“The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods

Title: The Lost Bookshop
Author: Evie Woods
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2023
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Recommendation from Storygraph

Summary: Escaping an arranged marriage and a tyrannical brother, Opaline eventually finds refuge in a store that seems to be alive. Years later, Henry goes on a quest to find the store and encounters Martha, who is reclaiming her life after leaving her abusive husband. Their stories entwine into a beautiful mosaic that hopefully leads to their happy endings.

Rating: 

“The Daughters of Foxcote Manor” by Eve Chase

Title: The Daughters of Foxcote Manor    
Author: Eve Chase 
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2020
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Sylvie is learning that when it rains, it pours. As she navigates through several family emergencies, she realizes she needs to finally confront her past. It leads her to a property once called Foxcote Manor, where in 1971, Rita arrives with Mrs. Harrington and her children for the summer after a family tragedy. But another one may loom when a baby is found in the woods and an dangerous visitor arrives. The events of that summer reverberate and affect Sylvie’s present and future.

Rating: 

“The Secret Service of Tea and Treason” by India Holton

Title: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason
Author: India Holton 
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2023
Genre(s): historical fiction, historical fantasy, action
Part of a Series: Yes, Book #3. Read my review of Book #2 here.

Why I read it: Because I enjoyed Book #2.

Summary: To uncover and stop a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria, the Agency of Undercover Note Takers (A.U.N.T.) sends their best agents undercover as a pirate and her husband. Agent B (aka Daniel Bixby) is used to the ways of pirates but Agent A (aka Alice Dearborn) struggles to understand their ways. Not helping is her growing attraction to her partner. Will they stop the plot? And what will become of the feelings growing between them?

Rating: 

“The Many Daughters of Afong Moy” by Jamie Ford

Title: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher:  Atria Books    
Year: 2022    
Genre(s): historical fiction, fiction
Part of a Series: No.

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Dorothy has used her mental health struggles to fuel her art. But when they get too much and she worries her daughter will face the same problems, Dorothy undergoes a risky and experimental treatment to find the root of her problems. She learns it may not lie in her own past but the past of her ancestors, several women who have faced their own struggles going all the way back to one of the first Chinese women in America, Afong Moy. Will Dorothy be able to break free from generational trauma? Will she finally be able to find the peace and love she wants for both herself and her daughter?

“The Spanish Daughter” by Lorena Hughes

Title: The Spanish Daughter   
Author: Lorena Hughes   
Publisher:  Kensington Publishing Corp.     
Year: 2022    
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No.

Rating: 

Why I Read It: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Maria Purificacion de Lafont y Toledo, better known as Puri, travels from Spain to Ecuador upon the death of the father who abandoned her and her mother when she was still a child. On the voyage over, she is attacked and her husband Cristobal is killed. Puri decides to assume his identity to help find who wanted her dead. She meets the other family her father had in Ecuador and has to work through years of family secrets to find the truth to solve her husband’s murder and claim her share of her father’s fortune.

“Miss Benson’s Beetle” by Rachel Joyce

Title: Miss Benson’s Beetle
Author: Rachel Joyce   
Publisher:  The Dial Press   
Year: 2020    
Genre(s): historical fiction, adventure
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I Read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: With World War II over, teacher Margery Benson decides to abandon her career and finally pursue her dream of proving the existence of the golden beetle of New Caledonia. She buys the gear, books passage to the other side of the world and engages the services of Ms. Enid Pretty as an assistant. As they journey to New Caledonia, both Margery and Enid take another journey that could change them forever.

“Today We Go Home” by Kelli Estes

Title: Today We Go Home
Author: Kelli Estes
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Landmark
Year: 2019    
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary fiction 
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Discharged from the army and suffering from PTSD after her last tour in Afghanistan, Larkin Bennett returns home and is teetering on the edge. The only thing keeping her from going over is a diary found amongst her late friend’s belongings about Emily Wilson, a woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the Civil War. Though living in a different century, Larkin finds comfort in Emily’s story and realizes she isn’t alone.

