In Strout's newest novel, we meet an irresistible new character in high school history teacher Artie Dam. Only the reader understands Artie's deep loneliness, only we live through his discovery of a shattering secret, and only we witness the life-altering power of his kindness and connections with other characters. This is lovely. In Elizabeth Strout's newest novel, we meet Artie Dam, high school history teacher, father to a grown son, longtime husband to his wife, and friend to all. The thoughtful, kind former teacher of the year loves sailing, connects with his students, and is a calming force in all of his circles. Artie is friendly and kind, but private. As readers, we are privy to Artie's closely held ups and downs, his annoyances and triumphs, his secret joys and his devastating disappointments. Only we fully realize that Artie is feeling desperately lonely, disillusioned, and depressed. His connections with his students are wonderful and, sometimes unbeknownst to him, powerful. Strout inserts omniscient mentions of events and developments that are to come, as well as pivotal moments that altered the students' life trajectories, so that only the reader realizes Artie's immense influence. When Artie discovers a deep secret about his life, he's unsure how to cope. This enormously impactful unearthing of information profoundly shakes him. But in typical Artie fashion, he doesn't burn everything down as a result; he is circumspect, even when restraint feels impossible, and thus he protects others. In fact, while he has years to confront and address the revelation, he does not, and in keeping his pain and his revised outlook on his life to himself, he creates a later shocking moment for a loved one who realizes after his passing that he has known the truth all along. Two wives in the story are frustrated with their husbands during their husbands' lives, but treat them like martyrs after their passing; in one case this feels overly generous, and in the other it feels fitting--and tragically late for the appreciation he likely always deserved. Elizabeth Strout's signature voice comes through--in this case, it actually felt as though multiple characters took on similar speech patterns to each other and to those in other Strout books. This cross-character speech pattern is not something I'd noticed in other Strout novels, and I'd be curious to know if it was present in other works or not. This is beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. I loved reading about Artie's life and being allowed into his inner world. More by Elizabeth Strout Elizabeth Strout is also the author of Tell Me Everything, Lucy by the Sea, Anything Is Possible, Olive, Again, My Name Is Lucy Barton, and Oh William! Elizabeth Strout is also the author of Olive Kitteridge.

Rabid middle-aged fans of the 90s boy band Boy Talk converge on a ship for meet and greets, photo ops, and collective love for their idols. Annie's own trip down memory lane is unexpectedly hedonistic, joyful, and full of chance encounters as she considers her life. Maybe that was nostalgia after all, the music a direct vein to her childhood, the least complicated part of her life. A shortcut to happiness. The American Fantasy ship is headed out on a four-day voyage, and its honored guests are the five-member nineties boy band Boy Talk--along with three thousand of the band's rabid fans. Annie agreed to come on the trip with her sister, because while Annie's rabid youthful obsession has faded, her sister's love for the band has only strengthened over the years. But when her sister is unable to come at the last minute, Annie reluctantly embarks on the trip anyway, hoping to send her sister photos and reports--while maybe having time to hole up and read her book. After all, the other fans on the ship are likely Too Much for Annie, and she's not dying to come face to face with the celebrity crushes of her teenage years. Hearing the music of her youth helps Annie tap into forgotten joy. She's surprised to be so charmed by the meet and greets, the fun and funny group activities, the organized photo ops, and the masses' collective admiration for the band, celebrated fully here--while considered has-beens in the rest of the world. By chance, she experiences unexpected, vulnerable moments with members of the band, and must realize that they are squabbling, middle-aged, complicated, imperfect men. But we see that the band members also work hard together to create unforgettable moments and a satisfyingly nostalgic, fulfilling weekend for their dedicated admirers. And through the character of the ship director, one of the band members, and Annie herself, we witness three adults, occasionally intersecting, who are considering their life paths and where they hope to go next. The premise is fantastic, and Straub immerses the reader in the sentimental, hedonistic, sometimes claustrophobic cruise environment. The boy-band mania is fun, and Straub doesn't look down on the fandom; she made me admire the women's commitment and dedication to the musicians who played the soundtrack of their youth. When Annie befriends one of the band members, it seems at first as though it will lead to something momentous, but in a more realistic turn, the moment that holds the most meaning in the book is not dramatic or outrageous; it's a connection between two human beings who each need a friend. The ending felt a little rushed after that point, but I appreciated that Straub didn't go of the rails with an unlikely turn of events. I listened to an audiobook library version of this title through Libby. More Books You May Like Emma Straub is also the owner of the Books are Magic bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, and she's the author of This Time Tomorrow. You might also want to check out these light reading novels perfect for summer reading.

The creator of the series Girls explores the details of her years of physical and emotional turmoil, which happened concurrently with her rise to fame. Her pain and the mysterious sources of her frequent agony affected every aspect of her life, and Dunham doesn't shy away from bringing the reader into her inner circle of discomfort, worry, insecurity, and suffering. In her new memoir, the creator of the series Girls explores the years in which she went from an unkown to a well-known writer, director, producer, and actor. She shares professional and personal tradeoffs, her frequent inability to balance the breakneck speed of her work and maintain creativity, and a painful, often problematic host of illnesses and physical isssues that plagued her and affected each aspect of her life. Through years of various mysterious, excruciating, debilitating ailments, conditions, and limitations, Dunham tries to overcome her own blood, vomit, addiction to pills, and interminable hospital stays in order to put her work first. But in doing so, she realizes she is losing sight of her identity, her emotional connection to her life, and her ability to sustain most of her relationships. I was struck by the author's transparency. Dunham doesn't shy away from tracking her insecurities, including those about her friends' intentions and potential financial gain from association with her. She digs into uncomfortable, ongoing traumas and discord, bringing the reader into her extended periods of pain, worry, and suffering, while most of the time she is unaware of the causes of her physical distress--and the mental agony it causes. Ultimately she considers her trajectory, the destructive forces of fame, and seems to come to a more solid understanding of herself, what is meaningful to her--and, eventually, of the underlying conditions that caused so many intermingling, complicated, agonizing times in her life. I listened to an audiobook library version of this title through Libby. Other Memoirs You Might Like You might also want to check out these Bossy reviews of other celebrity memoirs or these lists of favorite memoirs the years I read them: this one and also this one.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a favorite author's newest novel featuring the wonderfully wrought character of Artie Dam, Elizabeth Strout's The Things We Never Say; I'm reading Emma Straub's novel about a boy-band's nostalgic voyage with three thousand of their most dedicated fans, American Fantasy; and I'm reading Sarah Damoff's story of a burned home and attempts to pick up the pieces of various relationships and uncovered secrets, The Burning Side. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout In Elizabeth Strout's newest novel, we meet Artie Dam, high school history teacher, father to a grown son, husband to his longtime wife, and friend to all. The thoughtful, kind former teacher of the year loves sailing, connects with his students, and is a calming force in all of his circles. But Artie is feeling desperately lonely, disillusioned, and depressed. Then he discovers a deep secret about his life, and he's unsure how to cope. Elizabeth Strout is also the author of Tell Me Everything, Lucy by the Sea, Anything Is Possible, Olive, Again, My Name Is Lucy Barton, and Oh William! Elizabeth Strout is also the author of Olive Kitteridge. 02 American Fantasy by Emma Straub The American Fantasy ship is headed out on a four-day voyage, and its honored guests are the five-member nineties boy band Boy Talk--along with three thousand rabid fans. Annie agreed to come with her sister, whose love for the band has only strengthened over the years. But when her sister is unable to come, Annie embarks on the trip anyway, hoping to send her sister photos and reports of the nostalgic fan experiences. But hearing the music of her youth helps her tap into forgotten joy, and as an added surprise, she experiences unexpected, vulnerable moments with members of the band. I'm listening to an audiobook library version of this title through Libby. Emma Straub is also the owner of the Books are Magic bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, and she's the author of This Time Tomorrow. 03 The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff When April and Leo's house burns down in the middle of the night, they're able to escape safely with their two young children. But as they reel from the loss of their home, the reader learns that the evening of the fire, the couple discussed divorce. Now they're living with April's parents, determining what can be salvaged from their house, and keeping up appearances as April's family reels from her father's troubling health diagnosis and a host of secrets coming to light from each member of the family, including Leo and April themselves. Sarah Damoff is also the author of The Bright Years. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley.

Six Favorite Nonfiction Reads These were my six favorite nonfiction reads from last year: a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of a paramedic; a horrifying look at a cluster of serial killers; the fascinating story of a couple shipwrecked and fighting for survival; a charming glimpse into the world of dog shows; a timely and illuminating book for young people (and those with limited knowledge on the subject, like me) about the Constitution; and a shockingly compelling and poignant title about tuberculosis and the world's interconnectedness from the brilliant John Green. If you like to read nonfiction, you might also like to check out some of my Bossy nonfiction reviews, or some of my Greedy Reading Lists of favorites (also accessible through that link). My roundup of nonfiction favorites from the year prior is here. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite nonfiction reads? 01 Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic by Sally Gould Gould's memoir of her life as a paramedic is frank, captivating, often revolting, and disarmingly honest. She takes the reader on ride-alongs so vividly described, it's as though we're in the ambulance. She shares her pride in caring for patients, her deep frustrations, and she is open about her mental health struggles. Sally Gould's memoir is named after a darkly humorous term of affection for paramedics in Australia (frog, because everything a paramedic touches croaks). Gould grew up in Australia the daughter of a paramedic, and she follows in her father's footsteps, training to become a "frog" herself. In her memoir, Gould explores her early days of uncertainty, moments of panic, scenes of complete disgust, tragic endings, and inspiring moments in which her team's arrival saves a life. Gould takes the reader through the ups and downs of the job and is frank about her personal mental health challenges and how she coped with them as related to the difficulties of her career and lifestyle. This is a satisfyingly deep dive into Gould's behind-the-scenes experiences, including an often breakneck pace, trying emotions, extensive practical knowledge, interpersonal skills, ability to read the room, separation from emotion, and pride in a job capably done. This is Sally Gould's first book. I received a prepublication audiobook version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Simon & Schuster Australia. You might also be interested in Bossy reviews of books involving medical or health elements, or in Bossy memoirs I've loved. For my full review of this book please see Frog. 02 Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson Cynthia and Sanford Levinson, a noted children's author and a constitutional scholar, have created a fascinating nonfiction book for young people--useful to readers of any age--that considers how the constitution was shaped, factors that continue to push its evolution, processes that guide our governance and laws, stumbling blocks toward progress, and how we can improve our guiding principles as our nation's needs continue to grow. Designed for young people, Fault Lines is illuminating for anyone looking to get up to speed on the Framers' considerations, why the Constitution was shaped the way it was, its evolution, the possibilities and barriers in place regarding changing it, our current, growing needs, and how all of this affects our day-to-day leadership, rights, and lives. Is a book for young people about the Constitution possibly the extent of the scope of my own current abilities to understand the ins and outs of all of this? Possibly, yes. Do the Levinsons' clear content along with the engaging book design (with graphics, examples from the past and present day, and plain language around challenges and opportunities) make for informative, entertaining, important reading? Yes. And does grasping the information contained in Fault Lines feel more relevant and essential than ever, as the current administration challenges and disregards the power of the Constitution and its impact on our lives in large-scale, destructive, and often terrifying ways? Definitely. Note that the newest edition of this title reflects relevant factors and events through early 2025. For my full review, please see Fault Lines in the Constitution. 03 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green Green's book is about tuberculosis, but it's also a view of our deep global interconnectedness, gross healthcare inequalities, the TB devastation that is still prevalent, and the possibility of both simple and comprehensive approaches that could eradicate the disease. In John Green's nonfiction book Everything Is Tuberculosis, he tells his story of befriending a young man, Henry, who was suffering from tuberculosis and living in a hospital in Sierra Leone. Green uses his tender eye and piercing analysis to explore the health care inequalities that allow the world's poorest citizens to disproportionately contract the incurable disease tuberculosis and to advocate for greater access to quality care and a search for a cure. John Green is also the author of the nonfiction collection of essays The Anthropocene Reviewed (which was one of my six favorite nonfiction reads the year I read it) as well as other novels. For my full review, please see Everything Is Tuberculosis. This title was one of My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads across all genres. 04 A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst Sophie Elmhirst's A Marriage at Sea is the true story of a couple whose sailing trip to New Zealand becomes a fight for survival. This is nonfiction that seems too incredible to be true, and I was hooked on the details of their 118-day-long struggles on the ocean. Sophie Elmhirst revisits a decades-old true story that she crafts like fiction, skillfully using dry firsthand accounts and subsequent interviews to build a fascinating, fluid, compelling nonfiction book about a couple whose ambitious sailing trip from England to New Zealand was abruptly halted when a whale breached beneath their sailboat, capsizing it. Elmhirst manages to shape a suspenseful nonfiction work despite the Maralyn and Maurice's significant periods of isolation, struggle, and repetitive tasks. She delves into their inner lives, exploring the workings of their relationship and fleshing out an intriguing dynamic against the unforgiving backdrop of the endless-seeming expanse of ocean and 118 days of clawing for survival. The story's pacing doesn't flag, although the tale sets a slower tempo as Maurice and Maralyn settle into a daily pattern of fishing, gathering water, and struggling to keep their minds occupied--a measure that is largely driven by Maralyn. Maurice is frank about his deteriorating emotional state and his reliance upon Maralyn's unfailing determination. The couple's evolving resourcefulness is incredible to witness, and it's fascinating to read about the renewed vigor with which particularly Maralyn faces each new, potentially deadly, challenge. For my full review, please check out A Marriage at Sea. 05 Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser I shuddered as I read (during daylight hours only) Caroline Fraser's painstaking accounts of the shockingly numerous serial killers who emerged from the Pacific Northwest and the proposal that extensive heavy metal industrial pollution in the region contributed to their flawed development, horrifying impulses, and killing sprees. File my reading of this nonfiction book under Why Didn't I Listen to My Inner Voice...and Not Read This? I was intrigued by the environmental factors Fraser tied to developmental disruptions and the emergence of a large number of eventual serial killers in heavily polluted portions of the Pacific Northwest. I was overly ambitious and thought I could handle any nonfiction book topic. I lied to myself about how much horrifying material I could stomach--and how much more disturbing I would find it because the content is all exhaustively researched and true. I forgot that getting frightened when I read at night disrupts my sleep. I didn't think about how I don't actually like to take in extensive information about murder and psychopaths. Anyhoo! In Murderland, Caroline Fraser puts forth a fascinating link (she's not the first to do so, but her painstakingly detailed account offers a cohesive, extensive argument) between the numerous mass-murderers who took shape in the 1970s and 1980s and grew up to terrorize the Pacific Northwest--and, in some cases, other areas of the country--and an era in which devastating amounts of toxic pollutants were pumped into the air, water, and soil there. I could have been satisfied with a long Atlantic-style article on these topics, but Fraser's writing is lovely and her turns of phrase are insightful and often poetic, which helped me continue reading the difficult material and atrocities here. For my full review, please check out Murderland. 06 Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show by Tommy Tomlinson Dogland explores what makes a show dog "best" and what happens behind the scenes of dog shows in this intriguing, good-natured, and heartwarming look at one promising champion and his caring handler as they strive to win Westminster Dog Show. Tommy Tomlinson's playful, intriguing nonfiction Dogland takes an engaging look at dogs--particularly show dogs, but also beloved pets as well as humans' connections to these onetime wild beasts. Reporter and SouthBound podcast host Tomlinson found himself watching the Westminster Dog Show and wondering, Are show dogs happy? What's life like for a dog whose life is all about grooming, standing still, and moving in an orderly fashion around a ring? And: How did these wild beasts end up here, anyway? In a fascinating, heartwarming, lovely account, Tomlinson spends three years traveling dog shows across the country, using backstage access to witness the hard work, discipline, obsession, and affection of "the Fancy." At times he good-naturedly highlights the absurdity of this world, at least for those looking in from the outside, and draws occasional correlations to the satiric comedy Best in Show--a movie that inspires mixed reactions from those in the competition scene. Dogland is often fun, intriguing in its peeks behind the scenes, and heartwarming in the deep dog-human connections that Tomlinson highlights. For my full review, please check out this link.

Jenny Lawson's self-help book is comforting, practical, and frank; while the content may not be revolutionary, her personal approach, humor, and candor are delightful and reassuring. Readers looking for coping tools will also know they are not alone in facing challenges. This is my first Jenny Lawson read. In this gently reassuring self-help book, she explores, as the book cover details, Tips and Tricks That Kept [Her] Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of [Her]self. Her depression is treatment resistant, so she has explored various avenues to getting by and getting through each day, pursuing creativity and continuing to write. Lawson is vulnerable in sharing her mental health struggles; she is practical with her approaches to coping with various challenges; and she's often funny, revealing absurd, awkward, hilarious moments in her life. The measures Lawson highlights don't feel revelatory, yet her exploration of, personal experience with, and evaluation of their power and success feel like a friend sharing heartfelt, lived advice. I would imagine that the audience of this book might skew relatively young, and readers might not be familiar with some of the keys to Lawson's coping. Even if the reader is aware of the techniques and approaches laid out here, Lawson's comforting, frank presentation makes clear that anyone coping with depression, doubt, or down days is not alone; the world is made up of people working through issues and facing challenges. Lawson emphasizes that we all deserve grace and empathy, and that perfectionism should not be the goal, but finding joy and getting by are. I listened to an audiobook version of this short title (it's 288 pages), read by the author, through Libby and my library. More from Jenny Lawson Lawson is also the author of Furiously Happy, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Broken, and You Are Here.

Operation Bounce House is a fast-paced, bizarro, humor-filled science fiction novel featuring robots, AI, videogames, creativity, plenty of trash-talking, and a scrappy fight for a planet. Colonist Oliver is a rancher working alongside his sister, playing in a mediocre band called The Rhythm Mafia with his best friend, and courting his serious girlfriend. Communication and travel between Earth and his planet, New Sonora, should soon be established again, and Oliver and friends welcome the advancement. But surprise invaders bring mayhem, danger, and potential destruction for the community and possibly the whole planet. Their intelligent agriculture robots turn out to be capable of much more than Oliver and his friends realized; the "honeybees" prove essential to understanding the battles and the planet's corporate enemies. Ultimately the "game" at hand is revealed; Operation Bounce House is a VR wargame in which humans on Earth purchase war machines that appear on New Sonora through the newly opened portal and are remotely controlled. But the players are actually fighting humans on Oliver's planet, and New Sonoran citizens are being wiped out by armored, powerful robots. The agricultural robots, led by Roger, protect the humans as best they can, while Oliver and friends must be creative, stick together, outsmart the greedy masterminds of New Sonora's destruction, and never lose sight of their own humanity as they battle those who treat them as expendable targets who exist (and die) for VR game entertainment. The power of their trash-talking and of their sleuthed details of Earth players' weaknesses was particularly funny and satisfying. In the initial scenes I felt unmoored by the robotic honeybees and the voice of Oliver's family robot Roger, but I'm glad I read on. I was ultimately surprised by the depth of the book, in which Roger is far more than he seemed pre-crisis and in which Oliver and his ragtag gang continually adapt, never give up, and come into their own. I laughed out loud at times, I mourned the good guys' losses, and I was entertained throughout. I listened to an audiobook version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio. More Books to Check Out Matt Dinniman is also the author of the eight-book Dungeon Crawler Carl series, the Dominion of Blades series, and The Shivered Sky series. You might also enjoy these Bossy reviews of other science fiction titles.

