Over five years ago, I picked up the historical novel titled The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. Set during World War II, I picked it up to get myself out of a reading slump. Boy, did it deliver. After getting fully engrossed in the storyline, I couldn’t put it down—until I sadly had to. The entirety left me with a book hangover, in a good way, of course. And to this day, I still consider The Nightingale as a favorite read. And if you haven’t read The Nightingale, fair warning: Hannah’s critically acclaimed novel (set to be a book-to-movie adaptation starring the Fanning sisters) might have you searching for books just like it—pining for more.
I have to add that most of the time, I gravitate toward rom-coms. However, there’s something about the genre of historical fiction that leaves me awestruck. I like to think it’s the artistry of how an author can take real-life inspired events yet still beautifully interweave the stories of fictional characters. If you’ve read The Nightingale and loved it, here I’ve rounded up 12 similar books to read next.
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What is The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah about?
Set in France from 1939 to 1945, during the Second World War, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah follows the lives of sisters Vianne and Isabelle. The pair lead very different paths, and it becomes apparent as the Nazis invade France. While different, the two must fight for survival, and how they do so is both dangerous and heroic.
For older sister Vianne, she and her young daughter are forced to house an enemy captain after Vianne’s husband heads for the Front. Sharing the same roof, you question whether she sees the enemy as a threat or as a human with some compassion.
Eighteen-year-old Isabelle is committed to fighting the enemy. But after a betrayal, she joins the Resistance. Putting her life on the line time and time again, Isabelle will do anything to help others—even if it means risking her own.
This heart-wrenching story is a poetic tale of two sisters, their interwoven relationship, and how they navigate the loss and destruction of war. It will leave you asking yourself, “What will you do in order to live, to save the lives of strangers, and those you love?”
Books like The Nightingale
These books transport you to the same WWII time period with the emotional intensity and heroic female characters similar to those in Kristin Hannah’s best-selling novel, The Nightingale. Plus, many are based on the true tales of heroic women, often overlooked in history books.
1. Winter Garden
This underrated Kristin Hannah novel follows two sisters named Meredith and Nina Whitson, who are nothing alike. One sister stayed home to manage the family apple orchard, while the other traveled the world as a photojournalist. After their father falls ill, they learn of their mother’s past and the life she once lived during WW II, and it somehow connects them in the present.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
It’s no secret that Kristin Hannah delves deep into historical research and beautifully depicts her characters in all of her books. She’s also known for breaking your heart again and again, and Winter’s Garden is no different. Sisters Meredith and Nina always felt their mother was distant and withdrawn from them. But their father’s dying wish is that they come together and listen again to the Russian fairy tale their mother used to tell them as children. With adult perspectives, the sisters begin to understand—and open their hearts up—to their mother. Similar to reading The Nightingale, you won’t have a dry eye while reading this dual-timeline story.
2. The Secret Book of Flora Lea
To escape the bombings during World War II, many London parents sent their children to rural villages to be cared for by strangers. This context sets the backdrop for the story of 14-year-old Hazel and 5-year-old Flora, who are evacuated to the countryside. As a distraction from the war, the two sisters create an imaginary fairy tale land. But when Flora suddenly disappears along the nearby river, Hazel has to live with the guilt of her missing sister. Twenty years pass, and a mysterious book shows up at her door detailing the magical land she and her sister once made up years ago. Hazel sets out to find the truth about Flora and the sister she lost.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
As a mother reading this story, it was almost unfathomable how desperate parents must have felt to send their children away alone, hoping for their safety. So keep the tissues nearby. But the book is not all heartbreak; mystery and whimsy abound in Patty Callahan Henry’s beautiful tale of these two young sisters during the war. One reader describes Henry’s novel as “a magical, magisterial literary delight,” and I couldn’t agree more.
3. The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
Annabel comes from generational jewel thieves, but with Robin Hood values: her family only steals from those who deserve it. She teaches her daughter Colette the trade and the two work to fund the French Resistance during the Second World War. But it all goes wrong when the Germans raid their home and Annabel is arrested. In the chaos, Colette’s 4-year-old sister, Liliane, is taken—along with a missing diamond bracelet. Colette lives with the guilt of losing her sister for 70 years, until the same diamond bracelet shows up in a museum. Can Colette learn what happened all those years ago, or will her tragedies forever haunt her?
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
Another historical fiction page-turner about sisters torn apart during the war, Colette’s story is told in dual timelines. Readers learn about her life during World War II, and her life now as an elderly woman in Boston. But she’s no ordinary octogenarian; she is still applying her trade as a jewel thief—stealing from Nazi supporters—when a piece of her past comes back and may help reveal what happened in Paris all those years ago.
4. The Book of Lost Names
Semi-retired librarian Eva Abrams is shelving books one morning when her eye catches a photograph in a magazine with a familiar book she identifies as The Book of Lost Names. It’s a book she knows well, but it’s been over six decades since she last saw it. In 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris, where she took on the job of forging identities for Jewish children finding refuge in Switzerland. To preserve these identities, their names were housed in one book—and doing so came with a price. A mysterious forger named Rémy goes missing, and the resistance cell they work for is betrayed. Now that the book has resurfaced, Eva is the only one who can tell its stories. Can she relive the past and help reunite those lost during the war?
Goodreads Rating: 4.4/5
Another can’t-put-down novel by Kristin Harmel, one review says this book will touch your heart, and it “should get a million stars” rating. If you want a good read where the story will linger with you for a while, this one will surely do the trick. Don’t forget to read all of Harmel‘s historical fiction books. Her newest is set to be published in 2026, titled Meet Me in Paris.
