25 Books for Women’s History Month

Hello readers! Happy International Women’s Day to all readers. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I’m thrilled to recommend 25 Books for Women’s History Month. It’s been a while since my last women’s fiction recommendation post and I have come across some compelling and remarkable books featuring strong women, written by women authors that sure needs mention to mark the occassion. This list includes books from all genre I read potraying stories of courage, resilience, perseverance, and hope that we all need. Without further ado, here are 25 Books for Women’s History Month-

25 Books for Women’s History Month

Women’s Fiction

1. The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page

The Keeper of Stories is wonderful women’s fiction that revolves around Janice the house cleaner and stories she collects of people she works for. This was kind of collection of short stories but it is told by a person observing it and giving it a shape and making the short collection into a novel. Best part of the book is Janice’s story. It is kind of mystery of the books and it was most heartfelt. Check out full review HERE.

2. At Least You Have Your Health by Madi Sinha

At Least You Have Your Health is realistic and compelling women’s fiction that revolves around Maya and Amelia and their views on women’s healthcare. Best part is all the layers and theme of inclusion, medicine, and classism, racism, and hyperparenting. I liked how author talked about life of immigrants, their stuggle in new conutry with inclusion and racism, how little people know about women’s anatomy and healthcare and how schools and hospitals still use outdated system when it comes to education on women’s anatomy and sex. I also liked a little bit of medical info and medical history as well which was informative. Check out full review HERE.

3. The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island was bittersweet fiction that revolved around a widow hallucinating her dead husband and a journalist/podcaster trying to understand why whole town was going along with it. Story was about bereavement, impact of environment changes on island, community, love, family, and hope. It was wonderful, heart-warming, emotive, and insane fiction with unique premise and realistic plot and characters. Check out full review HERE.

4. Eudora Honeysett is Quite Well, Thank You by Annie Lyons

Eudora Honeysett is Quite Well, Thank You was heart-warming women’s fiction that revolved around 85 years old Eudora and her unlikely friendship with Rose and Stanley. It was about multigenerational relationship, importance of a good death and living life fullest till it lasts, family, friendship, and letting go of past and guilt. Check out full review HERE.

Historical Fiction

5. A Perfect Equation by Elizabeth Everett

A Perfect Equation is amazing entertaining second book in The Secret Scientists of London series that revolves around a mathematician Letitia Fenley (Letty) and Lord William Hughes, the Viscount Greycliff (Grey) who find their perfect equation of love. The story is about past mistakes, getting over fears and boundaries set by past, societal differences, the beginning of suffrage, unrest in London among social class, love, friendship, belongingness, rights, and sisterhood. It was perfect  swoon-worthy, Women in STEM historical romance. Check out my full review HERE.

6. The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies is immersive feminist historical fiction set in Regency London that revolves around two unmarried twin sisters in their forties who gets involved in a series of rescue adventures that saves women and children from a dangerous and life-threatening situations. I absolutely loved this being a feminist and I could relate to characters’ thoughts and opinions even though it is set in whole different era. There are amazing slight dark themes and layers and yet there are many uplifting and lovely moments. I can’t recommend this enough. Check out full review HERE.

7. Rani Padmavati: The Burning Queen by Anuja Chandramouli

Padmavati was a legendary medieval Indian queen and her earliest mention was in a poems by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540 CE. This books retells Padmavati’s story that is about a beauty, jealousy, love, betrayal, greed, passion, bravery, and scheming. This book depicted a perfect picture of royal women in that era- their thinking and their way of living, internal disputes among Rajput rulers, religious differences, political scheming within a kingdom or in between kingdoms, most importantly Jauhar- custom of mass self-immolation. Check out full review HERE.

