Warrior Girl Unearthed is thrilling, upsetting, and edifying. There are some structural problems with this book, it still delivered the squee factor, in that I was totally absorbed and emotionally invested in this story. This is a stand-alone novel set in the same community as in the book The Firekeeper’s Daughter, another excellent read. Both books tackle difficult issues that face indigenous young women in America with empathy, perception, tenderness, and grit. Neither is a … Continue reading Warrior Girl Unearthed, by Angeline Boulley →
CW: emotional abuse by parents The first thing you need to know about Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is that it will make you hungry. Sophie is a matchmaker in Toronto, and she loves food even more than romance. Sophie and her clients eat their way across the city, evocatively describing curry buns, guava candies, duck egg congee, nasi goreng, fruity pavlovas, and Krispy Kreme donuts. The second thing you should know is that while … Continue reading Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim →
I picked up The No-Show because based on the blurb, I thought this would be some sort of feminist revenge fantasy. Said blurb: Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they’re involved with the same man in this smart new rom-com by Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare. Sadly this does not end in a sisterhood pact over this man’s grave. Despite my wrong assumptions, I hoovered up this book in … Continue reading The No-Show by Beth O’Leary →
Miss Eliza’s Kitchen has a fascinating subject and lots of detail, but this historical novel (not a romance) skips over the most interesting parts of the story. I wanted to love this book, but in the end I was not filled up. The material is fascinating, and the use of language is lovely, but be prepared for some frustration if you expect answers to all the questions raised and an unambiguous ending. The book tells … Continue reading Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen by Annabel Abbs →
Dangerous Women is a dangerous book in the sense that once you pick it up you won’t want to put it down. This historical mystery novel explores a murder on board a ship full of convict women being transported from England to Van Dieman’s Land (Australia). By switching between several first-person narrators, the book is able to explore the lives of underclass women in urban Victorian England and the choices they made to survive, while … Continue reading Dangerous Women by Hope Adams →
Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft is one of those books that feels as though it was written just for me. As a Mary Wollstonecraft fan, I’m always happy to see her getting some attention above and beyond her role as the famous Mary Shelley’s mother (Full disclosure: I am also a fan of Mary Shelley). This historical fiction novel tells Mary Wollestonecraft’s story from when she first stands up to her father … Continue reading Love and Fury by Samantha Silva →
The Shadow in the Glass is marketed as a Gothic Cinderella story, which is totally my jam, but in reality what I got was a Faustian morality tale with some Cinderella themes. It was a depressing read overall and, this is a big spoiler but an important one: Even if I meant to read this as a Faustian morality tale, it still left some questions unanswered at the end of the novel, and not in … Continue reading The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood →
Prospects of a Woman is a historical novel, very much not a romance, about a woman who finds her independence in California during the Gold Rush. It’s written by a local author and the sense of place is solid all throughout the book, anchoring the story of an angry woman who feels incomplete for much of the story. While I did not like the main character initially, I did enjoy her character development, and I … Continue reading Prospects of a Woman by Wendy Voorsanger →
TW: child abuse, drug abuse, addiction and recovery Fans of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice might recall meeting Anne de Bourgh for a hot minute and also hearing her referred to incessantly by her domineering mother, Lady Catherine. The Heiress tells Anne’s story from her point of view, beginning in early childhood and extending through the entirety of her life. This book was not what I expected, but I loved it once I adjusted … Continue reading The Heiress by Molly Greeley →
CW: Off the page suicide attempt of a minor character. Classism, including jokes about hobos. The blurb for Last Tang Standing recommends it for “fans of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones’s Diary.” I liked those books, and I can see the superficial similarities—this is a humorous diary set in wealthy Singapore—but this book doesn’t bring much of an original perspective to the story of a 30-something finding themselves. Last Tang Standing tries so hard … Continue reading Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho →
I always felt a little sorry for Mary Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. It seemed to me that Mary was isolated in a way her other sisters were not; Lizzie and Jane had each other as confidants, and Lydia and Kitty were partners in crime. Mary’s biggest flaw seemed to be a lack of self-awareness that led to awkward social situations, which lacked the malice or selfishness of other character’s actions, especially Lydia’s. In The … Continue reading The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow →
