Six Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads I love looking over my favorite reads from the past year and

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres , and just as I do every year, I loved my historical fiction reads in 2023. I'd also love to hear: what are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? I posted last year about Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, and Six More Four-Star Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West and Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set

Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I knew I was reading some gooood science fiction and fantasy, but didn't For my full review, please check out Hell Bent. 02 The Night Ship by Jess Kidd Kidd's dual-timeline historical The Night Ship is historical fiction with a magical realism undercurrent that's told in two timelines Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. natural world, she explores three timelines of women connected through the ages by power and by society's historical

that list but one are fiction as well, although multiple books listed are based on real figures from history : Six More Great Books about Brave Female Spies . about brave women during wartime, you might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six In Elizabeth Wein's young adult historical fiction novel, it's 1943, and a British spy plane has crashed

Six Great Bossy Mystery Reads I didn't read as many mysteries last year as I typically do, but here are six of my favorites. I mentioned Rene Denfeld's great book The Child Finder  in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to

Six More Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the second of three fantasy-favorite lists I'll have for you Then Luke Larsen, a handsome, grumpy magical historian, comes to stay at Jasmine and Sera's inn along I listed Amina in the Greedy Reading List Six Four-Star (and Up) Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads I

Six More Favorite Bossy Mystery Reads I love looking over my favorite reads from the past twelve months Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, you can read about Six long-distance boyfriend) David in London, they cook up detailed research plans and immersion in the history Maureen Johnson is the author of the six-book Truly Devious young adult mystery series: Truly Devious tension is finally spoken aloud, although not resolved, and the mystery twists to involve personal histories

Six More Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads This is the second of three contemporary fiction lists I'll Ivey is also the author of To the Bright Edge of the World , which I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to Read in  the Heat of Summer , and The Snow Child , which I included in the list Six

Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I read some entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic fantasy Black's The Queen of Nothing ; I mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six

These are six of my most-loved titles from the first half of this year. of Carrie Soto Is Back , The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , Malibu Rising , and Daisy Jones & the Six

Six More Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads This is the third of three contemporary fiction lists I've like to read fiction about music, you might also like the titles I included in the Greedy Reading List Six

If you like memoirs, you might like the books I list on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality Six North Carolina woman's thoughtful account of events, written with an aim of preserving the essential history

In Daisy Jones & the Six , Reid offers a fictionalized account (written as fictional interviews) of the Daisy Jones & the Six  explores multiple layers of love and heartbreak, all against a fantastic backdrop I mentioned Daisy Jones & the Six in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music

For more memoirs I've loved that you might want to try, check out the Greedy Reading Lists Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year . Ishikawa, who is half-Korean, half-Japanese, and who lived under oppressive totalitarian rule for thirty-six

Six Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, I'll need But for now, here are six of my favorites. We learn about Elizabeth and Jack's histories and motivations, their stunted emotional statuses and the Alice Winn's gorgeous, brutal, captivating historical fiction In Memoriam  is set during World War I. For more dystopian stories, check out Six Fascinating Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels  and Six More

You might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Books about Brave Female Spies and Six More Books about Brave Female Spies. 01 The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy The Skylark's Secret But don’t forget that history isn’t just a study in black and white.

with some romance and often some laughs, you might also like the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six of My Favorite Light Fictions Reads of the Past Year Six More of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads of the Past Year Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Light Fiction Stories Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year , and Six If you like books about music, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories

Six Bossy Sci-Fi Favorites I'm still mining my reading for favorites from the past year, and this is see Murder by Memory. 02 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz This short novel explores an alternate-history I love a science-fiction story in which elements of humanity are explored, I love an alternate-history --from the roof of the American Museum of Natural History--before a horrific storm sends them fleeing Their settlement is on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, or "Amen), and they

Wamariya writes beautifully and brutally honestly about her journey of fleeing from Rwanda and through six Rum's female characters--but also many other real-life women in comparable situations--to write a new history

Six Bossy Literary Fiction Favorites I'm still mining my reading for the Bossy best of the best from poet's put-upon wife trade points of view to illuminate across two timelines a calculated rewriting of history

