I felt as though he deliberately kept us in a plodding pace to emphasize the unwavering, repetitive misery explores the relentless oppression and hopelessness of slavery, the resigned existence of the imprisoned, masters But the white master of the plantation is Hiram's biological father, and composed young Hiram is set He may not inherit, nor may he rise above his station as owned and commanded by his white master. his mysterious powers that allow for shifts in time and space.

Namesake was fantastic, and I wish more books were coming in this series. Namesake was fantastic--although I didn't completely buy the wrap-up at the end regarding Saint and his

He's a fantastic character I loved. This great book by C.A. also want to read Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which is a standalone book in the same series, is fantastic

Boulley weaves fantastically fluid and frequent details of indigenous tradition into Daunis's everyday between action, thought, and feeling, especially in the earlier sections of the book, but Boulley weaves fantastically

Alexandra Andrews's twisty-turny mystery about a reclusive author and the ambitious assistant she takes Fisher is candid, funny, charmingly offbeat, and she's mastered the art of honest self-examination. I loved listening to her fantastically raspy voice as she read her memoir in audiobook form and feel factors of bloodthirsty vengeance and war between Languoreth's husband and his allies and Lailoken's master

This lighthearted aspect of this mystery reminds me a little bit of Finley Donovan Is Killing It, but

I will, after all, happily read stories about talking dragons, or fantastical worlds, or time travel,

Mexico to the U.S. to reunite with her parent--and her disillusionment upon her arrival; and an upcoming mystery

The Moonstruck references were fantastic. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?

band-centered stories, but luckily for us readers, I seem to be dead wrong, because so many authors are masters their mesmerizing lead singer Daisy, the group's complicated interpersonal conflicts, and the band's mysterious Daisy Jones and the Six explores multiple layers of love and heartbreak, all against a fantastic backdrop

Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious

When she finds a mysterious book her father had acquired, it shows January unlikely possibilities about

There's a low-key mystery Lexie is set on unraveling--key players are keeping secrets about events decades

extended family--including a stolid patriarch and matriarch, a free-spirited daughter, a spunky and fantastic Cosby This is a fantastic blend of realistic complications, mistakes, adjustments, and spunk.

And if not, does he have self-mastery to take a loss, stay cool in defeat, and try again undaunted?

pasts; the rich fictional history of an esteemed figure in early twentieth century New York and his mysterious

I mentioned Station Eleven in the Greedy Reading List Six Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels

attention for her incredible genetic cloning advancements--but people have noticed that her husband is mysteriously

was a twentysomething writer in New York City when she began having odd symptoms, terrible pain, and mysterious

The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. I listened to Funny Story  as an audiobook (narrated by the fantastic Julia Whelan).

This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. That book introduced the fantastic best-friend character of Felicity "Fizzy" Chen.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry's newest light fiction novel about best friends and polar opposites Poppy and Alex on their annual vacation; Now You Say Yes, Bill Harley's irresistible middle-grade novel about orphans on a cross-country journey as they desperately try to stay together as a family; and Don't Look for Me, Wendy Walker's suspenseful, character-driven novel about a mother coping with the worst grief imaginable while a lurking evil endangers key characters' safety. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry In Emily Henry's newest novel People We Meet on Vacation, best friends and polar opposites Alex and Poppy are on their annual vacation. Poppy is impulsive and fun-loving, and Alex would generally rather stay home and read than seek out adventure. The pair has long been emotionally inseparable despite living in different cities--Poppy in New York and Alex in their small hometown. But two years ago on their vacation, something BIG happened. It threatened their friendship and continues to loom over everything between them. They haven't talked about any of it, but Poppy has convinced Alex to join her again on vacation to try to recapture their effortless times together. Surely, she thinks, they can fix everything in a week. She'll just push down her strange feelings about Alex and pretend that fateful time never even happened. This is already feeling like a will they/won't they story I'll love. Henry's Beach Read was a favorite book of mine last year, and it made it into the Greedy Reading List Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism. 02 Now You Say Yes by Bill Harley In Bill Harley's newest work, the middle-grade novel Now You Say Yes, we follow newly orphaned fifteen-year-old Mari and her on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Connor, as they strike out on a cross-country journey in a desperate attempt to avoid foster care. Mari, who finds that she's tough in the face of adversity, is bent on staying with her brother, preserving the only family they each have left. But she's not legally an adult, and she doesn't have many options of who she can rely on to keep them safe. Harley's story about loyalty, loss, and pushing forward is beautiful; it's sometimes heartbreaking and consistently lovely. 03 Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker Molly Clarke is dealing with bottomless grief. Her youngest daughter died in an unthinkable accident, and for Molly, making her way through each day is like wading through waters threatening to drown her. So she walks away--from her distant husband, her always-furious oldest daughter, her absent middle son, her broken life, and her relentless pain. At least, that's what the clues left behind seem to indicate. But the truth of what has occurred is horrible, terrifying, twisty--and fascinating. Walker's premise is difficult to read and experience on the page, but the character depth, exploration of grief, and self-actualization she offers in Don't Look for Me is pleasantly surprising and continues to build and grow. I'm flying through this tale and can't wait to find out what's what.

