Award-winning author Clare Chambers has set this story in 1964 England, when the effects of World War II are a not-so-distant memory, and social changes are rocking society. The author introduces us in alternating chapters to two seemingly disconnected characters: William, a bearded, mute man living with his elderly aunt, and Helen, a practitioner…
"The girl's shoulders stopped trembling at "friend." Amazing how the word, so common and ordinary among those who practiced plain speech, could lift the spirits unfamiliar with the custom. Slowly, the girl unlaced her fingers and picked up her head. Pearl gasped. Cook had gone quiet. Abby refused to react." Caroline Woods, The Mesmerist, pg.…
Romantasy, it’s safe to say, is having a moment. Fantasy book with a long title featuring A Deeply Admirable Heroine battling The Forces of Darkness and her feelings for A Complicated Hero? It's romantasy, and it's everywhere. Sarah Rees Brennan’s adult debut, Long Live Evil, delivers all the things readers like best about the genre,…
Sometimes a book just evokes a visceral reaction. The Wedding People by Alison Espach was that book for me. I picked up this book thinking I’d get a light, breezy read and got a whole lot more than I expected. Phoebe Stone, in a fabulous dress and heels, checks into Newport,…
What begins as a group hike ends up as a rain-soaked, blister-packed meet cute. Michael and Marnie have a mutual friend who’s tired of hearing their love-lorn complaints and dire divorce stories so Cleo plans the trip of a lifetime trekking coast-to-coast along a rugged route in the north of England. In You Are Here,…
“She looked back at the friendly horses and saw that one of them had those eyes—those human eyes. Not blue this time, but somehow possessing a human awareness. It did not look at her. It studied her. The horse raised its head a little and the eyes widened, as if seeing the recognition in her…
As a mystery lover, I’m always on the lookout for new series that feel both unexpected and satisfying – a tough combination. Luckily, this summer had two such titles – both introducing unconventional detectives I hope to see more of. Delia Pitts’ Trouble in Queenstown features Evander “Vandy” Myrick, a cop-turned PI who has returned…
"Knowing when to keep something close and when to let go is what living's about." Like Leslye Penelope's previous novel, Monsters We Defy, this is a work of magical realism set during within 20th century events. However, unlike that first novel which is set in an urban environment, Daughter of the Merciful Deep is set…
“Crying makes him feel a fool, but he is weeping now, unstoppably. It's so performative. Who does he do this all for? Oh, what is the meaning? (He does not know about us yet, of course, reader. And though I'm no angel, I must say I have been mistaken for one, my feathers being so…
In my first iteration as a librarian, I worked in the Children’s Room and was lucky enough to order folk and fairy tales. I loved poring over the various versions of classics, and sought out esoteric tales and stories from other lands. Once I read a little-known Brothers Grimm story called “Bearskin.” It’s about a…
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