The Wedding People

The Wedding People
by Alison Espach
Henry Holt and Company, 2024. 367 pages. Fiction

It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. After several disappointments in her life, Phoebe has decided to splash out for one night at an exclusive hotel before she kills herself. But she's surprised to discover that the hotel has been rented out for a wedding, and she's immediately mistaken as one of the guests. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield, except for Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising that the two women can't stop confiding in each other, altering Phoebe's plans in unexpected ways.

This book handles so many difficult topics with both tenderness and an unexpected wit. The beginning of this book was a bit hard to read since that's when Phoebe is at her lowest point, but it was so nice to see Phoebe slowly choose to take each day a moment at a time and start to see the bright spots that make life worth living. It also helped that the wedding depicted was an extravagant one filled with interesting characters, which balanced out the heavy feelings without writing them off as unimportant. This is a great choice for lovers of character-driven books that cover the range of human emotions and have a satisfying ending.

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Lovers and Liars
by Amanda Eyre Ward
Ballantine Books, 2024. 288 pages. Fiction

Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were incredibly close. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives. Now, Sylvie is getting married to Simon, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Cleo, a criminal defense lawyer, is convinced that Simon is not the man he seems to be. And Emma is living a lie, hoping her husband and sons don't find out. When the sisters come together for Sylvie's destination wedding, they must overcome their differences and find the courage to make new choices.

Sorrow and Bliss
by Meg Mason
Harper, 2021. 337 pages. Fiction

Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her. But maybe by starting over Martha will get to write a better ending for herself--and she'll find out that she's not quite finished after all.

A Man Called Ove
by Fredrick Backman
Atria Books, 2014. 337 pages. Fiction

A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship.

MB

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

To Shape a Dragon's Breath
By Moniquill Blackgoose

Del Rey Books, 2023. 511 pages. YA Fiction.

Revered as a Nampeshiweisit, a person in a unique relationship with a dragon, by her people, 15-year-old Indigenous girl Anequs, at odds with the “approved” way of doing things, is forced by Anglish conquerors to attend a proper dragon school -- and if she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

A moving story with a brilliant Indigenous protagonist in Anequs.  The book explores themes of colonialism and cultural preservation brilliantly intertwined with a magical world of dragons.  Each of the various supporting characters show the varying ways that they have coped with these issues and the different schools of thought that they subscribe to through their words and actions, adding depth and breadth to the message. 

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Black Sun
By Rebecca Roanhorse

Saga Press, 2020. 454 pages. Fantasy.

 
Xiala, a disgraced Teek who can calm waters or cause madness with her song, arrives and disrupts the holy city of Tova during the winter solstice.

The Daughters of Izdihar

By Hadeer Elsbai
Harper Voyager, 2023. 370 pages. Fantasy.
 
In a novel set wholly in a new world, but inspired by modern Egyptian history, about two young women--Nehal, a spoiled aristocrat used to getting what she wants, and Giorgina, a poor bookshop worker used to having nothing--who find they have far more in common, particularly in their struggle for the rights of women and their ability to fight for it with forbidden elemental magic.

RBL

Una Luna Sin Miel

Una Luna Sin Miel
Por Christina Lauren
VR Editoras, 2022. Romántica

Olive siempre tiene mala suerte. Su gemela, en cambio, es tan afortunada que ha conseguido organizar su boda ganando concursos en las redes. Sin embargo, cuando todos se intoxican con la comida de la fiesta, la luna de miel queda vacante. Solo Olive e Ethan, su némesis, están a salvo. Si quieren disfrutar de unas vacaciones en Hawái, el único precio que deberán pagar será fingir que se aman como recién casados. ¿Por cuánto tiempo podrá Olive sostener la mentira?