If you like historical fiction, check out these other Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading Lists: Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You Six Great Historical Fiction Books Set in the American West Six More Great Historical Fiction Books Set in the American West And which other books should I add to my Civil War historical fiction to-read list? I also mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Novels I Loved in the Past

Six Four-Star Bossy Mystery Reads We've reached the point in the year--the very beginning--when I obsess Because I've been in a mystery-reading mood lately, I thought you might be too, so we're starting with six loved A Curious Beginning , the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical residents, their murky pasts (which are uncomfortably, distantly related to the aging former agents' own histories If you're interested in stories set in Maine, you might like the titles on my Greedy Reading List Six

lighter fiction with some romance and laughs, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories. the summer reading stories set in frigid temperatures (check out the books on the Greedy Reading List Six For my full review of this book, please see The Dead Romantics. 06 Happy Place by Emily Henry Six longtime Now they've been engaged for six years, they're desperately in love, and they've been dating long-distance

Six Great Bossy Contemporary Fiction Reads I loved a range of great books last year, and these were six

You might also be interested in the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six More Great Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading Six of My Favorite Light Fictions Reads of the Past Year Six More of My Favorite Light Fiction Reads of the Past Year Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading , and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories 01 Funny Story by Emily Henry the Sheriff of Nottingham, things get complicated for both Mariel and Clem in this sassy, fun, queer historical

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres , and I loved my historical fiction reads in 2022. Here are six of my very favorite historical fiction reads of last year--with another list to come! I'd love to hear: what are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? But this is a solid historical fiction story that I loved.

Six More Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, this Dog by Elliott Gish Grey Dog  begins as an immersive historical fiction story of a young teacher with This is a feminist historical fiction story in which women--long kept quiet and still, supervised to I loved the setting and detail of the historical fiction story, but I became fully hooked as the tale If this book sounds appealing to you, you might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other historical

In The Vanishing Half, Bennett follows the history of the fictional Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella,

