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I love reading Naomi Novik's books without exception--just check out the links to my many rave Bossy Naomi Novik is the author of richly wrought fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love: Uprooted

Jac Matthis is a romance novelist whose first book tanked (the main protagonist chose her career over a man, enraging readers who'd been counting on a different happy ever after), leaving little audience But it looks like she may have to rely on her annoying next-door neighbor Wes to try to gain the attention After she drunk-blogs scathing comments about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze producer reaches out to her with an unexpected question: Would Bea consider starring in a season of Main

weaves together timelines, threads of family history, and long-held secrets now revealed, while her main trail Nell has laid out for her, she discovers more about her family's history, uncovers secrets, and may In many ways this felt like a Secret Garden (a book I was obsessed with as a child) for grown-ups, with

The main protagonist is cutthroat, darkly funny, and fascinating in her rejection of expectations.

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik Naomi Novik is the author of fantasy novels featuring main But one day a man visits Eilis, explains that his wife is carrying Tony's baby, and vows to drop the

mother-in-law, who severely curtails her ability to practice medicine, as in the family's opinion, Yunxian's main See presents Yunxian as a feminist in many ways, but doesn't allow her to feel more modern than might

We can see what Jessamyn is unaware of in this campy story: her acting may be sound, but her singing Readers will likely have a clear sense that our main character is prepared to burn it all down on her

Hawker's newest historical fiction gives a wonderfully evocative peek into a gritty period, as her main She's learned to bite her tongue, and she feels like the poor treatment her husband shows her may be

There's a health crisis and solution that involves the two main characters in key ways and complicates If you've agonized through the main relationship's ups and downs throughout the story, you might just

Many years ago, everybody here would wake early because there was much to do and only so many hours in Now they wake early because there is much to do and only so many days left. There's a poignancy here because the main protagonists have lived long enough to lose loved ones, and And you can find Bossy reviews of many other mysteries here .

Emma is a marine biologist who's devoted to her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby. surprising amount of heart and a unique main protagonist in this lighthearted murder mystery, her debut In Nita Prose's recent novel The Maid, main protagonist Molly finds a hotel guest dead in his room, and Prose has built an interesting premise with Molly as an unreliable main protagonist. Mary was a captivating main protagonist--alternately desperate and hopeful, but always dogged in her

Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid with Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid Greed and manipulation rule the day for all involved, with our main protagonists paying the price.

Many reasons have been given for the decline of the climate-change movement in the twenty-first century Within this timeline, Tom Metcalfe, one of our main protagonists, is an academic fascinated by the past and they were idiots who were throwing it all away, even as their high culture lamented or roared in pain Our main protagonists force or are faced with resolutions, which are not always peaceful or wholly satisfying

In Gareth Brown's debut fantasy novel The Book of Doors, main protagonist Cassie Andrews works in a New One of these customers is a kind older man she's become dear friends with. happening to Cassie and Izzy when Cassie takes possession of the book, and soon a rumpled Scottish man He just may be the only one seemingly without nefarious intentions. Authors of time-travel books must decide whether characters may change past events or simply witness

Wang doesn't shy away from a dramatic reckoning for the story's main characters in the end. , and what he lacks in training he makes up for with the desire to learn more about the forces that may uncover an enormous magical secret, it could not only mean the undoing of the magical hierarchies that many opens in a prison, with female inmates participating in their weekly book club in rural Abbott Falls, Maine Main protagonist Violet Powell is being released after 22 months' imprisonment for the drunk-driving

series, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi as an audiobook, narrated by the fantastic Lameece Issaq and Amin , and I was hooked on the lightning-fast banter; the gruff and independent, saucy, and irresistible main

hallucinations late in the book felt like an opportunity to explore pure feelings and for the straight-laced main

Bunny begins with an outcast main protagonist in a MFA program who's infuriated by her twee fellow seminar

There's a health crisis and solution that involves the two main characters in key ways and which complicates Then Florence's beloved father dies, and she returns to her hometown for the first time in many years please see The Dead Romantics. 06 Happy Place by Emily Henry Six longtime friends gather for one last Maine I was impatient with the prolonged lack of communication but loved the main characters' interactions For years they've taken annual trips to their friend Sabrina's cottage in Maine with the rest of their

I loved spending time with main protagonist Eli as he navigated tough situations and emerged with hope Eli Bell is a young man in a tough spot. Who is the man? Can he be trusted? Is any of this even real? He wants to grow up and become a journalist, but for now his main goal is trying not to attract too much Boy Swallows Universe has many larger-than-life characters, especially its villains.

The section on hog butchering may be an eye opener for anyone (anyone?) often luminous or gritty, and the author doesn't pretend to have easy answers for the beleaguered main

Addison Allen's Other Birds is set on an island off the coast of South Carolina as main protagonist Zoey (An inherited apartment and money she has gained access to at age 18 help.)

Walker offers an unreliable main protagonist, her dedicated new psychiatrist, increasingly inexplicable which Jane believes them seem to indicate that her ability to live on her own and care for her child may that is posed (but not extensively explored), one in which Jane is sane and the alternate realities may

I loved the main characters' fashion, banter, and stubbornness. imminent demise of the human race that the robots seem perched to enact serve as a catalyst for the human main The gods' war provides the structure for the book's main conflict, but the story feels primarily focused

They nickname our main protagonist Jordan. Although it seems clear to the reader that ultrareligious, mainly abstinent, guilt-ridden, and generally when a decades-old mystery seems to be the cause of a new friend's aunt's disappearance--and Stevie may

Peace ; I'm listening to the 31-hour audiobook of the latest Cormoran Strike mystery, The Hallmarked Man Bossy reviews of books set in Ireland, please check out the titles at this link . 02 The Hallmarked Man Within this setting, one of our main protagonists is an academic fascinated by the past (the years surrounding

to close out the summer, with a high-stakes fake marriage, comeuppances for the greedy bad guys, our main This is an adorable fake-dating-in-paradise setup with funny dialogue, a wonderfully imperfect main protagonist In small town Crosby, Maine, acclaimed writer Lucy Barton and attorney Bob Burgess walk and talk about But the young man, a self-taught artist, is counting on Bob and an unorthodox approach to figuring out Ana is Sherlock Holmes-esque in that she holds many of the answers to the mysteries that abound--but

Her main friend seems to be her talking chess game, who was made in Korea so understands some of Vera's Many of the key elements of her observations are placed in quotation marks, and this is a very funny, sometimes-hesitant takes on the family and world around her are often delightfully spot-on, and she sees many

love interest didn't ring true to me, and while he was very nice, I was partially turned off by his many For my full review of this book please see Sunny Side Up . 02 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune The main Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson In Ava Robinson's debut novel, she offers an appealingly imperfect main Jimenez Abby Jimenez layers tough situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and here, her main But Xavier's painful past and Samantha's challenging present might make a future for the two impossible

This book had many moving parts, evolving points of view and senses of self, shifts between days and Along with the kickass, whip smart, savvy, kind, and irresistible main protagonist Bridie are her striking Raybourn may allow Veronica to benefit from the author's own modern sensibilities in A Curious Beginning , but Veronica is a strong and unorthodox main protagonist, and for me this aspect of her character works adult supernatural mystery series of the same name, and in it, author William Ritter provides memorable main

In this young adult novel, the first in a magical fairy tale duology from Elizabeth Lim, main protagonist I couldn't wait to find out how Lim would make this plot construct of a wordless main protagonist work

I listened to Bull Moon Rising in audiobook form, and hearing it all read to me may have exacerbated plus-size woman who loves books and wears glasses and is the irresistible object of affection for the main

story can take on a life of its own--in this novel featuring a science fiction tale within Okorafor's main only disabled and overwhelmed by her overly controlling and opinionated family as she has been for many The family's collective assumption that they may, unsolicited, rightfully weigh in on Zelu's every decision

