6 Authors Like Kristin Hannah (And Their Best Books)

Best Authors Like Kristin Hannah: The Quick List

1. Beatriz Williams (Top Pick: Summer Wives)
2. Celeste Ng (Top Pick: Little Fires Everywhere)
3. Chanel Cleeton (Top Pick: Next Year in Havana)
4. Jojo Moyes (Top Pick: The Giver of Stars)
5. Martha Hall Kelly (Top Pick: Lilac Girls
6. Taylor Jenkins Reid (Top Pick: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)

Naming the Historical Fiction Authors Like Kristin Hannah

The similar authors below are bestsellers whose books share some or all of these same hallmarks.

Beatriz Williams

• My top pick: The Summer Wives
• My rating: ★★★★☆

Beatriz Williams is the author of books that I like to categorize as “soap opera historical fiction.” While her books take place in different time periods and places, one thing they always share is drama.

My top pick is The Summer Wives, which is set on an exclusive New England island in 1951 and 1969. It’s filled with everything from romance to class struggles and even a murder mystery. It’s such a salacious historical fiction read that’s more like a beach read than a harrowing saga.

Celeste Ng

• My top pick: Little Fires Everywhere
• My rating: ★★★★★

Celeste Ng’s books showcase thought-provoking stories about the modern Asian woman and her unique struggles.

My top pick is Little Fires Everywhere, a #1 New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick. Set in 1990s Ohio, it explores the relationships among mothers of different races and classes with their daughters. The tensions build methodically until they become (literally) explosive.

It’s the type of book that makes you think about right and wrong, as well as what it means to be a mother. I still think about it years later.

In the catalog of Celeste Ng, you may also like:

Everything I Never Told You tells the backstory of a Chinese American family in the 1970s coping with the death of a child. It reveals their pasts and secrets, so that they may begin to understand each other better. It’s a meaningful family mystery with diverse themes.

Chanel Cleeton

• My top pick: Next Year in Havana
• My rating: ★★★★☆

Chanel Cleeton writes historical fiction book series set primarily in Cuba.

My top pick is Next Year in Havana, another Reese’s Book Club pick. For fans of Winter Garden, it’s a suspenseful novel in which a modern-day woman travels to Cuba after her grandmother’s death. In doing so, she uncovers her family’s secrets, including a love affair during the Cuban revolution in 1958, when the family was forced to flee.

It’s the rare kind of historical fiction book where there’s a lot of suspense and you can’t put down.

In the catalog of Chanel Cleeton, you may also like:

The Last Train to Key West was an instant New York Times bestseller about three different women’s lives and how they became forever changed by the Florida Keys hurricane of 1935. It’s educational, emotional, and very memorable.

Jojo Moyes

• My top pick: The Giver of Stars
• My rating: ★★★★☆

Jojo Moyes is beloved for her immersive and emotional women’s fiction, both modern and historical.

My top pick is The Giver of Stars, yet another Reese’s book club pick and another #1 New York Times bestseller. It chronicles the treacherous journies of three women who become known as the traveling Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky in Depression-era America, for fans of The Four Winds.

It’s both educational and entertaining, and it has strong female leads you’ll love to follow. I had a great reading experience with this one.

In the catalog of Jojo Moyes, you may also like:

Me Before You is the #1 New York Times bestseller that shares the tearjerking love story of an unlikely couple, for fans of The Great Alone. Be forewarned that it’s very sad but worth it!

Martha Hall Kelly

• My top pick: Lilac Girls
• My rating: ★★★★★

Martha Hall Kelly excels at infusing beauty into the most harrowing of historical circumstances. She does this by offering insight into the incredible strength and resilience of her strong female protagonists.

My top pick is Lilac Girls, which is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s a New York Times bestseller with parallel storylines of female leads during World War II: an American socialite and hero, female prisoners at a concentration camp, and a female doctor at the camp.

It’s one of the most shocking (yet stunning) books I have read, for fans of The Nightingale.

In the catalog of Martha Hall Kelly, you may also like:

Lost Roses is a very satisfying prequel to Lilac Girls. It takes place in 1914, as Russia’s imperial dynasty begins to crumble and three women, in different places, attempt to escape and/or help others escape.

Taylor Jenkins Reid

• My top pick: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• My rating: ★★★★★

My top pick is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a New York Times bestseller, and a finalist for Book of the Month’s Book of the Year. It’s also the one book that everyone seems to love.

It’s the epic, decades-long, historical fiction story of the aging Evelyn Hugo. She’s a glamorous Hollywood starlet known most for marrying seven men throughout her lifetime. Years later, she recounts her life story as if it were the most salacious tabloid, with shocking twists along the way (my jaw dropped).

In the catalog of Taylor Jenkins Reid, you may also like:

Daisy Jones & the Six is a New York Times bestseller, Book of the Month’s Book of the Year, and Reese’s Book Club pick. It reads like a 1970s rock documentary about the riveting backstory of a troubled band similar to Fleetwood Mac. It’s one of the only books I’ve read twice (both in print and on audio — both excellent). There are even song lyrics at the end!

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The best authors like Kristin Hannah offer historical and contemporary fiction books for women. These similar female authors are: Beatriz Williams, Celeste Ng, Chanel Cleeton, Jojo Moyes, Martha Hall Kelly, and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

If you’re still struggling to decide where to start, try:

• Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, which is a harrowing World War II book for fans of The Nightingale (and one of my all-time favorite books)
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is a popular Hollywood glam novel that seemingly everyone loves.

Related Kristin Hannah Posts

• The Great Alone Review
• The Women Book Club Questions