Hi historical fiction fans!
Ready for a new week of recommendations? We’ve got bookish goods, new releases, and some excellent historical novels about music and musicians.
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Bookish Goods
Read Banned Books Mug
I’m loving this mug with a timely and timeless reminder that it’s always a good day to read banned books. $16
New Releases
The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford (March 7, 2023)
On a farewell tour to finish off her career in country music, Lil longs for that rush of performing live one last time even as she faces down the hard choices she had to make throughout her time in the male-dominated world of country music. Every choice Lil made got her where she is today, for better or worse, and as she steps up to the stage in her final performance in her hometown, she’ll have to reckon with whether they were the right ones.
River Spirit by Leila Aboulela (March 7, 2023)
In late 19th century Sudan, a young woman comes of age in a tumultuous period filled with colonialism, religious tensions, and war. Akuany loses everyone in her family save her brother during a raid on their village in South Sudan, only to be taken in by a young religious merchant who will become her lifeline throughout the coming years. And even as differing choices and loyalties drive them apart, they all fight for a future Sudan where freedom and independence are possible.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Between talking about The Farewell Tour and the release of Amazon’s adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six, I though it would be a great time to talk music in historical fiction.
The Songbook of Benny Lament
by Amy Harmon
A musician and songwriter with ties to the mob is content to keep out of the spotlight until the first time he hears Esther Mine sing. Benny writes the powerhouse vocalist a hit song, but as the duo rocket onto a national stage, his past could complicate things. And that’s assuming the country is ready to see a white man and a Black woman together on — and off — stage.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
Like Daisy Jones and the Six, this novel is told in the style of an oral history, following the stratospheric rise and fall of an interracial rock duo during the 1970s. Years after their break up, Opal and Nev are coming together for one last reunion, and music journalist S. Sunny Shelton is determined to get the full story of her idols straight from the source — no matter how shocking the truth may be.
That’s it for now, folks! 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 All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce. What about you?