Julie's Best Books of 2012

As a child, Xinran had heard stories of a soldier that had been fed to the vultures in what is known in Tibet as a Sky Burial. Several decades later, Xinran, by then a journalist and writer, met the wife of that soldier.

Sky Burial is the amazing story that was told to Xinran by the widow, known as Shu Wen.

It is the story of her love for her husband and the search for the truth surrounding his death. It is also the amazing story of realisation, friendship, bewilderment and the journey of China and Tibet during the 1950s.

For me, this was a breath taking read. It was selected by my local reading group and I devoured the book in one sitting. A fabulous book and definitely a favourite.

Ana's Best Books of 2012

I haven't read as much HF as I thought this year and looking back at my reads there's only one book I gave 5* to - Kate Lord Brown's The Perfume Garden that made me research about the Spanish Civil War and haunted me for weeks afterwards. This was the book I mentioned last year in my "eagerly anticipating" post so we can say my expectations were fulfilled.

But there are a few more books that also deserve a mention because I found them very enjoyable:

Oleanna by Julie K. Rose

Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier

Defend and Betray by Anne Perry

Marg's Best Books of 2012

It's always interesting to get to the end of a year and think back over what you have read. The excellent books, the really good books are the ones we hope for lots of, and not so many of the not so good reads.

Each year here at Historical Tapestry we each take a turn to tell you our favourite reads of the year and I am kicking things off today!

I have been even more stingy with my 5/5 marks this year than usual, with only one historical fiction novel earning that honour. There were quite a few books I marked as 4.5/5 - really very good reads. We will start with my 5/5 book first though....

I have long heard how fabulous this book was, and finally this year I got to read it. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to love it anywhere near as much as I did because I am a bit Tudored out and it is a huge book but once I started it I was surprised at how fresh it felt to be reading it even though I know Queen Elizabeth I's story pretty well.

Other notable historical fiction books I read this year (rated 4.5/5) include:

Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman
The Black Pearl by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Shalimar by Rebecca Ryman
The Island by Victoria Hislop
The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Lords of the White Castle by Elizabeth Chadwick
A Stranger in My Street by Deborah Burrows
The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift
The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes
Overseas by Beatriz Williams
Omamori by Richard McGill
Voice of the Falconer by David Blixt