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Romance

Danger in the shadows

Feature by Elizabeth Mazer

If you like your sagas spiced with peril, these books have some delicious surprises in store for you. Authors Karen Rose and April Hunt are continuing their respective Cincinnati and Steele Ops series with a pair of page-turners packed with thrills, chills and more than a bit of sizzle as love—romantic and familial—overcomes fatal obstacles to always find a way.

Into the Dark
Dr. Dani Novak has structured her life around being a safe haven, both through her free clinic and her duties as an emergency foster mom to children in the deaf community. So it’s not a surprise when ex-Army Ranger Diesel Kennedy comes to her for help. What is a surprise is who he brings with him. Fourteen-year-old Michael Rowland is the only witness to a murder—which puts him on a killer’s hit list. As a deaf child with a heart-rendingly brutal past (which author Karen Rose discloses through some frank discussions of sexual assault of children and human trafficking), Michael’s trust isn’t easily won. By building a relationship with Michael and his little brother, Joshua, Dani’s heart opens in ways she hadn’t expected, including bringing her closer to Diesel and forcing her to confront the fear that has closed her off to romance for far too long.

A puzzle-box of a story, Into the Dark is so intricately layered, with such a huge cast of characters, that it can be difficult to hold all the threads together, especially for a reader who is new to the Cincinnati series. (Those who have read the previous four books, on the other hand, will have plenty of chances to revisit favorite characters and couples.) But while you may struggle to remember who is married to / related to / shared military service with whom, you’ll never doubt the overriding love that this family—and friends who are also family—shares.

As the mysteries unravel one by one, this warm, big-hearted adventure highlights how brightly love can shine against any encroaching darkness.

Lethal Redemption
FBI profiler Grace Steele thought she’d put her past in the rearview mirror, but it keeps landing in front of her—such as Cade Wright, her former Army Ranger ex-from-next-door who’s now in the private security business with her cousins. But the most frightening part of Grace’s past is tied to her early childhood, when she was raised in a cult—right up until she escaped at age 13. When the daughter of the vice president ends up as the cult’s newest recruit, Grace is the only one who can infiltrate the group to try to get the girl out. And Cade’s not about to let her go in alone.

While April Hunt isn’t the first author to create characters with heavy pasts to overcome, Grace and Cade have some exceptionally large gorillas on their backs. The irony is that the cult they infiltrate, the Order of the New Dawn, is all about getting closure, overcoming obstacles and letting go of burdens. Grace and Cade provide beautiful contrast to each other as they learn to work through their pasts by drawing together, leaning on each other’s strengths, supporting each other’s weaknesses and guiding each other toward forgiveness—with plenty of help from their families along the way.

With high tension and brutal stakes, the suspense will have you on the edge of your seat, but the peace and happiness the characters find together in the end will leave you with a smile.

Karen Rose and April Hunt continue their respective Cincinnati and Steele Ops series with a pair of page turners packed with thrills, chills and more than a bit of sizzle.
Romance

Cozy and charming historical romances

Feature by Amanda Diehl

Take your coziness to the next level with three new historical romances that’ll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, inside and out.

Anyone but a Duke
In Anyone but a Duke by Betina Krahn, the quiet of a country estate is shattered when its mysterious owner returns to find a troublesome American woman managing its grounds.

Sarah Bumgarten has had it with the London aristocracy after being publicly rejected and has sworn off arrogant, titled men. Her only recourse is to lick her wounds in private at the Betancourt estate. The owner, the sibling of her brother-in-law, is presumed dead, and Sarah is grateful for the distraction of rehabbing the grounds.

But things quickly go awry when Arthur “Art” Michael Randolph Graham, the definitely not-dead owner of Betancourt, arrives injured on Sarah’s doorstep. It takes a village in despair and a greedy band of thieves for Sarah and Art to realize that the only way they can solve their problems and restore Betancourt to its former glory is to do it together.

Krahn’s subtle, insightful writing creates wonderfully tender scenes between the main characters. But don’t be fooled by the mischievous coterie of animals or the bucolic setting—Sarah and Art are survivors. The romance unfolds slowly and sweetly, with both Art and Sarah healing their emotional and physical wounds through love and understanding.

Forever and a Duke
Grace Burrowes puts a gender-swapped, historical spin on a “beauty and the geek” premise in Forever and a Duke.

Eleanora Hatfield hides behind numbers. Math makes sense, and she’s good at it. Of course, her workaholic behavior and all-business, no-nonsense attitude have absolutely nothing to do with the past she’d prefer to keep hidden. But when her abilities are recommended to the Duke of Elsmore, Wrexham “Rex” Dorset, she frets at leaving the safety and comfort of her bank job, though she’s not in a position to refuse.

Rex dearly loves his family, especially his sisters, and with so many accounts to run and lands to oversee, no one can blame him for being a little scatterbrained. With his sisters approaching the age to be wed, he realizes he needs to get his affairs in order, and Eleanora comes highly recommended.

