50 books like Slightly Dangerous

If you are a kindred spirit, you know immediately why I’m recommending this book! I first picked this book up without knowing anything about it when I was a teenager. I immediately fell in love with Anne, Gilbert, Marilla, Matthew, and everyone in Avonlea. I can read this book anywhere and at any time. 

Anne Shirley is an orphan who winds up at Green Gables and is given a trial basis to prove to Marilla Cuthbert why she should keep Anne, who is not a boy. Imaginative, romantic, and funny, this book (and its sequels) kept me laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time. Most of all, it reminds me that every morning is the start of a new day with no mistakes in it. 

This book is perhaps my favorite of all the WWII novels.

Full of warm, eccentric characters and so true to what happened on the Channel Islands (where I have been conducting my own research!) Again it is set in the present and the past, with a present-day heroine going to Guernsey to meet with survivors of the Nazi occupation.

What starts off as a light-hearted mission gradually peels back layers of brutality and betrayal.

First and foremost, this author is so witty and her characters so engaging, you will be entertained from the first page. No wait, first sentence. The historical setting is perfect as love and war collide in a time when England upended the monarchy. Miles is the idealistic (and rash) hero, and Devlin, despite her independent spirit, finds herself swept along as he fights for what he believes in. Rich in history, adventure, and intensely romantic, I loved this book.

If you wish to travel far afield, have a taste for erotic in your romance (done tastefully), and unconventional heroes and heroines, this is a great story. Sinjin is wounded and wary, and Chelsea is an unconventional young woman with a great deal of determination and resilience. Their reckless passion for each other is ill-advised and they both know it, yet neither one can resist. The exotic settings and careful attention to historical detail make this a very memorable read. Don’t forget also some really hot sex scenes.

Set in a time when New Orleans was still very French, Rene is a unique hero because he serves a foreign régime and has a different mindset when it comes to the governing of a territory that is now a quintessential part of America. Blake does such a good job of putting you in the setting, and the heroine is absolutely resolute, independent, and courageous. Their love affair is so unlikely, yet made believable and there is a tantalizing mystery and plenty of action due to the unsettled and volatile time of this story.

This is the only book I reread regularly (life is short, so many titles!) because it is gobsmackingly brilliant. The story is about a woman visiting an English country town who’s mistaken for a former resident and convinced to take that person’s place. It’s beautifully written, with great characters, typically compelling plot, but the twist! I gasped out loud the first time and have never failed to get chills on every reread. You don’t see the surprise coming, and yet it is absolutely logical and perfect. I keep trying to find someplace where Stewart trips up or gives it away, and there’s nothing. I bow down.

Let It Be Love was the first historical romance novel I ever read. It was the one that sparked and inspired my own writing. This book is filled with good humor, grand sexual tension between the hero and heroine, and the desired ever-after you wish for yourself. It will make you fall in love with hot-blooded male characters who find their hearts melting for their ladies. It will have you appreciate the strong, clever, and stubborn female characters that strive for what they want. The best traditional HR! Would make the perfect start for anyone’s journey into Historical Romance.

Almost A Lady is filled with love, passion, and adventure for the restless soul. It has a fiery heroine who isn’t afraid to fight for her life, and the most ideal roguish pirate scoundrel one longs for in a Historical Romance. The perfect enemies-to-lovers tale that will have you staying up late for more. I loved this book because it revealed far more than what a traditional HR setting could be. It gave me love and peril and a hot slow-burn of fervor and intensity one needs in a great Historical Romance.

Passion is a highly intense and passionate novel that transports you away from the traditional HR to a whole new world of an exotic and steamy love affair. The characters flourish together from hot-blooded lovers to hopelessly in love. This book carries all that you would hope to find in a historical romance, from lust, obsession, longing, and love with a happy conclusion. If you’re looking for all the qualities, and then some, in a historical romance, then this book will get you there! Truly unforgettable! I read this over a decade ago, and I still remember it fondly! But honestly, because of all the sensual sex scenes!

Okay, I’m cheating here a bit because Winterbourne isn’t a Scot. He’s Welsh!!!! I didn’t think a book boyfriend could get any sexier than a Scot until I discovered Rhys Winterbourne, a Welshman. Who knew? Imagine a dark hulk of a man, a commoner who clawed his way to unimaginable success. And then he meets Helen Ravenel, a delicate, retiring beauty, an aristocrat, the last person on earth he should want and yet he must have her. My heart breaks for this man. He can easily steamroll right over Helen, but she finds the strength within her to stand up for what she wants. The ending of this novel is so satisfying. I’ve read this book a dozen times and I’ll probably read it another dozen. I hope you do too!