Top new historical-fiction books in October 2024
Last updated:
October 31, 2024
October 2024 featuring new releases by Louise Erdrich, Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin, Susanna Clarke, Victoria Sawdon, Lynda Cohen Loigman, Susan Rieger, Noelle W. Ihli, Neal Stephenson, Madeleine Roux, Julie Anne Long, Daniel M. Lavery and many more.
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The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
In this stunning novel, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award–winning author Louise Erdrich tells a story of love, natural forces, spiritual yearnings, and the tragic impact of uncontrollable circumstances on ordinary people’s lives.History is a flood. The mighty red . . .In Argus, North Dakota, a collection of people revolve around a fraught wedding... -
![The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin]()
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin
A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, this middle grade historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother’s death.Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…Summer, 1940...historical-fiction · middle-grade · historical · ww2 · war · mystery · children · fiction · children-books · law-enforcement -
![The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, Victoria Sawdon]()
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, Victoria Sawdon
'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.'Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scott is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees—and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox...fantasy · fiction · magical-realism · audiobook · animals · season-winter · historical · historical-fiction · outdoors · magic -
![The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman]()
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
It's never too late for new beginnings.On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community in southern Florida—she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy—and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier...north-america · usa · florida · urban · new-york-state · romance · historical-fiction · fiction · magical-realism · fantasy -
![Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger]()
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again...fiction · historical-fiction · literary-fiction · contemporary · mystery · family · audiobook · drama · feminism · friendship -
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![None Left to Tell by Noelle W. Ihli]()
None Left to Tell by Noelle W. Ihli
Three women, connected by one of the most brutal mass slayings in US history.Lucy is sick of turning the other cheek. Ten years ago, an anti-Mormon mob drove her family and friends from their homes in Illinois. But now, the tables have turned. Rumor has it, some of those same men are traveling through Utah on their way to California. And this time, Lucy won’t run...historical-fiction · mystery · true-crime · suspense · fiction · audiobook · historical · crime · thriller · psychological -
![Polostan by Neal Stephenson]()
Polostan by Neal Stephenson
The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s three-part Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora...fiction · historical-fiction · sci-fi · historical · audiobook · fantasy · espionage · 20th-century · politics · mystery -
![Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux]()
Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux
Madeleine Roux’s next season in Regency England follows a rebellious writer and the man who risks everything to publish her.In a world where women are expected to be demure and dainty, Margaret Arden would much rather be passionate and daring like the characters in her novel...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · industrial-era · regency · gothic · adaptations · action-adventure · suspense -
![The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long]()
The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long
A blue-blooded beauty bartered to a Beast…He would pay any price to possess her. But even though Alexandra Bellamy sacrifices herself to save her family’s fortunes, a shocking betrayal sunders her marriage to a taciturn brute of a war hero, Colonel Magnus Brightwall, before it even begins...romance · historical · historical-fiction · angst · industrial-era · regency · fiction · gothic · female-mc · victorian -
![Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery]()
Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
From the New York Times bestselling author and advice columnist, a poignant and funny debut novel about the residents of a women’s hotel in 1960s New York City.The Beidermeier might be several rungs lower on the ladder than the real-life Barbizon, but its residents manage to occupy one another nonetheless...historical-fiction · fiction · literary-fiction · humor · historical · lgbtq · wlw · comedy · politics · urban -
![The Gentleman's Confession by Anneka R. Walker]()
The Gentleman's Confession by Anneka R. Walker
Inexperienced in love, Jemma seeks help from her best friend, Miles, unaware that he has secretly loved her for years.Brookeside, England, 1822Jemma Fielding has always considered herself an independent woman, but to honor her beloved grandmother’s dying wish, she makes a promise that she will marry and fall in love...romance · historical-fiction · industrial-era · regency · historical · audiobook · fiction · christian · friends-to-lovers · humor -
![O Little Town of Bethlehem by Elizabeth Boyle]()
O Little Town of Bethlehem by Elizabeth Boyle
With her beloved charm and wit, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle brings to life a heartwarming story of empowerment, redemption, and the joy of finding friendship. Even during the holidays.Madeline Drake is on the verge of stardom when an accident on a snowy Wyoming road sends her careening a century into the past...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · fantasy · magical-realism · time-travel · small-town · magic · family · womens-fiction -
![The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche]()
The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche
Ancient sorcery. Magic gemstones. Only one woman can save a city in ruins…1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished...historical-fiction · fantasy · witches-wizards · fiction · historical · mystery · magic · audiobook · magical-realism · season-summer -
![The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry]()
