58 books like Catwoman

Discount Armageddon is the first of the InCryptid novels.

The Price family comes from a long line of monster hunters, but a few generations back, they decided they didn’t agree with the prevailing definition of “monster.” Now they’re dedicated to protecting the cryptid community—as long as it’s not chowing down on the neighbors.

I love this universe because there’s such a wide variety of characters that are each convinced that their way is the right way. Sometimes you never quite know whose side someone will come down on. Discount Armageddon introduces us to Verity Price.

Verity is tough, resourceful, and yeah—kinda selfish at times. She’s no goody-two-shoes, but she does a lot of good, just the same.

Personally, I find perfect characters perfectly boring.

Give me a protagonist with a past, whose actions you can’t predict and I’m in heaven. Prosecution’s Protection features a rich cast of characters with dark secrets in their pasts which have marked them in different ways. Desmond Graves and Remi Archer have both chosen to channel their past darkness into protecting others—they just go about it very differently.

Oh, yeah—and they can’t stand each other at first. If you enjoy tales of badass heroines protecting their men, this is for you.

So you think you know your mythology?

The King of the Underworld must be a bad guy, right? And those folks up on Olympus are the good guys? Yeah…maybe rethink that a bit. There’s more to this Hades than you’ll find in dusty old mythology. He cares for his realm and its denizens, and he’s looking for a queen to share his kingdom and be his equal partner. 

Sweet is a novella set in the universe of Love Stories on 7th and Main. A friend recommended it to me and I gobbled up the whole series in a week or two.

Spider Villalobos settled in Metlin to escape life in a gang. When his past catches up with him, which choice will he make? Run away? Return to the gang? Or follow his heart?

I love this entire series because the town of Metlin is so vividly detailed. The characters feel like people I’d like to know, and I definitely want to go browse in INK or grab a slice of pie from Café Maya!

Chief Pfeifer was the first ranking officer to arrive at the World Trade Center on the morning of the attack. He was in the area to investigate a report of a gas leak when he saw a plane crash into the North Tower.

He was being followed by a film crew for an unrelated documentary. The film footage shows him in the WTC lobby as he tries to determine what is going on and as he and others begin the rescue operation that would engulf virtually the entire FDNY and turn tragic when the Twin Towers collapsed.

This book takes you beyond the news coverage and provides a first-hand account from a ranking FDNY member who was on the scene. 

This charming, deeply romantic tale about an editor whose big promotion is contingent on her helping a popular author overcome a terrible case of writer’s block reminded me of all the reasons I adore reading and writing love stories.

Working with this author leads Lanie to question her long-cherished beliefs about what she wants (and needs) in a romantic partner. She opens her heart to new ideas and experiences as well as to love, and her journey, both personally and professionally, culminates in such an epically swoon-inducing way that you will be hard-pressed not to shed happy tears (I did!).

Like the book’s heroine, Lauren Kate clearly reveres the written word, and this story is a beautifully composed valentine to all bibliophiles.

The Ruins of Gorlan for me was a reminder that you never let anyone tell you, “you can’t”.

Will was a misfit, an orphan. He was too small for battle school and becoming a knight, not adept at being a diplomat, a scholar, nor even a cook. He had no idea what would become of him. It was a fear that permeates down deep. I remember how I felt when I couldn’t go into the army, was unable to go to Devry, and I didn’t want the ordinary.

For Will, it all changes and his fantastic journey begins as he’s chosen to be the ranger’s apprentice. And I cheered inside. I knew it. He didn’t give up. We didn’t give up. And found what our skills were best suited for.

Kristen Britain’s Green Rider is an adventure that takes place in a carefully crafted medieval world.

What’s notable is the way Britain integrates medieval culture and tradition into the story. From the honor code of the Green Riders to the standard of loyalty and virtue, the novel is steeped in values commonly held in the medieval era. This adds authenticity to the story.

The series also introduces ‘fantasy flair’ in the Eletians, a group of people I could closely associate with the Elves in my own book.

My book is theoretical, on the nature of heroes. Reed’s book is the perfect complement to it. It provides brief bios for numerous heroes—many who are famous and many who are not but should be. One vivid example of the latter is Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl. Many people realize that Winston Churchill recognized early on the evil of Hitler and the need to oppose National Socialism. But few know that the diminutive Duchess realized it sooner, that she warned Churchill, that she had the full translated speeches of Hitler sent to him, that she stood up to Neville Chamberlain, head of her own party, and that, in defense of liberty, she fearlessly warned the West against the dangers of both the Soviets and the Nazis. Lawrence Reed’s book is replete with true stories of such little known heroes.

When I first encountered this book in the late 1980s, it was titled Jackaroo--named for the Robin Hood-like folk hero in the non-magical secondary world called the Kingdom. However, the star of the story is Gwyn, so the renaming makes sense. The book is riveting in its action moments, but somehow I'm even more drawn to the scenes of daily toil. I have absolutely no idea how Voigt can make scrubbing the floor seem so important! (This is the real floor-scrubbing book of this list.) The Tale of Gwyn evokes a medieval European past that feels more real than the best-researched historical novel. Hopefully the series rebrand draws the wide readership it deserves--it is both exciting and thoughtful, bleak and hopeful, and I return to it again and again.