And then Rex falls head over heels in love. He admires Eleanora’s knack with numbers, and while Eleanora may also be developing a crush, she knows a future together is nonexistent. Forever and a Duke is a lovely romance with a hero unabashedly embracing the feelings he has for the heroine (it is the sweetest thing) and the heroine doing everything she can to not fall madly in love with him. File this one under fun, flirty and just a little nerdy.

The Princess Plan
A Cinderella story between a privileged prince and a snarky spinster gets the royal treatment in Julia London’s The Princess Plan.

Sebastian is the crown prince of the fictional kingdom of Alucia, and he has a lot on his shoulders. He needs to broker a trade agreement with England, find an English wife to bolster the countries’ alliance and catch the person responsible for murdering his best friend. It’s, well . . . a lot. What he doesn’t need is a women’s gossip magazine spreading rumors and false accusations.

Enter Eliza Tricklebank: a judge’s daughter, co-publisher of Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies, a repairer of fine clocks and the largest thorn in Sebastian’s side.

Eliza and Sebastian’s quippy banter is just a means of foreplay. They’re well-matched in terms of intelligence and personality, despite the glaring disparity in their titles. Eliza is a wonderfully feminist heroine whose actions are always punctuated with a scathing one-liner or wry observation. And Sebastian . . . sweet Sebastian! He is a true romantic hero, who loves Eliza wholly and completely as she is.

Steeped in fairy-tale elements—a prince, a ball, a crown—The Princess Plan is a sparkling introduction to a new series by London.

To take your coziness to the next level, check out these three new historical romances that’ll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, inside and out.

NonfictionFictionAudioMemoir

Audio: January 2020

Feature by Anna Zeitlin

Three recent stellar audio releases.

★ The Witches Are Coming
The titular feminist rallying cry of The Witches Are Coming echoes throughout Shrill writer Lindy West’s latest collection of essays, which explores personal stories and pop culture through the lens of our current political reality. West has a wonderfully dry wit, and her biting narration makes her essays even funnier. Just the way she reads the chapter title “Is Adam Sandler Funny?” had me laughing, and then she goes on to explore not only Sandler’s jokes but also their impact on a generation of men. In another essay, she describes attending a conference by Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, Goop, which she approaches with an open mind, allowing folks to have fun with their crystals, then points out the class disparities of the wellness industry. West brings humor and her resolutely feminist perspective to each topic.

Me
Elton John reflects on his life in Me, looking back on his youth as a poor boy in a broken home, his years as a struggling musician and eventually his life as a rock legend and humanitarian. He speaks with distance and clarity about his bulimia and addictions to cocaine and alcohol. He finds humor in those dark days, like the time Andy Warhol showed up at John Lennon’s apartment, and Lennon and John had to pretend they weren’t home so Warhol wouldn’t capture their piles of cocaine with his famous Polaroid. John’s friendly rivalry with Rod Stewart pops up throughout the book, as each takes great pride in sabotaging the other and gloating over his successes. John is ready to retire from the road and wants to spend more time with his family, but he clearly isn’t done creating. He reads the beginning and end of the audiobook, with Taron Egerton taking over the bulk of the narration. Egerton recently played John in the biopic Rocketman, and he easily jumps back into the role, providing a dynamic narration filled with earnest enthusiasm.

Nothing to See Here
In Kevin Wilson’s latest novel, Nothing to See Here, Lillian leaps at the chance to help her former best friend, Madison, despite past betrayals. Madison is married to a wealthy Tennessee senator, and when his ex-wife dies, he takes in their two children. But the thing is, these kids burst into flames. Lillian drops everything to become their governess and help Madison raise these weird fire children. This bizarre, captivating novel questions what makes a family and satirizes Southern gentility and politicians. Marin Ireland does a great job with the narration, creating unique voices for each character that reveal their personalities, even the young children’s.

Three recent stellar audio releases.
★ The Witches Are Coming The titular feminist rallying cry of The Witches Are Coming echoes throughout Shrill writer Lindy West’s latest collection of essays, which explores personal stories and pop culture through the lens of our current political reality. West…
NonfictionFood & DrinkCrafts, Hobbies & HomeCookbooks

Lifestyles: January 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

These three new lifestyles releases will help you kick 2020 off right.

★ The Thank-You Project
You probably have several thank-you notes to write after the holidays, which may feel like just one more item on your to-do list. But what if you thought about thank-yous differently? When she turned 50, Nancy Davis Kho began writing thoughtful letters of gratitude to the people (and places and things) that had shaped her life for the better. In The Thank-You Project, Kho shares stories from her project and encourages us to embark on our own versions. Her process boils down to three main tasks: “see, say, and savor” your memories of formative people, places and things. Kho is a funny, relatable and not-too-sentimental guide to this deeply meaningful practice.

