.

On the surface, the confident, scientifically minded hero has everything, including a disdain for anyone “lower” than him. But when he’s felled in an instant, everything changes. He cannot communicate—at all—until the lowly daughter of a fellow numerist finds a way to break through the strange walls that now inhabit his brain…

Experiencing these two falling in love was both poignant and yet destructive to my peace of mind. This is one of those books I set down, yes for several months, because I could not bear for it to end, and I needed to fortify myself before reading through to its conclusion.

This is my favorite comfort read, the perfect book for days when life has too many sharp corners. I must have read this one at least twenty times. It has all the virtues of a classic fairytale: a pure-hearted, brave heroine; an honorable, steadfast hero; and a happy ending earned through suffering and effort and against all the odds. It tells the story of Countess Anna Grazinsky, a young refugee from the Russian Revolution, who finds work as a maid at a stately home in the English countryside, where she falls in love with the gallant war hero who owns the house. But the Earl of Westholme is promised to another woman. Heartwarming, triumphantly romantic, wise, and funny, A Countess Below Stairs is one of those rare books that makes the world seem a better place.  

Georgette Heyer is the queen of Regency romance. My mother gave me my first Heyer when I was about eight and I’ve loved her work ever since. Witty, beautifully written, romantic, glamorous, her books were the perfect introduction to historical romance. I’m currently in the middle of my fifth re-read of all her books and this time 'round, I think my favorite is Faro’s Daughter. This pairs the very rude and unromantic (but irresistible!) Max Ravenscar with clever, independent Deborah Grantham, a well-bred lady brought low by financial trouble who now runs her aunt’s gambling house. When Max sets out to rescue his beef-witted cousin from Deb’s clutches, the stage is set for a clash of titanic proportions. This book sparkles like good champagne, and it always makes me laugh.  

Judith Ivory has one of the most distinctive voices in historical romance. I wish she was still releasing new work! The Proposition is a fun take on My Fair Lady, where Henry Higgins is a down-on-her-luck duke’s daughter and Eliza Dolittle is a charming rat catcher. Yes, you heard that right. We’re a long way from the usual historical romance fare of dukes and rakes. Not only that, Mick Tremore, the rat catcher in question, has the most wonderful dog Win who threatens to steal the show every time she’s on the page. Charming, clever, witty and full of delicious sexual tension, this is a compelling read – and it has a serious message about how often the greatest barriers to our dreams are those our minds place on us. 

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.

After life as an unpaid servant to her clergyman cousin, Annabelle Archer’s ecstatic to win a scholarship to Oxford from the National Society for Women’s Suffrage—even if accepting means participating in the group’s political campaigning. A drive to sway influential gentleman to the cause lands Annabelle and her new suffragist friends at a house party given by the haughty Duke of Montgomery, a man far more interested in winning back the family properties his father lost gambling than in debating married women’s property rights. Until he starts debating with Annabelle…

A familiar story, plot-wise. The joy here comes from Dunmore's lovely writing, deft characterizations, and the palpable tension she creates between two people on opposite sides who fall into desperate, exhilarating, and completely unwanted love.