A young man is called back from the overwhelming, limitless city to his rural Scottish hometown, which is ruled by piety and inflexibility. His claustrophobic community and rigid father gradually give way to glimmers of hope for new beginnings and self-actualization. Cal is fresh out of art school, deeply in debt, and desperately poor, staying on acquaintances' couches, cleaning buildings (and being cheated out of most of his modest pay), and dipping in and out of soulless trysts with other men. Then his gruff father John calls him home to their rural Scottish croft on Isle of Harris to help take care of Cal's grandmother, who is sick and lives with John--her ex-son-in-law. In a way, being needed and escaping his financial struggles in the city is a relief to Cal (who is named John-Calum--John of John--after his father). Upon his return home, his community feels alternately claustrophobically small and reassuringly familiar. Cal fears that once he's back he will never escape again to truly explore his artistic dreams and desire for a fulfilling relationship with another man--neither of which is a possibility at home. Cal's father John is emotionally closed-off and is at times physically abusive. John's expectations of his son are sky-high, and his churchgoing, stoicism, dogged work weaving tweed and caring for the sheep, and repeated denial of his own potential joy all serve to cement his rigid view of what his child should do and who he should be. We quickly realize that Cal--gifted at identifying nuances of color, creatively drawn to designing clothing, and seemingly at the very beginning of his discovery of his art and his true self--is hiding essential parts of himself from his father and those in his hometown. The only person who truly sees him is his spunky grandmother Ella--who, it turns out, is not ill after all, but wanted him home and was willing to deceive in order to achieve this end. Various power plays take place within Cal's family and among those in the community, as well as emotional blackmail, suicidal ideation, shame, heartbreak, and dread. Stepping outside the bounds of propriety is not remotely acceptable in this small world, and judgment for doing so is harsh. The women in the story--Cal's mother Grace, his grandmother Ella, and his best friend Isla--hold the truth of most matters at hand, stoically keeping secrets that could ruin multiple lives and going about the business of being heartbroken, practical, ruthlessly tough figures in their world. Within the complex web of his father's harsh manner, his mother's abandonment, his childhood best friend's pain, his former lover's disastrous addiction, and his town's blind focus on piety and its unfailing inflexibility, we also witness strange, poignant versions of acceptance, of loyalty, of mercifully averting eyes to certain behavior, of sacrifice for one another, and of instances of incredible selflessness. The ending was a brief but thrilling emotional roller coaster in which it became clear that Cal truly saw his father and the complicated, haunted, yearning life of denial he has led; in which a double-cross is flipped into a double double-cross, and in which, like a shuffled deck, various injustices are resolved and fall into place one after another. This was heartbreaking, often dark, frighteningly confining, and, ultimately, redemptive, containing beautiful gems of delight and hope. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Grove Press and NetGalley. More Books You Might Enjoy Douglas Stuart is also the author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo. You might also like these Bossy reviews of other books set in Scotland.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the wonderful Ann Patchett's newest novel Whistler, about a reconnected stepfather and stepdaughter who are dear to each other; I'm listening to Lena Dunham's newest memoir about devastating, mysterious illnesses and a punishing work schedule, Famesick; and I'm reading Douglas Stuart's heartbreaking, beautiful novel about a young man returning to his claustrophobic, wondrous hometown in rural Scotland, John of John. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Whistler by Ann Patchett In Ann Patchett's newest novel, Daphne and her husband Jonathan are visiting the Met Museum when they notice an older gentleman following them. The man turns out Daphne's long-lost stepfather, the second of her mother's three husbands, and a beloved figure from Daphne's childhood. Their deep connection is immediately evident once again, and they revisit old memories, compare notes, and treasure their time together now as a gift. Ann Patchett is also the author of Tom Lake, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, State of Wonder, Run, Bel Canto, The Dutch House, The Magician's Assistant, These Precious Days, and other books. I received an audiobook version of this novel courtesy of Libro.fm and Harper. 02 Famesick by Lena Dunham In her new memoir, the creator of the series Girls explores her professional and personal tradeoffs, and her frequent inability to balance work and a painful, often problematic host of illnesses and physical isssues. Through various mysterious, excruciating, debilitating ailments, conditions, and limitations, Dunham tries to overcome her own blood, vomit, addiction to pills, and interminable hospital stays in order to put her work first. But in doing so, she realizes she is losing sight of her identity, her emotional connection to her life, and her ability to sustain most of her relationships. I'm listening to an audiobook library version of this title through Libby. 03 John of John by Douglas Stuart Cal is fresh out of art school, deeply in debt, and desperately poor, staying on acquaintances' couches, cleaning buildings and being cheated out of most of his modest pay, and dipping in and out of soulless trysts with other men. Then his gruff father calls him home to their rural Scottish island to help take care of Cal's mother's mother, who is sick and lives with Cal's father--her ex-son-in-law. The community feels to Cal alternately claustrophobically small and reassuringly familiar, while Cal's father is emotionally closed-off, sometimes physically abusive, and, it eventually becomes clear, harboring lifelong secrets. Douglas Stuart is also the author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Grove Press and NetGalley.

Six Favorite Memoir Reads These were my six favorite memoir reads from last year. If you like to read memoirs, you might also like to check out some of my Bossy memoir reviews, or some of my Greedy Reading Lists of favorites: 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 of My Favorite Memoir Reads Last Year If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite memoir reads? 01 Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher Cher's lack of agency in her relationship with Sonny Bono came through in passive, reactive behavior, but as she grew older, she found her voice, rode a roller coaster of personal and professional adventures, overcame difficulties, and set her sights on an even bigger, more fulfilling life than ever. I'm alllll in for book two. Early on, the memoir felt like more of a factual account of what occurred in her life than it felt like illuminating self-examination. I was curious to find out if Cher would provide more reflection around events as she grew older and more emotionally mature within her own story. Her relationship with Sonny Bono (eleven years older) began when she was a teenager, and his control over her professional and personal life grew stronger and stronger without Cher's recognizing her limitations, her lack of knowledge about finances and business, and her squashed self-esteem about her performance ability. As she recounts the ups and downs of her early relationships and rides the roller coaster of success and failure, Cher begins to want to express her own voice and to become assertive, and this is when she starts to show more vulnerability and growth--and when I felt drawn into her story. This is part one of two, and toward the end of this installment she has made her way through the nurturing link with David Geffen, her complicated relationship with Gregg Allman, as well as her connection to her children, her career, and her creativity. She has her eye on diving into becoming a serious actress. And I am hooked. Please click here for my full review of Cher: The Memoir. 02 Sociopath by Patric Gagne Gagne never experienced emotions the way other kids did, and when she grew older, while acting out, lying, stealing, and fighting violent impulses, she self-diagnosed herself as a sociopath. This is a fascinating peek at her motivations, impulses, discoveries, and self-discovered coping mechanisms--which she now uses as a therapist for others with sociopathy. I don’t care what other people think. I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period. Rules do not factor into my decision-making. I’m capable of almost anything. Patric Gagne always knew she didn't experience emotions the way other people did. She wasn't concerned with consequences, danger, or other people's feelings. When she was a girl, she adhered to her mother's rule of always telling her the truth--but the truth seemingly made her mother (and everyone else) upset. So she began to keep secrets--because she was stealing loved ones' treasured possessions, breaking into homes, lying, and frequently fighting the urge to inflict violent harm on others. I was fascinated by the author's in-depth explorations of her motivations, triggers, abilities, needs, and fight for control. Her self-examination leads her to shape her life's work toward helping those who share her experiences and struggles. The memoir is structured with the engaging pacing of a novel--danger, discovery, redemption, and hope. I was intrigued by her one-woman trial and error method of determining her triggers, impulses, and coping mechanisms. The epilogue offers additional context for her current-day life and adds to my curiosity about her husband, who has lived beside her and within this whirlwind for many years as she has acted out, lied, and entered into danger, and who is now parenting along with Gagne. For my full review, please see Sociopath. 03 Awake by Jen Hatmaker Jen Hatmaker's memoir explores her shock, grief, then growth after the end of her marriage, which she tells in her signature bold, frank, lionhearted manner while always displaying her deep love for her family and friends. Jen Hatmaker, who was married before she could legally have a drink and who built her identity as a woman dedicated to her family, her religion, and her community, found her world turned upside down when she discovered in 2020 that her husband of over 25 years, the father of their five children, was having an affair. Hatmaker's frank, sassy, conversational tone and her focus on authenticity, joy, and enthusiastic growth are evident here. She doesn't shy away from exploring heartbreak, betrayal, and shock, nor does she mine those experiences for drama or sit in them for a gratuitously long time. She protects her children's privacy. While sharing what she learns was her husband's extended infidelity and her world-stopping surprise at discovering it, she doesn't excoriate him, and she acknowledges the weaknesses in their marriage that existed prior to their split. I love reading the stories of lives lived, so I frequently read memoirs. If you're interested in the stories of famous or little-known people's lives, you might want to check out these Bossy reviews of memoirs. For my full review, please check out Awake. 04 Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks Memorial Days is Geraldine Brooks's memoir of sudden loss, delayed grief, and a delving into sorrow so she can move forward with her life. Brooks's husband Tony Horwitz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and acclaimed author, father to her two sons, and her best friend, was on a book tour when he collapsed on a D.C. street in 2019 and died at age 60. Brooks and Horwitz himself had believed him to be in good health, and Brooks was beyond shocked at the news. But an endless logistical to-do list following his death kept her busy and delayed her grieving. Three years after his death, she traveled to a remote Australian island--where she had once considered settling down--to sit with Tony's journals, dive into her memories, rage against what she's lost, and give in to sorrow. This is poignant and heartbreakingly lovely; Brooks brings the reader through the joy of not suspecting tragedy lies around the corner, to shock and endless logistics, to anger, sadness, confusion, and desperation, then, in her journey and in her deliberate way of taking time, to a more peaceful acceptance accompanying her deep loss. I listened to Brooks's lovely Australian accent by reading this as an audiobook. For my full review, please check out Memorial Days. Geraldine Brooks is also the author of the novels People of the Book, Horse, Year of Wonders, and others. If you're interested in books about mortality and loss, check out the titles here. 05 What in the World?! by Leanne Morgan Comedian Leanne Morgan's memoir traces her path from an attention-seeking, beloved young girl to a young adult facing missteps and disappointment, through her unlikely journey to stand-up, to the embracing of her Southern mama persona and her wild success. Leanne Morgan hit it big as a middle-aged comic from rural Tennessee talking about her kids' T-ball, her adoration of her grandchildren, and her big, comfortable panties. Her voice is a striking, uniquely nasal Southern drawl, and her Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" features Morgan's signature plaintive looks at the audience, accompanying stories that sometimes end in such mock-despair that she says she just "wanted to take to the bed." (She also steals the show in a supporting role in the recent movie starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, You're Cordially Invited.) What in the World?! offers current-day takes on her life that will feel familiar to fans--I'd already seen online video clips of stand-up versions of a few of the anecdotes shared here. But her memoir also traces her youth (when she imagined that she would find fame in some way), her first, brief marriage, her emotional growth, her grit, and, ultimately, her second, steady relationship and marriage to her current husband, the birth and joy of her kids, her rocky start in entertainment--and the world-rocking entrance of her grandbabies. I was particularly intrigued by the fits and starts of Morgan's younger years, her struggles to find her way, and her unlikely path to fame. I love to hear people's stories, and I found all of this endearing. I listened to What in the World?! as an audiobook. 06 This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg Comedian Zarna Garg lived several lives before falling into comedy in midlife and realizing it was where she'd belonged all along. Her memoir is candid, poignant, funny, and always entertaining. I loved this peek into her fascinating life. Zarna Garg fled her comfortable lifestyle and her widower father to avoid an unwanted arranged marriage at age 14. She begged places to stay from friends and acquaintances in Mumbai, homeless. Desperate for food and shelter and tired of overstaying her welcome and never having security, she was returning home and on the verge of agreeing to be married off, until her long-hoped-for visa to the US came through. Instead of becoming a child bride, she ran from home and began a dramatically different new life in Akron, Ohio. In midlife, she reimagined her future again and became a hard-working comedian who opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and then warranted her own headliner spots. Garg offers an honest, funny account of overcoming sobering challenges and determining her own destiny after years of struggles and constant worries about being a burden on those who might help her. Her intense push to achieve is accompanied by doubt, periods of low self-esteem, and feelings of unworthiness that stem from her childhood. At the very beginning the pacing felt a little uneven to me, but then Garg hit her stride. I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman. Please click here for my full review of This American Woman.

This charming British-set novel takes a fortysomething widow facing empty nesting, hormonal changes, and professional uncertainty and opens up friendship, competition, and a new path forward through a recreational tennis league, new and old friends, a supportive brother, and an old crush. Jules is a fortysomething widow, single mom, and a busy buyer for a chain of lifestyle stores. She's lived next to the local Liverpool tennis club for years but hasn't played since she was a young woman--when her early love for the game was crushed before she ever became comfortable playing. A run-in with her old school crush Sam, her daughter's move from home, and stress and uncertainty at work, along with the beginner-team's desperate need for players, lead Jules to reluctantly decide to give tennis another go. The new source of friendship, challenge, release, confidence, and time with Sam might just offer Jules a new beginning she didn't know she could even hope for. This is charming and satisfying; Jules is a sympathetic character searching for answers as to how to live the next chapter of her life. Her life is appealingly complicated, and she doesn't magically have all the answers. The character of her brother is wonderful; her tennis friends and the descriptions of their matches are lovely; and her second chance at love is sometimes fumbling but always adorable and one to root for. Sam isn't perfect, but he is perfect for Jules. Jules's various challenges aren't too easily resolved, but I had faith that all major solvable issues would be addressed in the end. Forty Love is a rom-com with depth, my favorite type. I received a prepublication audio version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Zibby Publishing. More Books You Might Enjoy You might also like these other Bossy reviews of books about tennis. The author has written about 15 other novels, some under the name Catherine Isaac.

I wanted more character development and fantasy elements from this second book in the series, but I liked the "twist" of the interconnectedness of the two main points of view. The first installment in the Shield of Sparrows series set up an overlooked princess who became a heroine; deadly monsters being treated unfairly; an enemies-to-lovers romance; and shifting loyalties. This sequel is told through split points of view. We hear from Odessa Cross, the Princess of Quentis, who is on a quest to find her missing warrior husband Ransom, while trying to understand an enigmatic journal detailing events that appear in Odessa's visions. Oh, and she's got six-year-old Evie and a fierce baby monster, Faze, tagging along with her with her through every imaginable danger. Ransom is for the most part not present in the book, which was disappointing. We do hear briefly from Ransom's point of view. We hear far more frequently from Caspia, a new-to-us character and a Starling who has not yet transformed into her animal state. She is learning the mixed, disturbing history and heritage of her bloodline while falling in love with Andreas, a man who saved her in the wilderness and who has a secret lineage of his own. Caspia and Andreas fall in love almost instantaneously, which felt unnecessary. There's romance but no spice...until we get toward of the end of the book, where its presence felt jarring. I wasn't particularly captivated by the plot of this one; I would have enjoyed instead digging further into the back stories and context of book one so I felt a deeper connection to our key characters. Even the monster element felt like a missed opportunity; Devney seems to focus on the ethics around monster treatment more then she embraces the development of these creatures--an aspect that as a fantasy fan I would celebrate more of. As in book one, I grew weary of Dess's repeated rhetorical questions and revisiting of the same issues over and over, neither of which felt like it moved the plot forward. The pacing of the book felt slow at times. You may predict the interconnectedness between Odessa and Caspia, but their link is stated outright late in the book, and this could potentially feel like a twist. The book seems to have been built toward that revelation rather than character development or world-building, both of which would have intrigued me here and made the book stronger. Devney Perry is the author of forty romance novels; I wonder if the author's focus on romance writing is the reason the fantasy elements of the series at times feel less developed than I would like. More Romantasy Titles Click here to read my review of book one in the series, Shield of Sparrows. I can be picky about "romantasy;" I generally prefer straight fantasy novels, but for other books I've read along these lines, please check out this link.

Fortune delivers another entertaining summer read in this story of best friends, being jilted at the altar, a revamped honeymoon, miscommunication, second chances, and satisfying resolutions to all emotional, romantic, and professional challenges. Frankie and George, her best friend since childhood, were once so close they tattooed each other's names on their bodies. But they've been on the outs for a year or so. After Frankie’s wedding is called off, the two of them go on Frankie’s paid-for honeymoon, hoping to repair their friendship. George is determined to help his friend through this life crisis, and he's got a research-based plan for each day to usher Frankie through to a healing place. But Frankie is starting to fall for George, even as she fears making a move that would ruin their friendship forever. Carley Fortune is great at crafting a romance story with characters I like to root for and steamy, poignant, friendship-based relationships. I enjoyed the friendship between George and Frankie. The Thing Keeping Them Apart is miscommunication, which is often a frustrating premise for me. But here, the out-of-sync understanding between them is not rooted in an absurd, easily resolved moment, but in a lifetime of best-friendship, connection, long-held assumptions, and fear of messing it all up. The complexity of their situation and their intertwined families and history make believable their difficulty in considering more than friendship. George's attentiveness and deep dive into therapeutic methods of helping Frankie was well intentioned...but it also felt a little overbearing to me. Frankie needed someone to take her under their wing in this crisis, and the premise gave the vacation structure, but it felt to me like a man bossing a woman, even in the kindest fashion. This wasn't my favorite element. Fortune's signature steaminess is present here, and by the end of the book, in a satisfying whirlwind, George and Frankie's romantic confusion, familial involvement, emotional health, conflicting professional desires and needs, and future plans are elegantly resolved. I received an audiobook version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. More from Carley Fortune Fortune is also the author of Meet Me at the Lake, Every Summer After, One Golden Summer, and This Summer Will Be Different.

So many promising books are being published this month, I had to highlight my most Bossily anticipated titles. I'd love to hear if you plan to read any of these, or if other upcoming books have grabbed your attention! If you're curious about the basics, please look below for these June books' genre, tiny synopsis, and publication date!

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading favorite author Maggie O'Farrell's newest novel (out tomorrow), historical fiction about an Irish father and son after the Great Hunger, Land; I'm listening to Matt Dinniman's wild science fiction ride about robots, AI, deadly videogames, and a fight for survival, Operation Bounce House; and I'm listening to Jane Costello's sweet novel about a fortysomething widow's second chance at happiness, Forty Love. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Land by Maggie O'Farrell Maggie O'Farrell is a favorite author of mine, and in her newest novel, she offers a historical fiction work centered around Ireland just after the Great Hunger. Tomás and his son Liam are working for the Ordnance Survey to fully map Ireland. It's 1865 and the country is still reeling from devastating famine. British soldiers expect a completed Ordnance Survey, but Tomás has had an unexpected encounter that causes him to shut down. Liam, only ten years old and a reluctant participant in the work, must figure out how to finish the job and get his father home. Maggie O'Farrell is also the author of The Marriage Portrait, Hamnet, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Instructions for a Heatwave, This Must Be the Place, and others. 02 Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman The author of Dungeon Crawler Carl presents a fast-paced, bizarro, humor-filled science fiction novel featuring robots, AI, videogames, and a fight for the planet. Colonist Oliver is a rancher working alongside his sister, playing in a mediocre band with his best friend called The Rhythm Mafia, and courting his serious girlfriend. Communication and travel between Earth and the planet New Sonora may be established again, and Oliver and friends welcome the advancement. But surprise invaders bring mayhem, danger, and potential destruction for the community and possibly the whole planet. Intelligent agriculture robots turn out to be capable of much more than Oliver and friends realized; they prove essential to understanding the battles and corporate enemies; revealing the "game" controlled by those on Earth, Operation Bounce House; and protecting the humans as best they can. I'm listening to an audiobook version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio. 03 Forty Love by Jane Castello Jules is a fortysomething widow, single mom, and a busy buyer for a chain of lifestyle stores. She's lived next to the local Liverpool tennis club for years but hasn't played since she was a young woman whose love for the game was crushed before she ever got comfortable playing. A run-in with her old school crush Sam, her daughter's move from home, and stress and uncertainty at work, along with the beginner-team's desperate need for players, lead Jules to reluctantly decide to give tennis another go. The new source of friendship, challenge, release, confidence, and time with Sam might just offer Jules a new beginning she didn't know she could even hope for. You might also like these other Bossy reviews of books about tennis. I received a prepublication audio version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Zibby Publishing.

