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Thought-Provoking Literary Fiction About Identity, History, and Change

Thought-Provoking Literary Fiction About Identity, History, and Change

If you love character-driven stories, this list delivers. These novels explore identity, family, and history through intimate moments and quiet transformation.


Tou-Pac-A-Lous!

by Sylas Graham

Release Date: November 25, 2025

Tou-Pac-A-Lous! is a fun and lighthearted look at the literary devices employed by Tupac Shakur. His love of Shakespeare sets the foundation for comparing the works of both masters.

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The Codex Arcanum 1888 (The Alchemical Chronicles Book 1)

by Tasmin Turner

Release Date: December 30, 2025

In fog-bound Victorian London, British Museum clerk Clara Whitmore receives an anonymous codex of arcane symbols and lost languages. Her search for answers draws her into occult circles, forbidden histories, and a truth some would kill to keep hidden. The Codex Arcanum 1888 begins The Alchemical Chronicles.

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The Christmas Break

by Elise Camden

Release Date: December 10, 2025

Lauren Barrett is done being belittled. Done being the “tacky” wife. Done hiding her homemade crafts because her husband is embarrassed by glitter and Christmas lights. Too late, Tom finally understands that his wife doesn’t need to be toned down; she needs to burn even brighter. Now he’s scrambling, desperate to do whatever it takes to win her back.

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New Beginnings at Rookery House

by Rosie Hendry

Release Date: December 28, 2025

Great Plumstead is buzzing with news that the American GIs have arrived on the nearby aerodrome. However, when a serious accident forces Thea to step back from her work, she must focus her full attention on Rookery House.

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The Pursuit (The Monika Ritter Series Book 9)

by Eoin Dempsey

Release Date: December 30, 2025

Monika’s cousin, Sarah Graf, is alone in Salzburg, where Julius Prester, the Gestapo officer who arrested her, interrogates her one last time before sending her to Mauthausen concentration camp. Once there, she will face the infamous stairs of death and have to summon every ounce of her inner strength to survive.

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Yours for the Season

by Uzma Jalaluddin

Release Date: December 1, 2025

For an ambitious attorney and a rising-star chef, a cross-cultural fake romance takes an unexpected detour in a heartwarming and funny novel by the author of Much Ado About Nada and Ayesha at Last.

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