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Cosas Que Nunca Dejamos Atrás
Por Lucy Score
Chic Editorial, 2023. Romántica

Si hay algo que tiene claro, es que no es su tipo. Para nada. Knox prefiere vivir su vida tal y como se toma el café: solo. Pero todo cambia cuando llega a su pueblecito un terremoto llamado Naomi, una novia a la fuga en busca de su gemela, de la que lleva años sin saber nada. Lástima que su hermana le robe el coche y el dinero y la deje a cargo de una sobrina que no sabía que existía. Al ver cómo la vida de Naomi se va al traste, Knox decide hacer lo que mejor se le da: sacar a la gente de apuros. Después, volverá a su rutina solitaria ... O ese es el plan.

Asistente del Villano
Por Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Faeris, 2024. Romántica

Dado que Evie Sage es quien debe encargarse de mantener a su hermana y a su padre enfermo, su situación laboral no es meramente importante; es vital. Así que, cuando un percance con el Villano más infame de Rennedawn acaba en una oferta de empleo, no tiene más remedio que aceptar. Ningún trabajo es perfecto, claro, pero menos aún cuando te enamoras de tu terrorífico, temperamental e innegablemente atractivo jefe.

Justo cuando se está acostumbrando a ver cabezas cortadas colgando del techo y a la extraña sensación de pisar un globo ocular extraviado mientras anda, Evie empieza a sospechar que entre se esconde una enorme rata ... y no solo en sentido literal. Algo podrido está emergiendo en el reino de Rennedawn, y alguien quiere acabar con El Villano y con todo su perverso imperio. Ahora Evie no solo va a tener que evitar babear por su jefe, sino también que averiguar quién es exactamente la persona que lo está saboteando para que él pueda hacérselo pagar. Pero es que, claro, cuesta mucho encontrar un buen trabajo.

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, Romántica

Never Saw Me Coming

Never Saw Me Coming

By Vera Kurian

Park Row Books, 2021. 389 pages. Mystery

It would be easy to underestimate Chloe Sevre. She's a freshman honor student, a legging-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. She spends her time on yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. Chloe is one of seven students at her college who are part of an unusual clinical study of psychopaths. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan for revenge into action, she'll be forced to decide if she can trust her fellow psychopaths -- and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Kurian has done the unthinkable and had me rooting for a psychopath which is truly a feat since Chloe, at times, is highly unlikeable. For a rather dark thriller, I was surprised by how much fun I had following Chloe’s hijinks in her plot to kill her childhood friend while also trying to avoid being killed herself. The book excelled at depicting the unlikely friendship among psychopathic students as they work together to figure out who is killing them. Their dynamic was both difficult to wrap my brain around and highly entertaining which goes to show Kurian’s skill in writing rich, dimensional characters. I also appreciate a mystery that I can’t solve and when I say I didn’t see the end coming, I truly mean it. If you enjoy the television show Dexter or love a thriller with a dark academia vibe, then Never Saw Me Coming is for you!

If you like Never Saw Me Coming, you might also like:

Everyone is Watching

By Heather Gudenkauf

Park Row Books, 2024. 297 pages. Fiction

The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive. Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated. When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show--someone is out for blood. And the game can't end until the world knows who the contestants really are.

They Never Learn

By Layne Fargo

Scout Press, 2020. 342 pages. Fiction

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor, but she's even better at getting away with murder. Every year, Dr. Clark searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she's avoided drawing attention to herself, but as she's preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Dr. Clark insinuates herself into the investigation. Everything's going according to her master plan until she loses control with her latest victim. Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident, and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

BW

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Ally Carter
Avon, 2024. 293 pages. Mystery.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She's the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He's Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she's told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth--and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don't kill each other first. 

I very much enjoyed this enemies to lovers mystery novel and would read it any time of the year. Maggie and Ethan have a chemistry and witty banter that I found charming. Overall, a feel good, festive locked room mystery that I would be comfortable recommending to my mother in law’s book group and a book group of my own. I found it interesting that author Ally Carter was inspired by the disappearance of Agatha Christie on Dec 3, 1926 and her reappearance 11 days later on Dec 14th. 

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The Merriest Misters
Timothy Janovsky
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2024. 305 pages. Romance.

