Here are 100 books that Daughter of the Gods fans have personally recommended if you like
Daughter of the Gods.
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I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the braveâreminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanityâtheir love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfectionsâreminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
This book stayed with me long after I finished it.
What gripped me most was the way Signe Pike gave Languoreth fierce humanity, a woman, well, a girl, who was given to royal marriage, had a good husband, yet, for all her childish love affair, still took on a lover. This story pitted family against family, friend against friend, in the political upheaval of Christianity against paganism.
I felt Pike captured Languoreth's torn heart beautifully, with every unfairness to every heart entwined in her decisions. I also appreciated the deep dive into the Arthurian historicity of the story in the author's note at the end.
âOutlander meets Camelotâ (Kirsty Logan, author of The Gracekeepers) in the first book of an exciting historical trilogy that reveals the untold story of Languorethâa powerful and, until now, tragically forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotlandâtwin sister of the man who inspired the legendary character of Merlin.
Intelligent, passionate, rebellious, and brave, Languoreth is the unforgettable heroine of The Lost Queen, a tale of conflicted loves and survival set against the cinematic backdrop of ancient Scotland, a magical land of myths and superstition inspired by the beauty of the natural world. One of the most powerful early medieval queens in BritishâŚ
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to runâŚ
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the braveâreminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanityâtheir love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfectionsâreminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What I loved most about this book was how it told the rise of Nefertiti through the eyes of her quieter sister, Mutnodjmet. That perspective stayed with me.
It showed power and ambition not only from the throne, but from the shadow it cast on those forced to serve it. It reminded me that the greatest power struggles are never won without sacrifice, especially from those who never asked to play the game.
When the Crown Prince of Egypt needs a wife, the beautiful, charismatic, ambitious and connected Nefertiti is his mother's first choice. She quickly becomes accustomed to the opulence of her new life. As Queen of the world's first great empire at the height of its power, all her dreams are realised. Beguiling and wilful, Nefertiti is soon as powerful as the Pharaoh himself. But when her husband breaks with a thousand years of tradition, defying the priests and the military, it will take all Nefertiti's wiles to keep the nation from being torn apart. Watching from the shadows, her sister,âŚ
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the braveâreminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanityâtheir love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfectionsâreminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What I loved about this book was how it carried me into the world of Boudica before she became a legend.
She is not yet the warrior queen who defied Rome, but a daughter traded in the games of men, listening to the whispers of the oaks even as her fate is bargained away. I was drawn into the greenwood, the gods, the old ways of the druids, and into a story that felt raw and mythic.
It reminded me that rebellion is born not only of rage, but of sacrifice.Â
Fated to lead a rebellion against Rome.Destined to become a legend.From New York Times bestseller Melanie Karsak, author of the Celtic Blood series, comes a gripping historical fantasy series of ancient Britain, Celtic gods, a fated romance, and the warrior queen who defied Rome.Britain, A.D. 42âBoudica, second daughter of a Celtic king, has little concern for tribal tensions and political intrigues. Called by the gods and the stirrings of her own wild heart, she listens instead to whispers of the oaks. But Boudica would be wiser to heed the warning cries of eagles.Rumors abound that the Romans are amassing forcesâŚ
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother hadâŚ
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the braveâreminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanityâtheir love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfectionsâreminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What struck me most about this story was how Salome Alexandra began as a girl dismissed, bartered, and used for power, yet rose to rule with a strength literally no one expected.
I loved how her journey revealed the cost of obedience, the ache of being given away, and the slow, steady fire of a woman who refused to let her life be wasted. This novel made me feel the weight of dynastic duty and the quiet courage it takes to lead not by force, but by wisdom and faith.
I also appreciated the biblical historicity woven into this story.
Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem'sâŚ
My graduating class in high school once designated me as âthe most likely to start a feminist revolution.â That was a lot to live up to, but Iâve made a very small stab at it by writing about women who have changed our world. I love to bring awareness about the contributions great women have made in history, but I also want modern women to see themselves in these struggles. I always say that Historical Fiction is an exercise of empathy, and I hope my work encourages women today to get involved and make a difference in the world, too.
