This month is the perfect time to try a new romance from our own Edie Cay. Into the Breach With You is the third book in her Ladies Alpine Society series. If you haven’t read the first two, you can get them here.

As much as I’ve been looking forward to the next installment in Edie’s series, there are many other books coming out this month that look amazing. Here are my picks. Let me know if you’d pick differently.

 

BEST COVER

I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower (February 25)

“When a blaze takes both a neighbor’s home and his life, Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa have a burning desire to crack the case in this new historical mystery from Agatha-Award winning author Amanda Flower.” ~ book description

Once You Were Mine combines cover and title to punch you in the stomach emotionally. The sweeping vistas and stunning colors of The Mountains Between Us and The End of August put them in this category. The intense expressions of the people on Outback Odyssey and Viva Violetta & Verdi are also captivating. The soft blues and purples of I Died for Beauty, however, drew me immediately. The title is intriguing, and the notion that the poet Emily Dickinson was solving a crime made this a must-have.

The Mountains Between Us by Imogen Martin (Gold Rush California, February 18)

The End of August by Paige Dinneny (Indiana 1979, February 11)

Outback Odyssey by Paula Rushworth-Brown (Australia 1950s, February 27)

Viva Violetta & Verdi  by Howard Jay Smith (19th century Italy, February 28)

Once You Were Mine by Elizabeth Langston (North Carolina 1968,February 11)

BEST TITLE

The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter by Grace Tiffany (February 4)

“In this engrossing novel, Grace Tiffany brings to life Judith Shakespeare, the daughter of the Bard. A midwife and apothecary, Judith finds herself accused of witchcraft and forced to flee Stratford on horseback. As she navigates a war-torn England, she confronts not only the perils of the road but the weight of her own grief—two sons lost to plague and a marriage unraveling in the aftermath. Witty, resilient, and fiercely intelligent, Judith is a heroine whose journey, rich in historical authenticity and imaginative storytelling, resonates across the centuries.” — Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and The Exiles

I love stories about bookshops like A Foundling at the Wartime Bookshop, and connections to other books like The Other March Sisters. The other three are interesting, but the top pick in this category is The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter. Even though I can’t guess from the title that it’s about a real person, the daughter of Shakespeare, I find it intriguing enough to pick up.

A Foundling at the Wartime Bookshop by Lesley Eames (WWII England, February 13)

The Other March Sisters by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, Liz Parker (February 25)

The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones (French Revolution, February 4)

The Umbrella Maker’s Son by Tod Lending (WWII Poland, February 11)

The Keeper of the Laugh by Danny Fromchenko (Munich 1945, February 11)

MOST ANTICIPATED

Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (February 11)

“A shrewd speculative whodunit … Benedict easily brings each of her five distinct writer/sleuths to life, and honors their literary legacies by providing plenty of ingenious, fair-play clues to help careful readers follow along and solve the central mystery. This is a treat for fans of golden age whodunits.” ―Publishers Weekly

Another of my favorite authors has a new novel this month, so this was easy. The Queens of Crime are a group of five women crime writers (including Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie) who band together to solve murders in 1945 London. I am amazed at the ambition of trying to write five characters, but I know Benedict can do it!

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff (London and Paris 1953, February 4)

The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson (Lisbon 1943, February 4)

The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (WWII London, February 18)

The Last American Heiresses by Stephen Greco (Manhattan 1912, February 25)

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray (Harlem 1919, February 4)

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Need more historical fiction on your TBR? See more new release titles at Historical Novel Society.

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