Patrick Hargrave and Quinn Muller have been married for less than a year, but their passionate romance is cracking under the pressures of domestic life and a cumbersome mortgage. That's until Christmas Eve when Patrick wakes Quinn up with: "I think I've killed a man." Quinn realizes the "burglar" Patrick knocked out is none other than Mr. Claus himself. Instructed by a harried elf to don the red suit and take the reins of the reindeer-guided sleigh up on the roof, Quinn and Patrick work together to save Christmas. But as the sun rises on Christmas morning, the sleigh brings them back to the North Pole instead of New Jersey, and they're in for a massive shock. The couple must assume the roles of Santa Claus and the first ever Merriest Mister or Christmas will be canceled ... permanently. With Christmas-and their marriage-on the line, Patrick and Quinn agree to stay together for one year. But can running a toy shop together save their relationship, or will Patrick and Quinn be stuffing coal in each other's stockings come next Christmas? 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
Stephanie Perkins, Editor
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014. 321 pages. Short Stories.

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you're going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Years, there's something here for everyone. So, curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love. 

 JK

Navidad Duranguense

Navidad Duranguense
Por Diana Reyes
Capitol Latin, 2010. Música

Contenido: Blanca Navidad -- Campanas navideñas = Jingle bells -- Campana sobre campana -- Los peces en el rio -- Arre burriquito -- La marimorena -- El niño del tambor = The little drummer boy -- El burrito sabanero -- Feliz Navidad -- El año viejo -- El niño Jesus.

Si le gusta «Navidad Duranguense» le recomendamos:

Canciones Navideñas
Por Solecitos
Headliners Records, 2003. Música

Contenido: Navidad de los Selecitos -- Noche de paz -- Burrito de Belén -- Ven a mi casa esta Navidad -- Hoy es Navidad -- Rodolfo el reno -- Blanca Navidad -- Niño del tambor -- Campana sobre campana -- En esta Navidad -- Popurrí de Navidad. Jingle bells -- Feliz Navidad -- En el nombre del Cielo -- Humildes peregregrinos -- Peces en el rio -- Viejo.

Canciones Navideñas
Por Autor
Luminaria Music, 2005. Música

C

ontenido: Jesús en pesebre (Away in a manger) -- La noche santa (O holy night) -- El niño dios (What child is this?) -- Ave María Noche de luz (Silent night) -- En la Judea (On Judea's plain) -- Asombro dio a los magos (With wandering awe) -- Estrella de luz (Star bright) -- The prayer Campanas de Navidad (I heard the bells) -- Otro año ha pasado (New Year hymn) -- El arullo de María (Mary's lullaby) -- La primera Navidad (Christmas medley) -- Ave María Feliz Navidad

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, Música

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

By Julia McKay

G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. 342 pages. Romance 

Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. When Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal. 

If you watch The Holiday every year and love a romance with strong female friendship, this is the perfect read for this time of year. McKay manages to balance both Holly and Ivy’s stories with attention to detail and good character development. The tale’s two locales evoke holiday escapes to satisfy the imagination of both a snowy and a tropical Christmastime. The audiobook also offers great narration by Brittany Pressley. 

If you like The Holiday Honeymoon Switch, you might also like:

The Christmas Wedding Guest 

By Susan Mallery 

HQN, 2021. 426 pages. 

Guilted into being bridesmaids at their parents' vow renewal ceremony, sisters Reggie and Dena Sommerville, each working through tough personal issues, find love in the most unexpected of places -- their hometown. 

Happy Place

By Emily Henry 

Berkley, 2023. 388 pages. 

Despite breaking up months earlier, a picture-perfect couple still haven't told their friends about the split and attempt to pretend they are still together at an annual Maine getaway in this novel from the best-selling author of Book Lovers. 

AB 

The Small and the Mighty

 The Small and the Mighty: twelve unsung Americans who changed the course of history, from the founding to the civil rights movement

By Sharon McMahon

Penguin Random House, 2024. 307 pages. Nonfiction

 From America's favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country. In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn't make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history's unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time. You'll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

Sharon McMahon’s The Small and the Mighty is a powerful and inspiring collection of stories that reminded me that even the most ordinary individuals can achieve extraordinary things.

