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In Caroline O'Donoghue's contemporary fiction The Rachel Incident, main character Rachel is an Irish She's dating a boring but reliable young man from her high school and living at home when she meets James learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial Alex's past is far from free of blemishes and pain, and some of her life-and-death decisions required

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads This is the time in the year when you may be asking yourself learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial This is another whodunit winner from Wendy Walker: a character-driven mystery with a neurodivergent main

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

The man who has vanished happens to be Stoker's former expedition partner, who he punched on the street As always, her main characters are richly layered, struggle with terrible circumstances, retain strong Donoghue builds a rich story around the real-life figures of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister. Raine was a wealthy orphan--one of two daughters born to a white British father and an Indian mother, It's difficult to consider Raine's mental illness without crediting the likely powerful influence of

It started off a little slowly for me because Benjamin shared so many details of thoughts and in setting Hawker Hawker's historical fiction gives a wonderfully evocative peek into a gritty period, as her main She's learned to bite her tongue, and she feels like the poor treatment her husband shows her may be Donoghue builds a rich story around the real-life figures of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister. Raine was a wealthy orphan--one of two daughters born to a white British father and an Indian mother,

I may have seen the mistaken-premise setup coming, and the friend betrayal, and the rough lines of the famous-person love is a favorite trope of mine, and Norman adds emotional complexities to each of the main

gleefully questioned whether any character was telling the truth--including, ultimately, whether the main

their trip to the Gulf of Mexico is fraught with danger--and Nell's husband and his murderous brothers may It started off a little slowly for me because Benjamin shared so many details of thoughts and in setting The gods' war provides the structure for the book's main conflict, but the story feels primarily focused

Rachel Hawkins In Rachel Hawkins's mystery The Wife Upstairs, set for January 5, 2021 publication, the main

In You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith recounts her painful, prolonged divorce and The book is made up of many short sections, and much of Smith's exploration is focused on the way in strength to go on despite few options; and the surprise of new determination and hope after years of pain But others' visions for the story involve her eco-warrior main character morphing into a teen beauty

When they encounter loved ones from their memories who are now living alternate lives, in many cases ward since her beloved, offbeat father disappeared during a trip to acquire artifacts for the wealthy man Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like

In Jo Harkin's debut novel world, many have elected to have the company Nepenthe remove traumatic or In Matt Haig's The Humans, an extraterrestrial arrives on Earth with a mission: to kill the man who has 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 mainly to be in place to serve as a structure for our true main But the young woman he has found may have died of an ancient virus, and thawing the body for study could

growing up between two cultures while shining in its details: wonderful dialogue, messy moments, and the main

of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and opposite sides of the wall) are at heart the same in their pain Much of the fever pitch of support and hatred for Jesus occurs when the main character of Ana is off Jesus's role in Ana's story is as a faithful man who disagrees with the politics of the faith at the

My very favorite Bossy May reads! Here are the books I most loved reading in May: Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, Lucinda Williams's 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 adult fantasy series, but what hooked me was the fearless, hardened, fiercely loyal, savvy, and crafty main

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

In Flying Solo, Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown, stinging from her recently canceled wedding In Part of Your World, Abby Jimenez takes on a meet-cute between a rural renaissance man (he's the small-town put some distance between her mother and herself, and if her mom has taught her anything, it's the pain

After being involved in multiple disasters in only her first day of classes, she fears college may become In Cristina Fernandez's book, main protagonist and Columbia premed undergrad Astrid is dating Max Martin

marriage, sex, politics, public and private behavior—and of course "society," which almost serves as a main A lady’s maid in love with the lady, racy scenes, angst, wonderful details of a life in service to a In this upstairs/downstairs novel, set in nineteenth century New York, Mary Ballard is a lady’s maid But on her own time, Mary is Irish exile Maire O’Farren, and she keeps mixed company as part of a secret Hardinger offers up many crisp and varied details of the time, she captures Bertie’s speech patterns,

poppets, or the playing of drums—or simply being a strong-willed woman helping to feed a village by manning of the story held so much promise, and the next two books show positive reader reviews, this series may Therefore I have not read it, despite wanting to, because I am a very greedy person who has too many books on her library hold list, too many prepublication books requested, and too many books she already The main protagonist Kristin is a headstrong woman, and she escapes a convent for love. Check.

communicate with its handler, it begins to understand that all is not black and white, and that it may Click here for my full review of Activation Degradation. 03 Upgrade by Blake Crouch Main protagonist 06 A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1) by Becky Chambers Chambers's slim book explores a man's search for meaning--and how a robot's simple questions about maintaining the status quo might open up

Sea, familiar Strout characters Lucy Barton and her ex-husband William flee New York City for rural Maine

The shift has made for strange bedfellows—and a prickly partnership between our main protagonist, Ellen Wang's memoir illustrates her family’s gritty determination in the face of extreme poverty and the many

The point of view frequently shifts, and many chapters are short, but I felt connected to each of the I was all in for June and her whole glorious, often painful, messy journey of discovering who she is famous-person love is a favorite trope of mine, and Norman adds emotional complexities to each of the main The members of the group may have grown apart, but in the decades to come, when one of them feels adrift

is established of Alzheimer's disease, he considers the cases of those he has known who suffered for many Then she began to feel fatigue she just couldn't shake, no matter how many hours-long naps she fell into Jaouad embarked on a 100-day, 15,000-mile trip around the perimeter of the United States, visiting many After Hitler's invasion of Russia and the Ukraine, Mila, along with so many others, enlists to fight Click here for my full review of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. 05 Upgrade by Blake Crouch Main

