I'm reading it right now and it's amazing! I have about 100 pages left. I can't wait to see what happens next!! I'm in such a historical fiction mood now!
Everytime I think about The Nightingale my eyes start watering automatically, that's how much it deeply affected me! cried like a fountain I swear.. One of my favorites (Also pre- and during WWII) is *Memoirs of a Geisha* by Arthur Golden, I HIGHLY recommend :D
The Help. My favourite historical fiction book. l loved it so much! I love how the author described the scenes that are occurring, and they felt so real, as if it actually happened in real life! This book became one of my favourite books of all time! Great video Reagan!
I love the way u review books. U really captured the essence of burial rites to a tee. I loved the book and when u said slo burn, that was a perfect description of the build up. Iceland wow. Thanks.
You give the BEST book summaries on book tube. I think too many people reiterate what's on the synopsis on the book itself, but you help to characterize the stories so well. I trust your bookish opinions the most!!
I waited the whole video to hear "The nightingale" on the list... and I loved everything you said (because it's true), when I remember that book I want to cry till this day, and I also loved especialy the way they were SO EXTREMELY different.
This video was fantastic! A friend of mine recently tried to convince me to read Burial Rites (she's obsessed with it atm), and so now thanks to you and her, I think I'm going to have to get my hands on it! One I HIGHLY recommend is The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry, it's set in medieval France/Spain (Provensa), is bursting with historical information, amazing characters and it quickly became one of my all time favourites!
i totally read the book theif because of you and it made me cry!! but it is now one of my favorite books ever!! so thank you for bringing that book into my life.
I just finished reading Code Name Verity. I finished it in less than 2 days. I just couldn’t stop reading it! Usually I can tell what’s going to happen in books but this one had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened. One of those books where you do and don’t want to skip to the end!
Great video! Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is so good! WWII historical fiction. Definitely recommend if you haven't read it and you liked The Nightingale (my fave book of 2016.)
I love your channel so much! So many books that you've recommended sound so interesting and I wouldn't hear about them anywhere else, mainly fantasy and historical fiction, and I am thankful for that. Keep them coming.
My favorite historical fiction is The Century Triology by Ken Follett, the books are gigantic, but there's so much to talk about the 20th century! Also I like it because it follows different families from some of the countries involved in the main events of the century, so it is really nice because you see the development and growing of the characters and also, you get to know them really well :)
Hi Regan! I don't know if you (or other people who may read this comment) already know about this, but the last book of the Library Of Forgotten Books tetralogy has just been published in Spain (on the 17th)! It's called "The Labyrinth of Spirits" (this is a translation of the original title, I'm not sure what the name will be in the US) and it has 800+ PAGES AND I'M HONESTLY SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY BREATHE WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT IT HOLY SMOKES I LOVE CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN. It will be out in Portugal next Wednesday. For anyone interested, do a bit of research and find out the release date in your countries, it should be very soon, I believe! also: Loved your list. Currently reading All The Light We Cannot See and really enjoying it, and I truly think that at the moment Shadow Of The Wind is my favorite book of all time.
After my sister gifted me with The Daughter of Zion for my birthday. I instantly fall in love with historical fictions and it will always be my favorite genre
My favorite historical fiction is Shogun by James Clavell. I read it a long time ago and it's a book that is not blurred and forgotten by the passage of time.
My Favorite historical fiction novels: 1. The Romanov Empress 2. Lilac Girls 3. The Last Queen. I watched the Book Thief in movies. Very good!!!! I’ve reviewed many of these books on my channel. I loved them all!
Bianca Vandenbos Cool. I have looked online and I don’t see too many reviews on it. Have you read C.W. Gortner’s latest book “The First Actress”? I reviewed it on my channel. :-)
you are the first booktuber who ive seen mention the shadow of the wind and ohhhh i loveeee that book so much. It was actually the first book I read this year and since i was just trying out this reading thing i wanted stand alone books and i chose this one bc at the moment i thought it was a stand alone but i was actually delighted to find out it was a trilogy! Anyway i love that book❤️
The Walled City is based on a real walled city in HK, it's already demolished and turned into a park. But when it was still there it was a place that was pushed around between the British colonial government, the Chinese government and the HK government because no one wanted to be responsible for it. So it became the perfect place for criminals.