“Between Earth and Sky” by Amanda Skenandore

Title: Between Earth and Sky
Author: Amanda Skenandore
Publisher:  Kensington Books
Year: 2018    
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Alma Mitchell is surprised when the morning newspaper contains an article about a her childhood friend and that he is suspected of murdering a federal agent. She convinces her husband to go from Philadelphia to Wisconsin to help him. Going back to Wisconsin and facing Harry or Asku forces Alma to consider their time at a school meant to assimilate Indigenous children into white culture and challenge the lies she has told herself.

"The House on Harbor Hill” by Shelly Stratton

Title: The House on Harbor Hill
Author: Shelly Stratton
Publisher:  Kensington Publishing Corp.
Year: 2018
Genre(s):  historical fiction, contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: After running from her abusive husband, Tracey has nowhere else to go with her two young children. She then receives an invitation from Delilah Grey to come live at her mansion in Camden Beach, Maryland. Tracey accepts and soon her ghosts help Delilah put her own to rest.

“The Lost Melody” by Joanna Davidson Politano

Title: The Lost Melody
Author: Joanna Davidson Politano
Publisher:  Revell
Year: 2022
Genre(s):  historical fiction, gothic fiction, suspense, romance
Part of a Series: Yes, but can be read separately

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Accomplished concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant is surprised when she becomes the guardian of a ward at Hurstwell Asylum. When the asylum insists her ward doesn’t exist, Vivienne goes to investigate herself. But powerful forces conspire against her and she soon finds herself an inmate at Hurstwell. Will she be able to figure out the asylum’s dark secrets and bring light to its patients? Or will she succumb to the darkness and madness herself?

“Sisters of the Resistance” by Christine Wells

Title: Sisters of the Resistance
Author: Christine Wells
Publisher:  William Morris/HarperCollins
Year: 2021
Genre(s):  historical fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Yvette returns to Paris a few years after the end of World War II and is recruited to be a mannequin for Christian Dior’s new fashion house. But this is not her first time working with the legendary designer – or his sister, Catherine. Yvette and her sister Gabrielle must finally come to terms with what they sacrificed and the risks they took in the final days of the Nazi occupation of Paris while working as part of Catherine Dior’s network of spies. Will they finally be able to move on and find happiness in their lives at last?

“The Duchess” by Wendy Holden

Title: The Duchess
Author: Wendy Holden
Publisher:  Berkley
Year: 2021
Genre(s):  historical fiction; romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon an Advent Calendar gift

Summary: As the Duchess of Windsor prepares to bury her husband alongside the royal family and the Commonwealth, she recalls the story of when she was just Wallis Simpson and dreamed of living the life of the rich and famous. She manages to break into a world she had only glimpsed from the distance and her life changes when she gets an invite to the royal home of Edward, the future king of England. As she forms a friendship with David, as he is known, she has no clue that she will be part of history – or that her name will be linked with scandal and infamy for the rest of her life.

“Clover Blue” by Eldonna Edwards

Title: Clover Blue
Author: Eldonna Edwards
Publisher:  Kensington Publishing
Year: 2019
Genre(s): coming of age, historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Summary: Clover Blue has only known the Saffron Love Community, a commune created by a man known as Goji. Blue has a rather unconventional upbringing and education. But when he learns he was not born to someone at SLC, he wants to learn more about where he came from. Will he get his answers? Who is his real family – the one he was born to or the one that found him?

“Circus of Wonders” by Elizabeth Macneal

Title: Circus of Wonders
Author: Elizabeth Macneal
Publisher:  Atria
Year: 2022
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: In the Victorian era, circuses filled with oddities and “freaks” are all the rage. Jasper Jupiter runs one such circus with the help of his brother, Toby. When Nellie is sold to him by her father, Jasper transforms her into a star. Nellie’s fame soon grows and Jasper feels he’s on the verge of achieving his greatest dreams. But when Nellie’s star starts to eclipse his own and his own brother starts to fall for her, will Jasper’s ego be their downfall?

