Here are 5 books that The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies fans have personally recommended if you like The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of The Women

Karen Schreck Author Of While He Was Away

From my list on war-torn love.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for novels about war with a love-related component is rooted in my upbringing. My father served in the military and suffered from PTSD all his life as a result. He regaled me with stories of his time in the army during World War II, but those stories were wildly comic or compelling tales of adventure in exotic, faraway lands. The darker aspects of his experience came out in his nightmares, and later in life, in the flashbacks he experienced after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. My mother’s life was also impacted by war. Her first marriage ended when her husband was killed in battle, and she had her own kind of PTSD as a result.

Karen's book list on war-torn love

Karen Schreck Why Karen loves this book

Here is another book about strong women who supported each other as they served in battle, not as soldiers, but as nurses.

Reading The Women, I got to experience the evacuation hospitals designed to provide rapid trauma care near combat zones. The war-torn love represented in these pages is both platonic and romantic.

This is not a YA novel, but it is a very accessible read, and it raises important ethical questions. What makes a good war, exactly?

By Kristin Hannah ,

Why should I read it?

65 authors picked The Women as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.

From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.

“Women can be heroes, too.”

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected…


If you love The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

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…

Book cover of November Road: A Thriller

Ann Claycomb Author Of Silenced

From Ann's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Ann's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Ann Claycomb Why Ann loves this book

This is a historical road novel (set in the 1960s) that sneaks up on you. It starts out slowly enough and then suddenly characters are on collision courses both with one another and with historical events that still resonate today. It's reminiscent of Amor Towles, Michael Cunningham, and Beatriz Williams in both style and the richness of the period setting--and just as satisfying as the best from each of those writers.

By Lou Berney ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked November Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America-a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone.

Frank Guidry's luck has finally run out.

A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans' mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it's his turn-he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Within hours of JFK's murder, everyone with ties to…


Book cover of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Emily Raij Author Of Just Say Welcome!

From Emily's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Emily's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Emily Raij Why Emily loves this book

I loved the original story, heartfelt characters, and authentic dialogue in this emotionally gripping yet relatable book. I also loved the 90s nostalgia.

By Gabrielle Zevin ,

Why should I read it?

51 authors picked Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* AMAZON'S #1 BOOK OF 2022 *

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest, examining identity, creativity and our need to connect.

This is not a romance, but it is about love.

'I just love this book and I hope you love it too' JOHN GREEN, TikTok

Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital in 1987. Sadie is visiting her sister, Sam is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there, but playing together brings joy, escape, fierce competition -- and a special friendship. Then all too soon that time is…


If you love Alison Goodman...

Book cover of Gatekeeper's Key

Gatekeeper's Key by Krista Wallace,

"She plunged her blade into his chest, feeling it grind along his ribs..."

Outcast swordfighter, Kyer Halidan, was abandoned in a cornfield at age three. Now, twenty years on, she’s searching for answers: Who left her there? And why?

Kyer doesn’t suffer fools, and when she kills a man in…

Book cover of Margo's Got Money Troubles

Carrie Cahill Mulligan

From Carrie Cahill's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Carrie Cahill loves this book

Somehow, a funny book about unexpected pregnancy and the dire lack of support for single parents in America today. I was rooting for Margo all the way!

By Rufi Thorpe ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Margo's Got Money Troubles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Enormously entertaining and lovable'
Nick Hornby, New York Times

'Nonjudgmental, original and very funny; the book is warm and generous too. I loved it'
India Knight, Sunday Times STYLE

** Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley is to adapt for A24 - a TV show starring Nicole Kidman and Elle & Dakota Fanning **

Margo Millet's got money troubles. As the child of a Hooter's waitress and an ex-Pro-Wrestler, she's always known she'd have to make it on her own. When she finds herself pregnant by her college professor - who is very keen not to be involved -…


Book cover of The Frozen River

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Leafing the Family Tree

From my list on historical fiction based on fact.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.

Arlene's book list on historical fiction based on fact

Arlene S. Bice Why Arlene loves this book

This book proves that real-life factual history taken from Martha Ballard’s diary can be exciting and hold a history lover’s fascinated attention.

Midwives always seemed to hold the pulse of a community. Lawhon’s characters are compelling and keep the plot moving forward. The story is set post-Revolutionary War in New England.

By Ariel Lawhon ,

Why should I read it?

46 authors picked The Frozen River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

"Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive."—The Washington Post

"Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine." —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When…


Book cover of The Women
Book cover of November Road: A Thriller
Book cover of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,367

readers submitted
so far, will you?