Here are 100 books that Hope Between the Pages fans have personally recommended if you like
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While I write Appalachian historical fiction, I’ve spent my non-writing career in marketing and fundraising. That includes a dream job in the public relations department at Biltmore Estate from 2000-2006. It was a thrill for me to spend time in America’s largest privately owned home, learning about and sharing the estate’s amazing history. And while you just can’t beat the actual history, who wouldn’t have fun building a story around a French chateau in the Appalachian mountains? In writing my own Biltmore novel, I read others set there as well and found some true gems!
In my time working at Biltmore, I often thought visitors tended to overlook Edith Vanderbilt. I love how Kristy Woodson Harvey celebrates Edith’s intelligence, tenacity, and determination in this novel.
Of course, I’m also a sucker for a family heirloom, and the veil passed down through the generations is the perfect hook for this fun and entertaining story.
This "masterfully woven...literary home run" (New York Journal of Books) follows four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family from the New York Times bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series.
Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives-and history as they know it.
Present Day: Julia Baxter's wedding veil, bequeathed to her great-grandmother by a mysterious woman on a train in the 1930s, has passed through generations of her family as a symbol of a happy marriage. But on the morning of her wedding…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
While I write Appalachian historical fiction, I’ve spent my non-writing career in marketing and fundraising. That includes a dream job in the public relations department at Biltmore Estate from 2000-2006. It was a thrill for me to spend time in America’s largest privately owned home, learning about and sharing the estate’s amazing history. And while you just can’t beat the actual history, who wouldn’t have fun building a story around a French chateau in the Appalachian mountains? In writing my own Biltmore novel, I read others set there as well and found some true gems!
Reading this book is like going on a guided, behind-the-scenes tour of Biltmore—led by an actual member of the staff!
I so enjoyed this authentic look at the “downstairs” side of Biltmore House. It’s a fun, light romance with just enough twists and turns to keep me turning pages even though I was reasonably certain it was all going to work out in the end ;)
While I write Appalachian historical fiction, I’ve spent my non-writing career in marketing and fundraising. That includes a dream job in the public relations department at Biltmore Estate from 2000-2006. It was a thrill for me to spend time in America’s largest privately owned home, learning about and sharing the estate’s amazing history. And while you just can’t beat the actual history, who wouldn’t have fun building a story around a French chateau in the Appalachian mountains? In writing my own Biltmore novel, I read others set there as well and found some true gems!
When I worked at Biltmore, I was intrigued by a photograph showing the chateau under construction with a ramshackle house still standing in the foreground.
Who lived in that house? Were they still there? How did George Vanderbilt go about acquiring that property? Joy Jordan-Lake digs into a variation on that theme with this story of a young woman called home to Appalachia from the big city to help her family—one of the last hold-outs as Vanderbilt scoops up land.
I found Jordan-Lake’s exploration of the people around the construction of Biltmore fascinating and engaging.
"Crawdads meets the Crawleys...Threaded through with a meticulously researched, well-crafted mystery, this is historical fiction at its best." -Fiona Davis, nationally bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
From the bestselling author of A Tangled Mercy comes an enthralling novel of secrets, a tumultuous war of ideas, and murder as classes collide in the shadow of Biltmore House.
Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American "royalty," is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country's grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl,…
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
by
Meredith Marple,
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
While I write Appalachian historical fiction, I’ve spent my non-writing career in marketing and fundraising. That includes a dream job in the public relations department at Biltmore Estate from 2000-2006. It was a thrill for me to spend time in America’s largest privately owned home, learning about and sharing the estate’s amazing history. And while you just can’t beat the actual history, who wouldn’t have fun building a story around a French chateau in the Appalachian mountains? In writing my own Biltmore novel, I read others set there as well and found some true gems!
This is the story behind the story of Biltmore Estate.
I was so impressed with Denise Kiernan’s research and her engaging way of presenting the facts. While this isn’t a novel, I found it read like one, offering deep insight into the people and circumstances that helped shape America’s largest privately owned home.
A New York Times bestseller with an “engaging narrative and array of detail” (The Wall Street Journal), the “intimate and sweeping” (Raleigh News & Observer) untold true story of the Biltmore Estate—the largest private home in America—and the remarkable woman who helped ensure its survival.
The story of Biltmore spans World Wars, the Jazz Age, the Depression, and generations of the famous Vanderbilt family, and features a captivating cast of real-life characters including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Henry James, and Edith Wharton.
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage…
I worked for years as a long-haul flight attendant, and met a lot of people. Some travelling for love, honeymoons, anniversaries, some for medical care, to say goodbye to someone. And some for that bucket list item, because they knew it was their last chance. I’ve always been amazed by the human spirit and its ability to love deeply. And I love romance stories! I have read so many. My favourites are the ones about people and the emotional journeys they go on. So combine the two, and you’ve got heart-wrenching stories that make you realise what’s important, even if they do break your heart in the process.
I love Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward's way of weaving a beautiful story that makes you say, 'just one more chapter'.
They always pull you into the story and make you feel like you are there. I often read their books in a day because I can’t put them down.
I love the grumpy-sunshine trope in this book. It was fun and sexy and emotional. There is a hidden and very well-portrayed medical issue for one of the characters, which I felt added so much depth to the book and touched on very real, relatable issues.
