The Devoted by Catherine Cho

July 12, 2026

The Devoted by Catherine Cho

Eunha is a Korean woman living in Hong Kong. Her father is a Dragon Head, the leader of one of the notorious Triad families that make up organized crime in the city. Although her grandmother tries to shield her from the Triads' influence, it's always there in the background. When her son is kidnapped, Eunha finds herself pulled into the Triads' sphere as she mistrusts everyone around her. Even marrying the love of her life comes at a cost.

An intense story that triggers a wide range of emotions from heartbreak to dread to anger to triumph. Told from Eunha's POV in two separate timelines, the story focuses on her growth and coming to terms with not being able to escape her past, that she has to seize control of her fate with both hands in order to secure the future that she wants for herself and her sons. Up until that point, she is more of a passive observer of life around her, reacting to the actions of the men in her life and doing as she is told. I would like to say that this is unique to her story but women all over the world living in patriarchal or male-dominated societies experience this. At times, I was as devastated as Eunha by the revelations about those she trusted and her realization that she couldn't trust anyone. Characters were well-developed and multi-layered. Themes include family, loyalty, forbidden love, betrayal, honor and revenge. If you're expecting Mafia violence a la The Godfather, this isn't that book.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Life: a Love Story by Elizabeth Berg

May 7, 2026

Life: a Love Story by Elizabeth Berg

Florence Greene is 92 years old and has just been told that she is terminally ill, with only a few months to live. Widowed and childless, Flo has always known that she will bequeath everything she has to Ruthie, who lived next door while she was growing up. Flo begins to write Ruthie a letter to tell her about some of the things that she saves over the years, things that wouldn't seem important to anyone else, and why. Along the way, Flo also has some life lessons to impart.

A feel-good read about life, friendship, relationships, and forgiveness, and about enjoying your life, even if it isn't perfect (especially when it isn't perfect). Flo's memories are written in sections of a long letter, explaining about the small things that made her life so wonderful, even if someone looking at her life from the outside might not think so, as well as the importance of paying attention to small things. Recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

April 27, 2026

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

Lady Evelyn Herbert, daughter of Lord Carnarvon, was as fascinated by ancient Egypt as her father was. She accompanied him on a number of archaeological digs in Egypt, but while her father was searching for treasure, Eve was secretly looking for the tomb of Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh, who was virtually erased from history.

Historical fiction about two almost unknown women, one from the pharaonic dynasty in the 15th century BCE, the other from an aristocratic English family in the 1920s. The two women have a lot in common, trying to carve out a non-traditional place for themselves in their male-dominated worlds. While there is no answer to the mystery of why Hatshepsut was practically erased from history, the author puts forward a unique solution. But the story isn't only about the roles of women. Benedict also delves into colonial politics, describing Egypt's drive for self-government in the 1920s, striving to get out from under the fist of British rule. She also ponders the question of who has the right to artifacts found in excavated tombs, the people who financed the excavations or the people of Egypt. Her archaeologists point out that if it wasn't for the Europeans excavating the tombs, the Egyptian government was content to let the tombs molder away and for tomb robbers to slowly steal all the treasure. Recommended for fans of historical fiction or ancient Egypt.

Hatshepsut's mummy was actually discovered by Howard Carter when he was searching for the tomb of Tutankhamum. When he found the mummy, Carter believed it to be unimportant and left it where it was found. The mummy was identified as Hatshepsut in 2007 by Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass when a tooth that had been stored in a royal treasure box and labeled as belonging to Hatshepsut was proven to match the mummy's skull. Hatshepsut was found with her royal wetnurse and lifelong servant Sitre-In.

Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, one of the largest temples in the Valley of the Kings

The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung

February 26, 2026

The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung

Korea 1950. Ellie Chang is an American reporter covering the recently begun Korean War, sent by her newspaper because she speaks both Japanese and Mandarin. As one of the few women journalists in Korea, she struggles to be included in press and military briefings. To get a story on the UN evacuation, she hitches a ride with an American pilot heading to the front lines in North Korea to pick up a load of wounded soldiers. On the way back to the American base, their plane is shot down by the Korean military. Mistaking Ellie for Chinese, they are about to shoot her when an unknown Korean woman intervenes and persuades them to let her take Ellie away, claiming that Ellie is her long-missing daughter.

