Top 5 Historical Books

It's that time again, and since I'm going to be late if I don't get this up very soon, I'll just jump right in ;-D

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

This was the first book by Austen that I'd ever read, and my old battered secondhand copy was full of the most interesting notations.  It had been used by a high school student and her thoughts in the margins were so helpful - as well as funny - as they gave me another persons thoughts on the text.  I now have multiple copies of this book, but I'll never get rid of this edition ;-D

Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher #1) by Kerry Greenwood

This is one of the most addictive period series that I've ever read!  Set in Melbourne in the late 1920's, you follow the life - and loves - of one Miss Phryne Fisher, a single woman of independent means, as she solves mysteries in the male dominated society of the Roaring Twenties.  Young, rich and beautiful, she has a wickedly sharp tongue and doesn't hesitate to use it to her advantage.  I became addicted to the Honourable Miss Fisher when the ABC commissioned a series to be made on these books.  The costumes are divine, and the casting is spot on.  Can't recommend the series - or books - highly enough!

The Bar Cynster & Bastion Club series by Stephanie Laurens

This massive connected series all started with a small Regency Romance book called Devil's Bride.  It was the first of a small series that revolved around 6 cousins that grew into a behemoth of an interconnected mashing of the amazing Bar Cynster series with her ex-spy's for the crown series, The Bastion Club.  In all there are more than 35 books, and with a convoluted family tree, these books span more than 50 years in the lives of 2, now 3, generations of Cynster family.  I love these books.  They are fast paced, with murder and mystery at the heart (okay, and romance), and I found them to be very well researched by the author who adds in events and scandals from the era.  A guilty pleasure that I have no intentions of giving up ;-D

The Diviners by Libba Bray

This was my first Libba Bray novel, and as I love the Phryne Fisher books - also set in the Roaring 20's - I just had to pick up this book after stumbling over a few reviews on YouTube.  I love the supernatural aspect of this book, although a few characters did give me a pain in the pinny, and can't wait for the 2nd book to come out in 2015.  A great place to start if you want to read some historical fiction, and like the 1920's, but don't know where to start.

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

This would have to be my favourite historical read during the past year.  As you know by now, I adore this trilogy, and when the characters went back to 1590 on their journey to recover the Book of Life I was well and truly hooked.  We see life in the Tudor period, meet some famous literary figures, and even meet her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth 1, in all her faded glory.   A great trilogy to add to your shelves if you love witches, vampires, paranormal romance, and an epic scavanger hunt ;-D

Well, that's my Top 5 Historical Reads for this week.  Thank you for dropping by, and I hope you found something new to read, and if you want to find out more about this series, it was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {here} if you would also like to participate.

If you have any questions or comments, then please feel free to leave them down below.

Until next time,