Top new historical-fiction books in January 2026
Last updated:
January 29, 2026
January 2026 featuring new releases by Donna Everhart, Janice Hadlow, May Cobb, Ryan Douglass, India Holton, Isabel Ibañez, Shen Tao, S.F. Williamson, June Hur, Sharon Lynn Fisher and many more.
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Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart
Accused of “promiscuity” in 1940s North Carolina, a young woman unjustly incarcerated and subjected to involuntary medical treatment at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women decides to fight back in this powerful, shockingly timely novel based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, the government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half...north-america · usa · north-carolina · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · feminism · 20th-century · psychological · family -
![Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow]()
Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow
Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow is a beautifully evocative historical novel about the perils of an all-consuming love affair. From the author of The Other Bennet Sister.I could never understand a medium in love, I must love with my whole heart and soul, my whole existence, know no happiness or misery but from the object of my passion . . .England, 1794...romance · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · drama · audiobook · industrial-era · regency · book · adult -
![All the Little Houses by May Cobb]()
All the Little Houses by May Cobb
Adults can behave badly too... It's the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas. Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can't get for herself… well, that's what her mother is for...north-america · usa · texas · mystery · fiction · historical-fiction · suspense · thriller · female-mc · murder -
![The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass]()
The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass
From New York Times bestselling author Ryan Douglass comes a gripping and tender reimagining of The Great Gatsby about the pursuit of happiness—and love—in a society built on cruelty and secrets.Seventeen-year-old Nick Carrington wants nothing more than to leave Greenwood, Oklahoma, behind and make a name for himself in the papers. But when tragedy strikes, dreams turn into a twisted reality...romance · young-adult · historical-fiction · retellings · lgbtq · historical · high-school · coming-of-age · poc-mc · 20th-century -
romance · historical-fiction · gothic · multi-pov · historical · friends-to-lovers · fantasy · dark-academia · fiction · book
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![Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez]()
Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez
A lush, atmospheric and achingly magical standalone adult fantasy romance set in Renaissance Italy from a #1 New York Times bestselling author.In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · paranormal · new-adult · book · adult -
![The Poet Empress by Shen Tao]()
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.Wei Yin is desperate...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · audiobook · high-fantasy · sword-sorcery · myths · epic -
![A War of Wyverns by S.F. Williamson]()
A War of Wyverns by S.F. Williamson
Who is Vivien Featherswallow?Is she The Swallow, the most wanted rebel in all of Britannia? Is she a Brasstongue on the cusp of translating a new language? Or is she just Viv, the girl who lost the love of her life after playing spy?Though this war might have begun with bombs and teeth, it will be fought with tongues...romance · fantasy · dragons · young-adult · historical · historical-fiction · dark-academia · audiobook · fiction · alternate-history -
![Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher]()
Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher
A tea leaf reader in nineteenth-century England falls in love—and in danger—with a reclusive alchemist in an enthralling historical fantasy by the author of Salt & Broom and Grimm Curiosities.Cornwall, 1854. The people of Roche have always whispered about the recluse in the black granite tower that looms above the moorland...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · mystery · gothic · vampires · cozy · paranormal -
![A Pretender's Murder by Christopher Huang]()
A Pretender's Murder by Christopher Huang
Colonel Russell before the War had four sons; now he has four widowed daughters-in-law, each facing the aftermath in her own iconic way...mystery · historical-fiction · crime · amateur-sleuth · thriller · historical · suspense · fiction · book · adult -
![Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane]()
Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane
Inspired by true, long-buried stories of enslaved people who dared to fight back, a searing portrayal of resistance for readers of Colson Whitehead, Jesmyn Ward, and Percival Everett, from Clay Cane, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Grift...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · civil-war · slavery · social-commentary · poc-mc · lgbtq · female-mc · black-mc -
![Fire Sword and Sea: A Novel by Vanessa Riley]()
Fire Sword and Sea: A Novel by Vanessa Riley
The real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! From Vanessa Riley, acclaimed author of Queen of Exiles, comes a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary seventeenth-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye.The Caribbean Sea, 1675. Jacquotte Delahaye is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga...historical-fiction · historical · fiction · outlaws · nautical · lgbtq · poc-author · black-mc · female-mc · action-adventure -
![Fruit of the Flesh by I.V. Ophelia]()
Fruit of the Flesh by I.V. Ophelia
