Best New Historical Fiction - August 2025
Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Synopsis:
Amid the 1900 Galveston hurricane, one woman’s perseverance is tested in this captivating story from the author whose work has been called “intelligent and arresting” ( Foreword Reviews ) and “historical fiction as it is meant to be told” ( Library Journal ).
I walked until I could go no farther, until open water was all I could see.
Galveston, Texas. September 1900. Only months ago, Kathleen McDaniel returned from finishing school in Switzerland to her family home in New York’s Hudson Valley with a future of promise and privilege set before her. But one horrific event shattered her picturesque life. Now she has fled as far as the train line and a pocketful of money would take her, finding refuge at the St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum on Galveston Island, where she helps the nuns care for their young charges and prays her past will not find her. Despite her tenuous standing at the orphanage—and the grief and betrayal that drove her from home—Kathleen slowly begins to make friends. There is Emily, the novice nun she rooms with; Maggie, the tempestuous young girl who only bonds with Kathleen; and Matthew, a kind, handsome man recently employed by Isaac Cline at Galveston’s office of the US Weather Bureau.
Then in one fateful day, Kathleen’s fragile new life begins to crack as it becomes clear that she can’t run far enough to escape the reach of her former life. Meanwhile, as troubling news about a storm crossing the Gulf from Cuba swirls in the Weather Bureau offices, Matthew holds fast to Cline’s belief that no hurricane can touch Galveston. But as darkness falls on the island, Kathleen must gather her courage and reach for a strength beyond her own if she—and those she loves—are to survive.
Why We Recommend It!
Steeped in tension and heart, Last Light Over Galveston delivers a gripping tale of survival, sacrifice, and self-discovery amid the devastation of the 1900 hurricane.
The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Release Date: August 19, 2025
Synopsis:
An historical novel inspired by the experiences of the author’s own family after the Holocaust, a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love, and the reverberating effects of war
Vienna,1946: Chana Rosensweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn’t look like they imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe.
Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father’s recipes. As she tries to balance her love of baking against her family’s need for security, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions.
The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, while shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.
Why We Recommend It!
Laced with danger and longing, The Lost Baker of Vienna captures the grit of post-war Vienna and the redemptive power of love, legacy, and one young woman’s fight to rebuild her life through baking.
The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: August 19, 2025
Synopsis:
From bestselling author Erika Robuck comes the perilous and awe-inspiring true story of award-winning photojournalist Dickey Chapelle as she risks everything to show the American people the price of war through the lens of her camera.
Manhattan, 1954.
Since her arrest for disobeying orders and going ashore at Iwo Jima almost a decade earlier, combat correspondent Georgette “Dickey” Chapelle has been unmoored. Her military accreditation revoked, her marriage failing, and her savings dwindling, Dickey jumps at the next opportunity. In the aftermath of a an assignment gone wrong, a flame is lit deep inside Dickey—to survive in order to be the world’s witness to war from the front lines.
Never content to report on battles unless her own boots are on the ground, Dickey and her camera journey with American and international soldiers from frozen wastelands to raging seas to luscious jungles, revealing one woman’s extraordinary courage and tenacity in the face of discrimination and danger. And it’s along the way, in Dickey’s desire to save the world, she realizes she might also be saving herself.
At a time when a woman's heroic spirit often gave way to homeland reality, Dickey blazed a trail for the revolutionary hearts inside us all.
Why We Recommend It!
Thrilling and fearless, The Last Assignment captures the extraordinary true story of trailblazing photojournalist Dickey Chapelle, a woman who defied danger and defied limits to reveal the human cost of war.
The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Synopsis:
A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…
London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.
As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.
Why We Recommend It!
Atmospheric and empowering, The Secret Book Society weaves intrigue, sisterhood, and forbidden books into a daring Victorian tale of women defying the rules that bind them.
Narrow the Road by James Wade
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: August 26, 2025
Synopsis:
In this thrilling Southern Gothic odyssey, a young man’s quest to reunite his family takes him on a life-altering journey through the wilds of 1930s East Texas, where danger and doubt grow as thick as the pines.
With his war veteran father missing and his mother gravely ill, William Carter is struggling to keep his family’s cotton farm afloat during the Great Depression. But a drought has left him with a failing crop and the bank is threatening foreclosure. As his options are waning, William receives a mysterious letter that claims to know his father’s whereabouts.
Together with his best friend Ollie, a mortician-in-training, William sets out to find his father and bring him home to set things right. But before the boys can complete their quest, they must navigate the perils of the Big Thicket, some of the country’s most uncharted, untamed land. Along the way they encounter eccentric backwoods characters of every order, running afoul of murderers, bootleggers, the nefarious conman Doctor Downtain, and even the legendary Bonnie and Clyde.
From award-winning author James Wade, Narrow the Road is a gripping exploration of a young man’s hard-won coming-of-age and the courageous ways a person can forge a singular path in the face of overwhelming adversity. Alive with grit and tenderness, this is an unforgettable story of the power of friendship to uplift through loss, betrayal, and devastating consequence.
Why We Recommend It!
Steeped in grit and Southern Gothic charm, The Narrow Road is a tense, heart-wrenching Depression-era odyssey of friendship, family, and the perilous journey toward redemption.
