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Reviews

Reviews

by Bonnie Kistler - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Women's Fiction

Kelly McCann is a high-powered lawyer whose specialty is defending men accused of sex crimes. Her detractors call her a traitor to her gender, but she doesn't care. As the story opens, she has secured an acquittal for a renowned scientist accused of sexually assaulting his female employees. But the thrill of her victory is short-lived. That very night, she, too, falls victim to a brutal sexual assault. And almost as horrific as the attack is the fact that she can't tell anyone it happened --- not without destroying her career in the process. Joining forces with her rapist's other victims, the shrewd lawyer plans to turn the tables on him. It’s not only about justice --- these wronged women are out for revenge. But someone, it seems, is out for them. And one by one, they find themselves facing even greater danger.

by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows, she becomes a celebrity. Eleanor Roosevelt is eager to make Mary's acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality.

by Thao Thai - Fiction, Women's Fiction

When Ann Tran gets the call that her fiercely beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life is already at a crossroads. In the years since she’s last seen Minh, Ann has built a seemingly perfect life, but it all crumbles with one positive pregnancy test. Now she returns home to Florida to face her estranged mother, Huơng. Huơng is simultaneously mourning her mother and resenting her for having the relationship with Ann that she never did. Then Ann and Huơng learn that Minh has left them both the Banyan House, the crumbling old manor that was Ann’s childhood home. Under the same roof for the first time in years, mother and daughter must face the simmering questions of their past and their uncertain futures, while trying to rebuild their relationship without the one person who’s always held them together.

by Cecilia Rabess - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Jess is a senior in college, ambitious but aimless, when she meets Josh. He’s a privileged preppy in chinos, ready to inherit the world. She’s not expecting to inherit anything. A year later, they’re both working at the same investment bank. And when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, Josh shows up for her in surprising --- if imperfect --- ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship forms. It gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both. Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forward. But as the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them, Jess is forced to consider if their disagreements run deeper than she can bear, what she’s willing to compromise for love, and if, in fact, everything’s fine.

by Andrea Bartz - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Women's Fiction

Kelly’s new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend, Sabrina --- now a glamorous bestselling author with a handsome, high-powered husband. When Sabrina and Nathan offer Kelly an escape hatch, volunteering the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance to run away from her old life. There, Kelly secretly finds herself falling for both her enchanting hosts --- until one night, a wild and unexpected threesome leads the couple to open their marriage for her. At first, Kelly loves being part of this risqué new world. But when she discovers that the last woman they invited into their marriage is missing, she starts to wonder if they could be dangerous…and if she might be next.

by Fiona Davis - Fiction, Historical Fiction

New York City, 1956: When 19-year-old Marion Brooks comes across an opportunity to audition for the Radio City Rockettes, she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber." With the public in an uproar, the police turn to Peter Griggs, a young doctor who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled into the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that if she hopes to catch the culprit, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

by Nancy Horan - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

THE HOUSE OF LINCOLN tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's ascendance from rumpled lawyer to U.S. president to Great Emancipator through the eyes of a young immigrant who arrives in Lincoln's home of Springfield, Illinois, from Madeira, Portugal. Showing intelligence beyond society's expectations, 14-year-old Ana Ferreira is offered a job in the Lincoln household assisting Mary Lincoln with their boys and with the hosting duties borne by the wife of a rising political star. Ana bears witness to the evolution of Lincoln's views on equality and the Union, and observes in full complexity the psyche and pain of his bold, polarizing wife. Yet, alongside her dearest friend in the Black community, she also directly experiences how slavery contradicts the promise of freedom in her adopted country.

by Steven Rowley - Fiction

It’s been five years since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living --- that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves. But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

by Isabel Allende - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht --- the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother flee looming danger in El Salvador and seek refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita’s mother.

by Breanne Mc Ivor - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Bianca Bridge is like an eyeshadow palette. She's a vibrant kaleidoscope of big personality and even bigger dreams, with a tendency towards messiness and fallout. Case in point: losing her job and ruining her reputation by having an affair with a married government official. Her fiercely confident and tyrannical new boss, Obadiah Cortland --- a legend in Trinidad's beauty scene --- is like a statement red lipstick. Dubbed the God of Good Looks, Obadiah has perfected his hotshot façade after years of navigating the island's rigid class barriers. He knows as well as Bianca that the tiniest smudge can ruin your image. When Bianca's ex threatens both their futures, they must find a way to work together to save everything they care about. But as they put their differences aside, will they find they actually bring out the best in each other?