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We learn about Elizabeth and Jack's histories and motivations, their stunted emotional statuses and the

The desire to rewrite history in this way reveals a silly, petulant wealthy main character who is easy

I mentioned Wild Game in the Greedy Reading List Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In.

This month my favorite reads were a retelling of a Mark Twain story; historical fiction set in North 01 What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway The historical fiction story about the building of the Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran I was hooked on the behind-the-scenes feeling of Moran's historical-fiction

If you like mysteries, you might also want to look at the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries

The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes

Atkinson is also the author of Shrines of Gaiety , Case Histories, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Life

and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history

importantly for me, the adventure, elite training, secret powers, double-edged quest, unrevealed personal history

The early story captured my attention with ballet, an orphan's struggles, and Depression-era Chicago, but once Nocturne shifted into dark fantasy I didn't feel connected. In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the Little Italy of 1930s Chicago, promising young dancer Grace dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. As the Depression rages, orphaned Italian immigrant Grace rises through the ranks of the Near North Ballet Company--losing friends, becoming more jaded, and ultimately gaining a valuable, secretive benefactor who may be the key to her job security--but he may not be what he seems. Grace is faced with compromises and tradeoffs, and she must decide where her own loyalties lie and determine how far she's willing to go to keep hold of her long-held dream. I felt connected to Wees's story through Grace's early struggles, her sole real connection, to friend Emilia, and her ballet training and performances. The understated dark undercurrents felt powerful and mysterious. But once the fantasy elements became the focus, the story felt more like a series of ethereal concepts to me. The predator-prey, death-and-life, constricting-and-controlled scenario is orchestrated by an evasive, sinister, and, I felt, annoying man (every Sunday night Grace is forced into a dance and some evasive conversation, and meanwhile she must wait around all week for this?). The story began to feel more juvenile in tone to me as it evolved into a twisted fairy tale, which I often enjoy. Grace's benefactor, who barely speaks, seeks to control her, and has professed his romantic interest in her, has been watching and fixating on her since her childhood (ugh), yet this predatorial scenario is made out to feel more romantic than a horror. As Nocturne became less anchored in emotions and motivations that I could grasp, I lost my connection to Grace. There are twists, and I enjoyed Grace's strong stand at the end, but by that point I had lost my feeling of investment in her story. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Alyssa Wees is also the author of The Waking Forest. You can check out my Bossy reviews of other fantasy titles here.

The dragons are a large part of the history--and are purported to exercise control over humans and creatures

Toya Gardner has returned from Atlanta to her rural North Carolina town to track her family's history When two terrible crimes shake the small community, they also bring to light generations of dark history

Cosby; I loved Blacktop Wasteland last year (it was one of my Six Favorite Summer Reads) and I just read She weaves songs into her stories and personal history, and the placement of the music feels seamless of essential projects—the creation of Central Park, the founding of the Met Museum and the Natural History

This book is part of the Greedy Reading List Six Book Club Books I Loved Last Year.

stage, spouted off comedic takes on her life, and after lots of scrapping and scrambling, the rest was history

the sixth and final book in Turner's Queen's Thief series (which I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six

Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh!

superstar action hero; I'm listening to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson's historical Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is historical

Centuries after her death, spindly, awkward historian Owen Mallory unearths her story--and becomes inexorably If Una and Owen are going to change the way history is remembered--or simply get Owen back to his own

If you like fiction about bands and music, you might like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Rocking

like to read fiction about music, you might also like the titles I included in the Greedy Reading List Six

The second book in Marske's series is an irresistible queer magical mystery thriller with Edwardian England details, racy encounters, vulnerability and love, and witty banter on a ship bound for England. A Restless Truth is the second in Freya Marske's queer fantasy mystery Last Binding trilogy that began with A Marvellous Light. A Marvellous Light was full of details of life in Edwardian England, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful dialogue, and plenty of heart. I adored it. In A Restless Truth, the character of Maud Blyth (Robin's sister, introduced in book one) expects adventure when she agrees to help save the magical world by serving as companion to an elderly magician on an ocean liner. By doing so, Maud aims to help her beloved older brother resolve a magical mystery that's been decades in the making. But when her charge drops dead on day one, Maud must identify the murderer, try to get her hands on a magical object essential to untangling the mystery at hand--and try to survive the voyage without being murdered herself. Maud and each of her unlikely allies are fantastic characters. The mystery element kept me hooked, and details of proper Edwardian etiquette and clothing were wonderful. Marske doesn't skimp on presenting multiple magical elements, which I loved--and she includes many detailed, saucy, passionate encounters between our main characters. I was struck by the drastic manner in which Violet attempted to free herself from the shackles of marriage and the subsummation of a woman to her husband that was expected at the time. (This reminded me of the measures taken by the main protagonist in another book I recently read, A Study of Scarlet Women, in order to secure freedom from a stifling marriage.) A Restless Truth is fun and quirky yet has depth, an appealingly complicated mystery, and a satisfying version of a resolution that sets up book three. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom, and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? The third book in the Last Binding series will be titled A Power Unbound. Its publication date has not been announced.