What stood out to me most in this book was McMahon’s ability to tackle serious topics with a light touch. She keeps the mood engaging with her humor without diminishing the weight of the subjects she addresses. Her writing style is both relatable and uplifting, making it easy for readers to connect with the stories and the individuals she highlights.

This book is an uplifting read for anyone looking for a dose of inspiration and a reminder that greatness can come from the most unexpected places.

If you liked, The Small and the Mighty, you might also like:

On the Line: a story of class, solidarity, and two women's epic fight to build a union
By Daisy Pitkin
Algonquin Books, 2022. 272 pages. Nonfiction

The story of two dedicated women, a labor organizer and an immigrant laundry worker, coming together to spearhead an audacious campaign to unionize one of the most dangerous industries in one of the most anti-union states--Arizona--and offering a nuanced look at the modern-day labor movement and the future of workers' rights.

 

The Road is Good: how a mother's strength became a daughter's purpose

By Uzo Aduba

Viking, 2024. 320 pages. Nonfiction

A memoir of Black immigrant identity, the coming-of-age story of Nigerian American actress Uzo Aduba, one of the stars of the television series Orange is the New Black.

The Remarried Empress

The Remarried Empress

By Alphatart

Ize Press, 2022. 249 pages. Graphic Novels.

Empress Navier and Emperor Sovieshu: a match made in heaven, they were the two pillars of the land whom everyone believed would stand by each other through thick and thin…until a chance encounter with a beautiful girl in the forest leaves the emperor smitten! Though hurt by the betrayal, Navier’s not one to waste time wallowing in despair. And when Sovieshu requests a divorce, she has but one condition in return—permission to remarry the man of her choosing!

Sometimes you want to feel the rage of a woman scorned, and if so, then this is a great romance comic to pick up!  The colors are vibrant throughout, Navier is a smart protagonist, there are court politics, and my favorite: magic.  Don't worry, outside of all the raging you will also find many moments of humor sprinkled throughout to lighten things up. 

 
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My Happy Marriage
By Akumi Agitogi
Square Enix Manga, 2022. unpaged. Graphic Novels.
 
A browbeaten and mistreated daughter is cast out of her home and sent to audition as a bridal candidate for the heir to one of the most powerful families in the land…Whispers abound about the Kudo clan, but will the allegedly cold and cruel house into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?

Snow White with the Red Hair

By Sorata Akizuki
VIZ Media, 2019. 181 pages. YA Comics.
 
Unwilling to become the prince of Tanbaruns possession, beautiful red-haired herbalist Shirayuki seeks shelter in the woods of the neighboring kingdom, where she gains an unlikely ally--the prince of that kingdom.

RBL

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend 

by M. J. Wassmer 

Sourcebooks Landmark, 2024. 371 pages. Fiction 

Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best and, yeah, he has never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend Mara, things are starting to look up. 

 Then the sun explodes. 

With the island suddenly plunged in darkness (and Mara pestering him for not springing for the up-charged travel insurance), Dan's holiday takes a surprising turn when the elite guests install themselves as the new ruling class. As temperatures drop and tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could send them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make. Does he find a way to escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world? 

 A cursory glance at the cover might have you thinking Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend is a romcom, but don’t miss those balls of flame flying from the sky. This satirical, dystopian story will have you chuckling from the first pages, even as it delivers clever social commentary. You’ll recognize elements of real-life personalities in the diverse cast of characters, even in their exaggerated form. In spite of a plot twist you’ll perhaps see coming, readers of many genres – humor, apocalyptic, survivalist, contemporary, and satire – are likely to enjoy M.J. Wassmer’s unique and entertaining debut. 

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams 

Harmony Books, 1979. 215 pages. Science Fiction 

Chronicles the off-beat and occasionally extraterrestrial journeys, notions, and acquaintances of galactic traveler Arthur Dent.

