Books Set in Western Europe

Whether you found this post searching for Books Set in Western Europe, or are participating in our Book Voyage Reading Challenge, we hope you find the perfect books on our list below. We worked hard to include plenty of variety, so you can discover somewhere/something new to you!welcome

The Countries of Western Europe

Depending on the context – geographical, cultural, or historical – you’ll find various answers as to which countries are classified as “Western Europe.”

For purposes of this reading challenge, we’ve included the following: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

What Kind of Books are Included On This List?

We’ve compiled a great list of novels set in Europe’s western countries, as well as some YA historical fiction, memoirs, and non-fiction reads. We focused on finding book recommendations that will transport you to the country of your choice as you read.

If you love historical fiction, there are countless excellent books set in Europe throughout both WWI and WWII. If you’re looking for European historical fiction set during WWI or WWII, you’ll find additional books on these lists: Best WW1 Historical Fiction Novels, WW2 Novels Featuring Resistance Workers & Other Helpers, Books Set in the 1910s, Books Set in the 1940s, and Books Like the Nightingale.

The Best Books Set in Western European Countries

Sally Brady's Italian Adventure book cover

Book Summary

Sally had a hard start to life as a Dust Bowl refugee sent to California in 1931. Despite being abandoned there, she manages to be adopted by a Hollywood star. By 1940, she has a whole new life secretly satirizing Europe’s upper crust and charming her way around Fascist-era Rome.

However, a good deed has now left her stranded in wartime Italy and she must travel throughout the besieged land as she works her way home and tries to save her friends along the way.

The story alternates perspectives between Sally, an Italian writer named Lapo, who is admired by Mussolini, and Lapo’s son, who is an outspoken anti-fascist.

The Book Girls Say…

Reviewers say the pace of the book picks up after the first 25%, so if it’s a slow start for you, it may be worth pushing ahead. Additionally, this section is from Sally’s younger years and is written more simply to match her age. As the book progresses, it changes in tone as she also matures.

Fountains of Silence book cover

Book Summary

This young adult historical fiction focuses on life in post-war Spain under Franco’s dictatorship. In 1957, the regime needed money and opened the country to Americans hoping for investment. Eighteen-year-old Daniel travels with his oil tycoon father from Houston to Madrid.

Daniel brings his camera, eager to explore the city beyond the image that Franco is projecting to the world. Along with Ana, the young hotel maid tasked with assisting his family, Daniel discovers and documents the atrocities happening in the fascist regime.

The Book Girls Say…

This 2020 release is the latest book from the New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

Books with Teenage Characters

Beartown Book Cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

96% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

In the tiny community of Beartown, life revolves around hockey. It provides entertainment and hope for a better future. It’s a story about hockey, small-town life, and much more. When a shocking event occurs, the town quickly takes sides. Who will stand up for the truth and put hockey above humanity? The themes are definitely relevant to the decade.

If you’ve already read Beartown and the sequel Us Against You, this is a great excuse to pick up the final book in the Trilogy, The Winners, which was published in September 2022. It’s set two years after Beartown, so it still sneaks into the 2010s.

The Book Girls Say…

Fredrik Backman has a gift with words, melodic phrasing, and unparalleled insight into human motivations. He writes characters that are so well-rounded that even if you disagree with their decisions, you understand what they were thinking. We both gave this one all the stars!

Hello, Again book cover

Book Summary

Pepper lives in a small coastal UK town, but imagines a very different life for herself. So she jumps at the chance to tour more of Europe with her elderly friend, Josephine. While in Lisbon, Portugal, Pepper bumps into a handsome man named Finn. Is he exactly what she has been looking for?

However, are things really as they seem? While she worries Finn might have a secret, Pepper has a secret of her own.

The Book Girls Say…

If you enjoy a love story that also has friendship themes, this one will vividly transport you to Lisbon, Portugal, Hamburg, Germany, and the isle of Guernsey! Reviewers have mixed feelings about Pepper as she is a more complex character than many romance leads, so you may need to give her some grace based on past tragedies in her life.

Venice Sketchbook book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

100% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

In 2001, Caroline Grant was in the midst of her marriage falling apart when her beloved great-aunt Lettie passed away, leaving Caroline a sketchbook, three keys, and the request that her ashes be spread in Venice. Key by key, Caroline will learn the secrets that Lettie kept for more than 60 years – secrets of impossible love, loss, and courage.

