Best Historical Fiction

  The Girls of Good Fortune explores the complexity of family and identity set in the era troubled with anti-Chinese sentiment. Portland, end of 19th century. Celia’s family escaped China for America, a place advertised as the Golden Mountain, only to face a new set of hardship. As Celia’s father works at a coal mine, she works as a maid for mayor’s family, where she falls in love with the mayor’s son. It’s a challenging situation for both of them, and they’d have to move to Washington Territory for their marriage to be legal. The story begins with a romance which has dire consequences for Celia. It is further intertwined with her abduction and stark reality for Chinese immigrants, and scary underground world of the Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels. The story tangles between two timelines. It takes time to make sense and get connected with the present timeline, which is abduction. Once, present timeline makes more sense, then the story becomes more engrossing in its entirety. Celia, hal...

  The Blackbirds of St Giles brings a perilous journey of two siblings, Daniel and Pearl, who escape a slave rebellion in Jamaica in 1768. Their journey takes them to New York where in 1776, Daniel answers king’s call to join His Majesty’s Troops during the struggles to retain America in exchange for freedom. While picking up the arms, Daniel saves a Major’s life in a battle. He is rewarded with the man’s inheritance. Thus, the journey takes him and his sister to London. But promises are not always kept. What was supposed to be a rewarding life turns into a misery and another fight for survival. The siblings are thrown into the streets of dark parts of London brimming with poverty and cruelty. This poignant story vividly paints the terrifying streets of 18 th century London, the treacherous realities and persistence of two siblings exposing their hopes and despairs. It’s charged emotionally, and the bond between two siblings is deep and at times overprotective. It’s the stor...