Historical Fiction - A Week of Recommendations

Hello, everyone! I'm so excited to be sharing A Week of Recommendations with you all! Just to recap quickly, if you missed my post about this you can check it out here and check out the schedule of what genre of books will be posted on what day. Today we're talking about historical fiction novels, which I haven't read much about in the past but I'm really loving lately. Historical fiction has incredible world building amidst the story, and I have some recommendations to share with you all!

no. 1 - The Falconer by Elizabeth May

The Falconer is the sort of story that's unlike anything I've ever read. It's historical fiction meets steampunk meets fantasy and faeries. If that's not unique enough to get your attention, let's add incredible characters and world building, a daring race and mystery set in 1800's Scotland, and one of the most unpredictable stories and endings I read last year. I ended up emailing Cassi of My Thoughts...Literally! about this book because I loved it so much and had to talk to someone about it. The sequel for this one comes out in a few months and I am so excited to continue on with this series.

no. 2 - The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

This is another historical fiction that has some paranormal elements to it. The Red Necklace has a lot of mystery and drama to it. It's set during the French Revolution and tells the story of several very different narrators and protagonists. I loved reading about all the different stories and the mystery and suspense made me so nervous for the characters! I've yet to pick up the sequel but I definitely hope to in the near future.

no. 3 - The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

This is the first novel by Victoria Schwab I've read, but it definitely won't be the last! I loved her storytelling and how this novel was told. It felt like we were drawn in to this old story and tale following Lexi and the mystery of what's going on in the town of Near. Also, for some reason, reading this reminded me of watching Hocus Pocus with my family and so I was totally picturing that old town kind of setting for this novel. 

no. 4 - Sekret by Lindsay Smith

This is a book I read with Cassi and we both really enjoyed it. Sekret is set in Cold War era Soviet Union, and a lot of the novel centers around Yelena and how she is navigating having supernatural powers. I thought the characters in this story were really unique and had a good character dynamic, as well as a story with a lot of mystery and intrigue. I'm really excited to read the sequel soon with Cassi! I also have a review of Sekret posted here.

no. 5 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I read The Book Thief years ago with a friend and I still remember being so moved by that book. It's very unusual- Death is the narrator and it tells the story of a girl living through World War II. Although it's been so long since I've read this book, I think I want to reread it sometime. It's incredibly written and a memorable story.

So, here is the first day of A Week of Recommendations! Let me know if you've read any of these, or want a review of some of the ones I don't have reviews posted for. Also, please share any recommendations for historical fiction in the comments, and don't forget tomorrow's theme is fantasy novels and science fiction, so if you're curious be sure to stop by then, and I would love to hear your recommendations for that as well!

From the paper world,
V