Weeknight Baking
Procrasti-baking: It’s a thing. You’re on a massive work deadline, but you’re mixing cookie batter because baking makes you feel good. Michelle Lopez of the blog Hummingbird High knows all about it, and she’s here to help all of us fit baking into our busy lives. In Weeknight Baking, Lopez applies time management skills to flexible recipes, so you can put together a cake over a few nights or substitute ingredients when the pantry doesn’t cooperate. She shares a list of the right tools—for instance, you’re going to want a quarter sheet pan for freezing cookie dough. Of course, you may be looking for instant gratification, and Lopez has your back there, too, with her “Single Lady Chocolate Chip Cookie” that gives you one beautiful, 4-inch-wide personal dessert in only 12 minutes. What weeknight doesn’t need that?

Growing Good Food
There are lots of good reasons to grow a garden, and now we can add climate change to the list. In Growing Good Food, Acadia Tucker explains that regenerative farming—which focuses on healthy, organic matter-rich soil—is one simple way to soak up carbon emissions. In making the case for a nation full of “carbon-sucking mini farms,” she recalls the victory gardens of World War II, a successful grassroots response to the war effort. Her book outlines steps for becoming a carbon farmer, no matter how small your plot, and suggests starter plants (go with perennials, not annuals), fertilizers, organic pest control solutions and how to make good compost. This is a slim but smart volume of gardening expertise and a necessary call to arms.

These three new lifestyles releases will help you kick 2020 off right.

★ The Thank-You Project
You probably have several thank-you notes to write after the holidays, which may feel like just one more item on your to-do list. But what if you…

Cozy mysteries: January 2020

Feature by Heather Seggel

Three standout cozies featuring smart and sassy heroines.

 ★ Dead in Dublin
Catie Murphy kicks off the Dublin Driver Mystery series with Dead in Dublin. Ex-military combat medic Megan Malone has started life over as a limo driver in Ireland—a pleasant enough gig until her client, a famous food blogger, keels over while she’s on the job. The restaurant where the blogger last ate is doomed if their food was the cause, and Megan is quickly enlisted to find out the truth. Murphy’s Dublin feels immersive and authentic, and even minor characters add depth and detail. Orla Keegan, Megan’s boss at the limo company and also her landlord, is a prickly delight, harsh and demanding but fair when the situation demands it. This is an auspicious series debut, and hopefully the luck of the Irish will hold for many more stories to come.

In the Shadow of Vesuvius
The ruins of Pompeii include plaster casts of people who died when Mount Vesuvius erupted, an arresting reminder that death can come at any time. When Emily Hargreaves visits the site, she finds a contemporary corpse encased in plaster, and the hunt for a killer begins. In the Shadow of Vesuvius, the 14th Lady Emily mystery, leaps between Emily in 1902 and a newly freed Roman slave during the year of Vesuvius’ eruption. Tasha Alexander brings both eras to life through meticulous research, and the dual stories come together in a chilling finale. Scenes set among the ruins of Pompeii and in the city pre-disaster have such depth that it feels like we’re walking directly into them. This is an urbane thriller with a big heart.

And Dangerous to Know
If London’s Regency era ran on anything (apart from tea, of course), it was manners. And Dangerous to Know finds Rosalind Thorne acting as a double agent of sorts, while curtsying at all the right moments. Working as Lady Melbourne’s personal secretary is just a cover for her real purpose: finding out who stole a cache of letters tied to the poet Lord Byron and digging for dirt about a body found on the lady’s grounds. Author Darcie Wilde gives Rosalind a keen mind and boundless curiosity, then tethers her to the polite maneuvers that society demands. It’s excruciating and hilarious to watch Rosalind feign interest in someone’s garden while having a surreptitious conversation about evidence. Rosalind carries the soul of Sherlock Holmes in the world of Elizabeth Bennet, and it’s a hard combination to beat.

The best cozy mysteries of January 2020.
Romance

Romance: January 2020

Feature by Christie Ridgway

A contemporary love story, small-town romantic suspense and a Gilded Age treat top the month’s best romance releases.

★ Love Lettering
Contemporary romance takes on a distinctly urban flair in Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn. Professional hand-letterer (think invitations and personalized planners) Meg Mackworth is facing a creative block when Reid Sutherland enters her life. Love blossoms between Meg and Reid, but also between Reid and New York City as Meg shares her feelings for her adopted home with him. But their attraction seems doomed, since Reid is on the brink of leaving his Wall Street job. Written in a wry but vulnerable first-person voice, Love Lettering moves at a stroll, but readers will be happy to enjoy the scenery of the city and the interactions between Meg and her friends. With smart characters and authentic dilemmas, this is a very special romance to both smile and sigh over.

