of Utopia Avenue, click here. 02 The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez On the surface, the main The other is a shockingly talented artist who abandoned the creation of new work after an incredibly painful In Leila Sales's young adult book This Song Could Save Your Life, main protagonist Elise doesn't fit

Elle and her oldest friend Jonas have just crossed a line, betraying their spouses--and may have set experienced there; her yearning for her estranged father in Ghana, whom they all call the Chin Chin Man Gifty is an appealing main protagonist, and Gyasi's story s fascinating so far. 03 The Haunting of Hill

In "Happily Ever After" the main character faces the possibility of not being able to have a biological In Evans's story "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain," Rena, a war correspondent, attends the wedding "Why Won’t Women Just Say What They Want" focuses on an artist and the many people he has wronged (all The artist makes elaborate apologies which may be a media stunt. In "Anything Could Disappear," the main protagonist feels desperation, hoping fo new beginnings and a

In A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum explores the often powerless and essentially voiceless status of her female The dark basement where a main character spends most of her time adds to the claustrophobic feel of that The story is built around the women's constant pain, with wives being beaten almost universally within --but also many other real-life women--to write a new history, one in which they enjoy freedoms and a What did you think of knowing something bad was going to happen to a main character?

Summer with the Perfect Reads I present to you: a little of this, a little of that, and a list that may We meet two main protagonists: independent young adult Birdie, who travels from her rural hometown to

balance of magic, religion, love, passion, family duty, adventure, and search for meaning—and all with a main

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

marriage, sex, politics, public and private behavior—and of course *society,* which almost served as a main

said that this story is so fully inspired by her grandmother's story that she didn't even change the main

The other plotline concerns Lurie, a man who has adventures and challenges with his surprising, loyal gives a fittingly old-fashioned quality to the writing that feels as though it suits the time, the main imprisonment; experiences cruel and potentially fatal betrayal by one of their own; faces the wild and its many

the Witch, published earlier this month, takes place in 1662 Boston, where strong-willed women like main Mary's foul treatment by her husband--and the community's unwillingness to protect her--may have you

Miller was a twentysomething writer in New York City when she began having odd symptoms, terrible pain Miller explores the isolation of enduring chronic disease, her own personal experiences coping with pain Told Me by Laura Dave Hannah has just celebrated her one-year anniversary of marriage to Owen, she may be making the slightest inroads with her teenaged stepdaughter Bailey--and she may finally be getting Friends and siblings are pitted against each other, and some of our main protagonists are faced with

Favorite Bossy Historical Fiction Reads of the Year I loved reading so many historical fiction books I'm fascinated by stories in which a woman poses as a man in order to achieve freedoms otherwise not Belle is fearful--particularly for her mother's sake--that her father's true origins may be uncovered All of this, along with her pain at the loss of her beloved father, keeps her closed off emotionally. Main protagonist Frankie signs up to leave her idyllic, privileged Southern California life--and the

The vivid setting is as essential to the book as a main character, and references to real-life celebrities

And the main protagonist Vasilisa and conflicted priest were irresistible characters.

fourth installment of her Murderbot series, Wells provides another short (176 pages) book in which the main

Reid is a straitlaced young man for whom things are black-and-white, clearly right and wrong. Because our main protagonist is hiding from her mother and the coven, who desire to use Lou to further pronounced than her identity as a thief and as a young woman fighting against the establishment and The Man --until she marries The Man himself.

It may make me feel all the feelings, and/or may be intriguing and make me think, and it's usually engaging Family, pain, love, music, influence, trust, wonder, brutality, invention, discovery, loyalty, and most good, and they make mistakes and pay for them and live within their awful messed-up moments and their painful Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood In 1963 the Woods were a typical Catholic immigrant family in Mexico, Maine Wood gorgeously evokes the many characters and unfathomable events that changed her family's existence

I plowed through this book to figure out how the heck the main protagonist was going to resolve the situation

And there may be no law left except what you make of it, but if you steal my dog, you can at least expect But the main protagonist Griz is tough as nails and determined and wonderful, and things do ultimately

Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like

single-minded young Stephen the wunderkind; gruff, bighearted Colonel Carlisle; and the others on board may Against enormous odds, the team may just be finding some of the lifesaving answers they were sent to Carey's The Girl With All the Gifts; this person appears at the end of The Boy on the Bridge but is a main

A mysterious prisoner from the front arrives who could be friend or foe, and our main protagonist Talin

Although you may see some of the big plot events coming, Center makes the journey so enjoyable that I more; it's sweet and funny, it's about writing and books, there are wonderfully faulted love-crossed main After she drunk-blogs scathing comments about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze producer reaches out to her with an unexpected question: Would Bea consider starring in a season of Main

1532 Santo Domingo de la Calzada as a young woman named Maria makes choices to shield her from being a man's I loved the headstrong, powerful but untrained main character Nahri, the complex cultural backgrounds But the many points of view and meandering stories also felt a little broad at times, and I wished for

