Johansen offers monsters, elaborate escape plans and rescue plots, and two strong, clever queens savvily Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman Jessica is a single mom, successful lawyer, and wise mentor to other women

She's an unassuming middle-aged woman and a recovering alcoholic who has a compulsion: to locate missing Frankie is an equal-opportunity problem solver, but I admit that I missed the focus on searching for women

But the young woman he has found may have died of an ancient virus, and thawing the body for study may When she alludes to mysterious connections between the women--and a long-ago crime--she threatens to

trilogy; and I'm reading the upcoming (January 9) young adult rom-com Dungeons and Drama, about a young woman Rachel Hawkins When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she's North Carolina's richest woman Strange murmurings about Ruby's past begin to surface, and Camden is forced to face questions about inheritance

Regarding race, she specifically explores white people's involvement in the oppression of women in Korea

Now Clementine must figure out if her heart is strong enough to cope with losing the unlikely love she's

Brodie's quiet little town, he's tediously searching for a stolen painting when he stumbles across a string The woman's greed and desire for greater social standing mean that Luzia attracts the attention of more

Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, people who are gay, and society in

This sci-fi thriller is about betrayal and revenge, but it's not the other-woman story you might expect This sci-fi thriller is about the forces that drive apart a husband and wife, but it's not the other-woman This is my first Sarah Gailey book, but she's authored many others, including Upright Women Wanted, Magic

she pokes fun at her fellow writer in a sketch about talented but average-looking men dating gorgeous women Fizzy is a straight talker, a sex-positive woman, and a successful romance writer, but she's never been about the unrealistic body images of the stars of Main Squeeze (a reality TV show in which a single woman

Bracken's story offered sassy banter that I loved, a great enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers setup, a strong

and she believes they're linked to the curse that the community believes has its hold on the Farrow women June would love to end the curse, the fraying of the Farrow women's minds, once and for all--by never

situation of trapped girls devolving into paranoia, mayhem, fury, and destruction, with a wonderfully strong thought the teen girls’ “magic” and their perception of it (and especially the perceptions of the men and women

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

highlights of Big Time for me were two clever, funny stories I really liked, "The Secret Meeting of the Women " (featuring various real-life female celebrities as part of a private club through which they pull strings

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

Then a strange man comes to town, telling Vera an unbelievable story of her true origins and her destiny He says that she was placed in her current time to grow up in safety into the woman she needed to be.

Having inspired women for years as a leader in authenticity and a proponent of healthy relationships,

Kimmery Martin's Doctors and Friends, written before the Covid-19 pandemic, centers around a group of women But then Jaouad developed a strange itch in her foot.

One standout for me was the strength of the women in the face of men's abuses of power and physical cruelty gender roles and the reimagining of a rigid faith, marriage/child/parental/educational expectations for women , adventure, strong female loyalty and friendship, love, and lots of fascinating details of life at the a young volunteer, Bridie, over the course of three tumultuous days as the fiery, complex, capable women Donoghue immersed me so fully in the moment-by-moment health and emotional crises; the women's determined

Charlie begins to realize he feels more of a connection to Dev than to any of the twenty beautiful women

identity, eschewing societal fears and superstition, and belonging; a mystery novel about a brave young woman shaped by her Native American heritage; and a young adult book set in an alternate world where women and seventeen-year-old Ada is a newlywed, falling into the path set out for her as a young married woman by Laura Maylene Walter In Body of Stars, debut author Walter imagines a world in which each young woman's As each young woman enters her magical "changeling" period in which her permanent markings (which carry

A benefactor wants her to lead a team of twelve women into the Arctic to locate the missing Franklin Each of the women brings unique skills and strengths to the team, but each also holds secrets of her and a half afterward, Macallister pieces together what really happened to the brave, motley crew of women modern-day, small-town mystery with beautifully imperfect characters bringing it all to life; and a woman-powered

The secondary subjugation explored in the book is that of women by men, and various instances and examples of women's powerlessness are apparent throughout the story. in which the real-life figure of Sarah Grimke makes a slow, twisting shift from her role as a young woman

them: Namesake is Adrienne Young's second and, sadly, final book in her duology about the wonderfully strong , ruthless, clever young seafaring woman, Fable; A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, one of my two favorite Equation, my other favorite read of the month, Christina Lauren's heartwarming, funny story featuring strong Adrienne Young Namesake is the second and, sadly, final book in Young's duology about a wonderfully strong , ruthless, clever young seafaring woman.

