McCurdy translates the singular voice she displayed in her candid, darkly funny memoir into fiction with a story about a taboo relationship that serves as a catalyst for an increasingly strong young protagonist to reject what doesn't work for her and move forward with her life. McCurdy's unique voice came through loud and clear in her personal, unflinching memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died . The premise of her debut novel Half His Age  made me cringe, and I wasn't sure I was going

I really liked the magical realism, details of life in 1800s England, the young widow main character, the ocean voyage scenes, and the romance, but I had trouble pinning down the tone and the heart of the story, which followed a somewhat predictable path. In early 1800s England, Isabel is a young widow who is suddenly poor and plagued by destructive rumors after the Napoleonic Wars. She must flee her London home, and she heads for the Cornish coast where she was once mysterio

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to SenLinYu's 1000-plus-page fantasy novel Alchemised , which started as dark Harry Potter fan fiction; I'm reading Benjamin Wood's northern-England-set quiet, mysterious story Seascraper ; and for my book club I'm reading Lisa Ridz é n's story about a Swedish man aging and looking back at his memories, When the Cranes Fly South . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Alchemised by SenLinYu This beast of a fantasy novel (it's 1040 pages)

Six More Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the second of three fantasy-favorite lists I'll have for you as I mine my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. You can find my first list of favorites from the past year here . You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy fantasy favorites here . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hea

The second book in the series takes big swings with two large-scale mysteries (one that is hauntingly realistic and one that feels more outlandish) that only the wonderfully peculiar, genius PAR unit members of the FBI can solve. The mysteries take most of the focus, but we also witness some character development that I loved. The initial installment of John McMahon's police procedural series introduced Gardner Camden, a genius, socially awkward leader, and the rest of his sp

This classic memoir is told through letters between Hanff, living a passionate reader and writer's life in New York City, and a group of booksellers across the ocean who are struggling in postwar Great Britain. The structure allows for poignancy and wonderfully frank self-reflection. In interviews about her wonderful book The Correspondent , Virginia Evans mentioned another epistolary book, the 1970 classic memoir 84, Charing Cross Road , and I hadn't ever read it so I decide

DeLozier's debut novel is richly detailed historical fiction set in fourteenth-century Avignon. Eleanore is an herbalist who finds herself thrust into the role of an essential healer as the Black Death looms, dangerous rumors of witchery threaten, and she juggles family, a forbidden romantic interest, and her own shaky future. In Elizabeth DeLozier's historical fiction Eleanore of Avignon , it's 1347, and the titular character Eleanore is a young midwife and herbalist in Avig

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Tayari Jones's newest novel, Kin , about childhood friends and the diverging paths of two Southern women; I'm listening to Inside Man , the second book in the Head Cases mystery series about a special FBI unit solving complex mysteries; and I'm listening to memoirist Jennette McCurdy's debut fiction about an inappropriate obsession, Half His Age . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Kin by Tayari Jones Young Annie and Vernice were best f

Bossy Favorites of the Month Please enjoy this roundup of my six favorite reads of February--three medieval-set fantasy stories I loved; a messy family story of feuding and forgiveness; historical fiction about strong women and the power of books; and the first in an FBI procedural mystery series. I hope you've read some great books during this shortest month of the year. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 The Once and Futu

Sullivan's debut dystopian romantasy novel presents a fraught futuristic world where an elite group rules through laws around eugenics. I found myself wanting more worldbuilding and more depth for our main character in this first book in the series. Ariel Sullivan's futuristic world is centuries past a catastrophic world war that eliminated much of the human race, and things are run by an elite group of powerful people called the Illum. They mandate all marriage and procreati

The Bright Years tracks a family through years of life shaped by alcoholism, secrets, tragedy, and messy redemption. The story kept me at an emotional remove, but I was most struck by Damoff's characterization of addiction and those in its orbit. Sarah Damoff's novel begins with a young couple, both reeling from past traumas, who forge a future together. But secrets, addiction, and disappointment are threads that run through their lives and largely keep them apart. The Brigh

A medieval setting, time travel, a quest, and intriguing complications--did Paula Lafferty write this book especially for me? She wrapped some of my favorite elements in funny banter, poignant (non-swooning) romance, and enough plot complexity to keep the whole thing chugging along and keep me riveted. I loved this. Twenty-two-year-old Vera is the beloved only child of two dear parents, but the rest of her life is a shambles. Her love Vincent died in an accident, her father i

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Sarah Damoff's novel about family generations, patterns, and the fascinating, messy nature of life, The Bright Years ; I'm listening to Elizabeth DeLozier's historical fiction, set in 1347 France as the plague begins to spread, Eleanore of Avignon ; and I'm listening to Helen Hanff's short epistolary memoir, the classic 84, Charing Cross Road . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff Sarah Damoff's novel begi

Six Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the first of three fantasy-favorite lists I'll have for you as I mine my reading for the best of the best from the past year. You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy fantasy favorites here . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite fantasy reads, whether from t

Bovalino's story hooked me with a main protagonist who's a female knight, her best-friend mage, intriguing magic, a terrifying destiny, showstopping secrets, danger and adventure, and a deep romantic connection. I loved every bit of the first book in Bovalino's Hand and the Heart series. Captain Grey Flynn is a knight pledged to protect the mage Kier, who she has known since she was a child. She is not only a blade but a source of magic, a well. Unbeknownst to others, she and

The premise and wild tangle of storylines--not deep character development--are the highlights in this story about an easy-to-hate villain and his shocking, dastardly deeds. Strong women prevail in a messy lead-up to imperfect but ultimate justice. I've been continuing my cold-weather mystery-reading habits, and Lisa Jewell is always a good bet for an intriguing story, so I was excited to listen to another of her novels. After Nina Swann's semi-famous chef husband Paddy is kil

The many points of view within Allegra Goodman's novel made it feel somewhat disjointed, but the peeks into each character's internal struggles, motivations, and emotions coalesced into final gathering scenes that felt poignant and hopeful for individual characters and for the family as a whole. This Is Not About Us is poignant and wryly funny. Allegra Goodman's This Is Not About Us  is a story of an extended Jewish-American family. The three matriarchs are split by a death

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Allegra Goodman's newest novel, which follows members of an extended Jewish-American family through life dramas large and small, This Is Not About Us ; I'm listening to Paula Lafferty's first novel in a series about a modern-day young woman told she is actually Queen Guinevere and asked to return to Camelot to save magic, The Once and Future Queen ; and I'm reading Yume Kitasei's climate fiction featuring two sisters determined to save th

Six More Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads This is the third of three contemporary fiction lists I've put together as I've mined my recent-past reading for my favorite reads of the past year--you can find my first list of contemporary fiction favorite reads from last year here and my second list here . And you can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can read about past Bossy cont

The tone of The Secret Book Society is darker than I'd anticipated, but appropriate as Martin explores weighty issues for women in Victorian England. The power of books and of friendship ultimately triumph in Martin's historical fiction. The women in Madeline Martin's Victorian London exist within tightly constrained rules and at the whims of their fathers' or husbands' often controlling, sometimes abusive, always limiting requirements. But when three women, all strangers to