Feel-good Historical Fiction

Try these books if you’re looking for:

·         Historical Fiction

·         Feel-good Reads

It Happened at the Fair

Deeanne Gist

F GIST

A historical novel about a promising young inventor, his struggle with loss, and the attractive teacher who changes his life, all set against the razzle-dazzle of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker

Jennifer Chiaverini

F CHIAVERINI

Elizabeth Keckley, born a slave, uses her skills as a dressmaker to purchase her freedom. After Lincoln’s election, Elizabeth is hired by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln comes to rely heavily on Elizabeth’s calming influence and steady support as she navigates the trials of being the First Lady. 

The Shoemaker’s Wife

Adriana Trigiani

F TRIGIANI
Two star-crossed lovers--Enza and Ciro--meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever. Set during the years preceding and during World War I. 

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

Susan Vreeland

F VREELAND

Louis Comfort Tiffany staffs his studio with female artisans--a decision that protects him from strikes by the all-male union--but refuses to employ women who are married. Lucky for him, Clara Driscoll's romantic misfortunes ensure that she can continue to craft the jewel-toned glass windows and lamps that catch both her eye and her imagination.

Mr.Rosenblum Dreams in English

Natasha Solomons

F SOLOMONS
After escaping Germany during WWII, Jack and Sadie Rosenblum, together with their baby daughter, settle into a life of acting "English." In post-war England, however, no golf club will admit a Rosenblum. So Jack hatches a wild idea: he'll build his own. It's an obsession Sadie does not share, particularly when Jack relocates them to a thatched roof cottage in Dorset to embark on his project.

Young Adult Fantasy

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Young Adult
•    Fantasy

The Demon King
Cinda Williams Chima
YA F CHIMA Seven Re #1
Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa, as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court.

The Naming
Alison Coggon
YA F CROGGON Books Pe #1
A manuscript from the lost civilization of Edil-Amarandah chronicles the experiences of sixteen-year-old Maerad, an orphan gifted in the magic and power of the Bards, as she escapes from slavery and begins to learn how to use her Gift to stave off the evil Darkness that threatens to consume her world.

Finnikin of the Rock
Melina Marchetta
YA F MARCHETT Lumatere #1
Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.

Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
SCI-FI ROTHFUSS Kingkill #1
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

Young Adult Historical Fiction

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Historical Fiction
•    Young Adult Fiction
•    Female Protagonists

Belle Epoque
Elizabeth Ross
YA F ROSS
Sixteen-year-old Maude Pichon, a plain, impoverished girl in Belle Epoque Paris, is hired by Countess Dubern to make her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, look more beautiful by comparison but soon Maude is enmeshed in a tangle of love, friendship, and deception.

My Family for the War
Anne C. Voorhoeve
YA F VOORHOEV
Before the start of World War II, ten-year-old Ziska Mangold, who has Jewish ancestors but has been raised as a Protestant, is taken out of Nazi Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains, to live in London with a Jewish family, where she learns about Judaism and endures the hardships of war while attempting to keep in touch with her parents, who are trying to survive in Holland.

The Caged Graves
Dianne K. Salerni
YA F SALERNI
Returning to her hometown of Catawissa, Pennsylvania, in 1867 to marry a man she has never met, seventeen-year-old Verity Boone gets caught up in the a mystery surrounding the graves of her mother and aunt and a dangerous hunt for Revolutionary-era gold.

Prisoner of Night and Fog
Anne Blankman
YA F BLANKMAN Prisonder #1
In 1930s Munich, the favorite niece of rising political leader Adolph Hitler is torn between duty and love after meeting a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter.

Catherine, Called Birdy
Karen Cushman
YA F CUSHMAN
The daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Paranormal Fantasy with Action and Romance

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Adventure
•    Action
•    Romance
•    Paranormal Fantasy

Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis
YA F LEWIS
A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.



 
Ill Wind
Rachel Caine
SCI-FI CAINE Weather #1
When Joanne Baldwin, a Weather Warden who can tame the most violent weather, is forced to flee from the law when murder accusations rain down upon her, she must find the only man who can help her - Lewis, the most powerful Warden, who is also on the run from the World Council.

Embrace
Jessica Shirvington
YA F SHIRVING Violet #1
Violet Eden's life is thrown into disorder on her seventeenth birthday when Lincoln, her training partner and the object of her affection, reveals to her that they are both half angels, until the mysterious exiled angel Phoenix enters her life.



The Iron King
Julie Kagawa
YA F KAGAWA Iron_Fey #1
When her half-brother is kidnapped, Meghan Chase, who has recently learned that she is the daughter of the summer faery king, must journey into a strange world she never imagined to face an unknown enemy and save those she loves.




Beautiful Creatures
Kami Garcia
YA F GARCIA Caster #1
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.