I don't know about where you went to school, but the Korean War was largely skipped over in the U.S. history courses that I took. I think most of what Americans know about this war came from the TV series MASH. Like most wars, the people making the decisions didn't have to live with the consequences, like bombing North Korea for 90 days straight. Nothing is black and white in this story. Even among those that are supposed to be the enemy, Ellie finds kindness and help. If you enjoy historical fiction but are tired of reading about the world wars and the Holocaust, this is a different take on a different war. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, after UN forces fire bombed the city 

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

July 26, 2025

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Minerva is a graduate student at a New England university, dependent on scholarships and on-campus jobs to afford staying there. She is originally from Mexico, and there is a history of witchcraft passing down through her family from her great-grandmother Alba. Minerva loves horror fiction and become fascinated by an obscure horror writer who attended the same university. While researching the writer's life and work, Minerva becomes aware of strange forces haunting the campus and the town.

Not your typical story of witches and warlocks. Three main characters: Alba, Beatrice, and Minerva, each with her own timeline, which can be a little confusing. Overall creepy, dark, and atmospheric. I am not a huge horror fan (although I read more horror than I think I do), but I really enjoy Moreno-Garcia's modern gothic fiction. I could not put this one down. Will appeal to readers who enjoy horror mixed with folklore and multigenerational stories. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger

July 10, 2025

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger

Lila Pereira is an unconventional mother, focusing on her career as the executive editor of a major newspaper and leaving the raising of their daughters to her husband Joe and household help. But her youngest daughter Grace yearns for a regular mother who goes to PTA meetings, bakes cupcakes and takes her to soccer practice. After Lila's death, Grace receives a letter that Lila left her, telling her to go find out what really happened to Lila's mother, who disappeared when Lila was a toddler. Grace realizes how little she actually knows about her mother's family and wonders if you can ever know yourself if you don't know your past.

Part 1 is Lila and Joe's story, and I loved it. But the last 2/3 of the book is mostly about Grace, the youngest daughter, a real whiner and completely unlikeable, probably the least interesting character in the book. When I first started reading it, I thought it would appeal to readers who enjoyed Ann Patchett or Ann Napolitano, but the last two thirds morphed into something more like Sally Rooney, with a bunch of characters under 30 who are completely self-centered and unaware (putting your life on hold for five years to start a podcast???? Or "I can't ask her to marry me until she gives me the signal"???? What does that even mean????). It takes until around the 85% mark for the search for Lila's mother to begin, and then it is anti-climatic. Disappointing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Isola by Allegra Goodman

April 30, 2025

Isola by Allegra Goodman

Marguerite de Rocque was orphaned as a small child. Heir to her family's fortune, her cousin Roberval is appointed her guardian and administrator of her estates. But he squanders her money and sells her manor house to finance one last desperate voyage to the new world, taking Marguerite with him. When she falls in love with his secretary, Roberval abandons them to die on a deserted island near Canada without food or shelter.

I liked this more than I expected that I would, since I frequently hate the books selected by those celebrity and TV book clubs. But I had this on my reading list before Reese Witherspoon picked it, so I decided to read it anyway. Based on the true story of Marguerite de Rocque who lived in 16th century France. Marguerite suffers abandonment in a number of ways, and she lived an interesting life. Brought up to be a pampered lady, she perseveres and survives extreme hardship. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction that focuses on strong women.

Some of the islands in the St. Lawrence River, which look a lot nicer in the summer than they do in winter

After Happily Ever by Jennifer Safrey

February 10, 2025

After Happily Ever by Jennifer Safrey

For 30 years, the princesses Neve, Della and Bry have been married to the three Princes Charming. But after all that time, they are finding the princes to be not so charming anymore. Life in the kingdom of Foreverness has always been perfect (at least according to the old king and the princes and the men of the kingdom), but following the old king's death, things begin to change and the women of the kingdom decide they will no longer be silent about how they are treated.

