Books like 'Harlequin's Riddle'
Readers who enjoyed Harlequin's Riddle by Rachel Nightingale also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy suspense historical-fiction magical-realism early-modern sword-sorcery low-fantasy
-
The Good, The Bad and The History by Jodi Taylor
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSt Mary's is under investigation. Their director has been shot and Max is Number One Suspect. Can things get any worse? We all know the answer to that one.Max needs to get away - fast - and a Brilliant Idea soon leads her to a full-scale uprising in twentieth-century China. If she can come by a historical treasure or two in the process, even better. That is, if she makes it out alive...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense magical-realism low-fantasy time-travel fantasy fiction audiobook -
Two Dragons by Octavia Randolph
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo DragonsDragons are said to guard treasure with their lives...Ceric, beset with madness from the trauma of the losses he has suffered, wanders the forests of Kilton. An urgent need to stave off the hunger of his folk calls his younger brother Edwin, Lord of Kilton, to the Kingdom of Mercia, and though he fulfils his mission, finds the greater prize he sought out of reach... -
The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Reindeer Hunters is the second in a thrilling historical trilogy that began with The Bell in the Lake.The year is 1903, and twenty-two years have passed since Astrid Hekne died in childbirth. Her son Jehans lives on a modest smallholding up in the hills near Butangen, having withdrawn from his community...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism fiction historical audiobook literary-fiction fantasy book -
The Tiger’s Imperium by Marc Alan Edelheit
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe sixth installment of the award-winning Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer series is here! Ben Stiger, Legate of the Lost Thirteenth Legion, a nobleman from an infamous family, and born fighter, has defeated the enemy army before Lorium and raised the siege of the city. Mortally wounded and dying, the emperor has made Stiger his heir, but in name only...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy sword-sorcery action-adventure adult anthologies dragons dwarves -
-
The Confusion, Part I by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this compelling adventure, Stephenson brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters in the late 1600s on the high seas. It is a time of breathtaking genius and discovery for men and women whose exploits define an age known as Baroque...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult audiobook book fiction historical -
The Rebel Beneath the Stairs by E.E. Holmes
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAshes, ashes, they'll all fall down...The death of a Resistance leader has thrown Post-Rift London into upheaval, and Eliza Braxton, a Riftborn lady’s maid with exceptional magic, has promised her help to the rebel cause. But she quickly realizes that her role as a spy in the powerful Hallewell household will place her— and perhaps even those she loves— in near-constant peril... -
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings‘My father had spelt it out to me. Choice was a luxury I couldn’t afford. This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .’A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism suspense fiction mystery historical fantasy audiobook -
A Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen van Niekerk
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom a bold new voice in literary fiction comes a compelling story of three mothers whose lives intersect during a generation-defining period in South Africa’s history.The year is 1994, and South Africa is in political turmoil as its first democratic election looms...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism suspense fiction historical literary-fiction fantasy poc-mc -
The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges, George Guidall
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is the title story in the collection El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan (1941), which was republished in its entirety in Ficciones (Fictions) in 1944...Categorized as:
magical-realism historical-fiction low-fantasy fiction classics philosophy fantasy 20th-century -
Return to Ithaca by Glyn Iliffe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe thrilling final instalment of the epic and bestselling Adventures of Odysseus Odysseus has been to Hell and back. Deserted by the Gods, and now in bitter conflict with his friend Eperitus, times look bleak. He dreams of returning to his home; to Ithaca. But back on Ithaca things look little better...Categorized as:
historical-fiction sword-sorcery adult ancient-civilization book epic fiction historical -
Drake Hall by Christina Baehr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEdith’s ancient home is full of secrets…and dragons are the least of them.As the new dragon keeper in the hidden valley of Ormdale, Edith expects her first dragon mating season to involve venomous bites and amorous wyverns...Categorized as:
magical-realism historical-fiction sword-sorcery low-fantasy fantasy dragons historical fiction -
FitzDuncan by John Spearman
