All of the Best Historical Fiction Books I Read in 2025

Over the years, I have realized that while fantasy books are my favorite, historical fictions books dominate my list of favorite books. And that is why I will be listing all of the best historical fiction books I read in 2025!

I have been very lucky to discover amazing books this year and it has led to be reading over a 115 books this year. My goal was to to read a hundred and I was surprised that I surpassed that goal by double digits.

I wouldn’t have been able to surpass my reading goal without all the amazing historical fiction books I came across. They renewed my passion for reading and showed me that there are so many amazing books waiting to be read!

The Best Historical Fiction Books I Read in 2025

• 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
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• Drood by Dan Simmons
• A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was the recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize along with Trust by Hernan Diaz. it also went on to win the Women’s Prize for Fiction. With these two prestigious accolades, I knew I had to read this novel and I am glad that I did.

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 21^st century and is a must read for anyone that enjoyed the classic novel.

It was hard to escape The Women by Kristin Hannah in 2024 because it was at bookstore and every online list. Hannah’s novel went on to become the bestselling book of 2024 and made her a household name as a result.

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.”

Another novel that was on many lists in 2024 was James by Percival Everett. 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 one of 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.

The Berry Pickers is Amanda Peters’ debut novel and is a beautifully written novel that everyone needs to read. The novel won numerous awards such as the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, the 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, and the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime First Novel Award. 

The novel tells the story of the Mi’kmaq family who from travels down from Nova Scotia to Maine to pick blueberries in the summer. One day, four-year-old Ruthie goes missing. Her family searches for her but never find her and we read how both Ruthie and her family deal with the fallout. 

Any other year, The Berry Picker would easily have been my favorite book of the year. This is a powerful novel and it is still hard to believe that this is Peters debut novel. I know this novel will be one of my favorite books that I read in 2025 and one that everyone needs to read as soon as possible!

I am a big Dan Simmons fan and have been reading all of his novel which is how I came across Drood. The novel is centered around writers Charles Dickens andWilkie Collins and draws on history to tell a fictional and chilling tale. Who says history is boring when Simmons is telling the tale?

After a close brush with death, Dickens pursues a mysterious figure named Drood. He calls on his good friend Willie Collins to search for Drood across London. But what was supposed to be a simple search turns into a nightmare for Collins. Who really is Drood and what is he after? There isn’t another novel like this and it is one more reason why I think Simmons is one of the best authors alive.

There are some books that I took my time to get around to reading and then being angry at myself for not reading it sooner. One of those books was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I was hooked on page one and loved this wonderful magical world that Márquez created.

After killing Prudencio Aguilar because of an argument, José Arcadio Buendía and his wife Úrsula Iguarán leave town to search for another place to live. Eventually, they settle near a riverbank and call their new home Macondo.

What follows is the story of seven generations of the Buendía family and the rise and fall of Macondo. The stories of the family go from happy to sad and happy again as the town they live in goes through changes, sweeping the family along as a result.

Every single page of this novel was perfect and I am glad that I did read this. It is easily one of the best books I read in 2025 and one I will revisit next year. in 1982, Gabriel García Márquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature because of this novel.

Conclusion

I am proud of myself for reading a ton of historical fiction books this year. Not every book you read is going to be amazing and that’s just how it goes. But I was lucky to read a ton of amazing historical fiction books this year. And I am going to make sure I continue reading even more next year.

If you are hesitant about reading historical fiction books, then I highly recommend one from this list. You will see just how amazing this genre is and why it is one I always return to.

These are some of the many books I read this year and I’ll be talking about them for years to come. I will be checking out these authors and also revisiting these books when I have time. Historical fiction books have so much to offer and will always keep you entertained. Until next time, happy reading!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook