North Carolina Love! I love reading novels with Southern, Appalachian, and specifically North Carolina settings. Here are six I've loved set in the Tar Heel State. Have you read any of these? If so, I'd love to hear what you thought. Do you have any favorite books set where you live? 01 When These Mountains Burn by David Joy Joy offers an often dark work of Southern literary fiction through which bubbles of hope emerge. Ray has outlived his beloved wife in the mountains of North Carolina. He has a precious old girl of a dog, a fascination with (and healthy fear of) coyotes, a love of reading, and a no-nonsense manner that makes clear he doesn't brook fools. He has almost resigned himself to the heartbreaking idea that his addict son is too lost to be saved. There's an undercover cop nearby who's trying to help take down a robust drug ring, and then there's Ray, who uses old-fashioned methods and his knowledge of mountain terrain to address injustices in a straightforward way. When These Mountains Burn isn't always easy to read, but it isn't over the top, and Joy's characters are fascinatingly faulted and keep you humming right along. I read this in 24 hours while wishing I were making it last longer. For my full review of When These Mountains Burn, click here. 02 Gods of Howl Mountain by Taylor Brown Taylor Brown's five-star, 1950s North Carolina-set novel offers mountain clans, whiskey runners, folk healers, family conflict, and dark, brooding woodland settings. I loved it. Rory Docherty has returned to rural North Carolina with a wooden leg and haunting memories of his time fighting in the Korean War. He's running whiskey to juke joints, brothels, and other seedy spots in his 1940 Ford, driving fast, avoiding federal agents, and living with his grandmother, a healer with strong opinions about Rory's love interest, a snake-handling preacher's daughter in the mill town nearby. Family secrets and conflicts come to a head as The Gods of Howl Mountain reaches a dark, brooding, beautiful crescendo. Brown’s descriptions are intensely arresting. He delves deeply and deftly, cutting to the quick and avoiding what in less skilled hands could have been caricatures of North Carolina mountain folk. I loved every bit of this story. Taylor is also the author of Pride of Eden, Fallen Land, a title I loved and included in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories about the Civil War, and Wingwalkers. For my full review, check out The Gods of Howl Mountain. 03 When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash I loved Cash's Eastern North Carolina setting, the character of Sheriff Winston Barnes, and the pulsing racial, class-based, and family conflicts explored in When Ghosts Come Home. Sheriff Winston Barnes knows he probably won't be reelected. He does things by the book and isn't flashy, while his aggressive opponent seems to amass more wealth and (dubious sources of) support each passing day. Meanwhile, Winston's wife is in cancer treatment and his daughter has just experienced a devastating loss and is drifting, unmoored. He's got a lot on his plate. But when a body and an abandoned airplane are found in his quiet, coastal North Carolina town, Winston must try to unravel the mystery of the events at hand. Rumors, long-simmering conflicts, clashing loyalties, and Barnes's personal tragedy all complicate the discovery of the truth. I was all in for the shocking events that occurred late in the book. Wiley Cash is also the author of A Land More Kind than Home, The Last Ballad, and This Dark Road to Mercy. Click here for my full review of When Ghosts Come Home. 04 The Caretaker by Ron Rash Ron Rash's Appalachian-set novel explores a small town shaken by upended expectations, the Korean War, and selfish rigidity that threatens to undo them all. Blackburn Gant is the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery in 1951 Blowing Rock, North Carolina. He lives a quiet life, which is partially dictated by his physical limitations since suffering through polio as a child. When his best (and only) friend Jacob is sent to serve overseas in the Korean War, Blackburn promises to look after Jacob's wife, Naomi. The two had eloped just months after meeting, which led to Jacob's being disowned by his wealthy family. Blackburn and Naomi grow close as they anxiously await word of Jacob's fate halfway around the world. When an important telegram arrives, they fear the worst. IA series of elaborate falsifications, outrageous subterfuge, and outright lies creates a tangled web for all involved--and the situation just begs for justice to be served to those blinded by selfish desire and rigid expectations. I loved the glimpses of rural life and of the specific place and time that Rash crafts so well. The writing is beautifully spare, and the ending is satisfying in multiple ways. For my full review, check out The Caretaker. 05 The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda Miranda uses the framework of a famous fictional rescue story to imagine the characters' turmoil and desperate coping mechanisms, crafting a fascinating look at the depths beneath their surfaces. Olivia (then called Arden) was a small child when she sleepwalked into a storm and was washed away. Three days later, she was recovered in a miraculous series of events that ended up with her rescue and removal from a storm drain. Now someone from her past has resurfaced, and he could reveal her carefully hidden secrets and ruin everything. When evidence of brutal violence emerges close to home, Olivia wonders if someone is protecting her or possibly seeking some kind of revenge--and if that someone might even be Olivia herself. I found the ending of the book gloriously terrifying. The last few pages felt a little disjointed from the story. But the familiar echoes of a story like "baby Jessica in the well," the media frenzy, and the public's emotional investment were a intriguing framework for Miranda's story. For my full review of this book, see The Girl from Widow Hills. 06 The Last Child by John Hart I loved John Hart's brusque, determined Clyde Hunt, the scrappy and unstoppable young Johnny Merrimon, the sinister underbelly of their rural North Carolina town, and basically everything about this intricate literary mystery-thriller. Hart knows how to masterfully build a story around unforgettable characters with layers they reluctantly reveal. I didn't expect the resolution Hart allows to unfold at the end. But I was in for whatever he was dishing up, and I was fascinated all along the way. The Last Child appears in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year. John Hart has also written many other books, including The Hush, the second in the Johnny Merrimon series, and the wonderfully written, often tough-to-read Redemption Road, as well as The Unwilling. Hart has written many other books, including The Hush, which is the second in the Johnny Merrimon series, and Redemption Road. Side note: I'm captivated by Hart's stories, but I admit that I had difficulty sitting through the horrific cruelties perpetuated by multiple characters in Redemption Road. I loved his imperfect, brave, relentlessly tough protagonists, and Hart is a gifted storyteller, but the rock-bottom depravity and evil underpinnings of much of Redemption Road story were upsetting and difficult to read.

