Hi historical fiction fans!
I’ve been noticing all the wildflowers popping up in my area, and enjoying the color they bring to the roadsides. I’m a plant person, and as much as I love all my (many, many) houseplants, there’s just something special about the beauty of wildflowers. I highly recommend taking a moment the next time you’re out to stop and appreciate the flowers — you won’t regret it.
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Bookish Goods
Famous Black Authors Bookmark Series from Premier Posterz
These colorful bookmarks will add a bright pop to your reading while celebrating incredible Black Authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Maya Angelou. $4
New Releases
Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens (June 20, 2023)
After her alcoholic father dies from a snake bite while crossing Kansas, Bridget finds work in the only female-run brothel in Dodge City. She likes the food, friendship, and pay, but when a legendary female gunslinger comes to town, Bridget sees an opportunity to claim a new destiny for herself. One where she can find peace and autonomy — even if she has to steal them at gunpoint.
The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama (June 20, 2023)
Based on the groundbreaking life of the first Asian American actress to gain fame in early Hollywood, The Brightest Star follows Wong Liu Tsong — soon to be known as Anna May Wong — as she defies her upbringing and the racism all around her to make a place for herself in the silent film industry.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
This past Monday was Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the day in 1865 when Texans learned that they — and all formerly enslaved people in the United States — were granted freedom. In honor of that, let’s talk historical fiction celebrating this important day in history and the holiday celebrating it.
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison
A senator on his deathbed after an assassination attempt asks the Black preacher who raised him to tell him again about their past together. Despite the path of racism his once foster-son has taken, Reverend Hickman tries to save the senator again and again, first from the assassination attempt and then from his hateful beliefs.
The Brightest Day by Kianna Alexander, Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, and Piper Huguley
In these historical romance novellas, spanning the century from the Civil War to the Civil Right’s Movement, a quartet of romance authors write stories of love, hope, and longing against the backdrop of a history and holiday that’s too often overlooked.
That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.
If you want to talk books (historical or otherwise) you can fine me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, Listy, and occasionally Twitter.
Right now I’m reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. What about you?