Weekly Book Recs 48/2025: Historical Fiction
- Apollo Imperium
- Nov 28, 2025
- 6 min read
7 BOOK SUGGESTIONS EVERY FRIDAY –– A MIX OF INDIE AND TRADITIONAL PUBLISHED BOOKS
There is power in reading stories of times that have already passed. Though those times may not always have been less choatic or stressful, there are lessons there from which we can learn in our current, crazy world. With this week's recs, we're featuring seven historical fiction novels. Some very well known, like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and some lesser known ones like Etched in Stone. You're sure to find one you have never seen before yet.
"The Isle across Acheron" by Denali Majesto
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 4.91
Journey to an island where the magic is real, hope is reborn, and the dead live on ...
The year is 1918. War rages across Europe. A strange and deadly new disease has struck fear into the heart of a nation. But for Walter, Peter, and Pip, the three young Luther boys, life in Pennsylvania coal-mining country means blissful days playing in the glade and forests along the shores of Lake Acheron. Together with their best friend Hattie, they partake of the wonder and magic of the whimsical games Rosalie Luther—better known as “Mama”—invents for them. When the schools are closed to protect the students from contracting the deadly virus, the children rejoice at the promise of an indefinite holiday.
After “The Flu” claims the life of someone close to them, their world seems shattered beyond repair—until they discover an impossible island where the dead live on. In this place of goblins, dragons, and enchanted gardens, the magic which used to exist only in imagination is made real. Yet even as they bask in the light of hope reborn, a new darkness settles over their home, threatening to send their family into an even deeper ruin ...
"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 4.17
A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
"Etched in Stone" by Veronique Wallrapp
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 4.25
The year is 1987, when Ava Martel; a history aficionado, and her best friend Carri, set sail to explore the world. They are on a journey seeking adventure, but their endeavor is met with calamity, and it concludes the loss of everything and everyone she loves.
Ava inexplicably finds herself catapulted back in time to pre-revolutionary France where she discovers that her survival has come accompanied by new powers, ones that she cannot begin to fathom the repercussions of.
Here she meets Gabriel Chabot; a part-time smuggler and a full-time nobleman. On a windswept night, he drags her broken body off the beach and offers her a life and a love she never dreamed possible. As France hurtles headlong toward open war and the rise of the guillotine; Ava finds her life in peril and finds herself torn-- between the man she loves in the past-- and the future where she belongs.
"A Promise" by Amelia Martin
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 4.42
In the turbulent aftermath of World War I, Germany is a nation reeling from hardship and chaos. Here, three friends—Elisabeth, Adam, and Hannah—find comfort in each other as they grow up in these challenging times. Their lives take a dramatic turn with the rise of Adolf Hitler, testing their bond in ways they never imagined.
As Hitler's Final Solution sweeps across the country, Adam and Hannah are thrust into a perilous situation, fighting for survival. Elisabeth, too, faces her own battles, confronting a hidden enemy who threatens her very existence. The promise they made to stick together is put to the ultimate test.
Their stories diverge, leading each on an unexpected journey through a world torn apart by conflict.
This captivating narrative delves into the resilience of friendship and the human spirit during one of the most difficult periods in history, exploring how far one can go to keep a promise in the face of overwhelming odds.
"The Green Cygnet" by Mary Lay
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 5
Nestled between Devon and Dorset on the south coast of England, for the people of Wynn Vale time passes slowly. Argus Sansom is dead, leaving the Green Cygnet Inn to his adult children. His son, Magnes, is missing presumed dead in France. His youngest daughter Nell dreams of leaving the Vale and getting on in life. Molly, at twenty-five and the middle child, is determined to run the Inn despite plenty of opposition.
Over the course of a year, follow Molly and Nell as they navigate the demands of running a country inn. With the backdrop of the seasonal events and festivities of rural England in the inter-war years, The Green Cygnet offers a glimpse of a community touched by loss and distrustful of outsiders.
"The Loneliness of Horses" by Andrea Thalasinos
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 3.86
Two women, two centuries, and one unforgettable bond with horses.
Spanning two continents and two centuries, The Loneliness of Horses by Andrea Thalasinos is a moving historical novel about survival, resilience, and the profound connection between humans and animals.
In 1972 Arizona, Evie, a single mother escaping an abusive past, finds solace in an unexpected companion—a fugitive mustang seeking refuge at her ranch. As she rebuilds her life in the high desert, she discovers that trust, freedom, and healing can come from the most unexpected places.
In 18th-century Nova Scotia, Belle, a Highland Scot forced from her homeland, arrives in Canada with little more than her survival instincts and a deep love for her horses. In an unfamiliar and often hostile land, her strength is tested as she struggles to build a new life.
Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, The Horse Whisperer, and Outlander, The Loneliness of Horses is a powerful novel that blends historical fiction, women’s fiction, and animal-human bonds in a way that will resonate deeply with readers.
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
Goodreads Rating: ⭐️ 4.59
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
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