Magic, intrigue, strong women, defiance of societal rules; yes to all of this. with the sisters' complicated relationships and with the link Harrow draws between witching and the women's I adored how Harrow intermingled the women's suffrage movement with the reemergence of witching and women's 02 The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden This is the third and final book in Katherine Arden's strong reading the Wicked Witch of the West story turned on its head as Maguire traced the origins of Elphaba, a strong-willed

a lovely, quiet story with depth--and a 2026 Booker Prize nominee; and a perfect summer read about strong women, friendship, and bonding through tennis on a California island in the 1950s. and more within two timelines featuring spirited, determined, underestimated females who prove how strong For my full review, please check out this link. 6 A Perfect Summer Read: Strong Women, Friendship, and in the 1950s: The Island Club ​In this perfect summer read, Harrison explores 1950s life for three women

The Women shines a light on the women who served pivotal roles in the Vietnam War--but whose existence I listened to The Women as an audiobook. figure whose existence the Catholic church has officially denied for a thousand years: Joan, a young woman I'm fascinated by stories in which a woman poses as a man in order to achieve freedoms otherwise not offers fascinating, grim, brutal details of life in the Dark Ages to bring the story of the brilliant, strong-willed

could be due to secrets around her biological origins, and she forges an unexpected bond with a young woman Polly's strong, loving marriage is a bolstering force for her, as is her deep friendship with her brother

Click here for my full review of So Late in the Day. 04 The Woman in Me by Britney Spears Spears's slim In her memoir The Woman in Me, Britney Spears offers the story of her life to date: select events of young woman with regret--but without expressed bitterness--about the intensely dark turn her life took This is a slim book, but in The Woman in Me, Spears opens up and feels vulnerable, shares her perspectives Please click here for my full review of The Woman in Me. 05 The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by

reality that is more brutal and uncertain than the children and their parents may have feared. ​ 6 A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum In A Woman Is No Man , Etaf Rum explores the often powerless and essentially voiceless A Woman Is No Man ultimately explores the superhuman drive and bravery required by Rum's female characters --but also many other real-life women in comparable situations--to write a new history, one in which For my full review of this book, please see A Woman Is No Man .

I was looking for more assertiveness from Emmy and less of a dynamic in which men solve women's problems Luke Brooks is a local bar owner, a recognized womanizer, Emmy's brother's longtime best friend, and reinvigorated, independent new outlook--and I acknowledge that a rugged ranch setting might very well involve strong

Quinn and Chang share an adventure- and danger-laden story of women artists, women of color, and women In 1906 San Francisco, two very different women seek new beginnings: Gemma is a gifted soprano whose When the authorities require too much time and evidence to take control, the varied women he's left in Yet I loved the rich early-1900s San Francisco setting, the focus on the arts, the strong women characters authors exhaustively researched the era, prominent figures, and circumstances within San Francisco for women

invincible--who has dropped out of sight and settled down to raise her young daughter alongside her strong-willed Amina soon finds herself entangled in a dangerous ocean quest to rescue a young woman, while fighting “Men find it easier to believe they have been swindled by a witch than outwitted by a woman.” the help of certain trusted shipmates from long ago, and while Amina once thought of herself as a one-woman

Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious a character-driven story of the shocking, widespread, deadly West Virginia Mine Wars and thousands-strong What brings the book to life are versions of the real-life figures of Mother Jones (the elderly woman once called The Most Dangerous Woman in America) and the sharpshooter Sid Hatfield; and characters like

A good woman. How odd that the phrase has such a particular meaning. But there is only one way to be a good woman. It is such a narrow, stunted, blighted way to be that I wonder any woman throughout history has been finds herself shocking others and herself with her frank speech, her rejection of societal norms for women This is a feminist historical fiction story in which women--long kept quiet and still, supervised to

