The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose #4)

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris is the fourth book in the Gunnie Rose alternate history, western, fantasy series - this one focuses on Rose's sister Felicia. 

Felicia Karkarov is a student at the Grigori Rasputin School of magic in San Diego - capital of the Holy Russian Empire. As a relative to the tsar, Felicia is at the school not for magic but to be close in case the tsar needs a blood transfusion. In fact, her teachers do not know if she has magic.

On her way to dine with her new in-laws, Felicia is kidnapped and locked in a room. She has no idea who has nabbed her, but she plans to escape. 

Harris has created a wonderful alternative history. This is a super fun series. Check out the first one today!

Harris, Charlaine. (2022). The Serpent in Heaven. New York: Saga Press.

All This Could Be Different

All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews is the story of one woman trying to make it on her own in a system that exploits immigrants. 

Graduating college during a recession, Sneha agrees to move to Milwaukee for a job as a consultant. She has little other choice as she needs a job to get a green card once her school visa expires. 

She has been in the United States most of her life. Her parents moved back to India after her father was set up to take the blame for a scam his business partner pinned on him. Since then, Sneha has been reluctant to trust anyone.

Building a life for herself, dating and living through mid-West winters, this beautifully human novel will stay in your head for a long time. 

Mathews, Sarah Thamkam. (2022). All This Could Be Different. New York: Viking.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a story of friendship and video games. 

As a kid, Sadie Green spent a lot of time in the hospital waiting for her sister to have treatment. Sam Massur spent time in the hospital due to a series of surgeries to recover from a car accident.

Sadie and Sam met in the game room over the game Oregon Trail. They spend hours and hours together playing video games and talking. 

After losing touch, they do not see each other for years. Then one day, Sam sees Sadie in a train station in Boston. Both are in college now: Sadie studying to make video games, Sam studying math but not loving it. During the chance meeting, Sam suggests they make a game together.

What follows is the story of a lifetime of friendship and the growth of a successful video game career / company. 

Zevin captures the history of video games in this beautiful rale of friendship and love. Her writing and characters are wonderful. I will be reading her other books soon!

Zevin, Gabrielle. (2022). Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. New York: Alfred A Knoph. 

Out of the Dark (Out of the Dark #1)

Out of the Dark by David Weber is the first part of a two-part science fiction series about the invasion of Earth by an alien race called the Shongair. 

Earth is being attacked. With no warning missiles come from space and take out almost every capital in the world. All governments are shattered, no one is in charge of civil or military chains of command. 

Around the globe different people with the training to fight back start organizing a guerilla response. 

From outer orbit, the Shongair do not understand why their initial show of force has not caused all humans to surrender. Philosophies so different that they are incapable of understanding that humans will never give up. 

Weber is one of my favorite science fiction writers. This series combines his love for a space opera with a military story to rival any other. 

Weber, David. (2010). Out of the Dark. New York: Tor.

Into the Riverlands (Singing Hills Cycle #3)

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo is the third novella in the Singing Hills Cycle that follow cleric Chih on their journey.

When cleric Chih reaches the Riverlands, an area known to be rough, and sits down to lunch, there is a fight. A large man come in to cause trouble and is dispatched by a small woman with a great deal of strength and fighting skill.

Chih joins Wei Jintai and Mac Song to travel the Riverlands with and older couple who know all of the legends of the area as they travel toward the Betony Docks.

Vo has created a wonderful novella series that reads like folk tales or myth. With each installment you will become more enamored with cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant. 

Buy this series as it comes out. You will reread them over and over for years to come. 

Vo, Nghi. (2022). Into the Riverlands. New York: Tor. 

Here to Stay

Here to Stay by Sara Farizan is the story of high school jealousy leading to a racial slur. 

Bijan Majidi gets called to fill in for an empty spot on the varsity basketball team. When one of the senior players fouls out, Bijan is put in. He is a good player who is getting his chance to prove himself - but the player he is replacing blames Bijan for showing him up.

The next day everyone at school receives an email of Bijan dressed as a Jihadi. Suddenly his loyalty and Americanism is being questioned. 

Farizan is known for her wonderful characters who have to deal with the problems of being non-white in America. Her writing is beautiful, poignant and compelling, Read all of her books.

Farizan, Sara. (2018). Here to Stay. New York: Algonquin.

She Who Became the Sun (Radiant Emperor #1)

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is the first book in a retelling of Chinese history beginning in 1345.

Being a daughter in 1300s China is not easy. Having a brother who is an 8th -born son also means you have to do everything for you brother and father. 

When your father takes your brother to the fortune teller, you come along. The seer says your brother, Zhu Chongba, is destined to greatness. Since you are there, too, your fortune is told - it shows nothing. 

In a time of poverty for all but the upper class, your brother has been promised to the monastery. So, when your brother and father die and you have not food, you disguise yourself as your brother and present yourself to the monastery as him. You feel that is you do as your brother would, and keep the eye of heaven off of yourself, you can take over his destiny.

