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Historical Fiction July 2025 |
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The Rest Is Memory
by Lily Tuck
Inspired by haunting images of Czeslawa Kwoka, the young Catholic farm girl on the book's cover, this moving short novel introduces her as she dreams of a future with a local boy. Then Nazi Germany invades Poland, and she's sent to Auschwitz. This unforgettable blend of facts and imagination is by the National Book Award-winning author of The News from Paraguay.
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The Queen of Fives
by Alex Hay
Destitute con artist Quinn Le Blanc, the current Queen of Fives, follows the old group's rulebook dictating she has five days to pull off five specific moves to complete a successful con. In 1898 London, she's impersonating an heiress to lure a wealthy duke into marriage, but she only has one helper left and there are mysterious plots against her. For fans of: Ashley Weaver's Electra McDonnell mysteries.
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The Unexpected Diva
by Tiffany L. Warren
This inspiring biographical novel depicts the life of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who is born into slavery but freed as a child and raised in Philadelphia's Quaker community by an elderly white woman. With a voice compared to Jenny Lind's, she tours all over as an adult, even performing for Queen Victoria in England, all while facing prejudices. Read-alike: The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate.
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| Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice MonroeIndependent Eliza Rivers, who was born in South Carolina's Lowcountry in 1900, lives through wars, family turmoil, sexism, business growth, and more. At 88, she draws two young women close, sharing her past and hoping they can keep her beloved land safe from her selfish son in this multigenerational novel, the 1st in the Mayfield duology. Read-alikes: Michael Christie's Greenwood; Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Happy Land. |
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The king's messenger
by Susanna Kearsley
In 1613, Andrew Logan, a messenger for King James, embarks on a mission to frame an innocent advisor for treason, but as he unravels the truth alongside his spirited neighbor Phoebe Westaway, their growing bond challenges loyalty, justice, and the possibilities of love.
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| Blonde Dust by Tatiana de RosnayAt Reno, Nevada's legendary Mapes Hotel, young maid Pauline is assigned to Suite 614 and it changes her life. A single mom with little free time, it takes her a bit to realize the sweet, fragile woman in 614 is Marilyn Monroe, in town filming The Misfits as her marriage to Arthur Miller is dying. Serving up a moving look at the Hollywood icon, Blonde Dust is also an ode to female friendship. Read-alike: Can't We Be Friends by Denny S. Bryce & Eliza Knight. |
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| The Listeners by Maggie StiefvaterIn January 1942, war comes to West Virginia when the United States government orders the luxury Avallon Hotel to house Axis Power diplomats. Balancing work, worry, and ethical questions, hotel manager June Porter Hudson also gets to know a handsome FBI agent. This atmospheric adult fiction debut by a bestselling YA fantasy novelist has hints of magic and is a "must-read for all historical fiction fans" (Library Journal). Read-alike: Melanie Benjamin's Mistress of the Ritz. |
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The Sable Cloak
by Gail Milissa Grant
Taking place in the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina and St. Louis, Missouri, this moving saga follows different members of a powerful Black family as they get involved in politics, run a funeral parlor, and face tragedies. "Delivered with style and heart" (Publishers Weekly), this posthumously published debut novel is based on the family history of author and diplomat Gail Milissa Grant. For fans of: Kim Coleman Foote's Coleman Hill.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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