Best New Historical Fiction - June 2025
The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Synopsis:
In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.
In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed West Adams Heights, Charlie is immediately captivated by the Black opulence of L.A.’s newly rechristened “Sugar Hill.”
Settling in at a local actress’s energetic boarding house, Charlie discovers a different way of life—one brimming with opportunity—from a promising career at a Black-owned insurance firm, the absence of Jim Crow, to the potential of an unforgettable romance. But nothing dazzles quite like James “Reaper” Mann.
Reaper’s extravagant parties, attended by luminaries like Lena Horne and Hattie McDaniel, draw Charlie in, bringing the milieu of wealth and excess within his reach. But as Charlie’s unusual bond with Reaper deepens, so does the tension in the neighborhood as white neighbors, frustrated by their own dwindling fortunes, ignite a landmark court case that threatens the community’s well-being with promises of retribution.
Told from the unique perspective of a young man who has just returned from a grueling, segregated war, The Great Mann weaves a compelling narrative of wealth and class, illuminating the complexities of Black identity and education in post-war America.
Why We Recommend It!
A dazzling and emotionally resonant reimagining of a classic, The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie immerses readers in the glamour and complexity of 1940s Black Los Angeles, blending historical insight with lyrical storytelling to explore race, identity, and the elusive American dream.
How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Synopsis:
A cutting, revealing caricature of the American Civil War, told through the eyes of a white teenager who joins an all-Black regiment of soldiers, for fans of Colson Whitehead and James McBride.
Razor-sharp and hilarious, How to Dodge a Cannonball tells the story of Anders, a white teenager who volunteers to be a Union Army flag-twirler to escape his abusive mother. In desperate acts of self-preservation, he defects—twice—before joining a Black regiment at Gettysburg, claiming to be an octoroon. In his new and entirely incredulous unit, Anders becomes entangled with questionable military men and an arms dealer working for both sides. But more importantly, he bonds with the other soldiers, finding friendship and a family he desperately needs. After deploying to New York City to suppress the draft riots and to Nevada to suppress Native Americans, Anders begins to see the war through the eyes of his newfound brothers.
Dayle’s satire spares no one, whether he’s writing about Anders' naivete and unexpected love interest, the quirks of Confederate and Union soldiers, those out to make a quick buck off the tragedy of war, or the theater of war itself (spoiler: literally theater as the novel includes a one-act play the troop obsesses over while they wait for action).
Uproariously funny and revelatory, How to Dodge a Cannonball is an inimitable take on which America is worth fighting for.
Why We Recommend It!
A blisteringly smart and unapologetically hilarious satire, How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle skewers Civil War mythology with bold wit and biting insight, turning a chaotic march through history into an unforgettable reckoning with race, identity, and the absurdity of American ideals.
Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Synopsis:
Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her, in this transporting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor.
Chicago, 1924: Emily Gale and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago behind for the promise of their own American dream. But leaving the city means leaving Emily’s beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world.
Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have made a life in the warmth of the community of Liberal, Kansas, and among the harsh beauty of the prairie. Their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.
The wide-eyed child isn’t the only thing to disrupt Emily’s world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and their much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of Dorothy.
Bursting with courage and heart, Before Dorothy tells the story of the woman who raised a beloved heroine, and ponders the what is the true meaning of home?
Why We Recommend It!
Rich with heartache, hope, and hidden truths, Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor reimagines the untold story of Aunt Em with lyrical beauty and emotional depth, transforming the Kansas plains into a landscape as mythic and meaningful as Oz itself.
Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Synopsis:
Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised himto revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.
Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.
Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.
Hera struggles with her role in Heracles life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.
Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his signature humanizing touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth—and the goddess reluctantly bound to him.
Why We Recommend It!
Inventive, irreverent, and unexpectedly tender, Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell transforms the myth of Heracles into a wildly funny and heartfelt tale of grief, guilt, and found family—proving that even monsters and gods deserve a second chance.
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: June 3, 2025
Synopsis:
January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.
Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.
Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel’s walls, listening for the diplomats’ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June’s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.
June has never met a guest she couldn’t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon’s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.
Why We Recommend It!
Atmospheric, haunting, and richly layered, The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater is a masterful blend of historical fiction and magical realism, where loyalty, sacrifice, and buried secrets rise like mountain mist from the luxurious depths of a WWII-era hotel in West Virginia.