I’ve been fascinated by historical fiction since I was a child when I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and it absolutely captivated me. I appreciate how history cautions us to examine the present, so we don’t repeat the same injustices. After failing to get a literary agent for not one, but two contemporary novels, I decided to shift my focus to historical fiction. Inspired by dual-narrative structure, I wrote a novel set in both present-day San Francisco and 1876 San Francisco. That book, my debut, The Dressmaker’s Dowry, became a USA Today bestseller. I’ve since gone on to write two more novels, Boardwalk Summer and The Pilot’s Daughter.
This is a heartbreaking, yet uplifting novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. It takes place in both 1989 Los Angeles and 1938 Austria. I love this book because of Jillian’s beautiful writing, and her strong sense of place. I felt transported to WWII Austria, where I became deeply invested in the love story between Kristoff and Elena. I also enjoyed that the modern-day story takes place pre-internet, where a newly divorced woman, Katie, does hands-on research to learn more about an unusual WWII-era stamp. Both narratives weave together seamlessly. I was lucky to read this book while visiting my family in Switzerland, surrounded by the beauty of the Alps.
“A gorgeous and thrilling novel… Perfect for book clubs and fans of The Nightingale.” –PopSugar
A historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. A heart-breaking, heart-warming read for fans of The Nightingale, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key.
Austria, 1938. Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance…
Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of…
As the author of more than 50 works of warm, witty historical romance, I love seeking out stories that will make me smile. I’m a firm believer in happy endings, in the books I write, and the books I read. I’m also a bit obsessed with history, having driven a carriage four-in-hand, learned to fence, and sailed on a tall ship, all in the name of research.
There’s nothing like the antics of a pet to bring a lady and a gentleman together. A beloved dog with the improbable name of Honeysuckle does just that in this charming novel. A letter that ended up at the Dead Letter Office leads Honey’s pretty owner to a small town in Iowa to find the man who writes words she can’t forget. You’ll find yourself remembering them too.
For three years, Penny Ercanbeck has been opening other people's mail. Dead ends are a reality for clerks at the Dead Letter Office. Still she dreams of something more--a bit of intrigue, a taste of romance, or at least a touch less loneliness. When a letter from a brokenhearted man to his one true love falls into her hands, Penny seizes this chance to do something heroic. It becomes her mission to place this lost letter into the hands of its intended recipient.
Thomas left his former life with no intention of ending up in Azure Springs, Iowa. He certainly…
I’m someone with lots of big feelings–an Enneagram 4–and so YA novels really appeal to me because adolescence is a time with seemingly nothing but big feelings. It’s also, for me, a time to look back on fondly–I grew up in the ‘90s, which, with the threat of nuclear war receding into the background and the scourge of social media long into the future, certainly seems like a simpler time with the benefit of hindsight. So, escaping into my teen feelings also projects me back to then, and there’s comfort and pleasant nostalgia in there, which is sometimes much needed.
This novel brought back all those teenage feels—especially that cringy embarrassment when the guy you have a crush on finds out you're into him… Lara is a really likable character, and so relatable as she tries to figure out her burgeoning love life amid the disaster of letters she wrote a long time ago becoming public.
Now a Netflix feature film! Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.
One for every boy she's ever loved.
When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only.
Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control!
The first book in the bestselling series by Jenny Han, which has been made into a NETFLIX feature film
I’m a Korean American author who believes life is too short to read books that bore you, classics or otherwise. I’ve always had eclectic tastes and like to pick out books the way customers choose bonbons at my chocolate shop (which I’ve co-owned since 1984). And while I do read and often write longer works, I’ve always preferred to fall into a world from the opening line and bow out soon thereafter. By nature, I’m a minimalist – and maybe don’t have the greatest attention span – so I’m in awe of short works that stand on their own. They’re just more dramatic and memorable to me.
Years ago, someone gave this book to me for Valentine’s Day; and I literally drowned in the pages, the naked emotion. The next Valentine’s Day I bought copies for several friends. I would call this collection more beautiful than romantic; with each love letter, you hear love from various perspectives and time periods.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, a love letter speaks a thousand more . . .
Even in this age of e-mail, faxes, and instant messaging, nothing has ever replaced the power of a love letter. Much the way light displays every color when passed through a prism, love letters express the spectrum of our emotions, offering a colorful glimpse into the soul of the writer, and of the writer’s beloved. For passionate readers and lovers of words, a letter is irresistible.
Internationally renowned collector David Lowenherz sifted through hundreds and hundreds of historical and contemporary epistles and selected…
John Sellars is a Reader in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the author of multiple books on Stoicism. He is also a founding member of Modern Stoicism and The Aurelius Foundation, both non-profit companies devoted to bringing Stoicism to a wider audience and showing how it can benefit people today.
This book contains a selection of letters from the correspondence between Marcus Aurelius and his rhetoric teacher Fronto. Most of these letters date from Marcus’s youth and show a quite different side to his character.
Richlin argues – controversially – that some of these letters give evidence of a homosexual relationship between Marcus and Fronto. Although I’m not convinced by that claim, this volume remains a really helpful way to access these letters in a modern translation with helpful notes. The youthful Marcus we meet is a nice counterpoint to the older Marcus of the Meditations.
In 1815 a manuscript containing one of the long-lost treasures of antiquity was discovered-the letters of Marcus Cornelius Fronto, reputed to have been one of the greatest Roman orators. But this find disappointed many nineteenth-century readers, who had hoped for the letters to convey all of the political drama of Cicero's. That the collection included passionate love letters between Fronto and the future emperor Marcus Aurelius was politely ignored-or concealed. And for almost two hundred years these letters have lain hidden in plain sight.
Marcus Aurelius in Love rescues these letters from obscurity and returns them to the public eye.…
