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Summertime Reads for Historical Fiction Fans
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you’re in for a treat. We’ve compiled a list of highly-rated historical fiction novels set in the summer that will transport you to bygone eras and summery settings.
We’ve included a mix of new releases and older novels, which may be easier to access at the library. Additionally, some of our picks are included with Kindle Unlimited.
Top Historical Fiction Books for Summer
The Island Club
Book Summary
Although life on Balboa Island looks perfect from the outside, the lives of three 1950s women are about to unravel. Milly has just arrived with her family from Hollywood, and she hopes the move will inspire her husband to spend more time at home. Instead, he’s increasingly distant.
Sylvia and her husband are long-time pillars of the community, and now they’ve further solidified their place in society by opening The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis, and dine in style. But now she’s discovered how much her husband has risked their financial future.
Twenty years ago, Adele started a new life after a shameful scandal. Her dark secret is now at risk of being discovered.
These very different women form an unlikely bond through tennis at The Island Club in this character-driven summer read.
The Half Life
Book Summary
During the 1970s, amidst the Cold War, twenty-three-year-old Eileen works at a Charleston department store and has no idea how much one customer is about to change her life. Paul is a funny and ambitious naval officer, and Eileen falls for him quickly. Soon, she has a ring on her finger and finds herself on the Mediterranean island of La Maddalena, where Paul will be heading up Radiological Controls aboard a submarine tender.
The island has a community of Navy wives, all determined to make their temporary space feel like home. But for Eileen, home hasn’t felt the same since she lost her brother in Vietnam, so she takes the opposite approach, diving into Italian culture. But the Americans’ presence on the island and their interference with Italian elections make everything more complex.
Then Italian scientists begin sounding the alarm about nuclear contamination in their water. Will Eileen’s loyalties shift as she sees things through the eyes of the locals?
Our Thoughts on This Book
Melissa has enjoyed both of Rachel Beanland’s prior novels, The House is on Fire and Florence Adler Swim Forever, so she can’t wait to travel to early 1970s Italy in Half Life.
Keep in mind that Beanland’s novels tend to be more character-driven and about the development of the people as much as the story around them. Some find them to be slower starts, but if you enjoy character-rich novels that explore less common historical topics and deeper summer reads, this could be a great pick.
Last Summer Boys
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In this coming-of-age novel, thirteen-year-old Jack Elliot wants to find a way to keep his oldest brother, Pete, from being drafted and sent to Vietnam. He overhears the men at the local barbershop complaining that famous boys don’t go to war, so he decides the best way to protect his brother is to make him the biggest celebrity in their small town.
Jack and his cousin Frankie convince Jack’s brothers to hunt for a missing fighter jet that crashed in their neck of the woods a few winters back. If they find it, Pete will be a hero. But their summer plans become more complicated thanks to a beautiful girl, a greedy developer, and a wild motorcycle gang.
Our Thoughts on This Book
Melissa’s husband recently read this novel and rated it 5 stars, saying it was reminiscent of coming-of-age classics like To Kill a Mockingbird.
The House of Hidden Letters
Book Summary
Needing a change from her life in London, Skye enters a lottery for a chance to win a cottage on a Greek island for just one Euro. She is thrilled to win, but when she arrives at the cottage, it is even more run-down than she expected. Nonetheless, she immediately feels at home.
She finds her place among a community of lottery winners who have taken over the remaining cottages, which haven’t been occupied since the 1940s. Her new, found family provides the support she needs to stand up to her abusive ex-husband, allowing her to embrace the hope of new beginnings.
When Skye begins renovating the cottage with the help of local contractor, Andreas, they find a bundle of mysterious letters hidden in the wall. Through the contents of the letters, they begin to unravel the history of the prior residents and the truth about Katerina’s life on this picturesque island during WWII.
More About This Book
This book is described as an emotional rollercoaster, both beautiful and devastating, with plenty of suspense and surprises across both timelines. Be aware that it deals with some heavy topics, including rape and domestic abuse, though readers say nothing is described graphically.
Folegandros is a Greek island in the Cyclades, regarded as an unspoiled alternative to nearby Santorini, with similarly dramatic cliffs, whitewashed architecture, and pristine beaches along the bright blue Aegean Sea.