In her younger years, Lettie traveled to Venice numerous times as an art teacher, providing a wealth of art history to her students and allowing her to visit the man she loves even though his future cannot include her.

As the story unfolds, this novel is filled with beautiful descriptions of Venice’s narrow footpaths, canals, architecture, and food, both in the 1928-1944 timeline, as well as during the 21st century. Art plays an important role throughout this novel.

The Book Girls Say…

If you love art history but you’re looking for a grittier historical fiction suspense, consider reading The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer. It is about an art history professor who travels to Florence, Italy, to read the long-lost journal of his grandfather, who he suspects may have been behind the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa. Uncovering the truth turns out to be a dangerous endeavor. Like The Venice Sketchbook, the many art references and vivid descriptions of Italy bring life to the story.

Kindle Unlimited as of: 01/16/2024
Paper Girl of Paris book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

92% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Alice’s grandmother, Adalyn, just passed away, and she left the sixteen-year-old an apartment in Paris – one that’s been locked up for more than seventy years and that no one in the family knew existed.

Now Alice is spending the summer in Paris, and with the help of Paul – a Parisian student – she’s determined to find out why her grandma never mentioned the family that she left behind when she left France during WWII. The more she learns about the past, the more she realizes that her family is also hiding secrets in the present.

This dual-timeline YA novel also transports us back to Paris in the 1940s. It’s a city that sixteen-year-old Adalyn hardly recognizes as the Occupation brings new terrors daily. When she meets a young leader of a resistance group, she sees an opportunity to fight back, but she soon finds herself having to make more and more compromises.

The Book Girls Say…

For more titles like this one, check out our list of other historical fiction novels about the resistance during WWII. Or if you’re looking for a non-WW2 book set in Paris, we have a full list of great books for fans of Emily in Paris!

Tour book cover

Book Summary

Each week, Conor O’Shea leads American tourists on a high-end tour of “The Real Ireland.” He’s a seasoned guide, but his most recent tour group is filled with a colorful cast of unintentionally hilarious characters that manage to leave him speechless for the first time in his life. As the tour continues, you won’t be able to help but fall in love with these tourists, as well as the locals they meet along the way.

This is the perfect book for armchair travelers!

The Book Girls Say…

We’ve always loved the Irish works of the late, great Maeve Binchy, so when we heard Jean Grainger referred to as “the next Maeve Binchy,” we knew she’s be a great fit for the list to represent Ireland. Maeve Binchy’s book Circle of Friends would be another great choice this month.

Jean Grainger is also the author of the popular WWII historical fiction The Star and the Shamrock.

Kindle Unlimited as of: 01/17/2024

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

Best Books to Read in Spring

Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

92% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Do you dream of seeing the Venetian canals, the Amalfi Coast, or wandering through gorgeous Tuscan villages? This novel will transport you to all three dramatically different scenic Italian locations in vivid detail.

Two hundred years ago, Filomena Fontana cursed her sister. Ever since then, every 2nd born sister in the Fontana family has been unable to find love.

Some of the women believe in the curse, and others are skeptical, but when elderly Aunt Poppy invites two of the young second-born sisters to return to Italy with her, promising to have a plan to break the curse, they can’t pass up the chance. The trio of women travel throughout Italy, learning about their family history and uncovering secrets.

The Book Girls Say…

If you’re looking for a book to get lost in, this is a charming and light read filled with vivid atmospheric details! The narrator’s Italian accent makes the audiobook especially enjoyable.

Year of Living Danishly book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

94% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

This non-fiction option chronicles the author’s first year living in Denmark. She shares her experiences while exploring what makes Denmark consistently rated as the happiest place on earth. Despite long and cold winter nights, the people of Denmark rate their happiness higher than those from beautiful islands. Will she feel the same way by the end of her first year?

The Kindle edition has a new chapter from the author updating her thoughts in 2020, six years after the original publication.

The Book Girls Say…

The humorous book provides a good overview of life in Denmark, as opposed to a how-to guide for duplicating the lifestyle.

