9 Romances to Read Once You’ve Binge-Watched ‘Bridgerton’

If you’re all caught up on the Netflix series, and want to read the nine Julia Quinn books on which it is based, start with The Duke and I. The inspiration for most of the first season, this novel recounts the tale of the reluctant “courtship” between star debutante, Daphne, and Simon, the duke with a tormented past. There are nine books in the series—one about each Bridgerton sibling—and a bonus epilogue story. However, fair warning: don’t read beyond the second book if you don’t want spoilers for future seasons of the Netflix show.

The first entry in Courtney Milan’s The Brothers Sinister series is an historical romance icon at this point. The Duchess War kicks things off with the story of Minerva, an apparent wallflower with a scandalous, secretive past. Robert is the duke who figures it all out, while guarding a secret of his own.

If it’s the sexy, witty rom-com vibe of Bridgerton that you love, then make this novel by Martha Waters next on your TBR list. Violet and Audley are married, but they’ve been estranged for years due to a massive fight they’ve never resolved. As they get caught up in an escalating war of fake illnesses, hilarious manipulations, and dramatics, they start to realize they still care about each other.

Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series is what happens when the tropes of nobility and romance are transported into the modern-day. The series begins with grad student, Naledi, who keeps getting what she thinks are spam emails that claim she’s engaged to an African prince. When it turns out the emails are legit, she’s surprised to discover the prince isn’t all that interested in a pre-planned marriage either!

Fans of Bridgerton’s sparky, conflict-to-love relationships will adore Evie Dunmore’s A League of Extraordinary Women series. In this first novel of the series, ambitious suffragette, Annabelle, is tasked with convincing wealthy, powerful men to back her cause. She targets Sebastian, a particularly difficult duke, but before they know it, their mutual dislike for each other turns to admiration—and more.

Vanessa Riley’s Rogues and Remarkable Women series focuses on heroines from the Caribbean. In this first entry, Patience, an heiress, is freed from prison after she questioned her husband’s mysterious suicide. Now, she disguises herself as her own son’s nanny, but finds herself growing unexpectedly close to his new guardian.

Take Bridgerton‘s notorious female columnist, add in some murder, and you get Manda Collins’ delightful romance-meets-mystery novel. A female crime columnist is irritating a police inspector. But when they’re forced to work together, arguments, hilarity, and romance ensue.

In Bridgerton, queer romance remains a subplot, but not in Cat Sebastian’s Seducing the Sedgwicks series. In this first entry, a country vicar is teaching a naval captain’s three children, only to fall in love with the man himself. Drama, as you might imagine, ensues.

The central plot of the first season of Bridgerton focused on a duke who was fine with lust, but not marriage and children. In this novel by Tessa Dare, the plot is the exact opposite. A duke must marry to have an heir, but he’s totally disinterested in any sort of real relationship. Unfortunately for him, his chosen bride is a strong-willed vicar’s daughter who has other plans. Packed with fun tropes and more than a touch of wit, you won’t be able to put this one down.