5. The Lilac Girls of Ravensbrück
Based on a true story, The Lilac Girls intertwines the stories of three women during World War II: Caroline Ferriday, a New York socialite; Herta Oberheuser, who accepts a government medical position; and Polish teen Kasia Kuzmerick, who’s working with the resistance. Their three worlds collide in a Nazi concentration camp where the theme is all about survival.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
The Ravensbrück concentration camp is historically known to have housed women in Germany. And in this tragic timeline, sisters Kasia and Zuzanna are sent to the camp, along with their mother, and endure the unimaginable. The sisters are based on real Polish prisoners who suffered medical experiments at the hands of the Nazis. The author weaves multiple points of view together in this important and powerful story. As one reader noted, “I appreciate the dedication and research Kelly did in order to bring these women’s stories to us.”
6. The Things We Leave Unfinished
After Georgia Stanton’s brutal divorce, she has to grapple with the life she thought she once had. Now, she must also accept the fact that the arrogant best-selling author, Noah Harrison, is set to finish her grandmother’s unfinished book. Sharing alternate timelines, Georgia and Noah uncover why her grandmother, Scarlett, left her story unfinished. Filled with love and heartbreak, Georgia must decide whether her grandmother’s life is worth mirroring.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
Before Rebecca Yarros was known for writing about dragons, she published The Things We Leave Unfinished, set in both present-day Colorado and war-torn 1940s England. If romance is more your genre of choice, you’ll appreciate what unfolds in this dual-timeline tale that’s more love story than heavily researched historical fiction. Yarros also weaves in a strong sister relationship, which had me thinking of The Nightingale, too.
7. Sisters of War
As Hitler’s army advances across Eastern Europe, the lives of two sisters will be changed forever. Lisa experiences the tragic loss of her childhood sweetheart, and Natasha has fallen for an enemy soldier.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
Two sisters are forced to adjust to the new lives they must live during the war. One review describes this novel as “heartbreaking, but heart-mending all at the same time.” This book is a great one to pick up if you’re looking to read another sister-centered WWII book like The Nightingale.
8. The Rose Code
Osla, Kate, and Beth all have lived different lives until they’re hired to break German military codes during World War II. But through war and loss, and the secrets they’re sworn to keep, their relationships are torn apart—until an encrypted letter forces them to confront their past and each other. The three must crack one last code together to find who their true enemy really is.
Goodreads Rating: 4.4/5
While this novel is a lengthy one—656 pages, to be exact, you’ll be hooked. Quinn artistically weaves the stories of three women, who share a complicated past, together to solve one last code. Like Kristin Hannah, Quinn is a master of crafting historical characters you’ll care deeply about. And like The Nightingale, The Rose Code gets a five-star review from me.
9. Code Name Hélène
In Code Name Hélène, Australian expat Nancy Wake is living in Paris when the Germans invade France, and she takes on the code name of Lucienne Carlier, smuggling people and documents across the border. The Gestapo gives her the nickname “The White Mouse,” earning her a large bounty on her head. Forced to leave her husband, she joins the Special Operations Executives in Britain, where she’s addressed as Hélène. Airdropped back into France, she acquired the name Madam Andre, who is known as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance. But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same.
Goodreads Rating: 4.4/5
A novel based on the true story of one woman with four different identities during WW II—sounds intriguing, right? Set during the Second World War, you’ll be astonished by how one woman not only kept up multiple personas, but also how she risked so much for the cause she believed in.
10. The Alice Network
Pregnant and sent to Europe by her parents, young college student Charlie is determined to find her cousin Rose, who disappeared during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. The only person who can help her? Eve Gardiner, a former spy recruited to the Alice Network in France during World War I, is still haunted by the betrayal that tore the spy network apart 30 years ago. The two are connected to Rose, and they set out to find the truth of what really happened to her.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
If you love historical fiction with the untold stories about clever female espionage, you’ll be happy to know that The Alice Network was inspired by a real-life female spy network during World War I. A book club favorite, readers not only love the storyline but also the history embedded in Quinn’s novel.
11. The Huntress
A gripping post-WW II novel told through the perspectives of aspiring 17-year-old photographer Jordan McBride, ex-Russian pilot Nina Markova, and former war correspondent, turned Nazi hunter, Ian Graham. Ian and Nina form an unlikely pair with the same mission: to bring down “The Huntress”, a Nazi murderess. However, a shared secret could derail their entire operation.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
Kate Quinn entwines the post-war period with flashbacks from the war in this novel that’s part murder-mystery, part love story, and part history lesson. We get to know Nina’s past as a Russian “Night Witches” pilot, part of an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans during WW II. We learn bit by bit about Ian’s trauma during the war. And in the present time, we see that teenage Jordan feels that there’s danger tied to her soft-spoken, soon-to-be stepmother. All three of their worlds collide in unexpected ways, revealing layer upon layer in this historical fiction page-turner.
12. All the Light We Cannot See
Set during World War II, young Marie Laure LeBlanc is blind, and she and her father have fled Paris prior to the German invasion and head to Saint Malo. And in the process, her father has managed to take a valuable jewel from the Museum of Natural History. Werner, along with his sister, has lived in a German orphanage since the death of their father. He takes his talents in developing technology to track down the resistance, which lands him in Saint Malo. In this critically acclaimed novel by Anthony Doerr, the lives of Marie Laure and Warren merge as the two try to survive.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
With almost 2 million reviews on Goodreads, the ratings alone might have you wanting to read Anthony Doerr’s novel. In fact, it’s so good that it was made into a Netflix miniseries starring Mark Ruffalo, Louis Hofmann, and Aria Mia Loberti. Interweaving two stories of a young French girl and an orphaned boy in Nazi Germany, The Light We Cannot See is captivating and one you might want to read more than once.
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