What happens after "and they lived happily ever after" at the end of the fairy tale? Especially 30 years on, when the not-so-charming princes and their brides are heading into middle age? The princesses (better known to us as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty) face some very modern problems: infidelity, fading looks, aging bodies, infertility, the need to be a people pleaser, spouses resistant to change especially in their wives, a new society where people want to step outside assigned gender roles by treated fairly. Plus, the princesses' own origin stories have been rewritten to cast the princes in the most favorable light - the whole awakened-with-a-kiss thing was a pile of nonsense. These are not those princesses that you find in Disney. Will appeal to readers who enjoy strong female characters and a retelling of fairy tales.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

These are not the princesses in the novel

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker

February 9, 2025

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker

The wind has finally shifted and the Greek army is sailing for home, along with the enslaved Trojan women who are their war prizes. Agamemnon arrives home with his concubine, the Trojan princess Cassandra, thinking his life is going back to the way it was before he left ten years earlier. But Agamemnon murdered his oldest daughter Iphigeneia, and his wife Clytemnestra has been planning her revenge for ten years.

The last book in Barker's trilogy about the women of Troy, victims of the Trojan War who are enslaved and awarded to the victors as war prizes. I loved the whole trilogy and while I liked Ritsa's character and story, it was disappointing that there was barely a mention of Briseis who narrated the first two books. Will appeal to readers who enjoyed Madeline Miller's Circe or Costanza Casati's Clytemnestra.

Depiction of a palace in Ancient Greece

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

January 25, 2025

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

An astounding story of a designer dressmaking salon run out of Auschwitz concentration camp, mostly staffed by Jewish women, patronized by the wives of high-ranking Nazis and SS officers. The Nazis were well aware of the importance of clothing to elevate or degrade people, and even in the middle of a war and clothing shortages, they and their families wanted to be well-dressed. (The Nazi culture was so bizarre, wanting to obliterate anyone who didn't fit their mold and keeping meticulous records about how they did it, yet using the talents of those same people when it suited them.) 

Sewing literally saved the dressmakers' lives, while at the same time allowing them to participate in sabotage in the camp. Many parts about the horrors of camp life and the way the inmates were treated were hard to read, but the stories of these smart, courageous women need to be told. The author had the privilege of interviewing the last surviving seamstress while researching this book. Stellar in-depth research. Recommended for readers interested in women's history and the Holocaust.

Berta Kohut and her sister Katka, two of the seamstresses of Auschwitz who survived the war

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

January 3, 2025

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

In 1940, three women are recruited to do war work at Bletchley Park in the English countryside. One is a debutante who speaks several languages, one has superior office skills, and the third can work a crossword puzzle in minutes. Although none of them are sure at first what the people at Bletchley Park are doing, they soon learn that BP is Britain's World War II code breaking center.

Based on actual people who worked at Bletchley Par on the German enigma cypher. They recruited university types at first, but later also people who did puzzles, spoke languages, and had great organizational skills. The reason the cypher was initially so difficult to break is that the code changed daily. Once the code breakers figured out how to break the code, the challenge became preventing the Axis forces from realizing that the British were reading their secret messages. Part of the government's strategy for keeping the secret was isolating each section from the others, sharing only the information that they needed to do their work. The rose code in the book is an example of the types of code they worked on, so called because the code wrapped around like the petals on a rose.

While I was interested in the whole story of code breaking and the enigma cypher, the book is a whopping 650 page and would have been a better book if an editor had whacked out 100 or so pages of repetitious details. Fun fact: Valerie Middleton, grandmother of Katherine, Princess of Wales, was a code breaker at BP during the war and appears in the book. Recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about World War II.

Bletchley Park

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

December 28, 2024

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

After Achilles' death, his former war prize Briseis is now married to one of Achilles' lieutenants to protect her and Achilles' unborn child. Her husband is now lieutenant to Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. With the war over, the Greek army waits for a suitable wind to sail for home, only three days away, but they are stuck there waiting for the will of the gods to favor them.