About the Author
British author Isabelle Broom has written many contemporary fiction novels with gorgeous settings throughout Europe. We’ve included a few of them on our lists, but not all are easily available in the US. When we saw this new release from Izzy Broom, we immediately researched to confirm if it was the same author, and sure enough, we learned that she’s adopted this new pen name to coincide with a shift in genres. The House of Hidden Letters marks her first work of dual-timeline historical fiction, and we’re excited to see it receive a US release!
Husbands & Lovers
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Single mom Mallory receives a devastating call that her son ingested a poisonous mushroom at summer camp. He’s alive but needs a kidney transplant. When she finds out that neither she nor her sister is a match, the hunt is on to find a donor. Her mom was adopted from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, so Mallory does an Ancestry.com-style DNA test, hoping to find more blood relatives.
In 1951, Hungarian refugee Hannah made a new life for herself after the war. Her husband is a British diplomat, and they’re currently stationed in glamorous Cairo. However, everything is at risk when an unexpected encounter with the manager of a spy-filled hotel leads to a passionate affair. As Cairo’s streets buzz with the possibility of revolution, Hannah is snared in a game of intrigue between two men.
About the Setting
While this book is not part of a series, Mallory’s storyline is set on fictional Winthrop Island, which you may recognize from Williams’ other books, including The Summer Wives and The Beach at Summerly.
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club
Book Summary
In the summer of 1919, the men have returned to England from the front, and Constance is being asked to give up both her job and her cottage at the estate she helped run during the war. As she searches for a new job, she takes a temporary role as a lady’s companion to an old family friend, who is convalescing at a seaside hotel.
Soon, she’s caught up in the social elite of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after saving the baronet’s daughter, Poppy, from a social faux pas. Poppy defines all expectations of women in 1919, wearing trousers and running a ladies’ motorcycle club. As the country and club celebrate newfound peace in the world, the women are forced to confront how the freedoms they won during the war are being revoked one by one again.
What to Expect in This Book
This character-driven book from the author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand takes place over one summer in 1919 and is told from three points of view. Constance, Harris (Poppy’s brother), and Klaus, a German-born English citizen who was held in an internment camp on the Isle of Man during the war, and now works as a waiter in the seaside town.
Haven Point
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This novel introduces us to three generations of a family that spends summers in a seaside town on Maine’s rocky coastline.
Maren Larsen grew up in a small farming community in Minnesota, but in 1944, amid WWII, she was determined to do her part in the war effort. While working as a nurse at Walter Reed Medical Center, she’s swept off her feet by a doctor named Oliver, whose family spends their summers on the coast of Maine.
Twenty-six years later, in 1970, as the conflict with Vietnam rages, Maren and Oliver are at odds with their fiercely independent teenage daughter. Seventeen-year-old Annie has fallen for a man her parents disapprove of. By the end of the summer, the family has suffered a terrible tragedy, and Annie vows never to return to Haven Point, Maine.
In 2008, Maren’s granddaughter, Skye, arrives in Haven Point to help scatter her mother’s ashes. Skye has inherited her mother, Annie’s, view of Maine. Rather than seeing the coast’s beauty and enjoying the regattas, clambakes, and sing-alongs, Annie believes the people to be snobbish and petty. But Annie never told Skye the full story of what happened during the summer of ‘70.
Consider This Before Reading
This family story is told from the perspectives of Maren and Skye and jumps around between the three timelines. Readers say it’s not hard to keep the timelines straight, but you might want to consider a different option if you don’t enjoy novels that go back and forth in time. Some find it more difficult to follow the shifting timelines when reading the audiobook versus print or an ebook.
Don’t Forget to Write
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Marilyn wasn’t just caught making out with the rabbi’s son—she was caught by the whole congregation! In hopes of saving their daughter’s reputation, her parents sent her to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. They gave her an ultimatum: spend the summer with Ada, Philadelphia’s premier matchmaker, or kiss her college plans goodbye.