When cool Leo at school reveals that he's into comedy too, Haylah jumps at the chance to write material Elliott offers a fantastic, boy-crazy, British story about missteps, facing change, accepting the past

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The People We Keep, Allison Larkin's upcoming novel about a young protagonist shaping her life through songwriting and finding human connection; Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest book about siblings surfing and forging their own paths on the coast of California; and Dark Roads, Chevy Stevens's suspenseful novel, out next week, about young women going missing in British Columbia. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 The People We Keep by Allison Larkin In Allison Larkin's upcoming novel The People We Keep, April is struggling. She's failing out of school, working some shifts at a diner, and living in a nonfunctioning motorhome that her father won in a poker game--in a town where she's never felt like she belongs. A borrowed car and an open mic night open up new possibilities while a fight with her dad sharpens her focus on leaving. So April heads out on the road with few expectations aside from changing the course of her life. She meets new people along the way and must decide whether to open her heart to them or to keep up her guard; she considers what she truly wants from her life; and she writes songs to cope with and interpret the world around her. I received a prepublication digital copy of this title courtesy of Gallery Books and NetGalley. 02 Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Although her tennis pro husband's recent infidelity with a famous tennis player is putting a damper on things, in Malibu, California, famous model and skilled surfer Nina Riva--the daughter of legendary crooner Mick Riva--is about to throw her end-of-summer party. Malibu Rising tracks each hour leading up to and into the wee hours of the legendary party (and this year's unforgettable end), while interspersing scenes from the past, including Nina's parents' tangled love story, Nina's youth, her famous surfer/photographer siblings' stories, and others. As the party spins out of control, secrets of all kinds are revealed and key characters must each determine their paths as they find themselves at crucial forks in the roads of their lives. Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of Daisy Jones & the Six, a book I included in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music. 03 Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens Chevy Stevens's Dark Roads is set in the wilderness and rugged terrain of British Columbia, along a highway where unsuspecting women traveling alone go missing from time to time--yet a predator never seems to be brought to justice. Teen Hailey McBride's father always taught her to be self-sufficient, to hunt, to stay tough, and to never drive Cold Creek Highway by herself. Now that he's gone, she's at the mercy of her aunt's controlling police officer husband, and Hailey decides to disappear into the wild in the desperate hope that the community assumes she's been taken by the highway killer and gives her up for dead. When Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to try to track down her sister, who disappeared from the area, she unwittingly becomes a potential target herself--while inadvertently drawing attention to the truth about Hailey's disappearance. I received a prepublication digital copy of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

story about outlaws, finding identity, eschewing societal fears and superstition, and belonging; a mystery

There are mysterious elements at play.

This one was slow going in the middle, but Wells provides a fantastically unique point of view, and this connections and surprisingly (to Murderbot, if no one else) strengthened loyalties, there is more of Wells's fantastically These are short books with a fantastically unique point of view, and they're perfect escapism.

But the books in the series also offer fantastically bratty episodes on the parts of various characters

character is later key to bravely resolving the main and significant conflicts of the story when a mysterious

Young adult Josie's origins--specifically her immaculate conception--have overshadowed everything else in her life. Now she must delve into the darkness of her history to try to save her mother--and uncover her own true identity. Young adult Josie is Girl One, the first of nine baby girls who were famously conceived without male sperm years ago on the now-dismantled commune The Homestead. Josie has spent her life plagued by criticism, misogyny, obsessed fans, and the weight of the fascinating, unusual circumstances of her conception. Yet she embraces her past and aims to further the scientific work of her deceased father figure, the director of the scientific advancements achieved on the commune, Dr. Joseph Bellanger. Josie's studies and desire to learn more about her "virgin birth" drive a wedge between Josie and her mother, and Josie isn't sure exactly why. 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. They're learning to trust that the circumstances of their creation do not determine their full identities--or what they're capable of. Murphy presents the Girls as they emerge in all of their feminist, powerful glory. The men in their world are cruel, powerful, and frequently evil, but when they band together, the girls' superhuman abilities repeatedly shield them from the most grave danger--and unlock remarkable freedom for each of the women long plagued by their complicated histories. The journey isn't too easy, there are some identity realizations, love connections, and plot twists, and the ending of Girl One satisfied me. I received a prepublication digital edition of this book through Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Girl One reminded me at times of Body of Stars, but this book held together more successfully for me, and I believed in the characters and their situations more completely. Both of the books felt like young adult reads to me.

