#nekesa

[fyblackwomenart]

"Nekesa" by Mathew Omolo on INPRNT

#print #illustration #artist #mathew omolo #blue #uniform #police #woman #africa #officer #kenya #nekesa #blue uniform #female officer #corporal #kenya police uniform #new police uniform #lizard pet #pet lizard #inprnt #digital art #black woman #art

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Historical Mystery Series

Harlem Renaissance Mysteries by Nekesa Afia (1920s) The Nightingale Mysteries by Katharine Schellman (1920s) The Simon Sampson Mysteries by David C. Dawson (1930s) Pentecost and Parker by Stephen Spotswood (1940s) Evander Mills by Lev A.C. Rosen (1950s)

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#Andy Mills #David C. Dawson #Evander Mills #Harlem Renaissance #Historical Mystery #Katharine Schellman #Lev A.C. Rosen #Nekesa Afia #Nightingale Mysteries #Pentecost and Parker #Stephen Spotswood

[marypsue]

Getting To Know You Better Game

I was tagged by @spookshowvixens! The rules: Answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better.

The last song I listened to: Kids Wanna Rock, by Bryan Adams (hello, classic rock station on the car radio)

Currently watching: I started Brainscan the other night but haven't even gotten into the meat of it yet.

Currently (re)reading: Harlem Sunset, by Nekesa Afia! (It's the second in the Harlem Renaissance mystery series, about grown-up girl detective Louise Lloyd spending her nights tearing up underground jazz clubs with her girlfriend and her days Fighting Crime! I keep seeing posts around here about wanting a Jazz Age mystery series with a queer Black protagonist and. It's Louise Lloyd. You guys it's Louise Lloyd.)

Currently obsessed with: 'Obsession' is a strong word, but I have had shitty vampire punks and colourful 80s fashion on the brain lately.

Favorite color: Green!

Currently craving: A really nice Caesar salad with a freshly made, particularly lemony dressing. Spring comes around and I turn into a rabbit.

Last thing I ate: Nacho chips.

Last Film: The last movie I finished was The Day of the Jackal, which - I'm gonna be going back to that the next time I need to construct a mystery or a mental-game-of-chess story, I think.

Something I’m looking forward to: Getting to bust all my shorts out of winter storage.

What time is it where you are: Far too early for how tired I am.

I am going to tag...@thelibrarybat, @maddie-grove, @enquiringangel, @aethersea, @amethystunarmed, @definitely-not-a-bug, @thestuffedalligator, @earnedmagic, annnnnd @officialqueer. Also if you want to do it and don't see your name here, go ahead and do it and say I tagged you.

#full disclosure nekesa is a friend of mine #hi nekesa! #you should all read her books #chatter

[tokenawkward]

#neema nekesa #new music #music #spotify #rnb

[zillyeh]

Zilly may have 1 (one) (☝) current fleet troll that doesn’t suck

This is Nekesa, or Nek/Ness/Nessie. If you call her by her title outside a professional setting she will show you exactly how she got it. <3

She is a weapons expert & repairer on most fleet ships she ends up on, and is currently on leave planetside in Delhon! She consults off and on when called on, but she’s hanging out for now until she gets called up again.

Nek has normal and positive feelings about the fleet. Btw. In case General Horjan asks. 🤞

#art tag or st #Nekesa tag #Nekesa Cekrit #fantroll #sighs. her face popped into my head driving to work yesterday nd i cant stop thinking about her

[canadachronicles]

"It had been ages since they had danced together, but they slipped back into their easy partnership. Every time she danced with Rosa Maria, Louise got the same little thrill of excitement in the pit of her stomach. They so perfectly knew how to move with each other, it was as if they were linked by one brain, one heart. Dancing was easier now than talking to each other. They glided across the floor, making difficult steps look simple. Louise realized she was grinning. It was different from dancing at the Zodiac. At the Zodiac, everyone danced. Here, there was a spotlight on them and everyone watched. As the song ended, Rosa Maria twirled her once, twice, three times, and she sank down in a curtsy. Louise looked around. People were watching them, unsure of what to make of two girls dancing with each other. It was bold. It was a statement."

At Christmas, I got Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia, a gift from my sister who knows I love murder mysteries set in the 1920s! In the novel, Louise a young Black woman finds herself investigating the murders of young Black girls in Harlem in the Summer of 1926.

I waited until now to read it, specifically because it is set in August --and you may know I’m quite peculiar about this!-- and I quite enjoyed it. Especially since Louise has a girlfriend, the beautiful Rosa Maria! But also because it reminded me of our family holiday in the late Summer of 2013, when we called Harlem home for a dozen days!

And as I finished it on Sunday, I realized that Nekesa Afia is Canadian! So I hope she might set her next novel in 1920s Toronto; for I still miss Frankie, Trudy, Mary and Flo every day (and I have not watched the last season yet!)

