India generally keeps her strong opinions about the world to herself (or shares them with her two kids This is your wide, strange, remarkable family in the world, she said.

Strange things begin happening to Cassie and Izzy when Cassie takes possession of the book, and soon India generally keeps her strong opinions to herself (or shares them with her two kids or trusted agent

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she's North Carolina's richest woman--and its After Ruby's death, strange murmurings about her past begin to surface, and Cam is forced to face questions

during the first chapter that Gertrude was going to feel like a caricature of a backwoods Southern woman And although the three interconnected women faced sometimes staggeringly tragic challenges, Spera injects World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman The world is unraveling on the cusp of World War II, and three strong women will be tested beyond anything they imagined before the end of the war and the end of the book The strong, gruff Hanni has a heart of gold; young Ettie is idealistic and grows to be tough as nails

surprise. 03 The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur by Lev Grossman Collum is an instinctually gifted, strong

Kitasei offers multiple almost feral, incredibly strong female protagonists making their way in an unforgiving

Everhart includes one of my favorite setups, in which a woman dresses as a man in order to achieve some

Vera and Edith are such a complementary WWII partnership, and I loved spending time with these strong Germany during the war; their wonderfully brave, practical, creative routes to survival as single young women Abriel introduces another enormous shift that shakes things up enormously yet again for both young women Vera and Edith are such a complementary partnership, and I loved spending time with these strong young women.

the mark of the Prophet and was promised to him, but she was far from the submissive, obedient young woman Brown's books offer endless food for thought and highlight infuriating circumstances; they are written by strong women who refuse to sit back and accept ongoing wrongdoing.

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 or dialogue distracted me from what felt like the heart of the story (the Eastwoods' helping other women 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

But when a young woman shows up bleeding at his home, then mysteriously disappears, he is shocked into shake off the fact that nothing in the Bergdorf Goodman swimsuit section comes even close to fitting a woman

In Hartman's Tess of the Road, Tess doesn't fit the mold of an obedient, quiet young woman in her medieval desperate for adventure; she is pushing at the edge of the disappointingly limited possibilities for young women frustrated, then furious, about the double standards, injustices, and power inequality between men and women There's a "woman dresses as a man to escape gender limitations" trope; the story emphasizes loyalty,

Deanna Raybourn's  feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, Veronica remains a strong

Namesake is the second and, sadly, final book in Young's duology about the wonderfully strong, ruthless , clever young seafaring woman, Fable.

That first book in the space opera series offers diverse characters, strong women, a heist setup, and

But the situation isn't exactly what it seems, and when a woman comes to town using Evie's birth name I loved the key elements of this story: the capable con woman, the past coming back to haunt her, the In Steve Cavanagh's twisty mystery Kill for Me, Kill for You , two strangers, women bearing the brunt Ruth, a young married woman living elsewhere in the city, is brutally attacked in her own home--and the

Eldest daughter Orsola Rosso is forbidden from working with glass because she's a woman. Mackenzie is a sports agent who's constantly fighting against misogyny and double standards as one of few women

As always, her main characters are richly layered, struggle with terrible circumstances, retain strong Click here for my full review of Chenneville. 04 Time's Mouth by Edan Lepucki Lepucki's strange, interesting 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 Heart by Emma Donoghue Donoghue's captivating historical fiction centers around two real-life young women

and Violet Thistlewaite is determined to shed her identity as the Thornwitch, Shadowfade's right-hand woman

She felt that once she developed a strong female character with her own rich backstory, Fortune was able

(Side note, the imbalance of power of men and women and the females' responsibility to keep up appearances It's strange how relief and longing can live side by side in the same heart.

With plenty of youthful explorations of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, plus young women striving to strike structures of the time, Shoulder Season spans forty years, an important love triangle, and the course of a woman's I very much enjoyed her vulnerability as a young woman and especially the glimpses we got into her self-assured training and strict rules surrounding Bunnies' behavior (and even their allowed body movements), and the women's

Married Landon was having a passionate affair with a beautiful, spunky local young woman, Lo Bailey, Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood The main protagonist in Stone Yard Devotional is a middle-aged woman

Michelle Moran In Michelle Moran's novel Maria , she uses two timelines to shape the story of the real woman friend in her last remaining roommate, who until then seemed primarily a source of rent; she finds a strange

The women realize they may know too much about where the bodies are buried--literally--to be allowed I loved the women's complicated bonds, their crafty planning, their fights for justice, and their ability Yet Kingsolver keeps Demon's voice strong even as he falters and as everything he has counted on seems morning self-greeting), but I thoroughly enjoyed and felt calmed by listening to this wise, kind, savvy woman

Book Society is darker than I'd anticipated, but appropriate as Martin explores weighty issues for women The women in Madeline Martin's Victorian London exist within tightly constrained rules and at the whims But when three women, all strangers to each other, are invited to the reclusive, three-times-widowed If you'd like to raise your blood pressure by reading about a bunch of destructive men subjugating women The end of the story involves a dramatic death and the promise of solidarity for the women who move forward