Parker-Chan has written the beginning of a brilliant series - historical fiction with a queer twist. I absolutely loved this book! If you are a fan of history, fantasy or badass female characters, read this book! (Book 2 will be out in August!)

Parker-Chan, Shelley. (2021). She Who Became the Sun. New York: Tor. 

The World We Make (Great Cities #2)

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin is the conclusion to her Great Cities science fiction series. 

New York City's avatars have kept the Woman in White mostly in check - other than her taking over Staten Island. But their enemy from another dimension has not given up on destroying NYC - she has just changed tactics.

A mayoral candidate who is spreading hate and want to regain a never-happened time from the past is causing strife in the city. Strife that could ultimately change the very character of the city. Now the avatars must figure out how to keep NYC itself.

Jemisin is an amazing writer! If you have not read any of her series, you are missing out. This exciting and timely conclusion to her Cities series is imaginative and brilliant. I will read every book NK Jemisin ever writes!

Jemisin, NK. (2022). The World We Make. New York: Orbit.

Pocketful of Names

Pocketful of Names by Joe Coomer is the story of a tiny island off of Maine, and the family who lives there. 

The Island of Ten Acre No Nine is where great uncle Arno lived and based his lobster fishing. As a teenager Hannah spent her summers helping in the lobster boat for money to help with school during the year. 

While Arno and Hannah do not like many people, they get along well. He teacher her to fish and to live in live in solitude. 

When Hannah is an adult, after Arno dies, the island becomes hers. She plans to use it as a quiet place to work undisturbed. But no long after she moves in, a dog washes up with the tide.

The dog is only the first person who will invade her island - and with each person Hannah will have to adapt to having people to take care of and people who will take care of her.

Coomer has captured the feel of a tiny island in the cold sea. He makes the setting feel both appealing and isolating at the same time. 

Coomer, Joe. (2003). Pocketful of Names. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press.

A Scatter of Light

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo is a companion novel to her Last Night at the Telegraph Club - they can be read in either order. 

Aria Tang West is a graduating senior who grew up in Massachusetts. She will be going to MIT in the fall. Her plan is to spend the summer with friends on Martha's Vineyard. Instead, her father sends her to stay with her grandmother in Marin, California. 

Joan West is an artist. Her husband was an astronomer - a path the Aria plans to follow. Her new plan is to study her grandfather's papers while helping her grandmother around the cabin. 

Then she meets Steph who is her grandmother's gardener. Suddenly a who new idea opens up to Aria - the idea that she may be attracted to women, or at least Steph. 

Lo is a masterful storyteller who captures young queer love like few other authors. All of Lo's books are wonderful and should be put on hold at your library today! 

Lo, Malinda. (2022). A Scatter of Light. New York: Dutton Books.

Malibu Rising

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is the beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking story of one family in Malibu, California.

June Costas grew up in Malibu. Her parents owned a restaurant across from the beach - Pacific Fish. June grew up promising herself she would do more than take over the family business. In 1956, she met Mitch Riva on the beach.

It was love at first sight. But falling in love with a man whose goal is to become the best / most famous singer of a generation is not an easy life. 

Nina, Jay, Hudson and Kat lived with their mother June in a tiny beach house. Thier father was rarely around - at one point being gone so long they would have forgotten who he was if not for his name being everywhere on TV and the radio.

Told from the points of view of the Riva children, with flashbacks to their parents, Malibu Rising is a family saga that spans from 1956 to the early 1980s. Reid is a fabulous storyteller. This is a great read!

Reid, Taylor Jenkins. (2021). Malibu Rising. New York: Ballatine Books.

Daisy Jones and the Six

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is another great read by a wonderful storyteller.

Daisy Jones grew up in Los Angeles. Her parents were rich but paid very little attention to her - including not noticing her missing after she moved out for weeks as a teen.

Growing up going to all of the hip parties and bar, Daisy joined a friend's band on stage one night. Her voice and stage presence captivated the audience. This begins the tale of Daisy making music and becoming part of the most popular rock band in US history.

Reid's tale reads like the biography - including the highs and lows of being a rockstar, living through the 70s drug haze and finding your way in a strange world of fame while trying to live your life.

Read all of Reid's books set in this timeline. She is amazing.

Reid, Taylor Jenkins. (2019). Daisy Jones and The Six. New York: Ballantine Books. 

Carrie Soto is Back

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid is awesome! I was already a fan, and then Reid wrote a tennis story!

Carrie Soto dominated women's tennis for a decade. She holds the record for the most Grand Slam wins at 20. But five years after retiring from the sport, Nicki Chan has is about to tie her record.

Raised by a tennis playing father, Carrie was convinced that with hard work, she would become the best tennis player of all time. Now she will have to get back in fighting shape to defend her title. 

Carrie will enter four tournaments. At age 37 she will set a new record with every win she collects.

Tennis fans, good storyteller fans, read this book - as well as the rest of Taylor Jenkins Reid's work!

Reid, Taylor Jenkins. (2022). Carrie Soto is Back. New York: Ballantine Books.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Gabriel Allon #22)

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva is the 22nd book in his Gabriel Allon espionage series.