The Vanishing
Jayne Ann Krentz offers an exciting and spooky tale in The Vanishing, Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair grew up in the remote town of Fogg Lake, where residents possess psychic abilities due to a past event of murky origins. The pair now runs a private investigation service in Seattle. When Olivia vanishes, Catalina is immediately on the case and is joined in the hunt by Slater Arganbright, a member of a mysterious group known as the Foundation. Catalina and Slater learn to trust each other and appreciate their different paranormal talents—which are believably rendered in smooth prose. Krentz is a master at creating highly entertaining and immersive reads, and her latest doesn’t disappoint.

The Prince of Broadway
Joanna Shupe’s utter treat of a historical romance, The Prince of Broadway, is set in 1890s New York City. Society beauty Florence Green wants to buck convention and open a casino for women. She approaches Clay Madden, the ruthless proprietor of an exclusive casino who’s fought his way to the top, for advice. He’d normally send a privileged young woman on her way, but she’s the daughter of a man he seeks to ruin, so he agrees to mentor her. Although he’s open about his plans for revenge, Florence doesn’t balk; Clay is just that compelling, and perhaps she can foil his plan. Their competing interests only serve to fan the flames, resulting in sizzling, fingertip-singeing scenes. It’s easy to root for Florence as she rails against the strict precepts of the time, and rough-and-ready Clay appreciates her frustration as well as her hunger for more.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Kate Clayborn about Love Lettering.

The best romances of January 2020.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Let it snow! A blizzard of picture books

Feature by Julie Danielson

The thrill of a big snowfall. Snow angels. Snow days! These three picture books celebrate the snowy season. 

Some Snow Is . . .

Ellen Yeomans’ Some Snow Is . . . revels in winter, exploring how wildly different each snowfall can be. There’s First Snow (the “we’ve waited for so long snow”) and Spring Snow (“time to go away snow”), with lots of variations in between. There’s Yellow Snow (uh oh, watch out) and Sledding Snow, which takes your breath away and freezes your face. Yeomans also explores the emotional extremes of such weather—from the frustration of light, early-winter Fluff Snow that doesn’t stick, to the complicated relationship with Driveway Snow, which makes Papa growl but also allows the building of a snow fort, which succeeds in making Papa smile. 

Illustrator Andrea Offermann takes readers on this journey with three children, best friends eager for outdoor winter play. She juxtaposes vivid colors against the bright white of snowfall. In one striking spread, we see a field of snow angels formed by a group of happy children, the text reading merely, “A flock of angels sing.” On a spread about Snow Day snow, Offermann’s energetic pen-and-ink lines nearly conceal houses in “a world of swirling white.” 

Yeomans writes in pleasing, flowing rhymes that form paired stanzas, with the first three lines of each stanza ending with “snow.” It all makes for an engaging read-aloud. 

Snowy Race

It’s another wondrous, wintry world in April Jones Prince’s Snowy Race. A young girl rides with her father in his snowplow. She has been counting down to this day and now feels abundant pride at the opportunity to help. But the snowplow does more than just clear the roads; it also takes the two of them to meet someone special at the train station, kicking off a thrilling race to reach a family member they love. 

Prince effectively uses short rhyming phrases (“whirl of snow”) and simple sentences (“off we go”), making this briskly paced tale a winning storytime choice. Prince writes with bustling verbs—slip, slide, chase, spin, whistling, howling, climbing, growling—as the plow chugs along, the snowy winds accumulate and father and daughter, always smiling, brave the elements. 

The page turns on these landscape-oriented spreads are especially compelling as the vehicle plows through the snow toward its destination. At one point, illustrator Christine Davenier even puts readers in the vehicle, seated behind father and daughter as we look through the windshield with them. Reds, greens and blues pop off these snowy-white spreads, as do the lemony yellows of the snowplow’s headlights and the sun trying to peek through winter clouds. 

The final spread is a wordless one, showing a family happy to be together—warm, safe and snug inside on a frigid winter’s day. Look closely at the opening and closing endpapers to see the impressive amount of snow that fell during the adventure.  

Almost Time

Written by Newbery Honor recipient Gary D. Schmidt and his late wife, Elizabeth Stickney (a pseudonym), Almost Time is a story about anticipating the turning of the seasons. Ethan is eager for winter’s exit, when the warmer weather causes the sap from the trees to run. But for now, there’s no maple syrup on his pancakes, cornbread or oatmeal. He must wait patiently for the days to heat up and the nights to get shorter. 

One day, he discovers a loose tooth. Eager to pull it, Ethan now has “two things to wait for.” Even children unfamiliar with the process of collecting and boiling sap—which illustrator G. Brian Karas depicts in three of the book’s final spreads—can relate to this story, because all children know how interminably slow time creeps when they’re excited for something to happen. 

Karas depicts the joys of sledding and chopping wood in a cozy, wintry-white world, even if Ethan wears an impatient scowl as he does these things. He’d rather be single-mindedly wriggling his tooth, thanks very much, or trying “not to think about maple syrup.” Once the sap starts to run, his tooth also comes out; it was all worth the wait. Spreads dominated by white snow make way for a closing spread of warm greens, as the snow melts and Ethan finally gets sweet maple syrup on his pancakes. 