I really love historical fiction novels. You did a veeeery good job with this video!! It is just amazing the way you talk about the books!! New Spanish sub! Hope you keep this nice!!
I really think you might like 'To The Bright Edge of the World'. It is set in the Alaskan frontier and is told from the perspective of the husband and his explorer comrades and his wife who is left back at home. It mixes in beautiful, poetic descriptions of the landscape, as well as whimsical/magical realism type elements. One of my favorite releases of the whole year for sure!! Also, the authors first novel, 'the snow child' was shortlisted for a Pulitzer and I LOVED that too.
Paul Winchell it's my all time favourite book. I recommend it to everyone but no one appreciates it like I do. They either say "it's too descriptive" or sexist but Zafon just captures how life was back then. It's the type of book to read not just for entertainment but for the meaning and emotion.
Phillipa Gregory is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her historical fiction novels during the war of the roses and post Tudor era are my favorite!
My favorite historical fiction books normally have around 1000 pages or more, is just that when there is a book set in the past I love that it's very descriptive so that I can feel like I'm there
Book thief was my first historical fiction too!! I started consuming English literature Farrelly late which in hindsight probably worked in My favour. One booked in this gerne which I would like to recommend to everyone is Midnight's Children! Historical fiction with a touch of magical realism! Absolutely adored this one!!
I love all of Alan Furst's books. All are set either just prior to or during WW II. They are very well written and evoke the tense atmosphere of the era in Europe.
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir, Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir, The Book Thief (I know you read it, but it is AMAZING) The Golden Earring by Belinda Alexandra, Prisoner of Night and Fog- Anne Blankman, Anne of Green Gables series, and many more :)
Thank you so much for this list, I always need new historical fiction! I read a lot of Australian historical fiction, which is amazing, but it's nice to expand on that. Especially since I also love WWII novels. The Book Thief is one of favourite books (and movies) ever, and I haven't yet read All The Light We Cannot See but it's on my bookshelf. Some of these others really intrigue me, so they're added to my TBR list!
You should try The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco! And I have two books I really love, but they're more like historical YA... the first one is Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli and follows a wealthy girl in 16th century Venice. I just love the atmosphere in this book! The second one is The Song of Achilles and it's about the life of Achilles (duh) and his friend Patroklus from young age until the trojan war. It's not that much about the writing or the story-building but the characters and their relationships. It killed me!
We must have similar taste--I've read at least two of the stories you've recommended (and loved both of them! They were "Code Name Verity" and "Between Shades of Gray"--both of them left me an emotional wreck.) I'm gonna have to check out some of the other recs you made in the video!
I read "The Shadow Of The Wind" for school and loved it so much. It's such a good story and so well written you don't get bored at any minute.I also read the second one "Angel's Game" and want to read the third one already. All the light you cannot see is a beatiful book and I loved it. I will note down some of the recommendations you gave,some of them seem really interesting :)
The fact that you know both Regan's book taste and her shelves so well that you know that All The Light You Cannot See is going to appear in this video because: a) she loves it b) you know the exact place in her shelves this book usually is and you can see it missing Proud and scared of myself at the same time.
The Nightingale was an amazing read. I could not put it down. I really felt like I was watching the movie whilst reading the book. The chaos of occupied France, the loss, the danger, and the fight for survival. Following 2 sister's and how they cope with the nightmare they find themselves in. A book of courage, love and survival against the odds. You will cry happy and sad tears.
I like very much books of Amin Maalouf. He writes historical fiction and nonfiction books. I would highly recommend Samarkand and Ports of Call but all of his books are great. I am amazed by his style of writing. It's so precise, so honest, so beautiful. Such writers are really rear nowadays.
If you love WWII novels, you may have heard of Marge Piercy's Gone to Solders, which chronicles the lives of 10 people during WWI, each of whom are leading different lives and having different experiences as a result of the war. It features characters such as a woman pilot, who of course isn't allowed to fly in the war, a young French woman who joins the resistance, a Jewish girl in NYC, and so on. It is epic and beautiful.
