20 Must-Read, Genre-Blending Historical Fiction Books

"You got chocolate in my peanut butter: How much fun are genre mashups in books? Spoiler: a lot. The historical novel is so great because it pairs nicely with any genre. You can apply liberal amounts of romance, or mystery, or anything you want, and voilà! You've got yourself a historical mashup story. One genre mash-up that seems to be growing a lot these days is the history-SFF mashup. There are a zillion amazing historical fiction novels to choose from, but maybe you're in the mood for something a little out there. So how about a novel about the Civil War, but Abraham Lincoln fights vampires? Or people traveling back and forth in time, just to shake things up? Or what if Benjamin Franklin was from outer space? (Spoiler: He was.) That's why I made this list of must-read, genre-blending historical fiction books!"