73 Books Like Pros & Cons

I loved this book because it is another time-slip novel, but mostly because of the characters that Gabaldon has created. Claire is a strong woman both in the present time zone–post-war Britain–and the Scottish Highland time zone of the seventeenth century and the uprising. You sense immediately that she is in danger as the story is told from her point of view. 

I loved learning about the lives of the Scottish highlanders, how the story moves from one-time zone to another, and how the characters overlap.

This book is the first in A.L. Jackson’s Bleeding Stars series and I can’t say enough about how much I love it. Two very broken people, Sebastian Stone and Shea Bentley, kept me on the ledge, knots tight in my stomach, waiting for their story to unfold. Jackson does an amazing job at building the depths of these characters and developing the consuming, can’t-live-without, love affair. I’m a true sucker for a story that is gut-wrenchingly beautiful. Both the characters have deep secrets, but Shea shows great courage and control over her life which I admire. Quick disclaimer: Jackson leaves a major cliffhanger so be ready to read book 2!

This is the first book I read by Melissa Copeland, and it fits perfectly on my checklist for suspense and strong ladies. Her writing keeps you on the edge of your seat, dying to find out who Paige, the heroine, can trust. The plot twists were on point, and the chemistry between Paige and Sean had me over the moon. The strength she writes through Paige resonated with me and made it easy for me to accept all her choices. I highly recommend this novel as an example of a woman's survival and ability to find love in hard places.

This book… Wow! I read it in one night. No joke. Could not put it down. Colleen Hoover has hit the mark with many #1 selling novels, but this particular novel was a favorite for me. Not many YA romances are this thrilling but Hoover’s writing and story building have a way of drawing you in. The flashback memories give you snapshots of why Sky Davis never feels anything for a guy, without giving away the BIG reveal. When she meets Dean Holder, her attraction to him is jarring because she’s used to feeling nothing. The reason why she’s drawn to him was such a thrill ride of suspense, drama, pain, and real love. If you’ve never read a Colleen Hoover novel, start with this book.

There’s nothing scarier than answering personal ads to a complete stranger in my opinion. Women in Loves Music, Loves to Dance who answers a personal ad find themselves the next victim of a serial killer. What makes this particularly frightening is that the situation actually happens in real life. This book might make you rethink answering that personal ad in the newspaper or online. That’s what makes this book a nail-biter and keeps you up until all hours of the night. It is a fun read, and I highly recommend it. 

The best tale and totally mesmerizing story of the confidence-man Felix Krull, who developed the art of subterfuge and deception to a phenomenal degree.

Escaping from a childhood of poverty he eventually rose to mingle with the highest echelons of European society. Helped by being young and good-looking Krull was irresistible to women, of which he was not slow to take advantage.

This chameleon-like quality enabled him to adapt to countless situations and to pursue his career as a highly gifted swindler impervious to the conduct and morals of normal humankind.

When, eventually, the Marquis de Venosta makes him a proposal he cannot refuse - his world changes.

A bewitching experience.

You describe a book as “Ocean’s Eleven for teens,” and I am a hundred percent in.

Like most heists, this one has the cat burglar and the genius hacker and the femme fatale and the getaway driver—except this time, they’re all teenagers. What a dream!

I just love a good heist story. They have to be so carefully crafted, so tightly plotted, and as a writer I really admire any storyteller who can do that. All three books in the Heist Society series are remarkable feats of plotting and pacing. I got to see Ally Carter give an author talk once, and she spoke about just how hard it is to write something that looks this easy. That’s so true; it really stuck with me.

One of the most enduring stereotypes about poverty and welfare, has been that of the welfare queen – someone living the good life on welfare and grossly abusing the system. 

Ronald Reagan used the example of Linda Taylor in the 1970s to epitomize and capitalize on this myth in order to score political points. Josh Levin tracked down the actual story of Linda Taylor. As is so often the case, the truth is much stranger than fiction. 

A riveting biography of the individual who was at ground zero of the welfare queen myth.

Deborah Twelves shares the same publisher as me and was very welcoming towards me when I joined Fortis. I found this an interesting book because like my own story, people in Deborah's life were misleading to her, as they lived a double life and in places, I found myself relating to what she had gone through.  

The book is beautifully written from the heart and it's hard to imagine the shock and devastation Deborah must have felt after finding out her husband had been living multiple double lives with other women and had even fathered children with them. It just goes to show you never really know someone. 

I found Twenty Years a Stranger a very gritty read with lots of twists and turns, as the truth is uncovered. A fantastic book written by a beautiful soul.

Another Jim Thompson classic, The Grifters is about a trio of con artists trying to move up from being small-time crooks. They add love and a mother/son relationship into the mix which only makes things worse. The film directed by Stephen Frears is a master-class in acting from Anjelica Huston, Annette Bening, and John Cusak. The scene at the end couldn’t be more shocking as a way to wrap up a noir film. Money is paramount in the world of the grifters, everything else secondary. What could be more noir than that?