B- Reviews / Book Reviews1920s / 1960s / African American women / American historical / domestic abuse / domestic violence / dual-timeline / estranged marriage / family relationships / First-Person / gender-based violence / Historical / journalist / Los Angeles / POC / POC author / police brutality / racism / road novels / road trip / Womens-FictionNo Comments
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement amidst an America convulsed by the 1960s, a pregnant young woman and her brash, profane aunt embark upon an audacious road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to confront a decades-old mystery from 1920’s Black Hollywood in this haunting novel of historical ... more >
A Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsdisgraced hero / Fairy Godmother / family relationships / found family / Magic / non-linear timeline / rag-tag / road novels / shy heroine / sisters / underdogs / unlikely heroine12 Comments
This isn’t the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince. It’s the one where she kills him. Marra never wanted to be a hero. As the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / American historical / American Revolution / American Revolutionary War / First-Person / healers / Historical / Magical Negro / religion / road novels / strong heroine / War / Military / women's rightsComments Off on REVIEW: Answering Liberty’s Call: Anna Stone’s Daring Ride to Valley Forge: A Novel by Tracy Lawson
In January 1778, Anna Stone is a twenty-nine-year-old healer, wife of a rebellious Baptist-preacher-turned-soldier, and mother of three. Her husband, Benjamin, writes from Valley Forge with worrisome tidings. Anna’s brothers, Henry and Jeremiah, who are in Benjamin’s unit, have contracted smallpox. Benjamin downplays the severity of their illness in his ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews17th-century / America / England / Historical / Historical fiction / Restoration England / road novels / Stuart-England2 Comments
The latest comic novel from Christopher Buckley, a hapless Englishman embarks on a dangerous mission to the New World in pursuit of two judges who helped murder a king. London, 1664. Twenty years after the English revolution, the monarchy has been restored and Charles II sits on the throne. The ... more >
Publishing Newschildren's fiction / diversity / editors / gender / general fiction / heroines / publishing / road novels4 Comments
Green Screen: The Lack of Female Road Narratives and Why it Matters – Although this essay by Vanessa Veselka is a couple of years old, with all of the focus on Gamergate and systematized violence against women, I think it’s more relevant now than ever. Viselka talks about her own ... more >