Top new historical-fiction books in May 2025
Last updated:
May 31, 2025
May 2025 featuring new releases by Jeanine Cummins, Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle, Martha Hall Kelly, Anthony Horowitz, Tessa Dare, Anna Hope, Joe Abercrombie, Guy Gavriel Kay, Catherine Chidgey, Mary Alice Monroe and many more.
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Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeanine Cummins comes a deeply felt multigenerational family story that asks: What does it mean to call a place home?On her wedding day in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1968, Rafaela Acuña y Daubón has mild misgivings, but she marries Peter Brennan Jr. anyway, in a blaze of romantic optimism...fiction · historical-fiction · audiobook · family · historical · literary-fiction · season-summer · hispanic · book · adult -
![My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle]()
My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle
In this spellbinding historical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and The Wind Knows My Name, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.In San Francisco 1866, an Irish nun, left pregnant and abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia Del Valle...north-america · usa · california · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · literary-fiction · latinx-mc · romantic-love · mystery -
![The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly]()
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly
Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events, from the New York Timesbestselling author of Lilac Girls.“A dreamy beach book that also sizzles with tension . . . another winner by one of the best historical fiction writers around...north-america · usa · massachusetts · historical-fiction · fiction · ww2 · historical · audiobook · season-summer · war -
![Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz]()
Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Murder links past and present once again in this mind-boggling metafictional mystery from Anthony Horowitz—another tribute to the golden age of Agatha Christie featuring detective Atticus Pund and editor Susan Ryland, stars of the New York Times bestsellers Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders...mystery · fiction · audiobook · crime · law-enforcement · contemporary · cozy · murder · killer · historical-fiction -
![The “Manfatuation” by Tessa Dare]()
The “Manfatuation” by Tessa Dare
This is a rather silly bonus scene from A Lady By Midnight, which I wrote as a reward after my book won a round in a reader contest. Colin teaches Thorne to waltz...romance · historical · industrial-era · regency · historical-fiction · humor · fiction · book · adult -
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![Albion by Anna Hope]()
Albion by Anna Hope
A finely crafted, propulsive, and nuanced story of family, inheritance, and accountability that shakes the country house novel to its foundations from the internationally acclaimed author of Expectation.The Brookes are gathering in their eighteenth-century ancestral home—twenty bedrooms of carved Sussex sandstone—to bury their patriarch, Philip...fiction · literary-fiction · family · historical-fiction · contemporary · audiobook · drama · book · adult -
![The Devils by Joe Abercrombie]()
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds. Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends...fantasy · horror · historical-fiction · dark · dark-fantasy · fiction · epic · high-fantasy · historical · grim-dark -
![Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay]()
Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago comes a majestic new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France.Thierry Villar is a well-known--even notorious-- tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power... -
![The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey]()
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
In an alternate world where nobody won WWII, three brothers are the only boys left in an orphanage whose dark secret is the reason for their existence—and the key to their survival—from the acclaimed author of Pet.After a very different outcome to WWII than the one history recorded, 1979 England is a country ruled by a government whose aims have sinister underpinnings and alliances...europe · british-isles · united-kingdom · england · fiction · historical-fiction · dystopia · mystery · sci-fi · literary-fiction -
![Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe]()
Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe
"This is book club fiction at its finest!" —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes her highly anticipated Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South... -
![Shopgirls by Jessica Anya Blau]()
Shopgirls by Jessica Anya Blau
From the author of the “delightful” (New York Times Book Review) Mary Jane, a new novel of found family, growing up, and the best and worst of the 1980s, revolving around San Francisco’s most exclusive department store, I. Magnin.Nineteen-year-old Zippy can hardly believe she’s the newest and youngest salesgirl at I. Magnin, “San Francisco’s Finest Department Store... -
![The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris]()
The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris
From the New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Ways We Hide She came from a lineage known for good fortune…by those who don't know the whole story. Portland, 1888. Amid the subterranean labyrinth of the notorious Shanghai Tunnels, a woman awakens in an underground cell, drugged and disguised...north-america · usa · oregon · urban · romance · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · audiobook · womens-fiction -
![The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien]()
The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien
A novel that leaps across centuries past and future, as if different eras were separated by only a door.Lina and her father have arrived at an enclave called The Sea, a staging-post between migrations, with only a few possessions. In this mysterious and shape-shifting place, a building made of time, pasts and futures collide... -
![The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling]()
