The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (releasing November 5, 2019) was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. I tried to obtain an ARC ("advanced reader copy" for all my non-reviewer readers) from so many of my publishing contacts but had zero luck. (Let this be known to bloggers and bookstagrammers who get frustrated when they don't receive the ARCs they want. I've been reviewing books for 7 years. It happens to everyone) I told my #TeamBrenda crew to keep their eye out for copies and my book buddy @alisonlawatl delivered! Aren't book friends the best!?⁠
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With all the excitement from obtaining a copy paired with the anticipation of waiting 8 years since the release of The Night Circus, I was alternately tearing through every page and trying to slow myself down and savor every word. Filled with magic, danger, mysterious books, and an underground universe of tunnels filled with hundreds of different worlds, The Starless Sea is one of those books that makes you think "this is why I love reading."⁠

Without Apology by Jenny Brown

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I read extensively about abortion rights in my college Women's Studies classes and have tried to keep up with the myriad court cases and opposition to abortion rights and access in my personal reading since, but Jenny Brown's "Without Apology" (releasing October 1, 2019) gave me several new insight and outlooks. She made me rethink some situations and educated me on evolving terminologies and strategies. I strongly recommend this book to anyone concerned with the current and future states of reproductive and abortion rights in America and worldwide.⁠
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Publisher provided summary:⁠
An indispensable guide to abortion access in America, and a necessary argument for building a fighting feminist movement to protect women's rights⁠
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Anti-abortion justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. A misogynist in the White House. Abortion inaccessible to women in 85% of American counties. The stakes for women's ability to control our own bodies are high.⁠
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In this spirited book, Jenny Brown describes what the United States looked like without legal abortion -- when feminist collectives organized abortion care -- and what women face trying to get an abortion today. Drawing inspiration and lessons from the women's liberation movement of the 1970s to the successful fight to make the morning-after pill available over the counter, to the recent mass movement to repeal Ireland's abortion ban, Without Apology is an indispensable guide for today's threats to women's autonomy.⁠
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Brown argues that we need to move beyond the idea that abortion is a personal choice, beyond the idea that it should be "rare," beyond the idea that abortion is about privacy or that it shouldn't be politicized, and instead build a fighting feminist movement that can argue for abortion as women's collective social right -- without apology!⁠

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

While I love a feminist dystopia, I have begun to find them a bit stagnant so when I heard about the feminist sci-fi novel “The Future of Another Timeline” by Annalee Newitz I thought it might be exactly the change I was looking for…and I was so right! In a world where time travel is possible (but only to the past) “edits” are being made to the timeline to create an alternate future. Members of The Daughters of Harriet are fighting to maintain rights while Comstockers (followers of anti-“vice” crusader Anthony Comstock) are working hard to erase any past gains to LGBTQ+ rights, suffrage, and reproductive justice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⠀
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Summary:⠀
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1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend's abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets Beth and her friends on a path of escalating violence and vengeance as they realize many other young women in the world need protecting too.⠀
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2022: Determined to use time travel to create a safer future, Tess has dedicated her life to visiting key moments in history and fighting for change. But rewriting the timeline isn’t as simple as editing one person or event. And just when Tess believes she's found a way to make an edit that actually sticks, she encounters a group of dangerous travelers bent on stopping her at any cost.⠀
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Tess and Beth’s lives intertwine as war breaks out across the timeline--a war that threatens to destroy time travel and leave only a small group of elites with the power to shape the past, present, and future. Against the vast and intricate forces of history and humanity, is it possible for a single person’s actions to echo throughout the timeline?

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

"In 1941, during humanity’s darkest hour, three unforgettable young women must act with courage and love to survive"⁠
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Alice Hoffman has written some of my favorite novels (The Dovekeepers, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic, The Museum of Extraordinary Things) but I was a bit apprehensive going into her latest release The World That We Knew (releasing 9/24/19) because I just wasn't sure what I was in for with a story about Nazis and a golem. I also didn't love her last novel, Faithful, so I cleared my mind and went into this story looking to judge it on its own merits. It only took a few chapters and Hoffman had me under her spell again with a story about the best and worst of humanity, all woven together with a ribbon of magic realism.⁠
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Summary:⁠
In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but it’s his daughter, Ettie, who offers hope of salvation when she creates a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Lea. Once Ava is brought to life, she and Lea and Ettie become eternally entwined, their paths fated to cross, their fortunes linked. Lea and Ava travel from Paris, where Lea meets her soulmate, to a convent in western France known for its silver roses; from a school in a mountaintop village where three thousand Jews were saved. Meanwhile, Ettie is in hiding, waiting to become the fighter she’s destined to be.⁠

Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey

I'm always fascinated with how authors spend their days. Do they stick to a schedule or do they wait for inspiration? Do they type on their laptop all day or do they write with a pen and paper in the middle of the night?⁠
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Mason Currey's "Daily Rituals: Women at Work" gives a glimpse into the working schedules of over 100 fabulous female artists--painters, composers, writers, sculptors, filmmakers, designers, and performers. "Their daily routines, superstitions, fears, eating (and drinking) habits, and other finely (and not so finely) calibrated rituals that help summon up willpower and self-discipline, keeping themselves afloat with optimism and fight, as they create (and avoid creating) their creations."⁠
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I found this to be a fun, inspirational, and informative book--perfect for a nightstand.⁠

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

First off...I love my library! I was able to put a hold on The Testaments a couple months ago and get one of the first copies they put into circulation.⁠
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Spoiler-free mini review:⁠
If you loved The Handmaid's Tale you were likely questioning its ending and wanted to know what happened to Gilead. The Testaments takes place a bit after the years spanned in The Handmaid's Tale, when more cracks are appearing in the regime. Quid pro quos and the subjegation of women are still the motives of the men but one woman has accumulated a cache of secrets that can bring it all down. In The Testaments readers will meet several new characters, see a different side to one character they thought they knew, and put some pieces together to answer their "what happened to..." questions.⁠

Dwell, Gather, Be: Design for Moments by Alexandra Gove

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Are you looking for home design inspiration that aligns with your more "laid back" lifestyle? Learn how to design a home to reflect, complement, and enhance your lifestyle with "Dwell, Gather, Be: Design for Moments" by Alexandra Gove (releasing September 24) which includes over 200 original photographs.⁠
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In a world where perfectly designed homes are encountered at every turn, Dwell, Gather, Be goes deeper, exploring how thoughtful, intentional home design can cultivate meaningful moments in your life. Learn to elevate, celebrate, and value the time you spend with the people you hold dear in the space that is uniquely yours.⁠

Arrowood by Laura McHugh

"Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again."⁠
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I loved Laura McHugh's 2014 debut novel The Weight of Blood and The Wolf Wants In was one of my most anxiously anticipated releases of 2019, but somehow I missed her 2016 release Arrowood! I stayed up late reading this novel (which is something I NEVER do...I need sleep!) because it was soooo good. Set in Keokuk, IA (very near where I grew up) Arden Arrowood has returned to her childhood home during a particularly rough time (her father has died, she can't seem to finish her master's thesis, and she recently had a very misguided love affair). She has inherited the Arrowood family home and must now face her muddled memories and family secrets.⁠
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As if I wasn't a big enough fan of McHugh's detailed Midwest/rural noir writing, this novel added a fabulous gothic element. I think it's safe to say she is now an "auto-buy" author for me. Who are your "auto-buy" authors?⁠

Magazine Feature: The Dutch House by Anne Patchett

My review of Anne Patchett's "The Dutch House" (releasing September 24, 2019 from Harper) featured in September issue of Franklin (TN) Lifestyle magazine. 
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Nashville’s Parnassus Books co-owner, Ann Patchett’s latest novel, The Dutch House, drops readers into a sprawling mansion full of strained family connections. As the Second World War comes to an end, Cyril Conroy catapults his family from poverty to enormous wealth as he builds his real estate empire. To celebrate his success he purchases the Dutch House, an opulent 1920s estate in the Philadelphia suburbs, as a surprise for his wife Elna, setting the unraveling of his family into motion. Complete with life-size portraits of the original owners (the Dutch VanHoebeek family), a ballroom, and household staff, The Dutch House overwhelms Elna so much that she abandons her husband, her 10-year-old daughter Maeve, and three-year-old son Danny to serve the poor in India. In dark fairy tale fashion, when stepmother Andrea arrives with her two daughters it is clear that she loves The Dutch House but not her step-children. Banishing Danny and Maeve after Cyril’s sudden death, the siblings must rely on each other as they find themselves thrown back into poverty. The house itself becomes a character that looms large, affecting the lives of all of its inhabitants in this decade-spanning story full of one family’s dysfunctional relationships and stolen inheritances. Written in her legendary prose, Patchett delivers a story of banished and bonded siblings navigating the complex and ever-changing layers of love and forgiveness, while simultaneously pushing readers to analyze the stories we tell ourselves about our own lives.⁠

