feminism

The Fox Wife

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THE FOX WIFE rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. The term “immersive” gets thrown around a lot, but I rarely get truly immersed in books. Yangsze Choo‘s fantasy novel THE FOX WIFE (Henry Holt/Macmillan, February 13, 2024) had me in its grip from page one. I was there in 1908 Manchuria. The novel is as stunning as […]

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Text says: "The Madstone a Novel Elizabeth Cook Author of The Which Way Tree." Cover image shows a woman on horseback with two children on horseback, a boy and a girl. They are on a dirt road that stretches into the foreground with trees on other side. In the background is a huge sky with a sunset. The cover blurb says, "'The Madstone is a treasure: a brilliant, beautiful page-turner . . . Both a poignant love story and a riveting road novel–I devoured it.'–Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Double Bind."

The Madstone

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THE MADSTONE rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I’ve fallen for another western: THE MADSTONE by Elizabeth Crook (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette, November 7, 2023). The madstone of the novel’s title is not just a talisman with reputed healing power: it is a symbol of found family, a mother’s determination to protect her children at all costs,

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Image has background of purple, yellow, and orange swirls like a prairie sunset and some flat hills. A woman in a red dress with long red hair and a cowboy hat walks in the foreground. Text says "Lucky Red A Novel Claudia Cravens"

Wild West Women

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LUCKY RED rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. If you ask about my favorite genre, Western will likely be the last thing on the list, but some westerns I revere. LONESOME DOVE (1985). THE SISTERS BROTHERS (2011). But, feminist westerns. Hello. As with the circus, the frontier is a place where fictional women can explore identities and

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Catching Up with Cosby

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S.A. Cosby, I mean. ALL THE SINNERS BLEED rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. While I think RAZORBLADE TEARS is a superior novel, I enjoyed ALL THE SINNERS BLEED (Macmillan, June 2023) more. I could easily see it becoming adapted into an Oscar-contender film or popular TV miniseries. Phenomenal pacing is Cosby’s forte, and he settles into

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Image of a door surrounded with flowering plants. Text says "New York Times Bestselling author J. C. Cervantes The Enchanted Hacienda: A Novel"

The Enchanted Hacienda

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THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐. THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA will be released May 16, 2023 by HarperCollins. It’s described as Hispanic and Latino fiction, but it’s also fantasy, and obviously women’s fiction. Recommended for fans of Hispanic and Latino fantasy and magical realism fiction and for those who like THE ENCHANTED APRIL by Elizabeth

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