poppets, or the playing of drums—or simply being a strong-willed woman helping to feed a village by manning She’s eager to learn how to be more independent, and she’s smart and accurate with so many of her pure ​ Author Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's personal assistant in real life, and in this novel, Byron's main the varied demands of an enormous star, and Lane explores the characters' challenges of striving to maintain Much of the fever pitch of support and hatred for Jesus occurs when the main character of Ana is off

audiobook version as his soothing voice extolled the virtues of dishes that were familiar to me and many Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott Elliott's book for young readers offers a boy-crazy, truly funny main Blood explores issues of identity, the strength of a person's nature as compared to experiences that may inadvertently connects to the unlikeliest of people in the town, some of whom were part of her dark, frequently pain-filled

husband, her always-furious oldest daughter, her absent middle son, her broken life, and her relentless pain Our main protagonists are satisfyingly clever and resourceful, but they meet with plausibly complicated Witches is infuriating in its recounting of the horrific cruelties and tortures enacted against so many

that the will they/won't they romantic tension satisfyingly hinges on factors somewhat outside of the main

Sci-fi books can be so lovely and weird and immersive, and the stories can dive into so many fascinating When they encounter loved ones from their memories who are now living alternate lives, in many cases have noticed that her husband has recently been mysteriously absent from her side as she collects her many Divya has crafted strong female main protagonists who navigate the sometimes dark, always complicated Many large-scale issues are shown in interesting shades of gray rather than black-and-white, including

Yourself In Six Foodie Memoirs to Whet Your Appetite Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality How many memoirs is too many memoirs, you may ask? Ruth's father, the founder of the colony, preached that men should marry as many women and have as many I can’t get over the story of young Anna taking the bus from Maine to New York City with her brother To the world he was a bad man. To me, he was my dad who did a bad thing...."

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 would also fit this criteria: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

But the young woman he has found may have died of an ancient virus, and thawing the body for study could Mary was a captivating main protagonist--alternately desperate and hopeful, but always dogged in her

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 would also fit this criteria: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

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

felt like the heart of the story (the Eastwoods' helping women advance their everyday struggles to gain balance of magic, religion, love, passion, family duty, adventure, and search for meaning—and all with a main Reid is a straitlaced young man for whom things are black-and-white, clearly right and wrong. than I could have dreamed of, plenty of romance, so very much wine appreciation, and copious older-man-guides-the-young-ingenue

concerns, forcing intimacy with their fellow astronauts--their only company, and in close quarters, for many In Memoriam is beautiful, frequently painful, and offers a layered, complicated version of happy ever The banter is fantastic, and I laughed many times while reading this one. The main protagonist's focus in her work is Commander Graham Gore (a character based upon a real figure She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work.

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

poppets, or the playing of drums—or simply being a strong-willed woman helping to feed a village by manning She’s eager to learn how to be more independent, and she’s smart and accurate with so many of her pure ​ Author Byron Lane was Carrie Fisher's personal assistant in real life, and in this novel, Byron's main the varied demands of an enormous star, and Lane explores the characters' challenges of striving to maintain Much of the fever pitch of support and hatred for Jesus occurs when the main character of Ana is off

When they encounter loved ones from their memories who are now living alternate lives, in many cases ward since her beloved, offbeat father disappeared during a trip to acquire artifacts for the wealthy man Our main protagonist Tom makes a decision that strands him in our version of the world, which feels like

Last Thing He Told Me, 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 He was an elderly man but remained an opinionated spitfire who hadn't felt finished making incredibly

The main protagonists are often figuring out the world, their place in it, and who they are and want I could have listed so many fantastic young adult titles here, but I picked these varied, wonderful six Or are they simply linked by their pain and their honesty--and is that bond enough to bring them peace 04 Far from the Tree by Robin Benway In Far from the Tree, Benway examines the pain of a young woman’

I hope these lists (see links below) may have helped you find a book or two for someone you love--or 02 Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls Forgotten Fairy Tales offers ten stories you may for semi-beginner cooks need to balance independent tasks and confidence-boosting familiarity; the main I think I may actually want to listen to Obama's soothing, dulcet voice read the audiobook (although I've heard he reads it sloooowly and I may need to up my usual listening speed from 1.5x--yet I do like

No one's forgotten the heartbreak of that day, nor has there been very much healing from the pain of When a fresh tragedy occurs, it brings the pain and terrible mystery of years past swirling back to wreak have noticed that her husband has recently been mysteriously absent from her side as she collects her many The main protagonists are young, but their concerns are weighty.

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 Many other titles could also potentially fall under this umbrella, including Gregory Maguire's Wicked

I read so many fantastic books this year, I was considering another 29 titles for this Bossy Best of is established of Alzheimer's disease, he considers the cases of those he has known who suffered for many (If you’re not on the Taylor Brown train yet, may I strongly suggest you join me?) I finished No Cure for Being Human in one evening, tabbed many, many passages, immediately bought my best friend Viv, whose parents want her to marry and settle down (something she has no interest in), main

the sorority house, she discovers a horrible tragedy--two of her sisters are dead and two others are maimed She rises through the ranks and gains access to the king--but if she is revealed to be a traitor, not

Anna Fort has many reservations about her husband's outlandish theories, but she dutifully assists him Once Charles's family's house maid, Anna knows she is the reason he gave up his inheritance and any relationship So when a reclusive, wealthy man invites Charles to spend the winter of 1918 on his remote, cold, private while they understand being required to isolate and quarantine to prevent the spread of the deadly flu, many island, the other couple staying nearby seem to have dark secrets, the rumors they had heard on the mainland

same household as siblings); as well as their inept parents, their parents' unpredictable friends--mainly The nontraditional parental figures--a Russian artist and frequent visitor, a rough-edged maid, a figurative

from Philly to the magical Talamh, where she revels in her new-found and strengthening powers (yet maintains situation, and Bree is coming into her own, growing more powerful, figuring out her abilities, and gaining