Reviews

Reviews of some 25,000+ historical fiction books

Serpent Visions

By Jinny Webber - Published 2025

Genres:

While most can recall the Greek heroes Odysseus and Oedipus, most (including me) would not remember the name of the blinded seer who ...Read Review

Words Matter: The Story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, and the White Rose Resistance

By Anita Pazner - By Sophie Casson (illus.) - Published 2025

Genres:

Biographical FictionChildren/Young Adult

This fictionalized biography in verse for middle-grade readers narrates the story of siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, members of the White Rose Resistance ...Read Review

A Fine Piece of Jade

By Katy Phoon - Published 2025

Genres:

Set in the years leading up to and during the Second Sino-Japanese War, also called the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and ...Read Review

The Great Mann

By Kyra Davis Lurie - Published 2025

Genres:

In October 1945, Charlie Trammell comes back to the US after harrowing years as a medic in WWII. Charlie, a 25-year-old Black man who ...Read Review

The Cardinal

By Alison Weir - Published 2025

Genres:

Biographical Fiction

The Cardinal is Alison Weir’s most impressive novel to date. This reviewer has read them all. In it, Weir explores Cardinal Wolsey’...Read Review

The Devil Three Times

By Rickey Fayne - Published 2025

Genres:

Saga

Rickey Fayne’s debut novel is an ambitious family saga that spans 175 years of history, from the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade ...Read Review

The One and Only Vivian Stone

By Melissa O'Connor - Published 2025

Genres:

The One and Only Vivian Stone is a dual-period novel which begins in modern-day California with Margot DuBois as she deals with the ...Read Review

American Sky

By Carolyn Dasher - Published 2025

Genres:

In Oklahoma in 1908, young Adele wears overalls with no interest in ladylike activities. By World War I, she’s repairing farm machinery and ...Read Review

The Show Woman

By Emma Cowing - Published 2025

Genres:

The Show Woman takes place in Scotland, in 1910-11, and charts the tribulations faced by a circus of female performers. When her father ...Read Review

The Original

By Nell Stevens - Published 2025

Genres:

Literary

Set at the end of the 19th century, The Original is the story of Grace Inderwick, who lives with rich relatives in Oxfordshire. ...Read Review