Hi all, and happy Sunday! (Or whatever day you are reading this on.)

via GIPHY

This week I’m sharing some books you should read if you enjoyed the Netflix show Bridgerton. This is a prompt I gleaned from “60 Blog Post Ideas for Book Bloggers” by Jo Linsdell. If you’re anything like me, you’re going through Bridgerton withdrawal and are dying for Season 2! In the meantime, entertain yourself with these reads, perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on and/or purchase from some links, I make a portion of the sale. This helps keep Bitch Bookshelf running.

Julia Quinn’s novels

The Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn

Well, duh! If you haven’t read the original book series that inspired the Netflix show, now is the time to do so. Read my comprehensive post on all of the Bridgerton books here.

Check out my individual reviews for most of the books below. (I read the first two before I started using this blog in earnest.)

Other books by Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn is a prolific Regency romance author. In all honesty, I have only read her Bridgertons series, but I hear some great things about her other books, many of which contain characters we also see in the Bridgerton books!

The originals

The inspiration behind the genre: Jane Austen

Bridgerton and the Bridgertons series belong to a historical romance subgenre called Regency romance. In reality, the Regency period was a short frame of time from 1811-1820. This is the period of time when Jane Austen was writing her beloved novels. Regency romances are written in the same time frame, and while they are much more modernized today, they take place during that historical time frame and the characters within (often loosely) adhere to the same rules of social conduct.

The creator of the genre as we know it: Georgette Heyer

Confession: Georgette Heyer is still firmly ensconced on my TBR list, but she is a name to know if you enjoy Regency romances. She wrote the first traditional Regency romances, highly researched pieces of historical fiction. These are not steamy romances, but they are still the foundation for what the genre is today. If you find yourself preferring more proper romances rather than reading love scenes, or if you’re obsessed with the genre and want to learn more about one of its originals, she is definitely an author worth checking out. Note: Some of Heyer’s books feature anti-Semitism. I still feel comfortable sharing link to her works as she is dead and does not profit from their sales, but this can be triggering for some and I do not condone this part of her writing. I think it’s important to know this going in.

Some of the most well-known authors of the modern Regency romance

The genre has diverged from Heyer’s strictly researched novels into a more fun take on the time period. While the setting and time period is the same, often characters behave with more modern values in mind. Bonus: Most of these books are as steamy as Bridgerton or at least include one love scenes. Full confession: Most of these authors are still on my TBR, and a few I can highly vouch for.

This list is by no means comprehensive! I gathered this from some Googling and Wikipediaing, choosing the names that I recognized. I’ll share even more authors below, and I encourage you to do your own research to find even more awesome Regency romance authors. (Also of note, some of these authors write other subgenres in addition to Regency.)

Other popular historical romance authors

Remember, the Regency period in England lasted nine years. If you find historical romance is your jam, there are tons of other great historical romance authors out there. Here are some. Again, this is not a comprehensive list. I chose authors I found in my search whose names I recognized. I have read a few of these authors and can highly recommend the ones that I have, but others remain on my TBR. (Also of note, some of these authors have dabbled in Regency.)

My favorite historical romances

If you couldn’t tell, I love historical romance. Here are all of my memorable 4 and 5 star historical romance reads published on my blog since I last updated this post. I will give some information on the time period/location, and include a scale of proper, light, steamy, and scorching. (Proper = kissing at most. Light = possible sex, but it happens behind a closed door; kissing scenes may run hot. Steamy = love scenes. Scorching = this is romantic erotica more so than romance.) I am only including true romances here, not mysteries or dramas that involve romance.

What do I mean by memorable reads? Frankly, in looking at some of my old reviews, some 4 star books just didn’t stick with me. I did not include those in this list.

@btchbkshlfMy 10 MOST RECENT 5 STAR romance reads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ##booktok ##romancebooks♬ Coffee for Your Head – Vinyll

Find more info on some of my favorite romance novels in these posts: