Galaphile

Galaphile (First Druids of Shannara, Book 1)
by Terry Brooks
Del Rey, 2025. 319 pages. Fantasy.

One of the most iconic structures in the Four Lands is Paranor, the fortress home of the Druid Order, which legend tells was built by the Elven leader Galaphile Joss. But who was this Galaphile, and how and why did he choose to establish this center of magic and learning? Within these pages we meet the real Galaphile, following him from a friendless teenage orphan stranded in the Human world to a powerful adult and master mage. We learn of the forces that shaped him--those he loved, and those he lost; those who aided him, and those who stood against him. As he begins construction of the citadel that will one day be known as Paranor, another being, corrupted by evil, seeks dominion over the Four Lands, laying the groundwork for some of the darkest times the realm will ever face…

I am a relative newcomer to the writings of Terry Brooks (having only previously read The Tangle Box and his novelization of Star Wars Episode I), and I was curious as to whether this novel, a prequel to the long-running Shannara series, would be a good starting point for me?

As it turns out, no, but that was really my own fault for having unrealistic expectations. I shouldn’t have expected a 319-page novel (and a Book 1, at that) to serve as a comprehensive primer for a vast literary world that’s been around since before I was born! Galaphile is really a love letter to long-time Shannara readers, filling in the gaps in the rich history of the Four Lands; as a first-time reader with no understanding of the Druids or their legacy, I felt like I was always one step behind. (To put it another way, I feel like a first-time Brandon Sanderson reader who started on the Cosmere with The Sunlit Man.) Galaphile Joss is a compelling and noble hero, and his story is only getting started, but I feel that my time would be better spent going back to the original trilogy and getting a better understanding of his world and legacy before Book 2 arrives.

If you like Galaphile, you may also like:

Legacy of Ash

by Mat Ward
Orbit, 2020. 788 pages. Fantasy.

A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic. Ruling families--once protectors of justice and democracy--now plot against one another, heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire. Yet as Tressia falls, heroes rise. Viktor Akadra is the Republic's champion. A warrior without equal, he hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic. Josiri Trelan is Viktor's sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother's failed rebellion. And yet Calenne, Josiri's sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the Trelan name. As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their homeland.

 

 Ashes of the Sun
by Django Wexler
Orbit, 2020. 582 pages. Fantasy.

Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer. Gyre hasn't seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre's sole focus is revenge, and he's willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order. Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn't who she once was. Trained to be a warrior by the Twilight Order, Mara wields magic for their cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.

 

 The Mirror Empire (eBook only)
by Kameron Hurley
Angry Robot, 2014. 608 pages (eBook). Fantasy.

On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past . . . while a world goes to war with itself. In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin. At the heart of this war lie the pacifistic Dhai people, once enslaved by the Saiduan and now courted by their former masters to provide aid against the encroaching enemy. As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war; a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family to save his skin; and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father's people or loyalty to her alien Empress.

-LAH

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder
By Kerryn Mayne
St. Martin's Press, 2024. 339 pages. Fiction

This delightfully dark novel is a character-driven mystery and psychological drama about Lenny Marks, a socially awkward, neurodivergent, trauma-affected woman living a carefully controlled life. She works as a teacher’s aide and spends her free time immersed in true crime shows and journaling letters to her long-absent mother. Her rigid routine unravels when a letter from the parole board informs her that someone from her past—specifically related to a traumatic event she’s repressed—is being released from prison. This triggers a cascade of memories, revelations, and emotional confrontations that force Lenny to re-examine her own history, the people around her, and what actually happened in her childhood.

The book combines dark humor, psychological suspense, and emotional depth and it explores trauma, recovery, and self-determination. While it plays with the expectations of the murder mystery genre, its focus is ultimately more on personal growth than crime-solving. Lenny Marks is a character I won't soon forget! I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator's Australian lilt is genuinely charming.

Blackmail and Bibingka
By Mia Manansala
Berkley Prime Crime, 2022. 270 pages. Mystery

Cozy meets culinary in this seasonal amateur sleuthing tale starring Lila Macapagal, who is balancing her new café and budding romance. She is forced to investigate when her estranged cousin Ronnie—back after 15 years—becomes the prime suspect in a local winery-linked murder. This book is rich with Filipino food, family dynamics, and holiday flair, and the story keeps a light tone even as it delves into greed, secrets, and the deep bonds that hold a community together.