My Favorite Rom-Com Reads This is my first of two favorites lists of rom-coms and romantic reads. I was just talking to my friend Martha about rom-coms with weighty themes, and some of these titles fit that bill. Others are more purely light, with happy endings you might see coming from a mile away--and likely won't mind at all. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! Have you read any other rom-com or romantic novels that you loved? 01 Betting on You by Lynn Painter Lynn Painter delivers funny, charming banter and an opposites-attract tension in this heartwarming rom-com about divorce, trust, blended families, and vulnerability. In Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You , rule-following seventeen-year-old Bailey and sarcastic, joking Charlie meet at a fraught moment--they're both leaving Alaska and coping with their parents' divorces. They're polar opposites, and they drive each other crazy. Now they're living in the same hometown again, and, coincidentally, they're about to be working together at a bizarre hotel fun park. When Bailey and Charlie fake date in order to try to thwart the new relationship between Bailey's mom and her always-around boyfriend, Bailey realizes she's got feelings for Charlie. And Charlie's emotionally immature, but he's never let his guard down the way he does with Bailey. Painter delivers charming and funny banter, emotional growth, deep friendship, plausible missteps that keep the couple apart, heart-wrenching moments of vulnerability, and heartwarming looooove. Please click here for my full review of Betting on You . 02 The Rule Book by Sarah Adams This love story about an emotionally sensitive NFL player and his quirky, irresistible female agent is a sweet second-chance romance perfect for light summer reading. Nora Mackenzie is a sports agent who's constantly fighting against misogyny and double standards as one of few women in the field. She's young and hungry--and thrilled that she's about to get her first really big client. But Nora and the client, NFL tight end Derek Pender, were college sweethearts, and Nora abruptly broke things off years ago. They haven't seen each other since. Derek is determined to make Nora so miserable, she'll quit her position as his agent, but Nora's never given up on anything in her life--except her youthful relationship with Derek. She's determined to look out for her career above all else. I love Nora's passion for her career and the single-mindedness that has led to her success. In concept, I also love her quirkiness and refusal to bend to societal pressures--whether by behaving in a more tough manner because she's a woman in a career where fewer women exist, or by using her femininity as a tool in that career. But her silly language and childlike manner grated on me, and I found it distractingly corny. I loved the fake marriage, the push and pull of career and love, and the second-chance romance. Click here for my full review of The Rule Book . 03 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher Lex Croucher's queer medieval rom-com--the author's debut young-adult novel--is an absolute gem; it's full of excellent banter and lots of heart. I smiled while reading this one. “Nobody else is ever going to care as much as you do about the things that you want, Gwendoline. So it's up to you --you can put them aside forever, if you can live with that, or you can put on your big-girl girdle and demand more for yourself.” It's hundreds of years after King Arthur's reign, and his descendant and namesake Arthur, a future lord and committed partier and social butterfly, has long been betrothed to the short-tempered princess Gwendoline. But Gwendoline and Arthur detest each other. And when they're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot to prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it doesn't take long for them to realize that Art has been kissing a boy and that Gwen has a crush on the only female knight in the kingdom. The premise of Lex Croucher's Gwen & Art Are Not in Love  is irresistible, the pacing is great, and the banter is excellent--funny dialogue is a favorite element of mine. I adored the voices of the characters and witnessing their growth over the course of the story. For my full review, please see Gwen & Art Are Not in Love . 04 Love, Lists and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz Sarah Grunder Ruiz serves up an irresistible rom-com with great banter and with interesting and difficult, complex issues of loss, grief, and responsibility at its heart. Jo Walker is a yacht stewardess. She fell into the job years ago while trying to find herself--after a youth in which her father died, her mother fell apart, her older sister Beth became pregnant by (and married) her beloved high school sweetheart--and after Jo moved in with the young married couple while she finished high school. But none of Jo's losses or disappointments or life experiences could have prepared her for the horrific, shocking loss of her young nephew Samson, Beth's youngest child (and Jo's birthday twin), in a biking accident. The tension that keeps apart Jo and Alex ( a handsome, charming man new to town) feels plausible, and I accepted the difficulties each faces when considering a commitment to the other. I loved  the best-friendship with Nina, the messy path of grief, and the imperfect characters all doing their best. I welcomed with open arms the happy ending served up by Sarah Grunder Ruiz. For my full review, please see Love, Lists and Fancy Ships . 05 I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang Ann Liang's newest young adult rom-com pits high school nemeses against each other: one relentless perfectionist and people-pleaser and her effortlessly successful classmate. But neither is as perfect as they seem...except in being perfect for each other. In Ann Liang's I Hope This Doesn't Find You , Sadie Wren is perfect...on paper. She's valedictorian, school captain, and a model student. Sadie's one vice is writing scathing, no-holds-barred email drafts. She never sends them, but crafting the furious hypothetical replies to anyone who is frustrating her is helpfully cathartic. That is, until everyone--from her co-captain to her teachers to her classmates--knows how shockingly blunt the "real" Sadie is. And the only one who seems to embrace her accidental show of full honesty is her longtime nemesis, Julius. This young adult story is sweet and fun; the pacing often feels somewhat slapstick and frantic--as is the relentlessly ambitious, over-the-top super-pleaser Sadie herself. The feeling settles down when she finally begins to explore her feelings for Julius in a wonderfully sweet and romantic set of exchanges that feels all too brief. The vulnerability that Sadie and Julius allow each other to see at long last was lovely. For my full review, check out I Hope This Doesn't Find You . 06 Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez Just for the Summer is another Jimenez story with wonderful banter and a romantic connection that's anchored in and shaped by incredibly complicated life circumstances. Abby Jimenez is wonderful at crafting a satisfying romance that's anchored in serious issues, and in Just for the Summer , she offers up an irresistible rom-com premise with weighty, messy, real-life-imperfect conflicts galore. Justin and Emma are strangers, but they both seem to have the same curse: after they break up with someone, the next person that person dates ends up being their soulmate. A Reddit thread and unlikely coincidences bring Justin and Emma into contact, and their initial spark is undeniable. The conflicts that repeatedly keep Emma and Justin from their happy-ever-after feel plausibly limiting, yet their affection and banter are adorable, and their inability to overcome the obstacles in their way is heartbreaking. I think Emma's best friend Maddy probably needs her own book (a la Christina Lauren's fantastic True Love Experiment  spinoff for best friend Fizzy). I listened to Just for the Summer  as an audiobook. Jimenez is also the author of Part of Your World , Yours Truly , The Friend Zone , and The Happy-Ever-After Playlist . For my full review, please see Just for the Summer .