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, a mythic, magical tale full of secret scholarship, faerie curses, and the deadliest spells of all—the ones that friends cast on each other. All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it. 1921...fantasy · historical-fiction · historical · fae · dark-academia · fiction · portal-travel · alternate-history · supernatural · horror -
![Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly]()
Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly
The delightful debut of a Regency historical mystery featuring Jane Austen’s indefatigable Emma Knightley! Perfect for fans of Anna Lee Huber, Darcie Wilde, Claudia Gray, and Stephanie Barron. Less than one year into her marriage to respected magistrate George Knightley, Emma has grown unusually content in her newfound partnership and refreshed sense of independence...romance · mystery · historical-fiction · historical · industrial-era · regency · cozy · retellings · fiction · murder -
![A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire]()
A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire
A BRAND NEW spicy historical romance series, featuring a cast of deadly damsels! Wallflower at risk of ruin…Secret femme-fatale in training Millicent Whittenburg needs to escape her unpleasant betrothal. Taking matters into her own hands, she plans her eventual ruin! Then she can disappear from society to carry out the Queen’s deadly missions...romance · historical-fiction · historical · mystery · steamy · family · forced-proximity · arranged-marriage · slow-burn · military -
![Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood]()
Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood
On the island of Zakynthos, nothing is more powerful than Desire―love itself, bottled and sold to the highest bidder by Leandros, a power-hungry descendent of the god Eros.Eirene and her beloved twin sister, Phoebe, have always managed to escape Desire’s thrall. Until Leandros’ wife dies mysteriously and he sets his sights on Phoebe...romance · fantasy · wlw · myths · retellings · lgbtq · young-adult · fiction · lesbian-mc · historical -
![Red in Tooth and Claw by Lish McBride]()
Red in Tooth and Claw by Lish McBride
Faolan Kelly’s grandfather is dead. She’s alone in the world and suddenly homeless, all because the local powers that be don’t think a young man of sixteen is mature enough to take over his grandfather’s homestead…and that’s with them thinking Faolan is a young man. If she revealed that her grandfather had been disguising her for years, they would marry her off at the first opportunity...fantasy · young-adult · horror · paranormal · historical-fiction · fiction · urban-fantasy · western · children-books · historical -
![Tomb of the Sun King by Jacquelyn Benson]()
Tomb of the Sun King by Jacquelyn Benson
Respectable lady scholars shouldn’t be dodging evildoers, escaping lost tombs, and chasing down magical artifacts.Archivist and suffragette Ellie Mallory always dreamed of putting her scholarly skills to work in the ancient sands of Egypt. She never imagined she would be doing so in order to save an object of legendary power from a batch of ruthless villains... -
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![Our Second Master by Twentine]()
Our Second Master by Twentine
What would you say is the most valuable thing in this world?A mountain of gold and silver? Wrong.Then what is it? The return of the prodigal son... -
![How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo]()
How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo
If a fairy godmother can get one sister into a marriage, getting another out of one should be easy… Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick—her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated her like a slave...romance · fantasy · retellings · audiobook · cozy · humor · fiction · historical-fiction · mystery · urban-fantasy -
![The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb]()
The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb
Dybbuks.Illegal printing.A genderqueer lesbian with a knife.Set against a backdrop of literary censorship and growing Jewish political consciousness, Sydney Taylor and Stonewall award-winning Sacha Lamb's sophomore novel is a soaring exploration of identity, survival, and ultimately, hope.On the night before her wedding, 17-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life...fantasy · young-adult · lgbtq · fiction · historical-fiction · historical · wlw · mystery · murder · magic -
![A Vile Season by David Ferraro]()
A Vile Season by David Ferraro
Bridgerton meets The Bachelor in this queer regency romance of a vampire competing for the heart of a duke.After being run out of his castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian encounters the god of vampires, Vrykolakas, while in hiding...romance · young-adult · vampires · lgbtq · fantasy · historical · historical-fiction · paranormal · mlm · fiction -
![Love Immortal by Kit Vincent]()
Love Immortal by Kit Vincent
Perfect for fans of vampires, romantic fantasy, and dark academia.Jonathan Evergreen is a talented sophomore at a prestigious, isolated college in Vermont, who dreams of a career in book conservation. But Jonathan’s life isn’t as rosy as it may appear. Disowned by his family after they caught him with another boy, he struggles to overcome heartbreak and support himself through his studies...romance · fantasy · lgbtq · vampires · historical · paranormal · mlm · dark-academia · gothic · slow-burn -
![Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris]()
Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
In this fresh-yet-familiar gothic tale―part historical fantasy, part puzzle-box mystery―the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power.At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is...wlw · mystery · lgbtq · fantasy · paranormal · retellings · dark-academia · murder · whodunit · historical-fiction -
![This Cursed House by Del Sandeen]()
This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth. They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it. In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see...horror · historical · gothic · historical-fiction · fiction · thriller · season-autumn · poc-mc · racism · black-mc -
![Dagger of the Tsar by Emma Ilene]()
Dagger of the Tsar by Emma Ilene
Sharp as a blade and steeped in legend, this Anastasia-inspired fantasy follows a heroine stained with terrible power and a dangerous past—perfect for fans of Powerless and Red Queen.Cold, beautiful, distant. Valyants are the god-like, magical elite who rule in the new tsar’s imperial court...fantasy · young-adult · retellings · royalty · historical-fiction · fiction · magic · high-fantasy · romantic-love · lgbtq
