Here are 73 books that Black & White fans have personally recommended if you like
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Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved history. As I was growing up, I avidly read historical books, both fiction and nonfiction. When I started writing MM Romance, it was hardly surprising that I followed my passion by writing historical stories. Research always inspires me and shapes my stories so I can indulge my fascination for social history through my characters and their situations, depending on their wealth and status–or lack of it! The wonderful books I’ve listed contain the elements I love to read and write about, and I hope you enjoy them too!
I always enjoy K.L. Noone’s stories, whether in a contemporary or historical fantasy setting, so reading a strictly historical Regency romance from this author was a delight. I enjoyed the Regency London setting and the combination of contrasting characters and their emotional dynamics.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know intrepid explorer Ash, masterful medical doctor Blake, and shy scholar Ashley. There were lovely period touches, such as mutual pining, sickbed scenes, and classical references. I relished the burgeoning romance dynamic between the three main characters in K.L. Noone's luscious prose.
Blake Thornton -- or, as rumor likes to call him, the Earl of Thorns -- has a secret. Or two.
London society knows Blake as an adventurer and traveler. His tales and memoirs have made him a celebrity. But when Blake thinks of home, he thinks of his best friend Ashley Linden, brilliant Oxford scholar of classical poetry -- and the man Blake’s been silently in love with for years.
But Blake’s discovered feelings for someone else as well: Cameron Fraser, the handsome Scottish doctor he’s met on his travels, who knows him like no one ever has. Blake doesn’t…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved history. As I was growing up, I avidly read historical books, both fiction and nonfiction. When I started writing MM Romance, it was hardly surprising that I followed my passion by writing historical stories. Research always inspires me and shapes my stories so I can indulge my fascination for social history through my characters and their situations, depending on their wealth and status–or lack of it! The wonderful books I’ve listed contain the elements I love to read and write about, and I hope you enjoy them too!
I have a passion for social history, so I was immediately drawn to the premise of this book by Alexandra Caluen. This MMM Regency story concerns the social pressures and expectations surrounding the three upper-class characters, Nick, Charlie, and Stephen, all in their early thirties. This close-knit trio has been friends since school and lovers in adulthood.
I enjoyed how the private country setting of the hunting box of the title allowed all three men to be themselves, freely showing their affection and passion for each other before returning to the conventional duties and restrictions of public life. This made the book a poignant and rewarding read.
Nick, Charlie, and Stephen, sons of an earl, a baronet, and a freshly knighted barrister, met at school and became fast friends. The young noblemen went on to university while Stephen read law in London. All three exchange letters and visits, even spending holidays together for the next thirteen years. Their terms of intimacy, while close, have been undefined: Nick and Charlie have a separate relationship, Charlie and Stephen another.
In November 1819, Nick invites his two friends for three weeks at his country lodge. He worries their bonds may be sundered by circumstance: he is to be married. While…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved history. As I was growing up, I avidly read historical books, both fiction and nonfiction. When I started writing MM Romance, it was hardly surprising that I followed my passion by writing historical stories. Research always inspires me and shapes my stories so I can indulge my fascination for social history through my characters and their situations, depending on their wealth and status–or lack of it! The wonderful books I’ve listed contain the elements I love to read and write about, and I hope you enjoy them too!
Regency romances tend to focus on the privileged and titled, so I was drawn to this gorgeous story by Annick Trent because it features a romance between two working-class men. I loved the dramatic opening where the surgeon and radical George first encounter Noah, valet to an earl who has been injured in a duel.
I really appreciated Annick Trent’s sure handling of the complex social nuances of Georgian England, where, after the French Revolution, any group of working people meeting in a self-improvement or reading group could come under suspicion by the authorities. This sense of threat and risk informed the story and brought tension and realism to the prohibited love story between George and Noah. I found this a deeply satisfying read.
Radical surgeon George Evans is called to the scene of a midnight duel between an earl and his cousin. Despite the strained atmosphere in the house, George finds he must stay and tend to the injured duellists. Fortunately, his sojourn is made more than bearable by the earl's quietly competent and oddly attractive valet, Noah Moorecott.
Under his reserved exterior, Noah turns out to have a wry sense of humour and a passion for reading to match George's own. The more time the two men spend together—whether enthusing over natural philosophy or arguing over politics—the…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved history. As I was growing up, I avidly read historical books, both fiction and nonfiction. When I started writing MM Romance, it was hardly surprising that I followed my passion by writing historical stories. Research always inspires me and shapes my stories so I can indulge my fascination for social history through my characters and their situations, depending on their wealth and status–or lack of it! The wonderful books I’ve listed contain the elements I love to read and write about, and I hope you enjoy them too!