Kindle Unlimited as of: 01/16/2024
The Northern Lights Lodge book cover

Book Summary

Lucy is suffering from a broken heart and a crashed career, so she jumps at the opportunity to move from the UK to Iceland to manage the Northern Lights Lodge. Despite romance being the last thing she wants for herself, she’s determined to make the hotel a top romantic destination in Iceland.

Her new life is full of quirky characters who become her new family away from home. Dreamy Scottish barman, Alex, makes her question whether it’s time to reopen her heart to love. But will his secret impact their future?

The Book Girls Say…

If you love a cute and cozy, but NOT-steamy, romance novel and traveling to Iceland in hopes of catching the Northern Lights is on your bucket list, this is your book!

We’ve both read and enjoyed other books in Julie Caplin’s Romantic Escapes series and can’t wait to pick up this one. The books in the series stand alone with no need to read them in any particular order. If you love this book, you can also look forward to armchair traveling to many more destinations through the pages of this series, including more Western European locations like Copenhagen, Paris, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, and France.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo book cover

Book Summary

When the teenager from one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappears in 1966, her uncle is determined to find out what happened to her. For forty years, he wondered what really happened. Nearing the end of his life, he hires a down-on-his-luck investigative journalist and his angry and tattooed punk hacker prodigy to help him uncover the truth. The chilly Swedish backdrop sets the scene for this Nordic Noir novel that combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

WARNING: This novel includes some very graphic scenes, including sexual assault.

The Book Girls Say…

If you love thrillers and have already read this one, be sure to check out our list of Winter Thrillers, as many of them are set in Western Europe.

The Rachel Incident Book Cover

Book Summary

University student Rachel works at a bookstore, where she meets James, who quickly becomes her new BFF and roommate. The duo runs the streets of Cork, striving for a Bohemian lifestyle but also sharply aware of a looming financial collapse.

When Rachel falls for her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, she plots to seduce him after a reading at her bookstore. However, Fred has other desires that launch a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected wife.

The Book Girls Say…

Reviewers say this book is spicy and provocative, so consider whether that is something you enjoy in your reading before selecting this one. It’s also a strong character-driven literary read with more subtle happenings than page-turning plot points. However, it’s a great pick for those interested in stepping into a modern 20-something’s life in Ireland. The book is narrated by a 32-year old Rachel as she looks back on this period in her life.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

92% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

As London is emerging from WWII, Juliet Ashton, a writer, is looking for the subject of her next book. She begins exchanging letters with a man she’s never met – a native of the island of Guernsey. Through their letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of the man and his eccentric friends. Though they range from pig farmers to phrenologists, they are all literature lovers.

As Juliet learns about their tastes in books, she also comes to understand the impact that the German occupation has had on their lives.

The Book Girls Say…

This is a great choice for those who love epistolary novels, which are told through written correspondence between the characters.

Geography Note: Located between the UK and France, the Channel Islands, including Guernsey, are not part of the UK or the EU, but are dependent territories of the British Crown. 

From Scratch book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

83% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

It was love at first sight when Tembi and Saro met in Italy. He was a professional chef, and she was an actress from Houston. His Sicilian family did not approve of their relationship and specifically took issue with Saro marrying a Black American woman. Nonetheless, the two built a happy life together in Los Angeles and adopted a baby girl. Just when they were finally beginning to reconcile with Saro’s family back in Sicily, Saro receives a devastating cancer diagnosis.

This memoir chronicles three summers that Tembi and her young daughter spent in Sicily after the loss of her husband. Despite having once been estranged from her in-laws, she begins to discover the healing powers of food and family.

The Book Girls Say…

Netflix has recently adapted this memoir into a romantic limited series, with Tembe serving as the co-creator and executive producer. The first difference that viewers will notice is that the characters’ names have all been changed; Tembi is called Amy in the series and is an American law school student. Additionally, the first season of the Netflix series takes place before the events in this memoir.

Red Notebook book cover

Book Summary

When Parisian bookseller Laurent comes across a handbag on the street, he feels compelled to track down the owner. Nothing in the bag indicates who it belongs to, but the red notebook inside is filled with her jottings, which makes him want to meet the owner even more.

With just the bag’s contents as clues, Laurent does everything he can to find one woman in a city of millions. 