8. Her Lost Words: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Stephanie Marie Thornton

Her Lost Words is moving and beautifully written historical fiction on the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley. Their love of literature, zeal for language, radical feminist beliefs, and challenges they faced in their lives during the 18th and 19th centuries are genuinely inspiring. It was amazing to read the parallel life story of mother and daughter that showed they have so many things in common and how deep the connection was even though they never got to know each other and how their words and love tethered them to each other and the world that never has been kind to them. Check out full review HERE.

9. The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen

The Woman With the Cure is inspiring historical fiction based on race to find the cure for polio and a female doctor who dedicated her life to fight against polio and had been the backbone to the discovery of the polio vaccine. While this story focused on Dorothy and her journey to find the cure, it also includes women from many walks of life, mothers, nurses, doctors, wives of scientists, women scientists, assistants, and statisticians… who all played important role, showed tremendous courage and strength in their own way… like the author said it easily could be “Women with the Cure”. Check out full review HERE.

10. The Winter Orphans by Kristin Beck

The Winter Orphans is emotional and heartbreaking historical fiction that revolves around Jewish refugee children of Château de la Hille and Swiss volunteers women, Rösli Näf and Anne-Marie Piguet, who showed tremendous courage and determination to save the children of Château de la Hille. This is amazIng story of courage, iron will, determination, perseverance, loss, survival, tragedy, cruelty, humanity, politics, and hope. This truly was best WWII historical fiction based on real people and events.

11. The Mad Girls of New York by Maya Rodale

The Mad Girls of New York is fantastic, motivating and inspiring first book in Nellie Bly series that revolves around how Nellie Bly started her investigative journalist career by going undercover as a patient at notorious insane asylum for women on Blackwell’s Island to get the inside story. The story is about sexism, struggle of Women in Journalism, Social discrimination of women, classism, life of Gilded Age Women, courage, sisterhood, and friendship. Best part of the story is Blackwell’s asylum. It is atmospheric setting. Apart from the layer or struggle of women journalists and poor health system, there is also a subplot of society gossip and second marriage of a wealthy person. check ou full review HERE.

12. The Berlin Zookeeper by Anna Stuart

The Berlin Zookeeper (previous title, The Zookeeper’s Daughter) was powerful historical fiction that revolved around the Berlin Zoo and its keepers. The story was about life of Zookeepers, what Berlin zoo went through during the wartime, struggle and life of women keepers, Germans who didn’t support war, belongingness, friendship, family, unconditional love, courage and survival. Check out full review HERE.

14. The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck

The Invisible Woman was brilliant biographical historical fiction that was based on a real and very famous American woman who played heroic role in history. Best thing about the book was, it wasn’t just about liberation of France but, in a way, it was Virginia’s own liberation- freedom of getting her identity back, redemption from guilt, and learning to live life once again. But throughout the book what didn’t change in Virginia was her love for France which was another best thing. Check out full review HERE.

15. The War Widow by Tara Moss

The War Widow was amazing post WWII historical fiction, about post war effects on country and people, perceptions, sexism, racism, war crime, grief and determination. It was heart wrenching to read women’s condition in this era, how people treated war widows and aborigines, how women had to leave their job for men returning from war and if they had job it was low paid and insignificant and what happened to women in Ravensbrück concentration camp was blood chilling to read. This was impressive, intriguing, well written and well researched historical fiction. Check out full review HERE.

16. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

The Dictionary of LostWords was brilliant and well researched historical fiction that revolved arounds Esme, Oxford English Dictionary edited by James Murray, and how words shaped and defined Esme’s life. It was about words, lost words used by women for women and how they were biased by men of dictionary, life of lexicographer, history, prejudice, courage, empathy, and empowerment. Best part of the book was, it wasn’t just Esme’s story (which was fictional) but was the story of OED and lexicographer worked for it (which was historical fact) how seamlessly and beautifully author woven both fictional and historical parts. Check out full review HERE.

17. The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen

The Sisters of Sea View is heartwarming character-driven historical fiction about four Summer sisters struggling with their financial situation after their father’s death which makes them turn their house, ‘The Sea View’ into a guest house for travelers. But instead of the elderly invalids they expected as their guests they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. It was interesting to read how that will change their life. The story is about their struggle with the change in their life and status from being gentlewomen to tradeswomen, running the guest house, getting out of their comfort zone for a better future, confronting traumatic past, ups and downs in sister relationships, and unexpected romance. Check out full review HERE.

18. The Last Train to Key West (The Perez Family #3) by Chanel Cleeton

The Last Train to Key West was gripping historical fiction that revolved around three women whose life changed after 1935 Labour Day hurricane. I loved the concept of life three women coming from different background to Keys, having their own problems whose path intersected and faced life changing event. Historical aspects were best part of the book. Check out full review HERE.

Contemporary

19. The Widow’s Mite by Allie Cresswell

The Widows Mite is a touching and emotive contemporary that revolves around one of Maisie’s friends, Minie, who was known to be obsessed with living economically and frugally in first book, The Hoarder’s Widow, but no one could figure out why which is revealed in this story. This is a painful and heartwrenching bereavement journey of Minnie that tested her patience and hope. The author excellently presented layers of financial exploitations by fraud and scams under the bereavement services or investment companies for new widows or old people, trauma of hunger, misleading and misappropriation of will, and emotional and physical toll of long suffering. Check out full review HERE.

20. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

Ready or Not follows Eve who got pregnant after her one-night stand and we see her struggling to accept this unexpected pregnancy with minimal support from the father of the child and more supposrt from her friend’s brother who secretly loved her all her life. This not only potrays stages of preganacy in most realistic way but also show how it makes people around you react to it. I also loved representation of pain and suffering of women trying to be mother and have gone through miscarraige and how seeing other pregnant women around them affects them. I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it.

Fantasy

21. The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden

Who said fantasy cannot be included in this list! If you think that, read this trilogy. The Girl in The Tower is a mesmerizing sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale that focus on politics, impending war, how Vasya and her family gets tangled in it, and how Vasya gets through it with just determination and courage and little help from the Winter King. Check out full review HERE.

22. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree was fantastic high fantasy that revolved around the world fearing the big bad dragon that was stirring from his thousand years long sleep to bring chaos and destruction in the world and three female characters who come together from the different parts of the world to save the world from him. Check out full review HERE.

Thriller

23. The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

The Night Swim was thought-provoking mystery/thriller that revolved around two rape cases, its investigation, and a trial. It was about judicial system, rape and sexual assault, views of people and prejudice, victim blaming, treatment of rape survivors. Court room drama and Rachel’s podcast about it was my favourite part of the book. This was definitely not easy read. Check out full review HERE.

24. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

The Mother-In-Law was character driven suspenseful domestic noir, a twisted family drama. It was story about dysfunctional family, money greed, obsession, loss, life struggle, and a complicated mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. Author perfectly explored role of mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law in this novel who were flawed and relationships between them that was filled with angst, love, pain, and despair. Check out full review HERE.

25. Vox by Christina Dalcher

Prisoner in your own country? Government take away your voice? No passport, No jobs, no money, friendship or freedom. You can’t speak more than 100 words. Phone, books, reading, writing is banned. But all of this is only for women. Vox is mind-blowing, provocative, suspenseful, gripping, terrific and disturbing dystopian science-fiction about feminism, oppressive government, hypocrisy and sexism, standing against tyranny to save family and loved ones. Check out full review HERE.

25 Books for Women's History Month #bookrecommendation #Booksforwomenbywomen …. Check out the list ⬇️ Click To Tweet

Have you read any of these?
Recommend your favorite book to add to this list in comments?

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Just in case you missed,,,,

• Mehar’s World of Colours by Arti Sonthalia – Middle Grade Fiction for art lovers
• Mr. Hook Up by Marni Mann – enjoyable, steamy, workplace romance
• Addicted to You (Addicted #1) by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

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