Bossy Favorites of the Month I had a great reading month! Here are my six favorite reads of May. There's some overlap with my overall favorite reads of the spring; you can find that post of ten books here. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 Wolvers by Taylor Brown Taylor Brown offers up a suspenseful, adventure-filled story in Wolvers. Trace is an angry young man who sets out on an ill-advised, illegal revenge journey, but he's not the only wolf tracker in the New Mexico forest. He's starting to rethink his mission and be headed toward a fresh start--if he can survive that long. Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods better than almost anyone around, is hired by a shadowy, powerful militia group to take out One-Eleven, the female leader of the most famous wolf pack in New Mexico, the Dark Canyons. But One-Eleven is uncannily gifted in eluding human pursuit, and Trace is far from the only outdoorsman in these woods. And the longer Trace tracks One-Eleven, the more he begins to second-guess everything about his life. This is an outdoor adventure story that explores tensions between the preservation of nature and development, and between power and vulnerability. But it’s also layered with elements of redemption, love, unlikely loyalties, and character growth. I'm a huge Taylor Brown fan. Check out my Bossy reviews of his novels Rednecks, Wingwalkers, The Gods of Howl Mountain, and Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War. Click here for my full review of Wolvers. 02 The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett The Help author's 656-page Depression-set historical fiction tackles issues of poverty, body autonomy, women's rights, race, and more within two timelines featuring spirited, determined, underestimated females who prove how strong they are. In Kathryn Stockett's newest novel--her first since her debut 17 years ago--we dive into dual, linked storylines. It's 1933, the peak of the Great Depression, and in Mississippi, everyone is struggling. We meet two main protagonists: independent young adult Birdie, who travels from her rural hometown to Oxford to beg her socialite, newly married sister for financial assistance for the family; and young Meg, who suffers cruelty in an orphanage after the disappearance and abandonment of her beloved mother. Both are spirited, smart, sassy, and full of personality. The story is long enough to meander at times; we drift in and out of Birdie's and Meg's lives without hurry, spending some days in which little occurs but scene-setting and a building of the story's tone, all of which I enjoyed. But by the time key matters are resolved, after so much page time, the resolutions feel somewhat abrupt. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau. For my full review of this book please see The Calamity Club. 03 London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe Patrick Radden Keefe took a subject I wasn't initially captivated by and crafted another work of his signature masterful narrative nonfiction. He hooked me with details, then astounded me with the order he was able to impose upon the chaos of secrets, lies, and the still-unknown elements of the story. London Falling is about the disappearance of a young man, Zac. Zac’s dogged parents won’t give up on finding out the truth of what happened to their son, and when the reactions from London police feel disappointing and lackluster, Zac’s parents approach the media directly. Then Patrick Radden Keefe crafts this nonfiction work that reads like a novel. The book delves into Zac's astounding, long-held personal secrets; into the implications of the increased presence and power of Russian oligarchs in London; into the pressures and alternate universe of high society and extreme wealth; and into the many sinister tendrils crisscrossing the city’s dark underbelly. As he always seems to do, Patrick Radden Keefe takes a complex, tangled situation and shapes it into intriguing narrative nonfiction that you can latch onto. There are so many branches of this story, and so many complicated implications of the main players’ actions, lies, and secrets, I can’t imagine anyone but Patrick Radden Keefe successfully imposing this much order on so much chaos and so many unknowns. There are mysteries at the center of the story, but for me this was a captivating, atmospheric dive into the pressures, pain, and hope within extreme isolation, the power of external forces, and the push to protect each other at all costs. I was intrigued throughout. Patrick Radden Keefe is also the author of the powerful Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, one of my favorite nonfiction books. For my full review, please check out this link. 04 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke The premise, structure, and dark humor of this buzzy spring novel were so intriguing that although I was left a little unsatisfied by the ending and resolution, I was so hooked on the story to that point, it didn't ultimately matter. Natalie is a fundamentalist Christian who subscribes to male-dominated power structures and “traditional” values. When she is quite young and naïve, she marries the son of a powerful senator. They marry, benefit from his family's wealth and influence in every way, and begin to have children within their privileged bubble of existence. Eventually Natalie delves so far into trying to achieve (an appearance of) perfection in homemaking and parenting, she becomes a "tradwife" influencer with 8 million followers. We can see that Natalie believes she is as flawless as her painstakingly curated posts would have others think she is, but we can also see the cracks in her façade. She is smug, self-righteous, and insufferable, and she glosses over anything that doesn't fit the narrative she has created and the fictional perfectionism within which she lives. Then one day, Natalie wakes up panicked, without her perfectly showcased, support-staff-driven, manicured, and merchandised modern farmhouse. She is living in a true homestead version of her life: she is without electricity, indoor plumbing, heat or air conditioning, or running water. It's terrifying for her, and no one will explain to her what’s going on or where (or when) she is living. While the ending and explanation of the reality of events didn’t land for me, I thought the premise, the structure, the tone, and the story were so intriguing, I didn't ultimately mind. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. Yesteryear is Caro Claire Burke's debut novel. Please click here for my full review of Yesteryear. 05 All in Her Hands (Nora Beady #3) by Audrey Blake I love historical fiction about female physicians before this was common; Nora Gibson is a willful, clever woman fighting against prejudice in 1849 London and aiming for better healthcare for women--until cases of cholera emerge and all rules must be reimagined. Blake includes wonderful scientific detail and details of life in that time. I love how Blake shapes a story in which privileged education comes up against gritty, real-world life experience, and I love how she works in the gaps in knowledge as well as the leaps and bounds that were taking place in science in that era. Blake also weaves in issues around body autonomy, pregnancy challenges, and societal and professional issues for women who might become mothers. This is the third book in a series, but it works beautifully as a stand-alone read. I had no idea there were prior books until I finished; this is seamless and fascinating. I listened to All in Her Hands as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and Recorded Books, Inc. For my full review, please see All in Her Hands. You might also like these novels that include female physicians. 06 Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser This loose retelling of the Cinderella folk story offers the perspective of the "evil" stepmother, who is here actually a savvy, strong woman determined to provide for her household after being widowed in a patriarchal, 1700s-feeling society. I loved Hochhauser's turning the traditional tale on its head, the details, and the twists. This is my favorite read of the spring so far. Lady Tremaine is a loose retelling of the damsel-in-distress Cinderella folk tale, here from the perspective of the "evil" stepmother--who is shown to actually be a strong, determined, clever widow stuck in an era where men hold all of the property, power, and freedom. Lady Tremaine is single-minded about protecting her daughters and trying to secure futures for them in a world where the safety and security of unmarried women is shaky. A royal ball opens up the opportunity for Lady Tremaine to use the respectability of her deceased husband's title to secure invitations for her daughters (who are not, after all, shallow and greedy horrors of young women, as in the Disney story) and her standoffish but beautiful stepdaughter Elin. Elin is this novel’s version of Cinderella, and here she is a mostly insufferable girl, gloriously and willfully obtuse, dedicated to needlework and pious prayers while the rest of the househould is scrambling, hustling, and exhausting themselves to make ends meet. There’s some gritty business, there are difficult choices, and there's a surprising shift of loyalties I loved. I adored the details of the late-1700s-feeling setting; the exploration of women’s struggles to carve out lives for themselves in a patriarchal society; and the creativity, strength, and resolve necessary to survive. The story would have stood on its own for me, but the references to the Cinderella story were a fun added bonus. I received a prepublication edition of Lady Tremaine courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Click here for my full review of Lady Tremaine. You might also be interested in Bossy reviews of other retellings.

Center's newest rom-com involves a ship full of potential romance and heartbreak, a destination wedding, childhood crushes, long-term misunderstandings, zany moments, and the possibility of fresh starts for multiple couples. In Katherine Center's newest romance, JoJo Burton is finding her way from being in love with the idea of love to finding a real relationship. The reappearance of her childhood best friend Cooper helps JoJo begin to get more centered, but she moves from a broken engagement to what is probably an ill-advised attempt to shift a youthful crush on Finn, a former neighborhood boy, into a real-life romance. Her sister Ashley's cruise-ship destination wedding feels like the perfect opportunity to put into action her zany plan to conquer Finn. But is Finn the right one for JoJo? And will JoJo be brave enough to find out why Cooper disappeared without a trace for the past four years, breaking her heart? Katherine Center writes romantic, non-steamy stories, and she includes frequent zany, slapstick-feeling hijinks--which, by the way, seem tailor-made for big-screen rom-com adaptations. The Shippers is no exception; JoJo is faced with sometimes absurd scenarios (some of which she orchestrates herself), and the reader shouldn't expect the details of these scenes to add up to real-life logic or to adhere to practical limitations, but to enjoy the wild ride. Subplots include JoJo's parents' potential split, large-scale collusion around romantic matches, and a sister's pop psychology-driven path toward set-ups. The misunderstandings and omitted communication that allows for the best friends' dilemma and obtuseness aren't overdone, which I really appreciated. The Shippers offers up one of my favorite premises, in which old friends realize that their love is more than platonic. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. More from Katherine Center Katherine Center is also the author of The Love Haters, The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and other books.

The Help author's 656-page Depression-set historical fiction tackles issues of poverty, body autonomy, women's rights, race, and more within two timelines featuring spirited, determined, underestimated females who prove how strong they are. In Kathryn Stockett's newest, hefty (656-page) historical fiction novel, we dive into dual, linked storylines. It's 1933, the peak of the Great Depression, and in Mississippi, everyone is struggling. We meet two main protagonists: independent young adult Birdie, who travels from her rural hometown to Oxford to beg her socialite, newly married sister for financial assistance for the family; and young Meg, who suffers cruelty in an orphanage after the disappearance and abandonment of her beloved mother. Both are spirited, smart, sassy, and full of personality. ...even though I was a grown woman, I still did what my mama told me to, and she still did what her mama told her to, and sometimes I thought if people didn't die, that cycle might never, ever stop. Birdie's desperation for financial relief leads her down avenues she never would have anticipated, opening her mind to new possibilities and an understanding of others' extreme measures, while Meg's grim circumstances lead to a roller coaster of security, uncertainty, tragedy, and carefully protected, cautious hopes for the future. Stockett includes plot points that are linked to chilling, actual federal laws regarding women's health during the time--which, as she says in her Author's Note, "feel eerily relevant today. The Chamberlain-Kahn Act...legalized and encouraged police to stop any woman on the street who looked promiscuous. Police were to detain the woman and test her for sexually transmitted diseases. For over half a century, tens of thousands of American women were seized and 'forcibly examined'...or even sterilized." After the women in the novel develop an audacious plan to make money and thereby gain the power to shift their futures in a bleak financial world where men hold all the cards, the book slowly builds to a crescendo of activity and illegal, risky behavior. The pacing flagged for me during this slow-roll section, although I appreciated that Stockett didn't smooth the way too outrageously for the tricky situation. The villain in the orphanage is easily detestable, feels purely vindictive (we eventually find out the reason for her petty, shocking evil), and somehow remains married to a kind, if weak, man with an upstanding reputation (but a checkered past). The story is long enough to meander at times; we drift in and out of Birdie's and Meg's lives without hurry, spending some days in which little occurs but scene-setting and a building of the story's tone, all of which I enjoyed. But by the time key matters are resolved, after so much page time, the resolutions feel somewhat abrupt. I appreciated Stockett's taking time for difficult truth-telling among characters, the chances for newly imagined second chances, and the stories of complicated redemption. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau. More Books You Might Like Kathryn Stockett also wrote The Help. Please check out this link for other novels set during the Great Depression.

The novel's danger, attempted evasion, and daring escape focused largely on logistics, but I am all in for spending time with SecUnit and its dry humor, always and forever. In Platform Decay, we catch up with the delightfully grumpy Murderbot (SecUnit), who in this eighth book in the series is faced with another high-stakes rescue attempt--this time, of its beloved Mensah's family. Then SecUnit, along with its charges, finds itself confronted with an additional time-sensitive side rescue effort, adding challenge to the group's own escape from evil corporation pursuers. The inconvenient "emotion checks" SecUnit has been tasked with exploring allow the reader insight into the grumbly, begrudgingly invested ties it develops with the messy, imperfect humans under its protection. However, they occur so frequently, I found them somewhat jarring, particularly early in the book. I found the frequent focus on logistics and off-screen political and business loyalties a little bit tedious, and I didn't have time to become invested in SecUnit's charges so that their need to find safety felt immediate and compelling (as its original team's would have). While I understand the need to branch out to other characters and storylines, I couldn't help wishing for more significant Mensah-SecUnit page time. And without SecUnit's opportunities for much interaction with ART in this installment of the series, I felt that we missed out on opportunities for some of the best dry humor Wells provides. We got a few beloved Sanctuary Moon references as well as mentions of new media. I adored the scenes in which MurderBot communicated with a preteen and MurderBot's perfectly astute assessment of that media-focused encounter. I love being in SecUnit's deadpan, introverted, always-assessing point of view. One of my favorite elements is SecUnit's constant analysis of escape routes, outlandish or ambitious options of coping with threats, and ability to manipulate technology for knowledge, evasion, and deception. It doesn't ultimately matter what the current danger or mission is; I'm in for all Murderbot Diaries books, forever. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Books. More Murderbot Gems You can click here to find my Bossy reviews of Murderbot books 1 through 3, as well as the sequels Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse. You might also like these other titles that include robots, humans and alien life, and AI.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The Help author Kathryn Stockett's newest historical fiction, set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, The Calamity Club; I'm listening to Jenny Lawson's short and appealingly approachable self-help book, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay; and I'm reading Katherine Center's newly published romance, set on a cruise ship during a destination wedding, The Shippers. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett In Kathryn Stockett's newest, hefty (656-page) historical fiction novel, we dive into dual, linked storylines. It's 1933, the peak of the Great Depression, and in Mississippi, everyone is struggling. We meet two main protagonists: independent Birdie, who travels from her rural hometown to Oxford to beg her socialite, newly married sister for financial assistance for the family; and young Meg, who suffers cruelty in an orphanage after the disappearance and abandonment of her beloved mother. Both are spirited, smart, sassy, and full of personality. Birdie's desperation for financial relief leads her down avenues she never would have anticipated, opening her mind to new possibilities, while Meg's grim circumstances lead to a roller coaster of security, uncertainty, tragedy, and carefully protected, cautious hopes for the future. Kathryn Stockett also wrote The Help. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau. 02 How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson This is my first Jenny Lawson read. In this gently reassuring self-help book, she explores, as the book cover details, Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself. Lawson is vulnerable in sharing her mental health struggles; she is practical with her approaches to coping with various challenges; and she's often funny, revealing absurd, awkward, hilarious moments in her life. Lawson is also the author of Furiously Happy, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Broken, and You Are Here. I'm listening to an audiobook version of this title, read by the author, through Libby and my library. 03 The Shippers by Katherine Center In Katherine Center's newest romance, JoJo Burton is finding her way from being in love with the idea of love to finding a real relationship. The reappearance of her childhood best friend Cooper helps JoJo begin to get more centered, but she moves from a broken engagement to what is probably an ill-advised attempt to shift a youthful crush on Finn, a former neighborhood boy, into a real-life romance. Her sister's cruise-ship destination wedding feels like the perfect opportunity to put her zany plan into action. But is Finn the right one for JoJo? And will JoJo be brave enough to find out why Cooper disappeared without a trace for the past four years, breaking her heart? Katherine Center is also the author of The Love Haters, The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and other books. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