The thrill of a big snowfall. Snow angels. Snow days! These three picture books celebrate the snowy season. 

Some Snow Is . . . Ellen Yeomans’ Some Snow Is . . . revels in winter, exploring how wildly different each snowfall can be. There’s First Snow (the “we’ve waited for…

Romance

Subverting the small-town romance

Feature by Sarah Thomas

Two new small-town romances prove there’s life yet in a subgenre that’s often seen as old-fashioned at best, retrograde at worst. With deep emotion, excellent characterization and a sly subversion of tropes, Liza Kendall and Tracey Livesay have created towns we can’t wait to go back to.

Walk Me Home

Small-town romances don’t always have to be all sunshine, and Liza Kendall tugs at your heartstrings right away in Walk Me Home, a story full of characters with depth.

The first in the Silverlake Ranch series by Kendall, a pen name for the combined forces of two award-winning authors, Walk Me Home introduces the readers to the Braddock and Nash families. Willing a family tragedy to stay in the past, Charlie Nash is reluctant to go back to her hometown of Silverlake. Charlie hasn’t seen her ex-boyfriend, Jake Braddock, since they were teenagers, and when they reunite to help out with a circus of a wedding, sparks begin to reignite.

Filled with a cast of supporting characters who range from Jake’s fellow firefighters or Charlie’s ornery grandfather, it’s easy to get lost in the town of Silverlake, Texas. And under it all, Kendall creates a story of redemption and second chances with grace. One of the best things about this book is that it allows the characters to grieve fully and in different ways. Each member of the Braddock and Nash family navigate their grief in ways that help the reader to understand their personalities on a deeper level. Whether it’s Lila Braddock’s boisterous embrace of life or Kingston Nash’s anger, this lends the characters a distinct humanity.

Walk Me Home envelops the reader in Jake and Charlie’s long-buried feelings. Kendall smartly deploys characters’ backstories and uses them to fully flesh out their unique characteristics. The effect is endearing and will have you rooting for Jake and Charlie to figure out if their relationship is worth another shot. As past feelings, both good and bad, bubble to the surface, Charlie and Jake’s moments with each other are a treat to read. With lust that quickly turns into longing, and enough emotions to keep your nose buried deep in its pages, Walk Me Home is an excellent read.

★ Sweet Talkin’ Lover

Tracey Livesay brings the charm with Sweet Talkin’ Lover, the first in a new series that puts a modern spin on the popular small-town genre.

We’re first introduced to Caila Harris, whose yearly girls trip has become a cornerstone of her group of friends. A no-nonsense professional working in the beauty industry, Caila’s life gets turned upside down when she finds herself on assignment to shut down an unprofitable factory in Bradleton, a small town whose charm is only outmatched by that of the rightfully dubbed “Mayor McHottie,” Wyatt Bradley.

Her grandfather’s death has knocked Caila off her game in the workplace, even with a promotion on the horizon. Caila’s plans go further awry when Wyatt and the people of Bradleton set out to show her the magic of their small town. Soon, Caila finds herself for falling for more than Bradleton's quaint shops and fall festival.

Livesay crafts a grand adventure in a small package. Unlike many small-town romances, Livesay drops a believable, modern day heroine into reader’s laps. Reading about the adventures of a black woman in small-town Bradleton as she navigates between her head and her heart is wondrous. Livesay delivers excellent descriptions of Caila’s and Wyatt’s surroundings that will make even the most die-hard city slicker yearn for the simple life.

As sweet as small-town life can be, Livesay also knows when to turn up the heat. Wyatt and Caila’s attraction to one another simmers and boils over as they grow closer to each other. Readers will feel the intensity of their mutual attraction build through Livesay’s skillful, playful banter and evocatively written longing between the two. With a diverse cast of characters who propel the story forward and an enchanting look at a modern small town, Sweet Talkin’ Lover is a triumph.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Go Behind the Book with Liza Kendall.

Two new small-town romances prove there’s life yet in a subgenre that’s often seen as old-fashioned at best, retrograde at worst.

AudioWomen's HistoryBiography

Audio: February 2020

Feature by Anna Zeitlin

A trio of recent audiobook standouts includes a bio of a beloved actress, a hymn to all things soft and snuggly and a tribute to the unsung women of Disney.

★ Carrie Fisher 

Even if Carrie Fisher had never starred in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, she still would have lived a life worth writing about, and author Sheila Weller tells the full story in Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge (Macmillan Audio, 13.5 hours). Fisher was a witty novelist, a top Hollywood script doctor, an addict, a child of celebrities and a performer of a one-woman show. She was also bipolar, an extremely thoughtful gift-giver and a thrower of legendary parties. I think Fisher would have appreciated the humor with which Weller portrays her life and the way she balances darkness with light. Award-winning narrator Saskia Maarleveld nimbly strikes this balance as well, giving the darker moments of Fisher’s life the weight they deserve while ably delivering her jokes, a vital skill when quoting this beloved icon.

