A Book Set in the Past

I was excited to host this stop on the Bookish Blog Hop because I love historical fiction! I’ve written many review posts about books set in the past like this one or this one.

The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain was a book club read. It was a confronting and gritty book, but written in exquisite detail. It follows the main character, Gustav Perle, who grows up in Switzerland. He strikes up an intense friendship with another boy, Anton. Through the course of the book, both boys are forced to confront some painful truths about their families and the effects of World War II.

For books that are a bit more magical but also set in the past, I can recommend A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers, in which a young woman in Belle Epoque France is cursed to relive a doomed love affair over and over. I loved the historical detail, and the gradual unravelling of the mystery as the main character realizes what she has to do to break the curse.

A book by a New Zealand author is From A Shadow Grave by Andi C Buchanan. It is a retelling of an urban legend about the ghost in the Mt Victoria tunnel. In 1931, seventeen-year-old Phyllis Symons was attacked by her lover and left to die in the construction site of the Mount Victoria Tunnel. From a Shadow Grave picks up the threads of history and explores three alternate ways Phyllis’s story might have ended, weaving together historical fiction, urban fantasy and time travel. This is the story of a young woman reclaiming her life rather than letting her murder be her legacy. I can highly recommend it.

This is what the other book reviewers said:

Jo Linsdell www.JoLinsdell.com

A book set in the past that I read last year and loved was Hidden Pearl by J.E. Laufer. The book gave emotional insight into the horrors of what happened to families during the Nazi invasion of Poland. It’s based on a true story and captures the life of 10 year old Pearl and her family and their ordeal during the Holocaust. If you liked The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank you might like this too. You can find my full review of Hidden Pearl here. I highly recommend reading it. 

Kate @ Bitch Bookshelf www.bitchbookshelf.com

I’m a historical fiction junkie, especially when it comes to historical romance. I’ll remain firmly seated on the Bridgerton bandwagon for this. As a longtime historical romance fan, I was so happy that a series (though it’s not my absolute favorite) was adapted for a television show! I could talk about historical romance and my thoughts on this book series and the Netflix show for ages. Here’s my full post on the Bridgertons series if you want to indulge my endless thoughts and chatter on my favorite subgenre.

Eline @ Lovely Audiobooks

I am actually *not at all* a historical fiction fan. But I have discovered that I absolutely love LGBTQ+ Historical Romance! Historicals were a genre I never ever read – mostly because I struggle with the role and limitations that were placed on women. But when I received an M/M Historical Romance review copy that sounded intriguing, it made me fall completely in love with this genre. I particularly love KJ Charles and Cat Sebastian books and have The Magpie Lord and Two Rogues Make a Right on the list of my favorite MM Romance Books.

Brandy @ Brandy Potter Books

You’re killing me! Just one… really? Oh alright. The Devil’s Workshop by Alec Grecian. This book is book 3 in a series that I will be honest, I haven’t read. I picked this up from my library because it was a fiction tale where the description ended with “Jack the Ripper is loose in London once more.” However, Saucy Jack is a subplot. The book is really good, dialog is awesome and listening to Jack’s thought processes is so cool. 

Kelsey @ There’s Something About KM

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro comes to mind. The writing is indulgent, and I love the flashback technique the author used to tell the story. The whole book is quite atmospheric, a bit scandalous, and entirely captivating. 

Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Many of my favorite reads in recent years have been historicals (fiction and nonfiction). I recently re-read the Bridgerton series before watching the Netflix show. And last year, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was one of my favorite historical fiction reads. Again, too many to choose from for the non-fiction historicals, so I picked a MG read for this – On the Horizon by Lois Lowry.