The Book Girls Say…

This short book contains both romance and mystery elements and is translated from the original French.

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

99% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Inspired by the true events of Operation Paperclip, this historical fiction novel tells the story of the US intelligence program that employed former Nazis in Huntsville, Alabama after WWII.

The story begins in Berlin in 1930. Changing political powers are sweeping through Germany. Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and her husband, Jürgen, are concerned with the social views taking hold in their country. But her academic husband’s work benefits from the ambitions of the newly elected chancellor. Soon, however, their morality is challenge and they realize that neutrality has a price.

At the same time, Lizzie Miller is living in the Texas panhandle during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The future looks bleak as their farm dries up. And that’s all before her brother, Henry, is called to Germany to fight in WWII.

Twenty years later in the 1950s, Jürgen is one of the many German scientists who is offered a pardon for their part in WWII in exchange for working on the fledgling space program in the US. Sofie welcomes the chance for a fresh start in a new country, but she soon finds that her Huntsville neighbors aren’t as welcoming or forgiving of her family’s past as she’d hoped.

Jürgen’s boss at the US space program is Calvin Miller, Lizzie’s husband. This is where the two women’s stories collide.

The Book Girls Say…

This historical fiction novel is based half in Germany and half in the US. Kelly Rimmer is the author of one of our very favorite WWII historical fiction reads, The Things We Cannot Say, so we had high expectations for this book. Those expectations were far exceeded!

Even if you read a lot of WWII novels, we’re certain this novel will offer you a new perspective. It draws unexpected parallels across the decades, and it will leave you contemplating how history will reflect on the events of our lifetime.

Goodnight, Vienna book cover

Book Summary

Katya was studying medicine abroad in Glasgow when she received devastating news from her parents. They were out of money, and she had to leave school to become a governess for twelve-year-old Gretchen in Vienna. It’s painful for Katya to see her employer’s riches when the lack of money for school has stolen her dreams.

When Hitler annexes Austria, Gretchen’s father is arrested. Because Gretchen is considered “imperfect,” she’s at risk of being sent to a Nazi research lab. Suddenly, Katya’s most important job is protecting Gretchen. And if they survive, will they be able to find her father?

The Book Girls Say…

For a modern look at Austria, try War & Piste by Alex Thomas. It’s a humorous, fictional diary of a ski season in the Austrian Alps. Think Bridgette Jones working as a ski rep, but without the self-doubt.

Kindle Unlimited as of: 01/16/2024
Spanish Promise book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

95% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

The Spanish Promise weaves together the genres of mystery, romance, and history to tell the story of a present-day recipient of a substantial inheritance. The will includes a clause that requires an investigation into the family’s past.

Wealth advisor Charlotte is brought in from London to assist, and she expects an easy task that will get her back in time for her own wedding. During the research, it turns out that the past is more complicated than expected, with secrets and scandals spanning multiple generations. Charlotte’s own life becomes an interesting sub-plot as she uncovers information about a tragic segment of her past.

The Book Girls Say…

This is a great option if you are looking for a lighter read with a little mystery. Reviewers often mention that they felt transported to Spain while reading.

Love & Gelato book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

90% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

This YA novel is an excellent option if you’re looking for a coming-of-age story with mystery, adventure, and a sweet romance that will transport you to an Italy filled with – you guessed it – love and gelato. The descriptions of Italy in this book will have you immediately planning your next vacation, but this story also brings much more depth than you might expect at first glance.

Lina’s mother had one dying wish – that her daughter get to know the father she’d never met. Lina isn’t thrilled to be spending the summer in Tuscany with this man she just learned about, but when she is given the journal that her mom kept when she lived in Italy, everything begins to change. As she follows her mother’s footsteps she is able to process her grief while also discovering art, hidden bakeries, and even romance.

The Book Girls Say…

If you enjoy this young adult novel about Italy, you might also want to check out Love & Luck (set in Ireland) and Love & Olives (set in Santorini, Greece). Kisses & Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau is another great YA romance set in Paris and is said to be perfect for fans of Jenna Evans Welch.

Flawless book cover

Book Summary

Antwerp, Belgium, is the diamond capital of the world, and in 2003 it became the site of the largest diamond heist in history. A group of thieves broke into an airtight vault in the diamond district, making off with $108 million worth of diamonds without tripping any alarms.

