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It’s finally October! In addition to the inevitable joy that brings (crisp air, bright autumn leaves, hot drinks–yum!), it also just so happens to be Book Riot’s birthday. Our 10th birthday, to be exact. To celebrate, we’re running a limited edition merch line. Snag one of these awesome 10th anniversary tee-shirts or hoodies, only available this month!
October isn’t only bringing colder weather and exclusive Book Riot anniversary merch, though. There are also so many new books! I’ve highlighted a handful of new releases in past newsletters, but with the changing of the seasons I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about some of the great new historical fiction coming our way this fall.
When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble
A historical mystery following a Cherokee horse-diver at the Glendale Park Zoo in 1920s Nashville who must get to the bottom of the mysterious events plaguing the park after a disastrous performance.
Release date: Oct 12, 2021
The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller
A man journeys deeper and deeper into the isolation of the Arctic Circle with only a loyal dog to keep him company. But years into his isolation, a surprising visitor sets off a chain of events that bring Sven into a family of misfits and castoffs, just like him.
Release date: Oct 26, 2021
Harsh Times: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa
This true story of the 1950s CIA-supported coup that toppled the Guatemalan government explores the lie that forever changed the development of Latin America: that the government of Jacobo Árbenz promoted the spread of Communism throughout the Americas. Harsh Times is the story of how history and truth are manipulated by those seeking power.
Release date: Nov 16, 2021
The Teller of Secrets by Bisi Adjapon
Following the political upheaval in 1960s postcolonial Ghana, a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl begins to question the double standard between men and women’s sexuality, especially in the wake of her own father’s adultery, which she has been keeping secret.
Release date: Nov 16, 2021
The Sisters Sweet by Elizabeth Weiss
Harriet and Josie Szász are known as “The Sisters Sweet,” in their vaudeville sister act, posing as conjoined twins in a scheme dreamed up by their parents. But when Josie exposes the sisters’ fraud to chase her Hollywood dreams, Harriet is left to pick up the pieces.
Release date: Nov 30, 2021
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
Juhea Kim’s sweeping historical epic spans half a century, featuring a wide cast of characters, hero and villain, friend and enemy, at the heart of the Korean independence movement. From a courtesan school in Pyongyang to the boreal forests of Manchuria, everyone must choose how to forge their own destiny, even as the fate of their nation is being determined.
Release date: Dec 7, 2021
MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB:
Learn the origin story behind another recent 2021 release, Matrix by Lauren Groff.
Check out Buzzfeed’s list of 17 historical fiction novels to read this fall.
That’s it for now, folx! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.
If you want to talk books (historical or otherwise), you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, Litsy, and occasionally Twitter.
Right now I’m reading Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen. What about you?