Branching Out: Historical Fiction

Today I want to talk a bit about branching out from our reading comfort zones and learning to express what we love about other genres.

If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know I’m a mystery / suspense / thriller girl! I love everything from cozies to noir to off-the-wall thrillers. But lately I’ve found that by sticking to one genre, I become a bit burnt out.

True, there is SO much variety within the mysteries and thrillers world. But I’m also not growing as much as a reader as I would if I branched out. I made a commitment in late 2018 to push my boundaries, and I’ve loved a lot of my early exploring.

Today I want to talk about some upcoming Historical Fiction books that I’ll be reading with the book besties. For those of you who don’t follow my book bestie Jennifer at Tarheel Reader, she has been my biggest cheerleader in trying out historical fiction. Jennifer’s love of Hist Fic runs deep, and her reviews and our discussions have really opened my heart to what a wonderful genre this is. And there is so much diversity in the genre! I really recommend checking out Jennifer’s recommendations. You can see her whole category of reviews on her blog.

Here are a few things I’ve grown to love about Historical Fiction:

1. They transport me to a time in the past I’d never otherwise be able to visit. And the really well-written ones help me learn more about what made that time period special, challenging, and filled-with-wonder!
2. You can find a crossover of ANY other genre in Historical Fiction. I’ve read historical mysteries, historical romance, historical fantasy, all in the span of just a few endeavors into the genre! So I never feel like I’m leaving other genres behind.
3. There are some truly amazing female characters I’d miss out on if I didn’t read this genre. Women who have struggles entirely different than anything I’ve ever known, and some things that are surprisingly common across the ages.

I want to share three upcoming Historical Fiction books I’ll be reading with the book besties. Drop me a comment and let me know if you love this genre, and if you have recommendations!

The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian

The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is used to getting what she wants—even if she has to break the rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for the first time.…

Roxanne forges a career unique for women in the 1950s, becoming an agent for hungry young screenwriters. She struggles to be taken seriously by the men who rule Hollywood and who often assume that sexual favors are just a part of doing business. When she sells a script by a blacklisted writer under the name of a willing front man, more exiled writers seek her help. Roxanne wades into a world murky with duplicity and deception, and she can’t afford any more risks.

Then she meets Terrence Dexter, a compelling African American journalist unlike anyone she’s ever known. Roxanne again breaks the rules, and is quickly swept up in a passionate relationship with very real dangers that could destroy everything she’s carefully built.

Roxanne Granville is a woman who bravely defies convention. She won’t let men make all the rules, and won’t let skin color determine whom she can love. The Great Pretenders is a riveting, emotional novel that resonates in today’s world, and reminds us that some things are worth fighting for.

The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin

An American woman becomes entangled in the intense rivalry between iconic fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in this vivid novel from the acclaimed author of The Beautiful American.

Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli (“Schiap”) are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel’s are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli’s bold, experimental, and surreal. 

Lily Cooper, a recently widowed American teacher, travels to Paris to visit her brother, Charlie, and try to move on from the loss of her husband. On her first day there, Charlie insists on buying her a couture dress for her birthday–a Chanel. Lily reluctantly agrees but wants a Schiaparelli, not a Chanel. Charlie’s girlfriend, Ania, one of the most beautiful and prominent women in Paris, begins wearing Schiap’s designs as well, and soon much of Paris is following in her footsteps. 

Schiap takes an interest in Lily and offers the budding artist a job at her shop. Suddenly, Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiap and her personal war with Chanel. And as their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights, another war is looming on their doorstep and getting closer every day….

Park Avenue Summer by Renée Rosen

Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamorous New York City of 1965 and Cosmopolitan magazine, where a brazen new editor-in-chief–Helen Gurley Brown–shocks America and saves a dying publication by daring to talk to women about all things off-limits…

New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss, who leaves her small midwestern town to chase her big-city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for the first female editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, Helen Gurley Brown.

Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, and confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands. When someone tries to pull Alice into a scheme to sabotage her boss, she is more determined than ever to help Helen succeed. While pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown’s world, a woman can demand to have it all.