Addie wants to see more of the world, to be more in the world, and she is eager to allow for some mystery

laugh-out-loud funny yet heart-breaking novel about first love and second chances, with a satisfying mystery

#fantasyscifi, #alternatereality, #mysterysuspense, #fourstarbookreview

classmates realize, which is just how El wants it--fears she might accidentally take him out before she can master dark humor and unexpected details, and the exchanges between El and Orion (and El and everyone) were fantastic Novik also wrote the fantastic Spinning Silver and Uprooted, both of which appear on the Greedy Reading

For my full review, see Utopia Avenue. 04 Long Bright River by Liz Moore Long Bright River is a mystery disappears and a string of murders rock the community, everyone is suspect and Mickey's desire to solve the mystery The family's vast amount of genetic material--from both those affected by and those free from mental Nonfiction Books I've Read This Year Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year

your life, in case you find yourself in the middle of an English Murder Village straight from a quaint mystery

Have you read the fantastic Temeraire series by Naomi Novik?

Maud Dixon offers clever twists and turns and presents interesting gray areas about the roles of hero and villain. A twisty and turny, compelling read. "By its nature, every secret contains the power to destroy something." Florence Darrow is from small-town Florida, and her aspirations for her life are ambitious yet vague. She feels destined for greatness but not necessarily special enough to make the splash she'd like to in the world--at least not yet. When she implodes her publishing career on a destructive whim, then lucks into a position as a personal assistant to the reclusive, anonymous, bestselling author with the pen name of Maud Dixon, Florence can't believe it--everything is starting to fall into place. "Maud" strikes Florence as an oddball genius, and Florence is just trying to soak up all the culture and knowledge she can as she plans to finally write her own bestseller. That is, until it becomes clear that things with Maud--and with Maud's professional and private situation--aren't at all what they seem. During a research trip to Morocco, weighty questions about identity, reality, motives, and events of the past threaten the lives of both women. This book reminded me a little bit of my recent read The Plot, but Maud Dixon had clever twists and turns that I didn't see coming and offers interesting gray areas regarding the roles of hero and villain. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I need to talk Maud Dixon with someone who's read it! Did you see things going in the direction they did? Did you suspect certain characters of duplicity--and did you believe they would be able to go through with their plans?

Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious

This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. That book introduced the fantastic best-friend character of Felicity "Fizzy" Chen.

I thought Wrobel's tone was masterful; it wasn't clear who was manipulating the situation and who was #mysterysuspense, #dysfunctionalfamily, #fourstarbookreview

#mysterysuspense, #southern, #gothicnoir, #threestarbookreview

societal expectations for women, great adventure, strong female loyalty and friendship, love, and lots of fantastic

In this gothic Victorian tale, Waters offers a slow build to heartbreak, twists and double twists, hesitant attempts at love, and, finally, clarity and satisfying revenge. Sue Trinder is a teenage orphan, the daughter of a hanged murderess who tries to live up to her fearless mother's bravery and strength. She's being raised in a household of cheats, thieves, and generally crooked characters. Yet she's been largely sheltered from the evils of the underbelly of Victorian London by her unofficial, doting adoptive mother, Mrs. Sucksby. But when one of their group, Gentleman, comes up with a large-scale con, suddenly the makeshift family's potential fortune depends heavily on Sue. She's asked to play the role of maid to an unassuming, wealthy young woman in a dastardly plot to take the woman's inheritance and leave her to rot in an insane asylum. When Sue meets Maud and begins dressing her, caring for her, and trying to manipulate her into the con, what seemed like a simple plan becomes more complicated and fraught. Meanwhile, Maud's bristly uncle, a strict man of books who has raised his niece primarily to assist him in his research and work, is at the center of a widespread web of debauchery. Maud's unusual upbringing--an emotionally cold life, steeped in lascivious writings--has left her both innocent to the workings of the outside world and also closely acquainted with the details of intimacies with which most young ladies of the time would likely be unfamiliar. Fingersmith is a delightfully dark, often menacing Victorian-era gothic tale. I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was such a slow build, I was both eager for it to ramp up in pacing and very hesitant about finding out where things were going. There's a descent-into-madness aspect that's made more powerful by Waters's measured, sometimes sluggish tempo. I was on the verge of becoming impatient, but Waters masterfully draws out the sinister threads of the story until they're taut and ready to snap, and ultimately I was in for it. I wasn't certain how Waters would resolve the layers of deceit, secrets, and desires for revenge at play here. The story offers heartbreak, twists and double twists, hesitant attempts at unorthodox love (I recall one reader referring to this as "lesbian Dickens," but it wasn't quite that to me), and, finally, clarity and satisfying revenge. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Waters is also the author of Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, and The Night Watch. I'm eager to read these as well. I wasn't as big a fan of Waters's The Paying Guests as I was of Fingersmith.

