Teddy's Best of 2008

I tried to narrow my top picks down but I read so many wonderful historical fiction books this year.

Here are my top three:

The Golden Age by Tahmima Anam follows one family and their neighbours through the turbulent times of the Bangladesh war of Independence in 1971.

The Longest Journey by Diana Patterson and Rita Turner is the sory that takes place in the mid 19 century. It is about a young woman, Elspeth who is sentenced to deportation to Australia for a crime she did not committ. There the Governor of the Colony, Sir Rossmore, employs her. He is widowed and once he learns Elspeth's story, she rises in station and a romance between the two begins.

The story of Mudbound by Hillary Jordan begins with Laura McAllan getting married to Henry. Without telling her, Henry purchases a rundown farm in the Mississippi Delta, nicknamed Mudbound. There is no running water or electricity. At the end of WWII Henry's bother James comes to live with them and thats when things spiral out of control. A story of the Jim Crow south.

An Honourable mention go to:

Ringside by Jen Bryant

I can't wait to see what's new in historical fiction in 2009!

Kailana's Best of 2008

I didn't do a very good job keeping track of what I read this year, and there are so many books that I read and never reviewed, so these are just some of the books that I read this year and remember enjoying/loving.

First up, there is The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran. The sequel to Nefertiti, I really enjoy Michelle's writing! She has another book out next year, so I am looking forward to reading it and (hopefully) having Michelle appear on the blog again!

Another book the quickly comes to mind is The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I am so happy I changed my mind and read this book, because when I first read the description of it, I was not sure if it was my kind of book at all!

I read some Japanese history in the form of The Commoner. I really do not know anything about Japan, so I really need to more on the subject! It was nice to dip into the topic with this book, though.

I revistited with Genghis Khan and his family in Conn Iggulden's Lords of the Bow. I love this trilogy, and while this was not as good as the first book, it was a worthwhile read!

Lastly, I will also metion The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This book has really made the rounds lately, though, so I am sure most people have read it by now!

Ana's Best of 2008

Following in Marg's footsteps I'll also list my top favourite HF books of the year. I've read plenty of good books but definitely not as much as I would have liked. I tried to choose one to mention as my top favourite but I ended up unable to choose between two and so I decided to list two as the "best of the best".

There were some others that I thought of as really good too so I'm giving some honourable mentions as well.

I'm looking forward to a 2009 full of great HF reads. There are plenty of authors - old and new - that I have yet to try as there are settings and periods that I would like to explore more.

My Best Reads of the Year are:

Catherine Delors - Mistress of The Revolution
A wonderful story about a woman's journey through the french revolution and all the changes that were suddenly brought upon society in general. It's a memoir of sorts as the main character is already an old woman at the beginning of the story and is recounting her experiences of the past.

Elizabeth Chadwick - Shadows and Strongholds
I'm a big medieval fan and Elizabeth Chadwick is an author I love not only because of her blend of story and history but also because she writes wonderful characters. In this story a young man learns how to be a leader and a warrior in 13th century England.

The Honourable mentions go to:

Jeri Westerson - Veil of Lies

Georgette Heyer - The Devil's Cub

Georgette Heyer - These Old Shades

Jennifer Donnelly - The Tea Rose

Jennifer Donnelly - The Winter Rose

Sharan Newman - Death Comes As Epiphany

These good books are why I love historical fiction!

Marg's Best of 2008

It's that time of year when we start to reflect on the year that was, and that inevitably leads to thinking of the best of reads, so when Ana suggested that we do a post focussing on our favourite HF reads for the year we all jumped at the opportunity!

I have read a lot of really, really good HF this year, and luckily there are still loads of books out there that I still need to get to. I don't normally give many books the top grade of 5/5, and this year was no exception. This year there were only 3 books that I read that achieved that distinction, two of which were HF books, so I am going to talk a little about those two books, and then give honourable mentions some of those that I really loved but didn't quite make the top grade. It should be said that my grading system is not very scientific. It is very much a gut feeling grade, so there really isn't that much difference between the two highest grades really!


The first book that I want to write about is Master of Verona by David Blixt. Set in Verona during the early 1300's this book is a clever mix of history, great characters, a retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, suspense, action and an all round great read! I will finally have my review of this book up here in the next few days, and I highly recommend fans of historical fiction give this fantastic book a chance! I can't wait for the next book to come out.





In a complete change of pace, the second book is The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Maryann Shaffer. Told through a series of letters and notes, this book is about a woman who is drawn to the Channel island of Guernsey shortly after the end of World War II, and finds out about the occupation that took place there (one of the few places in the UK where there was German occupation during WWII). There is a plethora of quirky and fun characters with a good storyline as well. You can read both my review, and Kailana's thoughts here.

Whilst I have seen multiple positive reviews of the latter, I have seen very few for Master of Verona, which is a shame because it is a great read!

Now onto the honourable mentions with links to reviews where I have written them. You will notice that there are a few with no links but we won't think about that just now!

Angelique and Angelique and the King by Sergeanne Golon
My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

The Ape Who Guards the Balance and The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Birth House by Ami McKay

I am looking forward to reading a lot more great HF next year!