Top new historical-fiction books out this week: 28 Sep - 4 Oct 2025
Last updated:
October 4, 2025
This week featuring new releases by Lily King, Stephanie Garber, Akwaeke Emezi, Chanel Cleeton, T. Kingfisher, Lorna Cook, Andrea Penrose, Joanne Bischof, Joanne Bischof DeWitt, Roseanna M. White, Meagan Church and many more.
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Heart the Lover by Lily King
“Lily King has written another masterpiece. This book overflows with her brilliance and her heart. We are so lucky.” —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time TomorrowFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first loveYou knew I’d write a book about you someday... -
![Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber]()
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
It starts with a class in an old movie theater.Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor.Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction. There isn’t a man in Hollywood who you can call to find out the time you’ll die. There’s not a haunted hotel bar in Los Angeles that the devil likes to frequent. There’s no such thing as magic.But . .romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · dark-academia · paranormal · urban-fantasy · horror · supernatural · book -
![Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi]()
Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi
From New York Times bestselling author Akwaeke Emezi comes a steamy paranormal romance set in the Black South—a bold new foray that takes us on a journey of magic and fantasy, from the whispering creeks outside the city of Salvation to the very depths of Hell itself...romance · fantasy · fiction · lgbtq · paranormal · low-fantasy · poc-mc · historical-fiction · myths · horror -
![The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton]()
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton
A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women in this unforgettable novel from New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton...europe · british-isles · united-kingdom · england · urban · historical-fiction · fiction · mystery · historical · female-mc -
![What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher]()
What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
The next novella in the New York Times bestselling Sworn Soldier series, featuring Alex Easton investigating the dark, mysterious depths of a coal mine in AmericaAlex Easton does not want to visit America.They particularly do not want to visit an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia with a reputation for being haunted.But when their old friend Dr...horror · fantasy · gothic · fiction · lgbtq · historical-fiction · spooky · season-autumn · audiobook · dark -
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![The Distant Daughter by Lorna Cook]()
The Distant Daughter by Lorna Cook
Singapore, 1941: Singapore City lights up with explosions as the first Japanese bombs rain down. Until now, the war has seemed a distant threat for Issey and her friends, drinking and dancing at Raffles. But with the Japanese invasion looming, Issey knows she must leave. Mysterious, handsome Alex Cartwright has sworn he will see her to safety...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · family · war · ww2 · action-adventure · survival · death -
![Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose]()
Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose
Beyond the gilded ballrooms and salons of Regency London lurks a sinister web of intrigue and deception, and when a murder occurs during a scientific meeting at the Royal Society's stately headquarters at Somerset House, Lord Wrexford and Charlotte are the perfect pair to unravel it. But it aoon becomes clear that things are not what they seem . .mystery · historical-fiction · historical · industrial-era · regency · audiobook · amateur-sleuth · sci-fi · crime · cozy -
![The Heart of Bennet Hollow by Joanne Bischof, Joanne Bischof DeWitt]()
The Heart of Bennet Hollow by Joanne Bischof, Joanne Bischof DeWitt
An Appalachian farmer’s daughter and a wealthy businessman find a surprising love but must reckon with what divides them in this retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice by the award-winning author of The Lady and the Lionheart .New River, Virginia. 1904...romance · historical-fiction · christian · fiction · historical · retellings · audiobook · rural · small-town · womens-fiction -
![The Christmas Book Flood by Roseanna M. White]()
The Christmas Book Flood by Roseanna M. White
In this charming World War II historical romance novella inspired by Jolabokaflod, Iceland’s Christmas Book Flood, an author falls in love with a man who doesn’t know he is her editor.Iceland. December 1944. Tatiana Eliasdottir is looking forward to welcoming her niece Elea for Christmas. She’s determined to give the little girl a joyful holiday and take her mind off troubles at home...romance · historical-fiction · christian · audiobook · historical · fiction · ww2 · spirituality · 20th-century · holidays -
![The Mad Wife: A Novel by Meagan Church]()
The Mad Wife: A Novel by Meagan Church
With odes of The Bell Jar comes a searing historical suspense following a 1950s housewife who, when a mysterious new wife moves across the way, begins to unearth dark secrets about her neighborhood and her own mind. In the 1950s, nothing is valued more than conformity, and Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the ideal housewife...historical-fiction · fiction · horror · mystery · historical · feminism · literary-fiction · thriller · suspense · psychological -
![The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes]()
The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes
An inmersive, historical novel based on true events: In 1938, Orson Welles’ legendary radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds terrified Americans into believing Martians were invading. Eleven years later, an Ecuadorian radio station adapted the show—with catastrophic consequences...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · mystery · suspense · historical · domestic-drama · hispanic · book · adult -
