Bossy Favorites of the Month Here are my six favorite reads of April: a contemporary novel about family and identity; a debut novel about characters with disabilities from a nonspeaking author; a creative fantasy novel that's a book within a book; a story about loss and a love of books; a darkly funny book about loss and grief; and the third and final mystery in a series from a favorite author. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this mont

Nguyen offers a novel inspired by real life about the loss of a child and the deep, paralyzing grief that follows; this tragicomedy has dark humor and messy, realistic-feeling paths toward finding greater peace without minimizing sorrow. Cleo and her best friend since childhood, Paloma, live down the street from each other and are ecstatic to be pregnant with their first children at the same time. They have a joint baby shower, discuss all of their pregnancy woes, compare bab

At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy story, the novel offers adventure and a quest; an everyday person in an extraordinary situation; secret identities; a ragtag, loyal group of friends; twists; and a forbidden romance with No Swooning. Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and by now she feels like she personally knows the characters and world of K

Applegate's memoir is more focused on her personal life than her acting, which has created structure in her life since childhood. She is brutally honest about recounting her health struggles as well as past trauma and the joy of her marriage and daughter. Christina Applegate began acting as an infant, and she was fifteen when she began starring in the long-running sitcom Married...with Children. She went on to star in movies like Anchorman and in television series like Dead t

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm reading a book in which a modern-day, luxury tradwife influencer wakes up in the gritty, unforgiving 1800s, Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear; I'm listening to Mai Nguyen's darkly funny and moving book about deep grief and finding a way forward, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead; and I'm listening to Ilona Andrews's novel about a superfan who wakes up in the world of her favorite fantasy series--danger, wonder, and all, This Kingdom Will Not

Six Bossy Literary Fiction Favorites I'm still mining my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite literary fiction reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 What We Ca

Page's romantic novel celebrates the importance of books for coping, celebrating, and exploring, while also delving into our main protagonist's deep grief and fight to find her footing again after loss. The sweet story offers poignancy, heart, and hope. Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owne

I felt that knowing the story of the nonspeaking author of this novel added significant depth and poignancy to this big-hearted, heartbreaking story of the clients and staff of an adult daycare center, their personal stories, and their inner lives. In his debut novel, author Woody Brown, who is nonspeaking and autistic, shares a portrait of an adult daycare center in California through glimpses of its varied clients and staff members, their motivations, their frustrations, th

The third in the Cal Hooper series is a slow-burn mystery in which Tana French serves up deep character development; a prominent, brooding Irish landscape; and a multitide of community secrets, dark motivations, and furious revenge. When I Bossily reviewed the first book in this series, The Searcher , I started my review this way: What do I love more than a Tana French book, a retired detective story, or an Irish setting? Nothing. There is nothing I love more than any of thes

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm reading the newest novel by a favorite author, Taylor Brown, Wolvers ; I'm reading Woody Brown's debut novel about an adult daycare center, Upward Bound ; and I'm listening to Christina Applegate's memoir, You with the Sad Eyes . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 Wolvers by Taylor Brown Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods bette

Six Final Bossy Favorites If you follow this blog, you probably already know that historical fiction is one of my favorite reading genres, and this is the third of three historical-fiction favorite lists I'll have for you as I revisit my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. For my first roundup, check out this link , and for my second, check out this one . You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overal

This romance-laced mystery centered around a podcast and its host's disappearance includes some far-fetched-feeling elements, but Tiffany Crum's debut novel keeps up the pacing and kept me interested throughout, including the renegade justice that's served up. Benny and Joy are best friends who met under unusual circumstances; Joy, a narcoleptic, was asleep outside a bar bathroom when Benny woke her up. (Side note: this is presented as a zany meet-cute but felt a little jarr

Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly is a high school English teacher who leans on her close-knit, longtime book club for support, reason, venting, and laughter. Along with her

It's not necessary to read other books in this series before diving into an Eddie Flynn novel; Cavanagh skillfully establishes key elements of the past while diving into the urgency of present-day events. The character of Eddie is perfectly imperfect, and I didn't mind the outlandish story elements because Cavanagh creates such a suspenseful story that moves right along. Elly Parker is a wildly successful social media influencer who focuses on filming and sharing her random a

The Books I'm Reading Now I went skiing for spring break last week, and during my travels and some lazy evenings I managed to pack in some great books that I'll be reviewing ASAP--and wanting to talk to you about. This week I'm listening to a sweet book-loving novel that also deals with grief, This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page; I'm reading the third in Tana French's Irish-set Cal Hooper mystery series, The Keeper ; and I'm reading a mystery built around a fictitio

I hope spring is treating you well so far! I'll be taking a little break from posting, but while I'm offline I'll be reading lots of books I can't wait to share with you once I'm back! I've been reading lots of new and upcoming books for a local talk I'll be doing in May about spring books. This is just the excuse I need to focus only on new new new books, and there are so many promising titles coming out, I'm having my usual greedy-reading dilemmas about what to read first.

Bossy Favorites of the Month Please enjoy this roundup of my six favorite reads of March. I hope you've read some great books during this "in like a lion, out like a lamb" month. Have you read any of these titles? What were some of your favorite reads this month? 01 Kin by Tayari Jones Jones throws every issue imaginable at her two main protagonists, best friends living in the Deep South, both without their mothers. The young women cope with their pain in divergent ways, and

Abby Jimenez knows how to layer difficult situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and her main protagonists must confront and overcome past and present difficulties in order to banter their way through the story and build a sweet life together. I was hooked on the chemistry and fascinated by the significant, heartbreaking obstacles and how they might possibly be addressed to allow for love. Larissa made a split-second decision one night after a concert, when she

Saara El-Arifi's Cleopatra offers a picture of a feminist, cutthroat, passionate, dedicated woman who is a mother as well as a ruler; she is a lover and a deadly enemy; and her singular focus on Egypt and its future leads her in all ways. This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived. My knowledge of Egypt is limited, but my interest was sparked by one of my favorite childhood reads, The Egypt Game . In Saara El-Arifi's Cleopatra , the author tells from Cleopatra's poi

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Abby Jimenez's newest rom-com with depth, The Night We Met ; I'm reading Rachel Hochhauser's Cinderella retelling from the perspective of the "evil" (actually fierce and determined) stepmother, Lady Tremaine ; and I'm reading the newest title in Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn mystery series, Two Kinds of Stranger . What are you reading, bookworms? 01 The Night We Met (Say You'll Remember Me #2) by Abby Jimenez Larissa made a split-sec