It is not easy for a book that was published just a few weeks ago to achieve significant success among best sellers. There are many recognized names that do not fall from the ‘top’, the awards mark a lot and the novels, particularly the historical ones, tend to be long-term, meaning that they take months to achieve – or to cement – their success as a ‘best seller’ of epoch.
This is not the case of the authors we present to you below. They all have two things in common: with the books we recommend, they debut in the historical novel and, in addition, these works have been published in the month of May and in just a few days they have achieved success on Amazon. We are sure that we are right with these suggestions.
‘The nine kingdoms’ (Santiago Díaz)
Alfaguara The nine kingdoms
Santiago Días, who excited us all with ‘Talión’ and who showed signs of his good police work with the ‘The Good Father’ series, has just launched himself into the arena of historical novels and has done so with an exciting and well resolved that has immediately won the public’s favor. ‘The nine kingdoms’ (Alfaguara) invites us to learn some details of a little-known episode in the history of Spain, the resistance of the Guanches to the crown of Castile. The title alludes to the nine kingdoms that the Guanches created on the island of Tenerife since the 1st century BC, when a ship with African prisoners of war was dragged there. When the Catholic Monarchs, much later, notice them, an all-out fight will begin to defend what is theirs.
‘Deadly Pleasures’ (Belén Martínez)
Umbriel Mortal Pleasures
Belén Muñoz has until now been one of the most relevant names in Spanish youth literature, with works such as ‘A summer sonata’. He now makes the leap to the historical novel in the purest fantastic register and he does it with ‘Deadly pleasures’, a very entertaining 600-page book with which he arrives at the Umbriel publishing house. The novel is based on the life of the last empress dowager of China named Cixi. In a world where appearances serve as a veil to the harsh truth, Cixi is nothing more than a servant. But inside her beats a dark and forbidden power. A gripping story that will not disappoint you with many twists and turns about desire, revenge, selfishness and violence.
‘The Lady of La Cartuja’ (Belén Aguilera)
Editions B The Lady of La Cartuja
And we end with another young author, Belén Aguilera, XXI Ateneo Joven de Sevilla Novel Prize, who also debuts in a historical novel with ‘The Lady of La Cartuja’ (Ediciones B), an intelligent, fascinating and elegant work in which you will be transported to 19th century Seville. Obviously, the novel takes us to the La Cartuja china factory, where, in three different periods, Felisa, Macarena and Trinidad will work, three women who, in addition to trying to do their job as best as possible, seek to be masters of their own lives.