Brown's debut fantasy novel offers a swirl of magical books, a makeshift team of world-savers, plenty In Gareth Brown's debut fantasy novel The Book of Doors, main protagonist Cassie Andrews works in a New like the sound of this book, you may want to check out other Bossy reviews of time-travel books or fantasy

their father's death, Intermezzo ; and I'm listening to the first in Rachel Aaron's Tear Down Heaven fantasy Beautiful World, Where Are You . 03 Hell for Hire (Tear Down Heaven #1) by Rachel Aaron I love a playful fantasy

Murderland ; I'm also listening to the first in Antonia Hodgson's smart, charming, intricately plotted fantasy There is a romantic element, but this is, happily for me, a richly built fantasy and not a romantasy.

the six books I most loved reading this past month: a heartbreaking, lovely, epistolary Western; a fantasy story with war at the forefront and fantasy in the background; a collection of three short stories by vulnerable celebrity memoir; the latest loooong installment in a favorite mystery series; and a cozy fantasy and the gutsy characters facing wartime struggles and challenges, but I was surprised that the book's fantasy I really liked this, but I was surprised by how light it felt on fantasy elements.

art-focused historical fiction mystery in two timelines; I'm reading The Tainted Cup , a fascinating fantasy-science-fiction fiction-feeling story, a Sherlock Holmes and Watson-type investigatory relationship, and fascinating otherworldly fantasy

In this historical fiction-fantasy, characters from Dickens's tale are plunged into a dark, powerful I read the first in that series, The Magicians , for but me it was short on magic and fantastical elements

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

My Extensive Love for Naomi Novik's Fiction Naomi Novik is the author of richly wrought fantasy novels Novik has also written the Temeraire series of nine fantastic books about dragons, their riders, their

In this dual-timeline historical fiction-fantasy-magical realism-witchy story, Martin explores the Suffolk

attract, Dolly All the Time; and I'm listening to the second in Shannon Chakraborty's seafaring adventure-fantasy novel featuring the fantastically spirited Amina al-Sirafi, The Tapestry of Fate.

Kingfisher writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a wonderfully oddball main protagonist, a strange Kingfisher imagines richly imagined fantasy worlds, and within them she slots fantastically imperfect This is my fantasy sweet spot.

and identity; a debut novel about characters with disabilities from a nonspeaking author; a creative fantasy Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security.

The focus on the power of books is fantastic. the power of menopausal women and the poignant strength of friendship; supplies satisfying revenge fantasies

Anglish conquerers' constricting rules about its raising and training; and I'm listening to a cozy fantasy But in this cozy fantasy story, Viv has discovered the wonder of coffee and has determined to make a

fake-marriage, tropical-island-set rom-com The Paradise Problem ; I'm listening to Moonbound , Robin Sloan's fantasy-science-fiction Six More Great Light Fiction Stories . 02 Moonbound by Robin Sloan In Robin Sloan's science-fiction-fantasy

“But there are lots of people out there who have created a fantasy existence for themselves...."

01 Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik Naomi Novik is the author of fantasy novels featuring battles within the books' alternate history, and the human protagonists are wonderfully faulted and fantastic

Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to A Steeping of Blood , the second in Hafsah Faizal's supernatural fantasy

Reading Now I'm reading Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You; I'm listening to Gareth Brown's debut fantasy Number, and other books I haven't yet read. 02 The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown In Gareth Brown's debut fantasy

She realizes that the revenge fantasies that have been instilled in her since birth--along with a distrust Glory examines deep matters in a fascinating chain of events, reflections, unexpected do-overs, and fantastic

This month my favorite reads were a historical-fiction fantasy set during the Spanish Inquisition; an adventure-fantasy inspired by a Chinese legend; literary fiction tracing life in a British boarding school and beyond; a Norse-inspired fantasy saga; a fun young adult, queer, medieval adventure romance I love a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and while this novel isn't as layered and complex or

The romantic aspect is less essential than the fantasy elements, which I appreciated. characters' energy is spent on pining and obsessing, where dramatic declarations overshadow a novel's fantasy The Knight and the Moth  is built on a spare yet satisfying fantasy world with a limited number of characters

out, this oddball, zigzagging story explores broad themes of interconnectedness as well as revenge fantasies

dementia facing his last days, Emma Cline's Switzy; and I'm listening to Leigh Bardugo's newest dark fantasy

The romantic aspect is less essential than the fantasy elements, which I appreciated.

The Revenge Fantasies...and Revenge Enacted Whether it's about righting wrongs, saving face, renegade the power of menopausal women and the poignant strength of friendship; supplies satisfying revenge fantasies heroines unite against the book's sometimes caricature-like, purely evil bad guys by using their new-found fantastical The revenge-fantasy element is particularly satisfying. Echo Wife. 06 The Harpy by Megan Hunter This slim, intriguing book packs a punch, featuring revenge fantasies

Elaborate mythology swirls around the mysterious author of the blockbuster fantasy series The Falling Goldhero, and fans dream up fantastical stories about the writer and his life.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Tasha Suri's rich story-within-a-story fantasy novel The Isle

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Sara Holland's upcoming fantasy novel Break Wide the Sea ; I'm

Mad is quickly developing revenge fantasies involving her dad, but a cross-country road trip in close

One of my criticisms of the currently popular romantic fantasy Fourth Wing is that I wanted more more

spreading happiness; I'm reading the third in Naomi Novik's dark, wonderful Scholomance series, the fantasy Novik is also the author of many other wonderful fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love. 03

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Nocturne, Alyssa Wees's fantasy novel about a prima ballerina in 01 Nocturne by Alyssa Wees In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the

Kuang In Kuang's dark academia fantasy novel, Alice Law is a graduate student in a ruthlessly competitive

pregnancy; the real story of a beloved figure from stage, film, and song; a missing-person mystery; and a fantasy in a panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her sister's favorite fantasy Sarah Rees Brennan is also the author of the fantastic character-driven young-adult fantasy In Other

I'm Reading Now I'm reading A Restless Truth, the second book in Freya Marske's historical fiction fantasy Restless Truth (Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske A Restless Truth is the second in Freya Marske's queer fantasy

the power of menopausal women and the poignant strength of friendship; supplies satisfying revenge fantasies heroines unite against the book's sometimes caricature-like, purely evil bad guys by using their new-found fantastical The revenge-fantasy element is particularly satisfying.

over, paid for, published, successful, and various rights are sold all feels like a happy dream-state fantasy

Chakraborty's Daevabad fantasy trilogy, The City of Brass ; and I'm reading Olivia Hawker's upcoming

Schwab's historical fiction-fantasy story about vampires linked together through centuries.

Much of Ginder's novel is focused on a revenge fantasy, but I was drawn more to Nancy Harrison's strong but I had trouble locking into the story's tone, which wavers into extended dark, vindictive revenge fantasies

01 Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth Libby Weeks is the author of the wildly popular fantasy series

Chakraborty I'm listening to the first wonderful installment in Shannon Chakraborty's Amina al-Sirafi fantasy , and smart, with wonderful banter, a gruff and independent, saucy main protagonist in Amina, and a fantastic

preacher Beth Moore's memoir, All My Knotted-Up Life ; I'm listening to Melissa Caruso's time-travel fantasy

Favorites of the Month Please enjoy this roundup of my six favorite reads of February--three medieval-set fantasy This fantasy novel about the power of storytelling was wonderful .

In The Awakening, the first book in Nora Roberts's Dragon Heart Legacy series, she set up a romantic fantasy Why not take this fantasy all the way, after all?).

rom-com I Hope This Doesn't Find You   here and my review of Liang's young-adult historical fiction fantasy

He's a fantastic character I loved. This great book by C.A. also want to read Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which is a standalone book in the same series, is fantastic #postapocalyptic, #dystopian, #fantasyscifi, #series, #fourstarbookreview 04 The Dog Stars ​ Hig somehow #dystopian, #fantasyscifi, #fourstarbookreview 06 The Boy on the Bridge ​ Months into their save-the-world #postapocalyptic, #dystopian, #fantasyscifi, #series, #fourstarbookreview What are your favorite post-apocalyptic

And I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings , the first in Sung-Il Kim's fantasy series in which