Spring Bossy Book Favorites On Fridays I love to post Greedy Reading Lists of my favorite books. I recently gave a talk for the second year in a row to a wonderful group of book lovers who wanted to hear about newly published books they might want to check out, and I thought I'd share that list of ten books with you Bookworms as well. Talking about books and showcasing my Bossy favorites is one of my favorite bookish things to do, and for this talk I chose recent favorites in a range of genres. To find last year's Bossy Spring Favorites list, please check out this link. If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite recently published--or recently read--books? 01 More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly's friends gift her an ancestry DNA kit, and when she lightheartedly submits her results, she is matched to a stranger. Sure that it's an error, Polly digs into her family history to make sure she is who she has always thought. Polly's connection to the young ladies she teaches in her school becomes more evident to her and to the reader as the story unfolds; her influence and affinity for the teens--as well as the new teen friend she meets through her DNA test journey--is a poignant juxtaposition to her struggle to start the family she wants to have. The tone of this one let me know that the story might be messy, and it might not turn out satisfactorily for all involved, but that some version of a happy ending was coming without feeling unrealistically easy. For my full review, please see More Than Enough. 02 Wolvers by Taylor Brown Taylor Brown offers up a suspenseful, adventure-filled story in Wolvers. Trace is an angry young man who sets out on an ill-advised, illegal revenge journey, but he's not the only wolf tracker in the New Mexico forest. He's starting to rethink his mission and be headed toward a fresh start--if he can survive that long. Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods better than almost anyone around, is hired by a shadowy, powerful militia group to take out One-Eleven, the female leader of the most famous wolf pack in New Mexico, the Dark Canyons. But One-Eleven is uncannily gifted in eluding human pursuit, and Trace is far from the only outdoorsman in these woods. And the longer Trace tracks One-Eleven, the more he begins to second-guess everything about his life. This is an outdoor adventure story that explores tensions between the preservation of nature and development, and between power and vulnerability. But it’s also layered with elements of redemption, love, unlikely loyalties, and character growth. I'm a huge Taylor Brown fan. Check out my Bossy reviews of his novels Rednecks, Wingwalkers, The Gods of Howl Mountain, and Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War. Click here for my full review of Wolvers. 03 All in Her Hands (Nora Beady #3) by Audrey Blake I love historical fiction about female physicians before this was common; Nora Gibson is a willful, clever woman fighting against prejudice in 1849 London and aiming for better healthcare for women--until cases of cholera emerge and all rules must be reimagined. Blake includes wonderful scientific detail and details of life in that time. I love how Blake shapes a story in which privileged education comes up against gritty, real-world life experience, and I love how she works in the gaps in knowledge as well as the leaps and bounds that were taking place in science in that era. Blake also weaves in issues around body autonomy, pregnancy challenges, and societal and professional issues for women who might become mothers. This is the third book in a series, but it works beautifully as a stand-alone read. I had no idea there were prior books until I finished; this is seamless and fascinating. I listened to All in Her Hands as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and Recorded Books, Inc. For my full review, please see All in Her Hands. You might also like these novels that include female physicians. 04 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke The premise, structure, and dark humor of this buzzy spring novel were so intriguing that although I was left a little unsatisfied by the ending and resolution, I was so hooked on the story to that point, it didn't ultimately matter. Natalie is a fundamentalist Christian who subscribes to male-dominated power structures and “traditional” values. When she is quite young and naïve, she marries the son of a powerful senator. They marry, benefit from his family's wealth and influence in every way, and begin to have children within their privileged bubble of existence. Eventually Natalie delves so far into trying to achieve (an appearance of) perfection in homemaking and parenting, she becomes a "tradwife" influencer with 8 million followers. We can see that Natalie believes she is as flawless as her painstakingly curated posts would have others think she is, but we can also see the cracks in her façade. She is smug, self-righteous, and insufferable, and she glosses over anything that doesn't fit the narrative she has created and the fictional perfectionism within which she lives. Then one day, Natalie wakes up panicked, without her perfectly showcased, support-staff-driven, manicured, and merchandised modern farmhouse. She is living in a true homestead version of her life: she is without electricity, indoor plumbing, heat or air conditioning, or running water. It's terrifying for her, and no one will explain to her what’s going on or where (or when) she is living. While the ending and explanation of the reality of events didn’t land for me, I thought the premise, the structure, the tone, and the story were so intriguing, I didn't ultimately mind. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. Yesteryear is Caro Claire Burke's debut novel. Please click here for my full review of Yesteryear. 05 Kin by Tayari Jones Jones throws every issue imaginable at her two main protagonists, best friends living in the Deep South, both without their mothers. The young women cope with their pain in divergent ways, and while I was interested in the story, I wanted to feel a deeper emotional connection to the characters and the increasingly dramatic layers of the novel's events. Young Annie and Vernice were best friends in small-town Louisiana. Both grew up without mothers, but then their paths diverged. For me, a main strength of Kin is Jones's ability to build a rich Southern setting and to layer issues of race, class, wealth, and power atop it. Annie's almost-constant focus on her mother's abandonment began to feel overpowering; she is unable to live day-to-day life because of her obsession with her mother's absence. Jones's characters face issues around body autonomy; wealth and privilege; the paralysis of poverty; issues of race, civil rights, education, and women's rights; loyalty and friendship; relationship power mismatches; and more. A lot occurs within the story, yet I found myself wanting to feel more around the dramatic scenarios within which Jones places her characters. I felt more curious than invested, and I wished for more of an emotional anchor with the protagonists. Tayari Jones is also the author of An American Marriage. You might want to check out these books that center around race, the South, and friendship. For my full review, please see Kin. 06 This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page Page's romantic novel celebrates the importance of books for coping, celebrating, and exploring, while also delving into our main protagonist's deep grief and fight to find her footing again after loss. The sweet story offers poignancy, heart, and hope. Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owner of Book Lane, a local London bookshop, and learns that Joe had made arrangements for a handpicked book for Tilly each month of the coming year, hoping to inspire, comfort, and challenge Tilly, but most of all, to open her up to living again. The books become a touchstone each month during that first difficult year after Joe's death. Tilly befriends bookseller Alfie and his coworkers, and her new friends allow her to grieve as well as celebrate small joys without guilt. But the year following Joe's passing also allows Tilly to imagine a new version of herself and a future with happiness, hope, and the promise of unexpected adventure. This is a feel-good romance celebrating books while its main protagonist reels with grief. While the complications and difficulties exist, Page makes you certain things will turn out with hope and the promise of joy. You might also want to check out these other Bossy reviews of books about books and books that deal with grief. You can read my full review here: This Book Made Me Think of You. 07 Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser This loose retelling of the Cinderella folk story offers the perspective of the "evil" stepmother, who is here actually a savvy, strong woman determined to provide for her household after being widowed in a patriarchal, 1700s-feeling society. I loved Hochhauser's turning the traditional tale on its head, the details, and the twists. This is my favorite read of the spring so far. Lady Tremaine is a loose retelling of the damsel-in-distress Cinderella folk tale, here from the perspective of the "evil" stepmother--who is shown to actually be a strong, determined, clever widow stuck in an era where men hold all of the property, power, and freedom. Lady Tremaine is single-minded about protecting her daughters and trying to secure futures for them in a world where the safety and security of unmarried women is shaky. A royal ball opens up the opportunity for Lady Tremaine to use the respectability of her deceased husband's title to secure invitations for her daughters (who are not, after all, shallow and greedy horrors of young women, as in the Disney story) and her standoffish but beautiful stepdaughter Elin. Elin is this novel’s version of Cinderella, and here she is a mostly insufferable girl, gloriously and willfully obtuse, dedicated to needlework and pious prayers while the rest of the househould is scrambling, hustling, and exhausting themselves to make ends meet. There’s some gritty business, there are difficult choices, and there's a surprising shift of loyalties I loved. I adored the details of the late-1700s-feeling setting; the exploration of women’s struggles to carve out lives for themselves in a patriarchal society; and the creativity, strength, and resolve necessary to survive. The story would have stood on its own for me, but the references to the Cinderella story were a fun added bonus. I received a prepublication edition of Lady Tremaine courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Click here for my full review of Lady Tremaine. You might also be interested in Bossy reviews of other retellings. 08 London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe Patrick Radden Keefe took a subject I wasn't initially captivated by and crafted another work of his signature masterful narrative nonfiction. He hooked me with details, then astounded me with the order he was able to impose upon the chaos of secrets, lies, and the still-unknown elements of the story. London Falling is about the disappearance of a young man, Zac. Zac’s dogged parents won’t give up on finding out the truth of what happened to their son, and when the reactions from London police feel disappointing and lackluster, Zac’s parents approach the media directly. Then Patrick Radden Keefe crafts this nonfiction work that reads like a novel. The book delves into Zac's astounding, long-held personal secrets; into the implications of the increased presence and power of Russian oligarchs in London; into the pressures and alternate universe of high society and extreme wealth; and into the many sinister tendrils crisscrossing the city’s dark underbelly. As he always seems to do, Patrick Radden Keefe takes a complex, tangled situation and shapes it into intriguing narrative nonfiction that you can latch onto. There are so many branches of this story, and so many complicated implications of the main players’ actions, lies, and secrets, I can’t imagine anyone but Patrick Radden Keefe successfully imposing this much order on so much chaos and so many unknowns. There are mysteries at the center of the story, but for me this was a captivating, atmospheric dive into the pressures, pain, and hope within extreme isolation, the power of external forces, and the push to protect each other at all costs. I was intrigued throughout. Patrick Radden Keefe is also the author of the powerful Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, one of my favorite nonfiction books. For my full review, please check out this link. 09 The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez Abby Jimenez knows how to layer difficult situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and her main protagonists must confront and overcome past and present difficulties in order to banter their way through the story and build a sweet life together. I was hooked on the chemistry and fascinated by the significant, heartbreaking obstacles and how they might possibly be addressed to allow for love. Larissa made a split-second decision one night after a concert, when she was shoeless and in need of a ride home: she chose joking, fun-time-guy Mike to drive her, and they quickly started to date. Then she became friends with his far-more-serious best friend, Chris, a pharmacist who is kind, thoughtful, and more quiet. Larissa and Chris feel more and more connected to each other, but because they'd never hurt Mike, they have to remain just friends. The sweetness between Chris and Larissa is irresistible, and Jimenez takes what feels like an impossibility of a future and ekes out a story and a love that manages to move forward--despite messy, complex, potentially heartbreaking repercussions. I listened to The Night We Met courtesy of Harper Wave and Libro.fm. You might also want to check out these other Bossy reviews of books by Abby Jimenez or other rom-coms I've loved. For my full review, please see The Night We Met. 10 Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise Count me in for Irish-set novels--and for suspenseful, mysterious-past stories that hint at darkness, dangerous secrets, and the destructive power of the truth. But Hurtubise builds the true heart of this story around the development of its characters and relationships. This is a fast, intriguing read that I loved. When she was old enough, Sarah ran from an emotionally cold childhood in Michigan and mysterious circumstances to the rugged coast of Donegal, Ireland, where she now lives as an artist and goes by the name Saoirse (pronounced SUR-shuh). She and her beloved partner and two daughters live peacefully, and Saoirse often paints the members of her beloved family. But if the truth of Saoirse's secrets came out, it would upend her existence, and she is terrified that her past will somehow be uncovered and destroy her family. When a piece of her art wins a competition, it garners unwelcome attention and publicity that might reveal all Saoirse has done and the lengths she has gone to to escape her origins. I love a story set in Ireland, and Hurtubise doesn't skimp on building an evocative setting on blustery cliffs and in lush green countryside. I also love a story involving a character's mysterious past, and I love a suspenseful story that I'm eager to piece together. Saoirse provides all three of these elements, plus a bad guy who's easy to detest, the overcoming of trauma, a deep love story, a passion for art, and more. I blew through this novel, and the whole time I was reading Saoirse, I held my breath that it would hold up because I couldn't wait to start recommending it! I received a prepublication edition of Saoirse courtesy of NetGalley and Celadon Books. For my full review of this book please see Saoirse.

Patrick Radden Keefe took a subject I wasn't initially captivated by and crafted another work of his signature masterful narrative nonfiction. He hooked me with details, then astounded me with the order he was able to impose upon the chaos of secrets, lies, and the still-unknown elements of the story. I shared in a recent book talk that this book topic wasn't inherently a hook for me, but that in my view, Patrick Radden Keefe can do no wrong, so I dove in. London Falling is about the disappearance of a young man, Zac. Zac’s dogged parents won’t give up on finding out the truth of what happened to their son, and when the reactions from London police feel disappointing and lackluster, Zac’s parents approach the media directly. Then Patrick Radden Keefe crafts this nonfiction work that reads like a novel. The book delves into Zac's astounding, long-held personal secrets; into the implications of the increased presence and power of Russian oligarchs in London; into the pressures and alternate universe of high society and extreme wealth; and into the many sinister tendrils crisscrossing the city’s dark underbelly. “[Bob Dylan] created all sorts of elaborate tales about himself.” He was a trickster who confected a mysterious persona that may have been ridiculous but ultimately served him well. If you mentioned those adolescent fibs to Dylan today, he would probably “laugh about it,” Matthew ventured. “But there are lots of people out there who have created a fantasy existence for themselves...." Keefe shares incredible key details of the disturbing circumstances of Zac's disappearance, such as an MI6 camera that happened to be positioned across the river and captured a crucial moment in Zac’s life. He also unravels a complicated web of lies and discovers the extent of Zac’s alter ego, including a sometimes-Russian accent that apparently fooled grown men and made them believe he was the son of a Russian oligarch. Later, Keefe explores the actions of depraved, horribly evil, destructive individuals that Zac was unlucky enough to become involved with--as well as mounting evidence that their lack of prosecution is linked to their secret informant status. As he always seems to do, Patrick Radden Keefe takes a complex, tangled situation and shapes it into intriguing narrative nonfiction that you can latch onto. There are so many branches of this story, and so many complicated implications of the main players’ actions, lies, and secrets, I can’t imagine anyone but Patrick Radden Keefe successfully imposing this much order on so much chaos and so many unknowns. More Patrick Radden Keefe and Other Nonfiction Gems Patrick Radden Keefe is also the author of the powerful Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, one of my favorite nonfiction books. For more nonfiction titles I've reviewed, please check out the books at this Bossy link.

I love historical fiction about female physicians before this was common; Nora is a willful, clever woman fighting against prejudice in 1849 London and aiming for better healthcare for women--until cases of cholera emerge and all rules must be reimagined. Blake includes wonderful scientific detail and details of life in that time. In Audrey Blake's historical fiction title All in Her Hands, it's 1849 in London, and Nora Gibson is a female surgeon (the only female surgeon in the city) in a time when it was a battle for a woman to gain access to a medical education and to obtain training. Now Nora must also convince patients to trust her with their care. Nora is battling prejudice against women in the medical field while also trying to do something revolutionary: coordinate the valuable years of experience held by midwives (who here are largely not respected by doctors) with the expertise and knowledge of trained doctors (who are at times pooh-poohed by midwives). But when what seem to be cases of cholera begin to show up in London, Nora suspects that all traditional rules will go out the window. I love a story about a female doctor before that was common; I love the way Audrey Blake weaves in rich details of life in the time; I love how Blake shapes a story in which privileged education comes up against gritty, real-world life experience; and I love how she works in the gaps in knowledge as well as the leaps and bounds that were taking place in science in that era. Nora's husband and adoptive father are also physicians, and there is a sense of community as they collaborate with, clash with, support, and challenge each other. Blake also weaves in issues around body autonomy, pregnancy challenges, and societal and professional issues for women who might become mothers. This is the third book in a series, but it works beautifully as a stand-alone read. I had no idea there were prior books until I finished, and Blake doesn't incorporate any awkward hearkening-back moments in order to build the story; this is seamless and fascinating. I listened to All in Her Hands as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and Recorded Books, Inc. More from Audrey Blake Now I’ll definitely read the other two in this series by Audrey Blake, The Girl in His Shadow and The Surgeon’s Daughter.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the newest (eighth) book in Martha Wells's Murderbot science fiction series, Platform Decay, in which SecUnit is tasked with complicated rescue efforts; I'm reading Carley Fortune's newest friend-based, ultimately steamy romance, Our Perfect Storm; and I'm reading the second installment in Devney Perry's adventure-romantasy Shield of Sparrows series, Rites of the Starling. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Platform Decay (Murderbot #8) by Martha Wells In Platform Decay, we catch up with the delightfully grumpy Murderbot (SecUnit), who in this eighth book in the series is faced with another high-stakes rescue attempt--this time, of its beloved Mensah's family. Then SecUnit, along with its charges, finds itself tasked with an additional time-sensitive side rescue effort, adding challenge to the group's own escape from evil corporation pursuers. The inconvenient "emotion checks" SecUnit has been tasked with exploring allow the reader insight into the grumbly, begrudgingly invested ties it develops with the messy, imperfect humans under its protection. You can click here to find my Bossy reviews of Murderbot books 1 through 3, as well as the sequels Exit Strategy, Network Effect, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Books. 02 Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune Frankie and George, her best friend since childhood, were once so close they tattooed each other's names on their bodies. But they've been on the outs for a year or so. After Frankie’s wedding is called off, the two of them go on Frankie’s paid-for honeymoon, hoping to repair their friendship. George is determined to help his friend through this life crisis, and he's got a research-based plan for each day to usher Frankie through to a healing place. But Frankie is starting to fall for George, even as she fears making a move that would ruin their friendship forever. Carley Fortune is great at crafting a romance story with characters I like to root for and steamy, poignant, friendship-based relationships. Fortune is also the author of Meet Me at the Lake, Every Summer After, One Golden Summer, and This Summer Will Be Different. I received an audiobook version of this title courtesy of Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group. 03 Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows #2) by Devney Perry The first installment in the Shield of Sparrows series set up an overlooked princess who became a heroine; deadly monsters being treated unfairly; an enemies-to-lovers romance; and shifting loyalties. This sequel is told through split points of view. We hear from Odessa Cross, the Princess of Quentis, who is on a quest to find her missing warrior husband Ransom while trying to understand an enigmatic journal detailing events that appear in Odessa's visions. Oh, and she's got six-year-old Evie and a fierce baby monster, Faze, tagging along with her with her through every imaginable danger. We hear at times from Ransom's point of view, and we hear frequently from Caspia, a new-to-us character and a Starling who has not yet transformed into her animal state. She is learning the mixed, disturbing history and heritage of her line while falling in love with Andreas, a man who saved her in the wilderness and who has a secret lineage of his own. Click here to read my review of book one in the series, Shield of Sparrows.

Six Bossy Sci-Fi Favorites I'm still mining my reading for favorites from the past year, and this is my only science fiction roundup. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can also explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from the past year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite science fiction reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman #1) by Olivia Waite The playful tone and clever main protagonist in Olivia Waite's science-fiction novella make for an appealing mystery and lay the groundwork for subsequent books. In Olivia Waite's slim science-fiction mystery, Dorothy wakes up...in a body that's not her own. It's uncomfortable but not unheard of. Still, Dorothy was supposed to be in stasis for years after suffering an emotional loss. Yet even more concerning than her situation is the spaceship HMS Fairweather's current state. An electrical storm has knocked systems offline, and even worse, it seems that someone has deliberately been sabotaging the Library, where the backup for each passenger on the ship is stored. In this outer-space-set mystery, Dorothy must figure out who's behind the destruction and how to save the ship's passengers from further danger. I'm somewhat in love with Dorothy's no-nonsense approach to the issues at hand, her striding manner, and her clever reading of a situation's nuances. She is often exasperated and very funny. The tone of this novella (it's 112 pages) is playful--it reminded me somewhat of Becky Chambers's science fiction--and it also addresses poignant, relevant aspects of the human condition while giving the (correct) impression that happy endings are at hand. I enjoyed this very much and wished it were a full-length novel. For my full review of this book please see Murder by Memory. 02 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz This short novel explores an alternate-history, near-future, post-war San Francisco in which robots come online and create a noodle shop that bridges the gaps between themselves and humans. Newitz offers a cozy story of an unlikely safe haven for all. In a San Francisco of the near future, a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned kitchen after a war in which California split from the rest of the United States. Looking for a purpose, they begin to do what they do best: cook. The robots suffer from prejudice and bear the brunt of fear-mongering from much of society. But they manage to touch the lives of those in their neighborhood looking for reliable, high-quality food by producing the best (robot-) hand-pulled noodles around and offering a charming takeout storefront. When a series of vindictive, one-star reviews threaten their business, they must figure out who has it in for them and why. Being pushed to their limits calls for exceptional sleuthing, creativity, and efficiency. Without fear of ruin, each of them wouldn't so fully embrace their roles and abilities, bond as deeply--nor create the safe haven for humans and robots alike that is a gift to all. I love a science-fiction story in which elements of humanity are explored, I love an alternate-history tale, and I love a chosen-family element. Newitz provides all three in a cozy story that charmed me through both funny and poignant moments. This was sweet and strange, and I really liked it. I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group. Please check out my full review of Automatic Noodle. 03 Volatile Memory (Volatile Memory #1) by Seth Haddon Seth Haddon's slim science fiction debut offers action and a risky space quest, revenge, and love, but it's also a poignant, lovely story about being seen for your true self, being vulnerable, and thinking beyond traditional standards. Wylla's ship has seen better days, and she's desperate for a break. When she catches wind of a valuable, mysterious piece of technology on another planet, she banks on her wiliness and speed to beat other treasure hunters to it. Wylla's own mask is outdated, and scavenging the cutting-edge mask would give her powers she couldn't have dreamed of. Masks bestow upon the wearers the instincts, abilities, and reaction times of the animals after which they're modeled. But the mask Wylla is after also turns out to be sentient, and if she's going to wear the mask, she'll need to work with the mask's creator and help it seek vengeance for past injustices. I love a ragtag crew on a quest (you can check out other titles with this theme that I've reviewed here), and Volatile Memory is action-packed entertainment, but more importantly it's poignant, exploring issues of bodily autonomy, transgender characters, characters without bodies but with sentient selves, duty and loyalty, revenge and ruthlessness, and mercy and grace. This slim science fiction novel packs a punch. I can't wait to read more of this immersive world and of Haddon's compelling story. For my full review of this novel, please check out this link. 04 Hum by Helen Phillips The dystopian future of Hum is haunting in its familiar elements, its plausible, terrible climate-change effects, the extreme reliance on technology, and the chilling power of the ubiquitous AI hums who are constantly manipulating the extensive information they gather. After years working to advance artificial intelligence in a near-future dystopian world decimated by climate change, May's own job becomes obsolete. Intelligent robots, "hums," have taken over much of the workforce, with their relentless advertisements and sales pitches, manipulative impressions of caring (also meant to promote sales of various items), and their extensive surveillance capabilities. May finds herself willing to surgically alter her facial features for a sum that might keep her family financially stable for a time. But when she dares to dream of a brief family escape to a nature-filled wonderland (molded on tales they've heard of a lush, past world), her lack of control over her family's fate is shown to be terrifyingly tenuous. The power of social media and the impact of resulting perceptions in the book are chilling--and chillingly familiar. For my full review, please check out Hum. 05 The Last Hour Between Worlds (Echo Archives #1) by Melissa Caruso I may not have followed all of the echoes in time, creatures convincingly impersonating other creatures, or protagonists' complex, evolving motivations, but I adored the characters, their connection, their banter, and the amount of heart in the story. Kembral Thorne, expert investigator, is on leave and bleary-eyed from single-parenting her newborn, and she's questioning why she agreed to come to a work New Year's Eve party in the first place. But when people start dropping dead around her, she realizes that someone is plunging the party down through layers of reality, through echoes of time in which strange events loosely repeat themselves--and seem to be building in intensity. In fact, the whole world seems to be in terrible danger. It looks like Kembral will have to work tonight after all--and, even worse, she'll need to cooperate with her nemesis Rika Nonesuch, the cat burglar, in order to try to save the world. I love Caruso's writing style, her character-building, and the way the characters relate to each other. The hard-fought connection between Rika and Kembral (and the rich past that's revealed) had me swooning, and their banter is sometimes grumpy, hesitantly vulnerable, and often darkly funny. I predict that I'll be reading all of Caruso's other books as well. For Bossy reviews of many other books that play with time--this is one of my favorite elements--you can check out the books and lists at this link. Click here for my full review of this novel. 06 All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall Nonie is the young protagonist of this stark climate-change dystopian future, in which her small community fights to survive and to preserve history--from the roof of the American Museum of Natural History--before a horrific storm sends them fleeing up the Hudson, encountering kindness and nefarious groups in their quest for a new home. In a dystopian future in which the glaciers have melted, Nonie, a young girl with a gift for feeling the water, coming storms, and weather, lives in a largely deserted New York City with her family. Their settlement is on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, or "Amen), and they hunt and gather in Central Park. They must be careful, as packs of feral dogs--and packs of desperate humans, the Lost--will try to take what they can get to survive. Along with her parents' researcher friends, her family helps try to save and further the exhibits of human history and science. The climate-change novel is powerful, disturbing, and, starkly lovely in its stripped-away love and loyalty. The story keeps in the forefront the looming dangers, the fear of disease and ill intent, and the bone-weary fatigue involved in simply fighting to survive--and I couldn't ever forget that the enemy, the deadly monster here, is the human race that destroyed its planet. I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Land of Milk and Honey, The Great Transition, and The Light Pirate are three other climate-change novels that I found fascinating. For my full review please check out All the Water in the World.

