When this year started, I didn’t know what books I would be reading. All I knew was that I had a long to-read list and that I had a lot of books I wanted to read. Luckily for me, it included some great novels that I am glad that I read. So, keep reading to find out the best historical fiction books I read this year and what you should add to your reading list!
In 2025, I have read 70 books with six more months to go. This is something even I didn’t think was going to happen. I started the year with the goal of reading a hundred books and knew I had to have a lot of books lined up if I wanted to reach my goal.
The good news is that I had a lot of books I wanted to read from the past two years alone. I have been adding books to my reading list constantly and was eager to read as many of them as I can. Even after reading 70 books, I still have a lot of books left to read.
One of my favorite genres is historical fiction books and it is one that I don’t always make enough time for. Part of that is because many historical fiction books are standalone novels. If you look at my reading list for 2025, you will see that many of the books are part of a series.
Even though I have read less than ten historical fiction books in 2025 so far, they were some of the best books that I read. Everyone of the books on this list left me awed and grateful that I came across these novels when I did. You can see the full list below!
The Best Historical Fiction Books I Read This Year
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- James by Percival Everett
- The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
- The Café with No Name by Robert Seethaler, Katy Derbyshire (translator)
- The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Demon Copperhead
One of the first historical fiction books I read in 2025 was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It was the recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize along with Trust by Hernan Diaz and won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. With these two prestigious accolades, I knew I had to read this novel.
The story follows Damon Fields, better known as Demon, and his single mother. They live in a trailer home in Lee, County, located in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Demon’s life is difficult takes a turn for the worse when his mom starts dating a guy who abuses Demon.
Things go from bad to worse and Demon tries to make the best of his situation as he tries to survive and overcome his situation. The novel is a retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens in the 21st century and is a must read for anyone that enjoyed the classic novel.
The Women
There is a good chance that you saw The Women by Kristin Hannah in a bookstore or heard of it before. That is because this novel was everywhere in 2024 and ended up being the most sold book of 2024 and rightfully so.
The Women tells the story about the women who served in Vietnam but their service was neglected and ignored and their trauma was belittled by the public and by men who served in Vietnam. Hannah does a beautiful job of telling this heart-wrenching story and it is one that she has wanted to tell for a long time.
“For years, I wanted to write about the turbulence and chaos and division of the times, but it wasn’t until the pandemic, when I was on lockdown in Seattle, confined to my home essentially, and watching our nurses and doctors serving on the front lines of the pandemic, becoming exhausted amid the political division of the time that it all came together for me,” Hannah said in an interview with LibraryThing. “That’s when I knew I was ready to write about the women who served in the war and were forgotten at home.”
James
Lastly, I want to talk about James by Percival Everett, one of my favorite books of 2024. The novel won numerous awards including the National Book Award for Fiction, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. There was some controversy around it winning the Pulitzer but I am glad that it won because it deserved it.
This novel was easily the best book of 2024 and it gives Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain the voice that he deserves. Jim, or as he calls himself, James, is a slave in Hannibal, Missouri and tries to look out for the other slaves. One day, James finds out that he is being sold and separated from his family. James decides to run away and finds himself tagged alongside Huckleberry Finn who also has run away.
You don’t have to read Huckleberry Finn to read this novel but it will make you appreciate this novel a lot more. Everett gives James the voice that he deserves and that he has his own story to tell. If you had to read one book from 2024, then make it this one. And right after this, you have to read The Women.
Conclusion
These are the best historical fiction books I read in 2025 so far. The list includes six books incredible books but I only reviewed the first three. In a future article I will be reviewing the other three.
For now, these three books will hold you over until then. They were some of my favorite reads of 2025 and of all time. No matter how many mystery or fantasy books I read, I will always want to read historical fiction books. How many of these books have you read? Happy reading!
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Kamchatka Khronicle tells the story of two natural scientists on the Vitus Bering Expedition of 1741-42, but the encounter with the bizarre customs of the Kamchadal tribe is truly fascinating.
While I absolutely loved “Demon Copperhead”, it is certainly not “historical” fiction. It takes place in the 1990s and 2000s. Great book, but more accurately described as literary fiction or contemporary fiction.
The longer I read the more I realized I am under-read. Thanks, this was motivating and I have some good leads on what to add to my list 🙂
Glad to help!
Thank you for sharing these recommendations. It looks like I have a few more to add to my burgeoning TBR list!
Like you, I neglect historical fiction, but it’s my other favourite genre, next to memoir and biography.