In Steve Cavanagh's twisty mystery Kill for Me, Kill for You , two strangers, women bearing the brunt Because the women aren't linked outside of an anonymous grief support group, and because their friendship Ruth, a young married woman living elsewhere in the city, is brutally attacked in her own home--and the

For there are indeed a great many capable, cunning women that the world would prefer to remember as witches Strong women are at the heart of this story, as are their unfailing loyalties to family and friends,

Mistress by Chris Bohjalian The deep bond that builds between an injured Union soldier and the Virginia woman Because she hopes that a Union woman would take pity on her husband in the same situation, she secretly The story is based upon a real account of a Southern woman who helped a Union soldier during the Civil I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman. For my full review of this book, please see This American Woman . 06 The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie

Jessica Knoll's novel inspired by real-life events surrounding a serial killer in the 1970s, Bright Young Women 01 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women is inspired by real-life But when the studious, responsible Pamela stays home from a party and investigates a strange noise in I'm reading Bright Young Women for my book club. 02 A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang In Ann Liang's A Song to Drown Rivers , Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village of Yue proud, for she

Those urging me to write my memoir will want a patriotic young woman who fought to defend her country , a heroine to root for with a story clean and simple as a full moon—and I was that young woman, but Russia and the Ukraine, Mila, along with so many others, enlists to fight alongside countrymen and -women the Nazis, Mila forges an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, another formidable woman contrast between active female roles in the Russian military and the supportive, more peripheral positions women

Emilia Hart's debut novel links women in three timelines through blood and a powerful connection to the In Weyward, Emilia Hart's story of witchcraft and the natural world, she explores three timelines of women connected through the ages by power and by society's historical suspicion of strong women. rigid and at worst neglectful and cruel--and always holding the power, at least before the Weyward women The female characters are often strong, and there's often lush historical fiction detail.

During World War II . 02 A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler Fowler captures wonderful details in A Well-Behaved Woman , both in the surroundings and the rigid views of the period about women, marriage For my full review of A Well-Behaved Woman , click here . 03 The Parting Glass by Gina Marie Guadagnino other immigrant groups, as well as introducing a heart-wrenching, forbidden, unrequited love of one woman forced to grow up too quickly--a woman who for years feels she must push away any hopes for a life

This story-within-a-story-within-a-story reveals a clever woman working within the 1920s confines of I was intrigued by the structure and by the peeks behind the curtains of a wealthy family and one woman's Throughout the book, brilliant women consistently must work against chauvinism and prejudice in order intriguing--particularly since the unorthodox approach to benefiting from it was driven by a genius of a woman

historical fiction fantasy told in several timelines featuring vampires; and historical fiction with a young woman When she sees an ad seeking for the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program, Joan becomes obsessed with being part of the 1980s training and with becoming one of the first women in space I loved each time period and the evolution of each strong female character. Schwab's vampire tale spans centuries, beginning in 1532 Santo Domingo de la Calzada as a young woman

In Evil Eye, Etaf Rum (author of A Woman Is No Man) considers a small-town North Carolina artist, mother Her childhood trauma has a strong hold on her, and only when she begins to face it can she fully realize Etaf Rum is also the author of A Woman Is No Man.

Restell is an intriguing, controversial, strong-willed, entrepreneurial figure. But Restell's story also swirls with weighty issues still relevant today--women's rights and autonomy volatile events of the time--particularly society's changing reactions to birth control, abortion, and women's and Other Deadly Garments Throughout History, She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women

Annis is a young Southern woman enslaved, sold, and abused in the years before the Civil War. Some scrabble for crying babies, rot-gutted women, soft-eyed men, shivering children clustered about compounded: she's separated from her mother, sold, and forced to begin walking in a trail of roped women Without her mother's protection--and inspiring tales of their warrior-woman ancestors--Annis is left powerful, and it is able to control storms, but its advice, based upon accounts of the histories of the women