This loose retelling of the Cinderella folk story offers the perspective of the "evil" stepmother, who is here actually a savvy, strong woman determined to provide for her household after being widowed in a patriarchal, 1700s-feeling society. I loved Hochhauser's turning the traditional tale on its head, the details, and the twists. This is my favorite read of the spring so far. Lady Tremaine is a loose retelling of the damsel-in-distress Cinderella folk tale, here from the perspective of the "evil" stepmother--who is shown to actually be a strong, determined, clever widow stuck in an era where men hold all of the property, power, and freedom. Lady Tremaine is single-minded about protecting her daughters and trying to secure futures for them in a world where the safety and security of unmarried women is shaky. A royal ball opens up the opportunity for Lady Tremaine to use the respectability of her deceased husband's title to secure invitations for her daughters (who are not, after all, shallow and greedy horrors of young women, as in the Disney story) and her standoffish but beautiful stepdaughter Elin. Elin is this novel’s version of Cinderella, and here she is a mostly insufferable girl, gloriously and willfully obtuse, dedicated to needlework and pious prayers while the rest of the househould is scrambling, hustling, and exhausting themselves to make ends meet. After Elin attracts the attention of royalty, Lady Tremaine discovers a destructive secret in the noble family that threatens to destroy them but Elin as well, and Lady Tremaine must make crucial, life-and-death decisions around her own family to try to preserve the future of her loved ones. There’s some gritty business, there are difficult choices, and there's a surprising shift of loyalties I loved. I adored the details of the late-1700s-feeling setting; the exploration of women’s struggles to carve out lives for themselves in a patriarchal society; and the creativity, strength, and resolve necessary to survive. The story would have stood on its own for me, but the references to the Cinderella story were a fun added bonus. I received a prepublication edition of Lady Tremaine courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. More Retellings to Check Out You might also be interested in Bossy reviews of other retellings. Lady Tremaine is Rachel Hochhauser's first novel.

Taylor Brown offers up a suspenseful, adventure-filled story in Wolvers. Trace is an angry young man who sets out on an ill-advised, illegal revenge journey, but he's not the only wolf tracker in the New Mexico forest. He's starting to rethink his mission and be headed toward a fresh start--if he can survive that long. Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods better than almost anyone around, is hired by a shadowy, powerful militia group to take out One-Eleven, the female leader of the most famous wolf pack in New Mexico, the Dark Canyons. But One-Eleven is uncannily gifted in eluding human pursuit, and Trace is far from the only outdoorsman in these woods. And the longer Trace tracks One-Eleven, the more he begins to second-guess everything about his life. This is an outdoor adventure story that explores tensions between the preservation of nature and development, and between power and vulnerability. But it’s also layered with elements of redemption, love, unlikely loyalties, and character growth. I was surprised by Trace's slow, powerful transformation and by the arc of this beautiful story. I loved this book. The wilderness setting and suspenseful story reminded me of Peter Heller’s books like The River, The Last Ranger, and The Guide. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Taylor Brown Bossy Adoration I'm a huge Taylor Brown fan. Check out my Bossy reviews of his novels Rednecks, Wingwalkers, The Gods of Howl Mountain, and Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War.

The premise, structure, and dark humor of this buzzy spring novel were so intriguing that although I was left a little unsatisfied by the ending and resolution, I was so hooked on the story to that point, it didn't ultimately matter. Yesteryear is Caro Claire Burke's debut novel. The story features main protagonist Natalie, a fundamentalist Christian who subscribes to male-dominated power structures and “traditional” values. When she is quite young and naïve, she marries the somewhat dopey son of a powerful senator. They marry, benefit from his family's wealth and influence in every way, and begin to have children in their privileged bubble of existence. Eventually Natalie delves so far into trying to achieve (an appearance of) perfection in homemaking and parenting, she becomes a "tradwife" influencer with 8 million followers. We can see that Natalie believes she is as flawless as her painstakingly curated posts would have others think she is, but we can also see the cracks in her façade. She is smug, self-righteous, and insufferable, and she glosses over anything that doesn't fit the narrative she has created and the fictional perfectionism within which she lives. When she must cope with messy, irritating, inconvenient issues (five children with another on the way, anyone?), she is incapable of doing so without fury and frightening chill. Natalie has rabid detractors who bristle at her antifeminism, and Yesteryear tracks back and forth in time, alluding to Natalie’s eventual fall from grace as an internet sensation, but for a while we’re not sure exactly what happened--and how much Natalie can accept about her imperfect existence. Then one day, Natalie wakes up panicked, without her perfectly showcased, support-staff-driven, manicured, and merchandised modern farmhouse. She is living in a true homestead version of her life: she is without electricity, indoor plumbing, heat or air conditioning, or running water. It's terrifying for her, far from anything she ever desired. And no one will explain to her what’s going on or where (or when) she is living. Caro Claire Burke illustrates how each character is certain that they are acting justly, when we as the reader can see that the opposite is often true, and we can also clearly see the danger of the characters’ greed, lies, concern with appearances, and pride. Yesteryear is a takedown of social media illusions, perfectionism, rigidity, "traditional" values, and more. It’s satirical and darkly funny. While the ending and explanation of the reality of events didn’t land for me, I thought the premise, the structure, the tone, and the story were so intriguing, I didn't ultimately mind. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. More Books that Play with Time I love a novel that uses time travel or playful time devices. For other stories that play with time, check out the lists and titles here.

The Books I'm Reading Now Last week I gave a Spring Book Talk about recently published titles I thought that group of women should check out, and my new-book-reading mania continues! This week I offer you London Falling, nonfiction by Patrick Radden Keefe (his books are always a sure bet for me), about the disappearance of a young London man, secret identities, lies, Russian oligarchs, and the city's dark underbelly; The Island Club, Nicola Harrison's historical fiction set in 1950s California, about female friendship, secrets, and tennis (!), which I'm reading in preparation for Harrison's author event this week; and All in Her Hands, richly detailed historical fiction about a female physician and surgeon in 1849 London as she fights for respect and to advance women's health issues. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe I shared in a recent book talk that this book topic wasn't inhererntly a hook for me, but that Patrick Radden Keefe can do no wrong, so I dove in. London Falling is about the disappearance of a young man, Zac, but it’s also about his astounding personal secrets; about the increased presence and power of Russian oligarchs in London; about high society and extreme wealth; and about the city’s dark underbelly. Patrick Radden Keefe takes a complex, tangled situation and shapes it into an intriguing narrative nonfiction story. PRK is also the author of the powerful Empire of Pain and Say Nothing, one of my favorite nonfiction books. 02 The Island Club by Nicola Harrison Nicola Harrison's The Island Club is set in the 1950s on Balboa Island off the coast of California. Tennis brings together three women, formerly strangers to each other. Their lives begin to intersect in their small community, and they reluctantly become vulnerable with each other, ultimately sharing secrets they wouldn't lay bare to anyone else. Harrison raises some weighty issues but the tone of The Island Club is a summer read; I have faith that all will work out here, but that it's going to be just tricky enough to resolve things to feel satisfying to me. The author is speaking this week at an author event, and I can't wait. 03 All in Her Hands (Nora Beady #3) by Audrey Blake This is the third book in a series, but it works beautifully as a stand-alone read--I had no idea there were prior books when I started, and Blake isn't incorporating any awkward hearkening-back moments in order to build the story; this is seamless and fascinating. In Audrey Blake's historical fiction title All in Her Hands, it's 1849 in London, and Nora Gibson is a female surgeon who has fought hard for her position. Now, along with the rest of the city, Nora faces the terrifying emergence of cholera. Blake weaves in rich details of life in the time, shows privileged education coming up against gritty, real-world life experience, and incorporates gaps in the understanding of science as well as the leaps and bounds in knowledge that were then taking place in medicine.

Six Bossy Romance Favorites I've got a few more lists up my sleeve as I continue taking stock of my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! Some of the books in this post are written by the usual romance-standout suspects--and many of these authors have new romance titles out now or coming out soon, just in time for summer reading. Please keep an eye out for my upcoming reviews of those! If you want to check out past favorites, check out the books on these Greedy Reading Lists: Six Romantic Novels Perfect for Savoring Summer's Last Gasp 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 Six More Great Light Fiction Stories Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year, and Six More of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year You can also explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from the past year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite romance reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune The main male protagonist was off-putting to me in his arrogance at first, but Carley Fortune is the best at developing a lakeside romance story with characters I root for and steamy, poignant, friendship-based relationships I love. This is a great summer read. Alice's career as a photographer really began the summer she spent with her grandmother Nan at family friends' lake house. Shy Alice watched more than she participated in lake life--and she took a photo of three smiling teenagers on a yellow boat, and it seemed to set everything else in motion. Now she's feeling disillusioned with the airbrushing and false scenes she's forced to create in her job rather than capturing something real. So when Nan falls and breaks her hip and needs a pick-me-up, Alice arranges for them to return to the cabin where she spent that pivotal summer. But handsome, mischievous Charlie Florek, one of the subjects of that long-ago photo, seems to be everywhere she turns--and she can't hide behind her lens anymore. Fortune drops some breadcrumbs regarding the Issue Sure to Keep Them Apart, which follows The Desire to Not Ruin the Friendship (a concern that seems heartbreakingly valid). The steamy scenes didn't invite involuntary squealing or cringing on my part--they couple is really drawn to each other, and there's a tantalizing teasing aspect to their slowing down the physical progression of the friends-with-benefits arrangement. I loved the eventual relationship between Charlie and Alice, and I loved their love. For my full review of this book please see One Golden Summer. Carley Fortune is also the author of Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After as well as This Summer Will Be Different. 02 The Love Haters by Katherine Center Katherine Center's sweet rom-com about a video producer and her reluctant hero of a subject is set against the colorful backdrop of Key West. The appealingly playful love story incorporates issues of body image, job insecurity, and past tragedy in a lighthearted and charming novel. Katie Vaughn has been single for a year, since her former fiancé, an up-and-coming musician, hit it big and then very publicly cheated on her with a pop star. She's a mid-level video producer on the verge of a layoff--unless she accepts a job in which she documents the life of Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch Hutcheson, an everyday hero who rose to fame when he happened to save Jennifer Aniston's golden retriever. And he's not interested in being filmed. The banter made me laugh at times, and I bought the attraction between Katie and Hutch, as well as the "reasons" (all solvable, folks!) that they must not be together. Katie's evolution in considering and coping with body image issues felt valuable and compelling. Supporting characters are great, colorful, and add nice layers of interconnectedness to the story. The crisis that forms toward the end felt over the top and drawn out, with a rom-com-easy resolution, but by that point I was ready for anything Center was throwing my way. This is not a racy book, and the attraction and relationship are focused on emotions and wanting to be together without being swoony or angsty. Please check out my full review of The Love Haters. Katherine Center is also the author of The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and other books. 03 Say You'll Remember Me (Say You'll Remember Me #2) by Abby Jimenez Abby Jimenez layers tough situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and here, her main protagonists must face and overcome past and present difficulties in order to banter their way through the story and build a sweet life together. Samantha creates zippy social media posts for a local mustard company (I kept feeling surprise, but also joy, that this job seemed to provide a sustainable salary)--and she doesn't take any attitude from anyone. Xavier is a young veterinarian who feels grumpy, exhausted, and as though he may be losing faith in humanity--but he loves the animals he cares for. After one disastrous encounter involving a rescued kitten with a serious congenital disorder, then one magical, extended date, the two are falling for each other. But Xavier's painful past and Samantha's challenging present might make a future for the two impossible. Jimenez never shies away from including heavy themes and tough situations in her rom-coms. Here, childhood abuse, animal abuse, and dementia are all part of Xavier and Samantha's past and present stories, so nothing is too easy on their path to togetherness. Jimenez writes irresistible characters, and I loved the weight of the difficulties behind this sweet story of love. I received a prepublication audiobook edition of Say You'll Remember Me courtesy of Hachette Audio and Libro.fm. For my full review of Say You'll Remember Me, please check out this link. Jimenez is also the author of Just for the Summer (one of my Favorite Rom-Coms of the Year last year), Part of Your World, Yours Truly, The Friend Zone, and The Happy-Ever-After Playlist. 04 Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce In Kristy Boyce's young-adult charmer, high schoolers Riley and Nathan, coworkers who have nothing in common, end up in a fake-dating drama as they try to win over their love interests. High schooler Riley has a grand plan to become a Broadway director. But the always-epic school musical has been canceled because the school thinks there isn't enough support for it. So first she wants to get the spring musical set, then she'll mastermind her future. But when she borrows her mom's car without permission (to go see Waitress out of town with her best friend, so: worth it) and gets grounded, she suddenly has to spend afternoons working at her father's game store instead. Determined not to give up on the musical, Riley sneaks and works on a master plan for a performance--and talks her unfriendly teen coworker, Nathan, into making his gamer crush jealous by doing some convincing flirting with him. Meanwhile, she agrees to take part in some nerdy game play. But role-playing in Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game turns out to be...fun. And liking Nathan is starting to feel like less of an act than simply a reality. I love a fake-dating premise, and the Nathan-Riley setup is irresistible. I was hooked on their ups and downs--and the reasons for their "downs" are plausible enough that I loved rolling with them. The supporting characters and their side plots are funny and oddball and cute. This was a sweet world that I loved spending time in, and the fact that absolutely everything works out is immensely satisfying. For my full review of Dungeons and Drama, please check out this link. 05 My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan My Oxford Year takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and offers a suitably complicated ending that doesn't wrap up life's messy loose ends in an unrealistically neat bow. American Ella Durran has had a plan for her education and career sine she was 13: to study at Oxford. Now she's 24, she's just as driven, and she's finally at Oxford. In addition to branching out into studying literature across the pond, Ella has agreed to be an education policy consultant for a potential presidential candidate back home, which means she's on call at all hours. Her phone is always at hand, and if her bosses call, she drops everything to pick up and be a sounding board or a problem-solver. Her propensity for remaining emotionally closed off free up a lot of time. She's never been in a serious relationship and has no interest in one--she doesn't have time for frivolity when she's chasing so many goals. The eventual happy ending that the tone of the novel seems to be assuring readers of at the beginning morphs into a far more complex version of a resolved story by the end, with significant pain and yet glimmers of hope that transcend the immediate situation. I loved the facing of mortality in the story--as well as the focus on literature and its power. Click here for my full review of My Oxford Year. 06 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry Henry's story-within-a-story adds a historical fiction element to her signature big-hearted, banter-driven, steamy, intriguingly complicated interpersonal dynamic exploration in Great Big Beautiful Life. This is an excellent rom-com with enough weighty themes to offer appealing depth. Alice Scott is a celebrity feature writer for The Scratch in LA. She's got a sunny disposition, wears bright, cheery colors, and is hoping for her first big writing break. Hayden Anderson, from New York, has won a Pulitzer Prize and is humorless, highly scheduled, and work-obsessed. They're both currently on Georgia's tiny Little Crescent Island, vying to become the memoir author for the reclusive former tabloid darling Margaret Ives, whose whereabouts have long been unknown to the general public. Their strict NDAs mean Alice and Hayden can't talk about their work, and they're developing more questions than answers. Why is Margaret willing to share her personal tale now? What is she hiding? And what on earth is her purpose in stringing along Hayden and Alice for a month--if she even intends to follow through with this project, which they're each beginning to doubt? But the writers can't deny that opposites are attracting in inconvenient fashion in their case. They're drawn to each other and discover unexpected joy, emotional intimacy, steaminess, and maybe even a promise of something real together. Henry brings her signature warmth, great banter, and sultry romance to this story within a story. I loved the historical fiction aspect of Margaret's recounting of her history. This is an excellent rom-com with weighty themes that make it all feel anchored in something real. I got a little teary during some of the characters' vulnerability at the end, and I laughed out loud at times too. For my full review please check out Great Big Beautiful Life. Henry's Beach Read was one of my favorite books the year I read it, and it also made it onto the Greedy Reading List Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism. People We Meet on Vacation was another great Henry story; you can check out my review here, and you might like to check it out on the Greedy Reading List Six More Great Light Fiction Stories. Emily Henry is also the author of Funny Story (one of my Favorite Reads of the Year), Happy Place, and Book Lovers.