Gabriel Allon has finally retired from Mossad. His days of traveling the world on secret missions, or even his days of sending others on secret missions, is over. He and Chiara and the twins are moving to Venice where he can concentrate on art.

A few paintings by Old Master have recently been discovered in a private collection - code for likely forged with a small chance of being an authentic lost treasure. 

When an art dealer friend asks for help, Gabriel so be hunting the world's best forger. 

Silva is a great writer and storyteller. Read him!

Silva, Daniel. (2022). Portrait of an Unknown Woman. New York: Harper.

And She Was

Dara Baker lives in a small town in upstate New York with her mother Millie. Dara just graduated high school and is about to enter the professional tennis circuit. She has to play enough tournaments to get ranked so she can work her way up.

When her mom is at work, Dara searches the house for her birth certificate so she can get a passport. But neither of the two people she sees listed as her parents is called Millie Baker. When her mom gets home, Dara confronts her and is shocked to find out that Millie is transgender and is biologically her father.

Reeling, Dara sets off on a road trip in search of her grandparents with her best friend Sam. A trip that will garner many answers, some she doesn’t even know to ask.

Verdi’s book is a beautiful book about being true to yourself. It takes Dara on an emotional journey as she comes to realize that what Millie did was the right thing for both of them. Read this book – especially if you do not have any trans folks in your life.

Verdi, Jessica. (2018). And She Was. New York: Point.

The Reading List

Sara Nisha Adams’ book The Reading List is a story that illustrates the power of a good book.

Two years after his wife’s death, Mukesh finds a library book that she checked out. She was always reading so he decides to read it to remember his wife. Never before a fiction reader, Mukesh is pulled into the story and it characters as well as feeling closer Naina. When he finishes, he will go to the local library and ask for a recommendation for another book.

Aleisha is working in the library for the summer before her last year of school. She is only there on the urging of her brother who was always in the library growing up. She herself does not really read.

Someone in the Wembley neighborhood of West London has handwritten a reading list titled In Case You Need It. Though no one realizes there is more than one copy, a few people find it. One library patron finds the list on the table next to him. Aleisha finds a copy in a returned book. Someone else finds it on the back of a receipt outside of the shopping center.

Each of the people who find the list start reading their way through the books. Each book has lessons to share as well as some of the best characters in fiction. The list will slowly bring these people together, as the creator of the list intended.

Adams’ book is beautiful. Buy a copy today or check it out of the library. It is a book you will love and then recommend to a friend.

Adams, Sara Nisha. (2021). The Reading List. New York: William Morrow.

it Goes Like This

The teen band Moonlight Overthrown was a smash hit. They were the first out, queer band and their followers will be loyal for as long as time. Unfortunately, they broke up almost two years ago. The internet is now littered with rumors and occasional sightings of one of the four band members.

Eva is in Los Angeles going to college. She still works in the recording industry, but now as a song writer. She is quite enjoying her less paparazzi filled days. She has not spoken to her band mates since the last show. They have a group text, but no one has written in a long time.

Celeste now has a solo career. She is on tour with her second album.

Gina is an actor now. She just finished filming a Netflix project.

No one has heard from Steph is.

Eva is surprised, and a bit hurt, when Celeste and Gina are photographed at an LA party together. The photo also stirs rumors of a band reunion – which seems very unlikely from the point of view of each of the band members. That is, until something happens to bring them all together…

Moreland has written a fun summer read. The characters are well thought-out. It seems like she knows a lot about the music industry. If you are looking for a great queer YA, this is the book for you.

Moreland, Miel. (2021). It Goes Like This. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

Mooncakes

Teen witch Nova Huang lives with her grandmothers over their bookshop. When she hears about something odd in the woods, she goes to investigate. What she finds is her childhood friend, Tam Lang, in her werewolf form.

Tam is back to fight a demon in the woods. She has also run away from home to get away from her stepfather. She will stay with Nova while they figure out what to do.

Walker and Xu have created a great witch story. This graphic novel is based around a Chinese Jewish family, is queer, and a great read.

Walker, Suzanne & Wendy Xu. (2019). Mooncakes. ?: Roar.

Cool for the Summer

Larissa Bogdan just finished her junior year of high school. Whatever her plans were will have to change as her mom tells her they are going to the Outer Banks for the summer. Her mom’s boss summers there, and they have to work. They will be staying in his beach mansion.

Jasmine Killary has spent most summers in Outer Banks. It is the time she spends with her father, the rest of the time she lives with her mother. She sees the same friends each year – all the children of the very wealthy.

Larissa and Jasmine spend the summer going to parties and getting closer. When they say goodbye, they don’t think they will see each other again – just a summer fling. But on the first day of school Larissa sees Jasmine walk down the hall. She has moved in with her father to finish high school.

Adler is a wonderful writer. Her YA romance is great!

Adler, Dahlia. (2021). Cool for the Summer. New York: Wednesday Books.

Melt With You

Fallon and Chloe were best friends, until a year ago when they hooked up. They have not spoken since. Unfortunately, their moms co-own a business where they work in the summer.