The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to receive an ARC of Lynn Cullen's latest novel, The Sisters of Summit Avenue several weeks ago but I only got around to reading it in the last few days. Isn't that how it goes sometimes? I loved Cullen's previous novel, the gothic and atmospheric "Mrs. Poe" but this is a totally different type of story. The storyline of two sisters wasn't what initially grabbed my attention though; it was the setting--the Midwest during the Great Depression. I've been personally drawn to these stories lately, wondering how families made ends meet and the details of their daily lives. Cullen masterfully presented the extreme division of wealth and the onslaught of advertising at a time when a majority of the nation did not have an expendable income. I was sad to leave the world of June, Ruth, John, and Dorothy when I turned the last page, but I also consider that to be a great trait in a storyteller. Another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ novel from Lynn Cullen!

Summary:
Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family’s Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, fell into a comatose state, infected by the infamous “sleeping sickness” devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June, who is the envy of everyone she meets: blonde and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of “the Bettys,” the perky recipe developers who populate General Mills’ famous Betty Crocker test kitchens. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she used to love more than anything belongs to Ruth.

When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June’s bitterness about her sister’s betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that’s been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who’s brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters.

The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

"They had a forever bond, until a sudden tragedy thrust them apart. Now, each at a crossroad in her own life, two sisters’ paths are about to intersect."⁠
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Sisters Julia and Ginny haven't spoken in years, but when Julia makes a major mistake on her morning television show she rushes from NYC to her sister Ginny's home in the Arizona desert to lick her wounds. Already facing enough of her own financial and family problems, Ginny puts Julia to work assisting her with her secret supper club. But can the sisters work together to overcome their resentments and keep the supper club running smoothly?⁠
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I always love a good foodie fiction release and this one definitely hit the spot: female protagonists, delicious food details, and quick to devour at around 260 pages. I would recommend The Second Chance Supper Club to lovers of Kitchens of the Great Midwest, The School of Essential Ingredients, and Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe.⁠

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

🔺No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.🔺⁠
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I had my eye on The Grace Year (releasing 10/8/19) a few months ago and when I saw it was available as a "Read Now"/auto-approved option on Netgalley, I snapped it up. ⁠
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It seems like every dystopian or speculative fiction release that features women is instantly heralded as the next "The Handmaid’s Tale" or "The Power" but I would describe this one as M. Night Shyamalan's “The Village” meets Megan Abbott's "The Fever" with some serious Lord of the Flies overtones. While I love this genre, the recent releases have been hits ("Vox" and "The Water Cure") or misses ("Before She Sleeps" and "Red Clocks") for me. The Grace Year fell firmly in my "hit" camp with it's brutal realism, detailed characters (Oh, I love you Tierney but Kiersten, you can go kick rocks), and unique storyline about an alternative patriarchal society that also fears female power/magic. I have been reading a lot of positive early reviews and I think The Grace Year will be a popular read when it releases next month, especially since it has already been optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture.⁠
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🔺Do you love feminist dystopias/speculative fiction?⁠
🔺Is The Grace Year on your TBR?⁠

Sheet Pan Dinner in 30 Minutes

Wanna know why I love sheet pan dinners and casseroles? Because you stick them in the oven, set the timer, and WALK AWAY! I’m not stuck to the stove. I can clean up the kitchen, fold the laundry, or sit back with a magazine and my 🍷 .
I marinated the chicken in a balsamic dressing for a few hours in the fridge but beyond that prep work was a snap. Toss your fave veggies with some EVOO & different seasonings, then cook for 20-30 min at 425. How easy is that?!

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this release from 

the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This quirky little gem of a novel features two of my favorite subjects: twins and the love of language. “The Grammarians are Laurel and Daphne Wolfe, identical, inseparable redheaded twins who share an obsession with words. They speak a secret “twin” tongue of their own as toddlers; as adults making their way in 1980s Manhattan, their verbal infatuation continues, but this love, which has always bound them together, begins instead to push them apart. Daphne, copy editor and grammar columnist, devotes herself to preserving the dignity and elegance of Standard English. Laurel, who gives up teaching kindergarten to write poetry, is drawn, instead, to the polymorphous, chameleon nature of the written and spoken word. Their fraying twinship finally shreds completely when the sisters go to war, absurdly but passionately, over custody of their most prized family heirloom: Merriam Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition.” This is a book that will probably fly under the mainstream radar but if you’re a word nerd like me you should check it out.