Charlotte County Library: Historical Fiction: November 2025

Recent Releases

The Amalfi Curse: A Bewitching Tale of Sunken Treasure, Forbidden Love, and Ancient Magic on the Amalfi Coast
by Sarah Penner

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven's arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work? As Haven searches for her father's sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman's quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever.

Circle of Days
by Ken Follett

Exploring the creation of Stonehenge, Circle of Days follows Seft, a flint miner who's physically abused by his widowed father. Falling for Neen, he's embraced by her herding family and ends up helping Neen's priestess sister bring her vision for a massive stone circle to life while facing weather issues, tribal conflicts, and logistical problems in this intricately plotted epic with a large cast of characters. Try this next: Conn Iggulden's The Abbot's Tale.

The Secret Book Society
by Madeline Martin

In 1895 London, wealthy widow Lady Duxbury handpicks three women to join a secret book club, where they not only discuss novels, but become friends who help each other in a world where a wife can be put in an asylum at the behest of her husband.

Homeseeking
by Karissa Chen

Separated by war and reunited after 60 years, Haiwen and Suchi navigate decades of love, loss and survival across continents, as their shared past clashes with their hopes for a second chance at life

Mona's Eyes
by Thomas Schlesser

10-year-old Mona and her beloved grandfather have only fifty-two Wednesdays to visit fifty-two works of art and commit to memory all that is beautiful in the world before Mona loses her sight forever. While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona's brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl's grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but he can fill the encroaching darkness with beauty.

Strangers in Time: A World War II Novel
by David Baldacci

Set in London in 1944 a bereaved bookshop owner and two teenagers scarred by the Second World War navigate life. Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she'd hoped. Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his bookshop. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.

Atmosphere : a love story
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA's space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant. Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love--this time among the stars"

Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)
by Clare Leslie Hall

The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him. Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager--the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident. As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

Contact your librarian for more great books!