Based on her mother’s description, Marilyn expects Ada to be a humorless septuagenarian. Instead, Ada is sharp and straight-talking, with platinum blonde hair, a Hermès scarf, and a Cadillac convertible. As the summer goes on, Ada and Marilyn set off for the Jersey Shore, where Marilyn helps to scope out eligible matches for anyone but herself. She’s learning a lot from Ada—but not exactly what her parents were hoping for. Marilyn realizes that she doesn’t have to settle, even as her father threatens to disinherit her.
Why We Think You’ll Love It
This book caught our attention when our readers voted it as one of their favorite beach reads of all time. But don’t worry, it’s still a great read year-round with plenty of deeper topics.
After Melissa read it at our readers’ suggestion, she enjoyed it so much that she read the author’s entire backlist.
A Darling Lovebug Summer
Book Summary
Four adult cousins have been left a mysterious item and a VHS tape after the death of their Grandma Imogene. The cousins spent summers together as kids at Gram and Gramp’s lakehouse, but they haven’t seen each other in two years.
Emeline, Wyatt, Geoff, and Belinda each have their own struggles and are eager to pay their respects and return to their own lives. However, the VHS tape sends them on an unexpected adventure to Daytona Beach to learn more about their grandma’s past. Will their own secrets tear the cousins apart before they discover what she has hidden?
This heartfelt light suspense novel alternates narrators, including sections of the book that follow Imogene’s summer of 1963.
Other Books You May Enjoy
If you love an air of mystery in your summer reads, be sure to check out our lists of the best summer cozy mysteries and the best summer thrillers.
The Last Bathing Beauty
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Betty Stern turned 18 in 1951 and was looking forward to her last summer at her grandparents’ Jewish summer resort before heading off to college. She had big dreams of becoming a fashion editor in NYC.
During that life-changing summer, Betty collapses at the end of the beauty pageant, which turns out to be the last time the pageant is held. In 2020, a financially struggling manicurist decided to revive it. By this time, Betty was in her late 80s, and no one knew she was the last winner or why the pageant had come to an end.
What to Expect in This Book
The book alternates between Betty’s life that summer and a present-day gathering of her best friends from that summer. It’s a great look at societal expectations between the two time periods.
The Last Summer
Book Summary
Effie Gillies has spent her whole life living on the small Scottish island of St. Kilda. She has a wild and free temperament, well-suited to dangerous rope work along the cliffs. When the Earl of Dumfries and his son, Lord Sholto, visit the island while the island’s men are away, Effie is asked to be their tour guide. Despite being from two very different worlds, the attraction between Effie and Lord Sholto is instant. But when a storm hits, and the entire island must be evacuated, everything falls apart.
This historical romance is the first in a series. The first book ends on a cliffhanger, so if you need resolution in your books, you should know going in that you’ll want to continue reading the series.
Consider This Before Reading
Author Karen Swan is known for setting her books in beautiful locations all around the world – from Spain and Rome to Norway and Canada. Her atmospheric prose will whisk you away to another time and place. If you’ve read any of Swan’s other novels, keep in mind that this one is a bit of a departure from her typical light, contemporary fare. There’s a thread of mystery running through the book, as well as what reviewers describe as “an extra edge” to this story.
Heads Up: This book includes some descriptions of animal death and abuse.
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West
Book Summary
Our protagonist, Olivia “Livy” West, was inspired by the true stories of women like Harriet Quimby, Beryl Markham, and Bessie Coleman, who competed in air races in the 1920s. In 1927, Livy learned about the Dole Air Race. She signed up right away for the risky 2400-mile race across the Pacific to Hawai’i. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that only male pilots are being selected for these roles. In desperation to be a part of the race, she secures a spot as a navigator.
Sixty years later, in 1987, Wren is struggling financially when she learns that she has just inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island. Before selling the land, she discovers mysterious objects kept in the barn by her late great-aunt. They are clues to a tragic piece of aviation history that has been lost to time. Wren turns to the local retirement home residents for help in reconstructing Olivia’s story.
The Beautiful Strangers
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Kate feels stuck in her family’s failing restaurant in San Francisco. She jumps at the chance to escape when her grandfather makes a cryptic plea for her to “find a beautiful stranger.” This search takes her to the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, where the movie Some Like it Hot is being filmed.
