I read Kitchen Confidential over fifteen years ago, well before I spent endless evenings happily watching The recent movie Tony based on Bourdain's young life is fantastic--who else has seen it? Wizenberg has more recently written a memoir about marriage, unexpected yearnings, and the messy process books she wrote Delancey, about owning a restaurant with her husband. 05 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo Rule of Wolves is the second and final book in Bardugo's young adult fantasy tribute to Rani, and he's forced to more fully consider the devastating effects of his nation's thirty-year-long

Thirty-two-year-old Fern Brookbanks has pinned most of her romantic dreams on Will Baxter--despite the A chance encounter blossomed into a glorious connection and a pact to meet up one year later at her family Now she's coping with a tragedy--and guess who shows up to meet Fern, nine years late? Then Florence's beloved father dies, and she returns to her hometown for the first time in many years So this year, when their friends surprise Harriet upon her arrival with the fact that Win was able to

Five years later, the crown reappears--spurring more mystery and questions than answers. Kate Quinn is the author of the fantastic titles The Diamond Eye, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The

But the brave GIs didn't survive years of brutal battles and ensure their much-anticipated homecoming Addie meets a young man in a hidden-away bookstore--and he's the first person in almost three hundred years I've got historical fiction/fantasy, royal historical fiction, and a compelling nonfiction story that

captivating story involves time travel, but it's primarily about deep human connections, complete with fantastic In a world of the near future, a young (unnamed) woman is one of several civil servants offered a mysterious Their common disjointedness brings them together, and the mashup of personalities and histories was fantastic

Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis is engaged in top-secret work alongside other bright minds, trying to crack evades her grandmother's attempts to bring her from England to the United States to avoid the Nazis' nearing died long ago, and Lizzie just couldn't stand to leave the last country where they saw their mother a year I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts!

Sherry Thomas also writes young adult fantasy books as well as historical romances.

This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. are the stars of the popular paranormal television show Intangible, and for multiple seasons they've yearned realistic rather than manufactured--miscommunication and habitual defensiveness, the foolishness of youth, fear I smiled a lot, I teared up, and I loved this perfect summer read!

01 Meet Me At the Lake by Carley Fortune Thirty-two-year-old Fern Brookbanks has pinned most of her romantic A chance encounter blossomed into a glorious connection and a pact to meet up one year later...but while And just guess who shows up, nine years late? Meet Me At the Lake is narrated by A.J. These Impossible Things is one of my book club's reads this year. 03 Meru (The Alloy Era #1) by S.B. Divya For five hundred years, humans have been restricted to living on Earth, while posthuman descendants

this timeline, Tom Metcalfe, one of our main protagonists, is an academic fascinated by the past (the years around us, Tom, our academic protagonist says: I prefer teaching the post-2015 period...when waves of fantastical I’d like to shout down through a hole in the ceiling of time and advise the people of a hundred years ago: If you want your secrets kept, whisper them into the ear of your dearest, most trusted friend. Such liberty and abandon, such fearful defiance.

If you've read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads? A Restless Truth is the second in Freya Marske's queer fantasy mystery Last Binding trilogy that began line between fact and fiction allows the true heart of the book, a daughter's wonder, grief, joy, and yearning Sixteen-year-old aspiring writer Frankie is just trying to get through a late 1990s summer in Coalfield

This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. are the stars of the popular paranormal television show Intangible , and for multiple seasons they've yearned I smiled a lot, I teared up, and I loved this romantic read! That book introduced the fantastic best-friend character of Felicity "Fizzy" Chen. The happy ending made me tear up and also made me want to cheer. I loved this.

British parents Millie and Reginald Thompson make an impossible choice: to send their eleven-year-old time while her wife Odette soars high above on the trapeze of their magical circus, the Circus of the Fantasticals with a ringmaster ruling his crew with dark powers--and someone who's after what the Circus of the Fantasticals

(It wasn't what I had feared.) The unlikely Jaryk-Lucy connection captured my heart, the Misha-Jaryk friendship was fantastic, and Chakrabarti's writing--about New York's bustle, small-town Indian life, the power of music and art, and a yearning for love and acceptance while fearing rejection and not feeling worthy--is luminous. This was my book club's first read of the year. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?