Behind the glamour of Gilded Age New York, a marriage of convenience between an artisan and a ballerina masks their shared appetite for revenge in this darkly seductive gothic romance.In early 1900s New York, former ballerina Petronille De Villier makes an unconventional choice: Marry struggling sculptor Arkady Kamenev. For her, it’s an escape from her family’s unsavory legacy...romance · gothic · historical · historical-fiction · horror · dark · dark-academia · fantasy · fiction · marriage-of-convenience -
![First Tilt: Broken Lances 0.5 by Lucien Burr]()
First Tilt: Broken Lances 0.5 by Lucien Burr
HEATED RIVALRY meets A KNIGHT'S TALE A NAMELESS KNIGHT. A CHAMPION'S FALL. A SQUIRE CAUGHT BETWEEN. When the mysterious Alaric challenges Ser Halden, an undefeated tournament champion who clawed his way up from nothing, their confrontation sparks more than rivalry...romance · fantasy · mlm · polyamory · lgbtq · historical · historical-fiction · steamy · sci-fi · fiction -
![On Living Stone: Salome's Story by Heather Kaufman]()
On Living Stone: Salome's Story by Heather Kaufman
Growing up by the Sea of Galilee, Salome is restless to find her place and purpose. Because of her wild temperament and quick tongue, some claim she'll never secure a future. When Adonai gifts her both a husband and sons, Salome is determined to silence her critics and prove she can be a good mother to her boys, James and John... -
![A Spell for Drowning by Rebecca Ferrier]()
A Spell for Drowning by Rebecca Ferrier
This stunning historical fantasy debut is steeped in the salt and superstition of the Cornish coast, full of forgotten sirens, mischievous sea gods, and the lore from days long since passed. Perfect for readers of Circe and The Bear and the Nightingale...fantasy · historical-fiction · witches-wizards · magic · myths · fiction · historical · nautical · low-fantasy · romantic-love -
![Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban]()
Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban
Mean Girls meets Northanger Abbey in this brand new, sapphic, rivals-to-lovers Regency Romance by USA Today bestselling author Emma R. Alban!When country-bred Catherine Pine relocates to Bath in 1817, she and her mother come face-to-face with her mother’s arch nemesis, Lady Tisend, and her daughter, the wildly popular and gorgeous Lady Rosalie. Though once her very best friend, Mrs...romance · wlw · historical-fiction · lgbtq · historical · fiction · lesbian-mc · audiobook · industrial-era · regency -
![A Wounded Gentleman by Gabbi Grey]()
A Wounded Gentleman by Gabbi Grey
HenryI’ve returned home from the war in France one-armed and defeated. While I was fighting at Waterloo, my father, brother, and sister-in-law all died, leaving me alone to raise my baby niece. I'm a broken man, and this new battle feels impossible to win. Only the assistance of my valet Percy, who refuses to leave my employ, offers me any hope...romance · historical · mlm · lgbtq · disability · historical-fiction · fiction · industrial-era · regency · book -
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![The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad]()
The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad
For fans of Karen Russell and Carmen Maria Machado, The Age of Calamities is a genre-defying, mind-bending collection of absurdist, funny, and speculative short stories.In this bold and enchanting collection Senaa Ahmad takes license with history and its players, sending the reader on a thrilling ride... -
![Sheer by Vanessa Lawrence]()
Sheer by Vanessa Lawrence
An electrifying, propulsive novel about the rise and fall of a controversial beauty mogul and the moral gray areas at the intersections of beauty, power, and ambitionIt’s 2015 and Maxine Thomas, the founder and creative director of the cult makeup company Reveal, has just been suspended by her own Board for a scandalous transgression...fiction · historical-fiction · lgbtq · contemporary · literary-fiction · urban · female-mc · friendship · book · adult -
![George Falls Through Time by Ryan Collett]()
George Falls Through Time by Ryan Collett
Less meets the year 1300 in this exhilarating and thoughtfully genre-defying literary novel about a man transported through time in a moment of extreme stress, whose modern anxieties are replaced by medieval brutalities.Newly laid off George’s internet bill is in his ex-boyfriend’s name. He’s got a spider-infested apartment, and two of the six dogs he’s walking in London have just escaped...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · time-travel · lgbtq · sci-fi · historical · mlm · magical-realism -
![Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan]()
Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan
Seventeen–year–old Jean, a troubled Jewish boy caught in the countercultural swirl of 1970s London, arrives at Compton Manor, a rural alternative boarding school for boys with “problems.” Though he is an outcast among these outcasts, he is befriended by Tom, a much wealthier, more popular classmate, and it seems as if Jean’s world might change... -
![This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud]()
This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud
Amidst the devastation of Ireland’s Great Famine, a young woman is salvaged from certain death when offered a mysterious position at a remote manor house haunted by a strange power and the horror of her own memories in this chillingly evocative historical novel braided with gothic horror and supernatural suspense for readers of Katherine Arden’s The Warm Hands of Ghosts and The Silence Factory...horror · historical-fiction · gothic · historical · paranormal · fiction · haunted-places · spooky · suspense · book -
![The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams]()
The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father...historical-fiction · historical · family · fiction · mystery · poc-author · female-mc · literary-fiction · black-mc · poc-mc -
![The Bookbinder's Secret by A.D. Bell]()
The Bookbinder's Secret by A.D. Bell
Every book tells a story. This one tells a secret. A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder. Lilian ("Lily") Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life...
