History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

A Song to Drown Rivers Author: Ann Liang Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 327 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic novel steeped in myth about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.       Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.       Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All ...

Estella’s Fury Author: Barbara Havelocke Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense  Publisher: Hera Book Release Date: November 13, 2025 Pages: 377 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Daughter. Murderer. Saviour.       London, 1835.       To high society, Estella is the perfect lady. But her fair face hides dark secrets. What has she done with her husband? And will her past crimes come back to haunt her?        Desperate to escape her troubled life, she visits her friend, Lady Taykall. But when a servant girl disappears, Estella stumbles on a horrifying web of crimes and feels the old fire for vengeance burning inside her.       To mete out her own brand of dark justice she must risk everything.       Even if it means she cannot survive.      Great Expectations...

Queen of the Platform: A Novel of Women’s Rights Activist Ernestine Rose Author: Susan Higginbotham Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Susan Higginbotham Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 373 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From the award-winning author of The Stolen Crown and Hanging Mary comes a novel based on the life of the indomitable Ernestine Rose, whose fearless advocacy helped bring about the rights women enjoy today.         Question everything, Ernestine vows while growing up in a Poland ravaged by the Napoleonic wars. Accept nothing blindly.        Rejecting her rabbi father's religion and an arranged marriage, Ernestine strikes out on her own, arriving in New York in 1836. Distressed by the injustices around her, she takes to the public speaking platform, pressing for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights alongside activists like Frederick Douglass, Susan ...

Estella’s Revenge Author: Barbara Havelocke Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Hera Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 451 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: You know Miss Havisham.      The world's most famous jilted bride.      This is her daughter's story.       Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave.       She knows she doesn't feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing?         As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly choice:       Should she embrace the darkness within ...

  A Crane Among Wolves Author: June Hur Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense  Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 363 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace , crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.      Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.      1506, Joseon . The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.       Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul lea...

Boleyn Traitor Author: Philippa Gregory Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Book Release Date: October 14, 2025 Pages: 496 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” ( USA Today ) Philippa Gregory returns with a dazzling historical novel of ambition, betrayal, and survival in the court of Henry VIII.       Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens.        For Jane, survival demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant’s sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink...

The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt Author: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Basic Books Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 353 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The definitive story of the seven Cleopatras, the powerful goddess-queens of ancient Egypt.         One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name.               In The Cleopatras , historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander th...