Here are 66 books that The Mister fans have personally recommended if you like The Mister. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Boy and His Ribbon

Paige Weaver Author Of Promise Me Darkness

From my list on romance that stays with you after the last page.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read many different genres, but my favorite to write and read is romance. I love ones that have angst, adventure, danger, and a passionate push and pull between the love interests. Those seem to stick with me long after I turn the last page. In my own writing, I like to do the same, giving readers a love story they want to visit again and again. The books I’ve listed are just some of the wonderful, unforgettable novels I’ve read, and I hope you enjoy them too! Happy reading!

Paige's book list on romance that stays with you after the last page

Paige Weaver Why Paige loves this book

Wow, this book! I loved it so much! Pepper Winters is one of my favorite authors. She’s an expert at world-building and writing dark romance. Her characters stay in your mind long after you finish the novel and her unique, sexy stories are unforgettable. This book was unlike anything that I have read lately. It has adventure, angst in Pepper’s wonderful signature style, and a deep, everlasting love between the two main characters that is both heart-wrenching and extraordinary. I highly recommend reading this one. Tissues will be needed!

By Pepper Winters ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret? I’ll tell you what you do. You lie.” REN Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth. His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror. But then…he ran. He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident…


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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 On the Island

Susan Cliff Author Of Stranded With The Navy Seal

From my list on romance novels for island lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved romance. I discovered the world of Harlequin one summer and never looked back. Now that I’m older, I appreciate female triumph and female-centered stories even more. I’ve read thousands of romances in my lifetime, so I know my stuff. As a San Diego area resident, I’m also an expert at “beach,” like Ken. When island vibes meet romance, it’s magic. The third element I can’t resist, exemplified by On the Island, is survival. I wrote my book with these passions in mind, and I make these recommendations with my whole heart. Happy reading! 

Susan's book list on romance novels for island lovers

Susan Cliff Why Susan loves this book

This is the OG of island romance. It’s also controversial due to the age difference between the characters. Anna (30F) and TJ (16M) get stranded on a deserted island together after their plane crashes in the Indian Ocean. Over the next three years, they stay alive against all odds and develop an unbreakable bond. Although TJ is enamored with Anna from the start, she doesn’t return his feelings or even see him as a man until he turns 19. By then, he’d become a strong survivor and an essential life partner.

I’m not a big fan of age-gap romance, but Graves makes it work without making it weird. This is an extraordinary story with grit and heart. I got totally swept away.

By Tracey Garvis Graves ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked On the Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It would always be summer on the island . . .

THE EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING AND ADDICTIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I cannot put into words the love I have for Anna and T.J. I felt as though I was right there with them' 5***** Reader Review
'I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could! Will stay with me for a very long time' 5***** Reader Review
_________

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a summer job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's holiday home in the Maldives, she immediately accepts.

T.J. wishes he weren't going. Almost…


Book cover of Red Thorns

Paige Weaver Author Of Promise Me Darkness

From my list on romance that stays with you after the last page.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read many different genres, but my favorite to write and read is romance. I love ones that have angst, adventure, danger, and a passionate push and pull between the love interests. Those seem to stick with me long after I turn the last page. In my own writing, I like to do the same, giving readers a love story they want to visit again and again. The books I’ve listed are just some of the wonderful, unforgettable novels I’ve read, and I hope you enjoy them too! Happy reading!

Paige's book list on romance that stays with you after the last page

Paige Weaver Why Paige loves this book

Rina Kent writes hot, dark, erotic novels that stick with you for a long time. Her writing is spectacular, and her male characters are the types that I love to hate. Red Thorns is an opposites attract, enemies to lovers novel, and is not for the faint of heart but it’s a wild ride on the dark side that will make your heart race and require you to keep an ice cold drink nearby.

By Rina Kent ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A bet turned into a disaster.

Sebastian Weaver is the star quarterback and the college’s heartthrob.
Rich. Handsome. Bastard.
Everyone’s attention flocked toward him and all the girls dreamed to be with him.
Not me.
At least, not until he made a move on me.
See, I thought I was stronger than Sebastian’s charms.
I thought I could survive being his target.
I thought wrong.
Little did I know that he will make my most twisted fantasies come true.
Fantasies I didn’t know existed...

Red Thorns is a dark new adult book that contains dubious situations some readers might find…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

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 had…

Book cover of Bared to You

Rose Thorgaard Author Of Treasured

From my list on action packed romance makes you feel larger than life.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the first time I snagged a romance book off my mother's shelf as a teenager, I've always been a hopeless romantic. I'm fascinated by love stories that feel like real life, entwined with the good, bad, and sometimes ugly. This is why I enjoy exploring the duality of life and love in my own novels as a romantic suspense author.