McLain had me hooked on the vivid Northern California setting, imperfect Anna's rich and rocky history--and her messy road toward a version of personal redemption. Anna is a San Francisco missing persons detective in denial about the fact that her job has overtaken her personal life for years. When she experiences a personal tragedy, she flees to the Northern California of her childhood--a place she's avoided since her teens. She arrives hoping for anonymity and an escape to the woods to grieve and be alone, but she quickly finds out that a young local woman has gone missing. Old friends resurface, pulling Anna out of herself, and when other young girls go missing, the pull of finding the girls is irresistible to her. Minor nitpicks: I wasn't sure Anna would provide parenting advice and hindsight-based tips to Emily at such a fraught time, and I felt like Anna would have been periodically more crushed and paralyzed by her own recent trauma. I love the trope of a reluctant, imperfect hero, and Anna is both. McLain had me completely hooked on the vivid setting, Anna's rich and rocky history, her search for answers--and a messy road toward a version of personal redemption. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? McLain is also the author of Circling the Sun (a captivating account of the real-life Beryl Markham's adventures as an aviator in 1920s Kenya) and The Paris Wife (which somehow I still haven't read). I received a prepublication edition of this book (published today) courtesy of Random House and NetGalley.

The fantastic blend of feminist sass and clever problem-solving is as evident in this book as it is in

Heard's young adult thriller was a lightning-fast read, and there's a yearning for connection between the two main protagonists that feels real and true. Heard's young adult thriller follows the twists and turns at the intersection of three volatile young people--bored photographer Veronica; her best friend, mischievous performance art rebel Nico; and their new friend, Mick, who hasn't quite found her place in the world outside of being a competitive swimmer. Mick, whose mother is emotionally unavailable (and barely physically present), has a lot to figure out and responsibilities weighing her down, meanwhile Veronica is pushing Mick past her comfort level into vulnerability. The girls fall hard for each other--but they've built their early relationship on lies that could destroy their possibility of true intimacy. With Nico's troublemaking and incessant challenges to the status quo serving as a catalyst for fast-paced changes, everything begins to spiral out of control, threatening the girls' safety and the community around them. Veronica and Mick will have to figure out if they can trust each other with their lives. I loved the girls' young love, but I was haunted by the fact that their relationship seemed doomed because of its basis in lies. Heard allows the teens to make realistically messy mistakes and experience devastating betrayals, but to also bravely try to trust each other again. The stakes quickly ratchet up up up in She's Too Pretty to Burn so that the characters find themselves making life-and-death decisions, and their missteps aren't without serious consequences. This was a lightning-fast read for me, and while the young people's circumstances build to be almost outlandishly complicated and disastrous, Heard presents what feels like a true yearning for connection between the two main protagonists, and that kept me hooked for anything else she threw at me. I was haunted by how Mick's desperate situation and lack of options pushed her to say yes to uncomfortable compromises and take part in things she would likely otherwise have avoided. I received a prepublication edition of this book (published March 30) courtesy of Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? She's Too Pretty to Burn is a fast read and I was in for all of it. Heard is also the author of adult thrillers The Kill Club and Hunting Annabelle, and she co-hosts the Unlikeable Female Characters podcast.

But Harrow the Ninth also offers fantastically bratty episodes on the parts of various characters; frenzies

Lu layers a fantastical alternate fairy world over a framework of the imagined point of view of Wolfgang Lu layers a fantastical alternate fairy world over a framework of the imagined point of view of Wolfgang

In the nine essays and short stories that make up Festival Days, the fantastic Jo Ann Beard explores