Six More Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I read lots of entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic dragons, dragon-related science, emotional and physical ties to dragons, and the cultural importance, historical Because the restrictive Anglish world--and its selective history of the destruction of the Indigenous I love a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and while this novel isn't as layered and complex or The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes

you're intrigued by time-travel stories, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore and Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories . This book appeared on the Greedy Reading List Six More Science Fiction Reads I Loved in the Past Year

for my full review of Small Things Like These. 03 The Night Ship by Jess Kidd Kidd's dual-timeline historical The Night Ship is historical fiction with a magical realism undercurrent that's told in two timelines Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. In The Trackers, Cold Mountain author Charles Frazier offers historical fiction featuring a Great Depression-era If you're interested in Great Depression-era historical fiction like I am, you might also like the books

Six More Favorite Fantasy Reads This is the third of three fantasy-favorite lists I've developed as I've book in Rachel Gillig's Stonewater Kingdom series, The Knight and the Moth , considers Sybil Delling ("Six

you're interested in books like this, you might also like the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans, and Alien Life and AI Six More Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels Six Four-Star (and Up) Science Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year Have you read any of these books

Here are six novels across genres that kept me hooked on their revenge-filled storylines. I loved his gritty, character-driven mystery-thriller Blacktop Wasteland so much that it made my Six

category include: If you like memoirs, you might like the books I list on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into and Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year (last year). North Carolina woman's thoughtful account of events, written with an aim of preserving the essential history

Six More Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Historical Fiction Reads Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres, and I loved my historical fiction reads in 2022. I posted last month about Six Four-Star Historical Fiction Reads I Loved Last Year, but I had six more I'd also love to hear: what are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? The author's note explains the historical events at play and illuminates the ways in which Hawker's historical

about writing and books, there are wonderfully faulted love-crossed main protagonists with a shared history

If you love memoirs, you might also like the titles I listed on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Illuminating Memoirs I've Read This Year Six More Illuminating Memoirs to Lose Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality A few other memoirs on my

