The Best Historical Fiction of 2025
Every year I read a lot of historical fiction, but only a handful of books earn a spot on my personal “best of” list. This post is my official vote for the best historical fiction of 2025—the novels that stayed with me long after I turned the final page. Every book featured here is one I’ve read and genuinely loved, from sweeping epics and intimate character studies to stories that made history feel urgent and alive. I’ve also included a few still sitting on my TBR that come highly recommended by friends whose taste I trust completely. If you’re looking to build a can’t-miss reading list, consider this your guide to the best 2025 historical fiction releases worth your time.
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The Mad Wife
Meagan Church
352 pgs | September 20, 2025
The Mad Wife reads like a gothic fever dream where reality blurs, paranoia hums, and a woman’s unraveling may be the only honest thing in the room.
The Last Witch
C.J. Cooke
352 pgs | October 14, 2025
The Last Witch is a dark, atmospheric historical novel about what it costs to be a woman marked as dangerous in a world eager to condemn.
The Fisherman's Gift
Julia R Kelly
368 pgs | March 18, 2025
The Fisherman’s Wife is an emotional historical tale of love and loss set against the wild, salty backdrop of coastal life. Read my review here!
Broken Country
Clare Leslie Hall
320 pgs | March 4, 2025
Broken Country is a powerfully charged story of first love pulling a woman back to her past and forcing her to confront grief and loyalty.
Atmosphere
Taylor Jenkins Reid
352 pgs | June 3, 2025
Atmosphere is a tender, high-stakes story where chasing the stars comes with gravity-defying emotional fallout. Read my review here!
L.A. Women
Ella Berman
416 pgs | August 5, 2025
L.A. Women is a dark, hypnotic look at 1970s Laurel Canyon, where a magnetic friendship curdles into obsession and the line between freedom and control quietly disappears. Read my review here!
Sonora
Jenni Walsh
400 pgs | October 28, 2025
Sonora is a gutsy story of a young woman who refuses to play it safe, chasing a life far bigger than she was promised.
Before Dorothy
Hazel Gaynor
368 pgs | June 17, 2025
Before Dorothy is a quietly devastating portrait of Auntie Em, shaped by relentless loss and the kind of strength forged on the Kansas plains.
Red Clay
Charles Fancher
336 pgs | February 4, 2025
Red Clay is a layered family story rooted tracing how legacy and race shaped generations in the post–Civil War South.
The King's Messenger
Susanna Kearsley
352 pgs | March 4, 2025
The King’s Messenger is a quietly suspenseful story that explores the cost of loyalty to the crown collides with conscience and the weight of dangerous secrets.
The Bookclub for Troublesome Women
Marie Bostwick
384 pgs | April 22, 2025
The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a spirited story of friendship and women discovering that reading together can be a quietly radical act.
Happy Land
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
368 pgs | April 8, 2025
Happy Land is a powerful story about Black land, inheritance, and the fight to hold on to what generations built when history tries to erase it. Read my review here!
Buckeye
Patrick Ryan
464 pgs | September 2, 2025
Buckeye is a compassionate portrait of complicated relationships, following two families as love and disappointment quietly shape their lives.
The Boleyn Traitor
Philippa Gregory
496 pgs | October 14, 2025
The Boleyn Traitor is a tense Tudor drama where loyalty is dangerous, ambition is lethal, and survival depends on choosing the right side at exactly the right moment.
These Days
Lucy Caldwell
288 pgs | April 8, 2025
These Days is a quiet wartime story about family, first love, and the ordinary moments that shine against the threat of loss. Read my review here!
Tough Luck
Sandra Dallas
288 pgs | April 29, 2025
Tough Luck is a fierce, funny frontier tale about a scrappy young girl heading West, determined to claim a future entirely her own.
Queens of Crime
Marie Benedict
320 pgs | February 20, 2025
Queens of Crime brings a circle of legendary women writers together to solve a mystery, celebrating the power of women who refuse to be sidelined.
The Secret Book Society
Madeline Martin
336 pgs | August 26, 2026
The Secret Book Society is a cozy story of defiant women and the radical power of reading together when the world tries to silence them.
The Librarians of Lisbon
Suzanne Nelson
352 pgs | February 4, 2025
The Librarians of Lisbon is a WWII-era historical set in neutral Lisbon, where coded messages and quiet courage power a story of resistance and survival.
The Night Sparrow
Shelly Sanders
368 pgs | July 1, 2025
The Night Sparrow is a true-story-inspired WWII novel about a Russian interpreter turned sniper at a decisive moment of the war.
Let's Call Her Barbie
Renee Rosen
432 pgs | January 21, 2025
Let’s Call Her Barbie is a stylish, incisive look at the woman behind Barbie and the ambition it took to build an icon.
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club
Martha Hall Kelly
336 pgs | May 27, 2025
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club is a WWII-era story of family secrets, longstanding friendships, and local resistance unfolding on the windswept shores of Martha’s Vineyard.
The Last Assignment
Erika Roebuck
448 pgs | August 19, 2025
The Last Assignment traces Dickey Chapelle’s life in war zones, a story of courage and conviction forged across many missions. Read my review here!
Harlem Rhapsody
Victoria Christopher Murray
400 pgs | February 4, 2025
Harlem Rhapsody is a vibrant Harlem Renaissance story about the complicated power dynamics behind one of the era’s most influential literary figures.
Highly Rated By Fellow Histfic Readers & Still on My TBR
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