Katlia's story is based on actual events, detailing the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastating The story takes place in northern Canada, but the tragedy is uncomfortably and universally familiar and Ko is an Indigenous man who is taken advantage of time after time. purely evil here, and there are few subtleties, gray areas, or character complexities presented in the story grim story of the horrendous abuses of power and consistent disregard for Indigenous people which lead

accompanying emotions, fears, and side effects--along with a road-trip journey following her New York Times a few highs; being ill and in love, then ending her long-term relationship, and writing a New York Times selfless work in Will's position and in his twenties, Suleika seems to consider seriously--for the first time The vast majority of page time in Between Two Kingdoms is spent on Suleika's struggle with her physical comparison, takes up far less space in Jaouad's memoir although it is an interesting bookend to her solo travel

and past tragedies in this examination of societal ills that doesn't offer easy resolutions for the story's examination of a group of minimum-wage earners and their inability to make ends meet--and, in this story that form throughout the book, both at the fictional fast-food chain HomeMarket and beyond, give the story The story ends with some satisfying resolutions, but other characters' lives remain suitably complicated Vuong Ocean Vuong is also the author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous , Night Sky with Exit Wounds , Time

01 Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After is the story of Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka, The only thing more outrageous is that she's asked to travel to Japan to meet her father for the first time. After all, last time around, all kinds of horrible things happened as she dug into (and solved, thank

Molly found herself yearning for more time with her busy, glamorous mother. books in this series. 03 O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker I bought O Caledonia at Powell's Books the last time Boarding school leads to further ostracization and irritating demands upon her time, when she'd prefer This is darkly funny, with a surprisingly startling and tragic setup and an immersive, atmospheric story

Damoff tracks back in time to how April and Leo first met, and to their courtship and early days. I was fascinated by the premise, but the story felt a little disjointed to me.

irresistible heroines; a girl-power science-fiction space exploration; and a gorgeous Peter Heller story Perfect for Summer Reading, and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories. 02 The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei Yume Kitasei offers plot and mystery, but this is primarily a wonderfully character-driven story--with Charlotte's various views on the world are absolute gems, and I love spending time in her point of view The True Love Experiment is Fizzy's story.

stage, film, and song; a missing-person mystery; and a fantasy story within a story. I'm fascinated by a missing-persons story . Click here for my full review of The Return of Ellie Black . 03 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan Sarah Rees Brennan offers a funny, dark, clever story within a story in which the Yet the true horrors of life as an enslaved Black person in the deep South at the time of Twain's novel

up elaborate stories about a magical, secret world alongside the water. Someone out there knows about the stories and the imaginary world she shared with her sister. The book involved some style choices that distracted me from the story--for example, dramatic shrieks Henry based the evacuation element of her story upon the real-life Operation Pied Piper, which swiftly in World War II-set historical fiction, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories

The fantasy-science-fiction novel Moonbound spans time and splits into several stories, for me never A young girl arrives, telling the story of her own timeline, and she and Ariel begin to figure out they feature heavily in this book, and I never felt as though this strange element gelled with the rest of the story

I included Lincoln in the Bardo  in the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Historical Fiction Stories But when three women, all strangers to each other, are invited to the reclusive, three-times-widowed But all of the women of the time have a great amount at stake: they could find themselves committed unvoluntarily

Bella is grieving, and as they spend time together, she puts her energy into renewing Eddie's potential I loved this sweet story of renewed hope, platonic love, and romantic promise.

book was a funny, poignant, banter-filled, behind-the-scenes, realistically complicated, wonderful story Despite some of the questionable, haunting choices that are made at times in the story, I was so taken I loved The Rachel Incident--the story, the characters, and the vivid setting of 2010s Ireland. Click here for my full review of What Remains. 04 Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens Claudia Cravens's story But a young woman in that time has little say over her destiny.

autonomy, lack of power, and lack of say-so and constant fear of the enslaved, Eckstine builds a rich story of detail of life at the time. The slow pace of uneventful Alabama life shifts dramatically when guests come to stay, and the story's events and the book's pacing begin snowballing in urgency as the story draws to its end.

The story comes alive through the little moments Keegan highlights; while she explores decisions often Keegan is also the author of the short story collection Antarctica and the novel Foster, which was one Mason's newest novel tells the story of a New England house in the woods by tracking those who live in The tone is spooky and the story moves at a measured pace. I was interested in the ultimate connections and outcomes and I appreciated the story and particularly

ICYMI: The post-Depression-era city of New York is such a powerful presence in this story, it feels like I was taken by this Amor Towles story and blatantly neglected my responsibilities in order to read it The various "let me teach you about" types of asides regarding art and social constructs of the time, I was completely hooked and kept thinking about this story after I'd finished it.