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsWhat if saving the girl could cost you your life?Introducing Casimir “Caz” FitzDuncan, a resident of the medieval kingdom of Aquileia. He makes his living retrieving things when the law will not help.A woman has come to him, seeking his assistance in escaping a contract to marry a nobleman with a foul reputation. After their meeting, she is kidnapped not far from his residence...Categorized as:
sword-sorcery historical-fiction action-adventure urban-fantasy fantasy fiction historical book -
Gullah Secrets by Susan Gabriel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA family legacy in danger. A stranger in their midst. Do they have the strength to survive the gathering storm of secrets? For the Temple women, the winds of change are blowing. And if they’re not careful, it could sweep them all away…After rising from Temple servant to tea shop owner, Violet finally feels in charge of her destiny...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult black-mc book female-mc fiction -
The Fall of the Phoenix by Daniel Kelly
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe long siege of Troy, the battles fought over it, and the city's eventual capitulation and incineration are events which have often been retold since their first recitation by Homer. Seldom, however, will they have been narrated with such close attention to the minute particulars of battle, to its reek and terror and pain, as in this startling account by Daniel Kelly... -
-
The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPenitence Hurd and the Plague arrived in London on the same day...Bound up in righteousness as tight as a parcel, she journeys from Puritan America to find her aunt, and steps into a city full of rogues, hell-fire and fleshly pleasures. When she discovers her aunt is running a brothel in St Giles-in-the-Fields, Penitence has no option but to point out the wickedness... -
Three Times Removed by M.K. Jones
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMaggie Gilbert and her children, Jack and Alice, live a pretty normal life. That is, until Maggie starts looking into her family tree. In doing so, she uncovers a dark mystery that endangers her children. She has to solve a mystery in the past, if she is to save her family in the present...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult book cozy dark-fantasy female-mc -
As Brumas de Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsColeção Completa: As Brumas de Avalon [4 volumes]A Senhora da Magia, A Grande Rainha, O Gamo-Rei e O Prisioneiro da Árvore são os quatro volumes que compõem As Brumas de Avalon - a grande obra de Marion Zimmer Bradley -, que reconta a lenda do rei Artur através da perspectiva de suas heroínas.Guinevere se casou com Artur por determinação do pai, mas era apaixonada por Lancelote... -
Magic Tree House: #1-28 [Magic Tree House Library] by Mary Pope Osborne
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOffers Jack and Annie's first twenty-eight time-traveling adventures... -
Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA small princely state in Rajasthan is the last bastion of resistance against the might of the British Empire. While unrest surrounding the sudden death of the king of Devangarh grows, young prince Rudra Pratap Chauhan prepares to ascend the throne.But the kingdom is in turmoil. The Devangarh army is outnumbered and the British forces are closing in... -
The Poisoner's Revenge by Jeff Wheeler
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jeff Wheeler: Ankarette Tryneowy is now the best poisoner in all the lands. Feared by enemies abroad and even those in her own kingdom, she has risen to the pinnacles of power and influence at the court in Kingfountain. But when news comes that the rival of the Queen is dead, Ankarette must go on her most dangerous mission yet...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense sword-sorcery 21st-century action-adventure book children-books epic -
Anastasia by Sophie Lark
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnastasia is the princess no one needs: the fourth daughter born to an emperor without a son, and the only royal lacking a magical gift.Until she collides with a young Cossack rebel, changing both their lives forever.Damien is taken from everything he knows and raised as a ward of the Romanovs.Anastasia develops a strange kind of magic shared only by the Black Monk Rasputin... -
The Truth About Awiti by C.P. Patrick
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere is a commonly held belief the tropical storms and hurricanes that form off the coast of West Africa are not natural disasters, but rather they are retaliation by restless spirits impacted by one of the darkest chapters of world history—the trans–Atlantic slave trade. Awiti’s destiny was forever changed the day the slave raiders arrived at her village...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult black-mc book epic female-author -
The Voyage of Odysseus by Glyn Iliffe
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOdysseus’s greatest challenge is only just beginning The armies of Troy have been defeated and the city lies in ruins. His oath fulfilled, Odysseus can at last sail for Ithaca and the long-awaited reunion with his family. But the gods, who were once his allies, have turned against him.Exiled with the warrior Eperitus, he is thrust into a world of seductive demi-gods and man-eating monsters...Categorized as:
historical-fiction sword-sorcery adult ancient-civilization book fiction historical myths -
Insurgency by S.J.A. Turney
