I have to admit that I’ve never been a history buff. But ever since I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I’ve been obsessed with stories set in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. In this social media-obsessed age, my brain is constantly on the fritz from information overload! So maybe that’s why I like to transport myself to a time when people read by candlelight, wrote letters (not texts or tweets!) with quill pens and visited with friends around a crackling fire. Of course, I could do without the whole dowry thing and the rib-crunching corsets. But aside from the patriarchal restrictions and lack of vaccines for nasty diseases, those days sure seem like a nice break from our fast-paced, technology-driven society! So when I came across this fun little Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, hosted by Historical Tapestry, I decided to just get crazy and join in on the fun! As you can see, I don’t like my historical fiction straight up. I need vampires, ghosts, murder and mayhem thrown into the mix in order to stay glued to the page.

I think I’m going to play it safe and shoot for level three (Struggling the Addiction: 10 books). I have until the end of December to complete the challenge! Here are the first five books on my list:

• Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
• Jane and the Ghosts of Netley by Stephanie Barron
• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
• Dracula in Love by Karen Essex
• Wuthering Bites by Sarah Gray