Genre Starter List: Historical Romance

If you ask me (Sara) what my favorite genre of books is I will always say, “romance.” While not for everyone, romance is the most popular genre of books. Many enjoy reading about the blossoming love between two characters. Romance is a broad category, so for this genre starter list I will provide a list of some of the best historical romance books. I love recommending romance books to people, so buckle up! Here we go.

Most people, especially on Union’s campus, are familiar with Francine Rivers as an author. While she specializes in Christian romance, she started out as a secular romance author. Her expertise as a romance author shows most clearly in some of her historical Christian romance novels. You may be familiar with some of her Western romance novels, which take place during the gold rush era. Examples include Redeeming Love and The Lady’s Mine. As someone who has read both novels, I highly recommend both.

What you may not know is that Francine Rivers also wrote a romance novel that takes place during the 1950s in Hollywood. Bridge to Haven is about Abra Matthews who is running away from her past and is quicky becoming Hollywood’s biggest rising star using the name Lena Scott. As she realizes Hollywood is not as great as she thought it would be, she falls in love while also making her way back to God.

Another popular author among the Union community is C.S. Lewis. He had a short, but captivating, romance with his wife Joy. While they were only married for four years before her death, her influence stayed with him. You can read a novel about their romance in Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Henry. While based on true events, this novel is considered historical fiction.

If you prefer action with your romance, you might enjoy reading The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson. This is a loose re-imagining of the story of Mulan (which also happens to be my favorite Disney movie). If you are not familiar with the story of Mulan, it takes place sometime between the 4^th to 6^th Century in China. Mulan disguises herself as a man to take her aging father’s place in the army to fight a war. In this novel, when a handsome soldier –who happens to be the son of a duke– discovers that Mulan is a woman, he is determined to protect her.

If you enjoy stories about star-crossed lovers, you might enjoy reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Set in 1932 in the circus world, Jacob cares for the circus animals, including Rosie the elephant. When Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful star of the equestrian act, he is determined to save her from her abusive husband who trains the animals. 

Some other historical romance novels you might want to read include The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys, My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen, The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

You can find all the books listed above in our library. Which one will you check out first? Let us know in the comments!

Sara Hand’s reviews reflect her personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.

2023 My Year in Books: Rachel

One of my favorite things about the beginning of the year is seeing the books that others have read and celebrating the reading goals that were met in the previous year. No two people will experience books in the exact same way, so it’s neat to think about what they’ve experienced, and it can also be helpful to build your TBR list for the next year. While I still didn’t use any one set tool (like Goodreads) to track my titles or plan to read a certain number of books, I am glad that I kept a list with a short description of each book to help refresh my memory and think about the journeys I got to go on last year.  

If I had some awards to give out, this is what I’d choose:

Favorite Read: Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd 

This book put me in my feels. We meet a twelve-year-old girl named Olive who dreams of being able to go to school. Her parents have always been hesitant to send her, due to her dealing with osteogenesis imperfecta (what we know as brittle bone disease). However, she gets the chance to go, and learns about the legend of a magical hummingbird that can grant your deepest wish if you find it. While searching for the bird, she learns the lesson, that reminds the reader, that while we think we may know our “perfect” wish, life has a way of surprising us along the way.  

*Honorable Mention: My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen 

I loved this story that was mixed with both salty and sweet moments. Two friends (Helena and Penelope) are in their final year at the Royal Academy. They meet Elijah, and a project unlike any other begins to unfold. Elijah is a lonely street merchant with not much to his name. Penelope’s goal is to turn him into a refined gentleman chef. Will her plan succeed like the perfect recipe, or will things blow up in her face? If you’re a fan of My Fair Lady, you’ll likely enjoy this sweet, clean young adult romance.  

Most Likely to Recommend: The Listening Life by Adam S. McHugh 

I don’t read a lot of self-help books, but this one was very easy to read and practical in nature.  

It reminded me about being able to make simple changes to allow myself to better listen and understand those around me and the world as a whole. As one that doesn’t appreciate all seasons, one of the best parts was remembering to see the beauty in each one and to find opportunities to experience different things.  

Least Likely to Recommend: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 

I want to start by saying that I didn’t dislike this book, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Kya’s story was interesting to read, but truthfully, not a lot of it stayed with me. One part that I did enjoy was her description of the marsh. I’m not always the best at visualizing, but with her writing style, I felt like I did better than normal.  

One I’m most glad that I tried: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 

I don’t do well with branching out to different genres very much. I will most often read middle grade, young adult, romance, or historical fiction.  However, after last year’s March Book (& Movie) Madness, I decided to venture into the mystery genre and read Murder on the Orient Express. I really enjoyed the pacing of the story and was excited to see how everything would unfold. While mystery still isn’t my favorite genre, I was reminded when reading this book how important it is to branch out from time to time.  

Most Unexpected: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Available through ILL)  

The reason I gave this book this award is that sometimes a book comes along that you need to read, but you didn’t know how much you needed it. There are times when I get into a reading funk and the desire to pick one up is gone. Life can be hard sometimes, and I think books are often the perfect escape into a different reality. This is what The Wishing Game was for me; it was the type of book that made me think about why readers fall in love with reading.  

Jack Masterson was the author of a highly popular series of books called Clock Island. Lucy Hart found peace while reading these pages, and since adulthood, she has desired to read another story, but Jack has stopped writing. Unexpectedly, there is news that Jack has written another installment in the series, and for those that can solve the riddle, they will be invited to the real Clock Island (where Jack lives) with a chance to win the one copy that’s available. This book made me think some of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the opportunity to experience something unlike any other. If you’re looking for something to pick up your spirits, this may be the one for you. 

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Thanks for reading. Come back next week to learn about Darius’ year in books.   

Rachel Bloomingburg’s reviews reflect her personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.