The Woman in the Library
By Sulari Gentill
Poisoned Pen Press, 2022. 288 pages. Mystery

The tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning--it just happens that one is a murderer.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
By Jesse Q. Sutano, 2023. 338 pages. Mystery

Vera Wong's tea shop in San Francisco's Chinatown may have lost most of its customers and her Gen-Z son rarely returns her texts, but she manages to thrive on her own. After finding a dead body in her tea shop and stealing a piece of evidence from the crime scene, Vera uses her detective skills to try to solve the murder. Using tea and home-cooked meals, Vera draws close her four suspects. Each of them has a secret that connects them to the victim and might tear their newfound family apart. The author excels at creating lovably flawed characters, the mystery has plenty of twists to keep readers guessing, and Vera's case notes at the end of some chapters add humor to the deductive process.

After Annie
By Anna Quindlen
Random House, 2024. 304 pages. Fiction

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all their lives. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife, and Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. And Ali, the eldest of Annie's children, has to grow up overnight, to care for her younger brothers and even her father and to puzzle out for herself many of the mysteries of adult life. Over the course of the next year what saves them all is Annie, ever-present in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody's fool, a voice in their heads that is funny and sharp and remarkably clear. The power she has given to those who loved her is the power to go on without her. The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone.

LKA

Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit

By Makiia Lucier

Clarion Books, 2024. 356 pages. Young Adult Fantasy.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow. But as with all things that offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning. Every wish demands a price. Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most: a chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong. Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign, Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time--hope. But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape . . . that of the dragonfruit itself.

European dragons are out; Pacific dragons are in! Ocean lovers will love this new take on one of literatures favorite mythical creatures. I encourage you to judge this book by its cover because it absolutely is just as gorgeous, whimsical, and awe-inspiring as it looks. Highlighted by an incredible magic system, this story examines what it means to come home. The author handles themes of loss and belonging with amazing care. If you've ever had to grapple with the idea of returning to a place you are worried no longer has space for you, come find yourself in this book.

If you like Dragonfruit, you might also like: 

And Break the Pretty Kings

By Lena Jeong

HarperTeen, 2023. 440 pages. Young Adult Fantasy.

A teen must defeat an ancient evil to protect her family and claim her birthright as queen in Jeong's Korean mythology--inspired fantasy debut, a series launch. As the crown princess of Seolla, 16-year-old Mirae has for her entire life been preparing to become queen--and, by extension, the warden of an evil magic called the Inconstant Son. But when the "generational madness" brought about by the sinister magic's influence consumes her mother sooner than expected, Mirae must prove she's ready to ascend the throne by completing the Trial of the Gods. The trial is meant to test her ability to control all four elements, create illusions, and manipulate time--basic tenets of Sacred Bone Magic. Before she can complete the trial, however, Mirae's beloved older brother Minho is kidnapped by an unknown entity. To rescue him, Mirae, along with her younger brother Hongbin, Minho's palace aid Siwon, and Captain Jia of the Wonhwa guards, must combat the Inconstant Son's growing power and reckon with long-buried family secrets.

Six Crimson Cranes

By Elizabeth Lim

Alfred A. Knopf, 2021. 456 pages. Young Adult Fantasy.

Shiori'anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear--no matter what the cost.

The Ivory Key

By Akshaya Raman
Clarion Books, 2022. 375 pages. Young Adult Fantasy.

Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya may be siblings, but they've never been close or even liked each other that much. Torn apart by the different paths their lives have taken, only one thing can bring them back together: the search for the Ivory Key, a thing of legend that will lead the way to a new source of magic. Magic is Ashoka's biggest export and the only thing standing between them and war with the neighboring kingdoms--as long as their enemies don't find out that the magic mines are nearly depleted. The siblings all have something to gain from finding the Ivory Key, and even more to lose if they don't. For Vira, the Ivory Key is the only way to live up to the legacy of her mother, the beloved former maharani. Ronak plans to get out of his impending political marriage by selling the Ivory Key to the highest bidder. Kaleb has been falsely accused of assassinating the former maharani, and this is the only way to clear his name. And Riya needs to prove her loyalty to the Ravens, the group of rebels that wants to take control away from the maharani and give it to the people. With each sibling harboring secrets and conflicting agendas, figuring out a way to work together may be the most difficult task of all. And in a quest this dangerous, working together is the only way to survive.

KJ

The Missing Half

The Missing Half

By Ashley Flowers

Bantam, 2025. 260 pages. Fiction

Nicole "Nic" Monroe is in a rut. At 24, she lives alone in a dinky apartment in her hometown of Mishawaka, Indiana. She's just gotten a DWI, and she works the same dead-end job she's been working at since high school. Everyone has felt sorry for her for the last seven years since the day her older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace. On the night Kasey went missing, her car was found over a hundred miles from home. The driver's door was open, and her purse was untouched in the seat next to it. The only real clue in her disappearance was Jules Connor, another young woman from the same area who disappeared in the same way, two weeks earlier. But with so little for the police to go on, both cases eventually went cold. Nic wants nothing more than to move on from her sister's disappearance and the state it's left her in. But then one day, Jules's sister, Jenna Connor, walks into Nic's life and offers her something she hasn't felt in a long time: hope. What follows is a gripping tale of two sisters who will do anything to find their missing halves, even if it means destroying everything they've ever known.

The Missing Half is a woman (or in this case, women) gone missing mystery with a sentimental center. It’s truly about the love and bond of sisters, of blood and choice. Flowers excelled at creating a believable and deep connection between Nic and Jenna, as they fell into their roles as big and little sister. Their search for the truth included several twists, turns, and red herrings which keep you guessing until the very end. If you enjoy a twisty mystery with a heart, you’re sure to love The Missing Half.

If you liked The Missing Half, you might also like:

Famous Last Words

By Gillian McAllister

William Morrow, 2025. 326 Pages. Fiction

It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla's life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But after she arrives at the office, police officers storm the foyer: in the city, just near her work, a man has taken three hostages and is now in a tense standoff with law enforcement. And Luke, the person she's loved for more than a decade, the father of her child, is involved. But he is not a hostage. He is the kidnapper. All she has is a half-written cryptic note that Luke left for her. Seven years after the crime that shocked the nation, and her husband's subsequent disappearance, Camilla has slowly accepted that she will never have answers about what really happened that day. But just as she prepares to let Luke go for good, an anonymous location, sent to her by text message, reignites her suspicions about the kidnapping and sends her on a dangerous search for the truth.

Parents Weekend

By Alex Finlay

Minotaur Books, 2025. 312 pages. Fiction

In the glow of their children's exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families gather over dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids never show up for dinner. At first, everyone thinks they're just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours tick by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise. Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella--The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them--come from very different families. What drew them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

BW

Ephemera: A Memoir

Ephemera: A Memoir
By Briana Loewinsohn
Fantagraphics Books, 2023. 189 pages. Biography/Memoir

Ephemera is a poetic and dreamlike take on a graphic memoir that follows a grown woman's recollection of her early childhood memories and the gossamer existence of her mother. Set in a garden, forest, and greenhouse, it illustrates the story of a daughter trying to relate to a parent who struggles with mental illness. With careful dips forward and back in time, we are guided through the weeds alongside the narrator, adressing quiet themes of isolation, growth, confusion, acceptance, and the fog of childhood. It is an aching, medetative twist on the autobiography, infusing a typically tell-all and straightforward genre with an account laced instead with an ethereal fusion of memory and imagination. 

At times, this memoir felt much less like an autobiography and more like poetry and meditation woven into illustration. Details are sparse in some aspects, but incredibly deep and rich in others, making for a fascinating contrast of focus. For example, while we see the author's brother from time to time in her memories, we are never able to learn his name. Yet no less than a half dozen plants are identified by scientific classification, the author explaining that she learned all of these details and how to care for each plant from her mother. Their relationship is explored in this extended metaphor, describing how poor soil and infrequent water made it difficult for a true mother-daughter bond to flourish between them. And yet a longing remains, the author feeling that if she can just take care of the plants that her mother loved, she could come to know the woman she saw so infrequently in her youth. It is a heartbreaking tale well aware of it's own tragedy that nonetheless clings to a defiant fragment of hope. A beautiful understanding that while some things can be nursed and watered and encouraged into growth, others are simply made to wither, existing for a short time before they fade away. Or in other words, exist as something ephemeral.

If you like Ephemera: A Memoir, you might also like:

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened By Allie Brosh Simon & Shuster, 2013. 369 pages. Biography/ Memoir

Autobiographical, illustrated essays and cartoons from the author's popular blog that humorously and candidly deals with her own idiosyncrasies and battles with depression.

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth : an Auto-bio-graphic-novel

By Zoe Thorogood

Image Comics, 2023. 192 pages. Biography/ Memoir

Zoe Thorogood records six months of her own life as it falls apart in a desperate attempt to put it back together again in the only way she knows how. An intimate and meta-narrative look into the life of a selfish artist who must create for her own survival through the ups and downs of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome as she forges a promising career in sequential art and finds herself along the way.

Impossible People : a Completely Average Recovery Story

By Julia Wertz

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2023. 320 pages. Biography/ Memoir

Celebrated cartoonist Julia Wertz chronicles her haphazard attempts at sobriety and the relentlessly challenging, surprisingly funny, and occasionally absurd cycle of addiction and recovery.

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old 

by Brooke Shields 

Flatiron Books, 2025. 240 pages. Memoir 

Brooke Shields has spent a lifetime in the public eye. Growing up as a child actor and model, her every feature was scrutinized, her every decision judged. Today Brooke faces a different kind of scrutiny: that of being a “woman of a certain age.” And yet, for Brooke, the passage of time has brought freedom. At fifty-nine, she feels more comfortable in her skin, more empowered and confident than she did decades ago in those famous Calvin Kleins. Now, in Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, she’s changing the narrative about women and aging. 

Combining personal anecdotes with scientific research, Shields covers topics like menopause, aging, parenting adult children, and owning your voice in middle age. She’s self-aware, frequently acknowledging her many privileges just when, as a reader, you might be tempted to write off her advice as out-of-touch. Her writing is especially insightful as she explores the dichotomy between how middle age is depicted in pop culture (forgotten, unhappy) and how she’s actually experiencing it (empowered, enriching). This is an approachable memoir, and Shield’s thoughts are likely to especially resonate with women in or nearing midlife. 

If you liked Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, you might also like: 

Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause 

by Naomi Watts 

Crown, 2025. 232 pages. Nonfiction. 

Beloved actress Naomi Watts opens up about the challenges she faced upon reaching early menopause in this empowering, fun, and practical guide to menopause and aging, all based on the latest advice from hormone experts, doctors, and nutritionists 

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

By Nora Ephron 

Knopf, 2006. 137 pages. Nonfiction 

With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as an older woman. Utterly courageous, uproariously funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious, irresistible treat of a book, full of truths, laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages.

SGR

Murder at Gulls Nest

 

Murder at Gulls Nest
by Jess Kidd
Atria Books, 2025. 324 pages. Mystery

1954: When her former novice's dependable letters stop, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in Frieda's letter, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it's time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.

If you love cozy mysteries with quirky characters and mysterious pasts, this is the book for you. Nora Breen is an unexpected amateur sleuth who solves crimes mostly by brazenly asking questions others don't dare to ask. I fell in love with her the moment she winks at a guy who catcalls her! While at first Nora is only investigating the disappearance of her friend, the more she gets to know about the residents at Gulls Nest, the more mysteries appear. Setting the book in 1950s England also adds an interesting element to the story, since characters are still dealing with the after-effects of World War II in subtle and not-so subtle ways. All in all, this is a great cozy mystery readers are sure to enjoy.

If you like Murder at Gulls Nest you might also like:

The Marlow Murder Club
by Robert Thorogood
Poisoned Pen Press, 2021. 282 pages. Mystery

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don't believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local vicar. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club. When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands.

Lavender House
by Lev AC Rosen
Forge, 2022. 274 pages. Mystery

While investigating the mysterious death of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of a famous soap empire, Andy Mills is seduced by the safety and freedom found in Lavender House, where a queer family lives honestly and openly, until he becomes a pawn in their deadly game.

 

MB 

Reagan: His Life and Legend

Reagan: His Life and Legend

by Max Boot 

Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2024. 836 pages. Biography 

From best-selling biographer Max Boot comes this revelatory portrait, a decade in the making, of Ronald Reagan, the actor-turned-politician whose telegenic leadership ushered in a transformative conservative era in American politics. Drawing on more than a hundred new interviews and thousands of newly available documents, Reagan tells the epic story of the Depression-era poor boy who transfixed and transformed the nation. Yet Boot, a one-time Republican policy advisor, offers no apologia, depicting a man with a Manichean, good-versus-evil worldview derived from his moralistic upbringing. Providing revelatory insights into trickle-down economics, the Cold War's end, the Iran-Contra affair, and so much more, this definitive biography is as compelling a presidential biography as any in recent decades. 

At 836 pages or 32 hours on audio, Reagan: His Life and Legend is a time commitment, but it’s worth it if you’re interested in American history and politics. Author Max Boot brings his background as a historian and foreign-policy analyst, as well as his skills as a long-time journalist and editor to the project, writing in a clear and compelling way that will keep you turning the pages. He tries throughout to offer a balanced view of Reagans personal and political strengths and weaknesses, as well as his complicated legacy; depending on your own views on Reagan, you might come away feeling that the biography was too harsh or too lenient on him. It’s an engrossing read sure to capture the interest of history buffs and biography fans alike. 

If You Like Reagan: His Life and Legend, you might also like: 

Romney: A Reckoning 

By McKay Coppins 

Scribner, 2023. 403 pages. Biography 

Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump's GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president's supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection. Despite these moments of public courage, Romney has shared very little about what he's witnessed behind the scenes over his three decades in politics--in GOP cloakrooms and caucus lunches, in his private meetings with Donald Trump and his family, in his dealings with John McCain, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinema. Now, exclusively for this biography, Romney has provided a window to his most private thoughts. 

John Adams 

By David McCullough 

Simon & Schuster, 2001. 751 pages. Biography 

In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as “out of his senses”; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.

This is history on a grand scale—a book about politics and war and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, John Adams is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.

Grant 

By Ron Chernow 

Penguin Press, 2017. 1,074 pages. Biography 

Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and inept businessman, fond of drinking to excess; or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War; or as a credulous and hapless president whose tenure came to symbolize the worst excesses of the Gilded Age. These stereotypes don't come close to capturing adequately his spirit and the sheer magnitude of his monumental accomplishments. A biographer at the height of his powers, Chernow has produced a portrait of Grant that is a masterpiece, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.

SGR

Tea and Empathy

Tea and Empathy 

by Shanna Swendson 

Shanna Swendson, 2023. 210 pages. Science Fiction & Fantasy. 

Welcome to Rydding, the hidden village you might stumble across if you need a home and a fresh start. For Elwyn Howell, the village is a lifesaver when she finds it just as she's run out of strength and hope while running for her life. The abandoned healer's cottage welcomes her, even though she's given up on that calling. She opens a tea shop instead, using her knowledge of herbs and her empathic gift that allows her to select the perfect tea for each customer. Soon, she's feeling at home in the village community. She's afraid it's too good to last, a fear that's confirmed when she finds a wounded man unconscious in her garden. Was he sent by the people who are hunting her? Not even he knows, since he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. As she nurses him back to health, they develop a close bond, but the specter of both their pasts--the one she's fleeing and the one he doesn't remember--gets in the way. He doesn't know what life he may have left behind, and she lives in constant fear that her old life will catch up with her and she'll end up convicted of a murder she's not entirely sure she didn't commit. They can't hide forever, not even in Rydding, and if they want to have a future, they'll have to confront their pasts. 

This book is like a cup of tea on a cozy sunny day. Following Elwyn’s journey as she settles into Rydding, and accepts that that’s where she actually wants to be, was such a joy. As its title might suggest, this is a soothing read, but that doesn’t mean that it has no plot. There is plenty to keep you entertained, between a mysterious man who has no memories, to a plot to blame a murder on an innocent person, and all of it gets wrapped up nicely. Tea and Empathy is recommended for fans of cozy historical fantasy, and for anyone who likes the idea of living in a small town in a lovely cottage that does all of the cooking and cleaning for you. 

If you like Tea and Empathy, you might also like: 

Legends & Lattes 

by Travis Baldree 

Tor, 2022. 294 pages. Science Fiction & Fantasy. 

Come take a load off at Viv's cafe, the first & only coffee shop in Thune. Grand opening! Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv, the orc barbarian, cashes out of the warrior's life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen. However, her dreams of a fresh start filling mugs instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune's shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners, and a different kind of resolve. 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

by Sangu Mandanna 

Berkley, 2022. 318 pages. Science Fiction & Fantasy. 

 As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules ... with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and ... Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for. 

The Honey Witch 

by Syndey Shields 

Redhook Books/Orbit, 2024. 359 pages. Science Fiction & Fantasy. 

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who've tried to woo her. So, when her grandmother whisks her away to her cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence comes with a price: no one can fall in love with the Honey Witch. When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And, when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home--at the risk of losing her magic and her heart

It Rhymes With Takei

It Rhymes With Takei

By George Takei

Top Shelf Productions, 2025. 332 pages. Graphic Novels Biography/Memoir

In a moving, emotional graphic memoir, the Star Trek actor, activist and social media star shares his personal journey from a closeted youth in the 1950s to coming out at 68, revealing how love, fear and activism shaped his identity.

