top of page
Writer's pictureThe Bossy Bookworm

Three Books I'm Reading Now, 9/23/24 Edition


The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm listening to Sarah Rees Brennan's darkly playful dive into life as a villain in a fantasy story, Long Live Evil; I'm reading Liz Moore's newest mystery, set in a 1975 Adirondack summer camp where the young camper daughter of the owners has disappeared, God of the Woods; and I'm listening to Joy Callaway's historical fiction set in the time of the building of North Carolina's Grove Park Inn in Asheville, What the Mountains Remember.

What are you reading these days, bookworms?


 

01 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

I love a story that flips a traditional setup, and I have high hopes that Long Live Evil is going to be my new favorite in the Villains Are People Too book trend (check out two of my recommendations in this vein below).

Rae has always taken comfort in books. But now she's dying, and in a panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her favorite fantasy series.

But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures.

I'm listening to Long Live Evil as an audiobook. Sarah Rees Brennan is also the author of the fantastic character-driven young-adult fantasy In Other Lands.

For other books that take a sympathetic, darkly playful view of a villain, check out Hench and Starter Villain.



 

02 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

In August 1975, a teenage girl disappears from her Adironack summer camp.

But the girl isn't just any camper. She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work.

And her brother disappeared fourteen years earlier. He was never found.

A frantic search takes place, and as the locals look for Barbara, various Van Lear secrets come to light, and the split between the largely blue-collar area and the privileged Van Lear family is shown to be stark and significant.

Liz Moore is also the author of Long Bright River as well as Heft and The Unseen World.


 

03 What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway

I love a North-Carolina-set story, and Joy Callaway's historical fiction What the Mountains Remember has me hooked: the novel traces the building of the famous Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina.

It's 1913, and Belle Newbold hasn't been into the mountains since her father died in a tragic West Virginia mining accident. In the seven years since, Belle's mother has reinvented herself as a society woman and has remarried, and Belle has learned to keep the family's past poverty, hunger, and struggles a secret.

Belle is set up to marry an eligible (and wealthy) bachelor, Worth Delafield, and since she and Worth have each sworn off love, they're sure to keep their heads on straight as partners, no drama or heartbreak.

But when they meet, sparks fly. Belle is determined to write the stories of the extraordinary everyday men who are building the Grove Park Inn, and Worth is distracting her--and finding himself overwhelmed by the magic of Belle herself.

For more North Carolina stories, check out the books on this Bossy list.

I'm listening to What the Mountains Remember as an audiobook.

Comments


bottom of page