Yellowface
by R.F. Kuang

William Morrow, 2023. 323 pages. Fiction

After the death of her literary rival in a freak accident, author June Hayward steals her just-finished masterpiece, sending it to her agent as her own work, but as emerging evidence threatens her success, she discovers just how far she'll go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

SGR

Where They Last Saw Her

Where They Last Saw Her
By Marcie R. Rendon
Bantam Books, 2024. 315 pages. Mystery.

All they heard was her scream. Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to people who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she hasn't ever stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring. Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don't know what it means to quit; she has her loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children who challenge her to be better every day. So when she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something-and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes. As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them.

The content of the story is not what I would consider a "fun" mystery as it focuses on the very real and prevalent issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. As a member of the White Earth Nation, Rendon clearly understands this and wrote with an expected amount of solemnity. The writing was emotionally intense with fleshed out characters that were easy to connect to.  I appreciated that the mystery had aspects of reality mixed in, like a mother putting her investigation on hold to get her children to their appointments on time.  As sad, tired, and angry as this book made me I am glad that I read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted and intersectional challenges that Indigenous women face in their daily lives.  

If you like Where They Last Saw Her, you might also like: 

Sisters of the Lost Nation

By Nick Medina

Berkley, 2023. 338 pages. Fiction.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino . . . and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step -- an ancient tribal myth come to life, one that's intent on devouring her whole. With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she's sure lies in the legends of her tribe's past. When Anna's own little sister also disappears, she'll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation -- both old and new -- are strong, and sometimes, it's the stories that never get told that are the most important.

The Seed Keeper

By Diane Wilson

Milkweed Editions, 2021. eBook. Fiction.

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family's struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited. On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband's farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

Wandering Stars

By Tommy Orange
Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 315 pages. Fiction.

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star's son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father's jailer. Under Pratt's harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

KJ

The Bog Wife

The Bog Wife
By Kay Chronister
Counterpoint, 2024. 319 pages. Gothic Fiction.

Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a "bog-wife." Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails--or refuses--to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future. Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself.

Told in the alternating voices of the Haddesley children, the true horror of this story is the fracturing of this family as their beliefs are challenged.  Although it was marketed as a gothic horror I would suggest this to anyone even if they don't usually like that genre.  It was more thought-provoking than scary with a gloomy Appalachian atmosphere. I do agree with the many reviews that called it "haunting" as the story seems to already be nestled firmly in my memory.  Definitely worth reading if you are interested in ecological reckonings or the complexity of siblings being mirrors that you both love and despise.

If you like The Bog Wife, you might also like: 

The Last Tale of The Flower Bride

By Roshani Chokshi

William Morrow, 2023. 292 pages. Science Fiction.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after--and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past. But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage or their lives.

The God of the Woods

By Liz Moore

Riverhead Books, 2024. 478 pages. Fiction.

When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk one morning in August 1975, it triggers a panicked, terrified search. Losing a camper is a horrific tragedy under any circumstances, but Barbara isn't just any camper, she's the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp--as well as the opulent nearby estate, and most of the land in sight. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared in this region: Barbara's older brother also went missing 14 years earlier, never to be found. How could this have happened yet again? Out of this gripping beginning, Liz Moore weaves a richly textured drama, both emotionally nuanced and propelled by a double-barreled mystery. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the community working in its shadow, Moore's multi-threaded drama brings readers into the hearts of characters whose lives are forever changed by this eventful summer.

The Hollow Kind

By Andy Davidson
MCD, 2022. 434 pages. Fiction.

Nellie Gardner is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage when she learns that her long-lost grandfather, August Redfern, has willed her his turpentine estate. She throws everything she can think of in a bag and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow. It turns out that the "estate" is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie is thrilled about the chance for a fresh start for her and Max, and a chance for the happy home she never had. So it takes her a while to notice the strange scratching in the walls, the faint whispering at night, how the forest is eerily quiet. But Max sees what his mother can't: They're no safer here than they had been in South Carolina. In fact, things might even be worse. There's something wrong with Redfern Hill. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. It is the true legacy of Redfern Hill: a kingdom of grief and death, to which Nellie's own blood has granted her the key.

KJ