Lighter Fiction Set in Show Biz I love a peek behind the scenes, and each of the novels here provides a fictionalized version of a movie or TV backdrop for the romance at its center. Whether the stories explore reconciling one's body image, making nice with a costar nemesis, adapting to the shock of a media whirlwind, or another set of complications, each of these novels captivates with its plausible look inside a secret, "glamorous" world--and often a far-from-perfect reality--that's foreign to most of us. Have you read any of these books? Have you read other novels with a TV, movie, or other media backdrop? 01 Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld Sittenfeld's funny and sweet take on an unlikely romance sparked by a longtime SNL -type weekly skit show immediately had me hooked, never felt too easy, and charmed me throughout. I love Curtis Sittenfeld's books, and in Romantic Comedy she offers an outstanding premise: Sally Milz is a sketch writer for a late-night comedy show, and she's sworn off love. That is, until she pokes fun at her fellow writer in a sketch about talented but average-looking men dating gorgeous women...and then gorgeous pop sensation and serial model-dater Noah Brewster hosts the show and turns his attentions on Sally. I was delighted to find that much of the book is focused on the behind-the-scenes making of the SNL -like Saturday night sketch comedy show in the book, The Night Owls , and I was fascinated by this aspect. Romantic Comedy offers lots of funny, funny dialogue that delighted me. This was the right book at the right time for me, and I loved everything about it. Sittenfeld is also the author of American Wife , You Think It, I'll Say It , Prep , Rodham , and Eligible . Click here   for my full review of Romantic Comedy . 02 The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore Laurie Devore's novel goes behind the scenes of a reality dating show, complete with sordid details, manipulation, and manufactured moments, all serving as a backdrop to a fearless contestant's creeping toward destruction--and her struggle to figure out if the love she feels is real. Jac Matthis is a romance novelist whose first book tanked (the main protagonist chose her career over a man, enraging readers who'd been counting on a different happy ever after), leaving little audience for her second published book and nonexistent demand for a third. In an attempt to boost her exposure and thereby resuscitate her writing career, the frank and cynical, unapologetically brutally honest, casual-sex fan Jac is set to appear as a contestant on a Bachelor -type reality TV show in which the ultimate goal is a proposal and marriage. After one last fling, Jac reports to the set--only to find out that her one-night stand is a producer on the show who had been absent during her auditions. Complications abound as the eligible TV bachelor seems to be falling for Jac, she makes enemies of multiple fellow contestants, she struggles with the staged and manipulated nature of every moment--and she realizes that she's being painted as the villain of the show. I found it fairly challenging to connect with Jac. For me, her pretending was frequently difficult to parse from what was real. Yet the cutthroat, often chilling behind-the-scenes dating-show dynamics and logistics seemed plausible and were horrifyingly fascinating. Devore offers a version of happy ever after, and of revenge, that was fun to watch take shape. For my full review, please see The Villain Edit . Laurie Devore is also the author of A Better Bad Idea, Winner Take All , and  How to Break a Boy . 03 Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder Ava Wilder's rom-com takes us behind the scenes of a hit teen TV show whose lead characters once liked each other in real life but now can't stand each other. This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are the stars of the popular paranormal television show Intangible , and for multiple seasons they've yearned for each other on screen, but their characters have never gotten together. Lilah has dreams of directing and of breaking into movies, but she's back for the sixth and final season of the show, in which her character and Shane's will finally get together. But in real life, Shane and Lilah detest each other. Their secret tryst at the end of season one ended badly, and they've been far from friendly ever since. I LOVED this. The premise sounded like a slam dunk for me, and the reality of the book was a