The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror.Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed...horror · fantasy · historical-fiction · lgbtq · fiction · historical · wlw · gothic · lesbian-mc · medieval -
![Anima Rising by Christopher Moore]()
Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore comes a hilariously deranged tale of a mad scientist, a famous painter, and an undead woman’s electrifying journey of self-discovery.Vienna, 1911. Gustav Klimt, the most famous painter in the Austrian Empire, the darling of Viennese society, spots a woman’s nude body in the Danube canal...fantasy · fiction · historical-fiction · humor · audiobook · historical · comedy · magical-realism · supernatural · mystery -
![The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin]()
The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin
Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier following enigmatic visions that started coming to him after he survived one of the war's bloodiest battles . . .Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after an explosion at the Battle of Antietam...horror · fantasy · western · historical-fiction · fiction · sci-fi · historical · action-adventure · cosmic-horror · civil-war -
![Forged by Danielle Teller]()
Forged by Danielle Teller
A thrilling and immersive tale of an impoverished woman turned con-artist by the critically acclaimed author of All the Ever AftersIn the Gilded Age, a time of abject poverty and obscene wealth, a desperate and ambitious young woman strikes out for a new life in the rising industrial cities of America...historical-fiction · fiction · audiobook · historical · literary-fiction · female-author · outlaws · crime · feminism · female-mc -
![The Famine Orphans by Patricia Falvey]()
The Famine Orphans by Patricia Falvey
A powerful, captivating novel of historical fiction from the acclaimed author of The Titanic Sisters, based on the little-known story of the thousands of young women sent from Irish workhouses to Australia after the Famine.1848: The girls, 4,000 in all, come from every part of Ireland—from the shores of Galway to the Glens of Ulster and Belfast’s teeming streets—to board ships bound for Australia...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · womens-fiction · coming-of-age · female-mc · family · book · adult -
![The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei]()
The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei
In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child...asia · southeast-asia · singapore · urban · fiction · historical-fiction · contemporary · literary-fiction · family · audiobook -
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![The Vengeance by Emma Newman]()
The Vengeance by Emma Newman
Morgane grew up at sea, daughter of the fierce pirate captain of the Vengeance, raised to follow in her footsteps as scourge of the Four Chains Trading Company. But when Anna-Marie is mortally wounded in battle, she confesses to Morgane that she is not her mother.The captain of the enemy ship reveals he was paid to kill Anna-Marie and bring Morgane home to France and her real family...romance · fantasy · vampires · paranormal · outlaws · historical · lgbtq · fiction · audiobook · dark -
![Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong]()
Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong
Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourth installment in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's gripping Rip Through Time Novels.After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel...romance · mystery · historical-fiction · time-travel · historical · fiction · fantasy · law-enforcement · paranormal · suspense -
![The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman]()
The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman
In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman...romance · historical-fiction · mystery · fiction · historical · cozy · season-spring · feminism · industrial-era · regency -
![The Silversmith's Puzzle by Nev March]()
The Silversmith's Puzzle by Nev March
Captain Jim Agnihotri and Lady Diana Framji return to India as they investigate a murder amidst colonial Bombay's complex hierarchy in March's fourth mystery.In 1894 colonial India, Lady Diana's family has lost their fortune in a global financial slump, but even worse, her brother Adi is accused of murder. Desperate to save him from the gallows, Captain Jim and Lady Diana rush back to Bombay... -
![The Best-Kept Secrets by Sarah M. Eden]()
The Best-Kept Secrets by Sarah M. Eden
With her ever-ready smile, Eve O’Doyle faces life’s challenges with boundless optimism. However, even she finds it difficult to see the silver lining in her parents’ disaster has struck, leaving their genteel family in dire financial straits. But all is not lost. In the name of economizing, Eve will skip the London Season—even if it means dooming herself to spinsterhood... -
![The Artist of Blackberry Grange: A Novel by Paulette Kennedy]()
The Artist of Blackberry Grange: A Novel by Paulette Kennedy
For a young caregiver in the Ozarks, an old house holds haunting memories in a ghostly novel about family secrets, sacrifice, and lost loves by the author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport.In the summer of 1925, the winds of change are particularly chilling for a young woman whose life has suddenly become unbalanced...gothic · historical-fiction · mystery · horror · fiction · paranormal · historical · fantasy · ghosts · magical-realism -
![Copper Script by K.J. Charles]()
Copper Script by K.J. Charles
Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe...romance · historical · mystery · lgbtq · historical-fiction · mlm · fiction · crime · cozy · suspense -
![The Velvet Spy: The Wartime Journal of Lady Gold, Vol. 1 by Lee Strauss]()
The Velvet Spy: The Wartime Journal of Lady Gold, Vol. 1 by Lee Strauss
Step into the courageous world of espionage and resilience. This extraordinary volume unveils the hidden life of Lady Ginger Gold, a daring operative for British Intelligence during the Great War...mystery · ww1 · espionage · action-adventure · historical-fiction · female-mc · military · 20th-century · historical · romance -
![The Bombshell by Darrow Farr]()
The Bombshell by Darrow Farr
A young woman's radicalization sparks a widespread movement and media frenzy in this explosive novel of youthful passion, political awakening and first love, by an extraordinary new talent.“A lush, cinematic and propulsive novel filled with sex, violence, glamor and a true revolutionary spirit. It’s a towering literary achievement.” (Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize winner)Corsica, 1993... -