Rose's book list on action packed romance makes you feel larger than life

Rose Thorgaard Why Rose loves this book

This was one of the first romance books I read, and I was immersed in the fast-paced life of the characters from the first page. It's always satisfying to see two similar yet opposite people fall in love and heal together through any obstacle.

The high stakes and drama pulled me in and kept me engaged until the very end.

By Sylvia Day ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Bared to You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bared to You will take you to the very limits of obsession - and introduce you to a hero you'll never forget . . .

One of the bestselling love stories of the century from the No. 1 bestselling Crossfire series
_______

Our journey began in fire . . .

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness - beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white hot.

I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life.

I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me.

I was…


Book cover of Good Girl Complex

Lexi Kingston Author Of Forever June

From my list on vacation romance to get you into a summer state of mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a contemporary romance author who writes in paranormal romance on the side, but everything I write always comes down to one thing, and that’s the romance between characters. I love books that make me connect to and root for the main protagonists, no matter their flaws or situation. I specifically love romance novels that take place during the summer or in places that are warm year-round because no matter what season it is when you read them, you’re immediately transported to a warm, sunny, swoon-worthy world.

Lexi's book list on vacation romance to get you into a summer state of mind

Lexi Kingston Why Lexi loves this book

This beachside romance features a female entrepreneur who started her business at a young age, which I related to immediately, having started self-publishing books as a freshman in college.

She’s a go-getter with a knack for business and fights for her passions despite the people in her life telling her she shouldn’t. I adored the enemies-to-lovers romance between Cooper and Mac, as well as the message that not everyone is what they initially seem. 

Book cover of The Devil of Downtown

Britt Belle Author Of The Earl Was Wrong

From my list on historical romance heroes who were wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love a romance where the hero has his viewpoint changed by the woman he falls in love with. He might become a better family man, or transform his politics, or change his priorities, but it all cases loving her alters him. Additionally, I love a heroine who is exceptional in a distinct way but overlooked or dismissed by others. They can be bluestockings or spinsters, reformers or quiet and shy, but they’re all steadfast and they all derive strength from the hero’s support. In short, the love they find together makes them better people. 

Britt's book list on historical romance heroes who were wrong

Britt Belle Why Britt loves this book

This is a great book because love makes Mulligan reevaluate what matters most.

Mulligan isn’t a villain exactly, but he does less than admirable things. He believes money is the way to accrue power, and he tries to fix Justine’s problems with bribery. She can’t accept his methods as a way to solve problems, and he is faced with the choice to either rule the criminal world or love the girl.

Obviously, he picks the girl. His story arc is so satisfying because he will do anything for her!

By Joanna Shupe ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Nothing makes me happier than a new book from Joanna Shupe!"-Sarah MacLean

The final novel in Joanna Shupe's critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beauitful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York's brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.

Manhattan kingpin.

Brilliant mastermind.

Gentleman gangster.

He's built a wall around his heart...

Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery's mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn't get here by being soft. But in uptown…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

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 she…

Book cover of The Initiation

Laurelin Paige Author Of Dirty Filthy Rich Men

From my list on dirty filthy rich men.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by the role of power dynamics and psychological games in relationships for as long as I can remember, frequently seeking out entertainment and exploring these topics to make sense of what was happening in the world around me. Now as a writer of 42 novels, many of my stories center around these themes and their consequences and complications, always from a point of view that empowers women. Dirty Filthy Rich Men, and its follow-up Dirty Filthy Rich Love, specifically focus on the difference between the devastating act of rape and consensual rape play, with the intention of validating women who are drawn to edgier fantasies in fiction. 

Laurelin's book list on dirty filthy rich men

Laurelin Paige Why Laurelin loves this book

I could not put this book down. Already a favorite author of mine, Nikki Sloane surprised me with this sensual fairytale of a novel. It’s both inventive and twisted, deftly handling the love triangle as well as the power dynamics. Not only does Sloane knock the kink out of the park in this one, she also conveys all the fantasy of the uber-rich life without missing a thing.

By Nikki Sloane ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

No one knows how new members are selected to the board of Hale Banking and Holding. But there are rumors of a sordid rite of initiation.

Whispers how one woman and nine men disappear into a boardroom.

This time, that woman will be me.

The Hale family owns everything—the eighth largest bank in the world, everyone in our town, even the mortgage on my parents’ mansion. And now Royce Hale wants to own me.

