Kailana's Best of 2011

I actually didn't read a lot of historical fiction and historical non-fiction this year compared to other years. What I did read, though, was wonderful! If I had to choose a favourite fiction and non-fiction, though, it would be:

Best Historical-Fiction Title:

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin. You can read my review of this book here.

Best Historical Non-Fiction:

Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert. You can read my review of it here.

Spitfire Women of World War II by Giles Whittell. Yes, a tie, but you can read my review of this book here.

I thought I had reviewed both of those books here, but I apparently did not..

Other Notable Reads:
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

Alex's Best of 2011

For the King was one of my favourite books in 2010 and Catherine Delors winned me completely over (well, it was already done with For the King !) with Gabrielle's story. Days and months after reading Mistress of Revolution, I was still thinking about it. This is definately something I would recommend to all history lovers. Can't wait for the next one !

A young adult historical fantasy timeslip. This was enough to get my attention and I'm glad to say that I had a great time reading Ruby Red. I only wish that I could read german or the publishers would rush a little bit more to get the second book, Sapphire Blue, in stores. :)

Other books I enjoyed this year:

• Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn (one of my favourite series)
• By The King's Design by Christine Trent (just finished and this book was a great way to end the year in a high note)

Teddy's Best of 2011

Here are my best books of the year:

To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick: To nobody's surprise here, Elizabeth Chadwick has become a favorite author of mine just within the last 2 years. For years, my colleagues here at H.T. had been telling me that I had to read her books and I finally listened. To Defy a King was published here in North America in March 2011.  Here is the link to my review. It will be posted here on H.T. soon.

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick: Honest, these are my top two books of 2011!  Here is the link to my review.  It will be posted here on H.T. soon.














Other notable historical fiction books I read this year included:

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry

 The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

Deadly: How to Catch an Invisible Killer by Julie Chibbaro

Stranger Here Below by Joyce Hinnefeild

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Oregon Trail: The Road to Destiny by Frank young

Ana's Best Books of 2011

My life went through some big changes this year and, unlike previous years, I read very little. None of my reads were truly exceptional but I would like to mention two books that were my favourite historical fiction reads in 2011:

The Black Pearl by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - The Morland dinasty series has a huge amount of books and I am still in the first volumes. I have been enjoying learning about british history through their story and it's definetely a series I would like to continue reading. You can find my review here.

A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley - I really enjoyed reading the story of Margaret of Ashbury. It's a book I postponed reading several times because a few years ago I tried another one by Merkle Riley and it didn't appeal to me. Now I'm glad that I finally took the plunge and read it because the other two books in the trilogy about Margaret of Ashbury just went into my wish list. You can find my review here.

As you can easily guess from my choices I didn't read any recent books. Sadly I didn't even manage to read the book I was eagerly anticipating at the end of last year - Elizabeth Chadwick's Lady of the English. To read it is going to be one of my goals for 2012. 

Marg's Best books of 2011

Here are my best books of this year.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley - I made a comment somewhere recently saying that I thought I was genetically predisposed to liking Susanna Kearsley's books, and this book was no exception! I loved it from beginning to end and literally gasped out loud at the twist in the tale. Whilst The Winter Sea is still my favourite maybe because it was my first read by her, this one comes close in terms of favourites. (My review)

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick - Elizabeth Chadwick is one of my favourite authors, so it isn't a surprise to see her appear on a best of list, but I do think that she is getting better and better! This book is about the war between Empress Matilda and her cousin Stephen, but it is also about so much more. No one brings medieval times to life like Elizabeth Chadwick. One of the not so great things about 2012 is that there isn't going to be a new Chadwick book. We have to wait until 2013 for the first book in her Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy.

I have posted on my blog about the other books that I loved this year, and even have a giveaway running for one of them!


Other notable historical fiction books I read this year included;

Wallaby Track by Aaron Fletcher
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
Emily by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Angelique in Love by Sergeanne Golon
Imperial Highness by Evelyn Anthony
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber
Camp Nine by Vivienne Schiffer
Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris
Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman