Here are 100 books that Lioness fans have personally recommended if you like Lioness. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Women Who Followed Jesus

Christine Kohler Author Of Silent No More

From my list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.  

Christine's book list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women

Christine Kohler Why Christine loves this book

I attended a Bible study where the male leader had the “Marys” in the New Testament mixed up. Once home, I sorted the women out. It can be confusing.

Such as, there are two different accounts of women anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with their hair—Mary from Bethany and an unnamed sinner woman. Salome (Virgin Mary’s sister) is sometimes called Mary. There were three Marys at the tomb. 

In Women Who Followed Jesus, author Dani Daley Mackall dramatizes nine women (including four Marys) in narrative (historical fiction) accounts of their encounters with Jesus. Before each woman’s story are scriptures. After each first-person biblical account are questions for reflection and a prayer.

This book clarified the women and gave insight into how they may have felt. I also learned about Jewish customs because of the deep research. 

By Dandi Daley Mackall ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Women Who Followed Jesus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ECPA Easter Bestseller 2024
2025 FINALIST Christian Book Awards

"Powerful daily encouragement that will enhance your walk with God." ―Jerry B. Jenkins, writer of the Left Behind series and The Chosen novels

Step into the untold stories of the women who walked with Jesus―women whose faith, courage, and devotion shaped the early church. 

Women Who Followed Jesus is a transformative 40-day devotional that brings fresh insight into the lives of Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene; Joanna; Susanna; Salome; and others who witnessed Christ's ministry, death, and resurrection.
From the author of Three Wise Women comes this Bible-Based Devotional…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

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 run…

Book cover of The Women of the Bible Speak

Christine Kohler Author Of Silent No More

From my list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.  

Christine's book list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women

Christine Kohler Why Christine loves this book

As a journalist, author Shannon Bream did not disappoint by applying her skills to deep research of the 16 women she wrote about in this nonfiction book.

I have studied the Bible nearly my entire life and hadn’t realized Hagar was the first person to see an angel and the first to give God a name – El Ro-i, “the God of seeing.” Bream sets this book up in an unusual manner by pairing two women per chapter. Very unique!

After my poetry book about Bible women released, people kept asking if I had read The Women of the Bible Speak. (Our titles are even similar.) I had not read her book. (It is common to not read what you are writing about so as not to be influenced.)

Once I read Bream’s book, it was evident why people saw mine as a companion. I am a fan now,…

By Shannon Bream ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Women of the Bible Speak as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

The women of the Bible lived timeless stories-by examining them, we can understand what it means to be a woman of faith.

People unfamiliar with Scripture often assume that women play a small, secondary role in the Bible. But in fact, they were central figures in numerous Biblical tales. It was Queen Esther's bravery at a vital point in history which saved her entire people. The Bible contains warriors like Jael, judges like Deborah, and prophets like Miriam. The first person to witness Jesus' resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who promptly became the first Christian evangelist,…


Book cover of A Lineage of Grace

Christine Kohler Author Of Silent No More

From my list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.  

Christine's book list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women

Christine Kohler Why Christine loves this book

Francine Rivers has always been a master at writing biblical fiction.

As a teen my daughter read many of Rivers’s novels. But I never took the time to do so until another best-selling author recommended to me A Lineage of Grace. It is a collection of short stories, nearly the length of novellas, following five women in the lineage of Jesus Christ. 

The story that captured me most was Tamar’s. I had never thought about her viewpoint as a Canaanite, or why she went to the extreme measure she did, pretending to be a prostitute, to hold her father-in-law Judah to his promise and bare his children.

I love books that make me see something on a slant, from a different viewpoint. There are also Bible study questions at the end of each woman’s story.

By Francine Rivers ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lineage of Grace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The complete biblical historical fiction compilation by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind.

The Bible is filled with inspiring stories of unlikely candidates God chose to change eternity. This bestselling compilation in one volume contains five novellas about such people―women in the family tree of Jesus Christ.

Tamar. Rahab. Ruth. Bathsheba. Mary.

Each was faced with extraordinary―even scandalous―challenges. But they had courage. They lived daring lives. Sometimes they made mistakes―big mistakes. And yet God, in His infinite mercy and grace, used them to bring forth the Christ, the Savior of the…


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Book cover of Murder and Malice

Murder and Malice by Hugh Greene,

Dr. Power is promoted to a chair of forensic psychiatry at Allminster University and selected by the Vice Chancellor for a key task which stokes the jealousy of the Deans, and he is plunged into a precariously dangerous situation when there is a series of deaths and the deputy Vice…

Book cover of Outside the Frame

Christine Kohler Author Of Silent No More

From my list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.  

Christine's book list on Christian books that reveal the emotional heart of Bible women

Christine Kohler Why Christine loves this book

What I loved most about this collection of free verse persona poetry were the poems about women in the Bible.

I found certain lines sticking with me, such as “I danced,” reflecting the cavalier attitude King Herod’s step-daughter Salome had regarding her part in the beheading of John the Baptist. The author was also thought-provoking in her viewpoint of motives for women such as Bathsheba.

The rest of the book is filled with poems about the author, Childress, growing up in Appalachia. However, the biblical women poems, in my opinion, are among the best I have read in this sub-genre. 

By Catherine Pritchard Childress ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Outside the Frame as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Outside the Frame, Catherine Pritchard Childress gives full-throated voice to those who are historically silenced, while bearing witness to a complex culture that both perpetuates that silence and cries out to be heard and to be seen. Seeking to subvert tradition in the pursuit of truth, these poems move seamlessly between worlds-the biblical and the contemporary, the mythical and the uncomfortably real. The speakers in here reflect not the poet, but any woman-all women-from Lot's wife to housewife-unnamed, unheard, yet unrelenting. Whether set in ancient history or contemporary Appalachia, these poems at once rage and sing, disrupt and reconcile.…


Book cover of Where the Past Begins

Rowena Hawkins Author Of My Father is Police Lah!

From my list on humor, intrigue, adventure, and historical events.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have enjoyed personal experiences that are probably unlike those of most women my age and background. I thought it would be a unique example to write about myself, growing up as a local child in British Colonial Singapore, at a time when most other local children who grew up in Singapore during the early 50s and 60s had lives fraught with hardships, poverty, and distress. The common theme is extensive in all the book references I have made, as every story is about someone’s growing-up years in an Oriental or Eastern environment, and their relationships or lack thereof, with their respective parent(s).

Rowena's book list on humor, intrigue, adventure, and historical events

Rowena Hawkins Why Rowena loves this book

Her book inspired me to write my own memoir about my experiences as a local child living the life of an expat in the British colonial territory of Singapore in the 1960s.

This is her autobiographical memoir of her life and childhood. I found her story captured in a sophisticated writing style. It covers all the elements of how she kickstarted her career as a writer and the catalysts behind the stories of all her books.

By Amy Tan ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where the Past Begins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir on her life as a writer, her childhood and the symbiotic relationship between fiction and emotional memory.

In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction.

By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gathers together evidence of all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she…


Book cover of Booked to Die

Paul Charles Author Of Departing Shadows

From my list on books where the detective, the reader and the author all walk in step.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Northern Irish crime writer. I worship storytellers, no matter if the stories are relayed on the page, the screen, or in songs. As long as the stories come across as real, then I am happy. 

I, as a storyteller, endeavor to be more of a "camera" than a “writer.” I believe it’s all there waiting for me, and as a “camera,” I am allowed to go deep into myself and record all that my imagination is producing. I believe all the books I have selected have helped me in some small way understand why some of us can commit crimes while others can’t.

Paul's book list on books where the detective, the reader and the author all walk in step

Paul Charles Why Paul loves this book

This time the detective whose shoes I am allowed to tread in are those of Cliff Janeway, a Denver Homicide detective, investigating the murder of a local rare books scout.

