Hi historical fiction fans!
I’m home for the holidays this week and couldn’t be happier for some family time. All I have planned for the next few days is good food, good leftovers, and lots of reading. Whether you’re celebrating this week or not, I hope you all are finding lots to be thankful for.
If you want to do a bit of good in the world this week, I suggest checking out the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project.
Bookish Goods
Herb Bookmarks from Another Studio
Mark your place in style with these gorgeous metal herb bookmarks from Another Studio on Etsy. $8.
New Releases
All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce (November 22, 2022)
This historical horror novel follows a family of serial killers, the Benders, who left their bloody mark on 19th century Kansas. Be sure to keep the lights on when you read about this horrifying — and real — historical family.
Angels of the Resistance by Noelle Salazar (November 29, 2022)
To contrast a family of serial killers, how about a family of resistance fighters during WWII? Sisters Lien and Elif fear that war is inescapable, even before it reaches their home in the Netherlands. And while joining the resistance offers chance for a better future, it also could risk everything they hold dear.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Holidays mean family and family means all the baggage that comes along with it. Just kidding — kind of. I mean, that is the joke this time of year, right? That the whole family gets together over a delicious meal and has to try to avoid all the various topics that could lead to arguments and landmines with herculean effort.
Regardless of whether your family get togethers are easy sailing or rough waters, you’ll find both solidarity and something to talk about over the dinner table with these historical fiction novels featuring complicated — and sometimes dysfunctional — families.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
In a family saga that spans generations, two identical twin sisters find their lives diverging radically as one moves back to the hometown she always tried to escape with her Black daughter while the other passes as white with a husband who knows nothing of her past or her racial identity.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Another tale of twins awaits in The God of Small Things. Raised in an affluent Indian family, Rahel and Esthappen’s world is shaken by the arrival of their young cousin and by a growing tide of unrest. Amidst it all, the complicated shambles of their family provide some comfort. But soon, the arrival of Sophie and her English mother prove that all that they thought they knew can change in a day.
That’s it for now, folx! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.
If you want to talk books (historical or otherwise), you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, Litsy, and occasionally Twitter.
Right now I’m reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. What about you?