We double up on a lot of our favourites, I loved The Book Thief, The Nightingale, Between Shades of Grey and All the Light We Cannot See as well. If we're going historical fantasy I love the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray and the Cahill Witch Chronicles by Jessica Spotswood. For some silly fluffy historical fiction I like The Luxe series by Anna Godberson, it's Gossip Girl set in 1900s New York. I also really enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl and the Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. I love Goodnight Mr Tom and A Little Love Song by Michelle Magorian and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Historical fiction is great!
My favorite author is Kate Morton and she writes historical fiction. My favorite book is The Forgotten Garden. Her books are less historical compared to some of the books you mentioned but I love her writing and the way she entwines the characters and I just think they're really great books!
Loved Code Name Verity. So hauntingly good. I really need to read Rose Under Fire. The Book Thief is just AMAZING! The Walled City looks really good, adding it to my TBR. I've been wanting to read All the Light We Cannot See, sounds so good! I LOVE Ruta Sepetys, although I haven't read that one yet. I loved Out of the Easy and Salt to the Sea. I feel like Salt to the Sea was another story she did that needed to be told. A maritime disaster that I have NEVER heard of, and one of the worst in history. Its also a WWII story. Thanks for the list, one of the reasons I love watching your channel is your love for history and historical fiction :)
I highly recommend Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. It's a WW2 novel that takes place in Greece before, during, and after Italian (and later German) occupation. It has some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read and shows a part of the war that I feel like is rarely discussed.
Yes to "The Book Thief", and "Between Shades of Gray"! So many of these are on my to-read list. :) When I first started getting into historical fiction I was surprised by how much I absolutely loved it! I quite enjoyed "The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. It was just really funny and light and cute. "Salt to the Sea" and "Out of the Easy" by Ruta Sepetys are also musts. I finished the former last month and it still haunts me.
I've been hoping you'd make another Historical Fiction recs video! I've loved all the ones you mentioned so I guess I'm just going to have to go out and buy all the other ones now :D
Ok so this is about "Between shades of gray", so i live in Latvia, which is in the baltic states, and over here that hystory and those stories aren't lost, we talk about them and know about them, we have movies and tv programms were people who were deported talk about the time and what happened. So yeah, this part of hystory is not completely lost, only mostly people from america and western europe don't know about them. It's not like i'm judging you, it's not like i know asian hystory that well, and sorry if i misunderstood what you ment, but still, on this side of the world that hystory is not lost. Just wanted to put that out there. P.S. I read the book myself, and i really liked it.
I was looking for someone who commented on this because I have the same thoughts. I'm from Poland myself and we also remember this part of history very well. It's thought in schools in context of WWII and I'm actually a little suprised that in the US they don't do that. In my opinion next to the Holocaust it's one of the most terrible ans sad parts of WWII history.
Poison by Sarah Poole is one of my favorites. It’s Borgia Rome. Cool female protagonist. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory is great. It has perspectives of Anne of Cleves.. among others that are very interesting... Does Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden count? It’s a-fricken-mazing.. Then there’s The Devils Arithmetic, I forget the author. I don’t have my copy... Entitled Jewish girl gets taken back to WW2... I love historical fiction 😭💖
I am 100% OK with the fact that you love WWII HF because that's my favorite era of historical fiction to read! I read Code Name Verity on your recommendation and it's been one of my favorite historical fiction novels. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. I used to love Victorian England historical fiction when I was younger (The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory is quite good!) though it's not nearly as abundant as WWII literature is! I was literally just about to go read The Nightingale next because I've bee missing my historical fiction lately - I've been reading so much fantasy!
Great video! I read The Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly this summer and absolutely loved it! Between Shades of Gray was amazing...and I'm hoping to read The Shadow of The Wind soon (bought it a couple months back), very intrigued by its premise. :)
I would like to read Between Shades of Grey. I read Salt to the Sea this year and it broke my heart. I think you've read it yourself so you'll know what I mean but I was devastated that history had chosen to forget about the incident in question. It was such a catastrophic loss of civilian life!
My favourite genre! Top 3 are Winter King by Bernard Cornwell, Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden, and When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman.
