Books like 'A Curious Beginning'
Readers who enjoyed A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical funny fantasy heroine sleuth victorian mystery suspense royalty forced proximity cold hero
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Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive order, on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters. When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead...Categorized as:
strong heroine competent heroine m-f slow burn suspense forced proximity mystery political-intrigue -
![The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant by C.S. Pacat]()
The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant by C.S. Pacat
The Adventures of Charls follows the dealings of a humble cloth merchant in the days before the royal Ascension. Set after the events of Kings Rising and The Summer Palace. -
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![A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn]()
A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica Speedwell returns in another adventure filled with secrets and betrayal from Deanna Raybourn, the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey Mysteries. Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian colleague Stoker's brother calls in a favor...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth suspense mystery victorian m-f slow burn fake relationship strong heroine -
![Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark]()
Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark
Rakos isn’t really a farmer. Bellamy definitely isn’t a minstrel. Sheltered, sickly Prince Bellamy always longed for adventure—but not like this. Captured in enemy territory, Bellamy’s true identity will get him killed, or worse. When his smoking-hot fellow prisoner asks who he is, Bellamy claims to be a minstrel. Even though he can’t carry a tune to save his life... -
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![Storms of Paine by Opal Reyne]()
Storms of Paine by Opal Reyne
After the storm that separates them, Captains Rosetta Silver and Alister Paine find themselves sailing side by side together once more. Their passion refuses to fizzle out and burns brighter, hotter, and, frighteningly, deeper every time. Rosetta manages to convince the land hating Alister to port. They need supplies and the Laughing Siren still needs repairs... -
![The Curse of Braeburn Castle by Karen Baugh Menuhin]()
The Curse of Braeburn Castle by Karen Baugh Menuhin
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA centuries-old skeleton is discovered in a lonely Scottish Castle. It wears a crown and hides a curse. Lennox's detective friend, Swift, now lives at Braeburn Castle and it was he who uncovered the skeleton. As ghosts are heard and treasure-seekers appear, the murders begin. Lennox must go to Braeburn and investigate as Halloween draws near. -
![A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn]()
A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Veronica's natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse... -
![He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters]()
He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 32 ratings1914 finds archaelogists Amelia Peabody, narrator, and husband Radcliffe Emerson back in Egypt for another dig, despite civil unrest. Defiantly pacifist son Ramses hides his spy activity with cousin David. He rescues Molly 12ish, and his dazzling smile conquers yet another female. An artifact from Giza confirms the return of archnemesis Sethos.Categorized as:
heroine sleuth suspense victorian mystery independent heroine strong heroine competent heroine m-f -
![The Rebel's Queen by Tanya Bird]()
The Rebel's Queen by Tanya Bird
A rising king. A falling queen. An unimaginable love. Queen Cora is married to a monster. Three years she has played wife, and all she has to show for it is a marked face, an empty womb, and a bitter taste in her mouth best washed away with wine. It is a good thing she is made of something solid, because marriage is a life sentence. Or is it? The rebel prince is coming for the crown... -
![A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn]()
A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica and Stoker discover that not all fairy tales have happy endings, and some end in murder, in this latest historical mystery from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn... -
![Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell]()
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Wives and Daughters is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. It was partly written whilst Gaskell was staying with the salon hostess Mary Elizabeth Mohl at her home on the Rue de Bac in Paris. When Mrs Gaskell died suddenly in 1865, it was not quite complete, and the last section was written by Frederick Greenwood. -
![Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters]()
Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters
The 1895-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Amelia Peabody, her dashing Egyptologist husband, Emerson, and their wild and precocious eight-year-old son, Ramses. The much-coveted burial chamber of the Black Pyramid in Dahshur is theirs for the digging. But there is a great evil in the wind that roils the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplaces of Cairo...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth suspense victorian mystery strong heroine competent heroine m-f independent heroine -
![A Family Affair by Mary Jane Staples]()
A Family Affair by Mary Jane Staples
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1926 was the year of the General Strike, but Adams Enterprises, under the wily management of Sammy Adams, youngest entrepreneur in Walworth and Lambeth, was doing very well. All the Adams brothers worked in the business, and so did two of the wives, Emily and Susie. There was just one dark cloud on the horizon - the impending trial of Gerald Ponsonby... -
![On Mother Brown's Doorstep by Mary Jane Staples]()
On Mother Brown's Doorstep by Mary Jane Staples
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe big event of the Walworth year was to be the wedding of Sammy Adams, King of Camberwell, to Miss Susie Brown. Everyone was looking forward to it, and Susie was particularly overjoyed when her soldier brother suddenly turned up on leave from service in India in time for the approaching 'knees-up'... -
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![The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton]()
The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton
Geography professors in a failed marriage of convenience inconveniently reconnect for an emergency mission in this swoony historical-fantasy rom-com. Professor Elodie Tarrant is an expert in magic disasters. Nothing fazes her--except her own personal disaster, that is: Professor Gabriel Tarrant, the grumpy, unfriendly man she married for convenience a year ago, whom she secretly loves... -
![A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn]()
A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal so explosive it threatens to rock the monarchy...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth victorian mystery suspense career professional m-f slow burn political-intrigue -
![A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn]()
A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn
London, 1887. At the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task--saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth suspense mystery victorian m-f competent heroine strong heroine cold hero -
![Wildwood Larkwing by Shari L. Tapscott]()
Wildwood Larkwing by Shari L. Tapscott
This is a previously-published edition - ASIN: B072MRYC3W. “Till death do us part” might come sooner than Lucia imagined. After living her entire life on the outside looking in, Lucia has finally ventured into the world of Kalae’s nobility...Categorized as:
mystery m-f competent heroine independent heroine strong heroine royalty fantasy new adult -
![Greybrow Serpent by Shari L. Tapscott]()
Greybrow Serpent by Shari L. Tapscott
The captain of the Greybrow Serpent is the last man Lucia’s willing to trust. But he’s the only one who can save her. Lucia’s dreamed of finding Avery for a solid two months. In every one of her fantasies, the dashing captain has been on the deadly end of her dagger. Unfortunately, their reunion is not all she hoped it would be...Categorized as:
m-f from hate to love competent heroine independent heroine strong heroine royalty humor new adult -
![Three Lives Three Worlds, the Pillow Book I by Tang Qi Gong Zi, 唐七公子]()
Three Lives Three Worlds, the Pillow Book I by Tang Qi Gong Zi, 唐七公子
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 12 ratings再掀“三生三世”畅销狂潮，引发千万读者疯狂追捧的言情经典. 完美再现唐七公子笔下最令人叹服的前世今生. 如果执著终归于徒然，谁会将此生用尽，只为守候一段触摸不得的缘恋？. 如果两千多年的执念，就此放下、隔断，是否会有眼泪倾洒，以为祭奠？. 纵然贵为神尊，东华也会羽化而湮灭。. 虽是青丘女君，凤九亦会消逝在时光悠然间。. 只是不知，当风云淡去，当仍在无羁岁月间穿行，当偶有擦肩。东华还能记起凤九吗，还能否记起她就是那只曾守在自己身边的红狐？记起自己曾经救过一只九尾红狐？. -
![Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) Vol. 1 (Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) #1) by Meng Xi Shi]()
Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) Vol. 1 (Peerless: Wu Shuang (Novel) #1) by Meng Xi Shi
One dark and snowy night, after the Sui dynasty has come into power, a convoy sent by the Kingdom of Khotan is ambushed and massacred. Not a living victim remains—and the attackers, along with a chest holding precious treasure in tribute, have vanished. A member of Emperor Yang Jian’s secret intelligence agency, the Jiejian Bureau, pursues the case: the highly successful chief Feng Xiao...Categorized as:
suspense slow burn political-intrigue cold hero queer fantasy historical length-medium -
![Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros]()
Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros
Gabriel Fairchild's valor during battle earns him the reputation of hero, but costs him both his sight and his hope for the future. Abandoned by the fiancée he adored, the man who once walked like a prince among London's elite secludes himself in his family's mansion, cursing his way through dark days and darker nights... -
![Ridiculous! by D.L. Carter]()
Ridiculous! by D.L. Carter
Identity theft regency style. After the death of her miserly cousin Antony North, Millicent Boarder is determined her family should never be poor or vulnerable again. To protect them she conceals her cousin's death and assumes his identity. Now she must face the Ton and the world as Mr. North and accept the price she must pay for her family's safety -- she will never be loved... -
![A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd]()
A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd
I’m the eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb. They’re alive and well and living in fair Verona with their six wildly impetuous children and me, their nineteen-year-old daughter Rosaline…... -
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![The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim]()
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsThe Enchanted April is a 1922 novel by British writer Elizabeth von Arnim. Inspired by a month-long holiday to the Italian Riviera, the work was a US and UK bestseller soon after its initial release, and is perhaps the most widely read and most ebullient of her novels. Von Arnim wrote, and set, the book in the Castello Brown, a medieval castle in Portofino... -
![Christie, Agatha - Spiders Web by Christie Agatha]()
Christie, Agatha - Spiders Web by Christie Agatha
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsClarissa, the wife of a Foreign Office diplomat, is given to daydreaming. ‘Supposing I were to come down one morning and find a dead body in the library, what should I do? ’ she muses. Clarissa has her chance to find out when she discovers a body in the drawing-room of her house in Kent... -
![Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 6 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #6) by Yura Kiyose, Kooriame]()
Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 6 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #6) by Yura Kiyose, Kooriame
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNow that Liliana is safe and sound, Fii sets off to the royal palace for one final struggle against fate. But this time, it’s going to take more than breaking bread to protect her hard-earned commoner life... -
![Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons) by Stephanie Burgis]()
Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons) by Stephanie Burgis
Sensible, practical Elinor Tregarth really did plan to be the model poor relation when she moved into Hathergill Hall. She certainly never meant to kidnap her awful cousin Penelope's pet dragon. She never expected to fall in love with the shameless - but surprisingly sweet - fortune hunter who came to court Penelope... -
![Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn]()
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for. .. well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret. .. and fears she doesn't know him at all...Categorized as:
mystery m-f independent heroine strong heroine competent heroine victorian royalty slow burn -
![Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 5 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #5) by Yura Kiyose]()
Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 5 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #5) by Yura Kiyose
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAfter a riveting question and answer session with Shade, Fii’s starting to grasp what the root of all her problems is. .. but she’s still a few slices short of the whole loaf. Now she must confront the unexpected mastermind behind Liliana’s abduction... -
![Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 4 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #4) by Yura Kiyose]()
Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 4 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #4) by Yura Kiyose
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFii can add two war hawks to her list of rogue game characters back under control, and she even earns a vacation for improving her baking skills. But there’s a new name floating around town and it’s not one she recognizes from the otome game... -
![Sea of Roses by Opal Reyne]()
Sea of Roses by Opal Reyne
Captain Alister Paine has always had his good eye set on treasure, murder, and sinking ships. His fame as a ruthless, blood-thirsty pirate has spread across the Seven Seas. The Howling Death, his precious warship, is the deadliest ship on the ocean waters, striking fear into the hearts of all those who see it... -
![Silent Night by Deanna Raybourn]()
Silent Night by Deanna Raybourn
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 25 ratings'Tis the season for an investigation! Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane return for a Christmas caper at Bellmont Abbey—. After a year of marriage—and numerous adventures—Lady Julia and Brisbane hope for a quiet, intimate Christmas together—until they find themselves at her father's ancestral estate, Bellmont Abbey, with her eccentric family and a menagerie of animals... -
![The Vesuvius Club: Graphic Edition by Mark Gatiss, Ian Bass]()
The Vesuvius Club: Graphic Edition by Mark Gatiss, Ian Bass
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsMark Gatiss' cult creation, Lucifer Box, as you've never seen him before—in a new graphic-novel edition of his first adventure! On it's first publication, Mark Gatiss' The Vesuvius Club was critically acclaimed as an inspired cult creation. Now you are invited, more intimately, into the world of Lucifer Box, as his first adventure plays out in this graphic-novel edition... -
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![Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 3 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #3) by Yura Kiyose]()
Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 3 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #3) by Yura Kiyose
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsAfter a successful battle of wits with Melvin Crabitt, Fii Crow enjoys a whole week of baking without any love interests in her hair. But when you’re the (unwilling) heroine of an otome game, peace never lasts long. Two especially dangerous bachelors come knocking at her Prince Nolan and his trusted aide Zero... -
![Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 2 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #2) by Yura Kiyose, Kooriame]()
Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) Volume 2 (Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner! (Manga) #2) by Yura Kiyose, Kooriame
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsLife as a commoner isn’t cushy, but it was supposed to be peaceful—at least, that’s what Fii Crow had hoped for. Unfortunately, as the heroine of an otome game, the love interests have come a-knocking at her door one after another... -
![Wed By Proxy by Alice Coldbreath]()
Wed By Proxy by Alice Coldbreath
Thrice wedded, but never bedded, Mathilde Martindale has long lived in the shadow of her indomitable mother, and meekly done as she was told. Until one day she decides to become mistress of her own destiny and leave the royal court to find her own path. Married by proxy, Lord Martindale has never even met his bride of three years... -
![Barnabas Tew and The Case Of The Missing Scarab by Columbkill Noonan]()
Barnabas Tew and The Case Of The Missing Scarab by Columbkill Noonan
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBarnabas Tew is a private detective struggling to survive in his trade in Victorian London. Fearing that he is not as clever as he had hoped to be, he is plagued by a lack of confidence brought on in no small part by his failure to prevent the untimely deaths of several of his clients...Categorized as:
mystery victorian fantasy humor historical ancient times length-medium first-in-series -
![Masks by Fumiko Enchi]()
Masks by Fumiko Enchi
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFollowing the death of her son, Mieko Toganō takes an increasing interest in the personal affairs of her widowed daughter-in-law, Yasuko. Devastated by her loss, she skillfully manipulates the relationships between Yasuko and the two men who are in love with her, encouraging a dalliance that will have terrible consequences... -
![Guarded Treasure by Mae Lovette]()
Guarded Treasure by Mae Lovette
She's an ambitious librarian finally getting a chance to prove herself, and she's not about to let anything - or anyone - stop her. He's a rugged tomb raider with a reputation for finding treasure, and the last thing he needs is an amateur getting in the way. Edith Taylor is ready to explore the ancient tombs she’s only seen in books...Categorized as:
forced proximity m-f strong heroine heroine sleuth historical humor 20th century magic -
![Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands]()
Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands
Circumstances have changed; they re worse. Valoree has been named heir to Ainsley Castle. And the will distinctly states that in order to inherit, she must be married to a nobleman. .. and pregnant. Upon learning that, the virgin captain is ready to return to the seas, but her crew puts the issue to a vote-and for those rascally cusses she will do anything. Reluctantly, she agrees... -
![The Professor by Charlotte Brontë]()
The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
The Professor is Charlotte Brontës first novel, in which she audaciously inhabits the voice and consciousness of a man, William Crimsworth. Like Jane Eyre he is parentless; like Lucy Snowe in Villette he leaves the certainties of England to forge a life in Brussels...
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