Collum is an instinctually gifted, strong knight who has literally fought for sword training as a lowly The full roster of knights--and the women who hold important roles in the tale--are all misfits who don't

invincible--who has dropped out of sight and settled down to raise her young daughter alongside her strong-willed Amina soon finds herself entangled in a dangerous ocean quest to rescue a young woman, while fighting Bracken's story offered sassy banter that I loved, a great enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers setup, a strong A friend's borrowed, rambling home becomes a refuge for unwed mothers and mothers-to-be, with the women on site treating Ursa as a goddess--and the children being horrifically neglected as the women enjoy

fighting for the Confederacy since soon after they were married, and Libby is warden to her orphaned, strong-willed Because she hopes that a Union woman would take pity on her husband in the same situation, she cares

where she struggles with imposter syndrome and individuality--and quickly befriends Mathilde, a young woman At the intersection of the women's lives comes a bizarre linking of their minds, possible because of trauma, and living in the present all become too complicated to parse as one being or the other, and the women

Isabel has always been a strong swimmer and loves the water, but she doubts this outlandish fable and and she ultimately feels destined to head to sea--in a time in history when it was unacceptable for a woman

When a mysterious woman washes up half-dead on the remote island of Shearwater, home of the world's largest For my full review, please check out The Everlasting . 05 This American Woman : A One-in-a-Million Memoir I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman. For my full review of this book, please see This American Woman . 06 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans The Names. 10 Isola by Allegra Goodman Isola , based upon the story of a real-life sixteenth-century woman

Kingfisher writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a wonderfully oddball main protagonist, a strange Her bodyguard is a surprisingly sympathetic strong, silent type (cue: simmering hints of romance with So when things start seeming eerily strange in the remote palace and the images she glimpses in the home's

The novel flits between the stories of three women from disparate backgrounds, drastically different The quote at the start of this review references a conversation between a frightened young trans woman and a mentor of sorts; later in the novel the young woman realizes that the mention of "woodworking"

I was intrigued by her one-woman trial and error method of determining her triggers, impulses, and coping Jen Hatmaker, who was married before she could legally have a drink and who built her identity as a woman as an audiobook. 06 This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg Comedian Zarna Garg 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.

I'm a huge Amy Bloom fan, and while I appreciated the strong main female character here and the World When she emigrates to New York City, she is befriended by two strong young sisters, Anne and Alma, and Gazala feels like a faded, only formerly strong character well before her actual demise.

I loved the connection between these two strong women, their bickering, and, utimately, their momentary

But when the studious, responsible Pamela stays home from a party and investigates a strange noise in I read Bright Young Women  for my book club. woman, Josie, also celebrating her birthday. Her "birthday twin" begins popping up where Alix is, and she's got a strange, disturbing life story to When she comes home alive, only Chelsey finds it strange that Ellie has left her captor and remains alive

Lawhon I loved the 1700s wintry Maine setting and the convictions of the historical fiction novel's strong I loved the details of life in the time period, as well as the unassuming women who show their true strength I love a story about a woman in the medical profession during an era when this was not the norm, and In Lawhon's story, Martha is also a strong-willed feminist who is set on fighting for the rights of the largely powerless women in her orbit.

a reason to kill you; witch might be someone to heal you; witch can be the Devil, or witch can be a woman In Hester: A Novel, Laurie Lico Albanese imagines the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester needlework and the colors she sees in the world are captivatingly described, and the tenuous situation for a woman life and historical elements that add vivid layers to this story of Utah Territory, Mormonism, and strong women in the mid-nineteenth century.

reality that is more brutal and uncertain than the children and their parents may have feared. ​ 6 A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum In A Woman Is No Man , Etaf Rum explores the often powerless and essentially voiceless A Woman Is No Man ultimately explores the superhuman drive and bravery required by Rum's female characters --but also many other real-life women in comparable situations--to write a new history, one in which For my full review of this book, please see A Woman Is No Man .

