We’re thrilled to unveil our new lineup of book selections for The Silver Petticoat Book Club’s Fall 2023 season!
Featuring a blend of literary genres (many perfect for fall and Halloween), we’ve carefully handpicked six fantastic books spanning historical fiction, fantasy, YA, romance, classics, and Romanticism.
But before we announce our book club picks, we have a brief update on our ongoing discussions. Also, if you’re new to the book club, we have all the information you need to decide if you’d like to join us!
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ABOUT THE SILVER PETTICOAT BOOK CLUB –OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION
Every season (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer), Amber and Autumn – twin sisters behind The Silver Petticoat Review and The Silver Petticoat Book Club – select six book recommendations. A book club focused on choosing books with love stories (it does not need to be a romance) or books with Romanticism (fantasy, fairy tales, gothic, historical fiction, etc.).
Think sweet, smart, imaginative, or Austenesque in style, from classics to debut authors, bestsellers, book club books, personal nostalgic favorites, and more.
Amber and Autumn have made it their mission to select books that ignite a love of reading, whether it’s a fun, sensationalist read or an upmarket literary novel that explores themes of humanity.
All selected book club books range between one and three out of five on the steaminess scale and do not typically have tons of gore, profanity, or explicit content. Some novels may include a little bit of graphic text, profanity, or violence; however, it will not be throughout the book, and Amber and Autumn will give a content warning.
See the official Silver Petticoat Book Club Page if you want to learn more!
WHEN WILL THE NEW BOOK SELECTIONS BE ANNOUNCED?
We will usually announce the new book club selections near the beginning of the season. But we could reveal at any time during that season.
Typically, you will have a few months to choose from the list of book club selections and read the ones of interest to you before we start the discussions.
Of course, you can also add the books to your TBR pile anytime. You can check out all our past picks on our official page, The Silver Petticoat Book Shop, or Goodreads.
ONLINE BOOK CLUB DISCUSSIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO FOLLOW
The discussion is simple. Amber and Autumn will ask members on Facebook and Goodreads about each book – giving people ample time to read the books they want! They will ask members what they liked about the book and what they thought about it.
RELATED: The Silver Petticoat Book Club Summer 2023 Announcement: Six Entertaining Reads
You can also follow the hashtag #TheSilverPetticoatBookClub. And feel free to use it, too, and show us how you’re participating. And remember to invite your friends and family to join.
FOLLOW THE BOOK CLUB ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
THE SILVER PETTICOAT BOOK SHOP
Check out Autumn and Amber’s bookshop on bookshop.org. It includes a list of all the book club picks. It’s an easy way to support local bookstores.
A QUICK UPDATE
Book club discussions will only be in our Facebook Group or the Goodreads forums and not on Instagram moving forward. We’ll still make book club announcements on Instagram and share other book club posts – but we feel the discussion is best for our other two social media pages.
We’d love to see you there!
THE SILVER PETTICOAT BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FALL 2023
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Friendship, Romance
Publication Date: January 1, 1958
What better time to read this children’s classic about a young girl accused of being a witch than the Halloween season? It’s a lovely book for readers of all ages. So, read it if you’ve never had the chance. Or introduce it to your own children and read with them. The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a magical book with a fantastic message and an unforgettable story.
We first read The Witch of Blackbird Pond in middle school and have probably each read it a dozen times since. The Newbery-winning novel was likely our first introduction to the historical fiction genre – and we fell absolutely in love with it.
The book has beautiful prose, fully developed characters, and imagery that brings you straight to the Colonial Era. Romance fans will also appreciate the heartwarming love story between Katherine “Kit” Tyler and Nat Eaton – especially if you love Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables.
It’s a true gem about friendship, family, and love – and it’s one for the ages. Now, where is the film adaptation already? Check out our book review of The Witch of Blackbird Pond for more of Amber’s thoughts on the classic book!
Content Note: Appropriate for everyone. It includes thematic elements, prejudice, and mild suspense. Steam level 1 – about as wholesome as it gets.
Official Description:
In this Newbery Medal–winning novel, a girl faces prejudice and accusations of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Connecticut. A classic of historical fiction that continues to resonate across the generations.
Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met.
Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit’s friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty.
The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton
Genres: Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Publication Date: April 11, 2023, by Berkley
Titanic movie or Old Hollywood fans take note – this is the book for you! Reading The Cuban Heiress feels like watching romantic and suspenseful classic films. It has everything from romance to mystery, suspense, great characters, and even a famous disaster.
All in all, this is a book we couldn’t put down. If you’ve yet to discover Chanel Cleeton books and are looking for stories that are more closed-door than explicit, try this new historical fiction novel!
Content Note: It would probably be PG-13 as a movie for suspense and mild violence. It’s a steam level 2 with closed-door romance and mild swearing.
Official Description:
In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.
New York heiress Catherine Dohan seemingly has it all. There’s only one problem. It’s a lie. As soon as the Morro Castle leaves port, Catherine’s past returns with a vengeance and threatens her life. Joining forces with a charismatic jewel thief, Catherine must discover who wants her dead—and why.
