Hazel is a strong personality, and I found myself bristling at her questioning whether she's too much about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze (a reality TV show in which a single woman

She's falling for her famous client, the musician Trace Thorne--but when a woman shows up claiming to

Veronica is a strong and unorthodox main protagonist who finds herself entangled in a dangerous set of Veronica to benefit from the author's own modern sensibilities in A Curious Beginning, but Veronica is a strong

Much of Ginder's novel is focused on a revenge fantasy, but I was drawn more to Nancy Harrison's strong

I was intrigued by the intersection of the women's personalities and lives, and Beagin kept me consistently Big Swiss. 04 Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall Marshall's debut historical fiction centers around women's Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious letter--and by enormously important, recurring dilemmas for women through the ages: unexpected pregnancies We All Want Impossible Things is heartbreaking and wonderfully strange, funny and full of love, and a

Quinn's historical fiction offers the stories of multiple women in a females-only Washington, D.C. boardinghouse But none of the women is precisely as she seems.

reasons for their fractured relationship (ahem, Doug wanted a "cuddle bunny" robot instead of a complex woman

her husband and stepsons prepare for another catastrophic hurricane bearing down on Florida, one in a string Hartnett evokes a sense of place so strong, the town felt like a character itself. Unlikely Animals is sweet and wonderfully strange, and Hartnett employs a light touch and thoughtful

The woman's greed and desire for greater social standing mean that Luzia attracts the attention of more

In the seven years since, Belle's mother has reinvented herself as a society woman and has remarried,

In the seven years since, Belle's mother has reinvented herself as a society woman and has remarried,

In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious building bonds deeper than either could have imagined; the love story between the bridge and Gore is strange

Johansen offers monsters, elaborate escape plans and rescue plots, and two strong, clever queens savvily Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman Jessica is a single mom, successful lawyer, and wise mentor to other women

belatedly recognizes his parenting and household ineptitude and also falls into the arms of the local woman

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Our Woman in Moscow, Beatriz Williams's story of Cold War espionage 01 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams In Beatriz Williams's historical fiction, Our Woman in Moscow

The Bright Hour is a North Carolina woman's thoughtful account of events, written with an aim of preserving Bowler recently spoke at a virtual women's retreat I attended.

a young volunteer, Bridie, over the course of three tumultuous days as the fiery, complex, capable women been hamstrung by rules and limitations (so that in many cases all they may offer a birthing or dying woman Donoghue immersed me so fully in the moment-by-moment health and emotional crises; the women's determined

that someone is plunging the party down through layers of reality, through echoes of time in which strange “I’m a woman, kid.

Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Rachel Hartman's Tess of the Road, fantasy about a headstrong young woman In Hartman's Tess of the Road, Tess doesn't fit the mold of an obedient, quiet young woman in her medieval (I love a "woman dresses as a man to achieve an end" trope!)

Rebecca Serle's love letter to Italy plays with time to allow a grieving young woman to know her mother I enjoyed how Serle played with time to allow a young woman to know her mother at her same age.

But the women's impassioned brunchtime discussion about the plot of Finlay's suspense novel--along with The woman mistakenly interprets what's happening and leaves Finlay with a mysterious note implying that

not only helps rebuild communities destroyed by war, but along with her ambitious, inspired team of women for a book topic when she stumbles upon the bare-bones story of Jessie and the Cards, as the group of women

mysterious box with an inscription on the outside reading "The measure of your life lies within" and a string The source of the boxes is unknown, but it quickly becomes clear that each person's string length correlates Some choose not to look into their boxes at all, while others use the knowledge of their short strings Some with long strings question the participation of "short stringers" in delicate jobs; some couples You may not be surprised by any of the turns each storyline takes here, but the string dilemma leads

But the year-old mysterious disappearance of Kim Gillespie, a young woman from the area, hooks Falk and

I was fascinated by her one-woman trial and error method of determining her triggers, impulses, and coping

Can she revisit the strange island from her youth, and does she even want to unravel the secrets of that mysterious man on the island answer her questions or allow her to enter it, if she can even access that strange be giving up her predictable yet comfortable future, years of her life, for merely a visit to that strange I don't know why time moves strangely against its shores.

