Best New Historical Fiction - July 2025
American Sky by Carolyn Dasher
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2025
Synopsis:
Three generations of indomitable women navigate life on their terms in an epic and inspiring historical novel about love and war, family secrets, and mothers and daughters finding the freedom to fly.
It’s 1943. The war rages. The newly launched WASP program is recruiting. And barnstormer fan Georgeanne “George” Ector’s dream is to take to the skies. Grit is what she inherited from her mother, an Oklahoma farm girl at the turn of the century who preferred taking apart an engine to stitching linens for a hope chest. She taught her daughter well. George isn’t the only woman about to follow her calling.
Vivian Shaw, so similar to George they’re like sisters, also longs for a career flying the fastest planes in the American arsenal. For a time, George and Vivian triumph. But at war’s end, the adventurous women are grounded by the expectations of to get married, have children, and raise a family. Vivian has other plans. So, eventually, do George’s daughters, Ruth and Ivy, who embark on very different paths of their own.
Three generations of women staring down a vast horizon of possibilities are determined to navigate whatever comes their way—from the hardships of war and home to love and loss, and to the fallout of a long-held secret that could change their lives forever.
Why We Recommend It!
Soaring through generations of war, secrets, and resilience, American Sky celebrates the tenacity of women who dare to chase freedom on their own terms.
Scars of Sand and Soil by Jean K. Kravitz
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Release Date: July 24, 2025
Synopsis:
What’s left of a man’s soul when everything he loves is taken from him?
It’s 1864, and Gabriel Cooper couldn’t care less about the civil war raging around him. Framed for crimes he didn’t commit, he’s been sentenced to a Confederate chain gang, where swampland justice rules and alligators prey on the unwary.
So when Colonel Robert Tremont rides into camp offering freedom in exchange for fighting on the front lines, Gabriel jumps at the opportunity. He thrives as a soldier, but the end of the war leaves him adrift.
Gabriel ends up in New Orleans, where he meets Simone Livingston, a fiercely independent woman with hidden scars of her own. Kept on a tight rein by her overbearing father, Simone only wants freedom—and the enigmatic Gabriel.
But Gabriel has unfinished business and a mind for vengeance. Will he be able to create a peaceful life with Simone? Or will his greed and thirst for retribution keep them trapped in a dangerous web of deceit—a web Gabriel fears can only be untangled with murder?
Why We Recommend It!
Rich in grit and emotion, Scars of Sand and Soil delivers a haunting post–Civil War reckoning where justice, identity, and redemption collide in the Reconstruction South.
Beneath the Sicilian Stars by Lindsay Marie Morris
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Release Date: July 8, 2025
Synopsis:
A family divided by war… a promise forged beneath the Sicilian stars.
1941, Pittsburg, California. Sixteen-year-old Annalisa Aiello huddles around the radio with her family when a special announcement shatters her Pearl Harbor has been bombed – where her brother is stationed on the USS Arizona. After the United States declares war, Annalisa watches in horror as her father, a Sicilian fisherman, is arrested as an "enemy alien". Grappling with grief and harsh wartime restrictions, Annalisa is forced to undertake an unexpected journey across the country to find her father and uncover the sacrifices of the past.
Meanwhile, in war-torn Sicily, her cousin Alberto navigates bombing raids as ancient fishing traditions crumble around him. But the forces tearing this family apart began decades earlier with a desperate choice made on a Sicilian shore – a secret pact sealed beneath the stars that promised a brighter future across the sea.
As Annalisa searches for her father and Alberto seeks his place in a changing world, they both discover that even in the darkest times, hope for a better future can endure.
From an American internment camp to Sicily's bombed villages, Beneath the Sicilian Stars follows one family's fight for survival, identity, and hope during World War II. Perfect for readers of Kelly Rimmer, Rhys Bowen and Angela Petch.
Why We Recommend It!
Spanning continents and decades, Beneath the Sicilian Stars is a tender and urgent wartime saga of family loyalty, buried secrets, and the enduring light of hope.
The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Release Date: July 2, 2025
Synopsis:
1780 Scottish Highlands
In every glass of whisky lies a small act of rebellion...
When Greer MacAlister's despised husband dies, she and her young daughter Fen find themselves in a remote whisky smuggling community in the heart of the Highlands. Here, illicit whisky making is a means of survival in a Scotland under occupation by the British, decades after the disastrous Battle of Culloden. The villagers are suspicious of the widow, but when Greer tricks excise officers away from their illegal stills with a courageous and daring act, they warm to her.
But the excise men are out for revenge, smuggling is a dangerous business, and whisky - a drink that has long ignited passions, songs, stories and danger - is at the rebellious heart of it all. Greer and Fen have no choice but to fight for the life they want.
This rollicking story of bravery, adventure, love and murder brings alive the Scottish Highlands of long ago. It is a poem to the art of whisky distilling and a world now lost to us, as well as a eulogy for those who were forced to leave it.
Why We Recommend It!
A fierce and fast-paced tale set in the rugged Highlands, The Whisky Widow blends danger, rebellion, and the intoxicating spirit of survival with every smoky sip.
The Paradise Petition by Carolyn Brown
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: July 15, 2025
Synopsis:
In nineteenth-century Texas, two tough-minded women dare to challenge the status quo in a warm, witty, and adventurous historical romance by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.
Daisy Lindberg and Lily Boyle traded a colorful past for a fresh start as seamstresses in Autrie, Texas, and their aim to spark a women’s rights movement is raising eyebrows among the town’s dumbfounded men. But among the ladies? Tired of being treated like possessions, they have two Amen, sister!
Beulah, a sassy shop owner as formidable as a cannon shot, is on board. So is Alma, a timid preacher’s wife who hit her breaking point. Before long, a courageous female posse has a liberating petition of demands. Surprisingly, they also have an empathetic ear in sheep rancher Matt Maguire, who’s as keen on women’s independence as he is on Lily.
As Daisy and Lily make waves in the small town, their secrets threaten to come out. But they haven’t traveled this far to let their past define them. In fact, with love and the forging of new lives on the line, they’ve never felt more defiant.
Why We Recommend It!
Charming, sharp, and spirited, The Paradise Petition is a rousing tribute to sisterhood and second chances in a small Texas town ready for revolution.