“The League of Gentlewomen Witches” by India Holton

Title: The League of Gentlewomen Witches
Author: India Holton
Publisher:  Berkley Books
Year: 2022
Genre(s): historical fantasy, romance
Part of a Series: Yes, Book #2

Rating: 

Why I read it: Saw it at Barnes and Noble’s and thought it would be a good read

Summary: In the Victorian Age, Charlotte Pettifer is the heir apparent to her family’s coven, a group of high society witches who use their magic to help the less fortunate. Charlotte is also the prophesized heir to Beryl Black, believed to be the first witch. When Beryl’s powerful amulet goes on display at the British Museum, Charlotte tries to claim her inheritance. But she finds herself up against her group’s nemesis – pirates who also lay claim to Beryl Black. When the amulet is stolen, Charlotte finds herself teaming up with pirate Alex O’Riley in order to retrieve it. But will they find more than just the amulet?

“The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary
Author: Sarah Penner
Publisher: Park Row Books
Year: 2021
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Time book club selection

Summary: Heartbroken after discovering her husband’s infidelity, Caroline takes their planned anniversary trip to London on her own. When she finds a little vial with a tiny bear etched it, her old love of history is rekindled. She works to find the story behind the vial and discovers one buried for almost three centuries. In the 18th century, Nella uses her training as an apothecary to help women dispatch the men in their lives who have wrong them. When little Eliza comes to her door asking for a poison on behalf of her mistress, it sets off a series of events that will change everyone’s lives – including Caroline’s.

“The Long Flight Home” by Alan Hlad

Title: The Long Flight Home
Author: Alan Hlad
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp
Year: 2019
Genre(s): historical fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: As Nazi bombs rain down on London, Susan and her grandfather Bertie are pulled into the war effort when Source Columbia recruit their pigeons to carry important information between Britain and occupied France. A young American volunteer named Ollie Evans joins them and a relationship blooms between him and Susan. But when a mission goes wrong and Ollie ends up behind enemy lines, he and Susan only have her beloved pet pigeon Duchess to share messages between each other. Will they be able to make it back to each other? Or will their relationship be another casualty of the war?

"Remembrance" by Rita Woods

Title: Remembrance

Author: Rita Woods
Publisher: Forge
Year: 2019
Genre(s): historical fiction, supernatural
Part of a Series: No.
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Abigail has everything taken from her – her freedom, her real name, her husband and her children. In New Orleans, she discovers a power deep inside her that could give her back at least some of what she’s lost. She creates a safe place for Black people called Remembrance, which becomes home to Winter and eventually Margot, who runs away when her master’s death costs her her promised freedom. Together, they fight to preserve their way of life in Remembrance and as the 21st century continues on, another person may be called to continue their legacy.

“The Lost Vintage” by Ann Mah

Title: The Lost Vintage
Author: Ann Mah
Publisher: William Morrow
Year: 2018
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary fiction
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I Read It: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Kate returns to her family’s vineyard in France to prepare for the prestigious Master of Wine test. While there, she discovers a family secret that dates back to the Nazi Occupation of France. As Kate digs deeper, will she be able to find the truth? And if she does, will it bring only shame…or much needed absolution?

“Where the Lost Wander” by Amy Harmon

Title: Where the Lost Wander
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2020
Genre(s): historical fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Recently widowed, Naomi decides to head west on the Oregon Trail with her family and some friends. At the starting point, she meets John Lowry, who works with his father raising and selling mules to the pioneers getting ready to cross the American frontier. He and Naomi feel pulled toward each other and he decides to join their wagon party to start a new life out west as well. But the Oregon Trail is not kind to the pioneers who traverse it and John Lowry must also contend with the fact that he was born to a white father and a Pawnee mother, a man who has a foot in both worlds but doesn’t feel at home in either. Will he and Naomi survive the trials and challenges of the Oregon Trail? And if so, will they be able to find a life together? Or will life on the Oregon Trail prove too much?