Even as police identified and closed in on the thieves, they couldn’t figure out how they had pulled off the heist.

The Book Girls Say…

Readers say this non-fiction book can be a bit dry at times, but that it’s great for fans of Oceans Eleven and the Italian Job. Author Scott Selby, a Harvard grad and diamond expert, followed clues throughout Europe to solve the mystery of what actually happened in this true-crime story.

Bookshop on the Corner book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

100% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Note: This book is also published under the title The Little Shop of Happy Ever After.

Nina loves her life as a librarian at a small neighborhood library. So when it’s downsized from the system, she’s devastated.

Should she give in and work for the large branch that is mainly a tech center helping people on computers versus being surrounded by books? Or is it time to stop playing things safe and follow her dreams of starting her own mobile bookshop to serve small towns?

The Book Girls Say…

Melissa really liked this story as a pleasant, lighter read about a fellow book lover, with a side of romance. Nina travels from England to a tiny village in Scotland, giving an excellent overview of the camaraderie that happens in isolated towns. It’s also a good look at the scenic and other differences between England and Scotland, wrapped into easy-to-read fiction. Audiobook listeners will also enjoy the lovely accents.

There are two other books in this Scottish Bookshop Series: The Bookshop on the Shore and 500 Miles From You.

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

23 Books About Books – Must Reads for Book Lovers

Our Last Days in Barcelona book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

100% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

This dual-timeline novel is set in Barcelona in 1964 and 1936. In the Sixties story, Isabel Perez was exiled from Cuba after the revolution. When her sister, Beatriz, goes missing in Barcelona, Isabel travels to Spain to search for her and is thrust into the dangerous world of espionage. She also unearths a piece of family history that changes everything.

In 1936, after a difficult voyage from Cuba, Alicia Perez arrived in Barcelona with her young daughter, Isabel. Spain is on the brink of civil war and when violence breaks out, Alicia finds herself reunited with someone from her past.

The Book Girls Say…

This book is the fifth in The Perez Family series, and the previous books have been popular picks on some of our other book lists. If you just want a book that will completely transport you to Barcelona, this book can be read as a standalone. But if you are interested in the complete story of the Perez family, then you’ll prefer to read these books in order.

Storm Sister book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

100% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Ally and her five sisters were all adopted as babies by their beloved father. Upon his death, all the sisters gather together at their childhood home – a secluded castle on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Each woman is handed a letter with a clue about her true heritage, and Ally’s clue takes her to icy Norway.

As Ally begins to unravel the mystery of her roots, she finds that her story is connected to that of a young, unknown singer named Anna, who lived there over 100 years ago. The story is told in a dual timeline between Ally’s present day and Anna’s life in the late 1800s. The more Ally learns about the past, the more she questions who her father really was, and why the seventh sister is missing.

The Book Girls Say…

This is book 2 in a series of 8, with each following one sister through a different location around the globe. Each book can be read as a standalone. Book 1, titled The Seven Sisters, is set in Brazil and has been a very popular pick on our South America list for the past few years, with many of our readers going on to complete the series.

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

Best Book Series for Adults – 19 Reader Picks

Girl Behind the Wall book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

93% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

In August of 1961, barbed wire was placed across Berlin in the middle of the night. Families were torn apart against their wishes by the new 30-mile wall. This historical fiction imagines the lives of twin sisters separated on that fateful night.

Karin is in East Berlin when the wall goes up, separating her from her twin, Jutta. They live parallel lives for years, with Karin surviving the brutal East German regime only with Otto’s help. One day, Jutta finds a hidden way to reach Karin, but the Stasi are watching. Should Jutta flee back home with her sister or follow her heart?

The Book Girls Say…

Like many books set in Germany, this one is on the heavier side, but if you’re looking for a lighter book, check out this list of Funny Books Set in Germany, which includes both fiction and a non-fiction title.

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

Books Set in the 1960s

Switch book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

92% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

When Londoner Leena Cotton is forced to take a two-month sabbatical from work after a disastrous presentation, she escapes to her grandmother’s house in a small village in Yorkshire, England. Her grandmother, Eileen, is about to turn 80 and hopes her next decade might include a second chance at love. Convinced that her grandmother will have better luck in the romance department if she heads to the big city, Leena convinces Eileen to swap her places and move into Leena’s London apartment.