The second book in Barker's Women of Troy trilogy begins inside the infamous Trojan Horse, in the voice of Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus is kind of a jerk, but you feel sorry for him as well - there is no way he can live up to his hero father's image. When you hear about the Trojan Horse, you don't think about a bunch of big hot sweaty men stuck inside for hours with no bathroom facilities and no ventilation (nasty). All of the main characters here are only names mentioned in the Ilian (Hecuba, Cassandra, Briseis) because they are women and therefore beneath notice. When someone in the camp commits a forbidden act, the Greek soldiers are sure it was one of the two Trojan men in the camp. There are hundreds of Trojan women, but they are totally discounted, the way royalty and aristocrats treat their servants, like they are part of the furniture. Looking forward to the third book in the trilogy. Recommended for readers of historical fiction and mythology.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

December 23, 2024

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Before the city of Troy fell, the invading Greek army destroyed the cities on the Trojan plain, killing the men and boys and taking the girls and women as slaves. The wife of a high ranking noble, Briseis was given to the warrior Achilles as a war prize. Achilles treats her kindly if indifferently, but his close friend and charioteer Patroclus becomes a friend to Briseis.

The story of the Trojan War is usually told by the men who were the victors: Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemmon, Menelaus. Rarely are the voices of the losing side heard, and almost never the women. This is the first book in Barker's trilogy about the women and girls who were the real victims, forced into slavery or prostitution by the conquering Greeks. Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction and mythology. Also recommended are The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati.

Ruins believed to be part of ancient Troy

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

October 18, 2024

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

Constance Haverhill travels to the seaside as a companion to Mrs. Fog who has just recovered from influenza. Since she is still convalescent, most of the time she leaves Constance on her own. Constance soon meets a young woman named Poppy Wirral who rides a motorcycle and sweeps Constance into her circle of friends.

Part of the problem that I had with this novel is that I had just finished reading four really excellent books (The Women, Forgotten on Sunday, The God of the Woods, and The Song of Achilles), and this one didn't compare to any of those. Another part of the problem is that it was just a silly premise: a group of young society women in 1919 who rode around on motorcycles when they weren't going to tea dances or picnicking with eligible bachelors. There were a lot of characters and the story got bogged down somewhere in the middle. Took me forever to get through it, and I gave up and started skimming. I read and enjoyed the author's previous book Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but this wasn't her best effort.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Motorcycle with sidecar, circa 1919

The Women by Kristin Hannah

October 5, 2024

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Frankie McGrath grew up in a wealthy family on Coronado Island, California. Her father always preached the importance of service to one's country, but when Frankie volunteers for Vietnam as an Army nurse, her socialite parents are horrified and go to great lengths to hide Frankie's service from their friends. Frankie faces the horrors of war, but when she comes home, she is not prepared to face the scorn of her fellow American or the shame of her family.

Let's get one thing straight right away: women have gone to war as long as their have been wars. They were nurses, cooks, laundresses, ambulance drivers, clerks, spies, and yes, camp followers. Women have stood behind their men, reloading their guns for them, or fighting right beside them. All of the men in the book who claim there were no women in Vietnam were not paying attention. There is only one veteran in the book, a World War II veteran, who honors Frankie for her service, saying that he is alive today because a nurse like Frankie saved his life in France. It wasn't until two television series aired, China Beach and MASH, that Americans realized what these wonderful women did, and were ashamed of how they treated the men and women who returned home from the Vietnam War.

The government was just as bad, offering few services to the men returning from Vietnam, and absolutely none to the women veterans. PTSD was unknown at the time, as were the dangers of chemicals like Agent Orange, which caused high rates of cancer and miscarriages in veterans. In addition, the women veterans had to fight to have their fallen women comrades' names included on The Wall. There are now eight nurses honored on The Wall.

This is a wonderful book about the nurses who served in the Vietnam War. The author's previous book The Nightingale is about women on the homefront in France during World War II, also spectacular. I highly recommend both of these books to readers of historical fiction, literary fiction, or women's fiction.

The Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington DC near the Vietnam War Memorial, aka The Wall - it's a Pieta of three nurses and a wounded soldier - there is a third nurse kneeling behind the three figures that you can see in this photo

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

March 24, 2024

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

Before Ted Bundy, before John Wayne Gacy, there was Belle Gunness, the infamous Black Widow of LaPorte. As a girl in Norway, Belle was beaten by her lover until she miscarried her unborn child. After emigrating to the U.S., Belle lived with her sister's family in Chicago in the middle of a large community of Norwegian immigrants. Tired of men's cruelty and also tired of being poor, Belle vowed to never be under a man's control again and that she would never again be poor, taking her revenge on the men of the world in a gruesome fashion.