Love At First Bite is a popular ice cream truck, both in their upstate New York town, and on the summer food festival circuit. Fallon and her mom were going to drive the truck to Memphis and them Dallas, but now her mom must fly out for a meeting with potential investors.

Chloe is back after her first year of college. She tried to text Fallon a couple of times, but never heard back. Now they are going to be in a truck together for four days.

Dugan has written a YA romance in a unique setting. It is unlikely that things will not be delt with, one way or another.

Dugan, Jennifer. (2022). Melt With You. New York: GP Putnam’s Sons.

Home Field Advantage

Amber McCloud is a high school junior in the Florida panhandle. She is a cheerleader who is campaigning to be head cheerleader next year – hoping to turn that into a college scholarship so she can move far away. She has everything planned and nothing can interfere with the plan.

At the end of the last school year, the previous football quarterback died while drunk driving. As the new year starts there are rumors of a new quarterback, recruited at the summer football camp. For the first day of school, the cheerleaders decorate the players lockers, including the new Jack Walsh – who no one has seen yet.

Jack Walsh agreed to move to a new school to play football for one reason, it is likely the only offer that will come. It is not easy being accepted, despite an incredible set of skills, Because Jack is a girl.

Adler is a great storyteller. Read any of her great YA books!

Adler, Dahlia. (2022). Home Field Advantage. New York: Wednesday Books.

True Biz

February Waters is the headmistress of the River Valley School for the Deaf in Ohio. As the child of deaf parents, or CODA, she has skills and experience both within Deaf culture and the hearing world. River Valley is the only Deaf school in three states. It is both a resident and a day school.

Charlie Serrano, age 15, had implants as a kid. Doctors told her parents not to teach her American Sign Language but make her rely on the technology. Now, after her parents' divorce, she will be going to a Deaf school for the first time. It will be the first time for her meeting someone else deaf.

Austin Workman is fifth generations Deaf. His family is legend. And every person between the extremes of Charlie and Austin is represented at the school.

Nović has written an important book, one that has been missing from YA literature. It is heartbreaking, funny, and full of information – including Waters’ lesson plans between chapter with history and how to sign, or other information on Deaf culture. Read this book today.

Nović, Sara. (2022). True Biz. New York: Random House.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot #2)

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers is second in the Monk and Robot series of novellas. This is a beautiful series everyone should read.

Sibling Dex and Splendid Speckled Mosscap begin their journey among the humans of Panga, traveling to many villages so that Mosscap can ask people what they need from Robots. They will make many friends as they travel looking for answers.

Becky Chambers is my favorite author. I have loved each of her books, but the Monk & Robot series is something extra special. Buy the books today – you will want to read them repeatedly!

Chambers, Becky (2022). A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. New York: Tom Doherty Associates Book.

Passing

Passing is a classic novel of a light skinned Black woman in the 1920s passing for white. Clare Kendry married a white man and no one in her life knows/realizes she is Black.

A chance encounter with a childhood friend, Irene Redfield, in a Manhattan restaurant brings feeling of nostalgia for childhood and the African American community.

After the first encounter, Clare keeps visiting Irene – each time risking someone finding out about her passing.

Larsen, Nella. (1929). Passing. New York: Penguin (2021 edition).

Rules of Civility

Set in the upper levels of Manhattan society from the years 1937 – 1940, Rules of Civility follow three friends from a change meeting at a jazz club.

Tinker Grey lives in the world of the wealthy. He is a banker who seems not to spend much time at work.

Kate Kontent grew up in Brighton Beach. She now has a roommate from the Midwest, Evelyn Ross. They stretch each dollar to have the best time they can in Manhattan – and it seems to have paid off when they meet Tinker.

Towles has written a period set story filled with beautiful sentences and a glimpse of the upper, upper crust of the time. Gatsby fans will love this book.

Towles, Amor. (2011). Rules of Civility. New York: Penguin.

A Thin Bright Line

Lucybelle grew up on a farm in Arkansas. She left when she went to college in New York in the mid-1950s, where she lived in the Village. When her partner surprises her with the information that she is getting married to a man (a man who knows about them) Lucybelle agrees to a job in Chicago.

Working at the Geological Society of America as an assistant editor, she is recruited to work at the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SPIRE) as the head editor. Their goal is to drill into the ice in Greenland to find out about the global climate – a radical idea at the time.

Her new boss knows about Lucybelle’s leanings (i,e. lesbianism) and uses it both to give her some freedom and to threaten her with exposure if she does not stay in line – somehow still an improvement over what she is leaving.

Bledsoe has written this book about her own aunt. It is a true story of a woman she grew up wondering about and was surprised to find a lot of information on as one of the first women working in this field of science. This is a look at a lesbian in the 1950s living during the Civil Right Movement. Read this book!

Bledsoe, Lucy Jane. (2016). A Thin Bright Line. Madison: The University of Wisconsin.

