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897 results found for "six historical"
- Shhh! Science and Nature Bossy Book Gift Ideas
Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays Shhh!
- Review of A Restless Truth (Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske
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.
- May Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month
like to read fiction about music, you might also like the titles I included in the Greedy Reading List Six
- Three Wackily Different Books I'm Reading Right Now, 9/3/20 Edition
I recently mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Newish Young Adult Mysteries I Want to
- Review of Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
While Bruno at first seems old-fashioned, telling his stories and considering the shape of history, he
- Review of Tilt by Emma Pattee
Northwest in the next 50 years, and that it would be one of the biggest natural disasters in North American history
- Review of Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh
Unsinkable is historical fiction by Jenni L. Walsh that's set in two timelines.
- Review of Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 10/28/24 Edition
and the intricacies of nations' relationships and airborne dragon battles within the books' alternate history
- Review of Blood: A Memoir by Allison Moorer
You might also like the list Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year.
- Review of The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith
tension is finally spoken aloud, although not resolved, and the mystery twists to involve personal histories
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 9/18/23 Edition
loved A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical
- Shhh! Kid and Teen Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays
Six More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays, and Shhh!
- Review of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Issues of memory, chosen family, history, loneliness, and love shape Vuong's novel, and the author forces
- Review of To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
I could not have predicted each version of me that I shifted into, but through my history, one constant
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 5/26/25 Edition
Issues of memory, chosen family, history, loneliness, and love shape Vuong's novel.
- Review of The Golden Enclaves (Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik
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
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 5/9/22 Edition
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
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/19/22 Edition
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
- Review of The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
Renkl is also the author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss and Graceland, At Last
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 4/8/24 Edition
listening to Emily Habeck's odd and sweet novel Shark Heart: A Love Story; I'm reading Heather Webb's historical
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/11/24 Edition
Morris's historical fiction novel, set in 11th century Scotland with events surrounding the imagined
- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
How much of what we consider fact and truth is skewed by our histories, our prejudices, our privilege
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/22/20 Edition
French is the author of six books in the Dublin Murder Squad series: In the Woods, The Likeness (my absolute
- Review of The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
case, a former priest and the Lady--an investigator searching for information in the convicts' past histories
- Review of A Marvellous Light (Last Binding #1) by Freya Marske
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.
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 11/5/21 Edition
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
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 8/14/23 Edition
novel, set in Yellowstone National Park, The Ranger; and I'm listening to the second in an irresistible historical
- Review of Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
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.
- Review of City of Windows (Lucas Page #1) by Robert Pobi
I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.
- Review of The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles
This is the third Paulette Jiles Civil War-era historical fiction book I've read and adored. #historicalfiction, #civilwar, #southern, #fourstarbookreview, #thecoloroflightning
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/14/22 Edition
finder of missing girls from Erin Kate Ryan; and I'm listening to Dawnie Wilton's fictional musical history Ryan explores various alternate histories and life tracks for Paula Jean while "Mary" digs more deeply Sunny Shelton shapes an oral history of her two idols, tracing their family lives, youthful experiences
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/28/22 Edition
01 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams In Beatriz Williams's historical fiction, Our Woman in Moscow In Williams's historical fiction mystery, four years later, Iris's twin sister Ruth finally receives
- Review of Dream State by Eric Puchner
; the messy bonds of commitment and partnership; the precious building of inside jokes and a unique history
- January Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month
inspirations, influences, approach, pushing the limits, and storytelling through song; The Last Green Valley, historical life-and-death period in the life of an ethnically German family at the end of World War II in this historical Sullivan built this historical fiction around the true story of an ethnically German family running from Mark Sullivan also wrote Beneath a Scarlet Sky, another historical fiction book based upon a real person
- Review of The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
Under, as well as two books about the English language, Mother Tongue and Made in America, and A Short History of Nearly Everything and A Really Short History of Nearly Everything.
- Review of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Females are overshadowed, abused, and generally wronged throughout the book, a reflection of realistic, historic
- Review of Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy
Now she must delve into the darkness of her history to try to save her mother--and uncover her own true women discover strange, unique powers as they rely on each other and attempt to unravel their shared history grave danger--and unlock remarkable freedom for each of the women long plagued by their complicated histories
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/27/23 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Amy Harmon's Revolutionary War-set historical fiction about a young
- Review of Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Yara is put on probation at the college where she is an assistant art history teacher after calling out
- Review of A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
#historicalfiction, #oldnewyork, #fourstarbookreview
- Review of Half Wild: Stories by Robin MacArthur
If you like short stories, check out The Office of Historical Corrections--a very different short story
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 10/30/23 Edition
The story explores cycles and links through history, considering how each of us may live on after we're
- Review of Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Harrow, with imperfect characters, a noble, messy quest, layers of history, and a captivating end.
- Review of The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith
Certain elements of Strike's past, his family history, and his volatile relationships are resolved in
- Review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
that play with time and alternate realities, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/6/23 Edition
natural world, she explores three timelines of women connected through the ages by power and by society's historical
- Review of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Russell has also written Children of God (The Sparrow, #2); the character-driven historical fiction book about Doc Holliday), which I really liked; and other books set in the American West (such as Epitaph); historical
- Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/27/23 Edition
protagonist, a jazz pianist, is tasked with saving humanity; and I'm listening to This Other Eden, historical
- Review of The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
ICYMI: Wiley Cash's The Last Ballad explores race relations and the fight for dignity in a 1929 North Carolina mill camp community. “There is an old saying that every story, even your own, is either happy or sad depending on where you stop telling it.” Cash provides rich details of life in a mill camp in 1929 North Carolina. The Last Ballad explores race relations and complicated relationships within a largely segregated living but racially mixed working arrangement. An individual tragic end also serves as a heroic sacrifice within a larger and extremely important fight for the dignity and conditions afforded by a union. This heart-wrenching struggle for survival and for dignity was at the heart of the book. It took me a little time to get into Cash's Last Ballad. It was a slow build but worth riding Cash's wave to an affecting middle of the story and a powerful sequence of final events. I really wish I’d read the final author’s note about Cash's personal links to the story before reading the book--the information there was fascinating, and I think would have lent even more power to my reading experience. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I read The Last Ballad with my book club, and this week I reviewed When Ghosts Come Home, Wiley Cash's character-driven mystery set in 1980s Eastern North Carolina. Next I want to read Cash's A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy. Have you read either of these? Wiley Cash's writing reminds me somewhat of that of Ron Rash, another wonderful North Carolina author.