Maybe you don't know but, Shadow of the wind is the first from a quartet of books written by carlos ruiz zafón. The 4th and last book it is been recently published in here in Spain. The books are (in order): The shadow of the wind The angel's game The prisioner of heaven The labyrinth of spirits
Great reviews, I’ve read my fair share of historical fiction books including The Nightingale and All the Light we Cannot See. All of which provide different perspectives and impacts of war on individuals. I highly recommend reading The Alice Network which has been released earlier in the year, it has easily become a favourite. It is a historical fiction novel revolving around WW1 & WW2.
I think you would LOVE the book The Family by David Laskin, which is a narrative genealogy of a Jewish family going through the 20th century. Also The Visitors by Sally Beauman, a fictional telling of the discovery of King Tut's tomb.
Historical fiction books are my ABSOLUTE favorite genre ♥️
Laiah Clay saaaame
Same
Saaaame
❤️❤️
then, you should try war of the roses.
YESSS SAME
I loved The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And The Mountains Echoed
Maggie Harder I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns!!!
I cried so much for A Thousand Splendid Suns
Yes Maggie- I loved all those you listed, and I think you'll love all of Frank McCourt's books - all so good
My fav boooks
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is my favorite historical fiction/book this year.
Emilia
I'm reading it right now and it's amazing! I have about 100 pages left. I can't wait to see what happens next!! I'm in such a historical fiction mood now!
I just finished that book and I absolutely love it!!!
You should totally read "between shades of grey" ir will destroy you, i can assure you that haha
What about Ashes in the Snow, when Communists visited their neighbors?
Everytime I think about The Nightingale my eyes start watering automatically, that's how much it deeply affected me! cried like a fountain I swear..
One of my favorites (Also pre- and during WWII) is *Memoirs of a Geisha* by Arthur Golden, I HIGHLY recommend :D
I'm the same with The Nightingale, I've read it twice now and it's the only book to make me break down and just bawl. So beautiful and gutwrenching!
all the light we cannot see is really beautiful, just finished reading it 3 days ago
Between Shades Of Grey is one of my absolute favourite books.
Mama Sarah. Yes!!
I'm almost done with Salt to the sea and I'm really excited to read Between shades of grey!!
Yes!! Love it so much!!
The movie deserves an Oscar. Ranks along Schindler's List and Enemy at the Gates.
The Help. My favourite historical fiction book. l loved it so much! I love how the author described the scenes that are occurring, and they felt so real, as if it actually happened in real life! This book became one of my favourite books of all time! Great video Reagan!
Loved all the recommendations. I am currently reading the book thief and will try to pick more from this list very soon.
Indian Booktuber I am FINALLY reading it next week for the Tome Topple readathon.
Indian Booktuber definately pick up all the light we cannot see. Words cannot describe how magical that story was
I love the way u review books. U really captured the essence of burial rites to a tee. I loved the book and when u said slo burn, that was a perfect description of the build up. Iceland wow. Thanks.
Lynne B This is literally what I was going to say in my comment 😂😂
i just finished All the Light we cannot see loved it!
I'm so happy you finally read The Nightingale!! It's so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It has so much impact
I read The Nightingale back in May and fell in love with it!
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is also a very good read
You give the BEST book summaries on book tube. I think too many people reiterate what's on the synopsis on the book itself, but you help to characterize the stories so well. I trust your bookish opinions the most!!
I waited the whole video to hear "The nightingale" on the list... and I loved everything you said (because it's true), when I remember that book I want to cry till this day, and I also loved especialy the way they were SO EXTREMELY different.
The Nightingale was one of the most impacful and emotional books I've ever read. I'll have to pick up some of the others you've mentioned.
This video was fantastic! A friend of mine recently tried to convince me to read Burial Rites (she's obsessed with it atm), and so now thanks to you and her, I think I'm going to have to get my hands on it!
One I HIGHLY recommend is The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry, it's set in medieval France/Spain (Provensa), is bursting with historical information, amazing characters and it quickly became one of my all time favourites!
thank you for bringing The Shadow of the Wind into my life, Reagan
i totally read the book theif because of you and it made me cry!! but it is now one of my favorite books ever!! so thank you for bringing that book into my life.