Cosy

Cosy is a necessary counterpoint to the sleek, minimalist, Danish modern style of interior design that’s so popular today. This audiobook teaches you not only how to decorate your home for maximum comfort but also how to live your life to its “cosiest” (the British spelling, please). After listening to it, I was ready to throw out all my Ikea furniture and curl up in a Welsh woven blanket with a pot of tea and one of the cosy books recommended by author Laura Weir. She offers suggestions for cosy charities (because giving back makes you feel good), cosy vacation stays, cosy recipes and cosy clothing, all with a lighthearted sense of humor. Narrator Michelle Ford’s peaceful, meditative voice is the perfect guide through ultimate cosiness.

The Queens of Animation

The women behind Disney’s most famous animated features finally get their due in this well-researched book from Nathalia Holt. Even if you’re not already interested in animation, The Queens of Animation is worth listening to for its insight into the changing roles of women in the workforce throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Many creative women have been involved in the menial tasks of animation since its early days, but this book focuses on the women who were integral to the look of Disney’s earliest films, despite Walt Disney’s original policy of not hiring women for creative roles. Surviving in a male-dominated industry, the women are linked by their talent and gumption. Narrator Saskia Maarleveld has a compelling way of telling the story—one that pulls you in further, like she’s confiding a dark secret.

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A trio of recent audiobook standouts includes a bio of a beloved actress, a hymn to all things soft and snuggly and a tribute to the unsung women of Disney.
NonfictionNatureFood & DrinkCookbooksAnimals

Lifestyles: February 2020

Feature by Susannah Felts

Three new lifestyles books to help you vent, treat yourself and get in touch with nature.

★ Rage Baking

Indeed it is a cookbook, but Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford’s Rage Baking is also a genius idea—the very text that we, an army of citizen bakers, have been waiting for. Among more than 40 contributors to this feisty and inspiring collection of recipes, essays and interviews are luminaries Ruth Reichl, Ani DiFranco, Dorie Greenspan and Rebecca Traister. There are recipes like “Power Muffs” and “No More Sheet Cake.” The recipes, like the women behind them, represent diverse culinary traditions, from cornbread to bulgur flatbread to challah to focaccia. But they all share one ingredient: “I am anger wrapped in hopelessness wrapped in despair wrapped in more anger,” writes Tess Rafferty. “And when I can’t stand it anymore, I cook.”

$9 Therapy

I’ve seen many a self-care book, but this one struck me as fresh. First, there’s the catchy title: $9 Therapy. But the subtitle is the clincher: “Semi-Capitalist Solutions to Your Emotional Problems.” What do co-authors Megan Reid and Nick Greene mean by that? First, what it’s not: “a guide to getting your shit together.” What it is: funny at every turn and packed with small, practical hacks and crafts—DIY sheet spray! DIY makeup brush cleaner!—that will cumulatively make you a more functional human being. A book that perfectly, humorously captures a corner of the zeitgeist is always a win—even if, alas, it doesn’t retail for $9. Buy it anyway, along with a gallon of white vinegar. 

Close to Birds

Truly one of the most breathtaking titles I’ve explored in a long time, Close to Birds, first published in Sweden, achieves the delicate balance of jaw-dropping photographs and thought-provoking text. Authors Mats and Åsa Ottosson didn’t set out to create a traditional bird-watching book, a guide for seekers of the most elusive specimens. Instead, among the birds featured in stunning color against white backgrounds are an ordinary mallard, a common sandpiper, a Eurasian sparrow and a common starling. “Being receptive to birds is both much simpler and much bigger than [determining species],” the authors write. “It’s not a hobby; rather it can be seen as a loving receptivity to the larger we to which humans are lucky to belong.” You’ll learn, gasp and see birds anew.

Susannah Felts is a Nashville-based writer and co-founder of  The Porch, a literary arts organization. She enjoys anything paper-related and, increasingly, plant-related.

Three new lifestyles books to help you vent, treat yourself and get in touch with nature.

★ Rage Baking

Indeed it is a cookbook, but Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford’s Rage Baking is also a genius idea—the very text that we, an army of citizen…

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction & Fantasy: February 2020

Feature by Chris Pickens

The season's biggest SFF releases include an introduction to a compelling new fantasy world, a story of family and intrigue, and one very cranky dragon.

★ The Unspoken Name

Expansive and compelling, A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name has everything you’d want in a new fantasy universe. Csorwe, an orc disciple of a dark god known as the Unspoken One, is living on borrowed time. As a priestess, she will have to die as a sacrifice made to the Unspoken One. When a strange wizard saves her and takes her far away, Csorwe finds new purpose, traveling through the multiverse in search of an ancient artifact and finally discovering who she really is. Larkwood constructs her fantasy world with confidence and detail, and Csorwe’s journey from wide-eyed sacrifice to formidable warrior is satisfying and earned.