For my full review, check out The Love of My Life. 03 A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock #1) by A Study in Scarlet Women, the first in her Lady Sherlock series, presents Charlotte Holmes, a clever, forward-thinking, independent woman trapped in the Victorian age, a time in which women have little to play roles as well as facilitate meetings and encounters), Charlotte reimagines what a Victorian woman Click here for my full review of A Study in Scarlet Women. 04 Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

ICYMI: Morton offers a strong historical fiction mystery, with assumed identities, dual timelines, twists

late grandmother, based on voicemails from and exchanges with with the formidable, fiercely loving woman She's reporting on the case of Meena, a Hindu woman who was brutally punished by her village and her Through Bell's voice we also learn what has shaped the other women of the family: we hear rich stories the difficult relationship between Bobby and her daughter (Kalb's mother) and how it affected each woman's Rebecca Donner's nonfiction work All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days is The True Story of the American Woman

Story, Dana Schwartz's young adult gothic mystery, it's 1817 in Edinburgh, and Hazel Sinnett is a young woman desperate to become something women in her time do not: a surgeon. But when she's kicked out of his lectures because she's a woman, she realizes a chance encounter with particularly inclined to search for opioid drug addicts like her--in fact, no one seems to believe the young woman

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 or that of the British colonists living

Mackenzie is a sports agent who's constantly fighting against misogyny and double standards as one of few women and refusal to bend to societal pressures--whether by behaving in a more tough manner because she's a woman in a career where fewer women exist, or by using her femininity as a tool in that career.

attention to unspoken bonds, deep and unorthodox friendships, makeshift families, legendary dogs, and strong

Christina Baker Kline tells the story of three women's lives in the nineteenth century: Evangeline, a pregnant and is ultimately sent to prison in Australia, “the land beyond the seas"; Hazel, a savvy young woman The women's discoveries of their inner strength during their desperation are wonderful lights in the As strong as stone."

Now Clementine must figure out if her heart is strong enough to cope with losing the unlikely love she's and I loved that the relationship between Clementine and her aunt is said to have been special and strong

Hazel is a strong personality, and I found myself bristling at her questioning whether she's too much about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze (a reality TV show in which a single woman

This story started off strong: fascinating, fun, elaborately plotted, and irresistible.

friend in her last remaining roommate, who until then seemed primarily a source of rent; she finds a strange But as the wedding week goes on, each woman is surprised by what she discovers about herself and the 06 Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty I loved this dive into the repercussions of a seemingly psychic woman's An elderly woman is causing a major disruption on an airline flight.

Kate is a tough young woman posing as a male cowboy. The women realize they may know too much about where the bodies are buried--literally--to be allowed I loved the women's complicated bonds, their crafty planning, their fights for justice, and their ability She's asked to play the role of maid to an unassuming, wealthy young woman in a dastardly plot to take the woman's inheritance and leave her to rot in an insane asylum.

Our Woman in Moscow, Beatriz Williams's historical fiction mystery, based on real-life double agents 01 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams This was my favorite read of the month! In Beatriz Williams's historical fiction, Our Woman in Moscow, it's 1948, and Iris Digby, her American I loved Williams's immersive story so much, I was in for all of Our Woman in Moscow's elements: Russia For my full review, check out Our Woman in Moscow. 02 How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading comedian Zarna Garg's upcoming memoir, This American Woman ; I'm 01 This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg Zarna Garg avoided an unwanted arranged

I loved this dive into the repercussions of a seemingly psychic woman's predictions of demise for her But on today's flight, an elderly woman is causing a major disruption.

She's lived next to the local Liverpool tennis club for years but hasn't played since she was a young woman

manner in which Violet attempted to free herself from the shackles of marriage and the subsummation of a woman me of the measures taken by the main protagonist in another book I recently read, A Study of Scarlet Women

Luke Brooks is a bar owner, womanizer, Emmy's brother's longtime best friend, and an honorary member Barker's novel features Janet, a misunderstood, mocked, badly treated young woman coming of age in a

Cora is a strong young ballet dancer when she meets her future husband, and it is excruciating to repeatedly

But I absolutely loved how Una was a strong, determined, gritty young woman in the face of so many enormous

The strong, ruthless, intelligent women in Harrow the Ninth absolutely steal the show--which is saying

find their mother, a disappeared activist who always fought against the practice of matching Ukrainian women Endling holds dark humor, sobering truths, and lots of gray area within a strange story.

Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost The ending is fanciful and strange; the tone of the book doesn't seem to be leading to a too-convenient This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women In the charming story We'll Prescribe You a Cat , a winding, hard-to-find Kyoto alleyway leads to a strange