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 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

Skylark gets off to a relatively slow start as the scenes are set, but then I quickly became hooked on McLain's dual-timeline historical fiction, which comes to life through incredible details of life in seventeenth-century and early World War II Paris and showcases characters pushed to their limits in the name of justice. Paula McLain's Skylark  is historical fiction set in Paris and told through dual timelines. In 1664, Alouette is the daughter of a master dyer at the famo

Set in 2022 Ukraine as war begins to break out, this oddball, zigzagging story explores broad themes of interconnectedness as well as revenge fantasies made real and renegade ecology preservation. With dark humor and sobering truths, Reva presents it all through the lens of the scruffy Ukrainian marriage industry. It's 2022, and roving, passionate scientist Yeva is only dating in the Ukrainian marriage industry to earn money to rescue and preserve her precious snails. After a

I can't stop thinking about this fascinating near-future climate-change story of desperation, loyalty, and determination in Kolkata, India, and how a tiny bit of empathy might have unraveled the increasingly devastating whirlwind of conflict between the two main protagonists, who are each both hero and villain. It was her duty, as a guardian, to put into action the beautiful ideal of hope. Ma thought harshly: This was what it looked like. Hope for the future was no shy bloom

Green's book is about tuberculosis, but it's also a view of our deep global interconnectedness, gross healthcare inequalities, the TB devastation that is still prevalent, and the possibility of both simple and comprehensive approaches that could eradicate the disease. The world we share is a product of all the worlds we used to share. For me at least, the history and present of tubercuosis reveal the folly an brilliance and cruelty and compassion of humans. Is it strange that

Ryan builds a vivid small-town Irish setting with its gloomy, then alarming, descent into corruption. The twenty-one points of view were...

The Briar Club employs nine points of view to tell the story of life in a female-only boarding house in 1950s, McCarthy-era Washington,...

This short novel explores an alternate-history, near-future, post-war San Francisco in which robots come online and create a noodle shop...

Ocean Vuong's literary fiction offers unexpected bonds between characters coping with desperation, addiction, lies, hunger, and past...

I had unreasonable hopes for gaining compassionate understanding of disparate political views through reading Haidt's book. I was...

There Are Rivers in the Sky weaves together three stories set in three timelines, featuring disparate characters, to explore...

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...

I love Liang's books, and this departure from her romantic comedies is inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi. It's full of danger,...

Alderman offers a dive into a future world that's crumbling due to greed, disregard for the environment, a loss of human connection, and...

The slim novel Blue Hour explores ambivalence about motherhood, unflinching details of the experience of miscarriage, relationship...

Katlia's story is based on actual events, detailing the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastating consequences of greed, the...

I loved the futuristic space-mission capabilities, smart and strong all-woman crew, the mystery and suspicion, and most of all the...

Heller's newest suspenseful wilderness story is full of danger, wonder, and emotional ties; the unforgiving nature and beauty of the...