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Highfire

Eoin Colfer, author of the beloved Artemis Fowl series, makes a hilarious and suspenseful return with the fantasy crime caper Highfire. Squib, a teenage troublemaker from Louisiana, witnesses a murder committed by a malicious crooked cop, Regence Hooke. Desperately trying to escape through the bayou, Squib is hauled out of the swamp by a completely unexpected savior: a dragon. Last of the Highfire line of dragons, Vern spends his days in his lounge chair watching Netflix. With this act of charity, Squib, Vern and Hooke find themselves on a collision course that’s sure to end in fire. Central Louisiana has rarely been as vividly rendered as it is here, as Colfer gleefully piles on the mud and muck from the very first page. Highfire is funny, menacing and unlike anything else I’ve read recently.

The Unwilling

A sharp, simple concept launches a story of family and intrigue in The Unwilling  by Kelly Braffet. Judah, a girl with no noble blood, is linked with Gavin, the heir to the city of Highfall. No one can explain why, but when one of them feels anything, from pain to happiness, the other feels it, too. When Gavin’s marriage and court accession threatens Judah with exile, she must discover how to break the connection and be free at last. Braffet has a real gift for dialogue, and Judah’s quick cleverness is a constant joy. This is especially welcome in the story’s darker moments, which never shy away from examining the most painful ramifications of Judah and Gavin’s magical connection. Readers will fall in love with the contemplative pace, brisk dialogue and rebellious heroine of The Unwilling.

Chris Pickens is a Nashville-based fantasy and sci-fi superfan who loves channeling his enthusiasm into reviews of the best new books the genre has to offer.

The season's biggest SFF releases include an introduction to a compelling new fantasy world, a story of family and intrigue, and one very cranky dragon.

★ The Unspoken Name

Expansive and compelling, A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name has everything you’d want in a new fantasy…

YA FictionYA

These are definitely kissing books

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

There’s plenty of love to be had in this trio of romantic books. Social media plays a key role in all three, facilitating flirting, turning up the tension and making the will-they-won’t-they even more thrilling. The hopeless (and hopeful) romantic will find much to savor.

Tweet Cute
High school senior Pepper Evans misses how things used to be. Not long ago, her family lived in Nashville, her parents’ marriage was intact, and the restaurant they founded, Big League Burger, hadn’t yet grown into a megachain. Now, in debut novelist Emma Lord’s Tweet Cute, Pepper’s sister is at college, her dad’s in Nashville, and she’s attending a fancy private school in New York City. When she’s not juggling AP classes, debate club and swim team—or fretting about her parents’ divorce—she’s co-writing a baking blog and being pestered by her CEO mom to handle BLB’s social media. 

Meanwhile, Pepper’s classmate Jack Campbell has a lot on his plate, too. He works in his family’s popular East Village deli and feels pressured to someday take it over. But does he want to? He’s trying to figure it out when disaster strikes. BLB tweets about a sandwich that copies an item on his family’s deli menu, and Jack claps back, kicking off a snarky Twitter war that garners the attention of internet influencers and the media. As Pepper and Jack duke it out on Twitter, they’re also flirting on an anonymous messaging app—and getting closer in real life as well.

Lord creates delicious, funny suspense around whether the teens will finally reveal their identities and have a huge argument or, even better, a huge make-out sesh. Tweet Cute empathetically conveys the tension of feeling torn between pleasing one’s parents and planning an independent future. Lord’s characters are a likable, smart, diverse bunch, and readers will eagerly follow along as secrets explode and romance blooms online and IRL.

Yes No Maybe So
Fans of bestselling authors Becky Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and Aisha Saeed (Written in the Stars) will be thrilled to get their hands on their new joint effort, Yes No Maybe So, an earnest and engrossing of-the-political-moment story about Jamie and Maya, who were friends as children and reconnect a decade later when their moms volunteer them to canvass for a newbie Democratic state senate candidate. 

Jamie is deeply self-conscious about his awkwardness and trying to tread lightly around his mom and sister’s feverish bat mitzvah planning. Maya is reeling from an emotional one-two punch: Her bestie has become distant as she prepares to leave for college, and her parents just began a trial separation—in the middle of Ramadan. She’s not thrilled about canvassing, but her mom dangles the promise of a car, so she dives in, joining Jamie and his quirky, civic-minded family as they try to bring change to their city of Atlanta, Georgia. As their interest in politics and policy grows into true activism, Jamie and Maya realize they’re becoming passionate about each other, too. 

Albertalli and Saeed have created a lovely cross-cultural romance and a compassionate exploration of what’s worth fighting for, especially when the outcome is uncertain. It’s full of messages of hope, loving support and the empowerment that comes from pushing for change and taking action.