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 The interconnected stories here are made up of strange, affecting situations.

his 1940 Ford, driving fast, avoiding federal agents, and living with his grandmother, a healer with strong

They part ways, but the thought of her keeps him strong during the hardships and uncertainty that follow loved, News of the World and The Color of Lightning, as well as one I haven't read but intend to, Enemy Women

twisty mystery is set against the backdrop of an unforgiving winter on an Australian island, with two women Only when the two women's worlds intersect can they piece together the full stories of their husbands

review of See You Yesterday. 04 The Change by Kristen Miller The Change explores the power of menopausal women In Kristen Miller's novel The Change, set in Mattauk, Long Island, three women cope with various challenges The tone of The Change is largely campy, as middle-aged women heroines unite against the book's sometimes But August's adorably quirky roommates and a mystery woman she keeps running into on the Q train might

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

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

But Jordan is entranced by Yash, who acts oddly around other women but seems to be himself around her

But then something really strange happens. Unexpected visions start overwhelming her. Rebecca despairs at her situation, yet she is a wonderfully defiant and strong character--her mother Witches is infuriating in its recounting of the horrific cruelties and tortures enacted against so many women

hilariously taking on Anne Mom's exasperated manner and messaging), and with intrusive testing for women

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

heartbreaking relationship "rules" that prevent her from becoming attached, for fear that she won't be strong

The young women's wartime experiences take Viv to glamorous Harrod's, settle Grace in a dusty old bookshop This is funny, strange, and lovely.

Ali Hazelwood is also the author of Bride as well as numerous other contemporary romcom novels about women Fizzy is a straight talker, a sex-positive woman, and a successful romance writer, but she's never been

01 A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes Natalie Haynes's mythological retellings put women at the center I listened to Haynes read her captivating woman-centric version of events surrounding the Trojan War These are the stories of the women left behind as the men journeyed and sought to inspire songs and stories --often women who may have been able to change the course of events if anyone had listened to them or Haynes's women are vulnerable in order to try to save each other, they carve out meager existences as

They part ways, but the thought of her keeps him strong during the hardships and uncertainty of life Next on my to-read list from her is Enemy Women.

When Jenna finds out she didn't get into Harvard (or any Ivy League schools--side note: her strong but

There are twists, and I enjoyed Grace's strong stand at the end, but by that point I had lost my feeling

But she developed a strange itch in her foot. In and among these scenes, Sedaris shares strange, sweet, funny, pivotal moments with each of his living 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

But Jordan is more entranced by Yash, who acts oddly around other women but seems to be his naturally

famed, sought-after "boy player" in Shakespeare's company, and his roles skillfully playing lovely women

horror might possibly come next, and at times it felt as thought the violence were gratuitous, but the strong

But the situation isn't exactly what it seems, and when a woman comes to town using Evie's birth name Roy was shaped by the woman she calls "my shelter and my storm," and she tracks back to her childhood

01 Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino In Beautyland , Bertino offers a poignant, funny, strange story The source of the boxes is unknown, but it quickly becomes clear that each person's string length correlates Some choose not to look into their boxes at all, while others use the knowledge of their short strings Some with long strings question the participation of "short stringers" in delicate jobs; some couples You may not be surprised by any of the turns each storyline takes here, but the string dilemma leads

her inspiration in Harriet Tubman, Shut Up and Read ; I'm reading Charleen Hurtubise's novel about a woman In her journal, she began an imaginary conversation with Harriet Tubman about the woman's strength and