Elena Palacio is a dead woman. Or so everyone thinks. After a devastating betrayal left her penniless and on the run, Elena’s journey on the Morro Castle is her last hope. Steeped in secrecy and a burning desire for revenge, her return to Havana is a chance to right the wrong that has been done to her—and her prey is on the ship.
As danger swirls aboard the Morro Castle and their fates intertwine, Elena and Catherine must risk everything to see justice served once and for all.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genres: Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Romance, Magical Realism
Publication Date: July 23, 2019, by Del Rey
Gods of Jade and Shadow has been on our book club radar for a while! If you love paranormal romance, dark fairy tales, historical fantasy, and literary prose, you’ll want to check out this excellent standalone novel. It is a 2019 Goodreads Nominee for Best Fantasy for a reason.
The fantasy romance book’s main character, Casiopea Tun, is an impassioned character influenced by Jane Eyre (always promising!) and Cinderella – while placing the unique tale within the 1920s Jazz Age.
And then there’s a romance with a Mayan God. Yep, really good stuff.
Check out our book review of Gods of Jade and Shadow for more!
Content Note: PG-13-like read with brief strong language and animal sacrifices. The romance is a steam level 1.
Official Description:
The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
“A spellbinding fairy tale rooted in Mexican mythology . . . Gods of Jade and Shadow is a magical fairy tale about identity, freedom, and love, and it’s like nothing you’ve read before.”—Bustle
NEBULA AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Tordotcom • The New York Public Library • BookRiot
The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.
Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.
In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.
Sorcery & Cecelia: Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (Cecelia and Kate Series)
Genres: Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Classics
Publication Date: April 15, 1988, by Ace Books
While Sorcery & Cecelia is the first in a book series, it easily works as a standalone novel. If you love Jane Austen, Regency Romance books, and magical tales of Romanticism, you’ll love this Young Adult classic.
RELATED: Jane and the Final Mystery Review – An Emotional End to the Popular Series
It’s full of wit, humor, romance, mystery, magic, and friendship.
Content Note: Mild violence – steam level 1. PG-like read.
Official Description:
A great deal is happening in London this season.
For starters, there’s the witch who tried to poison Kate at Sir Hilary’s induction into the Royal College of Wizards. (Since when does hot chocolate burn a hole straight through one’s dress?!)
Then there’s Dorothea. Is it a spell that’s made her the toast of the town—or could it possibly have something to do with the charm-bag under Oliver’s bed?
And speaking of Oliver, just how long can Cecelia and Kate make excuses for him? Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn’t bothered to tell anyone where he is!
The girls might think it all a magical nightmare . . . if only they weren’t having so much fun.
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
Genres: Mystery, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Gothic, Classics
Publication Date: January 1, 1964
This Rough Magic comes from the queen of romantic suspense! Plus, it has the gorgeous Corfu setting, a clever heroine, a masterful plot, references to Shakespeare, a romantic hero, a dolphin, and a perfect ending.
Get ready to fall in love…
Content Note: Steam level 1. It’s a PG-like read with a little bit of swearing, violence, and some suspense.
Official Description:
When Lucy Waring’s sister Phyllida suggests that she join her for a quiet holiday on the island of Corfu, young English Lucy is overjoyed. Her work as an actress has temporarily come to a halt. She believes there is no finer place to be “at liberty” than the sun-drenched isle of Corfu, the alleged locale for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Even the suspicious actions of the handsome, arrogant son of a famous actor cannot dampen her enthusiasm for this wonderland in the Ionian Sea.
But the peaceful idyll does not last long. A series of incidents, seemingly unconnected – but all surrounded in mystery – throws Lucy’s life into a dangerous spin, as fear, danger and death – as well as romance – supplant the former tranquility. Then a human corpse is carried ashore on the incoming tide… And without warning, she found she had stumbled into a nightmare of strange violence, stalked by shadows of terror and sudden death.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Bildungsroman, Children’s/Young Adult, WWII
Publication Date: March 1, 2005
The Book Thief may be one of the most beautiful and original novels we’ve ever read. It’s simply stunning, heartbreaking, and emotionally mesmerizing.
Now, this book is probably not for you if you want a quick read with a happy ending – or if the idea of “Death” being the narrator doesn’t interest you. But if you’re searching for a deep, thought-provoking book with gorgeous literary prose and don’t mind that everything doesn’t end happily, we can’t recommend this book enough.
It won numerous awards, was turned into a film adaptation (that left a lot out but was still good), has brilliant characters, and a fascinating ending.
The Book Thief is a novel that resonates and entertains.
Content Note: PG-13-like read for war scenes, loss, and other thematic elements. The romance in the book is more about sweet young love – so pretty wholesome and innocent.
Official Description:
When Death has a story to tell, you listen.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
For more information on The Silver Petticoat Book Club, check out our official page and the Bookshop bookstore.
So, who’s reading with us this fall? What books are you excited to read? Let us know in the comments below!
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