Bardugo Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid She rises through the ranks of palace concubines and gains almost unfettered access to the king, all Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main

Despite the plot hiccups in our main characters' work and love lives, there's no question that everything

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

But the darkness of her past may only be matched by the danger of the magic and rituals being used by Vengeance Road is a rough and tumble story with enough suspense that I wasn't ever confident that the main The women realize they may know too much about where the bodies are buried--literally--to be allowed McManus I suspected each of the main players at one point or another and couldn't wait for the big reveal I suspected each of the main players at one point or another and couldn't wait for the big reveal.

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

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

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.

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 when the boss's daughter begins tinkering with precious resources, our main protagonist is swept

01 Kin by Tayari Jones Jones throws every issue imaginable at her two main protagonists, best friends The young women cope with their pain in divergent ways, and while I was interested in the story, I wanted For me, a main strength of Kin is Jones's ability to build a rich Southern setting and to layer issues , Cleopatra recognizes that those who come after her may seek to erase her influence and importance. Bo is an elderly Swedish man living in the woodland cabin where he grew up.

greedy criminal mastermind Jacob Fagin into a character with a rich backstory, showing him to be a man I haven't read Oliver Twist  in many years, yet Fagin has remained ingrained in my head as a selfish, The many points of view added depth to the characters, but at a cost: I felt somewhat jarred by shifting details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after our main Characters come off as less realistic than their fictionalized versions (who are main protagonists of

Main protagonist Frankie signs up to leave her idyllic, privileged Southern California life--and the faces anti-war sentiments, the shock of returning to her pre-war life, and coping with the trauma of many hearty story of Vietnam, its complex costs and its dark perception at home, and the truth about the many forgotten women serving as nurses there, whose bravery helped send so many injured American soldiers

Listen for the Lie offers a fascinating story structure, dark humor, and deeply flawed characters as main Lucy's inability to remember key events pairs with her devil-may-care attitude so that she is frequently going around mentioning the fact that she may in fact have killed Savvy, which alarms those around her

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.

Our brave main protagonist (and rebel) Talin is forced to submit to the Federation's morally questionable I was thrilled to find that Young's wonderful, signature strong-young-female protagonist-in-a-man's-world 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 from Philly to the magical Talamh, where she revels in her new-found and strengthening powers (yet maintains

I feel like this book and I have been circling each other since early May, and I was so delighted as estranged from her daughter, that deep tragedy has shaped her life and closed off her heart, and that she may Readers will likely have a clear sense that our main character is prepared to burn it all down on her Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson In Ava Robinson's debut novel, she offers an appealingly imperfect main

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

The book is almost at its close by the time the two main protagonists are explicitly linked within the

Book two picks up as our main characters, having laid low for a year, are contacted by the Museum, the

upon the framework of facts from the lives of Julian of Norwich and what is known of the life of our main was a groundbreaking feat for a medieval woman who was stifled by societal and religious limitations may Our main protagonist puzzles and angers those around her by challenging the limitations of what women I've underlined many, many meaningful passages in Revelations, and I found exploring this time through

girl in the wilderness, The Vaster Wilds; I'm reading Emily Austin's upcoming novel about a quirky main

mother-in-law, and her ability to practice medicine is severely curtailed, as in the family's opinion, her main

But someone who's supposed to be on her side may have revealed her true identity to those who want her Raybourn is masterful at providing a captivating main character with depth and flaws; a tantalizing will-they-won't-they Templeton-Vane, her partner Stoker's brother, to an estate on an island--and an unsolved disappearance that just may

adult fantasy series, but what hooked me was the fearless, hardened, fiercely loyal, savvy, and crafty main threats, mysterious magic, a tangled web of lore and superstition, and those who seem to be allies but may

their trip to the Gulf of Mexico is fraught with danger--and Nell's husband and his murderous brothers may Every Osage was a potential target--and many of those who risked investigating the deaths were killed This is fun, funny, and smart, with wonderful banter, a gruff and independent, saucy main protagonist

An aspect that is ever-present and essential to the shaping of each of the main characters are the female

Much of the book involves thwarted attempts to unravel the past by a main protagonist who has been emotionally He is a shell of a man, ruined by the loss of his sister. A grown man's voicing of the little-girl voice for Amy felt off to me, and the tone of the narration I was impatient with this "helpless, clueless man" scenario. NO, JOE. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED. The resolution involves a twist I had anticipated and leaves a main character in a state of upheaval

void she often feels, and often sleeping alone in the trailer where she lives with her often-absent, man-crazy Waldo is eager for affection but in many ways is not a desperate young woman, nor is she gleefully testing well of deep thought; she is an alternative mind in a small town seemingly without alternatives to the mainstream somehow separately and compartmentalized from the story, it's clear that Half His Age features a strong main

wife and children die, he flies into a raging grief, and seemingly as a result of the power of his pain I don't know why this house and this land broke away from the mainland all those years ago. Maybe a man's heart is capable of powerful things." At times I wondered why the main protagonists didn't fear the obvious things that would doom them: loss I wasn't the only one dying back there on the mainland.

