The Sons of El Rey (2024) by Alex Espinoza is a brilliant historical, polyvocal, family drama with a bit of magical realism that was the August selection for Roxane Gay’s The Audacious Book Club. Although this was the third book from her book club that I’ve read this year, I’ve not been able to manageContinue reading “The Sons of El Rey”
Tag Archives: historical fiction
The Emperor and the Endless Palace
I was drawn to the beautiful cover of The Emperor and the Endless Palace (2024) displayed on the “New” shelf at my local library. I was thrilled to find out it was one of my favorite genres–historical fantasy–and it was super-queer! Huang takes us to three different time periods. First in time is the yearContinue reading “The Emperor and the Endless Palace”
Go As A River
Go As A River (2023) by Shelley Read was a book group selection I probably wouldn’t have chosen myself. I did quite enjoy it, though, despite some unnecessary anti-fat bias in at least one character description. Victoria Nash is a 17-year old living on a Colorado peach farm in 1948, tending house for her father,Continue reading “Go As A River”
James
If you’ve been under a rock in the reading community and haven’t yet heard of James by Percival Everett (2024), you can stop right now and go put a hold on it at your library or order it however you typically purchase books. If you listen to audiobooks, I’d highly recommend listening to it, asContinue reading “James”
We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky
I will read anything Cat Sebastian writes, so I very much looked forward to We Could Be So Good (2023) and You Should Be So Lucky (2024), considered her “Midcentury NYC” series, set in the 1950s/1960s in New York City. They have some overlapping characters, but can be read standalone. In We Could Be SoContinue reading “We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky”
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021) by Malinda Lo is an award-winning queer young adult historical romance/ thriller set in 1954 San Francisco, featuring Lily Hu, a Chinese-American high school student who discovers that she is not like most girls because she likes other girls. Lily has spent most of her life sheltered inContinue reading “Last Night at the Telegraph Club”
The Lion Women of Tehran
There were so many things to love about The Lion Women of Tehran (publication date July 2, 2024) by Marjan Kamali, including long-lasting female friendship, the historical setting in 1950s and 1960s Iran, and beautiful writing. I was immediately enthralled by the story of 7-year old Ellie (Elaheh), the only child of a widowed mother,Continue reading “The Lion Women of Tehran”
Clark and Division, and Evergreen
Clark and Division (2021) and Evergreen (2023) by Naomi Hirahara are a pair of satisfying historical mysteries beginning around World War II, centering on Aki Ito and her family. As Clark and Division opens, Aki and her family–father, mother, and older sister Rose, are living in their home in Southern California with their golden retriever,Continue reading “Clark and Division, and Evergreen”
The Fox Wife
The Fox Wife (2024) by Yangsze Choo (The Ghost Bride, The Night Tiger) completely charmed me from the second page with these lines: I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, neat black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men. Thus we meetContinue reading “The Fox Wife”
The Road to the Country
The Road to the Country (pub. date June 4, 2024) is Chigozie Obioma’s third book and probably his most ambitious. If you want to read a superbly-written historical novel about a war that a lot of the Western world is not familiar with, I highly recommend it. His first two novels were Booker Prize finalists,Continue reading “The Road to the Country”
Reading While Fat 