As a teenager, I galloped through Georgette Heyer’s charming and witty Regency romances, and these days, I’m a huge fan of KJ Charles’ MM historical romances. So when this author wrote a Georgette Heyer-influenced MM Regency romance, I had to read it!
I found this a delightful blend of light and bright (from Georgette Heyer’s influence) and more serious social realism. This made the romance between Sir Phillip Rookwood, the local rake, and shy farmer Guy utterly irresistible to this reader. Together with a richly drawn and disparate supporting cast, I couldn't help but love these characters!
Sir Philip Rookwood is the disgrace of the county. He’s a rake and an atheist, and the rumours about his hellfire club, the Murder, can only be spoken in whispers. (Orgies. It’s orgies.)Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in rural seclusion after a family scandal. But when Amanda breaks her leg in a riding accident, she’s forced to recuperate at Rookwood Hall, where Sir Philip is hosting the Murder.Guy rushes to protect her, but the Murder aren’t what he expects. They’re educated, fascinating people, and the notorious Sir Philip turns out to be charming, kind—and dangerously attractive.In this private…
Tim Madge is a well-established award-winning published author, historian and former journalist of over 45 years standing. He has written on a wide range of subjects, a cultural history of cocaine being one, resulting in White Mischief. It’s a fascinating story involving a murky mix of politics and race, as well as criminals and Sigmund Freud.
The swinging sixties are commonly thought of as hedonistic days (if you remember them you weren’t there). It was a period when young people threw off the trappings of their parents and, allegedly fuelled by drugs, sex, and rock ‘n roll, set out to put the world to rights: a time without precedent.
But was it really like that? What are the women of that generation up to now; and what do they remember of those times? Is sixty the new forty?
Despite pursuing careers, raising families, with quite a few as grandparents, others caring for their own aging parents, could it be true that the once hipsters – a few now with literally new hips – have an undiluted appetite for life?
This fascinating book looks back over the lives of 67 women in their sixties, all of whom lived through ‘The Sixties’, to explore these questions through their…
The 'Swinging Sixties' are commonly depicted as hedonistic days. A point in history remembered for the generation of young people who shed the trappings of their parents and grandparents and, fuelled by sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, set out to put the world to rights. A time when individuality was heralded and convention widely challenged. A time without precedent. But what was it really like and what is this generation up to now? What did they expect from their lives, and were they so different from those of their parents and grandparents and, indeed, even their children? Had their youthful…
As a longtime Angeleno, I’ve read a lot about the dark underbelly of our dysfunctional metropolis, both in the news and in fiction. I try to incorporate the City of Angels as a strong presence in my writing, and when I read other writers who have put Los Angeles at the center, it gives me a sense of things the way they really are, a glimpse at a deeper reality. I see the detectives in LA noir and crime fiction as inextricably intertwined with the city, their weaknesses, and their emotional quandaries emerging from this place.
I found this mystery unusual because there are two protagonists, the fledgling detective Truman and his reluctant friend Celeste. I grew up with a canny mother and sisters, and seeing Celeste tacitly guide Truman in his new career, using her broader understanding of the world, feels familiar. The pair confront a blackmailing bully and try to shut down his operation. Their hedonistic approach to life, even in the most intense moments, is lighthearted and fun, and any woman who’s had a gay best friend or vice versa will recognize the humor in the pair of them chasing the same guys.
Never one to let a bully get away with harassing someone, Celeste intervenes with a knockout punch, and in the melee Truman winds up in possession of the bully’s cell phone. Through Truman’s inventive online stalking and Celeste tracking down the victim, they uncover a seedy nest of grifters bent on profiting from human misery. Truman gets involved with Isaac, a closeted lawyer with a quick temper, but how does he fit into the scam? Running down leads at hotel bars, hip boutiques, and a grimy body shop, Truman and Celeste go all in, posing undercover at a night club…
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
I’ve been writing poetry for most of my life and only recently began a real crash course in fiction with my first novel. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but not for the reasons I thought. In poetry, you learn to locate meaning, but you don’t learn narrative structure. Who knew being an existential genius was easier than finishing a sentence? Once I started studying literature that I felt embodied both, I was able to visualize how my poetic voice wasn’t just applicable, but useful, in the world of fiction.
This French novella was written in the early ’90s but translated in 2019 to English for the first time. It lacks structure and is full of plot holes, but Serre’s writing is equal parts whimsical and erotic. It feels a bit like she wrote it in one sitting during some kind of fever dream but that’s why it feels like a poem. If you’re into chaotic women and turn of the century kink, then this is for you.
In a large country house shut off from the world by a gated garden, three young governesses responsible for the education of a group of little boys are preparing a party. The governesses, however, seem to spend more time running around in a state of frenzied desire than attending to the children's education. One of their main activities is lying in wait for any passing stranger, and then throwing themselves on him like drunken Maenads. The rest of the time they drift about in a kind of sated, melancholy calm, spied upon by an old man in the house opposite,…
I’ve been completing Dry Januarys (and other sober months) since 2017! In turn, I’ve felt more energized, more positive, have experienced better sleep and better skin, among other benefits. I think giving up alcohol for any amount of time is beneficial and I encourage people to try it.
The authors are two women who want to live outside the lines -- spontaneously, extraordinarily, and without alcohol. Their book offers instructions (and a road map) for finding joy without booze including sober dating and zero-proof cocktails, among others, so readers can indulge in life. It offers a unique perspective that maybe readers might not have considered before!
A sober hedonist's guide to living a decadent, wild, and soulful life--alcohol-free.
In a culture where sipping "rosé all day" is seen as the epitome of relaxation, "grabbing a drink" the only way to network; and meeting at a bar the quintessential "first date," many of us are left wondering if drinking alcohol really is the only way to cultivate joy and connection in life.
Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward wanted to live spontaneous and luxurious lives, to escape the ordinary and enjoy the intoxicating. Their drinking, however, had started to numb them to the present moment instead of…
While I appreciate a variety of genres, my love of psychological suspense and thriller novels has only intensified over time. I often devour these books in one sitting—eyes darting across each page as my mind tries to guess the next pivotal twist! As an author, I aspire to create the same electrifying rush for my readers that my favorite stories give me. My debut novel, Swearing Off Stars, was inspired by my travels and received an Independent Press Award, a Benjamin Franklin Award, and an International Book Award. My writing has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, HuffPost, PopSugar, and Writer’s Digest. I hope you enjoy the recommendations on this list!
This book is eerie and unnerving, from its first few pages to the alarming revelations that ensue. I started reading this late one night and couldn’t resist the urge to stay up and finish it! Claire Fuller’s detailed prose will entice, grip, and haunt you well beyond the final scene.
"Unsettling and eerie, Bitter Orange is an ideal chiller." —Time Magazine
From the author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange is a seductive psychological portrait, a keyhole into the dangers of longing and how far a woman might go to escape her past.
From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them—Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens.…
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
My interest in the topic of these books has grown across four decades of teaching about cities and urban planning at Harvard, and in active practice as an architect and urban designer. At any moment a city’s very physicality reflects both a culture’s aspirations and the limitations of that culture to achieve those aspirations. Cities are, in a way, compromises in time: among efforts to preserve a past, overcome the challenges of the present, and pursuit of plans for the future. My book focuses on the role of American ideals especially in city and community building, while the five I recommend offer crucial counterpoints about the difficulties and setbacks encountered in reaching for national ideals.
For starters an absolutely brilliant book title: beautifully capturing the complexities of American culture, at once compelled by soaring social aspirations while tending to act out of pure individualism often with disdain for social impact. The narrative abounds in identifying seemingly contradictory national impulses – imported vs. Indigenous traditions, socialism vs. libertarianism, utopian vs. prosaic undertakings, the welcoming of and resisting of others – with the author arguing that through the interaction of such opposite impulses over time the particular genius of American society evolved. Kammen delights in reminding Americans of our “unstable pluralism,” and supports William James’ conclusion that “Americanism” continues to be a “volatile mixture of hopeful good and curable bad.” Overall impressive scholarship and a delightful read.
From the beginning, what has given our culture its distinctive texture, pattern, and thrust, according to Michael Kammen, is the dynamic interaction of the imported and the indigenous. He shows how, during the years of colonization, some ideas and institutions were transferred virtually intact from Britain, while, simultaneously, others were being transformed in the New World. As he unravels the tangled origins of our culture, he makes us see that unresolved contradictions in the American experience have created our national style. Puritanical and hedonistic, idealistic and materialistic, peace-loving and war-mongering: these opposing strands go back to the genesis of our…