Brown's dual-timeline debut novel concerns 16th-century prophecies and a modern-day murder mystery, linked through time by a historian, a hidden book, an illiterate young girl, the powerful men who aimed to manipulate her, and two brave women who tried to save her life. Historian Alison Sage recently made the discovery of a lifetime--she unearthed the fabled writings detailing the prophecies of a 16th-century nun, Elizabeth Barton, a slim book which had been thought to be lost forever. The discovery of the book leads to Alison's first ever invitation to the exclusive Codex Consortium, where select historians gather to discuss discoveries and ideas. When she arrives, she realizes that her ex-lover is also in attendance, her friend and colleague she'd been expecting is not, and that the group has a closed-club feeling, and Alison is on the outside looking in. But the consortium takes place on an estate with links to Elizabeth Barton herself, and Alison dives into trying to add to her vast knowledge of the woman she's spent so much time trying to understand. But when a murder takes place on the grounds, everyone is a suspect. Clues to the murder--and, possibly, to vast riches from Barton's era--may lie in the story of Elizabeth Barton herself. Brown toggles back and forth in time, so that we see Alison's experiences in present day as well as Barton's rise to fame centuries earlier. An illiterate serving girl, Elizabeth initially has a true vision: she accurately predicts the death of a child in the household where she works. When powerful, religious and political figures get hold of Barton, they encourage her to speak about and "prophecy" in ways that benefit their causes, which the eager to please girl willingly does. She has one more true, vivid vision--that of Henry VIII heading to purgatory--then fills out her repertoire of "prophecies" as she is guided to do by greedy, power-hungry men in the church and the court. Two female characters in a priory and in a wealthy nearby estate (where the present-day historians are now gathered) attempt to protect Elizabeth and stop her dangerous rants, but her taste of power overwhelms her fear of retribution. After Barton's prediction of the demise of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn she is promptly hanged and then beheaded, with her disembodied head placed upon a spike as a warning to others who might speak against the king. In the current-day timeline, some of Alison's fellow consortium attendees are hiding something. She might gain additional context by sending and replying promptly to key emails, but Alison experiences the classic miscommunication trope (in the vein of "I need to pursue this important communication but I keep getting sidetracked, oh well"), which is a relatively minor point here but which frustrates me as a delay tactic. Allusions to "treasure" make some in the present-day storyline imagine vast wealth hidden on the premises, and Alison realizes that some would do anything to find the fabled items. We don't really get to know Elizabeth aside from her desire to make powerful men happy. We spend far more page time with Alison, her professional passion, and her interpersonal struggles. Brown lays out clues (I wouldn't have minded more twists or elements to wonder about) for Alison (and the reader) to follow to a fairly neat and tidy conclusion, albeit with significant casualties. I listened to The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and St. Martin's Books. More Historical Fiction Favorites This is Jennifer N. Brown's first novel. She is a historian and a nonfiction author with several other works to her credit. For more historical fiction Bossy favorites, please check out the Greedy Reading Lists and titles here.

The combined effort of V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke is a locked-room mystery that's a takedown of the book publishing industry, with authors vying to finish a bestselling series in one weekend and earn immense riches at any cost. It was fun, but I was hoping for more intrigue and twists from this dual-author powerhouse team. Six authors, many who are strangers to each other, and each one part of the dreaded publishing "midlist"--they've never made it big enough for stardom--are invited to the private Scottish island and castle where the reclusive Arthur Fletch, bestselling mystery author, sometimes hosts salons. But when they arrive, they find that Fletch, who had been working on a new mystery, is dead. And the book remains unfinished. But Fletch's former editor serves up an opportunity: Whichever one of the invited authors writes the best ending will receive the remainder of Fletch's advance--and a multiple-book deal of their own. But they only have 72 hours to write well enough to fight for the money and recognition they're each desperate to gain. Their electronics will all be locked up, so that news of Fletch's death won't get out, and so they'll concentrate on the task at hand. But that means they'll have no contact with the outside world if something goes wrong. And not everyone on the island is who they say they are. In darkly playful Agatha Christie style, they're in a locked-room (well, -castle) mystery, and it seems that one of them is trying to pick off the others in a cutthroat bid to be the last one standing. I wanted to know a little bit more about Fletch, his long-running series, and his main protagonist, Julia Petrarch, and I was hoping for (but didn't find) some echoes between that book and the mysterious situation at hand. I liked understanding each author's reason for writing, and we get snippets of their pasts to set up their path to becoming authors. The specific, ongoing, cutting takedown of the publishing industry seems to be built on real-life experiences, and the plot pits authors against each other, forces most of them to write in a genre not their own, and motivates each writer with greed: a reward of more money than most authors would see in a lifetime. Sadly, we don't get the satisfaction of knowing the imagined endings each of the authors develops in their a-ha moments. The eventual ending to Fletch's book is an interesting choice, and for me, somewhat disappointing, but in another case, a meta story-within-the-same-story structure felt like an entertaining hiding-in-plain-sight trick. The killer is, ultimately, also hiding in plain sight, and a few loose ends are resolved. I felt and hoped that we were being set up for a delightful twist, but no shocking revelation or additional information emerged in the end to add to the intrigue or depth. I listened to The Ending Writes Itself as an audiobook. More from V. E. Schwab Evelyn Clarke is the pen name for the writing team V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke. You can find my Bossy reviews of many other V. E. Schwab books here.

This peek behind the scenes of a fictional 1960s sitcom is layered with the complex issues of the changing world at that time for women, people of color, gay people, and others. Niven doesn't make characters' paths to self-actualization too easy, but there's a sense that everything will turn out in some version of a happy ending. Del and Dinah Newman, along with their sons Guy and Shep, have been mainstays on the TV for years. Their wholesome, bighearted, clean-cut show has long been easy viewing, with everything turning out all right each week and with the traditional Newmans happily settled by the end of each episode. Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, gay people, and society in general. But Del and the show's sponsors are determined to plug along as they always have. When Del suffers an accident and is unable to run the show, the rest of the Newmans make excuses for his absence to the network and sponsors--and take it upon themselves to make sure the show goes on. But Dinah, Guy, and Shep have new directions in mind to close out what might be the very end of Meet the Newmans. And if Del wakes up, he's going to be as shocked as the sponsors that the rest of the Newmans are pushing the envelope at last. A subplot involves a female newspaper reporter's struggles for bylines and respect and her bond with Dinah. The women make a rocky start but forge an unlikely, formative friendship with each other. I loved Niven's exploration of feminism and strong women, characters' rethinking of the dynamics of some longstanding relationships, and the behind-the-scenes peeks at a fictional television world. Dinah is the star of the novel, and I loved her zigzagging journey toward self-actualization. I also just love Niven's writing and the tone of her novels. I feel like I'm in good hands when I read them, and I'm in for all of her books. More from Jennifer Niven Jennifer Niven is also the author of All the Bright Places, a young adult novel I adored, Holding Up the Universe, Breathless, When We Were Monsters, and other books.

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm listening to a mystery about writers tasked with competing to finish a famous author's book, The Ending Writes Itself (by V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke, published under the pseudonym Evelyn Clarke); I'm reading Jennifer Niven's story about the family stars of a long-running sitcom facing 1960s changing values and messages, Meet the Newmans; and I'm listening to Jennifer N. Brown's debut novel, historical fiction in dual timelines about modern historians and a 16th century nun who shared devastaing prophecies about Henry VIII and was executed as a result. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke Six authors, many strangers to each other, and each one part of the dreaded publishing "midlist"--they've never made it big enough for stardom--are invited to the private Scottish island and castle where the reclusive Arthur Fletch, bestselling mystery author, sometimes hosts salons. But when they arrive, they find that Fletch, who had been working on a new mystery, is dead. And the book remains unfinished. Whichever one of the invited authors writes the best ending will receive the remainder of Fletch's advance--and a multiple-book deal of their own. But they only have 72 hours to write well enough to fight for the money and recognition they're each desperate to gain. Evelyn Clarke is the pen name for the writing team V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke. I'm listening to The Ending Writes Itself as an audiobook. 02 Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven Del and Dinah Newman, along with their sons Guy and Shep, have been mainstays on the TV for years. Their wholesome, slightly cheesy, bighearted, clean-cut show has been easy viewing, with everything turning out all right each week and the traditional Newmans happily settled by the end of each episode. Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, people who are gay, and society in general. But Del and the show's sponsors are determined to plug along as they always have. When Del suffers an accident and is unable to run the show, the rest of the Newmans make excuses to the network and sponsors--and take it upon themselves to make sure the show goes on. But Dinah, Guy, and Shep have a new direction in mind for to close out what might be the end of Meet the Newmans. And if Del wakes up, he's going to be as shocked as the sponsors that the rest of the Newmans are pushing the envelope at last. 03 The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown Historian Alison Sage recently made the discovery of a lifetime--she unearthed the fabled writings detailing the prophecies of a 16th century nun, Elizabeth Barton, which had been thought to be lost forever. Barton had predicted a path to purgatory for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn--after which she was promptly hanged and then beheaded, with her disembodied head placed upon a spike as a warning to others who might speak against the king. The discovery of the book means Alison is invited to the exclusive Codex Consortium, where select historians gather to discuss discoveries and ideas. But when a murder takes place on the grounds, everyone is a suspect, and the clue to the murder--and, possibly, to vast riches from Barton's era--may lie in the story of Elizabeth Barton herself. I'm listening to The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and St. Martin's Books. This is Jennifer N. Brown's first novel.

Bossy Favorites of the Month Here are my six favorite reads of April: a contemporary novel about family and identity; a debut novel about characters with disabilities from a nonspeaking author; a creative fantasy novel that's a book within a book; a story about loss and a love of books; a darkly funny book about loss and grief; and the third and final mystery in a series from a favorite author. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly's friends gift her an ancestry DNA kit, and when she lightheartedly submits her results, she is matched to a stranger. Sure that it's an error, Polly digs into her family history to make sure she is who she has always thought. Polly's connection to the young ladies she teaches in her school becomes more evident to her and to the reader as the story unfolds; her influence and affinity for the teens--as well as the new teen friend she meets through her DNA test journey--is a poignant juxtaposition to her struggle to start the family she wants to have. The tone of this one let me know that the story might be messy, and it might not turn out satisfactorily for all involved, but that some version of a happy ending was coming without feeling unrealistically easy. For my full review, please see More Than Enough. 02 Upward Bound by Woody Brown I felt that knowing the story of the nonspeaking author of this novel added significant depth and poignancy to this big-hearted, heartbreaking story of the clients and staff of an adult daycare center, their personal stories, and their inner lives. In his debut novel, author Woody Brown, who is nonspeaking and autistic, shares a portrait of an adult daycare center in California through glimpses of its varied clients and staff members, their motivations, their frustrations, their hopes, and their divergent paths. Brown shares realistic challenges and disappointments within the novel, yet he also offers enlightening insights and hope for improved care and connection for his Upward Bound characters. He does this without smoothing the way too easily for discovering potential avenues to communication, which the author well knows can be a fraught, necessarily inventive and flexible, complex, time-consuming challenge. The real-life story of the challenge of Brown's education, his extremely dedicated mother, and his labored yet highly effective method of communication is breathtaking and inspiring. For my full review of this book please see Upward Bound. 03 This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy story, the novel offers adventure and a quest; an everyday person in an extraordinary situation; secret identities; a ragtag, loyal group of friends; twists; and a forbidden romance with No Swooning. Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and by now she feels like she personally knows the characters and world of Kair Toren. So when she wakes up naked and cold in a filthy gutter, with events unfolding around her as they do in the first book of the series, Maggie doesn't know how or why she's there, but she's certain that she's living within her beloved story world. Danger surrounds her, and Maggie must survive long enough to figure out what's going on. But as the story went on, I was left feeling unmoored and repeatedly wondering what the heck was going on as I tried to take in the many suddenly revealed details of treachery, politics, relationships, and past and present elements, none of which I was familiar with until their importance was thrust upon me and professed by Maggie on the spot. Yet This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me shines in so many ways: Maggie's love of books, Maggie's entering into the fictional world she is obsessed with, the ragtag pack of friends-like-family that forms around her, the group's greater quest, and the star-crossed lovers at its heart. For my full review, please check out This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me. 04 This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page Page's romantic novel celebrates the importance of books for coping, celebrating, and exploring, while also delving into our main protagonist's deep grief and fight to find her footing again after loss. The sweet story offers poignancy, heart, and hope. Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owner of Book Lane, a local London bookshop, and learns that Joe had made arrangements for a handpicked book for Tilly each month of the coming year, hoping to inspire, comfort, and challenge Tilly, but most of all, to open her up to living again. The books become a touchstone each month during that first difficult year after Joe's death. Tilly befriends bookseller Alfie and his coworkers, and her new friends allow her to grieve as well as celebrate small joys without guilt. But the year following Joe's passing also allows Tilly to imagine a new version of herself and a future with happiness, hope, and the promise of unexpected adventure. This is a feel-good romance celebrating books while its main protagonist reels with grief. While the complications and difficulties exist, Page makes you certain things will turn out with hope and the promise of joy. You might also want to check out these other Bossy reviews of books about books and books that deal with grief. You can read my full review here: This Book Made Me Think of You. 05 Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen Nguyen offers a novel inspired by real life about the loss of a child and the deep, paralyzing grief that follows; this tragicomedy has dark humor and messy, realistic-feeling paths toward finding greater peace without minimizing sorrow. Cleo and her best friend since childhood, Paloma, live down the street from each other and are ecstatic to be pregnant with their first children at the same time. They have a joint baby shower, discuss all of their pregnancy woes, compare baby products--and they even give birth on the same day. But Paloma and her husband happily bring their new son home, while Cleo and Ethan find themselves in a nightmare of grief: their daughter Daisy dies at the hospital soon after birth. Cleo and Ethan's world is turned upside down. Cleo takes a zigzagging, destructive, uncomfortable, cathartic, despairing, and often gallows-humor-fed path through the depths of her grief to a place where she can function again, holding her grief a little more lightly but prepared to always keep it close. Characters surprise each other, and while the tone of the novel assures the reader that many issues will be resolved, we know that Cleo's loss cannot be reversed. Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is darkly funny, moving, honest, messy, and lovely. Click here for my full review. 06 The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French The third in the Cal Hooper series is a slow-burn mystery in which Tana French serves up deep character development; a prominent, brooding Irish landscape; and a multitide of community secrets, dark motivations, and furious revenge. I love a retired detective story, an Irish setting, and a Tana French book. Cal Hooper, a former Chicago cop, has settled into small-town Ireland life, made connections, developed a low-key but deeply felt romance with Lena Dunne, and taken on the role of a surrogate father to a local teen, Trey Reddy. But he can't seem to find peace and quiet; in this third novel in French's series, the community reels over the disappearance and death of a local young woman, Rachel Holohan. The focus of The Keeper is largely the complicated, evolving, often unspoken interpersonal goings-on in Ardnakelty, and I was fascinated by Cal's navigation of the minefields (along with Lena's and Trey's entrees into their own complicated social encounters). French also digs into the past to show us Lena's past and to illuminate the reasons for her frequent seclusion and her withdrawal from local society. The Keeper is an almost 500-page slow burn mystery, and an undercurrent of tension and danger exists throughout. After a time the mystery is no longer a mystery; the main unknown is which form the community's renegade justice will take, and how far it will reach. I wasn't wholly satisfied with some of the plot points, but The Keeper delivers wonderfully in terms of character development, which takes center stage throughout. I received a prepublication edition of The Keeper courtesy of NetGalley and Viking Penguin. For my full review, please check out The Keeper. You might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other Tana French novels.

Nguyen offers a novel inspired by real life about the loss of a child and the deep, paralyzing grief that follows; this tragicomedy has dark humor and messy, realistic-feeling paths toward finding greater peace without minimizing sorrow. Cleo and her best friend since childhood, Paloma, live down the street from each other and are ecstatic to be pregnant with their first children at the same time. They have a joint baby shower, discuss all of their pregnancy woes, compare baby products--and they even give birth on the same day. But Paloma and her husband happily bring their new son home, while Cleo and Ethan find themselves in a nightmare of grief: their daughter Daisy dies at the hospital soon after birth. Cleo and Ethan's world is turned upside down. Nguyen plunges the reader into Cleo's grief, her sometimes socially unacceptable methods of getting through each day, and, much to her family's horror, her pivot from actuarial work to employment at the funeral home where Daisy's service was held. Cleo takes a zigzagging, destructive, uncomfortable, cathartic, despairing, and often gallows-humor-fed path through the depths of her grief to a place where she can function again, holding her grief a little more lightly but prepared to always keep it close. Characters surprise each other, and while the tone of the novel assures the reader that many issues will be resolved, we know that Cleo's loss cannot be reversed. Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is darkly funny, moving, honest, messy, and lovely. In her author's note, Nguyen shares that her own loss of a child led her to write this novel. I received a prepublication audiobook edition of Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm. More Books You Might Like Mai Nguyen is also the author of Sunshine Nails. Other novels that are darkly humorous tragicomedies with somewhat of a similar tone to this one include The Wedding People and Margo's Got Money Troubles, both of which I loved.

At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy story, the novel offers adventure and a quest; an everyday person in an extraordinary situation; secret identities; a ragtag, loyal group of friends; twists; and a forbidden romance with No Swooning. Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and by now she feels like she personally knows the characters and world of Kair Toren. So when she wakes up naked and cold in a filthy gutter, with events unfolding around her as they do in the first book of the series, Maggie doesn't know how or why she's there, but she's certain that she's living within her beloved story world. Danger surrounds her, and Maggie must survive long enough to figure out what's going on. She can lean on her knowledge of the behind-the-scenes forces at play in the kingdom, of figures' secrets and motivations, and of what is to come--as long as she doesn't make herself a target in the meantime and, she assumes, as long as she doesn't change significant events by interfering. But Maggie soon realizes that if she dies, she will quickly come back to life. And she doesn't seem to be very good at staying out of trouble, so her undying status might prove to be pretttty important. This story started off strong: fascinating, fun, elaborately plotted, and irresistible. Falling into the world of a book? Figuring out how to head off immediate, deadly issues and preserve key characters that you've read about for years? Magically being able to remember in vivid detail the machinations, motivations, and details needed to guide you and your newfound friends to safety? Check, check, and check. Andrews does a skillful job of relating key information from Maggie's vast knowledge of Kair Toren as we go; we don't repetitively get the lowdown from Maggie and then again when these crucial aspects of the plot affect her existence and actions within the book's world. But as the novel progressed I felt as though the story relied very heavily upon this structure of Maggie's essential reveals in critical moments. I was left feeling unmoored and repeatedly wondering what the heck was going on as I tried to take in the many suddenly revealed details of treachery, politics, relationships, and past and present elements, none of which I was familiar with until their importance was thrust upon me and professed by Maggie on the spot. I'm not sure what the answer is, but this started to feel tedious and tough to follow for me. The book offers romance and what develops into a forbidden love interest, but thankfully, Andrews builds the characters first, the situation involves a twist--and there is No Swooning. We don't find out why Maggie has appeared within the world of Kair Toren by the end of book one; I'm eager to read book two in Andrews's series to figure out if Maggie has a purpose and what it may be. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me shines in so many ways: Maggie's love of books, Maggie's entering into the fictional world she is obsessed with, the ragtag pack of friends-like-family that forms around her, the group's greater quest, and the star-crossed lovers at its heart. I listened to This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me as an audiobook. About the Authors “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team, Gordon and Ilona. They have also co-authored the Kate Daniels, Edge, and Hidden Legacy series, as well as the Innkeeper Chronicles.

