Top Ten Tuesday: Just Getting into Historical Fiction?

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

So I figure I should choose Historical Fiction because it's my theme for the month. But also because I know a lot of bloggers are just getting in to the genre. So allow me to recommend some of my favorites that would be a good introduction to the genre because they are also something else...

Like Fantasy?

1.) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - Add to Goodreads
This is the perfect book to break into Historical Fiction if you are a fan of Fantasy. It effortlessly combines elements of both genres with the fantastic writing of Libba Bray. It's also a good book to break into the genre because it immerses you in the historical period without overwhelming you with history.


2.) The Falconer by Elizabeth May - Add to Goodreads 
This book definitely creates an amazing and fantastical steampunk work of faeries and adventure but it also gives you the sense of what life was like for young women in the Victorian Era. Pick it up for the fantasy elements but enjoy the historical setting!

Like Romance?  

3.) A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller - Add to Goodreads
If you are a fan of romance then I definitely suggest checking out this piece of Historical Fiction. It's got great characters with a swoonworthy romance but it is also incredibly well-researched and captures the feelings of change in the period. I mean who doesn't love a book about the woman's suffrage movement?

4.) The Luxe by Anna Godbersen - Add to Goodreads
I've always said that this series is Gilded Age Gossip Girl. Fans of that type of book should pick up this Historical Fiction series. I'm a huge fan of this series and it's characters, romance, and the way it was like for young women of wealthy families at the turn of the 19th century. Plus there's so much drama and backstabbing!

Like Retellings?

5.) Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth - Add to Goodreads
You know I had to, I can't shut up about this book! It could have gone in the fantasy category but this is a dark, gritty, and tawdry retelling of the story of Rapunzel. But in it's heart is a story about the lives of women in the middle ages and how they cope with the hardships. It's also my number one book of the year and an absolute recommendation!


6.) Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire - Add to Goodreads
Gregory Maguire is the king of retelling and he doesn't disappoint in this one which incorporates a lot of Russian folklore and illusions to the Prince and the Pauper. Plus there's lots of magic and fun characters but it also a book about Tsarist Russia with dystopian undertones. Basically this book is deep, yo!

Like Thrillers?

7.) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova -Add to Goodreads
SO this is one of my favorite books and it's not quite Historical Fiction but it does take the reader back in time as you attempt to solve a mystery and track down the truth about the actual Dracula. Fans of supernatural thrillers will love this book but it also takes you on a globe trotting adventure that fans of thrillers will love!


8.) Sekret by Lindsay Smith - Add to Goodreads
This book absolutely reads like a spy thriller. The characters are trained to go on missions for the KGB. But did I mention they're psychics and it's set in Communist Russia? Fans of thrillers should pick it up for that aspect but I hope they also enjoy the way Lindsay sets the tone of uncertainty that came with the time period of the 1960s.

Like Comic Books?

9.) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - Add to Goodreads
This book is not your average book set during the mid-20th Century. It's not about the Great Depression, World War II, or even the post war successes. No friends this book is about the golden age of comic books. The characters are fantastic, the writing is amazing, and it fools into not even realizing it's totally Historical Fiction!

Honorable Mention: Maus by Art Spiegelman - Add to Goodreads
This amazing graphic novel is an allegory for the Holocaust

More Traditional but Excellent Writing?

10.) Code Name Verity - Add to Goodreads
A traditional Historical Fiction but one that people who are not usual fans of the genre tend to love. It's extremely well-written and a creative take on books set during World War II. It definitely immerses you in the time period but it does so in a way that gets you emotionally connected to the story and the characters

Those are my recommendations. Have you read any? What are your favorite Historical Fiction novels? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. And if you haven't read any of these books and like Historical Fiction or want to read a little more, check them out.