Booth cushions the blow of the main protagonist's early-onset Alzheimer's with a zany romp, lots of love Enter superfan Peanut Brixton--who may be even more familiar with The Falling Children books than Libby

details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after our main Child  is the power of the small-town Faha community--gossipy and desperate for dirt as its citizens may In one timeline, an abused wife makes a stand for a whimsical name suggested by her daughter Maia, Bear Each timeline produces a vastly different boy, a significantly shaped sister Maia, drastically different Brendan is not the main protagonist, despite the novel's title, yet he is central to the story in that

Both main characters' mothers are faulted, far from perfect, and have made decisions that upend Justin

Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, Veronica remains a strong and unorthodox main But evidence indicates to Veronica that Alice may have been murdered.

Brendan is not the main protagonist, despite the novel's title, yet he is central to the story in that

captivating retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana, with immersive details and an irresistible feminist main character fighting for a voice and for power in a man's world. She is smart, eager, passionate, and determined--and an irresistible main protagonist.

quiet moments as his characters reflect, and I preferred that aspect of this book--which features a main But Jack is starting to realize that something dark and dangerous may be at work at this lodge, and that In The Guide, the main protagonist Jack is as linked to the natural world as are the characters in his spent with him in The River--when I felt a deeper connection to the character--I didn't feel like I gained

Martin mentions each of women and their families, but keeps the story relatively streamlined with three main story--as with the account of Patient Zero's experience and his two degrees of separation from the main

The Second-Chance Stories I love a good second-chance book in which the main character gets the opportunity Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like Either to change a world--many, many worlds, each touched by the choices I make in my life, for every Harry August has been born (in a train station in 1919) many times. Some lives are notable, others comfortable, and still others are full of pain.

Raybourn is masterful at providing a captivating main character with depth and flaws; a tantalizing will-they-won't-they Stoker's brother, to a gothic, gloomy estate on an island--and an unsolved disappearance that just may

Our main protagonist knows she is being chased because of something she's done, but the facts of the She has visions of the past and of versions of the future in which her spirit transcends the pain and

The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. Jac Matthis is a romance novelist whose first book tanked (the main protagonist chose her career over a man, enraging readers who'd been counting on a different happy ever after), leaving little audience to close out the summer, with a high-stakes fake marriage, comeuppances for the greedy bad guys, our main This is an adorable fake-dating-in-paradise setup with funny dialogue, a wonderfully imperfect main protagonist

My favorite reads of the past month include, in no particular order: The Maid, Nita Prose's recently published mystery with an intriguing main protagonist and lots of sweetness; The Long Way to a Small, 01 The Maid by Nita Prose Nita Prose offers a surprising amount of heart and a unique main protagonist In Nita Prose's recent novel The Maid, main protagonist Molly finds a hotel guest dead in his room, and Prose has built an interesting premise with Molly as an unreliable main protagonist.

Book two picks up when our main characters, having laid low and lived their own lives for a year, are

famous-person love is a favorite trope of mine, and Norman adds emotional complexities to each of the main

check out The Second Ending. 03 Happy Place by Emily Henry Six longtime friends gather for one last Maine I was impatient with the prolonged lack of communication but loved the main characters' interactions For years they've taken annual trips to their friend Sabrina's cottage in Maine with the rest of their Iris may be able to help--if only she could also figure out the store's connection to her mother's past She's fake-dating a nice man in order to keep his family off of his back.

Molloy's main characters are new moms, but the vast majority of their questionable choices don’t feel The main character remains an empty vessel who can conveniently be believed to have done a horrific thing Despite the main protagonists' immense relief at having a resolution to the terrible situation at hand The Perfect Mother is a quick read and a page-turner, although you may consistently suspect that you’ If you like mysteries with twist, you may be in for Molloy's newest book, Goodnight Beautiful.