So Cy leaves his ten-year-old daughter Bess with his sister, Bess's short-tempered aunt, although he expects to be away on his irrational, foolish travels for two years. (Two years!) Davies includes fantastic details of amateur Western exploration that I adored. 04 One for the Blackbird Carson is also the author of the Fire and Thorns series, four young adult fantasy books plus related

I'd love to hear what you thought! Which other books should I add to my to-read robot book list? SecUnit is a fantastic main character; it's grumpily and charmingly obsessed with keeping its people But Andra soon realizes she wasn't sleeping for 100 years. She was asleep for 1,000. Years later Rose is a world-renowned physicist working to unlock the secrets of the hand and the curious , yet Neuvel allows their spoken-only participation in the book to express their growth, hopes, and fears

But she is incapable of BS and full of rage, fear, unquenched revenge fantasies, vulnerability, and the

Cosimano is also the author of the young adult mystery series Nearly Gone, the young adult fantasy series

feminism and LGBTQ love; a Maine-set mystery solved by retired CIA operatives; an epic historical fiction fantasy And Princess Gisela of the Alpenwald, a dear friend of Alice's, goes missing just after Veronica shares evolution of Stoker and Veronica's own relationship in this book is understated yet beautifully poignant; I teared

In the world of Griffin's young adult fantasy novel The Nature of Witches, witches control the weather

She settles into the peaceful patterns of nature and camping near where her grandmother once lived. outside world, all of which threaten to destroy the isolated colony they've evolved into over a period of years and, ultimately, characters' newfound abilities to explore the world again, with wonder instead of fear

01 Saltwater by Katy Hays Thirty years ago, Sarah Lingate was found dead under suspicious circumstances Each year, the wealthy, powerful Lingate family returns to Capri as thought to quash rumors about Sarah's But this year, the family arrives at the villa to find a haunting relic from the past: the necklace Sarah was wearing when she died. the bottom of her mother 's death, begins to dig into the truth, uncovering danger and beginning to fear

listening to How to End a Love Story, a story by Yulin Kuang about two young adults whose paths cross years Five years later, the crown reappears--spurring more mystery and questions than answers. Kate Quinn is the author of the fantastic titles The Diamond Eye, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Helen hasn't seen Grant Shepard in thirteen years--not since they were bound by the horrific events surrounding

Bossy Book Gift Ideas Each year I offer lists of Bossy book gift ideas for the holidays, including a indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling For the Janeite or Gilded Age Fan 03 Jane Austen's Fashion Bible by Ros Ballaster This year marks the The acclaimed photographers who created this startlingly beautiful book first spent four years researching

Eason is also the author of the On the Bones of Gods fantasy series.

Kamali's powerful story of enduring friendship spans decades and is shaped by years of political turmoil I feel as though I've been hearing rave reviews of this book for so long, it must have been published five years ago.

In 1840 in London, young Arthur lives near the sewage-filled River Thames, desperate to escape poverty In 2014 Turkey, ten-year-old Narin is living near the Tigris and is affected by a disorder that will I'd love to hear your bossy thoughts about this book.

01 Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein Nineteen-year-old Avery Abrams was set to be the next big gymnastics For the next few years she dabbled in college, she partied, she drifted, she dated a professional football The premise of Dear Emmie Blue made me wonder if the story would feel too far-fetched. For my full review, please see Dear Emmie Blue . She decides that she's in--for a fantastic wardrobe, incredibly awkward moments, scripted romance, and

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Phillips Julia Phillips's interconnected stories follow in chapters that take place each month for a year I also listed Disappearing Earth in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year. With the passing of the years, however, those memories become distant and malleable, and we shape them Ivey's fantastical elements are inspired by Native American folklore and stories, and they work well

I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book! Kate Quinn is the author of the fantastic titles The Diamond Eye , The Huntress , The Rose Code , and

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos twists through betrayal, love, lots and lots of art, loss, fear of These richly built elements form a backdrop to two women's linked journeys, separated by 300 years. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this book!

extended family--including a stolid patriarch and matriarch, a free-spirited daughter, a spunky and fantastic Cosby This is a fantastic blend of realistic complications, mistakes, adjustments, and spunk. of You by Anne Egseth Luna has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old simultaneously wanted to scoop up Luna and take care of her and to follow the lead of this wise-beyond-her-years She has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl.

indies that keep us swimming in thoughtful book recommendations and excellent customer service all year They have a fantastic selection of titles, staff members offer spot-on recommendations (and sparkling , and they can order almost anything they don't have in stock. 01 There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib In There's Always This Year , Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Last year's Bossy sports-book gift roundup included Joe Posnanski's Why We Love Baseball .

might also want to check out the books on my spring Greedy Reading List Six of My Favorite Reads of the Year It's Real by Ann Liang I was hooked by Liang's fake-dating, famous-everyday relationship duo setup, fantastically In Ann Liang's young adult rom-com This Time It's Real, when seventeen-year-old Eliza's class essay about Years later, Rachel runs into someone from her past, which spurs her to think back to the events and relationships that shaped her during her college years.

This is the epitome of glorious young adult fantasy, but the book is truly character driven. In Other Lands is the epitome of glorious young adult fantasy—there’s a portal; there are mermaids, elves

multigenerational family story told through two timelines; the final book in a darkly playful young adult fantasy series; a quirky, campy mystery and revenge fantasy; and a young adult thriller with outlandish circumstances and yearnings for intimacy that feel real. Duchess is a thirteen-year-old girl trying to keep her family together. Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard Heard's young adult thriller was a lightning-fast read, and there's a yearning

Linnea Hartsuyker is the first in a completed trilogy of the same name that links historical fiction and fantasy

Time It's Real by Ann Liang In Ann Liang's light fiction rom-com This Time It's Real, when seventeen-year-old Her city is under attack, and leaders want her to serve as a weapon against the forces aiming to tear But the books in the series also offer fantastically bratty episodes on the parts of various characters

Thirty-two-year-old Fern Brookbanks has pinned most of her romantic dreams on Will Baxter--despite the A chance encounter blossomed into a glorious connection and a pact to meet up one year later at her family Now she's coping with a tragedy--and guess who shows up to meet Fern, nine years late? Then Florence's beloved father dies, and she returns to her hometown for the first time in many years So this year, when their friends surprise Harriet upon her arrival with the fact that Win was able to

There aren't gray areas for the reader to explore where he's concerned; revenge fantasies are the logical

This short novel explores an alternate-history, near-future, post-war San Francisco in which robots come In a San Francisco of the near future, a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned The robots suffer from prejudice and bear the brunt of fear-mongering from much of society. Without fear of ruin, each of them wouldn't so fully embrace their roles and abilities, bond as deeply

This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. are the stars of the popular paranormal television show Intangible, and for multiple seasons they've yearned Years later, Rachel runs into someone from her past, which spurs her to think back to the events and relationships that shaped her during her college years. Practical, tough sixteen-year-old Bridget arrives in 1877 Dodge City without a penny to her name or enough

The tone of Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth was unlike any fantasy novel I’ve read—Gideon’s speech is

Now I'm reading The Glassmaker, the newest historical fiction from Tracy Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring ); I'm reading Bear, the newest literary fiction from Julia Phillips (Disappearing Earth); and I'm listening Tracy Chevalier is the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring and nine other novels. 02 Bear by Julia Phillips But when Sam spots a bear swimming alongside the ferry--a bear that then shows up near their home--she , NFL tight end Derek Pender, and Nora were college sweethearts, and Nora abruptly broke things off years

But they've been on the outs for a year or so. But Frankie is starting to fall for George, even as she fears making a move that would ruin their friendship easily resolved moment, but in a lifetime of best-friendship, connection, long-held assumptions, and fear

In Williams's historical fiction mystery, which skips back and forth in time, four years later, Iris's Macintyre also wrote the fantastic Spy and the Traitor , which was one of my Six Favorite Nonfiction Books of the Year the year I read it and which I also listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Compelling

My very favorite reads this year! I post my favorite reads each month, and I was having such a great reading year, in late spring I posted My Favorite Reads of the Year So Far. I read so many fantastic books this year, I was considering another 29 titles for this Bossy Best of What were some of your favorite reads of the year? Let's do some Bossy book talking!

Hour of the Witch is a thoroughly researched, witchy, historical thriller with fantastic details of the Hour of the Witch is a thoroughly researched historical thriller with fantastic details of the time that focuses on the character of a twenty-four-year-old, faithful Puritan wife trying to escape her violent Mary up in its grasp as those around her swarm and snarl, eager to condemn her to death for imagined, feared Bohjalian is also the author of a fantastic book about World War II, Skeletons at the Feast, the difficult

The Autoboyography dialogue is fantastic and witty but feels effortless and like it comes from actual This is fantastic contemporary young adult fiction. I loved this fantastic memoir! Wood's memoir is heartwarming and funny and tragic and vivid. For my full review, please see When We Were the Kennedys. 04 Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano Twelve-year-old She also says "Everyone needs to hear that other person's voice saying, 'I believe in you.