Fans pick 13 books like Have a Little Faith in Me

What are you made of, really? Who hasn’t conjured up a survival scenario in which you are the protagonist? How would you fare?

I loved this book because the author put you on that plane in that horribly inconceivable situation in which you simply know you will likely die. But you don’t—not immediately, anyway. But then the real struggle begins. This book resonates with me because every difficult, life-changing scenario is utterly plausible, unnerving, and interesting. 

A fast-paced thriller that hooked me from the very first chapter, this is an intricately plotted book full of twists and turns I didn’t see coming. In fact, I was so invested that I read it in a matter of days.

I loved that the main story takes place on a camping trip in the mountains. The characters felt very realistic, and the mystery of the two missing friends kept me on my toes until the big reveal near the end.

Two words: cursed island. As soon as I saw this YA’s description of a beautiful island that isn’t what it seems, I was hooked.

Addie intrigued me as a protagonist. She’s a free diver who almost died and, as a result, still coughs up blood from the damage to her lungs. That doesn’t stop her wanting to return to the water, a desire I can relate to since I love the ocean. Addie gets dragged along on her mother and new stepdad’s honeymoon, but I like that she isn’t portrayed as a whiny teenager. She’s trying to make the most of what should be a dream island vacation—but in time, it turns into a nightmare. Skirting magical realism and horror, this book was unique and captivating.

I found this book by chance and wanted to read it because the premise is similar to one of my projects. The Wild is a murder mystery set at a camp for juvenile delinquents. This story takes place in the Pacific Northwest, which was a big bonus for me as it’s one of my favorite places on Earth.

I liked the author’s unique and snappy writing style and the fast pacing of the book. It kept me turning pages, especially once the first murder occurred. Overall, this book was a lot of fun to read.

I was late discovering Lisa Jewell’s psychological thrillers but I’m in awe of how her novels are a masterclass in psychological fiction. I’ve chosen Invisible Girl because it’s rooted firmly in the domestic noir genre with ordinary family life contrasting with what lies beneath. Characters are not what they seem to be. For book club discussion there’s a fascinating theme around how lonely misfit men can be radicalised online into the dark and sinister world of women-hating ‘incels.’ Incel stands for ‘involuntary celibates’: angry men who can’t find a woman to love them and blame all women. At the extreme, these men become unhinged and violent towards women they don’t even know. Others are sad losers, who become victims in other ways. Book clubs will find plenty to discuss in this novel.

This brilliant piece of scholarship examines thousands of early medieval saints to paint a picture of a particular form of life for medieval women that allowed them in some ways to transcend their gender – to “forget their sex”. Early medieval women could be recognized for their sanctity and social contributions through their commitment to virginity, but also as mothers, nuns, siblings, and friends. Schulenberg is particularly attentive to how gender operated in the saints’ lives and tells marvelous stories about real human beings.

This story had so much unique and charismatic personality! The characters leapt off the pages, and their “dilemma” created an irresistible hook.

Davis is about to graduate from college and has yet to lose her virginity. She turns to the one man she’s wanted for the job, her childhood crush, lifelong family friend, best friend to her brother, and bad boy extreme, Crew Taylor. These two have an intense history together that involved Davis’s older brother Memphis, and this relationship and how Memphis fell into addiction, dragging Crew down with him, was beautifully crafted by the author and the highlight of the story for me.

The angsty buildup between these two people who clearly were destined for each other was incredibly satisfying! I was on the edge of my seat, rooting so hard for Crew to overcome the demons of his past and just let Davis into his heart. I… show more.

Lavinia Kent takes the reader on a beautiful journey of exploration in this book. I loved the hero and heroine straight from the start; you can’t help but root for them. Louisa desperately wants to save her dead husband’s reputation, so goes to a madam for assistance in ridding herself of her virginity before she remarries. Swanston is the man given the task. The scene when these two anonymously come together is sexy and moving.

A month later, Swanston finds himself needing a wife, and little does he know, but the woman he marries was the woman he had bedded. I liked how this book wasn’t too angsty, as many in the genre are, and how Kent dove into the reasons Swanston has for his need for control. 

Character transformations do it for me every time and boy, does this book deliver. Rachel escapes a religious community knowing what she wants and unafraid to go for it. She recruits Ben to take her virginity without telling him, and when he finds out, fireworks ensue. He’s initially an unworthy hero with a cynical heart, but we gradually see him become a better man with her.

Anything by Anne Calhoun delivers great steamy scenes, but in this particular book, Rachel’s discovery of sex, with Ben to teach her, is off the charts. Anne draws you in from the first word. Their undeniable chemistry is engrossing. Couple that with complex characters and a beautiful story between two very different people, and you have a barnstormer!

Zane was one of the first to be so bold as to own the art of sex and mix it with the art of literature. Doing more than writing about sex just to be writing about sex, she provides you with a storyline so enthralling that even before all those 50 shades, Addicted was adapted to film and can be watched on national networks and streaming platforms worldwide, making it one of the first erotica novels of our time to have mainstream success.