This warm and charming novel is filled with vibrant descriptions of London and English village life as the grandmother and granddaughter duo aim to reset their lives after a difficult loss. Although Eileen’s search for love plays a role in this story, we wouldn’t describe this book as a romance. Instead, it’s a character-driven story about a wide variety of relationships.

We recommend the audio version for the full experience with accents!

The Book Girls Say…

Both Angela and Melissa are huge fans of Beth O’Leary’s debut novel, The Flatshare! While the settings play a more prominent role in The Switch, The Flatshare is one of our favorite rom-coms and provides a great look at modern-day life in London, including the challenges of the London real estate market.

When night-shift worker Leon needs some extra cash to help a family member, he gets a roommate. However, he only has a one-bedroom-flat in London, with one bed. So he places an ad for someone to sleep in his bed while he’s at work overnight. His wacky offer is just the solution newly-single Tiffy needs. She’s leaving a problematic relationship, and that past comes back throughout the book in very real and raw ways. Leon and Tiffy slowly get to know one another through a series of laugh-out-loud post-it note conversations.

Other Einstein book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

89% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Mitza Maric was the only female studying physics at a prestigious university in Zurich, Switzerland when she met her classmate and future husband – Albert Einstein.

The Other Einstein is a fictionalized story of their tumultuous relationship and places Mitza as the originator of some works credited to him. While not a biography, the book still highlights accurate depictions of life in Western Europe at the time, including rampant classism and sexism.

The Book Girls Say…

With Einstein being one of the most well-known citizens of Switzerland, we thought this would be a fun pick, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is a fictionalized version of events. Audiobook listeners have noted that the narrator was a bit too monotone, so this one is more enjoyable to read than to listen to.

Kindle Unlimited as of: 01/16/2024
View Across the Rooftops book cover

Book Summary

Widowed math professor Josef is devastated by the occupation of his beloved Amsterdam by German forces. His former student, Michael, is Jewish and at risk of being whisked away to a concentration camp as Jewish raids began across the city.  At great personal risk, Josef offers Michael a place to stay in his attic.

Michael can’t stop talking about his beloved, but forbidden Dutch girlfriend, Elke. She is equally in love with him and not sure what happened when he’s suddenly gone. Josef has memories of his own lost love and wants to help them have a chance at a life together, despite the unlikely odds. 

I Let You Go book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

100% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

A mother’s worst nightmare happens to Jenna Gray when she briefly lets go of her child’s hand on a busy street. Desperate to escape the tragedy, she moves to a small Welsh village on the coast. Her grief, fears, and memories of that day follow her as she tries to make a new life in the picturesque town. This thriller continues to twist and leave you in page-turning suspense.

The Book Girls Say…

Some readers – moms in particular – have expressed apprehension going into this book, fearing that the child being hit by a car would be too heavy of a focus. But those who have read it report that they enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the story.

In addition to the initial tragedy with the child, there are also scenes of domestic & sexual abuse.

Two Steps Forward book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

78% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

The Camino pilgrimage takes walkers on a 500-mile trek on the centuries-old journey from France to Spain. In this contemporary romance, you’ll make the trip from your armchair alongside Zoe and Martin.

Zoe is from California and trying to recover from her husband’s sudden death. Martin is from England and recovering from a messy divorce. He’s an engineer on the pilgrimage to road test a new cart he designed. As they travel, Zoe and Martin must overcome both physical and emotional challenges, while learning to trust again.

The Book Girls Say…

If you’re looking for a lighter read and enjoyed Graeme Simsion’s writing in the Rosie Project, this could be a great pick!

Guest List book cover

Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book

95% Would Recommend to a Friend

Book Summary

Imagine the picture-perfect wedding on a remote Irish island between a rising TV star and an intelligent magazine publisher. Despite the rough waves and spotty cell service, the wedding is sure to be idyllic, with every detail and moment planned in advance.

However, you can’t plan for old traditions and ongoing jealousy. The groomsmen are soon playing drinking games, someone may regret missing out on romance with the bride, and a bridesmaid ruins her dress – on purpose. So, when someone dies, who’s to blame?