He is charming. Seductive. Ruthless. But above all, he’s the prince of lies. My body may tighten with white-hot desire under his penetrating gaze, but I…


Book cover of Beautiful Little Fools

Yi Shun Lai Author Of A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic

From my list on women and girls who rocked the boat.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been writing about women and girls who rock the boat for two decades. I’ve written about it from my own point of view, in award-winning essays, and from imagined points of view, in almost-award-winning women’s contemporary novels. Now, I’ve tackled it in the YA genre. I want to keep on exploring what it means to buck the system and live to tell the tale. We’re still making up for men writing women’s voices, for women’s voices going unheard. I’m trying to do my part to ask, what if we heard about history from the women’s point of view? 

Yi's book list on women and girls who rocked the boat

Yi Shun Lai Why Yi loves this book

Terrible things happen to the women in this book, but they all, every single one of them, rock the boat to try and make their own lives. In this retelling of The Great Gatsby that centers the POVs of three women critical to the story (Jordan Baker, Daisy Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson’s suffragist sister), we get the story that was always hiding between the lines.

I found myself proud of and mourning the lives of each of these women. I felt furious on their behalf and hopeful that the generations that came after them would reap the benefits of their mistakes and their work. 

Perhaps most surprising to me, I found myself wanting to know these women more than I ever, ever wanted to get to know Gatsby’s world. 

By Jillian Cantor ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beautiful Little Fools as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

“Jillian Cantor’s shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue 

USA Today bestselling…


Book cover of Rules of Civility

Kate Tough Author Of Keep Walking, Rhona Beech

From my list on realistic female friendships in challenging times.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’d thought I was writing a novel about someone putting a life back together after everything fell apart but, when I’d finished, readers told me I’d written a book about vivid, authentic friendships. It was a welcome surprise. From Charles Dickens to Sylvia Plath, nuanced characters have always interested me and so, when writing, I set myself the task of believable dialogue and interactions which readers can relate to like it’s their own friends sitting around a table; laughing, crying, or bickering. When a life falls apart it’s often friendships that are tested to breaking but then become stronger as a result.

Kate's book list on realistic female friendships in challenging times

Kate Tough Why Kate loves this book

Although dipping into glamorous strata of New York society, the friendship dynamics reminded me of the period of adulthood where you start to make your way in the world… Often it involves new jobs or new cities and sometimes women discover the people they thought were close friends are not. Parallel journeys of female friends can put them into tension where paths diverge and taking space is the only solution. Here, avid reader Katey is moving beyond her humble beginnings by talent and character alone, while room-mate Eve is escaping her privilege and family ties; their agendas blend well for a while until they spin off in different directions. Resourceful Katey continually starts over in her smart, sharp-humoured style becoming ever more able to rely on herself.

By Amor Towles ,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Rules of Civility as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

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 world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Gilded Girl

Lynda Rees Author Of Gold Lust Conspiracy

From my list on historical fiction with a touch of conspiracy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Lynda Rees, The Murder Guru, multi-award-winning author of historical fiction, contemporary mystery, suspense, romance, middle-grade mysteries, and children’s fiction. I love all things historical, especially American history. I am part-Cherokee, a coal miner’s daughter born in the Appalachian Mountains, and I grew up in northern Kentucky when Newport prospered as a gambling, prostitution, and sin mecca under the Cleveland Mob. My fascination with history’s effect on today’s lives works its way into my written pages. Having traveled the world negotiating with heads of industry and foreign governments during a corporate career in marketing and global transportation, this workaholic adventurer has succumbed to my passion for writing.

Lynda's book list on historical fiction with a touch of conspiracy

Lynda Rees Why Lynda loves this book

Pamela Kelley makes historical fiction come to life on the page in this rags-to-riches story that empowers women during an unheard-of time, as Eliza Chapman, a lady’s maid, learns her father is actually one of the richest men in NYC, and this changes her whole world.

By Pamela Kelley ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A rags-to-riches saga set in the Gilded Age.
 
While I have enjoyed everything I have read from Pamela Kelley, this book moves to the top of my list from her. I love historical fiction and she really makes it comes to life. - Goodreads review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
"The Gilded Girl" is a modern historical romance that was captivating! It is a from rags to riches story that empowers women which was unheard of during this time period. Pamela Kelly's best book in my opinion." - Amazon review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 
When Eliza Chapman, a London ladies maid, learns that her real father is…


Book cover of The Boy and His Ribbon
Book cover of On the Island
Book cover of Red Thorns

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