A candid story told beautifully through words and art.  Recommended for those interested in this famous actor and activist, or simply in reading more books by members of the LGBTQIA+ community about their lived experiences.  

If you liked It Rhymes With Takei, you might also like: 

The Color of Always
By Brent Fisher
A Wave Blue World, 2023. 138 pages. Graphic Novels Nonfiction

The flutter of first dates, the thrill of a text-back, the heart-stopping seconds before coming out, and the rush when finally discovering who you truly are--all of these life-changing moments across the full spectrum of LGBTQIA+ experience are ready to explore in this bright and inspiring comics anthology! The Color of Always is a collection of personal stories, testimonies, heirlooms, evocations, and evangelisms for queer creators and readers that celebrates feeling good about who you are, and coming into your own at last.

Gaythiest:Coming out of my Orthodox Childhood

By Lonnie Mann

Street Noise Books, 2024. 256 pages. Graphic Novels Biography/Memoir

A coming-of-age graphic novel memoir about a young man who, growing up in an Orthodox Jewish community, realizes he's gay and struggles to reconcile his faith with who he is.

RBL

Marsha

Marsha
By Tourmaline
Tiny Reparations Books, 2025. 306 pages. Nonfiction

Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson is an inspiring record of her life, love, and lessons written after nearly two decades of research by her leading archivist. Marsha P. Johnson, the legendary Black transgender LGBTQIA+ activist, is known for throwing the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and then, rumor has it, picking up a shard of glass to fix her makeup. This book takes us through Marsha's life from growing up in racially-segregated Elizabeth, New Jersey, to her youth spent hustling in Times Square, to the LGBTQIA+ uprising that galvanized her activism. "The book masters the complex balance of joy alternating with profound sadness- inherent in Marsha's life, which despite the defiant resilience of her own statements, was rife with struggles with housing, medical care, disability, loss, and violence." This beautifully written piece of nonfiction honors the fullness of Marsha's life, and promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to feel the true compassion and rage that is all wrapped up in the incredible life of Marsha P. Johnson.

If you liked Marsha, you might also like: 

The Stonewall Riots
By Gayle E. Pitman
Abrams Books, 2019. 196 pages. Nonfiction

A thorough examination of the events before, during, and in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots that gives young readers an overview of the LGBTQIA+ activism of the 1950s and 1960s. The book traces meeting places, social clubs, and the rise of organizations and activist groups, as well as the many police raids of gay establishments, focusing on the June 28, 1969, raid on the Stonewall Inn. The story of the riots is retold in quite a few segments, but each narration provides a slightly different perspective. A timeline, notes, and a thorough bibliography round out this inviting, engaging, and well-researched book.

Tomorrow Will Be Different
By Sarah McBride
Crown Archetype, 2018. 273 pages. Nonfiction

In 2016 at the age of 25, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender person to speak at a national political convention. As a young person active in politics who had wrestled for years with a growing awareness of her gender identity, McBride knew that coming out would change the course of her life. This memoir highlights Sarah's work as an activist and the key issues at the forefront of the fight for trans equality, providing a call-to-action and empowering look at the road ahead. The fight for equality and freedom has only just begun. "We must never be a country that says there's only one way to love, only one way to look, and only one way to live," she states.

With Honor and Integrity
By Máel Embser-Herbert
New York University Press, 2021. 211 pages. Nonfiction

This is an impactful book on transgender troops in the US. In the preface, they state, “We know that not every reader comes to this volume with an understanding of or support for transgender people and we know that not every reader comes to their reading with an understanding of or support for military service.” This framing brings scholars of gender and sexuality and scholars of the military to the book on a more equal footing. This provide an inspiring look at the past, present, and future of transgender military service. At a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are under siege, and the opportunity to serve continues to be challenged, this book is a timely and necessary read.

My Child Is Trans, Now What?
By Ben Greene
Rowman & Littlefield, 2024. 203 pages. Nonfiction

As anti-trans legislation sweeps through the nation, many Americans remain underinformed about trans issues and unsure of how to support the trans children in their lives. Designed for readers at all different knowledge levels, this book is an accessible, nonjudgmental primer. Drawing on his own experience of coming out as trans in high school, Greene emphasizes the importance of making space for trans joy in a world where trans kids are often met with anger, conflict, and even violence. He also takes care to stress the fact that, because every trans person is different, the best way to know the needs of a specific trans kid in your life is always just to ask. This warm and generous book will help a wide range of readers to support and celebrate children who are trans, nonbinary, and questioning.

LKA