Schwab and Cat Clarke, published under the pseudonym Evelyn Clarke); I'm reading Jennifer Niven's story Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, people who are gay, and society in suspect, and the clue to the murder--and, possibly, to vast riches from Barton's era--may lie in the story

Harmattan Season  is a dark, broody, mysterious fantasy story that takes place in an unnamed city in "Harmattan season" refers to a months-long time that spans the end of one year and beginning of the next aspects (the floating buildings and bodies) were an aspect that felt disjointed from the heart of the story

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a small-town Irish story of deep connections and the potential 01 Heart, Be at Peace by Donal Ryan In Heart, Be at Peace , Donal Ryan shares the story of a small town The story is told from 21 interconnected points of view. poet's poem, the single version of which was read aloud for the poet's wife's birthday, but then lost to time

After a time, it seemed that the world inside the books became my world. The tone of The Enchanted is sometimes gorgeously, darkly ethereal and other times so grim and alluding The books brought brilliance to my life, and they brought an understanding: Life is a story. Everything that has happened and will happen to me is all part of the story of this enchanted place--

Upon being on her own for the first time, she discovers that she is capable of cleverness in the wild Would Adam be willing to help them gather the stories that shape so many lives? For my full review, check out We Must Not Think of Ourselves. 06 Funny Story by Emily Henry Funny Story The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. I listened to this fascinating story as an audiobook.

decision one night after a concert, when she's shoeless and in need of a ride home: she chose joking, fun-time-guy So far in this story she's explored money troubles, death and grief, identity theft and financial repercussions Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser Rachel Hochhauser's Lady Tremaine is a retelling of the Cinderella story

Robots, time travel, teen angst, and this gorgeous cover. Yes to all of this. It takes a little getting used to but doesn't take away from the story. At one point Andra calls her friend Zhade (who is from a time 1,000 years past her origin time) an insult

I enjoyed revisiting characters from Ink & Sigil, but I felt bogged down by recounted stories and detailed The story lagged a little for me with the accounts of past battles and war stories; extensive details of the logistics of magical processes and of defusing traps; and page time spent planning responses But it gets softer around the edges, smoothed over like a river rock given time enough and water.

listening to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson's historical fiction about a traveling As they mastermind a plan to bring the exes together in Rachel Lynn Solomon’s light fiction story, Russell

I felt like the story started off slowly, but once the world was built and the background established Over time, some of these demons have evolved into grumbling lackeys for the Eternal King, or bound slaves Eventually the story seemed to hit its stride, and the various demons, magical powers, dark histories

01 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna Mandanna's is a fun magical story featuring Schwab This wonderfully creepy lesbian vampire story is largely about female empowerment, but also about I loved each time period and the evolution of each strong female character . I appreciated the epic length of the book (688 pages), in which each remaining knight gets page time But the many points of view and meandering stories also felt a little broad at times, and I wished for

In the first installment of Cher's two-part memoir, she traces some of her ancestors' pivotal stories provide more reflection around events as she grew older and more emotionally mature within her own story , and this is when she starts to show more vulnerability and growth--and when I felt drawn into her story occasional emphasis on certain words and infrequent, but present, perplexing pauses threw me off at times

romance novels, and while two budding, societally forbidden romances threaten to bloom throughout this story Victorian implications in all areas for convicted persons, women, and class, I found the focus and page time Ultimately I wanted to spend all of my Queen of Lombard Street reading time immersed in Kleypas's Westbrook

Skylark started off sloooowly for me--my friend Kim was reading it at the same time and we were both Early on, I wasn't sure I was going to feel drawn into either story. upstairs-downstairs pairing within each tale, and the fight for justice exists in parallel in both stories

Wild Life: Dispatches from a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs Keena Roberts grew up splitting her time a sensitive young girl whose unusual life was shaped by her parents' primatology careers and family travel home management book (which I loved with a few reservations in my early married days; my love of and time These three women's stories seem like they couldn't be more disparate, and I imagine the tones will be

These are the stories of the women left behind as the men journeyed and sought to inspire songs and stories vulnerable in order to try to save each other, they carve out meager existences as they bide their time She can travel through the multiverse, but only to worlds where another version of herself no longer The subtitle of Browder's nonfiction book is A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight Zauner delves into her intense love for the complex flavors, the frequently time-consuming and sometimes

It was a great love story, one for the ages. The family's extreme privilege could have felt offputting or could have made Burden's story feel unrelatable As she sets up her part of the story, Burden delves into the backgrounds of her notable, famous, wealthy At times their larger-than-life presences greatly overshadow Belle's own relatively small, quiet existence She grows more bold, finds healing in speaking her mind, and becomes determined to write her story and