The Book Girls Say…

We knew we had to add this locked room mystery to the list after one of our readers recommended it by saying that the Irish setting is so atmospheric that it becomes one of the characters in the book, and that the descriptions transported her right back to her recent travel in Ireland.

If you are looking for another mystery set in Ireland, consider The Searcher by Tana French. This book will place you in rural Ireland with Cal, a former cop who searching for a missing teen and quickly discovers that the small village of — has many dark secrets. This book is described – filled with well-developed, vulnerable characters – is full of suspense and slowly ramps up the tension.

The Little Cafe in Copenhagen book cover

Book Summary

If you’re looking for a light, sweet, romantic read – look no further!

Publicist Kate Sinclair had the perfect, glamorous life in London until her once charming boyfriend went behind her back to steal the promotion she’d been working for. Needing to escape, she trades in the office for a break in beautiful Copenhagen. As she discovers how to slow down and live life “the Danish way,” the city offers her a new perspective… one that might involve a tall, gorgeous Viking.

The Book Girls Say…

This is book 1 in the Romantic Escapes series, but it reads well as an independent standalone. The good news is that if you love this book, you can also look forward to armchair traveling to many more destinations through the pages of this series, including Paris, Iceland, Croatia, Ireland, and Japan.

Also Featured on These Book Lists:

Books Set in Western Europe

You are welcome to choose any book that you’d like to read for the challenge, but we hope that this list of books has given you a good starting point.

Printable Version of This Book List

Readers who support The Book Girls’ Guide through our Buy Me a Coffee (BMAC) membership site have access to two different printable versions of this book list.

New for 2024, members can print a single page containing all the book titles from each guided challenge list. We will also continue providing the journal page format, which has space to indicate your interest level in each book, jot down notes, and rate the books once you have read them.

Printable pages showing book titles

Our BMAC members (we call them our BFFs) help cover the cost of running the challenges so we can keep them free for everyone. You can read more about why our members are essential and learn about the perks of membership.

Sign Up for the Book Voyage Challenge

Sign up for our email list below to receive a free printable tracker for the Book Voyage Challenge. Our weekly email newsletter helps you stay on track with friendly reminders while still allowing you the flexibility to read at your own pace. Additionally, challenge participants have an opportunity to discuss the books on this list and to provide ratings and reviews via our book logs.

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Comments on: Books Set in Western Europe

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8 Comments

  1. Maryanne Orta says:

    I read What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon. Definite 5 star book! I would classify it as historical fiction, actually time travel but the historical characters and events true to life. It was a page turner.

  2. Mary Faye Carr says:

    Read Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany. It was easy to read and very enjoyable in going from present to past in telling the different stories. Ending was satisfying and I would recommend it to friends. 5 stars

  3. Tori Christensen says:

    I’m interested that much of the historical fiction revolves around WWII–for an area with such a long history, I would have expected a wider representation.

    Another theme I see is American comes to Europe to find out deep secrets.

    Fascinating.

    1. Melissa George says:

      Hi Tori, that’s an interesting perspective. We worked hard to give a wide range of books from 1900-present spanning Western Europe. 74% of the books have no relation to the WW2 era at all, and only 2 are entirely about WW2 (one fiction, one non-fiction). Another handful do have storylines that overlap somehow with WW2, all from different perspectives. The overall goal of the Book Voyage Challenge is to show a more contemporary viewpoint, so you are correct that none of the books cover the vast and important history of Europe before 1900.

      If you’re interested in reading more historical fiction from other time periods, we’d recommend checking out our Decades Challenge. And you’re always welcome to read any book you’d like for the challenge, they don’t have to come from our curated lists.

  4. Jerri Patton says:

    I’ve read eight of these books, my favorite is ‘The Splendid and the Vile’.

  5. I strongly recommend looking into The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne! My favorite book I’ve read in the past couple of years and gives a huge insight into Irish culture.

    1. Melissa George says:

      Thank you, Katie! I’ve heard great things about that and can’t believe we never stumbled on it during our Ireland search! Thank you!

  6. Kathryn Lang-Slattery says:

    Thanks for the wonderful list of books for February. I find myself drawn to the YA fiction and a few of the non-fiction books in this list. I have read many books set in England and I want to branch out. Looking forward to February.