Applegate's memoir is more focused on her personal life than her acting, which has created structure in her life since childhood. She is brutally honest about recounting her health struggles as well as past trauma and the joy of her marriage and daughter. Christina Applegate began acting as an infant, and she was fifteen when she began starring in the long-running sitcom Married...with Children. She went on to star in movies like Anchorman and in television series like Dead to Me. But in You with the Sad Eyes, she reveals that her childhood in Laurel Canyon was filled with uncertainty, danger, and physical and sexual abuse. Work meant structure and pay and stability, and Applegate yearned for all of this while at home her mother struggled with addiction, her stepfather was cruel and harmed her, and her caregivers abused her in ways that shaped her forever. Acting has been the backbone of Applegate's life, but You with the Sad Eyes is far more focused on her personal life, with minimal behind-the-scenes Hollywood notes. She spends the most page time related to TV and movies on her experience contributing to developing Kelly Bundy as a character as a teen on Married...with Children. Applegate was open about her breast cancer diagnosis years ago, although in her memoir she laments having put a positive spin on that struggle in high-profile interviews rather than getting into the gritty reality. She wonders now whether she might have caused other women in the midst of their own crises to feel that their suffering and turmoil were diminished by her public, somewhat whitewashed account. Applegate is frank now about the difficulties and limitations of her multiple sclerosis, explaining how much of her life is now lived in bed because of pain and exhaustion, sharing the ways she connects with her beloved daughter, admitting how often she escapes into screens, and noting that she has time to reflect on her life's ups and downs now that she is largely homebound--and unable to work as an actor or to do many of the things she used to. It feels ungenerous to note in the face of so much vulnerability, sassiness, and messy truth that the pacing of the book felt somewhat uneven to me. This is a brutally honest memoir, and in the audiobook, which is read by Applegate, the author repeatedly sobs as she shares her difficult memories and experiences. Yet she is sharply funny and full of reflections, hard-earned wisdom, and hopes for her daughter. More Memoirs You Might Like You might also want to check out these Bossy reviews of other celebrity memoirs or these lists of favorite memoirs the years I read them: this one and also this one.

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm reading a book in which a modern-day, luxury tradwife influencer wakes up in the gritty, unforgiving 1800s, Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear; I'm listening to Mai Nguyen's darkly funny and moving book about deep grief and finding a way forward, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead; and I'm listening to Ilona Andrews's novel about a superfan who wakes up in the world of her favorite fantasy series--danger, wonder, and all, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Caro Claire Burke's debut novel features main protagonist Natalie, a fundamentalist Christian who subscribes to male-dominated power structures. She marries the son of a powerful senator, and she delves so far into perfection in homemaking and parenting, she becomes a "tradwife" influencer with 8 million followers. Then one day, Natalie wakes up panicked, without her perfectly showcased, support-staff-driven, manicured and merchandised modern farmhouse. She is living in the actual 1800s, in a homestead version of her life without electricity, indoor plumbing, or running water. Yesteryear is satirical, darkly funny, and has me completely hooked so far. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley. 02 Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen Cleo and her best friend since childhood, Paloma, live down the street from each other and are ecstatic to be pregnant with their first children at the same time, and they give birth on the same day. But Paloma and her husband happily bring their new son home, whlie Cleo and Ethan find themselves in a nightmare of grief: their daughter Daisy dies at the hospital soon after birth. Cleo and Ethan's world is turned upside down. Nguyen plunges the reader into Cleo's grief, her sometimes socially unacceptable methods of getting through each day, and, much to her husband and family's horror, her departure from actuarial work to employment at the funeral home where Daisy's service was held. Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is turning out to be darkly funny, moving, honest, messy, and lovely. I received a prepublication audiobook edition of Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm. 03 This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and she feels like she knows the characters and world of Kair Toren. So when she wakes up naked and cold in a filthy gutter, with events unfolding around her as they do in the first book of the series, Maggie doesn't know how or why she's there, but she's certain she's living within her beloved story. Maggie must figure out how to survive long enough to figure out what's going on. She can lean on her knowledge of the behind-the-scenes forces at play in the kingdom, of figures' secrets and motivations, and of what is to come--as long as she doesn't make herself a target and doesn't change significant events by interfering. But she realizes that if she dies, she quickly comes back to life. And she doesn't seem to be very good at staying out of trouble. This is fascinating, fun, elaborately plotted, and irresistible so far. I'm listening to This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me as an audiobook. “Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team, Gordon and Ilona. They have also co-authored the Kate Daniels, Edge, and Hidden Legacy series, as well as the Innkeeper Chronicles.

Six Bossy Literary Fiction Favorites I'm still mining my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite literary fiction reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 What We Can Know by Ian McEwan Ian McEwan's literary fiction looks back upon our present with a cutting 2119 eye. An enthused future academic and a contemporary poet's put-upon wife trade points of view to illuminate across two timelines a calculated rewriting of history, our brave and hubristic present-day existence, and fictional yet hauntingly plausible dangers. In What We Can Know, we're introduced to characters living in a 2119, post-global-warming, post-nuclear war existence in which the population has been cut by more than half, inland seas spread across the globe, and much of the world's variation, richness, and natural world no longer exist. Within this timeline, Tom Metcalfe, one of our main protagonists, is an academic fascinated by the past (the years surrounding our present day). In particular, he is obsessed with a famous poet named Blundy's ambitious 2014 poem, the single copy of which was read aloud for the (obtuse, grumpy, belligerent) poet's wife's birthday, then lost to time. Early on, I found the academic focus somewhat tedious, but then the story builds into unexpected, often dark layers. The tone of the book is quiet, shadowy, and reflective, but there are rich, sordid, often unexpected twists beneath the largely academic, intellectual exercises and discussions. Affairs, theft, lies, murder, negligence leading to death, drug-addled decision-making, and terrible mistakes are all essential components of the novel, yet the pacing does not charge along; this is a slow creep through the surface to often-wretched underbellies. Ian McEwan is also the author of Atonement, On Chesil Beach, Saturday, Amsterdam, and other books. You can click here for my full review of What We Can Know. 02 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman Harpman's slim novel poses a mysterious situation without promising concrete explanations. Our main protagonist knows little about her situation or location, yet persists in her quest for answers and builds a rich inner life filled with wonder. Forty women (one is a young girl, our main protagonist) live year after year as prisoners in an underground cage. Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking. The women have no recollection of how they came to be in this place, and no information is forthcoming about why they are trapped there. They are not allowed to touch each other but may speak, and to bond and pass the time, they share stories of their past lives, bicker over infinitesimal variations in how they may prepare their food or sew their own clothing, and simply kill time until their almost certain death inside the cell. Then a blasting alarm sounds, the nearest guard drops his keys and flees, and the women scramble for an escape they never anticipated. But what awaits them on the other side of the bunker doors? The novel's tone doesn't assure a satisfying set of answers as to why the women were chosen for this imprisonment, insight into what its purpose might be, or details as to its location. Yet I was intrigued by the post-apocalyptic, puzzling situation and by the main protagonist's persistence and rich inner life, which exists in stark contrast to the physical barrenness that seems to surround her. For my full review, please see I Who Have Never Known Men. For more postapocalyptic and dystopian stories I've Bossily reviewed, please check out the titles here. 03 Clear by Carys Davies Davies's slim, luminous, heartbreaking novel sets a story of isolation and human connection against the brutal removal of impoverished citizens from the land in mid-19th century Scotland. Davies sets her stark, beautiful story Clear against the backdrop of the Scottish Clearances of the 19th century, in which impoverished citizens were driven off their land. John Ferguson, a minister in need of funds for his new church accepts the job (against the advice of his wife) of evicting Ivar, the sole inhabitant of a remote island off the northern coast of Scotland in 1843. A series of events leads from disaster to recovery, to connection and secrets, to a surprising set of revelations. The men develop a tender, heartwarming friendship separate from class, background, intellect, and societal expectations. John, at a distance from worries about his congregation and the future of Presbyterianism, as well as from his kind wife, sinks into Ivar's daily rhythm of working on the land, caring for animals, and finding wonder in nature. Time passes as though in a vacuum, and the men's need for human connection overshadows all else. By the time John's wife appears--fresh from a rough sea journey, inspired to travel by a sense that John was in danger--the resolution feels heartbreaking, heartwarming, and utterly surprising in its generosity and departure from societal norms. For my full review of this book please see Clear. 04 O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker O Caledonia is a modern classic, literary fiction that encompasses darkly funny passages and tragic consequences set against a gloomy Scottish landscape that serves as a key character, it's so essential to the tone of the novel. Barker's novel features Janet, a misunderstood, mocked, badly treated young woman coming of age in a family of obtuse, rigid, unkind members living in a gothic, ramshackle castle in Scotland. Janet's only ally is her eccentric old Aunt Lila, who is herself powerless and in danger of being thrust from the family. Boarding school leads to further ostracization and irritating demands upon Janet's time, when she'd prefer to lose herself in literature and avoid social interaction altogether. This is darkly funny, with a surprisingly startling and tragic setup for O Caledonia's immersive, atmospheric story. I found the bookends that set the stage for (and close the loop on) a character's demise distracting, but I was captivated by the story inside. Each attempt Janet makes to be her true self, delve into her interests, or behave naturally ends in a tragic reprimand or a disastrous set of consequences. She is punished for wanting, for knowing, and for achieving. Her family could be said to be paralyzed by societal norms if their imaginations weren't so lacking; no other routes appear to occur to them, so they plod cluelessly, and often cruelly, forward. The bleak, unforgiving setting is as present as another character, with its dead orchard stretching into the distance; whipping, unrelenting wind; and dark, cold days. For my full review, please see O Caledonia. 05 The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr Carr's newest novel is a captivating series of character studies within a tightly knit Irish seaside community in the late 1900s. While characters struggle to make ends meet, support each other, and avoid giving in to the least generous parts of themselves, tragedies and wonders shape their community in this lovely, heartbreaking and heart-wrenching tale. In a seaside Irish town in the 1970s, a baby is washed up on the shore. As the community wonders at his mysterious, whimsical appearance, they embrace Brendan, as he is ultimately named, as one of their own, yet hold him separate--and, for a time, credit him with the power of bestowing blessings upon them. But the world of the story is grounded in day-to-day stressors and challenges. The country is reeling from economic troubles; Brendan's older adoptive brother deeply resents his presence; and conflicts and complicated dynamics underscore friendships, family relationships, and the community as a whole. The story is a fascinating study of relationships, with heartwarming moments and heartbreaking developments alike. Brendan is not the main protagonist, despite the novel's title, yet he is central to the story in that his presence pushes others to determine what they're about. He remains steady in the face of external upheaval (and Declan's exceptionally poor treatment of him), until even Brendan begins to waver and to seem for a time unsure of who he is and what he is made of and made for. When Carr offers various measures of character growth and resolutions toward the end of the book, they are reassuring and lovely, sometimes heart-wrenching, and fittingly complicated. I listened to The Boy from the Sea as an audiobook. Click here for my full review of The Boy from the Sea. 06 Time of the Child by Niall Williams Time of the Child feels like poetry in prose form, and Williams richly shapes a small-town Irish community's everyday and extraordinary events in this poignant, gorgeous literary fiction novel. In 1962 in the small Irish town of Faha, it's Christmastime, and Dr. Jack Troy and his oldest daughter Ronnie are coping with complicated family dynamics in their drafty, rural Irish home when an unexpected discovery turns everything upside down. During the annual, chaotic community fair preceding this holidays, which this year is a rainy business full of haggling, disappointments, and triumphs, an infant is left by the church gates. Young Jude and Faha's grown twins, Tim and Tom, bring the baby girl to Dr. Troy and Ronnie, believing her dead but not sure what else to do. And she does seem to have passed on to another realm, until Dr. Troy is able to revive her. In an impulsive pact, the four men agree not to share the news of the baby with anyone. What really shines in Time of the Child is the power of the small-town Faha community--gossipy and desperate for dirt as its citizens may largely be. The miracle of unity brought about by a baby's presence is poignant without feeling too easy. This story is beautiful and powerful. Williams's writing feels like a poem in prose structure; no word is wasted, and I read this novel slowly in order to savor the world the author so gorgeously created. For my full review of this book please see Time of the Child. You might also like to read the Bossy review of the Niall Williams novel This Is Happiness.

Page's romantic novel celebrates the importance of books for coping, celebrating, and exploring, while also delving into our main protagonist's deep grief and fight to find her footing again after loss. The sweet story offers poignancy, heart, and hope. Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owner of Book Lane, a local London bookshop, and learns that Joe had made arrangements for a handpicked book for Tilly each month of the coming year, hoping to inspire, comfort, and challenge Tilly, but most of all, to open her up to living again. The books become a touchstone each month during that first difficult year after Joe's death. Tilly befriends bookseller Alfie and his coworkers, and her new friends allow her to grieve as well as celebrate small joys without guilt. But the year following Joe's passing also allow Tilly to imagine a new version of herself and a future with happiness, hope, and the promise of unexpected adventure. But the grief, the books--and her friendships, particularly with Alfie--change Tilly. She considers her life as she hasn't before, she grows fully into herself, and she has difficult conversations she's avoided (the daughter-in-law/mother-in-law discomfort and rehashing of old grievances resolves messily-beautifully, in satisfying fashion). While the young widow fights to get her footing back, she thinks back on her relationship with Joe, who was in many ways her polar opposite. She doesn't sugarcoat her memories, and her revisiting the key ups and downs is powerful. Joe celebrated her passion for books but was hardly a reader himself--and then he was gravely ill, hardly able to do more than mastermind the book-a-month plan. It becomes clear that Alfie the well-read book lover was obviously the driving force behind the actual, perfect book suggestions, which makes Tilly feel all kinds of ways. But Alfie's bookstore, which he inherited from his father, is under threat due to rising rents, rising costs, and an increasingly posh neighborhood threatening to price him out. The community loudly voices support for their beloved store, but it will take a contemporary-romance miracle for the store to be saved. Luckily, this is a feel-good romance celebrating books while its main protagonist reels with grief. While the complications and difficulties exist, Page makes you certain things will turn out with hope and the promise of joy. The book recommendations by theme that kick off the chapters (courtesy of Alfie and the bookstore) are a fantastic touch, and along with Tilly's book-a-month selections, Page offers up dozens of titles to explore. I listened to This Book Made Me Think of You as a libary audiobook via Libby. More Books You Might Enjoy Libby Page is also the author of The Lido, The Vintage Shop of Second Chances, The Island Home, The Lifeline, and The 24-Hour Café. You might also want to check out these other Bossy reviews of books about books and books that deal with grief.

I felt that knowing the story of the nonspeaking author of this novel added significant depth and poignancy to this big-hearted, heartbreaking story of the clients and staff of an adult daycare center, their personal stories, and their inner lives. In his debut novel, author Woody Brown, who is nonspeaking and autistic, shares a portrait of an adult daycare center in California through glimpses of its varied clients and staff members, their motivations, their frustrations, their hopes, and their divergent paths. Upward Bound is a dreary building, but its daily clients bring gifts, abilities, and desires for connection. Its staff members have uneven abilities to recognize the humanity behind the clients' conditions and disabilities and to meet their emotional needs. Brown slides the reader into various points of view, allowing us to sink into the inner lives of clients who may not be able to verbalize their thoughts and needs but who feel complex emotions and desires, as well as into staff members' varied backstories of how they came to Upward Bound. Some crucial disconnects between client intention and staff interpretation become clear to the reader; the characters' distress and frustration are powerful to understand. Yet some characters make undeniable, unlikely, essential connections with each other. Tragedy ultimately strikes in an unexpected way, and some figures drift apart. Brown shares realistic challenges and disappointments within the novel, yet he also offers enlightening insights and hope for improved care and connection for his Upward Bound characters. He does this without smoothing the way too easily for discovering potential avenues to communication, which the author well knows can be a fraught, necessarily inventive and flexible, complex, time-consuming challenge. The real-life story of the challenge of Brown's education, his extremely dedicated mother, and his labored yet highly effective method of communication is breathtaking and inspiring. (He points to letters on a laminated board and waits for his mother to confirm his words; this is how he conveys his thoughts and feelings and how he dictated the entirety of this novel, and this obviously requires his mother or another caregiver to spend hours working closely with him.) Brown's personal experiences lend legitimacy and particular poignancy to the protagonists' stories and paths in this big-hearted, sometimes heartbreaking novel. I received a prepublication edition of Upward Bound courtesy of NetGalley and Random House. Other Books You Might Like You might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other novels featuring neurodivergent characters and books that involve characters with disabilities.

The third in the Cal Hooper series is a slow-burn mystery in which Tana French serves up deep character development; a prominent, brooding Irish landscape; and a multitide of community secrets, dark motivations, and furious revenge. When I Bossily reviewed the first book in this series, The Searcher , I started my review this way: What do I love more than a Tana French book, a retired detective story, or an Irish setting? Nothing. There is nothing I love more than any of these setups, except all three in one . I continue to stand by all of this appreciation for French and for this series. That brings me to this third and final Cal Hooper mystery, which provides more of all of it: more details of small-town Irish life in Ardnakelty , more retired-cop challenges of trying to live a quiet life, more sharp undercurrents that keep Cal hopping--and more prickly interpersonal encounters as he wades into and through the unspoken language, loyalties, and duty of getting along with and truly becoming part of his community. To recap: Cal Hooper, a former Chicago cop, has settled into small-town Ireland life, made connections, developed a low-key but deeply felt romance with Lena Dunne, and taken on the role of a surrogate father to a local teen, Trey Reddy. But the quiet life he had envisioned continues to elude him. In this third novel in French's series, the community reels over the disappearance and death of a local young woman, Rachel Holohan. She had been involved with the son of a powerful local family, the Moynihans, and it becomes clear that the Moynihans plan to change the area's landscape by building an enormous factory--after buying up all the farms in the area. To say that community feelings are mixed on this matter is dramatically understating things, and the significant rift in the town is exacerbated by rumors, gossip, fears, and fury around Rachel's demise. The focus of The Keeper is largely the complicated, evolving, often unspoken interpersonal goings-on in Ardnakelty , and I was fascinated by Cal's navigation of the minefields (along with Lena's and Trey's entrees into their own complicated social encounters). Cal is flying blind less often now that he's been around Ardnakelty locals for a while, but he must sometimes make educated guesses about the waterfall of repercussions he may be causing with an act or question, or which move increases his loyalty to his best buddies, or how he might manage a sticky situation that involves his best girl or his pseudo-daughter. In this novel, French also digs into the past to show us Lena's past and to illuminate the reasons for her frequent seclusion and her withdrawal from local society. Her dips within this novel into reconnecting with old acquaintances (and the resulting hubbub) illustrate the generations of patterns, expectations, claustrophobic rules, and long-simmering conflicts that swirl through the entire area. The idyllic countryside hides all manner of secrets, greed, cruelties, manipulation, and darkness, and the "Irish noir" label perfectly fits the tone of French's shadows and sinister situations. French highlights the clash of tradition and stasis against modernity, change, and proposed shifts in ownership and community focus. These complicated matters are at the heart of the instigating conflict in the novel. The Keeper is an almost 500-page slow burn mystery. An undercurrent of tension exists throughout, as acts of revenge grow in a cycle of growing stakes and danger. After a time the mystery is no longer a mystery; the main unknown is which form the community's renegade justice will take, and how far it will reach. I wasn't wholly satisfied with the truth of Rachel's demise, and I wasn't sure I fully bought into it, nor the particulars of the justice served to the perpetrators of the major wrongdoings here. But I love a mystery that leans into character development, and The Keeper delivers wonderfully on that front. The character development takes center stage throughout. While I don't think you must read the other books in the series before this one, I do think readers would benefit from the richness of the characters' journeys in prior Cal Hooper books. I received a prepublication edition of The Keeper courtesy of NetGalley and Viking Penguin. More Tana French Novels I love Tana French. You might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other Tana French novels .