I wanted to love that book more--there was so much love for books, and the main protagonist had a gloriously --but I found myself distracted by what felt like too many silly, slapstick moments or details that didn't

This likely goes without saying, but a significant personal interest in Tombstone and the main players enter into reading this knowing Clavin was providing a meaty look at the topic of the town and the many

the past feel light years away, because Rocky's menopausal rage threatens to undo any joy she might gain To save their treasured family time together, Rocky may have to share secrets she never intended to reveal friendship between two young outcasts in small-town Monta Clare, Missouri: Patch, a pirate-playing young man disparate-seeming story that soon emerges, beginning with the premise of a serial killer whose actions haunt our main In Memoriam is beautiful, frequently painful, and offers a layered, complicated version of happy ever

The main protagonist and conflicted priest were irresistible characters. an impossible, magical turn of events, a moment of simple winter joy leads to renewed hope that they may Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would

details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after our main works alongside her family, caring for the plantation owners' daughter Violet, who is her own age, and gaining She also explores the complicated Violet-Junie dynamic, in which Junie is Violet's only company for many

Second-Chance Books I've been reminded lately how much I love a good second-chance book in which the main Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like Either to change a world--many, many worlds, each touched by the choices I make in my life, for every Harry August has been born (in a train station in 1919) many times. Some lives are notable, others comfortable, and still others are full of pain.

My very favorite Bossy May reads! Here are the six books I most loved reading this past month. He teaches English to children and adjusts to the shock of living in a flat with many other people--and The main protagonist's focus in her work is Commander Graham Gore (a character based upon a real figure

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 she can walk through a magical red door, she finds unexpected circumstances--and realizes that she may Kim's missing-person novel is a mystery and is structured around the discovery and exploration of what may

The main players have to stick to their lies about their past to preserve their fragile present-day lives

The main protagonists are young, but their concerns are weighty.

Wings by Sue Monk Kidd In 1803 Charleston, plantation owners wield cruel and immense control over their many people considered disobedient; the oppressive power exercised over the humans who are considered by many meaning in life; and the fraught, heart-wrenching, tender, likely ill-fated romance between the two main

Six More Great Bossy Literary Fiction Reads I read so many read literary fiction books last year, this But Cushla--along with many other citizens--is more and more astounded by the increasing conflict between of the story, vividly building the constant undercurrent of tension, the twinges of fear, the devil-may-care In small town Crosby, Maine, acclaimed writer Lucy Barton and attorney Bob Burgess walk and talk about But the young man, a self-taught artist, is counting on Bob and an unorthodox approach to figuring out

I loved the Ottoman Empire setting, the strong female main protagonist, and the complications and sometimes She finds that she may be the only hope to save her war-torn country. King, surprising revelations, shifting alliances, opaque political machinations, and enmity between main which offers wonderfully flawed characters, plot twists and revelations, great banter, and endings you may

The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. nontraditional, loving, zany family flips traditional views of unplanned, young pregnancy through the view of a main One of these customers is a kind older man she's become dear friends with. happening to Cassie and Izzy when Cassie takes possession of the book, and soon a rumpled Scottish man reported as having died, but strange and unnerving clues indicate to Laura that something more mysterious may

walking down the street--then she sees that he is armed, and to her horror, she sees him kill another man science fiction novel, Mandel plays with time and time travel as well as mysteries surrounding what may But all of these players and times feel in place mainly to serve as a structure to surround our true main protagonist, Gaspary, and we see the most depth and development and change; loyalty and love and

Erin French Erin French is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen, a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine

I was completely taken with the compelling story of the spunky main players; the shockingly blatant,

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

through various avenues of hell, and the worldbuilding felt slim and glossed over during some of the many Harrow The Everlasting  involves jaunts through multiple versions of the same story, as our fantastic main 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

overused from use in other stories (a tough, closed-off investigator, broken by her past; a strong, kind man unrequited love for her; the general outline of the disturbing situation at the heart of the book’s main

Kingfisher/Vernon is a prolific author who has published many standalone novels as well as multiple series 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, Within this timeline, Tom Metcalfe, one of our main protagonists, is an academic fascinated by the past And you can find Bossy reviews of many other mysteries here .

But Misery has her own reasons for willingly entering into this marriage--her best friend's safety may that time, all of her tenuous physical links to her past and family members--mixed though her emotions may For my full review, check out Grief Is for People . 06 Wellness by Nathan Hill Flawed main characters

chock-full book, our narrator is trying to piece together the events surrounding the shooting of a man Greedy Reading List Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism. 06 Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi Main Gifty is an appealing main protagonist, and the journey Gyasi took us on was fascinating.

Normal People could carry many trigger warnings. Rooney delves into issues of mental illness by laying out the main protagonists' loneliness, depression

On the surface, the main players in this book by Abby Jimenez are too outrageously beautiful, obscenely The other is a shockingly talented artist who abandoned the creation of new work after an incredibly painful