Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Socials: @rachelsbrittain
I hope you’re ready for a jam-packed start to your reading month, because not one, not two, not three, but five out of the six historical fiction books I’m telling you about today have already been published. That’s right, no waiting around for these titles, folks. You’re getting the treat of reading all of these novels early. In fact, every single one of these November historical fiction releases comes out before the 12th of the month. That’s wild. It was honestly just happenstance, but it feels like such a treat. Usually, new releases involve at least a little bit of waiting around, but not this time!
Among November’s best historical fiction, there’s everything from a tortoise who witnesses history to a sapphic Victorian romp to the Canary Islands’ most famous shipwreck.
Deeper than the Ocean by Mirta Ojito
Release date: November 4, 2025
A journalist assigned to write a report on the Canary Islands’ most famous shipwreck, the Valbanera, unexpectedly discovers that her own great-grandmother is listed among the names of the dead, years before her own mother, who spoke often of her beloved grandmother, was born. If this fundamental truth Mara has always believed about the origins of her family is false, what else could be wrong? Searching for the truth about the shipwreck and her family, Mara digs deep into the past of the Canary Islands and Cuba in the early twentieth century.
All access members continue below for more of the best historical fiction coming out in November.
Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Socials: @rachelsbrittain
The Tortoise’s Tale by Kendra Coulter
Release date: November 4, 2025
A tortoise imported to a Southern California estate becomes the unlikely witness of a century of change in this one-of-a-kind novel from Kendra Coulter. The tortoise, eventually named Magic by a girl on the estate, watches families and workers come and go. From titans of industry to rock stars, each leaves their own unique mark on the tortoise. This is historical fiction like you’ve never read before.
Where There’s Room for Us by Hayley Kiyoko
Release date: November 4, 2025
Hello historical romance! Singer-songwriter and author of Girls Like Girls, Hayley Kiyoko, brings us her first historical fiction novel with this delightfully sapphic romp! In the 1880s Victorian England of Kiyoko’s imagining, much like the Bridgerton TV show, everyone is free to love whomever they choose. But with the weight of family expectations weighing heavily upon her, Freya Tallon has never considered doing anything other than marrying a wealthy lord and producing the heirs expected of her. Until she meets Ivy. Ivy, who comes to England from New York after her brother unexpectedly inherits an estate, is an infamously outspoken poet who eschews England’s rigid traditions. But is Freya ready to go against everything she and her family have ever planned just to follow her heart?
Last Call at the Savoy by Brisa Carleton
Release date: November 4, 2025
Set at the illustrious London hotel of the same name, Last Call at the Savoy follows a woman struggling to find herself after the sudden loss of both her parents. When her pregnant sister is put on bed rest before giving birth to twins, Cinnamon doesn’t hesitate to fly to her sister’s side. Spending time at the Savoy’s iconic bar helps her pass the time when she’s not helping her sister, but when she learns of the overlooked female bartender whose recipes made the American Bar famous, Cinnamon can’t help but want to set the record straight—especially when it looks like Ada Coleman is about to be left out of the hotel’s history once again.
The Year of the Wind by Karina Pacheco Medrano, translated by Mara Faye Lethem
Release date: November 4, 2025
In Karina Pacheco Medrano’s first novel to be translated into English, a woman living in Spain returns to her childhood home in Peru when a chance sighting of a woman on the eve of the pandemic reminds her of the cousin lost to her. It’s a journey that takes her back to the Andes and into the darkest recesses of Peruvian history and the political violence of the 1980s that took the lives of thousands of Indigenous Peruvians.
Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Release date: November 11, 2025
I love Jesse Q. Sutanto’s cozy mysteries, Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, so I’m thrilled to see her dipping her metaphorical toes into historical fiction. In Next Time Will Be Our Turn, Sutanto explores complicated family relationships and second chances. When Izzy Chen reluctantly shows up to her family’s annual Chinese New Year Celebration, only to see her grandmother walk in with a stunning woman, everything she thought she knew about her family is turned on its head. Izzy’s reaction reminds Magnolia Chen of the girl she once was, prompting her to share her story of being sent to LA from Jakarta and finding herself caught between familial expectations and the girl she loved.
Be sure to catch up on October and September’s historical fiction releases, and, while you’re at it, check out these underrated historical fiction books that should be on your radar but probably aren’t.
Join All Access to read this article
Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot.
- Unlimited access to exclusive bonus content
- Community features like commenting and poll participation
- Our gratitude for supporting the work of an independent media company
English (US) · 