YAY i love the nightingale and i haven't seen any booktuber talk about it. i'm so happy you liked it!!!!
Does anyone know about a good historical fiction novel with Marie Antoinette in it?
I just finished reading Code Name Verity. I finished it in less than 2 days. I just couldn’t stop reading it! Usually I can tell what’s going to happen in books but this one had me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened. One of those books where you do and don’t want to skip to the end!
I have not stopped watching your channel since I've subscribed. Thanks for inspiring me to pick up a book and read again! Thanks regan
Great video! Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is so good! WWII historical fiction. Definitely recommend if you haven't read it and you liked The Nightingale (my fave book of 2016.)
I love your channel so much! So many books that you've recommended sound so interesting and I wouldn't hear about them anywhere else, mainly fantasy and historical fiction, and I am thankful for that. Keep them coming.
My favorite historical fiction is The Century Triology by Ken Follett, the books are gigantic, but there's so much to talk about the 20th century! Also I like it because it follows different families from some of the countries involved in the main events of the century, so it is really nice because you see the development and growing of the characters and also, you get to know them really well :)
I love Book Thief and Code Name Verity! Currently reading, and enjoying, all the light we can not see.
Just any Rita Sepetys's book is my favorite historical fiction book. I love her so much. I don't even have words.
Hi Regan! I don't know if you (or other people who may read this comment) already know about this, but the last book of the Library Of Forgotten Books tetralogy has just been published in Spain (on the 17th)! It's called "The Labyrinth of Spirits" (this is a translation of the original title, I'm not sure what the name will be in the US) and it has 800+ PAGES AND I'M HONESTLY SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY BREATHE WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT IT HOLY SMOKES I LOVE CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN. It will be out in Portugal next Wednesday. For anyone interested, do a bit of research and find out the release date in your countries, it should be very soon, I believe!
also: Loved your list. Currently reading All The Light We Cannot See and really enjoying it, and I truly think that at the moment Shadow Of The Wind is my favorite book of all time.
I love Carlos Ruiz too😍😍😭😭
After my sister gifted me with The Daughter of Zion for my birthday. I instantly fall in love with historical fictions and it will always be my favorite genre
Great Recs! Between Shades of Gray is one of my favorites! Like you I had no idea those events even happened or existed. Fantastic Read!
My favorite historical fiction is Shogun by James Clavell. I read it a long time ago and it's a book that is not blurred and forgotten by the passage of time.
My mom read it in the 80s, finished it the day the miniseries came out. I've been slowly getting through it.
Historical fiction is my absolute favorite genre to read!!
The way you explained your love for these books made me want to read them all :)
My Favorite historical fiction novels:
1. The Romanov Empress
2. Lilac Girls
3. The Last Queen.
I watched the Book Thief in movies. Very good!!!!
I’ve reviewed many of these books on my channel. I loved them all!
I loved The Romanov Empress and Lilac Girls. 🤗
Bianca Vandenbos Cool. I have looked online and I don’t see too many reviews on it.
Have you read C.W. Gortner’s latest book “The First Actress”? I reviewed it on my channel. :-)
you are the first booktuber who ive seen mention the shadow of the wind and ohhhh i loveeee that book so much. It was actually the first book I read this year and since i was just trying out this reading thing i wanted stand alone books and i chose this one bc at the moment i thought it was a stand alone but i was actually delighted to find out it was a trilogy! Anyway i love that book❤️
I have to read Burial Rites for my English class next year. I've heard so many great (spoiler free) reviews on it & I can't wait to read it
The Walled City is based on a real walled city in HK, it's already demolished and turned into a park. But when it was still there it was a place that was pushed around between the British colonial government, the Chinese government and the HK government because no one wanted to be responsible for it. So it became the perfect place for criminals.
The Nightingale broke me. I haven't been as destroyed from a book since I was 16 reading HP5. It was just so beautiful. Glad to know you loved it!
Thanks for the video - very helpful! I am reading a book called 'The German half-bloods' and will get onto your list for my next book!