funny, poignant, banter-filled, behind-the-scenes, realistically complicated, wonderful story. There's a ton of steaminess as Lilah and Shane at times can't deny their attraction and act upon it. I smiled a lot, I teared up, and I loved this romantic read! For my full review of this book, check out Will They or Won't They. 04 Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter I LOVED this young adult book. It's perfectly charming, funny, quirky, and sweet, yet it deals with grief and fear, hope and forgiveness, being true to oneself and growing up, and of course love. Lynn Painter's adorable young adult rom-com Better Than the Movies is about Liz Buxbaum, a fabulously eccentric high schooler coping with the grief of having lost her mom--while navigating the sparkly idea--and messy reality--of romance, with the inspiration of her mom's favorite romantic comedies. Liz is a hopeless romantic who has been waiting her whole high school career to be swept off her feet in quintessential romantic-comedy fashion--with the perfect soundtrack playing in the background. But it looks like she may have to rely on her annoying next-door neighbor Wes to try to gain the attention of dreamy Michael with the perfect hair, who has just moved back to town. Better Than the Movies  is funny funny funny and so lovely and sweet, I adored the whole story, the characters, the growth, the banter, the heartbreaking, heartwarming growth, the fun--this is basically a perfect young adult romantic comedy. For my full review of this book, please see Better Than the Movies . 05 The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren The True Love Experiment is a wonderful, romantic read about forbidden attraction and heartwarming vulnerability, with steamy scenes, will-they/won't-they tensions, funny dialogue, behind-the-scenes televised moments, and loooooooove. I loved T he Soulmate Equation  from the writing team known as Christina Lauren. That book introduced the fantastic best-friend character of Felicity "Fizzy" Chen. The True Love Experiment is Fizzy's story. Fizzy is a straight talker, a sex-positive woman, and a successful romance writer, but she's never been in love, only in lust. Now she's beginning to feel like she's been selling her readers a lie. Connor Prince ( his last name is Prince! ) is a single dad and documentary filmmaker slated by his boss to create a reality TV program about finding love. He's completely out of his comfort zone and the pressure is on--but when he meets Fizzy, he just knows he's found the perfect star for the show. The True Love Experiment  is an irresistible exploration of a spark of feelings, impossible difficulties, terrifying vulnerability, and hard-won joy. The issues keeping the two love interests apart felt powerful and heartbreaking and offered tantalizing tension to the story. The happy ending made me tear up and also made me want to cheer. I loved this. For my full review, check out The True Love Experiment . 06 One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London One to Watch  is engrossing escapism into a world of reality TV, romantic possibilities, and luxurious fashion, where things don't always go according to plan. In Kate Stayman-London's One to Watch , Bea Schumacher is a popular plus-size fashion blogger who has Instagram fame, wonderful friends--and an unhealthy obsession with a male friend who's attached to someone else. After she drunk-blogs scathing comments about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze (a reality TV show in which a single woman dates strangers hand-picked by the producers and aims to marry one of them), Bea is surprised when a show producer reaches out to her with an unexpected question: Would Bea consider starring in a season of Main Squeeze ? Bea finds the proposal laughable, then considers what it might mean for her career, for promoting body positivity, and maybe even for her lackluster romantic life. She decides that she's in--for a fantastic wardrobe, incredibly awkward moments, scripted romance, and a beautiful Malibu backdrop. What could go wrong? I was especially intrigued by how Bea navigated multiple suitors ( Bachelorette -style) and by her attempts to give each his due while simultaneously dating and honestly considering the others. She didn't lose sight of embracing each new experience while reflecting on what she wanted her future to look like after the show, above and beyond what others attempted to script or suggest. For my full review of this book, please see One to Watch .