The Degenerates

Rose, her sister Maxine and Alice have lived at the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded most of their lives. It is an institution for any girls or women deemed other or who had nowhere else to go or were unwanted by their families (poor, marginalized or disabled girls). The place is full of bullies, vicious attendants, and very little happiness. But the three girls have worked out a life that works for them.

Maxine does everything she can to protect her sister Rose who is likely on the Autism spectrum. Alice is her best friend who was given up because she was born with a clubbed foot.

London is in foster care. She lives with an old woman who spends her days yelling insults and profanity out of her window. When London is taken away and sent to the school, she vows to escape.

Told through four voices The Degenerates is an historical novel that looks at the harsh life that was true of many, many people. Mann has written it with sensitivity and hope, turning it into a beautiful telling of an awful situation.

Mann, J. Albert. (2020). The Degenerates. New York: Atheneum.

Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour is about two people who each is trying to make it in the Los Angeles food scene. 

Sara Foster and Emilie Dubois arrived in LA in two very different ways, but they meet at the restaurant Yerba Buena - a place where Emilie grew up going on special occasions with her family and is her dream job, and Sara is starting as head bartender after fighting her way up from a rough start.

Emilie's family moved to Southern California after WWII, when many Black and Creole families left the south. 

Sara grew up in Northern California and took care of her brother after their mother died. Her father is in and out of jail. Which is way she chose to go to LA with a virtual stranger instead of staying at home.

LaCour is one of my favorite storytellers. Ever since I read her book Everything Leads to You I was hooked! Read this author!

LaCour, Nina. (2022). Yerba Buena. New York: Flatiron Books.

The Stone Sky (Broken Earth Trilogy #3)

The Stone Sky is the final book in NK Jemisin's amazing Broken Earth trilogy.

There are two factions who don't know they are about to meet at the battle for the Earth - either to save it from the instability it has been experiencing or to end it for good.

Essun is traveling north, the opposite direction from where her daughter Nassun was taken. She has been fighting to catch up since the Season started. Things keep getting in the way. Not that travel of any kind is easy during a Season.

Nassun isn't where her mother thinks she is anymore anyway. She is on her way to the place where she can use her newly controlled magic to change the world that thinks she is evil for having magic at all. 

In this explosive finally, Jemisin reminds us that she is not only an amazing writer, but a vastly creative mind. Read this series. Read everything N.K. Jemison ever writes!

Jemisin, N.K. (2017). The Stone Sky. New York: Orbit.

Terciel & Elinor (Old Kingdom #6)

Terciel & Elinor by Garth Nix is the sixth installment in his Old Kingdom / Abhorsen series. 

Elinor was raised in Ancelstierre, south of the wall that block the magic of the Old Kingdom. Never in her childhood was magic even mentioned. 

Terciel was gathered by the current Abhorsen, Tizanael, from the orphanage he has live in since his parents and sister died. He will become the next Abhorsen in Waiting - learning all of the Charter magic needed to keep the dead in death and from coming back to the world to cause trouble. 

Their paths cross when a necromancer begins to summon the dead to attack Elinor. 

Nix has written this prequel, starring the parents of Sabriel, to the delight of his fans. What started out as the Abhorsen trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy series ever!

Nix, Garth. (2021). Terciel & Elinor. New York: Katherine Tegan Books.

Fleet of Knives (Embers of War #2)

Fleet of Knives by Gareth Powell is the second book in his science fiction series Embers of War. 

After making contact with a fleet of alien ships the Trouble Dog and crew or back to regular work - rescuing anyone who calls for help in the Human Generality. 

The latest call is from a ship that was somehow attacked in the higher levels of space - a place humans thought was empty.

Powell has created a unique space opera series that is a fun read for any fans of science fiction.

Powell, Gareth. (2019). Fleet of Knives. New York: Titan Books.

Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky #2)

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse is the second book in her Between Earth and Sky fantasy series set in the pre-Colombian Americas.

Naranpa, the former sun priest, is in the city below recovering from being de-throned right off of a cliff - an overthrow that saved her life. Everyone in the Sky Made Clans thinks her dead. 

The arrival of what appears to be the Crow God reborn is bringing pilgrims to the part of the city controlled by the Crows - in the hopes of seeing the Odo Sedoh again. Xiala, the Teek sea captian who brought that man to the city is one of them. 

Most of the city is in chaos. In other parts, factions are ready to take over the sky city. The 200-year-old peace has been broken by the attack of the Odo Sedoh. 

Roanhorse has created a dynamic series. If you like fantasy, this is a series for you!

Roanhorse, Rebecca. (2022). Fevered Star. New York: Saga Press.

The Diamond Eye

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn is yet another amazing historical novel from a great storyteller.

Mila Pavilchencko is a Ukrainian/Russian history student. Studying in Kiev and working in the library, she is trying to make her and her son's life better. 

At fifteen, Mila became a mother. A few years later, on one of the very rare days the father takes him for the day, Mila decides to become a mother and father so that they never need to see that man again. In preparation, she takes a course on marksmanship. The course does more than that, it gives Mila the skills to become a sniper. Something that is about to become a very important skill.