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown was an amazing read! It was somewhat slow to get into but I was so captivated by the end!
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is my favorite book ever. So inspiring!
Great picks!
Iriiis13 - I read Pillars of the Earth and LOVED it!!! I need to read something else by him!
Iriiis13 I have always been intrigued by his novels, but they are MASSIVE.
brandnewbooksmell - Read World Without End. It's set 200 years after Pillars, but in the same place. Such a great book. Or his Century Trilogy. 👍🏻
Century Trilogy is my favorite!!
nnazery I just picked up his Eye of the Needle and The Fall of Giants. 😊
I am always on the lookout for more historical fiction. And I've really been getting into settings around WWI and WWII. I added a few books.
I really love historical fiction novels. You did a veeeery good job with this video!! It is just amazing the way you talk about the books!! New Spanish sub! Hope you keep this nice!!
Fantastic choices! I'll be sure to come back to this video for reference when I'm looking for an historical read!
I really think you might like 'To The Bright Edge of the World'. It is set in the Alaskan frontier and is told from the perspective of the husband and his explorer comrades and his wife who is left back at home. It mixes in beautiful, poetic descriptions of the landscape, as well as whimsical/magical realism type elements. One of my favorite releases of the whole year for sure!! Also, the authors first novel, 'the snow child' was shortlisted for a Pulitzer and I LOVED that too.
I read The Nightingale because I saw it in one of your videos before and I it's now one of my favorite books
The Shadow of the Wind is one of those brew the coffee and read till 4 in the morning
Paul Winchell it's my all time favourite book. I recommend it to everyone but no one appreciates it like I do. They either say "it's too descriptive" or sexist but Zafon just captures how life was back then. It's the type of book to read not just for entertainment but for the meaning and emotion.
Phillipa Gregory is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her historical fiction novels during the war of the roses and post Tudor era are my favorite!
My favorite historical fiction books normally have around 1000 pages or more, is just that when there is a book set in the past I love that it's very descriptive so that I can feel like I'm there
Every time I see your top vídeos, I really need run to the library¡!! Now i have more books for my eternal TBR pile ☺️
Book thief was my first historical fiction too!! I started consuming English literature Farrelly late which in hindsight probably worked in My favour. One booked in this gerne which I would like to recommend to everyone is Midnight's Children! Historical fiction with a touch of magical realism! Absolutely adored this one!!
I love all of Alan Furst's books. All are set either just prior to or during WW II. They are very well written and evoke the tense atmosphere of the era in Europe.
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir, Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir, The Book Thief (I know you read it, but it is AMAZING) The Golden Earring by Belinda Alexandra, Prisoner of Night and Fog- Anne Blankman, Anne of Green Gables series, and many more :)
Thank you so much for this list, I always need new historical fiction! I read a lot of Australian historical fiction, which is amazing, but it's nice to expand on that. Especially since I also love WWII novels. The Book Thief is one of favourite books (and movies) ever, and I haven't yet read All The Light We Cannot See but it's on my bookshelf. Some of these others really intrigue me, so they're added to my TBR list!
All The Light We Cannot See is one of my favourites this year. It's amazing!
The walled city sounds so different and fascinating!!
I have read 7 out of 9 books mentioned, and yes, I love them all. Everything I Never Told You is indeed amazing.
Some historical fiction books I recommend:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Girl in the Blue Coat
Fever 1793
Between Shades of Gray
I read Between Shades of Grey in middle school, and I STILL remember it like I read it last year. Very impactful.
My friend nearly killed me when I told her the title because she thought the same thing :)
You should try The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco!
And I have two books I really love, but they're more like historical YA... the first one is Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli and follows a wealthy girl in 16th century Venice. I just love the atmosphere in this book!
The second one is The Song of Achilles and it's about the life of Achilles (duh) and his friend Patroklus from young age until the trojan war. It's not that much about the writing or the story-building but the characters and their relationships. It killed me!
We must have similar taste--I've read at least two of the stories you've recommended (and loved both of them! They were "Code Name Verity" and "Between Shades of Gray"--both of them left me an emotional wreck.) I'm gonna have to check out some of the other recs you made in the video!
LUVVVVVed Book Thief! Loved the series of Library of Forgotten Books--ALL four are awesome!
I read "The Shadow Of The Wind" for school and loved it so much. It's such a good story and so well written you don't get bored at any minute.I also read the second one "Angel's Game" and want to read the third one already. All the light you cannot see is a beatiful book and I loved it. I will note down some of the recommendations you gave,some of them seem really interesting :)
The fact that you know both Regan's book taste and her shelves so well that you know that All The Light You Cannot See is going to appear in this video because:
a) she loves it
b) you know the exact place in her shelves this book usually is and you can see it missing
Proud and scared of myself at the same time.
You need to read Wait For Me and In Another Time both by Caroline Leech. They’re both rather new, and they are an absolute delight to read!
You have to read Memoirs of a Geisha! It's one of my favorite books of all time.
The Nightingale was an amazing read. I could not put it down. I really felt like I was watching the movie whilst reading the book. The chaos of occupied France, the loss, the danger, and the fight for survival. Following 2 sister's and how they cope with the nightmare they find themselves in. A book of courage, love and survival against the odds. You will cry happy and sad tears.
I've had Burial Rights on my shelf for so dang long now! I really need to pick it up!
I have several of the books you mentioned on my TBR list. I need to make them a priority in 2017!
I like very much books of Amin Maalouf. He writes historical fiction and nonfiction books. I would highly recommend Samarkand and Ports of Call but all of his books are great. I am amazed by his style of writing. It's so precise, so honest, so beautiful. Such writers are really rear nowadays.
I haven't read any historical fictions but planning to read one in the future. Thank you for the recommendation! ❤
If you love WWII novels, you may have heard of Marge Piercy's Gone to Solders, which chronicles the lives of 10 people during WWI, each of whom are leading different lives and having different experiences as a result of the war. It features characters such as a woman pilot, who of course isn't allowed to fly in the war, a young French woman who joins the resistance, a Jewish girl in NYC, and so on. It is epic and beautiful.
We double up on a lot of our favourites, I loved The Book Thief, The Nightingale, Between Shades of Grey and All the Light We Cannot See as well. If we're going historical fantasy I love the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray and the Cahill Witch Chronicles by Jessica Spotswood. For some silly fluffy historical fiction I like The Luxe series by Anna Godberson, it's Gossip Girl set in 1900s New York. I also really enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl and the Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. I love Goodnight Mr Tom and A Little Love Song by Michelle Magorian and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Historical fiction is great!
My favorite author is Kate Morton and she writes historical fiction. My favorite book is The Forgotten Garden. Her books are less historical compared to some of the books you mentioned but I love her writing and the way she entwines the characters and I just think they're really great books!
Between Shades of Gray was an amazing book. It definitely made me cry and smile. I loved it so much. She is such an amazing writer.
Loved Code Name Verity. So hauntingly good. I really need to read Rose Under Fire. The Book Thief is just AMAZING! The Walled City looks really good, adding it to my TBR. I've been wanting to read All the Light We Cannot See, sounds so good! I LOVE Ruta Sepetys, although I haven't read that one yet. I loved Out of the Easy and Salt to the Sea. I feel like Salt to the Sea was another story she did that needed to be told. A maritime disaster that I have NEVER heard of, and one of the worst in history. Its also a WWII story. Thanks for the list, one of the reasons I love watching your channel is your love for history and historical fiction :)
I highly recommend Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. It's a WW2 novel that takes place in Greece before, during, and after Italian (and later German) occupation. It has some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read and shows a part of the war that I feel like is rarely discussed.
Yes to "The Book Thief", and "Between Shades of Gray"! So many of these are on my to-read list. :) When I first started getting into historical fiction I was surprised by how much I absolutely loved it!
I quite enjoyed "The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. It was just really funny and light and cute.
"Salt to the Sea" and "Out of the Easy" by Ruta Sepetys are also musts. I finished the former last month and it still haunts me.