01 The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore 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 Rising by Rebel Wilson I love to read a memoir--if you haven't yet, you might want to check out the many

and science fiction in Iron Widow, and Susan Conley's slim, powerful novel Landslide, about a modern Maine Susan Conley's novel Landslide offers a portrait of a modern family in a remote fishing village in Maine

Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main And she also realizes she may not be helping; she may be making everything worse. But Misery has her own reasons for willingly entering into this marriage--her best friend's safety may

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.

The dialogue is incredible, and the faulted main players are irresistible. heartbreakingly beautiful In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss, Away, Lucky Us, Come to Me: Stories, and A Blind Man

Main protagonist Gifty's journey was full of challenges and not too easy or complete, and her voice had experienced there; her yearning for her estranged father in Ghana, whom they all call the Chin Chin Man She's had to stifle many of her emotions since she was a young girl--there wasn't space in her family Gifty is an appealing main protagonist, and Gyasi's journey was fascinating.

Students at the residential River Valley School for the Deaf are trying to get through finals, maintain At first I feared this would dilute my connection to the main characters, but the ventures into others

another nameless hamlet whose dusty streets lay flocked and trembling with the pink handbills they’d rained (If you’re not on the Taylor Brown train yet, may I strongly suggest you join me?) Our brave main protagonist and rebel Talin is forced to submit to the Federation's morally questionable The shift has made for strange bedfellows—and a prickly partnership between our main protagonist, Ellen other and work together to determine who is responsible for the destruction; how each of their pasts may

walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man She can't explain what's happened, but she quickly realizes that now she may be able to stop the murder Main characters have plausible reactions of disbelief, wonder, irritation, and fatigue to the unfathomable If you like books like this, you may want to check out these other Bossy books I've read that play with

Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, as an audiobook, which was 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 adult fantasy series, but what hooked me was the fearless, hardened, fiercely loyal, savvy, and crafty main

This darkly funny story made me cringe while staying riveted by the main protagonist's deeply faulted

This is an adorable fake-dating-in-paradise setup with funny dialogue, a wonderfully imperfect main protagonist young girl arrives, telling the story of her own timeline, and she and Ariel begin to figure out they may

01 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley In a world of the near future, a young woman is one of many Our main protagonist, Commander Graham Gore (based upon a real figure from history), has been whisked She's spent her first year at school holing up and studying, maintaining a quiet life.

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 This is another whodunit winner from Wendy Walker: a character-driven mystery with a neurodivergent main Hold on to your hats: the Veronica-Stoker relationship gains clarity at long last!

Some of the books in this post are written by the usual romance-standout suspects--and many of these 01 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune The main male protagonist was off-putting to me in his arrogance 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 relationship and has no interest in one--she doesn't have time for frivolity when she's chasing so many

ICYMI: In Matt Haig's How to Stop Time, main protagonist Tom Hazard lives for centuries but is not allowed He's also a seemingly 41-year-old man, but he's actually been alive for centuries. So when Tom begins to fall for the French teacher at school, it may renew his faith in the world and While I enjoyed main protagonist Tom Hazard’s point of view, which evolves by the close of the story, But there were many lovely, lovely moments in How to Stop Time, and I really like Haig's writing style

nontraditional, loving, zany family flips traditional views of unplanned, young pregnancy through the view of a main “Not all stories of adoption are stories of pain and regret. Not even most of them.

Fletcher And there may be no law left except what you make of it, but if you steal my dog, you can at The main protagonist Griz is tough as nails and determined and wonderful, and things do ultimately improve It's a true life-or-death dilemma for a man with two stark options: safety and loneliness or potential Against enormous odds, the team may just be finding some of the lifesaving answers they were sent to character in common between the two books; this person appears at the end of The Boy on the Bridge but is a main

In Caroline O'Donoghue's contemporary fiction The Rachel Incident, main character Rachel is an Irish She's dating a boring but reliable young man from her high school and living at home when she meets James I wanted to protect him against the world's many disappointments, guard him with my body like I would

upon the framework of facts from the lives of Julian of Norwich and what is known of the life of our main Our main protagonist puzzles and angers those around her by challenging the limitations of what women I underlined many, many meaningful passages in Revelations, and I found exploring this time through Margery's and revelations and long-held secrets that seem destined to shake up everything for our modern-day main Tamar, Jane, and Tabitha become linked by complicated connections to one man.