Hi historical fiction fans,
Happy June! It’s another rainy day after a series of so many off-and-on again rainy days, and I’m so ready for the sunshine. I thought the saying was “April showers bring May flowers” not April showers bring May showers and more showers and more showers. My mistake, I guess. I suppose it’s as good an excuse to stay inside and read as any.
Bookish Goods
Custom Book Stack Tote from Ness 7 Boutique
Carry your books around in style with this custom book stack tote ready and waiting to feature your favorite titles. $25.
New Releases
The Secret Keeper of Main Street
by Trisha R. Thomas (June 4, 2024)
A Black dressmaker in 1950s Oklahoma designs and creates custom dresses for the town’s oil-rich elite. But it’s her gift of prescience–seeing insight into the life of anyone her skin touches–that gets her into trouble when a wealthy white man is murdered and one of her clients charged with his murder.
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma (June 4, 2024)
Amidst the chaos and violence of Nigeria’s civil war, a brother goes to great lengths to find his younger brother who goes missing just as war breaks out. Kunle has always been more bookish than bold, but in order to find his brother, he navigates a crisis, joins up to fight with an army, and tries to find redemption for himself even as he searches for the brother who’s missing.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
I unexpectedly lost a family member last weekend, and I’m honestly still reeling a bit. Often, I pick newsletter themes based off of what’s going on in my life or the world around me, and all I could think about this morning is loss and grief and the ways they affect us. Here are two historical fiction titles that deal with loss.
The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex
In this mystery novel based on the historical disappearance of three men from a lighthouse, questions linger even decades after the men went missing. The door was locked, the table laid, and all the clocks stopped at the same time. But the men were nowhere to be found. Now, two decades later, a writer speaks to the wives who were left behind and a story begins to take shape. But is it possible to know what really happened and who should we believe?
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Japanese woman living in England is all alone after her daughter dies by suicide. To deal with the present, she immerses herself in memories of the past, as she and her friends tried to rebuild their lives after the war. But even these memories begin to take on a dark cast when she remembers the unusual friendship she had with a once wealthy woman turned to vagrancy.
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 most social media, including Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy.
Right now I’m reading The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields. What about you?