When Germany invades, Mila immediately signs up to fight. Unlike the US, Russia had no problem allowing women to serve in combat. As an already skilled sniper, Mila works her way up the ranks. 

Quinn has written a couple of books on real women who fought in World War II. This latest installment is every bit as mesmerizing. 

Quinn, Kate. (2022). The Diamond Eye. NY: William Morrow.

The Obelisk Gate (Broken Earth Trilogy #2)

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemison is the second book in her Broken Earth trilogy. This second book takes place moments after the first ends.

Essun is in Castrima, a comm built in an underground geode - a place most people would never go given the instability of the Earth. But times change when a Season is upon them. The only goal is to survive.

Nassun is with her father. His plan is to find a rumor place where orogenes can be fixed. They are headed to the Arctics.

Essun is learing that there is something she can do using the obelisks in a chain or gate to affect the moon. What the moon is, she is not sure. No one has seen it for generations - since it was flung away from the Earth, making the Earth mad at humans and beginning the war.

Jemison is an amazing writer and storyteller. Each of the three books in this series won the Hugo Award. The Broken Earth trilogy rivals any fantasy written. I will be reading everything she writes in her career!

Jemison, NK. (2016). The Obelisk Gate. New York: Orbit.

A Sunlit Weapon (Maisie Dobbs #17)

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear is her seventeenth book featuring detective and psychologist Maisie Dobbs. 

October 1942. ATA pilots ferry planes to bases and around the United Kingdom. These female pilots make sure the planes are where they need to be for the male pilots to use on bombing runs.

Jo Hardy is shot at while ferrying a plane to Biggin Hill. A friend a is later shot down in the same location. When Jo drives back to the area to investigate, she finds a US soldier tied up in an old barn. 

Hardy hires Maisie to find out who is shooting at the planes and why. When Maisie needs to interview the US soldier, she runs into both US bureaucracy and racism, as well as her husband's job. 

Maisie Dobbs is probably my favorite fictional character! Winspear is a wonderful writer who fills her books with accurate history, fully formed characters, intrigue and a real sense of being there. If you are a fan of history, mystery or just good writing, buy the first book in series today.

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2022). A Sunlit Weapon. New York: Harper.

Portrait of a Thief: A Novel

Portrait of a Spy by Grace D. Li is a tour de force heist story.

For most of human history museums have displayed art and artifacts that were "collected" during colonialist invasions and wars. The cultures from whom these pieces belong have long tried to reclaim them via diplomatic channels. This rarely works.

Will Chen, a college senior, was working in the museum on the Harvard campus when it was robbed. The crew took only Chinese art. When he got home, he had a business card in his pocket from a Chinese corporation - the head of which wants to hire him and some friends to repatriate five zodiac heads that were taken from the Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860.

Gathering his sister and three friends, the group travels to Beijing to meet with the head of the corporation. 

Irene Chen, Will's sister, seems to float through life, getting what she wants by asking.

Daniel Liang, a childhood friend of Will and Irene, is a sometimes thief whose father is the foremost expert on Chinese Art in the FBI.

Lily Wu, Irene's college roommate, can drive anything with an engine better than most anyone else.

Alex Huang, a software engineer, is in the moment she hacks the museum Will was in when it was robbed, erasing a few seconds of footage.

Already being made into a series by Netflix, this is a fast-paced thrill-ride through some of the most famous museums in the western world - with a dose of reality on accusation policies of those museums.  You will be up late because you will not be able to stop reading until the end! 

Li, Grace D. (2022). Portrait of a Thief. New York: Tiny Reparations Books.

The Fifth Season (Broken Earth #1)

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison is the first book in the Broken Earth fantasy trilogy. 

Damaya has been locked in the barn by her parents. She has shown signs of orogeny - a magical-like power to manipulate earth, including the ability to cause shakes. She will remain in the barn until a Guardian - who can negate orogeny - collects her and takes her to the Fulcrum for training.

Essun is the mother of two who has been hiding her orogeny for years. Now her husband has noticed the power in one of their children. 

Syenite is a Fulcrum trained orogene. She is being assigned to a higher-level orogene to travel across the land and fix a harbor. 

But the world is about to enter a Fifth Season - on top of the usual yearly seasons, a fifth season is when the land splits and blocks out the sky. People will need to do all they can to survive until the sun comes back and they can rebuild.

Jemison is an amazing, creative writer. This ecological fanstay series is quickly becoming one of my favortie series!

Jemison, N.K. (2015). The Fifth Season. New York: Orbit.

The Last Bookshop in London (Novel of WWII #1)

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin is the first book in her Novels of WWII series. 

In August of 1939, Grace Bennett and her best friend Viv are moving to London. They will live with Grace's mother's best friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her son Colin. 

While Viv has a letter of reference that allows her to apply for the job she wants at a department store, Grace does not. Her uncle, whose shop she practically ran, refused to write one. Mrs. Weatherford has an idea, she will convince / cajole the owner of the bookstore to hire Grace for six months.