I love digging into the story of someone's life--notable because of chance, circumstance, or choice-- storytelling podcast in D.C. and Philadelphia--and he certainly knows how to craft a compelling and full story I listened to this as an audiobook, and I loved hearing Field tell her story. Aaaand I realize that this is unfair since I chose to read this person's life story. journey in different ways could have felt disruptive or jarring but didn't; they added a layer to her story

during World War I, When the World Fell Silent; I'm listening to mystery author Gillian McAllister's story Gillian McAllister is also the author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time, a book I loved, as well as Famous Last

mystery at the heart of the book seems only to be solvable by the biggest book nerd in existence; and the story's aren't too convenient, and they add layers to the mystery of who exactly the nefarious force in the story I'm up for a renegade story and a good-over-evil, noble quest. But What Happened to the Bennetts is more than a suspense story. surprising depth, particularly while exploring the bone-shaking grief that lies at the root of this story

The towers of justice are built one brick at a time. We have more to build yet.” In Robert Jackson Bennett's novel, The Tainted Cup , he blends a rich, historical fiction-feeling story investigatory relationship, and fascinating otherworldly fantasy and steampunk elements into a captivating story I loved this book and the extended story that Robert Jackson Bennett has begun here.

This book is part of the Greedy Reading List Six Captivating Nordic Stories. This is a smart, compelling story that totally had me hooked. Liz Moore’s writing is thoughtful and the story in Long Bright River is character-driven. Jesus' role in Ana's story is as a faithful man who disagrees with the politics of the faith at the time Donoghue weaves a good amount of fact into this story.

world and called it the Kingdom of Back, entertaining themselves during weeks and months of carriage travel This is a story about the magic of music, but it is also an exploration of gender roles (and tragic female likely future levels—which she also deserved but which were seemingly impossible for a woman at the time

For the rest of our lives, every time one of us goes somewhere and doesn’t return on time, doesn’t let the others know where we are, we will remember this time, what can happen. But Happiness Falls is primarily a story about a family finally understanding each other and going to

Just for the Summer is another Jimenez story with wonderful banter and a romantic connection that's anchored But Justin's family is going through an incredibly complicated and fraught time, and he's caring for over and over--and she's also the reason Emma can't settle down for more than a couple of months at a time Characters from other Jimenez books appear, although it took me time to figure out that Alexis, Daniel

It's just an irresistible setup for a great story. Cosby Razorblade Tears is a brutally violent story shadowed with heartbreaking regret and a fast read The story highlights unlikely loyalties forged during desperate times, terrible scenes of cruelty, and I still think of this book from time to time, long after reading it. This sci-fi thriller is about the forces that drive apart a husband and wife, and the story is about

When Detective Elise Sutton stumbles into a crime--a gunman is wandering a big-box store, shooting--she draws her gun for the first time in her career and takes down the shooter, saving at least one bystander's The story is told with alternating chapters focused on a chilling crime that feels connected to the Elise-Wade

But Brooks also builds rich stories in each of the other interconnected timelines, as we see privileged The story is built upon the framework of facts from the lives of Julian of Norwich and what is known Sharratt injects an undercurrent of what feels like modern feminism in her first-person story. book more so than in the modern bookends of Monique's documentation of Evelyn's stories. The story is inspired in part by Hawker's own ancestors' experiences.

family treks from California and traipses into a town with a colorful cast of characters, legends and stories I loved that Giuseppe the dog is given so much page time and importance here.

It's time for the foooood books! Ruth Reichl was editor in chief of Gourmet and a world-renowned food critic for The New York Times, and Bourdain does have sordid tales to tell, but he seems less puffed up over his kitchen war stories after before I spent endless evenings happily watching multiple television series featuring Anthony Bourdain traveling unpolished to me--but Bourdain himself was unabashedly rough around the edges too. 04 A Homemade Life: Stories

boundaries they can push and how many lines they're willing to cross in order to uncover the truth in time There aren't significant subplots, so this is a straightforward-feeling story, a sort of "mystery light disguises, alternative identities, bugs and surveillance-- The Trap  involves many of my favorite spy-story

dual-timeline mystery, Homecoming; and I'm reading Ashley Poston's newest light fiction that plays with time You might also be interested in the novels on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Morton's story explores secrets, loyalties, mysteries, and the complicated matter of coming home. Books that play with time! When do we want them? Er...now? Her aunt always said the apartment was a "pinch in time," where timelines blurred together.

Bossy Romantic Favorites The heat of August feels like a perfect time to dive into recently published romantic stories, and these have been six of my favorites this year. Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Light Fiction Stories Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of The banter made me laugh at times, and I bought the attraction between Katie and Hutch, as well as the Supporting characters are great, colorful, and add nice layers of interconnectedness to the story.

Joanna Quinn's debut novel is a hefty 558 pages, and the story sweeps through time from the 1920s malaise The children are largely unattended during this time, but their bonds to each other are solidified. The pacing of the story picks up, appropriately, when World War II begins to shift the world, exerting