11 Books Like Julia Quinn to Read Next
You have read all eight Bridgertons, the Rokesbys, probably the Smythe-Smith Quartet, and you keep re-reading the Colin-and-Penelope carriage scene. It is time to branch out. Here are eleven books and series that capture what Quinn does best — and where to start with each.
The Julia Quinn formula is deceptively hard to copy. It is not just Regency London: it is dialogue that actually sparkles, big warm families you want to be adopted by, and conflict that comes from character rather than cruelty. Her books are fun without being weightless. Every pick below delivers at least two of those three, grouped by which part of the Quinn magic you miss most.
If you miss the banter most of all
1. The Girl Meets Duke series — Tessa Dare
Dare is the heir apparent for Quinn's comic timing. The Duchess Deal — a scarred, grumpy duke proposing a marriage of convenience to a vicar's daughter who negotiates like a barrister — is the single easiest recommendation for any Bridgerton fan. Joyful, trope-forward, quietly emotional underneath.
2. Love by Numbers — Sarah MacLean
Starting with Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, this trilogy has Quinn's playfulness with a little more edge and heat. A spinster's list of scandalous things to do before settling down remains one of the great romance premises.
3. The Essex Sisters — Eloisa James
Four orphaned Scottish sisters descend on the ton, and James — a Shakespeare professor in her other life — gives them dialogue worthy of the Bard's comedies. If the Bridgerton sibling dynamic was your favourite part, this quartet is your next home.
4. The Earl's Guide to Illicit Pleasure — Margot St. James
For readers whose favourite Bridgerton character is secretly Lady Whistledown. Octavia Linfield is Brighton's most scandalous anonymous columnist — until the Earl she ruins on the page finds her out and demands a reckoning. A secret-identity romance with real Whistledown DNA and considerably higher stakes. Part of the ten-book Margot St. James collection. See all ten titles →
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If you miss the warmth and the families
5. The Wallflowers — Lisa Kleypas
Four overlooked young women form an alliance to find husbands, and their friendship is as central as the romances. Kleypas runs warmer and hotter than Quinn — heroes who fall first and fall hard — and It Happened One Autumn is essential reading.
6. The Bedwyn Saga — Mary Balogh
Six proud, eccentric Bedwyn siblings, each getting their own book — the Bridgerton structure with more brooding and deeper emotional excavation. The saga's capstone, Slightly Dangerous, gives the genre one of its best Darcy-type heroes.
7. The Parish Orphans of Devon — Mimi Matthews
When you want the warmth and the yearning with the volume turned down: Matthews writes tender, beautifully researched Victorian-set romance where a hand-clasp can land like a kiss. The comfort-read corner of this list.
If you want the wit with something extra
8. Lord of Scoundrels — Loretta Chase
Routinely voted the best historical romance ever written. Jessica Trent is the most gloriously unbothered heroine in the genre, and watching her dismantle the dreadful Marquess of Dain is pure pleasure. Every Quinn reader gets here eventually; skip the queue.
9. A League of Extraordinary Women — Evie Dunmore
Oxford's first women students take on the ton and the suffrage cause. Bringing Down the Duke has Quinn's banter and slow-burn longing with a satisfying political spine — a slightly later setting, exactly the same itch.
10. Confessions of a Brazen Wallflower — Margot St. James
By day Imogen Carlisle blushes at the edge of ballrooms; by night she is the most gifted thief in London — until the Shadow-King of the Docks catches her in his vault and offers a deal she cannot refuse. For Quinn fans ready to see what happens when the wallflower's hidden depths get genuinely dangerous. Also in the ten-book bundle above.
11. Spindle Cove — Tessa Dare
A second Dare entry because she has earned it: a seaside haven for young ladies who do not fit society's mould, regularly invaded by inconvenient men. A Week to Be Wicked — a chaotic road trip with a geologist heroine — is one of the funniest historical romances of its generation.
How to pick your next read
If you loved the humour, start with Tessa Dare or Loretta Chase. If you loved the family saga structure, go to Eloisa James or Mary Balogh. If you want Quinn's charm with more heat, Lisa Kleypas and Sarah MacLean are waiting. And if you would rather download a whole stack of Regency romance in one click than choose a single title, the ten-book Margot St. James collection covers your next several weekends for less than a paperback.
Frequently asked questions
Which authors write like Julia Quinn?
Tessa Dare is the closest match for laugh-out-loud banter, Eloisa James for clever ensemble families, Sarah MacLean for wit with more edge, and Lisa Kleypas for the same warmth with extra heat. Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels is the classic every Quinn fan eventually reads.
What should I read after finishing all the Bridgerton books?
Start with Quinn's own Rokesbys and Smythe-Smith Quartet, then move to Tessa Dare's Girl Meets Duke and Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers. If you want a big stack of Regency romance at once, a curated 10-book bundle is the fastest way to keep going.
Are books like Julia Quinn's clean or spicy?
Most sit in the same middle ground as Quinn: witty and character-driven with a few steamy scenes. Kleypas and MacLean run a little hotter; Evie Dunmore and Eloisa James are comparable; Mimi Matthews is the gentler pick.