I've been hoping you'd make another Historical Fiction recs video! I've loved all the ones you mentioned so I guess I'm just going to have to go out and buy all the other ones now :D
My favourites:
The Lie Tree
My Lady Jane
The Secret Countess
The Book Theif
To Kill A Mockingbird
Ok so this is about "Between shades of gray", so i live in Latvia, which is in the baltic states, and over here that hystory and those stories aren't lost, we talk about them and know about them, we have movies and tv programms were people who were deported talk about the time and what happened. So yeah, this part of hystory is not completely lost, only mostly people from america and western europe don't know about them. It's not like i'm judging you, it's not like i know asian hystory that well, and sorry if i misunderstood what you ment, but still, on this side of the world that hystory is not lost. Just wanted to put that out there.
P.S. I read the book myself, and i really liked it.
I was looking for someone who commented on this because I have the same thoughts. I'm from Poland myself and we also remember this part of history very well. It's thought in schools in context of WWII and I'm actually a little suprised that in the US they don't do that. In my opinion next to the Holocaust it's one of the most terrible ans sad parts of WWII history.
Rūta Brīvlauka That is one of my favorites! I had to keep a journal while reading it
I couldnt stop looking at your eyes 😭 they're gorgeous 💗
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. Set in Hungary and France slightly before, and during, WWII. Heart-wrenching, but phenomenal.
Poison by Sarah Poole is one of my favorites. It’s Borgia Rome. Cool female protagonist.
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory is great. It has perspectives of Anne of Cleves.. among others that are very interesting...
Does Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden count? It’s a-fricken-mazing..
Then there’s The Devils Arithmetic, I forget the author. I don’t have my copy... Entitled Jewish girl gets taken back to WW2...
I love historical fiction 😭💖
I am 100% OK with the fact that you love WWII HF because that's my favorite era of historical fiction to read! I read Code Name Verity on your recommendation and it's been one of my favorite historical fiction novels. It was heartbreakingly beautiful.
I used to love Victorian England historical fiction when I was younger (The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory is quite good!) though it's not nearly as abundant as WWII literature is! I was literally just about to go read The Nightingale next because I've bee missing my historical fiction lately - I've been reading so much fantasy!
Great video! I read The Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly this summer and absolutely loved it! Between Shades of Gray was amazing...and I'm hoping to read The Shadow of The Wind soon (bought it a couple months back), very intrigued by its premise. :)
Yes yes yes! You just listed a bunch of my favorites. I have Burial Rites on my tbr but am slightly intimidated by it.
I would like to read Between Shades of Grey. I read Salt to the Sea this year and it broke my heart. I think you've read it yourself so you'll know what I mean but I was devastated that history had chosen to forget about the incident in question. It was such a catastrophic loss of civilian life!
My favourite genre!
Top 3 are Winter King by Bernard Cornwell, Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden, and When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Penman.
Maybe you don't know but, Shadow of the wind is the first from a quartet of books written by carlos ruiz zafón. The 4th and last book it is been recently published in here in Spain.
The books are (in order):
The shadow of the wind
The angel's game
The prisioner of heaven
The labyrinth of spirits
Has anyone else read the Gemma Doyle trilogy and The Diviners by Libba Bray? They're fantasy historical fiction, but they're amazing.
Great reviews, I’ve read my fair share of historical fiction books including The Nightingale and All the Light we Cannot See. All of which provide different perspectives and impacts of war on individuals. I highly recommend reading The Alice Network which has been released earlier in the year, it has easily become a favourite. It is a historical fiction novel revolving around WW1 & WW2.
You really need to check out People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks. Right up your alley as a book lover.
Veracity McGee Yes! One of my favorites!
Veracity McGee omg this book destroyed me. I sobbed so freaking hard. I couldn't finish it because I couldn't stop crying.
Hello.. i've been reading the nightingle.. but i'm just at chapter 8. So far is so good
Ive read all the books mentioned and adored them. I havent read the nightingale and the walled city. CANNOT WAIITTTTT
Great list!! They are all my faves in this genre too. Thanks!
I think you would LOVE the book The Family by David Laskin, which is a narrative genealogy of a Jewish family going through the 20th century. Also The Visitors by Sally Beauman, a fictional telling of the discovery of King Tut's tomb.
My favorite historical fiction book is Shadows on the Sea. It's a children's book, but it's so good!