Historical fiction based on the life and crimes of the Black Widow of LaPorte, Indiana, one of the first American serial killers. Her crime spree began in Chicago, then later she moved to a farm in Indiana, where she continued her bloody deeds. I had heard of Belle but didn't really know her story. This was another book for Women's History Month, this time about a truly notorious woman who proved that women can be just as evil as men. 

Belle Gunness and her three foster children

Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne by Rebecca Rosenberg

November 4, 2023

Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne by Rebecca Rosenberg

After her husband's sudden death, Madame Alexandrine Pommery discovered that they were seriously in debt. To support her family, she decided to sell off her husband's wool business and focus on the winery that he owned as a side business. But instead of making the blended red wine he always sold, she decided she would focus on making a new type of champagne, a vintage that was less sweet and more refreshing, that could be consumed anytime rather than only with dessert.

Fascinating look at a lesser known historical figure, a woman who changed the world of champagne making and how we enjoy champagne today. Before Madame Pommery began her winery, the champagne of her day was more like what we call asti spumanti today. I really enjoy sparking wines like pro secco and champagne, so I found this fictional biography quite interesting. On the cover of the book, note that she is leaning against a champagne coupe - today we usually drink sparkling wine from flutes.

The real Jeanne Alexandrine Pommery

The Pommery Winery in Reims in the Champagne region of France - Madame Pommery wanted a building that looked like a Scottish castle

Pommery champagne - technically only sparkling wine bottled in the Champagne region can legally be called champagne (American vineyards don't pay much attention to this)

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark

October 31, 2023

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark

Eveen is a member of the Dead Cat Tail Assassins guild, and an undead contract killer. During the annual Festival of the Clockwork King, she accepts a commission from an anonymous patron to ship (read: kill) a target in a wealthy district. Expecting some old mobster or shady businessman, Eveen infiltrates the building with no difficulty, but when she reaches the bedchamber, she finds a young woman who looks suspiciously familiar. Realizing that she has been set up, Eveen has until dawn to figure out how to beat her enemy and save herself. And her doppelganger.

I love P. Djeli Clark's fantastical fiction, and this novella does not disappoint. I especially enjoy his female characters: strong, smart and snarky. The ending is open enough that there could be a sequel (I hope, I hope!).

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Dark goddesses

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini

September 8, 2023

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini

At the outset of World War I, three women from different backgrounds all sign up for war work at a munitions plant just outside London. Two are assigned to shell assembly while the third carves out a place in administration as welfare supervisor. Shell assembly involves handling TNT which turns the women's skin yellow and their hair orange (hence the name canary girls). To keep up morale, the munitionettes form a football (soccer) team and compete against teams from other plants.

This has been described as Rosie the Riveter meets A League of Their Own, and I think that's a fair description. It's a look at the home front during World War I: doing war work, coping with rationing, trying to keep up morale while worrying about loved one serving at the front. The story was slow moving. I'm not really into sports (especially not soccer), so I skimmed over the parts of soccer matches and plays. Also, I think I could assemble an artillery shell from the repeated descriptions of the work. I think one of the reasons that I didn't love this more is that I'm tired of World War I and World War II fiction. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction or fiction about women's lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Two canary girls

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

August 14, 2023

Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

Emmy Lake is working at Woman's Friend magazine as the Reader and Advice Editor. While her husband Charles is serving in the RAF, Emmy is sharing a house with her BFF Bunty, and their friend Thelma and her children are taking the empty flat in their house. Everything is going as well as it can in the middle of a war, until the mag is taken over by the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter ("call me Egg") who has specific ideas about changing the magazine's format, content, and audience.

The third installment in the Emmy Lake series, warm, cozy, heartfelt. Good escapist reading for a hot summer day.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Members of the London fire service during World War II, where Emmy and Thelma work in the evenings