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA forbidden love. A daring escape. A gathering storm.Forty years have passed since the Empire was restored. Emperor Kiva the Golden, his wife Jala Parishid, and his brother Marshal Quintillian have together overseen decades of peace and prosperity, a time when the horrors of the civil war could begin to fade from memory.But nothing can last forever... -
-
The Oracles of Troy by Glyn Iliffe
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe siege of Troy has reached its tenth year without an end in sight. Helen remains safe behind the city walls, sharing her lover’s bed while Menelaus, the husband she abandoned, rages without, desperate for revenge and yet impotent against the stalemate imposed by the gods...Categorized as:
historical-fiction sword-sorcery adult ancient-civilization book fiction historical myths -
The Forgotten Witch by Jessica Dodge
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHelen Kent never dares to step outside her comfort zone. She lives a lonely mundane life in the city, grinding through her uninspiring marketing job. That is, until a spontaneous online purchase brings her to the little bay town of Oban, Scotland, where a 500-year-old cottage full of secrets and stories awaits her...Categorized as:
early-modern magical-realism low-fantasy fantasy fiction witches-wizards urban-fantasy dark-fantasy -
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFireside MagazineFebruary 2018Nebula Winner, Best Short Story in... -
The Forgotten Prince by Tanya Anne Crosby
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"... an epic story. Tanya breathes life into this timeless tale of love and betrayal, blurring the lines of fantasy and history. —Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling authorMálik Danann reveals his true self... and his true heart. But even with a Fae Prince by her side, Gwendolyn of Cornwall is not assured victory against Locrinus, the Usurper... -
The Sand Sea by Michael McClellan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"An astounding epic novel of J.R.R. Tolkien proportions!"— Steven Pressfield, Bestselling author of Gates of Fire and The War of ArtRaiders of the Lost Ark playing A Game of ThronesThe Sand Sea takes place on an alternative Earth roiled by war and conquest that mirrors our own Gilded Age... -
Morgan is my Name by Sophie Keetch
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn atmospheric, feminist retelling of the early life of famed villainess Morgan le Fay, set against the colourful chivalric backdrop of Arthurian legend.When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism low-fantasy fantasy retellings arthurian audiobook fiction -
Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJACK AND ANNIE continue their quest for the secrets of happiness--secrets they need to save Merlin. This time, the Magic Tree House takes them to the one continent they haven't visited before: Antarctica! What can they hope to learn about happiness in such a barren place? Only the penguins know for sure . . -
Moment of Truth by Michael Pryor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAubrey has a difficult choice to make to save his friends when Albion erupts into war—and it could cost him his life The war that has been looming for so long finally erupts, sending Albion and the continent into chaos. Aubrey, George, and Caroline are brought into a top-secret espionage unit and sent on a mission to investigate a mysterious magical facility on the Gallia–Holmland border... -
Smoke City by Keith Rosson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMarvin Deitz has some serious problems. His mob-connected landlord is strong-arming him out of his storefront. His therapist has concerns about his stability. He’s compelled to volunteer at the local Children’s Hospital even though it breaks his heart every week.Oh, and he’s also the guilt-ridden reincarnation of Geoffroy Thérage, the French executioner who lit Joan of Arc’s pyre in 1431... -
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy sword-sorcery romance fantasy young-adult fae historical -
-
The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams by Mindy Thompson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThis moving story about a magical bookstore explores the way war can shape a family and is perfect for book lovers everywhere, especially fans of Pages & Co., Pax, and Wolf Hollow.It's 1944 Sutton, NY, and Poppy's family owns and runs, Rhyme and Reason, a magical bookshop that caters to people from all different places and time periods... -
Fireflies by P.S. Bartlett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDr. Owen Whelan and his wife Sarah have seven bright and expressive children. However, one of them is very unique; he’s been followed since birth by lost souls. However peculiar Ennis Whelan has been for the first six years of his life, not until the day he found the bird did the degree of his strangeness become so tangible. Ennis claimed it flew away. His sister Teagan was about to bury it... -
The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles by Kij Johnson
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe heroic quest of a single cat. When a fire destroys her home and scatters her colony, Small Cat sets out to find the home of her ancestor, the Cat From the North, and to make her own name along the way...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy sword-sorcery action-adventure adult animals book cats -
Love & Sleep by John Crowley