In an appealing dynamic, Talin is the strong beating heart of the story, with Red as her supporting lieutenant

Heather Webb In post-World War I London, female lawlessness in the form of the Forty Elephants gang of women the Elephant and Castle men's gang, butts up against law enforcement, which only recently includes women When the two aspiring women's bids for victory clash, traditional female roles and power structures may

She is caught between young childhood and young womanhood, and her vocabulary is growing exponentially hilariously taking on Anne Mom's exasperated manner and messaging), and with intrusive testing for women

Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women Throughout the book, characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship violence is so out of character for Luke, the hostages are never identified, and Luke was behaving strangely Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke?

When her mother disappears, Josie begins to track down the other Girls, and together the young women discover strange, unique powers as they rely on each other and attempt to unravel their shared history abilities repeatedly shield them from the most grave danger--and unlock remarkable freedom for each of the women

situation of trapped girls devolving into paranoia, mayhem, fury, and destruction, with a wonderfully strong thought the teen girls’ “magic” and their perception of it (and especially the perceptions of the men and women

Etaf Rum is also the author of A Woman Is No Man.

They part ways, but the thought of her keeps him strong during the hardships and uncertainty that follow loved, News of the World and The Color of Lightning, as well as one I haven't read but intend to, Enemy Women

attention to unspoken bonds, deep and unorthodox friendships, makeshift families, legendary dogs, and strong A woman recognizes him and impulsively spills the story of her mother Margot Bamborough's mysterious Distance from Four Points by Margo Orlando Littell Littell explores deep human connections, grief, womanhood In The Distance from Four Points, Littell explores deep human connections, grief, womanhood, what strength

Divya has crafted strong female main protagonists who navigate the sometimes dark, always complicated But Divya is too busy crafting strong female main protagonists (complete with working mother guilt, which

In a life-and-death moment, the kids laugh and try to insult the woman who is threatening them and possibly easy to imagine that as a kidnapped teen who has demonstrated a rebellious streak and an increasingly strong

01 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley In a world of the near future, a young woman is one of many

She also has a strong, passionate grasp of widely experienced inequalities—and ideas of how to chip away

The Humans is funny, strange, deep, and lovely. I loved it. on each other's nerves work together to determine who is responsible for a puzzling murder and other strange But the young woman he has found may have died of an ancient virus, and thawing the body for study could

she's taken will be taken from her, and because she's a petty, narcissistic, selfish, greedy young woman

The friendship between Dane and Ned was a strong point for me in Panowich's newest book. The Dane and Ned friendship was a strong point for me, and I enjoyed learning more about their past and

Saunders's strange, fascinating novel involves griping, sniping characters in limbo between life and I read this in 2017 and still think of this strange novel.

displaced and discounted them; and I'm reading Alice Hoffman's newest novel about a cult and a desperate woman

I'm Reading Now I'm reading Kate Quinn and Jamie Chang's historical fiction novel about two disparate women 01 The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang In 1906 San Francisco, two very different women seek Thornton draws both of the women into his world by offering to be their patron.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Woman of Light, Kali Fajardo-Anstine's upcoming fantastical, indigenous 01 Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine There is one every generation, a seer who keeps the stories

highlights of Big Time for me were two clever, funny stories I really liked, "The Secret Meeting of the Women " (featuring various real-life female celebrities as part of a private club through which they pull strings

science fiction Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow; and Kelly Barnhill's speculative fiction, When Women book, to be published tomorrow, courtesy of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley. 03 When Women but is being denied by the government and historians alike: a Mass Dragoning, in which thousands of women This is a gloriously feminist tale in which women force the world to consider rethinking their roles and worth by taking control and power and by making faulted men and meek women fear their wrath.

But then something really strange happens. Unexpected visions start overwhelming her. Rebecca despairs at her situation, yet she is a wonderfully defiant and strong character--her mother Witches is infuriating in its recounting of the horrific cruelties and tortures enacted against so many women

In City of Girls, Gilbert writes about a young woman's coming of age in 1940s New York City and traces Vivian, now an older woman, is writing letters to a younger woman about her own youthful indiscretions entertaining, sexy, and an interesting burst of feminism and freedom in an era when many believed that a woman's