3 Entertaining Historical Fiction Books to Reads

by Susan Roberts

Historical fiction is great because you can learn a little about a time that you might not have lived in or perhaps didn't engage with the historical events featured in the book. While at the same time, you are being entertained.

 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony

March 2025; Gallery Books; 978-1668047385
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); Irish historical fiction

In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story.

Sometimes it's difficult to believe that it wasn't too many years ago that contraceptives weren't available.  Even worse, it wasn't until 1985 that it was legal to buy contraceptives in Ireland.  Not only was it against the law, but in this mostly Catholic country, using contraceptives was considered a mortal sin.  The Women on Platform Two looks at the fight in Ireland to allow women to use contraceptives and limit the size of their families.

This dual timeline story looks at women's lives in 1968 and 2023.  In the current timeline, Saorise has walked out on her boyfriend after a fight.  He is pushing her to start a family, and she just isn't sure if she wants to ever have children.  She wanders to the train station and gets on a train to return a picture that a woman had dropped in the train station.  Much to her dismay, she doesn't get off the train before it leaves for Belfast.  So she sits down and begins to have a conversation with Maura, who tells her about life in Ireland in the 1960s.

Maura fell in love and married a doctor.  Her parents were thrilled that she had married well and could quit her job and become a wife and mother.  Maura and her husband, Christy, move into a large house and make plans to start a family immediately.  After several miscarriages, it begins to look like there will be no baby in their future.  Maura begins to think that not having a child is a good thing.  Her husband is abusive, and the abuse continues to escalate.  How could she protect a baby from his abuse?  One day, she's out for a walk and meets Bernie.  Bernie and her husband and three young children live at the opposite end of the economic scale, but she and Maura become good friends.  When Bernie's current pregnancy ends tragically, the doctor tells her that she should not get pregnant again, which causes major disruptions to their married life.  The two women begin to work with a group that wants to bring contraceptives to Ireland from Belfast, where it is legal.  They are in danger of being arrested, but they both feel strongly that women should be allowed to choose the size of their families.  Will their attempt help or get them both jailed?

This story is based on a real event in Dublin in the 1960s that started to change the laws in Ireland.  It took until 1985 to get the laws changed, but it was a huge step for Irish women.  I really enjoyed learning about the work of the women who were dedicated to changing the laws.  The main characters were well written and well developed.  We don't learn too much about Saorise and her life, but the two friends from the 1960s are fantastic.  Their friendship, despite their economic level, is wonderful.  Also, their bravery and tenacity in working to make a change for women is a reminder for all women of how far we've come and, unfortunately, how far we still have to go.

Buy The Women on Platform 2 at Amazon

 

After Paris by Mary Ellen Taylor

May 2025; Montlake; 978-1662513442
audio, ebook, print (326 pages); historical fiction

This beautifully written and well-researched novel has a dual timeline that takes place during World War II and current times.  The three main characters are all women, and they all show the bravery and tenacity of women who are faced with almost impossible problems.

Ruby is a 25-year-old writer who has just gotten a cancer-free diagnosis after suffering two years with the disease.  She knows that the cancer could come back like it has for so many of her friends from the hospital, so she tries to live her life to the fullest even as she worries about her future.  She is researching a popular actress from the 1940s who vanished in 1942. When she uncovers a diary, she realizes that she needs to travel to Paris to find out more about the life of Cécile, the “it girl” of early 1940s French cinema.  Sylvia Rousseau, Cécile’s dressmaker and confidante, also disappeared at the same time.  The novel shifts between Ruby in modern times and the historical story of Cecile and Sylvia and their work with the French Resistance.  The more Ruby learns about the two women, the more she realizes that they risked their hearts and lives to aid the Resistance, and each day was a struggle to survive.   Ruby, facing cancer, is spending every day worrying about the possibility of the cancer returning, realizes that she needs to learn to look forward to the future rather than fear the past, just like Cecile and Sylvia had to do.

The characters in this novel were beautifully written, and the story was very emotional.  The two timelines melded together, and there was no confusion as the story skipped back and forth.  All three women showed how brave they were as they lived their lives looking forward to their futures.  I know that there are a lot of WWII books to choose from right now, but this is one that you don't want to miss.

Buy After Paris at Amazon

Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe

May 2025; William Morrow; 978-0063249424
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); historical southern fiction

Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.

I have read every book that Mary Alice Monroe has written, and this is her best book yet.  This is Southern Fiction at its best.  Reading her descriptions of the low country, I felt like I was there or that it was time to plan a vacation in the low country.  Her characters were so well written that I felt like they were friends.  Where the Rivers Merge is a two-book story, and I can't wait until book two of this fantastic family saga publishes next year.

This book is set in Charleston, SC.  It's about Eliza during two different time periods.  The first time period starts in 1908 at Mayfield - a grand estate owned by the Rivers family for generations.  We meet young Eliza, an adventuresome young girl who would sooner be outside running in the fields and exploring, and avoids her mother's plans to make a proper young lady out of her.   She has two brothers, and the oldest born will inherit the estate when he becomes of age.  

The 1988 timeline is about Eliza at 88 years old.  She is the head of the family business, and her son is pushing for changes.  He wants to take control of the company, plus he wants to own part of Mayfield.  He doesn't love the estate like his mother does and plans to sell it in the future. He is incensed when he finds out that she has given a large portion of the family estate to a conservation group and plans to give them the rest of her land before she dies.  She retreats to Mayfield after a contentious board meeting, and her niece and granddaughter go with her.  She explains her younger life to the two women and her plans for the future of Mayfield.

Eliza was a fantastic character.  She was strong and tenacious, and she loved her family home and wanted to protect it at all costs.  Even at 88 years old, she had the strength to defy her son and his plans for the future.  This is a family saga about love and loss,  the importance of female friendship, and sadness that it leaves when a friendship ends.  Most of all, it's a book about conservation and protecting the land for future generations - something that the author has done in her personal life.  I loved this book and look forward to the second part of this fantastic family saga.

Buy Where Rivers Merge at Amazon

 

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.