Northwest in the next 50 years, and that it would be one of the biggest natural disasters in North American history

While Bruno at first seems old-fashioned, telling his stories and considering the shape of history, he

Unsinkable is historical fiction by Jenni L. Walsh that's set in two timelines.

and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history

I recently mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Newish Young Adult Mysteries I Want to

and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history

tension is finally spoken aloud, although not resolved, and the mystery twists to involve personal histories

Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays, and Shhh!

Issues of memory, chosen family, history, loneliness, and love shape Vuong's novel, and the author forces

You might also like the list Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year.

loved A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical

I could not have predicted each version of me that I shifted into, but through my history, one constant

Issues of memory, chosen family, history, loneliness, and love shape Vuong's novel.

And Novik offers touching moments when surprising truths about El's, Orion's, and their parents' histories and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history

romantic life, career, and his future at an East London commune; Revelations, Mary Sarratt's immersive historical In Revelations, Sharratt offers an immersive historical fiction novel that includes thoroughly researched

Renkl is also the author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss and Graceland, At Last

Copperfield; and I'm reading Rachel Hawkins's upcoming mystery set in an Italian villa with a sinister history But Emily digs into the villa's complicated and dark history, and as she delves into the past, the growing

listening to Emily Habeck's odd and sweet novel Shark Heart: A Love Story; I'm reading Heather Webb's historical

Morris's historical fiction novel, set in 11th century Scotland with events surrounding the imagined

The first book in Marske's duology is full of Edwardian England detail, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful dialogue and banter, and plenty of heart. I adored it. A Marvellous Light, the first in Freya Marske's Last Binding duology, starts with a devastating ending (the demise of a character, caused by nefarious magicians) and a less-than-promising beginning (Robin Blyth's first day in his civil service job, for which he doesn't feel remotely qualified nor interested). Robin is trying to keep the household afloat after the deaths of his parents, to support his bright, ambitious younger sister, and to date some handsome men along the way. He soon realizes that (a) magic exists (!), (b) he's mistakenly been assigned the job of liaison to a secret magical society, (c) his office has been ransacked and a curse has been placed on him, (d) his curmudgeonly, book-smart coworker Edwin may be the key to saving them all, and (e) maybe he's falling for Edwin just the tiniest bit, despite himself. Marske offers immersive Edwardian England detail in this adorable, captivating, magical, queer book. Robin and Edwin's love is romantic and sweet and heartbreaking and sexy; the mystery at the heart of the book seems only to be solvable by the biggest book nerd in existence; and the story's magical details are fascinating and odd. I was completely hooked by A Marvellous Light, and I tried to slow down my reading to make it last. The amount of heart in this book was exquisite. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I didn't see a mention anywhere in the book of a sequel, and some aspects felt tantalizingly unresolved, so I was relieved to find out that another book is coming. The second and final book in Marske's duology, A Restless Truth, is scheduled for publication in November.

protagonists' roles shift yet again, so that "guardian" and "thief" labels are muddied, characters' histories

How much of what we consider fact and truth is skewed by our histories, our prejudices, our privilege

case, a former priest and the Lady--an investigator searching for information in the convicts' past histories

French is the author of six books in the Dublin Murder Squad series: In the Woods, The Likeness (my absolute

Juhea Kim's looping story of Korea, courtesans, pickpockets, and the powerful figures complicating and shaping all of their lives involves love triangles, superstition, heartbreak, and a complicated, shifting interconnectedness that spans decades. In a snowy forest in 1917 Korea, an unlikely moment of kindness shared by a Korean hunter toward a Japanese officer creates a connection that binds the fates of the two men forever. Meanwhile Jade, a young girl who has been sold to a courtesan, befriends JungHo, a young orphan boy in Seoul. JungHo grows older and becomes involved in the fight for independence, while Jade finds an unlikely romantic interest. Beasts of a Little Land tracks Jade's schooling, found family, artistic expression, and her social position as a courtesan within the culture, while following JungHo as he sets sights on more than pickpocketing and scrambling to find enough to eat one day at a time. Conflicts between Korea and Japan and war and occupation swirl around them and those within their orbits--Jade's adoptive family members Lotus, Luna, Dani, and Silver; JungHo's childhood clan all grown up; each of their loves; and the wealthy and influential men pulling strings on all sides. In Beasts of a Little Land, Juhea Kim explores friendship, enemies, trust, possibility, heroes, and beasts of all kinds. The story is looping and cyclical, with interconnected webs of interaction, power, and love. Some of what various characters cling to in hopes of saving themselves or securing their futures ends up being their undoing. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Beasts of a Little Land is Juhea Kim's debut work. Kim is donating a portion of the proceeds of the book to the Phoenix Fund, a conservation nonprofit working to protect the Siberian tiger and the Amur leopard.

novel, set in Yellowstone National Park, The Ranger; and I'm listening to the second in an irresistible historical

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms, which involves historical fiction Natasha Pulley is also the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, another historical fiction story

I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.