The female protagonists in Shattuck's tale are far from perfect.

I had a tough time with the implausible details but appreciated the strong female characters and the mother-daughter relationship, and elements of misogyny, battle for control of the self, and the strong female and most cohesive part of the story came toward the end, with a search and some resolution, strong female

Book two of Thomas's Lady Sherlock series offers a robust dual mystery, clever female characters, priceless

Female character in the medical profession? Check. Cold setting for a cold winter read? Check!

Kate Quinn tells the World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper She weaves in interesting aspects of the time such as the contrast between active female roles in the Tough female protagonist? Check. Rural librarian? Check.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Killers of a Certain Age, Deanna Raybourn's book about aging female

Or check out the books I listed on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Books about Brave Female Spies, Six Great

But a young, half-feral female student and a shockingly unorthodox widow both seem to hold mysterious

fascination with humans and her keen eye for detail to becoming an investigator--despite the fact that a female take long for them to realize that Art has been kissing a boy and that Gwen has a crush on the only female

She begins to fall for a stoic female client who Greta affectionately thinks of as Big Swiss (she is

Victoria is the last surviving female in a family of difficult men, living on a rural Colorado peach The female characters' stories are deeply intertwined; I saw some of the events coming but not others

Tough female protagonist? Check. Rural librarian? Check.

The women are all trapped in a system that's crushing for females. But I appreciated the dark humor and strength Blakemore allows the formidable female characters in the

funny stories I really liked, "The Secret Meeting of the Women’s Club" (featuring various real-life female

weighty, enraging topics explored here of injustice, punishment, scapegoats, class oppression, and female John (the fictionalized William Shakespeare character) is as an independent, witchy, and appealing female

She begins to fall for a stoic female client Greta affectionately thinks of as Big Swiss (Greta gathers

The author examines the social progressiveness that progressive female singers like Dolly have championed

I was thrilled to find that Young's wonderful, signature strong-young-female protagonist-in-a-man's-world

I'm also fascinated by the optimistic explorer spirit--and I love reading about strong female characters

roles, a reimagined faith, the frustrations of societal expectations for women, great adventure, strong female

Thistlefoot, What You Can See From Here, The Harpy, The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle, The Light Pirate

This fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins was the right

Ninth House is sometimes dark, especially as related to male-female power dynamics and sex, and the story Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn This fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female

A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum explores the often powerless and essentially voiceless statuses of her female A Woman Is No Man ultimately explores the superhuman drive and bravery required by Rum's female characters

Historical fiction set in the West also lends itself to stories of strong female characters in a time

Divya has crafted strong female main protagonists who navigate the sometimes dark, always complicated But Divya is too busy crafting strong female main protagonists (complete with working mother guilt, which

And a typical day might involve facing mortal danger from roving pirates, cyborg animals, certain AI

offers rich, sometimes excruciating detail of the difficulties of sea life, of being a largely powerless female

I was thrilled to find that Young's wonderful, signature strong-young-female protagonist-in-a-man's-world It addresses female empowerment within the frustrating constraints of the time, laying out some hopeful

Please click here for my full review of Fingersmith. 02 Things in Jars by Jess Kid Female detective Bridie Bridie is a strong female protagonist, and Things In Jars offers solid historical fiction details of

01 The Huntress by Kate Quinn I'm in for World War II-set books with tough, brave female protagonists to fly, and when Nazis begin to wreak havoc on the Soviet Union, she joins the Night Witches, an all-female thought the character-driven post-WWII story was wonderful, with compelling and lush detail about tough female a Queen by Sarah Bird ​ Bird's Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is based on the story of an actual female

Katherine Center's newest light fiction offers an irresistible premise--a female bodyguard poses as the

Click here for my full review of Remarkably Bright Creatures. 04 The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton In Lily Brooks-Dalton's novel The Light Pirate, pregnant Frida and her husband and stepsons prepare for For my full review, check out The Light Pirate.

story offered sassy banter that I loved, a great enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers setup, a strong young female protagonist with a heart of gold, female power all over the place, captivatingly creepy elements, and

Divya has crafted strong female main protagonists who navigate the sometimes dark, always complicated But Divya is too busy crafting strong female main protagonists (complete with working mother guilt, which

But for now, Val is eking out an existence in the rugged city outskirts, facing danger from pirates,

Ellice Littlejohn is coping with the challenges of being a Black female lawyer in what increasingly seems

reimagining a rigid faith, marriage/child/parental/educational expectations for women, adventure, strong female

Miller allows the frequently dreaded and bemoaned middle-aged shifts and changes to lead her female characters

For my full review, check out Lost in Time. 02 The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton This was my favorite The Light Pirate offers unexpected redemption, tragedy, and some beautiful resolutions. Click here for my full review of The Light Pirate. 03 The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen

In A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum explores the often powerless and essentially voiceless status of her female A Woman Is No Man explores the incredible drive and bravery required by Rum's female characters to write

I listened to the audiobook, which was read in alternating chapters by a female and a male narrator. It's tough for me when a male narrator provides "the female voice" of the dialogue, and the male account

Sharratt makes the crushing limitations of being female and without autonomy of any kind during the period

Christian White's The Wife and the Widow offers two intersecting storylines centering around female

Ellie's sick of what many of her fellow female students put up with from young men who won't hear no World War II historical fiction, a tough female protagonist, a mission of uncovering war criminals in

(the fictionalized William Shakespeare character) as an independent, witchy, strong, and appealing female

recent historical fiction, a World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female

The storytellers represented here range from John Turturro to Tig Notaro; from a young female spy during A bolas spider releases pheromones that mimic a female moth in order to lure male moths in for a meal She explores the evolution of understanding about birds and also showcases female researchers. 06 Stranger

It addresses female empowerment within the frustrating constraints of the time, laying out some hopeful

But Zetian is secretly determined to use her power to elevate the female pilots who have been treated