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm reading the newest novel by a favorite author, Taylor Brown, Wolvers ; I'm reading Woody Brown's debut novel about an adult daycare center, Upward Bound ; and I'm listening to Christina Applegate's memoir, You with the Sad Eyes . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Wolvers by Taylor Brown Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods better than almost anyone around, is hired by a shadowy, powerful militia group to take out One-Eleven, the female leader of the most famous wolf pack in New Mexico, the Dark Canyons. But One-Eleven is uncannily gifted in eluding human pursuit, and Trace is far from the only outdoorsman in these woods. I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. I'm a huge Taylor Brown fan. Check out my Bossy reviews of his novels Rednecks , Wingwalkers , The Gods of Howl Mountain , and Fallen Land , a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War . 02 Upward Bound by Woody Brown In his debut novel, Woody Brown, who is non-speaking and autistic, shares a portrait of an adult daycare center in California through glimpses of its varied clients and staff members, their motivations, their frustrations, their hopes, and their divergent paths. Upward Bound is a dreary building, but its daily clients bring gifts, abilities, and desires for connection. Its staff members have uneven abilities to recognize the humanity behind the clients' conditions and disabilities. The real-life story of Brown's education, dedicated mother, and labored method of communication is breathtakingly inspiring, and his experiences lend legitimacy and particular poignancy to the protagonists' paths in this big-hearted, sometimes heartbreaking novel. I received a prepublication edition of Upward Bound courtesy of NetGalley and Random House. You might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other novels featuring neurodivergent characters . 03 You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate Christina Applegate began acting as an infant, and she was a young actor when she starred in the long-running sitcom Married...with Children . She went on to star in movies like Anchorman and in television series like Dead to Me . But her childhood in Laurel Canyon was filled with uncertainty, danger, and physical and sexual abuse. Work meant structure, and pay, and stability, and Applegate yearned for all of this when at home her mother struggled with addiction, her stepfather was cruel and harmed her, and her caregivers abused her in ways that shaped her forever. Applegate was open about her breast cancer diagnosis years ago, and she is frank now about the difficulties and limitations of her multiple sclerosis. This is a brutally honest memoir, and in the audiobook Applegate repeatedly sobs as she shares her painful memories and experiences. Yet she is sharply funny and full of reflections, hard-earned wisdom, and hopes for her daughter. You might also want to check out these Bossy reviews of other celebrity memoirs .

Six Final Bossy Favorites If you follow this blog, you probably already know that historical fiction is one of my favorite reading genres, and this is the third of three historical-fiction favorite lists I'll have for you as I revisit my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. For my first roundup, check out this link , and for my second, check out this one . You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year, or you can click to read about past Bossy historical favorites . If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite historical reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian The deep bond that builds between an injured Union soldier and the Virginia woman who secretly takes him in is touching and complicated, and Bohjalian doesn't make Libby's dangerous choices feel too easy. The author was inspired by a true story. Libby Steadman lives in Virginia on the edge of the Confederate-Union Civil War conflict. Her husband has been away fighting for the Confederacy since soon after they were married, and Libby is warden to her orphaned, strong-willed niece Jubilee. She's also living alongside a hired hand, Joseph, who became a freedman when Libby's husband's family reconsidered their stance on slavery, and his wife Sally. Together the family members work grueling hours milling grain for the Confederacy.  Then Libby finds a gravely injured Union officer in a neighbor’s abandoned home. Because she hopes that a Union woman would take pity on her husband in the same situation, she secretly cares for Weybridge's injuries, realizing that if Confederate soldiers were aware of his presence in her home, the family would be considered traitors. The decision to take in Weybridge is morally clear to Libby, but the realities of the potential harm it could bring aren't lost on her. Bohjalian never makes the decision-making too easy, and the ending was not the neatly tied-up bow of a resolution I had begun to anticipate. The story is based upon a real account of a Southern woman who helped a Union soldier during the Civil War. I received a prepublication edition of The Jackal's Mistress  courtesy of Doubleday Books and NetGalley. For my full review of this book please see The Jackal's Mistress . 02 Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine Erin Crosby Eckstine's richly detailed historical fiction explores the life of Junie, an enslaved young woman in rural Alabama haunted by her sister's speaking, demanding ghost while she dares to dream of love and maybe even a life of freedom. The Civil War is looming, and Junie is a sixteen-year-old who has spent her whole life enslaved on an Alabama plantation. She works alongside her family, caring for the plantation owners' daughter Violet, who is her own age, and gaining cursory exposure to Violet's studies of poetry and knowledge. But Junie wanders restlessly at night, haunted by her sister Minnie's sudden death not long ago and by Minnie's ghost, which is demanding that Junie complete dangerous tasks and face truths she never imagined . Erin Crosby Eckstine balances the horrors of living in an enslaved situation with the complex interpersonal relationships Junie forges. Without shying away from the often hopeless lack of autonomy, lack of power, and lack of say-so and constant fear of the enslaved, Eckstine builds a rich story of detail of life at the time. She also explores the complicated Violet-Junie dynamic, in which Junie is Violet's only company for many years, yet is at her mercy for all opportunities to learn, explore, and pause from backbreaking work. For my full review, please see Junie . 03 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden Much of The Safekeep  feels claustrophobic, quiet, and hopeless, but unexpected shifts late in the story turn accepted histories on their heads, opening the door for newly imagined futures of the characters' dreams . It's the summer of 1961 in the rural Dutch province of Overijssel, and rigid Isabel is a spinster in self-prescribed rigidity, adhering to strict schedules and a quiet life in her late mother's home--where she resides at the whim of her brothers, who, as men, own the house (but do not live there). When her playboy brother Louis drops his gauche girlfriend Eva to stay--for at least a month! in their mother's old room!--Isabel is more than a little upset. Eva's curiosity, enthusiasm for the world, and embracing of new experiences begin to seep into Isabel's experience. Isabel is initially annoyed, then inexplicably drawn to Eva--and eventually a torrid love affair begins between the women. Yet most of their feelings and hopes and thoughts are unexpressed. Theirs is largely a halting, unsure, almost silent, sexually driven relationship. This felt almost gothic in its initial darkness and hopelessness, then took me by surprise by blooming into a story about coming into one's own and defying expectations to find healing and love. I listened to The Safekeep , which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, as an audiobook. For my full review please check out The Safekeep . 04 The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap Dunlap's debut novel explores early Edinburgh surgical schools, questionable methods of obtaining study subjects, a main protagonist's surprisingly believable entrée into body snatching, a forbidden love, and serial killers, and I was in for it all. Dunlap's debut novel is dark, twisty, gothic, and it's set in 19th-century Scotland as fictionalized versions of real-life serial killers Burke and Hare are terrorizing Edinburgh. James Willoughby is a naïve young medical student whose family fortunes have taken a negative turn, leaving him with a passion for studying medicine but no resources to pursue schooling. He becomes drawn into the underworld of body snatching when he seeks paid work to fund his studies--and begins to understand (and assist with) the process of obtaining cadavers for his surgery study. Ultimately, terrifyingly, his activities lead him to run into the cadaver-producing killers Burke and Hare. Dunlap does a wonderful job of bringing a spooky, fascinating underworld of Edinburgh to life, while also exploring the burgeoning surgery and medical school experience, and, against all odds, building the somewhat-reasonable-feeling case for James's horror-turned-acceptance on the subject of mining graveyards for bodies to study. I love Dunlap's writing and the way the author crafted this story. I'm definitely in for reading this author's future books! Please click here  for my full review of The Resurrectionist . 05 The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead Whitehead, inspired by a real-life reform school that abused and terrorized boys for over a century, shares a tale of racial injustice, abuse and horrors, terrible fear, and the very real threat of death at the hands of openly, willfully cruel white men. We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness. Elwood Curtis is a promising young man in 1960s Tallahassee. But when he hitchhikes with the wrong guy to his first day of scholarship university classes, he's unfairly sent to a boys' reform school, The Nickel Academy. The "Nickel Boys" endure endless injustices, abuse, and horrors, including the looming threat of being "disappeared" out back, never to be heard from again. But as naive as it may be, Elwood persists in pursuing justice and clinging to the moral high road just like his idol Martin Luther King, Jr., and he is unwavering in his ideals regardless of the dangers. His best friend Turner is more savvy, careful, and jaded, while loyal to Elwood. The Nickel Academy is based on a real-life reform school that, horrifyingly, abused boys for 111 years. The Nickel Boys  doesn't shy away from infuriating, relentless, insidious, damaging, often deadly racial injustice and cruelties. I felt a little manipulated regarding the "twist" Whitehead introduces late in the book, but the living out of an identity and living into an envisioned future is a powerful element. For my full review of this book please see The Nickel Boys . For other titles that center around race, please check out the books at this link . For more nonfiction titles that focus on race, please click here . 06 Buckeye by Patrick Ryan Patrick Ryan's literary fiction traces decades of the messy, poignant lives of two families shaped by uncompromising societal expectations who work to connect across secrets, upended traditional roles, shocking loss, and unanticipated love. In Patrick Ryan's literary fiction title Buckeye , which begins before World War II and spans to the end of the twentieth century, we begin with the story of a young couple in Bonhomie, Ohio, as they meet, fall in love, build a family, and struggle to stay connected. Relationships shift, unlikely ties grow stronger, characters grow apart and find their way back together, and what seemed like indelible relationships fall away as Buckeye  stretches across decades of life, choices, and loss. The unexpected, unorthodox, secret-based links between two families shape the story (with a supporting cast made up of an older generation steeped in habit and old-fashioned values yet poignantly capable of change and growth). The found-family messiness was a highlight of the novel; the caring that emerges due to and among heartbreaking splits is particularly powerful. Patrick Ryan is also the author of The Dream Life of Astronauts , Send Me , and young adult novels. For more family stories you might like, please check out the Bossy reviews at this link . For my full review, please check out Buckeye .

This romance-laced mystery centered around a podcast and its host's disappearance includes some far-fetched-feeling elements, but Tiffany Crum's debut novel keeps up the pacing and kept me interested throughout, including the renegade justice that's served up. Benny and Joy are best friends who met under unusual circumstances; Joy, a narcoleptic, was asleep outside a bar bathroom when Benny woke her up. (Side note: this is presented as a zany meet-cute but felt a little jarringly oddball and potentially extremely dangerous to Joy.) Now Joy and Benny host one of the most popular podcasts around. Through their natural banter and conversations they came up with what turned out to be a slam-dunk premise: One friend poses a highly specific situation and asks the other to imagine how they would escape it. Then the duo reveals a real-life situation that has occured and which applies to the scenario and they speak to experts about how best to survive it. The podcast is entertaining, a huge hit--and extremely lucrative. In fact, Benny and Joy are in talks to sell the podcast for millions. When Joy and her husband Xander, who's been highly involved in the management of the podcast (and Benny and Joy's finances), go missing under mysterious circumstances, Benny is suspect number one. Because of this, and because of his adoration of Joy, Benny feels it's up to him to put together the pieces of what happened--and bring them home. It becomes clear that Benny and Joy have in the past had feelings for each other; that Xander has secretly and not-so-secretly been controlling and interfering; that Benny's ex-wife is a saint and also more key to the story than one might have anticipated; and that many things are not as they seem. The pacing of This Story Might Save Your Life moves along; Crum tracks back and forth in time, relies on snippets of the podcast as context, and shares various characters' points of view to reveal the real story piece by piece, all while present-day events continue to unfold. Joy is narcoleptic, has suffered from trauma, and is at times hallucinatory, so she is an unreliable narrator--until we know that we're getting the full story toward the end of the book. When the full extent of the secrets and lies at the heart of the mystery are revealed, some of them feel somewhat far-fetched and like significant reaches, but I was most intrigued by one unexpected key player, a seemingly unlikely but essential piece of the justice that is ultimately served up. I listened to This Story Might Save Your Life as an audiobook. More Books You Might Like This Story Might Save Your Life is Tiffany Crum's debut novel. Another mystery that invoves a podcaster is the great novel Listen for the Lie .

Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly is a high school English teacher who leans on her close-knit, longtime book club for support, reason, venting, and laughter. Along with her beloved husband, they are her closest people. The friends gift Polly an ancestry DNA kit, and when she lightheartedly submits her results, she is matched to a stranger. Sure that it's an error, Polly digs into her family history to make sure she is who she has always thought. She wonders if her difficult relationship with her mother could be due to secrets around her biological origins, and she forges an unexpected bond with a young woman while feeling distance from her brother and even more cold feelings toward her mother. Meanwhile, messy life events are propelling members of the book club in different directions, and the friends' bonds will be tested by all that is to come. Polly's strong, loving marriage is a bolstering force for her, as is her deep friendship with her brother. The hesitant, imperfect development of her relationship with her mom is difficult and intriguing to witness. I was fascinated by the way Polly's book club friend group evolved through difficulties. After so many years, they have reads on each other's personalities and preferences in many ways, but some combinations of them also keep each other at an emotional distance. The experiences they share through the course of the book add another layer to their connections. I felt as though the premise of the book club (everyone buys the book but pledges not to read it) was somewhat silly and contrived, although in theory I'm all for unconventional book club inspiration (I love that my good friend's book club is all about sharing their thoughts on the books they're each personally reading, rather than choosing a book to read on a certain timeline together). Polly's connection to the young ladies in her school becomes more evident to her and to the reader as the story unfolds; her influence and affinity for the teens--as well as the new teen friend she meets through her DNA test journey--is a poignant juxtaposition to her struggle to start the family she wants to have. Quindlen is insightful about sharing small moments between characters that are packed with meaning and impact as well as offering peeks into characters' innermost thoughts, and she's tuned into how these elements ultimately build relationships and collectively build a life. The tone of this one let me know that the story might be messy, and it might not turn out satisfactorily for all involved, but that some version of a happy ending was coming without feeling unrealistically easy. I loved this novel. I received a prepublication edition of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Random House. More Reading You Might Like Anna Quindlen is also the author of After Annie , One True Thing , Every Last Thing , Object Lessons , and other books. You might also like these Bossy reviews of other heartwarming books, heartbreaking books, and books exploring issues around DNA .

It's not necessary to read other books in this series before diving into an Eddie Flynn novel; Cavanagh skillfully establishes key elements of the past while diving into the urgency of present-day events. The character of Eddie is perfectly imperfect, and I didn't mind the outlandish story elements because Cavanagh creates such a suspenseful story that moves right along. Elly Parker is a wildly successful social media influencer who focuses on filming and sharing her random acts of kindness across the internet. She's happy in her marriage--until she realizes that her husband is having an affair with her best friend. Elly retreats into silence after inadvertently posting to the internet the moment she attempted to surprise her husband but discovered the affair, which was at that time occurring in her own bed. When she emerges from seclusion, she sees a stranger with crutches and a suitcase on the steps of a subway platform, clearly in need of assistance. She is determined to continue to try to be kind out in the world, despite her pain. But the stranger's specific intention was always to draw Elly into his mysterious, elaborate, destructive plan. He goes to great lengths to lay the groundwork of framing Elly for a terrible crime. Now Elly is having trouble getting the police or anyone else to believe in the existence of the unknown man who has turned her life on its head, much less in getting them to believe she is wholly innocent of the terrible acts that literally have her fingerprints all over them. Enter Eddie Flynn, whose fast-and-loose approach to his work as a criminal lawyer destroyed his marriage and is a constant threat to the continuation of his career. But when you're backed into a corner with all logic eluding you and with evidence and criminal charges pointing in your direction, Eddie Flynn is just the guy you need. The convoluted motivations of this stranger-villain, a sociopath criminal mastermind, feel shockingly arbitrary. Cavanagh does delve into this monstrous figure's past and the reasons for his mental illness. The randomness of his targeting Elly and her seemingly assured destruction make for a chilling, it-could-happen-to-anyone horror. Eddie is perfectly imperfect and stops at nothing to achieve his ends, using craftiness, his knowledge of human nature, and playing up favors and loyalty. His ragtag officemates are an underrated, skillful team. Toward the end of the story there's an overly convenient although somewhat satisfying twist regarding the bad guy; I had wondered if something along these lines was going on, but thought it felt too far-fetched. I didn't mind that Cavanagh dove in on multiple outlandish avenues (the villain's targeting of Elly; this final twist) within the book. I received an electronic prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Atria Books. More from Steve Cavanagh Steve Cavanagh is also the author of Kill for Me, Kill for You  as well as eight other titles in the Eddie Flynn series, of which this book is a part. You might also like these mystery and suspense titles I've Bossily reviewed.

The Books I'm Reading Now I went skiing for spring break last week, and during my travels and some lazy evenings I managed to pack in some great books that I'll be reviewing ASAP--and wanting to talk to you about. This week I'm listening to a sweet book-loving novel that also deals with grief, This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page; I'm reading the third in Tana French's Irish-set Cal Hooper mystery series, The Keeper ; and I'm reading a mystery built around a fictitious podcast, This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum. What are you reading, bookworms? 01 This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owner of a local London bookshop and learns that Joe had made arrangements for a handpicked book for Tilly each month of the coming year, hoping to inspire, comfort, and challenge Tilly, but most of all, to open her up to living again. Tilly befriends bookseller Alfie and his coworkers, and the books and her new friends allow her to grieve but also to imagine a new version of herself and a future with joy, hope, and the promise of unexpected adventure. I'm listening to This Book Made Me Think of You as a libary audiobook via Libby. Check out these other Bossy reviews of books about books and books that deal with grief . 02 The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French Cal Hooper, a former Chicago cop, has settled into small-town Ireland life, made connections, developed a low-key but deeply felt romance, and taken on the role of a surrogate father to a local teen. But the quiet life he had envisioned seems to elude him. In this third novel in French's series, the community reels over the disappearance of a local young woman. She had been involved with the son of a powerful local family, and it becomes clear that that family plans to change the area's landscape by building an enormous factory, after buying up all the farms in the area. I received a prepublication edition of The Keeper courtesy of NetGalley and Viking Penguin. You might also be interested in my Bossy reviews of other Tana French novels . 03 This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum Benny and Joy are best friends who host one of the most popular podcasts around. One friend poses a highly specific situation and asks the other to imagine how they would escape it. Then they reveal a real-life situation that applies to the scenario and ask experts about how best to survive it. The podcast is entertaining--and extremely lucrative. In fact, Benny and Joy are in talks to sell the podcast for millions. So when Joy and her husband Xander, who's been highly involved in the management of the podcast and Benny and Joy's finances, go missing under mysterious circumstances, Benny feels it's up to him to put together the pieces of what happened--and bring them home. Another mystery that invoves a podcaster is the great novel Listen for the Lie .

I hope spring is treating you well so far! I'll be taking a little break from posting, but while I'm offline I'll be reading lots of books I can't wait to share with you once I'm back! I've been reading lots of new and upcoming books for a local talk I'll be doing in May about spring books. This is just the excuse I need to focus only on new new new books, and there are so many promising titles coming out, I'm having my usual greedy-reading dilemmas about what to read first. I'll be back soon to talk about Bossy books I think you'll love! Meanwhile, feel free to search or peruse titles by category, by rating, by theme--or dive into a Greedy Reading List of books I've loved.