![We, the Casertas by Aurora Venturini]()
We, the Casertas by Aurora Venturini
From prize–winning author Aurora Venturini, a Gothic masterpiece following a gifted Argentine girl who left for Europe in search of meaning, and the relentless punishments of womanhood in the 1940sIn deliciously ironic, and at times breathtakingly poetic prose, We, the Casertas is the story of Chela, the first-born child to a wealthy family in Buenos Aires...historical-fiction · fiction · contemporary · female-author · family · friendship · breakup · domestic-drama · female-mc · book -
![The Cardinal by Alison Weir]()
The Cardinal by Alison Weir
'Alison Weir makes history come alive as no one else' BARBARA ERSKINEStep into the thrill and intrigue of Tudor England in the rich, compelling new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Alison Weir - and witness the rise and fall of Cardinal Wolsey. It begins with Thomas, the son of a Suffolk tradesman. A brilliant boy sent to study at Oxford at the tender age of eleven...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · audiobook · religion · early-modern · royalty · female-author · family · spirituality -
![Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday]()
Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday
Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton for a 19th century spin on The Hangover in USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday’s laugh-out-loud bromantic comedy featuring three Regency-era Earls on their annual trip—ride-or-die buddies offering one another unconditional support in everything from Lady problems to family woes—especially when this trip is crashed by one earl’s pen pal...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · industrial-era · regency · historical · lgbtq · humor · book · adult -
![A Thousand Distant Shores by Buck Turner]()
A Thousand Distant Shores by Buck Turner
Before Ellie Spencer came to Sims Chapel and caught Jack Bennett’s eye, Sara Coffee had been the brightest star in his universe. Having grown up together, Sara and Jack were best friends, their bond as deep as the river that formed the lake where they spent countless summer days fishing and sharing dreams. But then Ellie Spencer happened, and everything changed...romance · fiction · friendship · family · drama · murder · small-town · slow-burn · male-author · historical-fiction -
![Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi]()
Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi
Award-winning author Tochi Onyebuchi’s new standalone novel is hardboiled fantasy Raymond Chandler meets P. Djèlí Clark in a postcolonial West Africa Fortune always left whatever room I walked into, which is why I don’t leave my place much these days. Veteran and private eye Boubacar doesn’t need much—least of all trouble—but trouble always seems to find him...africa · western-africa · fantasy · mystery · fiction · crime · poc-author · historical-fiction · dystopia · urban-fantasy -
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![Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell]()
Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell
In the late 1980s, a coven of queer witches on New York's Fire Island strives to protect a young man facing a devastating tragedy.A gripping novel of magic, romance, and hope—perfect for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea, the Tales of the City series, and Red, White, and Royal Blue... -
![What Will People Think? by Sara Hamdan]()
What Will People Think? by Sara Hamdan
Mia’s secret comedy career, forbidden office crush, and a long-guarded family secret take center stage, threatening her newfound confidence and her one shot at fame in this hilarious, heartfelt coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld and Etaf Rum.Mia Almas has a secret... -
![Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro]()
Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
A real-life Latin American haunted mansion. A murky labyrinth of family secrets. A young, aristocratic woman desperate to escape her past. This haunting debut gothic horror novel is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and The Shining...south-america · colombia · horror · gothic · historical-fiction · mystery · fiction · historical · latinx-mc · audiobook -
![The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett by David Demchuk, Corinne Leigh Clark]()
The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett by David Demchuk, Corinne Leigh Clark
The story of the vengeful barber Sweeney Todd has gripped fans across literary, stage, and screen renditions—but little has been told of Mrs. Lovett, Todd’s partner in crime. Until now.Enclosed herewith: a bloodcurdling correspondence of horror and intrigue, based on the original Victorian penny dreadful that started it all...horror · historical-fiction · gothic · retellings · historical · fiction · mystery · dark · female-mc · splatterpunk -
![Silver Echoes by Rebecca Rosenberg]()
Silver Echoes by Rebecca Rosenberg
Silver Echoes available on Amazon preorder! Enter to win the GoodReads Giveaway for paperback ARCS! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...A Spellbinding Saga of Ambition, Echoes, and Redemption Based on a true story.1920s, Chicago. A rising starlet’s life takes a dark turn when a traumatic attack reawakens a secret part of herself... -
![Kathryn by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette]()
Kathryn by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette
It's time for the youngest Bellamy sister to fall in love..romance · historical · fiction · historical-fiction · industrial-era · regency · victorian · book · adult -
![The Wycherleys by Annaliese Avery]()
The Wycherleys by Annaliese Avery
Fall head over broomstick in love with this swoon-worthy, witchy romantic fantasy, perfect for fans of Twin Crowns, Divine Rivals and Stephanie Garber.For the Kingdom. For the magic. And for love . . . Seventeen-year-old Aurelia Wycherley is entering her debutante season as a witch. Aurelia should be excited about finding the perfect match to tether her magic to...romance · fantasy · young-adult · magic · witches-wizards · paranormal · historical · historical-fiction · enemies-to-lovers · family