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe long-awaited new novel by one of the most important American authors of magical realism. In Aegypt Crowley opened the gates on a world of magic and mystery lying just beyond our own. In Love & Sleep, the second novel in a projected tetralogy, he renews his claim on the exalted territory of the imagination...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism adult book coming-of-age fiction historical -
The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHannah Rose was not quite 13 years old when she discovered her family was cursed. . . .The arrival of a mysterious letter changes Hannah’s life forever. One day she is an ordinary teenage girl. The next day she discovers she is heir to a castle in the Scottish highlands—a castle that was cursed more than four hundred and forty years ago...Categorized as:
early-modern historical-fiction magical-realism action-adventure book children fae fiction -
The Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism low-fantasy classics fantasy fiction dystopia literary-fiction -
Jilo by J.D. Horn
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAged Mother Jilo is wise in the ways of magic…but once upon a time, she was just a girl.1950s Georgia: King Cotton has fallen. Savannah is known as the “beautiful woman with a dirty face,” its stately elegance faded by neglect, its soul withering from racial injustice and political corruption...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism suspense audiobook black-mc book dark -
Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe second novel in a bewitching series "brimming with charm and charisma" that will make "fans of Outlander rejoice!" (Woman's World Magazine)New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things was called “a page-turner that will no doubt leave readers eager for future series installments” (Publishers Weekly)...Categorized as:
early-modern historical-fiction magical-realism suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book -
The Swordmaster's Daughter by Terri Green
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhitefriars London 1604When her father bans her from fighting after an unfortunate incident with a stray sword, Lucinda Evans is determined to continue fencing. She recruits a small group of women with an urgent need to defend themselves, training them in secret as the Sisters of the Sword... -
Mirror in the Mirror by Michael Ende
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsMirror in the Mirror: A Labyrinth is a collection of surreal short stories by Michael Ende originally published in 1984. All stories in the book have their own protagonists, but are related to each other by the use of literary leitmotivs. None of the stories has its own title... -
-
The Legend of the Wandering King by Laura Gallego García
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA prince with more power than heart ... a poet who may be mad ... and a carpet containing all of human history combine in this brilliant new fantasy by one of Spain's brightest young writers.Walid was a model prince: handsome, intelligent, skilled in the arts of warfare and poetry... -
The Thief by Claire North, Michel Pagel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Gameshouse is an unusual institution. Many know it as the place where fortunes can be made and lost through games of chess, backgammon - every game under the sun.But a select few, who are picked to compete in the higher league, know that some games are played for higher stakes - those of politics and empires, of economics and kings . .Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism suspense low-fantasy fantasy fiction audiobook urban-fantasy -
By Night under the Stone Bridge by Leo Perutz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSixteenth-century Prague provides the setting for the story of the forbidden love between emperor Rudolf II and Esther, the wife of an influential financier, and of the efforts of the city's Great Rabbi to right a situation angering...Categorized as:
early-modern historical-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult book classics fiction -
The Witches of Vardø by Anya Bergman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNorway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. When Zigri, desperate and grieving after the loss of her husband and son, embarks on an affair with the local merchant, it's not long before she is sent to the fortress at Vardø, to be tried and condemned as a witch...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism early-modern fantasy historical fiction witches-wizards feminism -
Lungdon: Book Three by Edward Carey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe delightfully macabre, astonishingly original trilogy reaches its thrilling conclusionThe dirt town of Foulsham has been destroyed, its ashes still smoldering. Darkness lies heavily over the city, the sun has not come up for days, and inside the houses of people throughout the capital, ordinary objects have begun to move. Strange new people run through the darkened streets... -
The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the fall of 1900, Dr. Gustav Uyterhoeven left the chess garden that he and his wife, Sonja, had created together in Dayton, Ohio, and journeyed to South Africa to serve as a doctor in the British concentration camps of the Boer War. Over the next ten months he sent twelve chess pieces and twelve letters back to Sonja...Categorized as:
historical-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism action-adventure adult book classics epistolary
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.