Lepucki's strange, interesting time-travel novel centers around betrayal, broken hearts, second chances A friend's borrowed, rambling home becomes a refuge for unwed mothers and mothers-to-be, with the women on site treating Ursa as a goddess--and the children being horrifically neglected as the women enjoy Lepucki is also the author of the novels California, Woman Number 17, There's No Place Like Home, and

Bossy Favorites of the Month I've had a strong Bossy reading month. to find support and to function more fully in the present, she decides to refuse to be shamed as the woman The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan Cate Kay is a bestselling author--and a pseudonym used by a woman Stone Yard Devotional concerns a woman who leaves her Sydney life behind to live among nuns as an unbeliever and Violet Thistlewaite is determined to shed her identity as the Thornwitch, Shadowfade's right-hand woman

This is a clever, strange, dark, and often darkly funny fantasy. I loved each time period and the evolution of each strong female character . Schwab's lesbian vampire tale spans centuries, beginning in 1532 Santo Domingo de la Calzada as a young woman I loved that the women of each time insist upon creating situations in which they have autonomy and agency This story felt smart, strange, and intriguing. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

ICYMI: This series by Naomi Novik introduces vain, strong-willed, talking dragons, their complex, wonderfully “It seems very strange that the ocean is full of things that one can eat as one likes, and on land everything an unhatched dragon egg, Will finds himself in uncharted territory--and suddenly finds that he has a strange

And at any rate, I loved the low-key thread of the premise that a strong middle-aged woman can find moments We All Want Impossible Things is heartbreaking and wonderfully strange, funny and full of love, and a

Bridie is a strong female protagonist, and Things In Jars offers solid historical fiction details of Veronica to benefit from the author's own modern sensibilities in A Curious Beginning, but Veronica is a strong Abigail is clever, and her strong role in her partnership with the wonderfully odd Jackaby is satisfying Ji Lin speaks her mind and ruffles feathers even as she exploits assumptions about women, sexual attraction She doesn’t fit the mold of a typical woman from 1930s Malaysia nor that of the British colonists living

In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious building bonds deeper than either could have imagined; the love story between the bridge and Gore is strange willing to suspend my disbelief regarding; and my mind was bent around trying to follow some of the later strings

Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women Rule" (which actually did not originate with him; it asserts that married men should not meet with women In another story, a white woman makes racial assumptions, is caught on camera, and faces the consequences Throughout the book, other characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect

multi-million-dollar interstate drug ring; and I'm listening to a suspenseful mystery about a missing young woman Molly Aitken Molly Aitken's historical fiction Bright I Burn is based on the true story of the first woman Women in the 1200s aren't given much freedom, and she must wrest her power from her father, her husbands But a powerful woman is resented and feared, and threatening accusations begin to fly regarding how Alice While Chelsey struggles to be patient with the young woman who is coping with layers of trauma, she realizes

the past month: The Princess Diarist, by Carrie Fisher, based upon the diaries she kept as a young woman while stumbling into her iconic lifetime role as Princess Leia; The Invisible Woman, World War II historical world and in everyday tasks; The Girl with the Louding Voice, Abi Daré's story about a young Nigerian woman The Invisible Woman is historical fiction about the real-life World War II-era spy Virginia Hall. For my full review of this book, please see The Invisible Woman. 03 Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

I loved the vivid setting and the strong women who find themselves in the middle of this early seventeenth hand, and dabbling in the Sami traditions of runes, poppets, or the playing of drums—or simply being a strong-willed woman helping to feed a village by manning fishing boats when the men are all lost—is enough to lead One standout for me was the strong women in the face of men's abuses of power and physical cruelty.

causality; and I'm listening to a stand-alone historical fiction novel that's also a sequel, The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson The Book Woman's Daughter is Kim Michele Richardson's stand-alone sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, a book I listened to as an audiobook and loved. Richardson writes about strong Kentuckians and their environment, and in The Book Woman's Daughter she Click here for my review of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.