★ The Gravity of Us
Self-proclaimed space nerd Phil Stamper’s The Gravity of Us is so interesting and well crafted that it’s hard to believe it’s his first novel. He harkens back to mid-20th-century NASA, when astronauts were heroes and their seemingly perfect families served as living public-relations tools for the space program. As it turns out, things aren’t so different when it comes time for NASA’s Orpheus V mission to Mars. 

Whiz-kid Cal Lewis, a savvy 17-year-old from New York City, is shocked when his commercial airline pilot dad announces he’s been selected for Orpheus, which means their family is moving to Houston . . . in three days. Cal is devastated to be leaving his best friend, his beloved city and perhaps his budding career. An entertainment network, Star Watch, has an exclusive contract to cover the mission, which means Cal, a well-known video journalist with half a million followers on the FlashFame app, will have to give up his BuzzFeed internship. Even worse, he may not be able to report anything anymore. 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read an interview with The Gravity of Us author Phil Stamper.

As his life changes at warp speed, the questions mount: Will Cal be able to survive hot, humid Houston? Will his parents ever stop arguing? How can he be a journalist without the internship and FlashFame? But isn’t it nice that the enchanting Leon, son of another astronaut, lives in Cal’s brand-new, astronaut family-packed neighborhood? 

It’s thrilling to witness Cal using his social media savvy to find a way around barriers to his reporting and his happiness. Stamper shines a light on the vagaries of reality TV and a space program dependent on tenuous government funding, while giving a platform to the nonastronauts who are also passionate about space exploration—from soil scientists to the families swept up in this all-consuming career choice. Readers will root for Cal and Leon, their budding romance, their astronaut families and, of course, the prospect of life among the stars.

There’s plenty of love to be had in this trio of romantic books. Social media plays a key role in all three, facilitating flirting, turning up the tension and making the will-they-won’t-they even more thrilling. The hopeless (and hopeful) romantic will find much to savor.

…
Fiction

Two literary home runs

Feature by Michael Magras

These novels put a literary spin on the sport of baseball, recognizing its metaphorical resonance. 

The best works of fiction are often about much more than their ostensible subjects. Novels like The Natural by Bernard Malamud and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach may be set among ballplayers, but the richness of these works lies in their nuanced depictions of ambition and despair. Gish Jen’s The Resisters and Emily Nemens’ The Cactus League have very different perspectives, but they both deal with insecurity: about work, aging, and, especially in the first book, life. 

The more experimental of the two, The Resisters is a dystopian work set in the near future, and it uses baseball to comment on the ease with which totalitarianism can overtake a country. America is now AutoAmerica. The populace is divided into the “angel-fair” Netted—whose job is to produce—and “copper-toned” Surplus, lesser folk whose job is to consume. Among the latter are Grant, the book’s narrator; his wife, Eleanor; and their only child, Gwen.

Eleanor’s work as a lawyer got her in trouble with the AI-run surveillance state known as Aunt Nettie. She has recently returned from jail, but she risks further incarceration by taking a case against the government’s use of a winnowing agent, put into foods to weaken the Surplus. But the government is mainly interested in Gwen, a pitching prodigy so talented that, as a baby, she hit the same spot on the wall every time she threw stuffed animals out of her crib. 

Motivated by plans to build a TeamAmerica that can defeat ChinRussia in the Olympics, Aunt Nettie’s scheme to recruit Gwen from the Surplus’ underground league gives the book its considerable tension. Detailed world building slows the story down, but The Resisters is still a chilling critique of capitalism and a warning about how governments can exploit inequality for nefarious means.

Insecurity is also a driving force behind The Cactus League by Paris Review editor Nemens. A more conventional work, this book’s linked stories revolve around Jason Goodyear, two-time MVP for the Los Angeles Lions, as his team arrives at its new spring training park in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Goodyear’s narrative role, however, is more utility player than star. He appears only peripherally in these stories, most of which focus on the people around him. Among them are young players wondering if they’ll make the opening-day roster, veterans fretting that they’re past their prime, middle-aged women trying to seduce young players, even elderly organists scrounging for gigs. Nemens breaks up these stories with musings from a sportswriter keen to get the scoop on the clean-cut, enigmatic Goodyear. 

The device of the sportswriter as a sort of one-person Greek chorus is unnecessary. More compelling are the stories themselves, which culminate in a depiction of Goodyear in apparent decline, dealing with a divorce and reduced to living alone in a cinder-block building on the stadium grounds. 

In Summer of ’49, David Halberstam wrote that young boys who dreamed of baseball careers were enthralled by the “binding national myth” of the game. As The Resisters and The Cactus League demonstrate, the myth endures, but what a fragile fantasy it can be.

These novels from Gish Jen and Emily Nemens put a literary spin on the sport of baseball, recognizing its metaphorical resonance. 

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