![So Blooms the Dawn by Julie C. Dao]()
So Blooms the Dawn by Julie C. Dao
Freshly vampiric Lucy Westenra thirsts for revenge in the second and final book of this Dracula retelling from critically acclaimed author Julie C. Dao.Lucy Westenra, the flirtatious, wealthy, and beautiful debutante who once dazzled London society, is no more. Manipulated into thinking that Vlad understood her fervent darkness, she has become his bitter, blood-spattered, and lifeless bride...romance · horror · vampires · new-adult · fantasy · retellings · poc-author · spooky · historical-fiction · cannibalism -
![Everyone a Stranger by Kevin O'Brien]()
Everyone a Stranger by Kevin O'Brien
In this brilliant, twisting historical suspense thriller set during World War II, a young war widow is unwittingly drawn into a sinister web of intrigue and murder.Washington D.C., 1943: Virginia Abrams believed the war had taken all it could from her when her husband was killed in the Philippines...north-america · usa · washington-dc · urban · washington · historical-fiction · mystery · fiction · historical · suspense -
![Love in the Castle Library by Ann Swindell]()
Love in the Castle Library by Ann Swindell
Predictability and efficiency have marked Delphine DuVert’s orderly life as Castle Stewardess in the small European country of Lethersby—until she is tasked by the monarchy to hire a British researcher. Lethersby needs help solving the 100-year-old mystery of their Lost Queen, a young royal who disappeared into the night during World War I... -
![The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy]()
The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy
In the second installment of Diana Quincy’s steamy Victorian historical romance series, a Persuasion retelling, an Arab-American young woman is reunited with the lost love of her youth and forced to reckon with their past and undying tension.American Naila Darwish always regretted calling off her engagement to the man she loved because he wasn’t successful enough for her family...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · industrial-era · victorian · historical · poc-mc · regency · female-mc · adaptations -
![Winterset by Tiffany Odekirk]()
Winterset by Tiffany Odekirk
A hidden past. A house with secrets. And one chance for two wounded hearts to find love together.Northern England, Late Fall, 1820Katherine Lockwood is hiding for her life in the most unlikely of places: the forgotten priest holes in the abandoned Winterset Grange manor house. When Kate learns that Winterset’s long-absent owner, Mr...romance · industrial-era · regency · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · mystery · secrets · drama · gothic -
![I Am You by Victoria Redel]()
I Am You by Victoria Redel
In 1600s Amsterdam, two women—a painter and her assistant—defy the norms of their time as they take on the male-dominated art world and fall in love—from “fantastic prose writer” (Vulture) and “true master” (Guernica), Victoria Redel.“I loved it in a way that is no doubt different than other books I have loved...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · lgbtq · wlw · literary-fiction · female-mc · romantic-love · book · adult -
![Daedalus Is Dead by Seamus Sullivan]()
Daedalus Is Dead by Seamus Sullivan
A delirious and gripping story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the reimagined destinies of Greek mythic figures Daedalus, Icarus, King Minos, and the Minotaur.Daedalus of Crete is many things. The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur...fantasy · retellings · myths · audiobook · fiction · historical-fiction · literary-fiction · male-author · horror · dark -
![The Nanny's Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett]()
The Nanny's Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett
Mary Poppins meets Bridgerton in a feel-good blend of cozy fantasy magic, historical romance, humor, and Victorian era charm, as a recent graduate of the Parasol Academy for Exceptional Nannies and Governesses finds her supernatural abilities are little help when it comes to falling for the shy, mysterious inventor who happens to be her employer . .romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · paranormal · magic · industrial-era · victorian · cozy -
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![A House Between Sea and Sky by Beth Cato]()
A House Between Sea and Sky by Beth Cato
In 1920s California, two people in need of healing find strange refuge in a house with a mind of its own in an enthralling fantasy by the author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge.Grieving Hollywood writer Fayette Wynne arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1926 to finish her latest project in peace...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · fiction · magical-realism · historical · sci-fi · myths · urban-fantasy · 20th-century -
![The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney]()
The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney
For readers of Our Wives Under the Sea and The Once and Future Witches comes a feminist gothic tale with a tough-as-nails female protagonist who must find her elderly aunt, long suspected of being a witch. A spooky, atmospheric, and fast-paced feminist tale about women called witches and the parts of our history we’d rather forgetMadeline is missing...horror · gothic · mystery · fiction · historical · witches-wizards · historical-fiction · female-mc · ghosts · supernatural -
![The Bristol Scholar by Kate Somers]()
The Bristol Scholar by Kate Somers
One risky romance can ruin a woman... 1884. Bristol, England.Twenty-year-old Evangeline Moore has endured three tedious seasons in London at her family's behest. Bold, intelligent, and aspirational, Evangeline wants nothing to do with husband-hunting. So, finally granted freedom to choose her future, she seizes the opportunity to attend University College, Bristol...
