So you’ve already binged Netflix’s Bridgerton — maybe more than once — and you’ve already made your way through the books (all eight of them!), or maybe you’re waiting until they’re available from your local library. Either way, all those costumes and longing glances and sensual hand caresses has left you wondering where to go in the great, wide world of Romancelandia, especially if Quinn’s books are off the table.
Never fear, I’ve got you covered. Based on your favorite Bridgerton character, I can tell you exactly what you should read next. Simply scroll down and find the next swoon-worthy book or series to get obsessed with.
Simon, the Duke of Hastings
So you enjoy handsome, powerful men who brood and smolder and have major bad dad trauma? Welcome to romance, my friend — I think you’re going to like it here. I’d recommend getting started with the classic Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, which features an angst-ridden hero with deep-seated self-worth issues rooted in his tragic childhood.
Or if you were more intrigued by Simon’s determination that the bloodline end with him, check out The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean or When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James, which also feature heroes who’ve also made dramatic vows about never fathering children.
Daphne Bridgerton
Sure, being the nice girl who plays by the rules isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but sometimes even nice girls get tempted into scandalous behavior, especially once they’re finally out of the watchful gaze of their overprotective family. Meredith Duran’s Wicked Becomes You features just such a heroine, one who, sick of being the forgettable nice girl, turns to her brother’s best friend, a notorious rake, to teach her how to be wicked. Surely Daphne can relate?
Anthony Bridgerton
Ah, the rake. A classic romance archetype, he’s handsome, he’s sensual, he’s dangerous, and if given half a chance, he’ll break your heart. But remember: beneath his claims to have no interest in marriage or romance is a man desperate for the right woman to teach him how to love. We’ll be following Anthony on that journey next season, but until then, consider picking up Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas, which has the added benefit of being the first book in a highly family-centric series, only instead of the Bridgertons, you get the Ravenels, a family with not quite so spotless a reputation… A few other rakes to consider: A Good Debutante’s Guide to Ruin by Sophie Jordan and, for something a little different — an African-American romance set in the Old West — check out Destiny’s Embrace by the inimitable Beverly Jenkins.
Benedict Bridgerton
Be honest: We all wanted Benedict and Lord Granville to hook up, right? Well, I don’t know if that’s in the cards for his future (we can always hope), but if you want a novel where a straightlaced man longing for something he can’t quite explain stumbles upon a hedonistic world that doesn’t give a fig for society’s restrictive mores — and a handsome man to be his guide — look no further than Band Sinister by K.J. Charles.
Eloise Bridgerton
Ah, Eloise, our angry feminist who thinks marriage and motherhood are no better than imprisonment… Her counterpart in the books doesn’t have quite such strong feelings on the subject, but other historical romances have dealt with the delicate balance of having forward-thinking and (proto-)feminist heroines who recognize the many, many problems with marriage, especially at the time … and yet who still end up, well, married, in monogamous heterosexual relationships. I’m not sure any book has pulled it off perfectly, but Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas features a similarly averse-to-marriage heroine who fears the loss of her financial independence in the face of a wedding brought on by scandal. Also check out The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan and Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore for more early feminist heroines. And if you’re shaking your head thinking, well, there’s no reason Eloise has to end up in a heterosexual relationship, you are completely correct — and The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite is the perfect book for you.
The Whole Bridgerton Fam
Family-based series are a dime a dozen in romance, but if you adore the big, messy family dynamic of the Bridgertons, I beg that you read The Wildes of Lindow Castle series by Eloisa James, which laughs at Violet Bridgerton’s mere eight children and gives you a blended family of twelve children. This series also has a prequel featuring Lord and Lady Wilde, and unlike the Bridgerton parents, their love story isn’t cut short by tragedy.
Marina Thompson
Poor Marina had a hard time of this this season, and I certainly hope that, despite her fears, she doesn’t end up in a loveless marriage (after all, the marriage of convenience that becomes something more is a tried and true staple of romance), but who knows if we’ll get to watch that, or how it’ll end? If you think Marina deserves a happily ever after, and even that her deception was completely reasonable, check out The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath, where an imperfect but well-meaning heroine who tells more than a few lies nevertheless proves to be just the woman the hero needs.
Penelope Featherington
The wallflower is yet another classic romance archetype, the shy, intelligent, perhaps not conventionally attractive young woman who fears she’ll never marry and who usually has hidden depths. While Lisa Kleypas has an entire series dedicated to Wallflowers, I also want to recommend Marry in Scandal by Anne Gracie, about a self-conscious young wallflower with a secret who ends up marrying the handsome man she never dared to believe would take an interest in her.
Prince Friedrich of Prussia
Okay, probably this guy wasn’t your favorite character, because, let’s be honest, he didn’t do much. That said, the fantasy of marrying a handsome prince — usually of a fictional kingdom — is something you can see get played out in romance time and time again. There are some great historicals that fall into this category; Karen Hawkins has a series called Oxenburg Princes in which three brothers, all princes, travel to Scotland to find their brides. However, if you want to go where the royal romances are really happening, check out Alyssa Cole’s contemporary series Reluctant Royals, which begins with A Princess in Theory and features multiple princes, princesses, and even a mere duke.
Will Mondrich
Maybe you’re not so interested in ballrooms and pleasure gardens, and you’d rather see more of Simon’s handsome working-class friend, a pugilist with a sense of honor and even stronger sense of responsibility toward those he loves. Also, you wouldn’t mind some more on-screen punching. In that case, check out Sarah MacLean’s amazing Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy, which eschews many of the typical trappings of historical romance in favor of spotlighting the grit and ingenuity of those living their lives far outside the ton.
Siena Rosso
Opera dancers, mistresses, and courtesans are often the female villains of the romance world, but some writers have written sympathetically about these women — who, like Siena, are often independent women who rely on their talents and their sexuality to survive in a world not built to support them. Courtney Milan’s Unclaimed (part of her Turner series) has as its heroine just such a woman: a heroine who is unapologetically a courtesan, and who deserves to live happily ever just as much as any delicate virgin of the aristocracy.
Lady Danbury
I don’t think it’s controversial at this point to say that Lady Danbury, a fun character in the books, is pure magic in Adjoa Andoh’s capable hands. Who doesn’t love an iconic older woman who’s not afraid to meddle if she knows she’s right (which she always is)? Though there’s no one quite like her, I think you’ll have a lot of fun with Aunt Knowe in the previously-mentioned Wildes of Lindow Castle series, where she’s constantly getting involved in her nieces’ and nephew’s messy affairs. And if you wish you could see an older woman like her fall in love, look no further than Courtney Milan’s Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure.
Lady Whistledown
Who doesn’t love a woman with a secret?
If you’re wanting to get the inside scoop about a heroine with something to hide, try How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries, a romance about a woman who secretly writes gothic novels … and the man she’s based her villain on. There’s also A Summer for Scandal by Lydia San Andres, where both the hero and the heroine keep secrets about their writing careers.
Or, if you’re really in the mood for secret identity shenanigans, consider the massive Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt, which features many twists, turns, and deceptions, but most relevantly, features not one, not two, not three, but FOUR books featuring a masked vigilante who must keep their identity hidden from both the world at large and the person they love.