If you’re a historical fiction lover like me, you’ve probably noticed how many books are set in World War II. While World War II provides great drama – a historic struggle of good vs. evil – sometimes it’s refreshing to read a book set in another time period.
These are some of my favorites that will bring you to a different time and place.
Daughter of Black Lake
It’s rare that I read a historical novel in one evening. But this book is deftly plotted, and kept me turning the pages. It also swept me right into a world I knew little about.
This is a story of a family caught between two worlds: Roman and pagan. But it’s also a story of love: between Devout and the two men who love her, and the disabled child Devout gives birth to. But, in a world where disability can condemn you to death, Hobble has a special gift. She’s a seer, which brings dangers of its own.
The Roman invasion doesn’t leave even tiny, isolated Black Lake untouched. Families shatter and fortunes rise and fall as the people are torn between old ways and new opportunities.
Meet Me in Bombay
This is an epic love story set in gorgeous, exotic Bombay.
First of all, you’ll fall in love with this setting as Ashcroft’s descriptions bring the pre-WWI city to life. I felt like I was really there, buying silks in the bazaar or sweating on the dance floor in the nightclub or eating turkey curry for Thanksgiving.
This story is told in dual timelines. As Luke and Maddy fall in love at first sight, the reader quickly realizes that something tears them apart. Years later, Luke’s in a mental hospital with no idea what his name is and only flashes of memories of a summer in Bombay.
Maddy is full of life and adventurous and much too carefree to want to marry Guy, the forty-year-old friend of her father that her mother keeps pushing on her. When she catches a glimpse of a mysterious stranger at a party, her heart is instantly captured.
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t say more, but this is a love story you don’t want to miss!
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Daughters of Sparta
Before she was Helen of Troy, she was Helen of Sparta. This book follows Helen and her older sister Klytemnestra through their girlhood, arranged marriages, motherhood and the eight long years of the Greek-Trojan war. They suffer and fight for survival in a world that views women as possessions and heir-producers. Being princesses doesn’t shield them – or their children – from the cruelties of their world. Each tries to build the life she wants.
Helen is portrayed as a woman who was lonely above all else, while the unspeakable losses she suffers breaks Klytemnestra’s resolve to be a perfect wife. The sister’s fate remains linked, even as they find themselves on opposite sides in the war.
This was a great retelling of the story we all know, but centering women’s voices and experiences this time. Well worth reading for any historical fiction lover.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Don't Breathe a Word
A historical thriller with a secret society set at an elite boarding school? Yes, please!
I enjoyed Jordyn Taylor’s first book, The Paper Girl of Paris, which is why I preordered this one. I LOVED this one! Taylor has taken her storytelling to the next level with this dual-timeline novel.
It’s the 1960’s, and everyone’s talking about the atomic bomb. A bomb shelter has just been constructed at Harwick Preparatory Academy, and a charismatic, young teacher is recruiting students to agree to be locked inside for four days. Connie’s best friend convinces her to sign up, along with Connie’s long-time crush, his girlfriend and two other students.
Meanwhile, at modern day Harwick, a mysterious secret society is recruiting Eva, a transfer who struggles to feel like she belongs. She jumps at the chance to be part of something, but the secrets keep getting darker and darker.
Taylor is the queen of dual timelines, using the technique to build suspense and revealing twists and turns as both stories finally intersect in a chilling but empowering conclusion. Taylor explores brainwashing, peer pressure and how looming threats like the bomb can be used to make people behave in ways they would not otherwise.
This was an enthralling read.
Ariadne
Women always pay the price for the hubris of men and gods.
This is a lesson that Ariadne learns over and over again. A princess of Crete, Ariadne is tempted to betray her father and her brother, the Minotaur, by the handsome Theseus. But it doesn’t all work out quite how Ariadne expected.
This is a fiercely feminist retelling of Greek mythology, even as the female characters seem to fare the worst at the hands of fate. Saint takes on some deep topics: the dangers of childbirth, the joys and troubles of marriage, and ways to deal with grief and pain. Each women makes choices that lead to finding their joys and identity in different places in a man’s world. I don’t think it’s an accident that the solely good male character was raised with only women around.
This is well worth a read.
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