While Grace has shop experience, she is not a reader. She does not understand the appeal. 

Martin has written a wonderful story that takes place as London prepares for possible air raids and takes us through to the conclusion of the war. 

This is a great read to take with you on vacation. Reserve it as your local library today 

Martin, Madeline. (2021). The Last Bookshop in London. Toronto: Hanover Square Press.

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe is a beautiful book - both visually and in the story.

Written about eir path to identifying as nonbinary and experiences about gender and sexuality through childhood. Maia wrote this book both as a master's project for eir MFA in Graphic Novels and as a way to explain nonbinary to parents and extended family. 

This is a beautiful memoir. One that will fill a hole in the stories about people with different experiences. It will give young people who may be genderqueer the gift of seeing themselves in a book - an experience that is much needed for everyone. 

There is no book quite like it. E does not shy away from any of the often difficult things that led em to identify as eir true self today. 

For a much more eloquent post about why this book is so amazing and important, click here. In the meantime, please make sure your local library owns a copy, both for people trying to understand a family member and those trying to communicate themselves to others. Thank you Maia for this gift.

Kobabe, Maia. (2019), Gender Queer: A Memoir. Portland: Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.

Embers of War (Embers of War #1)

Embers of War by Gareth L Powell is a great science fiction novel with an AI ship as one of the main characters. 

The Trouble Dog, designed as one of five fighting ships, retired her commission a the end of the last war and is now working with the House of Reclamation. The House has a ragtag fleet of ships and people who go where they need to help rescue of those who need it.

Captain Sal Konstanz is from a planet that was entirely destroyed during the last war. She has always been on the side of helping, flying a first aid resupply ship during the war. She actually comes from a long line of people who, unlike all other humans in the galaxy, do not seek riches or fame, but just to do their part for all living creatures. 

When a cruise ship sends a distress signal from the Artefact system, Trouble Dog, Sal and the crew are the closest ship that can help. 

Ona Sudek, a poet who has gained some acclaim from her war poetry is on the cruise ship when it is hit. They crash into one of the planets called artefacts because someone carved them into shapes. This one looks like a giant brain. 

This first book in the Embers of War series is a great read of any science fiction fans, but particularly of the Patricia Hutchins series by Jack McDevitt. 

Powell, Gareth L. (2018). Embers of War. London: Titan Books.

The Spacetime War

The Spacetime War by Les Johnson is a space opera stand-alone. 

On leave from the British Commonwealth Space Navy, Captain Winslow Price he decided to take a cruise on a space cruiser. When the ship a crew attempts a hijacking, he is in the right place to help. Also on board and having the same idea as him - to secure the engine to disable the ship so authorities can find them - India Space Force Captain Anika Ahuja has already taken out a couple of the hostiles. 

When an unknown ship attacks a colony world, both captains will find themselves at war with an unknown enemy who is apparently bent on taking out all human life in the universe. 

Johnson has written a great space opera with the feel of an Honor Harrington / Manitcore novel from David Weber. Fans of science fiction, buy this book today!

Johnson, Les. (2021). The Spacetime War. New York: Baen. 

Regeneration

Regeneration by Pat Barker is the story of the effects of war on soldiers. It is the first book in a trilogy following the same men from their time under the care of a psychiatrist through the end of World War I. 

In 1917 Siegfried Sassoon, a poet and war hero, refuses to continue serving in the war due to the senseless slaughter. He is classified as mentally unsounds and sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland. 

Psychiatrist Dr. William Rivers is in charge of helping a cast of soldiers in various degrees of trauma from the war. He believes in the controversial idea that men should talk about the things that happened to them instead of pushing down their feelings. 

Based on actual people, Barker has created the story of what war does to the people who fight it. She challenges the relationship between doctor and patient, between classes, between men and women, and between men and men. 

This book should be required reading. 

Book two is The Eye in the Door, and book three The Ghost Road. 

Barker, Pat. (1991). Regeneration. New York: Plume.

Out of Time

Out of Time by David Klass is an environmental thriller.

Green Man is a terrorist who is committing acts in the name of waking people up to climate change and the fact that soon it will be too late to make the changes that may keep the Earth inhabitable. 

Each target is a threat to the environment. Once the attack happens a letter is sent to the media explaining why that industry must change. 

Tom Smith is a young FBI agent who finds patterns. He is assigned to the task force searching for Green Man. 

This is a great thriller. Klass has written a fast-paced ride. 

Klass, David. (2020). Out of Time. New York: Dutton.

Binti: The Complete Trilogy

Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor is a great science fiction series. To read the books individually, they are: 1. Binti; 2. Home; 3. The Night Masquerade. 

Binti is the first of the Himba people to be accepted to the Oomza Univeristy - the most diverse university of the universe. Very few humans from anywhere have been accepted. 

In Binti's family and culture people do not leave. But she wants so badly to go that she sneaks out and gets on the spaceship. 

When the spaceship is attacked by aliens, Binti is the only survivor. When she realizes she can communicate with the aliens and that they are taking the ship to the University to attack an old enemy. 

