LitQueuelitqueue

After

Shades of Gray

Maya Banks2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Single Malt

    Layla Reyne2017

    An FBI agent and a whiskey distiller must work together to solve a murder while being targeted by a killer.

    Same tense register, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Paradise Logic

    Sophie Kemp2025

    A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

    tense → epic

    pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Mad Mabel

    Sally Hepworth2025

    An eighty-one-year-old woman with a history of killing people tries to hide her past when a curious young girl moves into the neighborhood.

    tense → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Bribe

    Devney Perry2020

    A country star hiding her identity in a small Montana town is discovered by the local sheriff. They navigate her secret past and a brewing threat.

    tense → warm, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Wind River Wrangler

    Lindsay McKenna2016

    A former Special Forces soldier working as a ranch wrangler protects a woman fleeing trauma in New York City.

    tense → earnest, still romantic suspense

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Duncan's Bride

    Linda Howard1990

    A rancher seeking a practical marriage for his land finds a city woman through a personal ad. She moves to his ranch to start a family.

    tense → earnest

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Ruthless People

    J.J. McAvoy2017

    The heirs to the Irish and Italian mobs marry to end a war. They compete for dominance while eliminating shared enemies.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Burn for Me

    Ilona Andrews2014

    A private investigator with the ability to tell truth from lies is hired to find a fire-user. She is forced to work with a dangerous billionaire.

    tense → propulsive, still forced proximity

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Brokeback Mountain

    Annie Proulx1997

    Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Bright Side

    Kim Holden2014

    An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.

    tense → tender, still friends to lovers

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2