The market front

New Historical fiction books

11 books released in the last eighteen months, best first.

What is new and already good

4 of these have cleared the ordinary bar of 50 ratings; 7 carry an early score from 20 to 49 ratings. The newest arrival is “Land: A Novel” by Maggie O'Farrell.

An early score uses the same formula as everything else, pulled harder toward the category mean until more readers vote. The chip on a row says how much of the number is the readers’ own. Method →

  1. The Book of Lost Hours
    The Book of Lost HoursHayley Gelfuso · 2025Early · 16% own35 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  2. The Bright Years
    The Bright YearsSarah Damoff · 202552 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  3. The Calamity Club
    The Calamity ClubKathryn Stockett · 2026Early · 18% ownNYT bestseller41 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  4. Japanese Gothic
    Japanese GothicKylie Lee Baker · 2026New81 ratings
    8.08.0 / 10
  5. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
    Bury Our Bones in the Midnight SoilV. E. Schwab · 2025NYT bestseller331 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  6. The Book Club for Troublesome Women
    The Book Club for Troublesome WomenMarie Bostwick · 2025Early · 16% own35 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  7. Land: A Novel
    Land: A NovelMaggie O'Farrell · 2026Early · 12% own26 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  8. Seascraper
    SeascraperBenjamin Wood · 2025Early · 21% own49 ratings
    7.97.9 / 10
  9. What Kind of Paradise
    What Kind of ParadiseJanelle Brown · 2025Early · 18% own40 ratings
    7.87.8 / 10
  10. All of Us Murderers
    All of Us MurderersKJ Charles · 2025Early · 13% own27 ratings
    7.77.7 / 10
  11. With a VengeanceRiley Sager
    With a VengeanceRiley Sager · 2025NYT bestseller65 ratings
    7.47.4 / 10
What is the best new Historical fiction book?

“The Book of Lost Hours” by Hayley Gelfuso scores 8.0/10 from 35 reader ratings, the highest of the releases we have enough readers for.

What does “early score” mean?

The book has between 20 and 49 reader ratings. It gets a page and a place on this list, but it does not enter category rankings until it reaches 50, like every other book.

How is this list built?

From reader ratings only: the same Bayesian score as everywhere on the site, with releases of the last eighteen months and at least 20 ratings. Sales, marketing and prizes do not enter it. Refreshed daily.