I grew to know what it feels like to be a detective. To someone like myself - who prefers to pick up my rare first editions, not on the internet but by rummaging around for hours in bookstores - this and the other titles in John Donning's atmospheric Janeway titles are pure mana from heaven.

The author ran the Old Algonquin Bookstore in Denver for a decade. Mr. Donning's writing voice is so authentic, I have to keep reminding myself that Janeway is the detective and not the author.

By John Dunning ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Booked to Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A joy to read for its wealth of inside knowledge about the antiquarian book business and its eccentric traders." -The New York Times Book Review

In the bestselling first novel of the Cliff Janeway bibliomystery series, former Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway trades his badge for a bookstore-and quickly finds that rare books and murder make a volatile mix.

Janeway, a tough, book-loving cop with a penchant for collecting rare first editions, becomes obsessed with the death of local book scout Bobby Westfall-a gentle loner with a sharp eye for valuable volumes. When the lead suspect slips through the cracks…


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Book cover of The Whale Surfaces: Prequel to Escaping The Whale

The Whale Surfaces by Ruth Rotkowitz,

The Whale Surfaces follows a daughter of Holocaust survivors who tries to deal with trans-generational trauma.

From the age of eleven to 22, she struggles to be ‘normal’ and to conceal the demons haunting her. Her sensitivity to her parents’ past and to injustices everywhere prevents her from enjoying life.…

Book cover of The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything

Why am I passionate about this?

I became fascinated by the origin and evolution of life as a chemistry student after watching the TV series The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. I have been thrilled by the dramatic breakthroughs that have occurred since then, and I’ve written many articles and reviews on this and related topics for newspapers and magazines such as the Guardian, Independent, The Times, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Scientific American, New Scientist, New Humanist, World Medicine, New Statesman, and three books on various aspects of the evolution of both life and technology, including Thinking Small and Large.

Peter's book list on new understanding of carbon dioxide’s pivotal role in 4 billion years of Earth history

Peter Forbes Why Peter loves this book

I have spent a lifetime researching the deep history of life.

All the books I’ve chosen demonstrate a convergence of exciting ideas, and I love the way Peter Brannen’s book joins the dots in a totally fresh way, showing how life gained energy at key stages, all involving CO2. It is the starting point for every living thing on the planet; it has regulated the climate throughout 4 billion years, and through the fossil remains of ancient photosynthesis has powered our world since the Industrial Revolution.

In a world seeking answers to deep-rooted problems, this is the most powerful message for the future that we need. I have never before been so mindblown by a book.

By Peter Brannen ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How carbon dioxide made planet Earth, shaped human history, and now holds our future in the balance

Every year, we are dangerously warping the climate by putting gigantic amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. But CO2 isn't merely the by-product of burning fossil fuels—it is also fundamental to how our planet works. All life is ultimately made from CO2, and it has kept Earth bizarrely habitable for hundreds of millions of years. In short, it is the most important substance on Earth. But how is it that CO2 is as essential to life on Earth as it is capable…


Book cover of The Four

Elad Segev Author Of Google and the Digital Divide

From my list on social impact of big tech companies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of International Communication at Tel Aviv University. I am fascinated by the complex relationship between information and power. In my studies I often use cross-national comparisons to understand how information helps us to develop identities and cultures. I am also very interested in technology: What are the latest technological developments? How do people use them to gain power? What are the consequences of technology use on our lives? In my books, I try to share this passion with the readers and address these questions with the hope of making our world a more equal and peaceful place.

Elad's book list on social impact of big tech companies

Elad Segev Why Elad loves this book

As promised by its title, this book indeed reveals the DNA of big tech companies. I learned about the strategies that helped them to rise to power and transform our economic and social landscape. It unveils their sophisticated manipulations that affect every aspect of our daily life. Reading this book changed the way I think about tech companies ever since!

By Scott Galloway ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Four as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For all that's been written about the Four over the last two decades, no one has captured their power and staggering success as insightfully as Scott Galloway.

Instead of buying the myths these compa nies broadcast, Galloway asks fundamental questions. How did the Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they're almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)? Why does the stock market forgive them for sins that would destroy other firms? And as they race to become the world's first trillion-dollar company, can anyone chal lenge them?

In the same irreverent style that has made…


Book cover of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Cailynn Brawffe Author Of The Girl Who Knew The Medicine

From my list on horror books about girls who were pushed too far.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didn’t grow up fearless; I grew up quiet. I learned early how schools and communities can press a girl into something smaller than herself until she feels like a shadow. Horror was the first place I saw that pressure explode into power. When I read Carrie, I felt seen in a way I couldn’t explain. I am drawn to stories where shame turns feral, and silence becomes dangerous. These books speak to that breaking point where a voice is stolen and then reclaimed, proving the most terrifying "monster" is simply a girl who refuses to disappear.

Cailynn's book list on horror books about girls who were pushed too far

Cailynn Brawffe Why Cailynn loves this book

This one hit close to the bone because it captures the specific rage of being discarded by the people who were supposed to keep you safe.

I was drawn to the way these girls, hidden away in a place meant to break them, found a way to turn their collective shame into a weapon. It reminded me that there is a sacred power in the "wayward" and the "unwanted" because they are the ones who aren't afraid to look into the dark.

It is a beautiful, terrifying testament to the fact that you can only push someone into the shadows for so long before they learn how to make the shadows move for them.

By Grady Hendrix ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Witchcraft for Wayward Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age.” – The New York Times

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

They were never girls, they were witches . . . .

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they're sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer…


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Book cover of The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More: A Great Wharf Novel

The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More by Meredith Marple,

The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.

Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…

Book cover of Who Is Vera Kelly?

Elizabeth Sims Author Of Holy Hell

From my list on crime novels with witty female protagonists.

Why am I passionate about this?

People behave rationally and irrationally. Observing and thinking about human nature is the sport of my lifetime. In literature and art, I worship real wit. I thirst for the unusual, the deadpan, the acknowledging of one thing while another slips in unseen. Wit has been, for me, a shield and a tool for good. I try not to use it as a weapon because wit as a weapon often damages a wider target than one intends. I strive to endow my fictional women, my protagonists, with sharp yet understated wit that spares no one, not even themselves. Especially not themselves. The books I recommend here live up to my standards.

Elizabeth's book list on crime novels with witty female protagonists

Elizabeth Sims Why Elizabeth loves this book

Protagonist Vera Kelly’s personality is the kind I grew up with in my blue-collar neighborhood. Sample line: “In fact I could tell she wanted to like me, which was probably why my first instinct was to lie to her.” Right on: If you didn’t have a cynical edge, you’d be somebody’s toast sooner or later.

Vera, a tech-savvy spy in the midst of the South American political upheaval of the 1960s, makes no big announcement about being queer, and she doesn’t consider herself some frail victim either. Cheers to that! I can relate.

Although I consider most contemporary novels to be tricked up and dumbed down, this one’s an exception. The writing’s unapologetically smart. I dig it. I’m in Mensa; what can I say?

By Rosalie Knecht ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Who Is Vera Kelly? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York City, 1962. Vera Kelly is struggling to make rent and blend into the underground gay scene in Greenwich Village. She's working night shifts at a radio station when her quick wits, sharp tongue, and technical skills get her noticed by a recruiter for the CIA.

Next thing she knows she's in Argentina, tasked with wiretapping a congressman and infiltrating a group of student activists in Buenos Aires. As Vera becomes more and more enmeshed with the young radicals, the fragile local government begins to split at the seams. When a betrayal leaves her stranded in the wake of…


Book cover of Women Who Followed Jesus
Book cover of The Women of the Bible Speak
Book cover of A Lineage of Grace

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