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

The Isle in the Silver Sea offers a medieval setting, magical elements, a story within a story, romantasy without swooning, and characters fighting to reimagine their futures. This fantasy novel about the power of storytelling was wonderful. In an alternate medieval England, an island exists because of stories. Those who play key roles in tales die and are repeatedly reborn into various versions of the characters they must play, and they are fated to reenact their own battl

Death of the Author explores the connection of an author to her work--and how a story can take on a life of its own--in this novel...

I loved the love for books in this novel, but I ultimately couldn't get past my issue with the premise, in which an actress plays the...

Lula Dean focuses on the incredible power of books and truth-telling as characters discover their bravest selves and confront difficult...

My Oxford Year takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and...

Blaylock's story centers around a packhorse librarian in 1930s Appalachian Kentucky and adds layers like a complicated past, second...

This novel about the power of books takes a tough situation that ends in a death and allows for a fresh start--which might push the...

This historical fiction story in two timelines introduces the little-known real-life figure of librarian Jessie Carson, who traveled from...

ICYMI: A death-row inmate's desperate need for escapism leads to an elaborate world of magical thinking and fantastical scenes in this...

I loved the aunt-niece bond, the peeks into the NYC worlds of publishing and restaurants, and the playing with time. I was irritated by...

I was taken with the first half of this book--a rural cult, a teen mother, a strong female protagonist in an impossible situation,...

I love a book about books, but I was confused as to why the characters would seek out and spend prolonged time with the verbally abusive,...

I was interested in both of Martin's World War II storylines. The author's historical fiction romance-writing is evident here, in...

ICYMI: I loved being along for the ride with Moyes's five strong women characters as they traveled through the wilds of Kentucky in...

ICYMI: This is a heartwarming book from the author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow about books, second chances, and finding hope...

Kim Michele Richardson's historical fiction offers a 1936 Appalachian setting, the magic and unassuming power of a rural librarian, and...

Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land was a complex, heartbreaking, hope-filled, surprising, fascinating read. Forgetting, he is learning, is how the...

Riley has crafted a middle-grade fantasy book with humor, adventure, characters to root for, and heart and depth that surprised me. I'll...

More Memoirs I've Loved I love a good memoir, one that offers a glimpse or a deep dive into the life and pivotal experiences of another...