Here are six I've loved set in the Tar Heel State. Have you read any of these? also the author of Pride of Eden, Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War, and Wingwalkers. The Last Child appears in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.

My first Greedy Reading List of books that focused on this theme was Six Satisfying Novels about Revenge Here are six more novels across genres that kept me hooked on their revenge-filled storylines. This book appears on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Novels Set in the American You might also like the books on the list Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American the cons aims to right some wrongs in two of the characters' shared (but mysterious and complicated) history

After the World Falls Apart I have a fascination with postapocalyptic (set in a time after a disaster) and dystopian (set in a time of darkness and desperation) books, and I think it's for the same reason I'm captivated by wartime stories: the books are about characters being pushed to their limits by an incredibly challenging situation, which allows them to show their true selves and discover their abilities. This category also includes the Hunger Games series, the Insurgent series, Station Eleven, The 5th Wave, The Chosen Ones, The Road, and The Handmaid's Tale. I think I have enough other favorite reads in these categories to make two more Greedy Reading Lists. Which other postapocalyptic or dystopian books do you love? 01 A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher And there may be no law left except what you make of it, but if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. If we’re not loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?... That’s a kind of death, even if you keep breathing. The thief came and shattered what was left of young Griz's life. Now Griz and his dog are making their way through the world. Griz is capable of fury and revenge, but also great love and loyalty, bravery, and creativity. He's a fantastic character I loved. This great book by C.A. Fletcher was tough to read at times because of the frequent reckless, life-and-death, sometimes ill-advised decision-making in a postapocalyptic world. Fletcher somewhat frequently hints at later events in the book in the middle of early scenes, which added to my anxiety. The main protagonist Griz is tough as nails and determined and wonderful, and things do ultimately improve in satisfying ways. I thought this was wonderful. 02 The Grace Year by Kim Liggett It feels like freedom, but we know it's a lie. This is how they break us. They take everything away, our very dignity, and anything we get in return feels like a gift. The Grace Year is the type of book I could’ve stayed up all night reading. I was totally hooked by this Lord of the Flies-esque situation of trapped girls devolving into paranoia, mayhem, fury, and destruction, with a wonderfully strong and imperfect heroine trying to upend the situation. I felt as though the later sections glossed over some major issues (consorting with the gruesomely brutal enemy; the prospect of folding back into the world that created the horrific system of oppression, control, torture, and death—even with a promise of potential change; fast emotional movement past the loss of a beloved character), but there’s hope for the slow but significant evolution into a new era. I thought the teen girls’ “magic” and their perception of it (and especially the perceptions of the men and women in the society) was particularly haunting. This was a fast and engaging read. 03 The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad. I didn't have a clue what this book was about going in, which worked wonderfully for me. This is listed as an adult title but felt to me like a dark young adult postapocalyptic novel, and it offered several twists. I found this engrossing, really interesting, and also character driven, which feels unusual given one of the aforementioned twists. Some of this is odd, other parts are disturbing, and there are some wonderful implausibly amusing standoffs. And M.R. Carey's story is also hopeful, but not in the way I might have expected. If you like this one, you're going to also want to read Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which is a standalone book in the same series, is fantastic, and is also on this list. 04 The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. Then Hig gets an indication that he is not alone and that there is life out there after all. He must decide if he'll risk a one-way journey to seek out the good, bad, and ugly that may be awaiting him. It's a true life-or-death dilemma for a man with two stark options: safety and loneliness or potential danger and finally making contact with others. And he just might find himself questioning his decisions either way. My initial review of this book was "I loved this book. Nerve-wracking and beautiful, unconventional, real. I love this author. Love." This is one of my all-time favorite books. I'm in for reading anything Peter Heller writes (e.g., The River and The Painter, both of which I loved, and The Guide, none of which are postapocalyptic). 05 The Power by Naomi Alderman It follows that there are two ways for the nature and use of human power to change. One is that an order might issue from the palace, a command unto the people saying “It is thus.” But the other, the more certain, the more inevitable, is that those thousand thousand points of light should each send a new message. When the people change, the palace cannot hold. In The Power, Naomi Alderman offers a dark and fascinating look at a world where the traditional male-female and old-young power structures are turned on their heads. The Power explores the destructive nature of the greed for control and influence--especially damaging when coupled with the certainty that your opinion is infallible and correct. I found this book fascinating. 06 The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey Months into their save-the-world mission, the soldiers and scientists on the Rosalind Franklin (a tanklike RV with flamethrowers that's nicknamed Rosie) are close to retrieving all of the samples their predecessors left throughout Scotland during an earlier expedition to try to find a cure for the plague. But it begins to become clear that idealistic Dr. Samrina Khan, the head epidemiologist; single-minded young Stephen the wunderkind; gruff, bighearted Colonel Carlisle; and the others on board may not have been meant to succeed in their grand mission after all. Political machinations meant that some of their party needed to be out of the way for corrupt power plays back home. Against enormous odds, the team may just be finding some of the lifesaving answers they were sent to discover. But bringing back their surprising findings might very well mean the wholesale rounding up and destruction of those affected by the plague. The Boy on the Bridge offers adventure, twists, turns, love, scientific exploration, betrayal, and an odd twist of hope. This is the second M.R. Carey book on this list, but I couldn't help myself. There's a character in common between the two books; this person appears at the end of The Boy on the Bridge but is a main character in The Girl With All the Gifts.

My first Greedy Reading List of books that focused on this theme was Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore, which I followed with Six Riveting Time-Travel Stories to Explore. You might also like the books on the list Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories. Here are six more novels across genres that kept me hooked on their time-travel stories.

What are some of your favorite historical fiction books? Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West. If you like historical fiction mysteries, you might try the books listed here: Six Historical Fiction And for great historical fiction of all types, look at: Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year and Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved This Year.

Here are six stories with gothic undercurrents that I really liked. Bridie is a strong female protagonist, and Things In Jars offers solid historical fiction details of

below, and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, both of which were listed on the Greedy Reading List Six The books on the Greedy Reading List Six Captivating Nordic Stories would also fit nicely here. I also listed Disappearing Earth in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year. The book was published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History's extensive exhibition Ivey also wrote The Snow Child, a book listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups

Six Great Bossy Nonfiction Reads I promise that this is the last roundup list of 2023 favorites, which You can find some of my many other lists of favorite nonfiction and memoir roundups here: Six of My Favorite Nonfiction Reads from the Past Year Six Compelling Nonfiction Reads Six Illuminating Memoirs to Dive Into Six Musicians' Memoirs that Sing Six More Fascinating Memoirs to Explore And you can click here Beautiful by Maggie Smith Poet Maggie Smith's memoir traces the end of her marriage, and she weaves in history

Six More Bossy Favorite Reads I've been posting lists of some of my favorite reads of last year by genre Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. 04 North Woods by Daniel Mason Mason's novel isn't simply a historical But North Woods isn't a charming historical fiction novel.

to the productive understanding of our nation's past and current racial situation, including a basic history Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family is the true story of a family with twelve children, six