When she’s offered a position at the glamorous hotel, it feels like a dream come true. And her life continues to get better as a new romance blossoms. However, the hotel has ghosts from the past, just like Kate. Sixty years earlier, a guest died at the hotel and still haunts the halls. The life of that turn-of-the-century guest and Kate’s present intertwine in surprising ways.
When the Summer Was Ours
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Wealthy aristocrat Eva is engaged to a doctor and is spending her last single summer at her family’s estate in Sopron. However, she meets a Romani fiddler and artist, Aleandrao, and they quickly fall in love despite the class differences that make them appear incompatible to outsiders.
The outbreak of war separates Eva and Aleandro, but their chance meeting that summer leads to decisions that change their individual futures.
Time Period of This Novel
This historical fiction spans well beyond WW2 and will also help you learn about the Hungarian uprising of 1956.
The Bungalow
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In the summer of 1942, at the height of World War II, 21-year-old Anne joins the Army Nurse Corps and is sent to serve in the South Pacific on the island of Bora Bora.
She has a fiancé back home that was chosen for her from birth, and whose father has paid to ensure that he won’t be drafted. After arriving in Bora Bora, she finds herself drawn to a soldier named Westry. Together, they spend many blissful hours under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow. But they are driven apart when they witness a crime, and then Westry is redeployed to Europe.
Years later, back home in Seattle, Westry is never far from Anne’s mind. When a letter arrives, she hopes that maybe they’ll finally be reunited.
What to Expect in This Book
This historical fiction is perfect for fans of WWII romance, and though it may be a bit predictable, readers say it’s a joy to read.
Summer of ’69
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This might just be the perfect historical fiction beach read for the summer – a family drama that brings the 60s to life in vivid, nostalgic detail.
Each year, the Levin family’s children look forward to spending their summer in Nantucket with their grandmother. But in the summer of ’69, thirteen-year-old Jessie is the only sibling who can make the trip. One of her older sisters is pregnant with twins, the other is caught up in the civil rights movement, and her older brother has recently been deployed to the war in Vietnam.
The summer proves to be an eventful one – Vietnam, Woodstock, the moon landing, the Chappaquiddick affair, Jessie struggling with her first heartbreak, and her grandmother with a few secrets of her own.
Novellas in This Series
If you enjoy Hilderbrand’s Summer of 69, then you’ll also want to grab the novella-length sequels, Summer of ’79, which is available on Kindle or as an Audible audiobook. Another short story follow-up, Summer of ’89, is available in the recently published story collection Endless Summer.
Meet Me in Monaco
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
At the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, Grace Kelly sought refuge in a small boutique to escape the press’s flash bulbs. She became fast friends with the shop owner, Sophie Duval, and even created a plan to help Sophie’s struggling perfume business.
James Henderson, a British press photographer following Grace Kelly, also likes Sophie. The following year, James is assigned to cover Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. James hopes he’ll also have the opportunity to be reunited with Sophie.
About the Setting
While both the Cannes Film Festival and Grace Kelly’s wedding take place in the spring, rather than the summer, this novel is a sun-drenched journey along the Côte d’Azur, making it the perfect summer read. It’s filled with romance, friendship, and tragedy.
Malibu Rising
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
The successful Riva siblings are always the envy of those around them in Malibu. Their father is the legendary 1970s singer Mick Riva, but each of the four siblings has found success in their own pursuits, including professional surfing and photography.
The book is set in 1983 at sister Nina’s famous end-of-summer beach house party. By midnight, the party was out of control. Before dawn, Nina’s mansion had been burned to the ground.
During this unforgettable night, each sibling’s secrets are revealed.
Reader Thoughts on This Book
This novel made our 2021 Readers’ Favorites list! In the words of our readers, Malibu Rising is “descriptive and engaging with a strong storyline, great characters, and a lot of emotion.” Another reader explained, “I love when you know how a book ends, but you have no idea how you’ll get there. Great story of family. All of the 1980s references were wonderful!”
Park Avenue Summer
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
When Alice Weiss leaves her home in Iowa to chase her dreams in NYC, she is lucky to land the job of a lifetime at Cosmopolitan magazine, which is under the new leadership of its first female editor, Helen Gurley Brown.