Okorafor is a wonderful storyteller. Binti is a great character who is navigating a whole new universe with aplomb. 

Okorakor, Nnedi. (2019). Binti: The Complete Trilogy. New York: Daw.

The Lola Quartet

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel follows journalist Gavin Sasaki as he heads from New York City to his hometown of Sebastian, Florida for a story.

While in town on a story of how the wilds of Florida are both getting closer to people's homes as development expands and is getting more dangerous as exotic pets are released when their humans cannot handle them anymore, Gavin has dinner with his sister Elio. Elio is a real estate agent who deals with foreclosures. 

While in a house, Elio saw a young girl who looked exactly like her. When she asked the girl's name, be suspected that the little girl was Gavin's with his high school girlfriend. Elio took a photo of the girl.

The photo has two different effects. Gavin begins a search for his ex-girlfriend - who never told him that she was pregnant. And the woman with whom the girl was staying thinks she has been found by a man that has been hunting for her most of her life. 

Mandel has written a tense, twisty novel that follows Gavin's search for his high school girlfriend. Told in flashbacks as he interviews the people he grew up with, a story unfolds of both circumstance and choices. Mandel is a masterful storyteller.

Mandel, Emily St. John. (2012). The Lola Quartet. New York: Unbridled Books.

The Singer's Gun

The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel is a story of life choices.

Anton Walker was raised by the owners of an antiques salvage shop in New York City. In this case, salvage mostly means stolen. His dream as a kid was to work in an office, but out of high school he and his cousin Aria started a forgery business - helping immigrants work quasi-legally.

Anton was originally saving money for college, but at some point, decided to skip the classes and make himself a diploma. Now he works in an office in Manhattan. He is engaged to a cellist, has a rescued cat, and is kinda happy.

When his honeymoon location is convenient to a job Aria is working, she offers to pay him a lot of money to receive and envelope and pass it on to someone. Then he will be clear of the business and she will forgive him for leaving it in the first place. 

Mandel is an amazing writer - both they type whose words make you stop and reread a beautiful sentence, and the type whose twists and turns make for a mesmerizing ride.

Mandel, Emily St. John. (2010). The Singer's Gun. New York: Unbridled Books.

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is about the world after a pandemic kills the majority of humans. 

Beginning in the last days of the current civilization, then jumping a few years into the future, we see how life has changed for the survivors. 

Kristen was a young girl when the plague happened. She was already drawn to acting, so her membership in the Traveling Symphony years later is no surprise. The group of actors and musicians travel along the edge of Lake Michigan, stopping in the towns to perform, trade news and supplies, and provide a break from the new normal for the town folks.

This is all I will say about the details. This is one of the best post-apocalyptic stories I have read. Mandel does not shy away from the dark parts of the change, but also does not gratuitously explain each gory detail. In fact, the plague was so fast and efficient, it is over quickly. 

Read the book before you watch the HBO series based on the book. 

Mandel, Emily St. John. (2014). Station Eleven. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (Singing Hills Cycle #2)

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo is the second book in the Singing Hills Cycle of fantasy novellas with the feel of a loved folk tale.

Cleric Chih continues their journey to gather stories. Needing a ride up the mountain, they are offered a ride by Si-yu and her mammoth Piluk. She will get them to the next way station where they will travel to their next planned destination.

Before they can reach safety, the mammoth is surrounded by three tigers. After a standoff, Chih offers a story to the tiger in exchange for their safety. Tigers love stories. If the story is good enough, she will not eat them.

Chih tells the intricate story of the famous tiger ancestor who took a human lover. But for every part of the story that the tiger feels is wrong, they will be closer to becoming dinner.

I love this series! Deceptively simple seeming stories (based on the length of the books) are packed with history, cultural wisdom, and everything else a good story should be. 

Vo, Nghi. (2020). When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. New York: TOR.

Noor

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor is a science fiction book that feels like the near future.

Anwuli Okwudili - who prefers to be called AO - has enhanced limbs due to birth defects. She chose to have surgeries to replace her useless limbs with state-of-the-art technology. This tech makes some people in her world think of her as unnatural - a cross point between tradition and religion of the past and the possibilities of the future. 

When she is attacked in the market, these enhancements save her life, but now she is on the run. She has no one who will harbor her, so she heads into the northern Nigerian desert. Where she comes across a man with two cows. 

DNA (he also prefers to be called by his initials) is a Fulani herdsman. He was traveling with all of his cattle and a few other herds. When they tried to go through a town they were attacked. But the videos only start when he is defending himself. Now he and his two remaining cows, Carpe Diem and GPS, are heading north to find help.

The only place to hide is the natural disaster in the desert - the Red Eye - a continuous sandstorm that has been raging for years. There is rumor of a safe haven in the middle of it. 

Okorafor has written a timely, compelling novel of corporations, social media, and the human ability to adapt. This is a beautifully told tale of the crossroads of so many things facing us in this time - all coming to a crashing head in the African desert. Read this today.

Okorafor, Nnedi. (2021). Noor. New York: Daw Books.