In many ways, this book started my writing career. I picked up this novel in an airport on the way to our honeymoon destination and found myself so inspired by Margaret Georgeâs wonderfully emotive writing that I dreamed of writing a book.
I was also inspired by the tragic ancient queen whose war with Rome changed the course of Western civilization. Love her or hate her, Cleopatra is the most famous woman in history, and this novel beautifully illustrates her bravery, intelligence, and romantic heart.
Itâs dramatic, well-researched, and a big, beautiful saga that you can sink into.
The mesmerizing story of Queen Cleopatra in her own words - by bestselling novelist Margaret George, author of The Autobiography of Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles.
Told in the first person - from the young queen's earliest memories of her father's tenuous rule to her own reign over one of the most glittering kingdoms in the world - this is an enthralling saga of ambition and power.
It is also a tale of passion that begins when the twenty-one-year-old Cleopatra, desperate to return from exile, seeks out the one man who can help her: JuliusâŚ
Iâm a spiritual mutt. Raised with a variegated Christian background (Mom Charismatic, Dad Quaker, Grandparents Wesleyan), so I rejected all things biblical and turned to Jack Daniels for Southern Comfort. In college, I reconnected with a high school friend who demonstrated God was real by his changed life and showed the Bibleâs concrete historical connections in a way I could understand. The words that had so confounded me as a child became one story that made sense. I dumped Jack Daniels, married that friend, and no longer needed Southern Comfort. Now, through research, study, and a little imagination, I write biblical novels, chug Living Water, and tell Bible stories to eight grandkids.
This book was published in 2009. For many years before its release, I could only find three Christian authors writing biblical fiction. All other novels about biblical characters were published in the mainstream market without regard for biblical truth. Jillâs well-researched and biblically accurate account tells the story of King Saulâs daughter, who was given as a wife to the warrior David.
The story was raw, yet softened by the nuanced portrayal of both main characters. It showed what may have been the true motives behind the choices made in the biblical text. The depictions of the surrounding culture, living conditions, and daily lifeâmasterfully woven into the storyâfelt like gulping cold water after years of drought.
As the daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege--but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and by competition from her beautiful older sister. When Michal falls for young David, the harpist who plays to calm her father, she has no idea what romance, adventures, and heartache await her.
As readers enter the colorful and unpredictable worlds of King Saul and King David, they will be swept up in this exciting and romantic story. Against the backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and desert escapes, Jill Eileen Smith takes her readers on an emotionalâŚ
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man sheâŚ
Writing this biography was an extraordinary experience for me. I have been writing about the arts for more than forty years. Over the decades I was Associate Editor of Ballet Review and dance critic for The New York Sun. Talking to Alla Osipenko provided singular insight into the culture and politics of the Soviet Union, as well as the individual artistry and psychology of this great ballerina. I left every interview with her feeling elated. By the time my biography was published in 2015, I also knew/met/had interviewed many of the people she described and could write from some degree of first-hand knowledge.
I think it was the first biography I ever purchased. At age ten or eleven, I read in it, but now Iâm reading it all the way through, and Iâm pleased to say that even at that tender age, I gravitated to the best!
Fraser stops the narrative when she wants to discourse upon a particular issue or attribute and always considers her own take on events and characters worthy of elegant interjection.
Sheâs not afraid to discuss relevant but not strictly solemn issues, such as whether Mary was considered beautiful and the tragic queenâs love of dancing and cross-dressing.Â
âA book that will leave few readers unmoved.ââSan Francisco Chronicle
She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head.
Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape and even murder. Betrayed by those she most trusted, she would be lured into a deadly game of power, only to lose to her envious and unforgivingâŚ
Iâm a voracious reader, and Iâve come across way too many books where the female MC was an airheaded TSTL (too stupid to live) ninny. I donât want to read about women who have to be saved by big, strong men. I want to see women who can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and save themselves, maybe with a little help from the big, strong man if she needs or wants it, AND who can turn around and do some saving of said man of her own, should HE need it. I think the healthiest relationships, even fictional ones, are those based on mutual strength, trust, and respect.
Iâm all in for the romantasy of this series, even though it takes until book 2 for the HFN payoff.
Evie has had a lifetime of being treated as lesser-than, even by her family. But when she gets the chance to remake herself from the ground up, away from expectations of who she was or who sheâs been told to be, she blossoms and comes into her own. Amazing what you can do when not weighed down by the preconceptions of others or yourself. This new Evie attracts the interest of a powerful magic wielder, but ironically, itâs her old identity that causes trouble for them.
Having read the other 2 books, I love the way her entire journey plays out and the strong, determined, kick-ass woman she becomes.
Gladiator meets Game of Thrones: a royal woman becomes a skilled warrior to destroy her murderous cousin, avenge her family, and save her kingdom in this first entry in a dazzling fantasy epic from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin series-an enthralling tale that combines magic, murder, intrigue, adventure, and a hint of romance.
In a realm where one's magical power determines one's worth, Lady Everleigh's lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne,âŚ
A wise (and wily) Jedi once said that âmany of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view,â and Iâm fascinated by storytelling that gives you more than one point of view or voice to ponder. Even as a kid, I searched for books that delved into the minds of more than one character. Iâve explored this in my own writing but also as a teacher working with undergraduate students who were finding their own voices while exploring the literary voices of others. I also love so-called genre fictionâthe fantasy, sci-fi, and romance of it allâwhich is definitely reflected in this list, well!
The Graceling series of books is one of my favorite reads ever, and this one is no exception. Part of the reason is that I love this fantasy world so very much. And part of it is that the story revisits the point of view of a much-beloved character, Bitterblue, along with that of multiple other characters (old and new) as the novel unfolds.
Plus, the mystery and intrigue cannot be beat, and a coupleâs longstanding love for each other finally blossoms into everything it should be. This book felt like eating a rich, multiple-layered cake to me.
A new land has been discovered to the east. Winterkeep is a land of miracles, a democratic republic run by people who like each other, where people speak to telepathic sea creatures, adopt telepathic foxes as pets, and fly across the sky in ships attached to balloons. But when Bitterblue's envoys to Winterkeep drown under suspicious circumstances, she and Giddon and her half-sister, Hava, set off to discover the truth--putting both Bitterblue's life and Giddon's heart to the test when Bitterblue is kidnapped. Giddon believes she has drowned, leaving him and Hava to solve the mystery of what's wrong inâŚ
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the worldâs most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the bookâŚ
Iâve been fascinated by the early modern periodâthe Tudors and the Stuartsâsince falling in love with Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth, Henry VIII, and his wives when I was a child. I graduated from Horrible Histories as a child to lengthier nonfiction and fiction books about the era as a teenager before gaining a BA Honours, a Masters, and a PhD focussing on Elizabethan language and literature. I now teach English Literature at Strathclyde University. Because I never lost the urge to read everything I could about the Tudors and Stuarts, I began writing about them, too, and because I devour both fiction and nonfiction, I write both!
Elizabeth I is one of the most popular Tudors and her story has been told and retold in countless biographies and Anne Somersetâs weighty nonfiction study is my favourite. It details the big-picture moments of the queenâs lifeâher rivalries, successes, and failuresâwithout losing sight of the human at the heart of the story. We can thus enjoy learning about Elizabeth the woman as well as Elizabeth the queen.
This is a book I occasionally dip into for a reference and invariably end up rereading in its entirety.
Elizabeth 1 ruled England in defiance of convention, exercising supreme authority in a man's world. With courage, brilliance and style, she reigned for nearly forty-five years. Anne Somerset's penetrating biography of this complex and uniquely gifted woman is unrivalled in its analysis of both Elizabeth's personal life and her career as leader. "By applying herself industriously to the evidence, Anne Somerset presents a convincing as well as complex character at the centre of her long, but ever lucid narrative" Antonia Fraser "I strongly recommend this book...the writing is a delight" Daily Telegraph "The fullest and best biography of the queenâŚ