Not everyone is happy to see Helen at the helm of the magazine, with some editors and writers resigning and others cooking up a scheme to sabotage their new boss. Alice, on the other hand, remains loyal and is determined to help her new boss succeed as she shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off-limits.
Our Thoughts on This Book
We both loved stepping right into 1965 Manhattan as Alice adjusted from her Midwestern roots and learned how magazines are run. This novel is often described as Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada, but it’s a huge bonus that the book was based on the real Cosmopolitan magazine and its first female editor, Helen Gurley Brown.
Lighthouse Bay
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This dual-timeline novel transports you to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. In 1901, a ship sank, and only one passenger survived. Isabella Winterbourne’s husband had been commissioned to transport a jeweled mace to the Australian Parliament. As the sole survivor of the shipwreck, Isabella must brave the elements to survive and deliver the priceless gift.
In 2011, Libby Slater leaves her life in Paris to return to her Australian hometown. Having recently lost the love of her life, she hopes that reconciling with her sister, whom she hasn’t spoken to in 20 years, might help her grieving process.
As this story alternates through the centuries, the women learn to navigate life’s losses and hardships in search of love and happiness.
That Summer in Berlin
Book Summary
During the summer of 1936, Germany began to rise in power once again. In denial of the threat of war, the English aristocracy sought to heal relations with Germany through the age-old institution of marriage. Debutantes, including Viviane Alden, flocked to Berlin. Unlike the women looking for romantic matches, Viviane has a different purpose.
With a camera in hand, she appears to be just another pretty young tourist taking holiday photos during the summer Olympics, but in reality, she’s seeking photographic evidence that Germany is re-arming. To assist her mission, she’s paired with a journalist who is closely guarding his heart.
Viviane expected to encounter hatred and injustice in Germany, but with the eyes of the world on Berlin, the country was on its best behavior. As they graciously welcome tourists with a celebratory atmosphere of goodwill, Viviane is determined to uncover the truth.
Reader Thoughts on This Book
Reviewers describe this book as a perfect mix of adventure, intrigue, and historical romance.
Mary Jane
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Mary Jane tells the story of two very different family lifestyles and a 14-year-old girl trying to decide who she really is. Mary Jane is a quiet, book-loving girl from a traditional, conservative family in 1970s Baltimore. When she is offered a job as a nanny for a local doctor, her mom assumes their home is equally tidy and respectable.
However, the house is a huge mess, and it’s about to get crazier. The doctor has welcomed a rock star and his wife to stay at the house while he tries to get sober. Mary Jane has a lot to teach them about tidiness and schedules, and all the while, they are opening her eyes to the world outside her bubble. By the end of the summer, she’ll have a much better understanding of who she wants to be.
Our Thoughts on This Book
This was one of our favorite books of the last few years, and one that really stuck with both of us! It’s a beautiful and entertaining story of a 14-year-old girl seeing herself as a separate person for the first time. Angela really enjoyed listening to the audiobook because it incorporates music.
Although the main character is a teenager, this is an adult novel with some adult themes and scenes, not a YA title. It makes an excellent read because of the perspective that comes from looking back at the years between innocence and maturity.
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In 1942, sisters Cadence and Briar Smith face the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II, as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard and German U-boats lurk in the waters off the coast. Cadence and her best friend, Beth, start a book club in an attempt to find some normalcy in their lives. Soon, the book club has grown in members and influence, catching the attention of a publisher who could make Cadence’s dreams come true. But then, a mysterious man washes ashore, and his appearance means there could be a spy in the community.
In 2016, Mari travels to Martha’s Vineyard after her mother’s death. She’s on the way to meet Elizabeth Devereaux, a reclusive painter. Under the guise of taking a painting class, Mari learns more about Mrs. Devereaux, the Smith sisters, and her own connection to the island.
Based on a True Story
This novel was inspired by true events and stories that the author’s mother shared about growing up on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II.
Love Summer Reading? Try This!
Our free self-paced reading challenge will keep you reading engaging books all summer long. To make it easy and fun, we include highly-rated book recommendations for each of the four summer reading prompts.
Printable Version of this List
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More Summer Reads
For even more summer reads to fill your TBR this season, we’ve included an index of all our summer book lists below.
