| Zeal by Morgan JerkinsOpening at Ardelia and Oliver's engagement party in 2019 New York, this sweeping story flows back to 1865, where star-crossed enslaved lovers Harrison and Tirzah are separated by the American Civil War. They end up marrying others, and Zeal movingly depicts their paths and those of their descendants over the following decades. For fans of: Robert Jones, Jr.'s The Prophets; Honorée Fanonne Jeffers' The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois. |
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| The Director by Daniel Kehlmann; translated by Ross BenjaminAustrian film director G.W. Pabst, who helped Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks become stars, goes to Hollywood but ends up back in 1930s Europe when his mother becomes ill. As the Nazis grow in power, he's forced to stay there and create films for them. This thought-provoking biographical novel melds art and history and serves up "a searing look at the mechanics of complicity" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorrisFacing anti-Chinese sentiment in 1880s Oregon, biracial Celia hides her heritage and works as a maid for Portland's mayor. His son, who knows Celia’s secret, loves her and proposes. But with him away at school, her father murdered, and her unexpectedly pregnant, Celia ends up housekeeping at a brothel, before other dangers surface. Recipes and an author's note add to this compelling tale. Read-alike: Jenny Tinghui Zhang's Four Treasures of the Sky. |
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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 Red House by Mary MorrisLeaving New Jersey and her troubled marriage, middle-aged Laura goes to Italy, hoping to learn more about her mother, Viola, who disappeared when Laura was a kid. Interspersed with Laura's efforts, readers see Viola as a child during World War II, when Italian Jewish people were imprisoned in detention centers. Exploring intergenerational trauma, this evocative read presents an "unusual and satisfying tale of family secrets" (Publishers Weekly). |
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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 Cardinal by Alison WeirTracing Thomas Wolsey's rise from the young son of a village butcher to a wealthy cardinal and Henry VIII's closest advisor, this well-researched tale also depicts his falling in love and becoming a father to several children, despite church rules. But everything, including his life, is at risk when the king decides to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Read this next: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. |
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