#Dead Dead Girls #Nekesa Afia #Novel #Detective Novel #Quote #Literary Quote #Canadian Author #Canadian Writer #Canadian Literature #Harlem #Harlem Renaissance #1920s #1920s Harlem #Vintage Sapphics #Vintage Lesbians #Lesbians #Queer Representation #Family #Jules #Sister #Memories #Summer Memories #Canada Chronicles

[lifeofafemalebibliophile]

Book Review: "Dead Dead Girls" (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

Book Review: “Dead Dead Girls” (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

“Dead Dead Girls” (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia (2021) Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction Page Length: 336 pages (paperback edition) Synopsis: Harlem, 1926. Young black girls like Louise Lloyd are ending up dead. Following a harrowing kidnapping ordeal when she was in her teens, Louise is doing everything she can to maintain a normal life. She’s succeeding, too. She spends…

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#book blog #book review #Dead Dead Girls #Fiction #Harlem Renaissance Mystery 1 #historical fiction #mystery #Nekesa Afia

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🖤 Black History Month ❤️

💛 Queer Books by Black Authors 💚

[ List Under the Cut ]

🖤 Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender ❤️ Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta 💛 Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa 💚 I'm a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee De La Cruz 🖤 Real Life by Brandon Taylor ❤️ Ruthless Pamela Jean by Carol Denise Mitchell 💛 The Unbroken by C.L. Clark 💚 Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova 🖤 Skin Deep Magic by Craig Laurance Gidney ❤️ The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi 💛 That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole 💚Work for It by Talia Hibbert

🖤 All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson ❤️ The Deep by Rivers Solomon 💛 How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters 💚 Running With Lions by Julian Winters 🖤 Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters ❤️ This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender 💛 The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum 💚 This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow 🖤 Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa ❤️ Black Boy Joy by Kwame Mbalia 💛 Legendborn by Tracy Deonn 💚 The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

🖤 Pet by Akwaeke Emezi ❤️ You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson 💛 Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole 💚 Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron 🖤 Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann ❤️ A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney 💛 Power & Magic by Joamette Gil 💚 The Black Veins by Ashia Monet 🖤 Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon ❤️ The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow 💛 Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James 💚 Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

🖤 The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta ❤️ Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee 💛 A Phoenix First Must Burn (edited) by Patrice Caldwell 💚 Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson 🖤 Things We Couldn't Say by Jay Coles ❤️ Black Boy Out of Time by Hari Ziyad 💛 Darling by K. Ancrum 💚 The Secrets of Eden by Brandon Goode 🖤 Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé ❤️ Off the Record by Camryn Garrett 💛 Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers 💚 Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

🖤 How to Dispatch a Human by Stephanie Andrea Allen ❤️ Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans 💛 The Essential June Jordan (edited) by Jan Heller Levi and Christoph Keller 💚 A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark 🖤 A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney ❤️ Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 💛 Dread Nation by Justina Ireland 💚 Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome 🖤 Masquerade by Anne Shade ❤️ One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite 💛 Soulstar by C.L. Polk 💚 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell

🖤 Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender ❤️ Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby 💛 Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair 💚 The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi 🖤 If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann ❤️ Sweethand by N.G. Peltier 💛 This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron 💚 Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon 🖤 Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett ❤️ Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez 💛 Memorial by Bryan Washington 💚 Patsy by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

🖤 Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon ❤️ How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole 💛 Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackosn 💚 Mouths of Rain (edited) by Briona Simone Jones 🖤 Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia ❤️ Love's Divine by Ava Freeman 💛 The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr 💚 Odd One Out by Nic Stone 🖤 Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden ❤️ Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas 💛 The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons 💚 Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

🖤 Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert ❤️ My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson 💛 Pleasure and Spice by Fiona Zedde 💚 No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull 🖤 The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus ❤️ Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor 💛 The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin 💚 Peaces by Helen Oyeyem 🖤 The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk ❤️ Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh 💛 Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge, Joy San 💚 The Heart Does Not Bend by Makeda Silvera

🖤 King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender ❤️ By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery 💛 Busy Ain't the Half of It by Frederick Smith & Chaz Lamar Cruz 💚 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 🖤 Sin Against the Race by Gar McVey-Russell ❤️ Trumpet by Jackie Kay 💛 Remembrance by Rita Woods 💚 Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo 🖤 You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour ❤️ The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters 💛 Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi 💚 Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyem

#black history month #queer romance #queer books #queer community #queer #book list #book blog #booklr #bookstagram #book lovers #book reader #book reading #books to read #reading #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

[fiction-bks]

WEEKEND; Ends 7 of 9 Book 7: The Pirate's Booty by Alex Westmore 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Now this one was stunning, all the action and pirates and queens and love and heartbreaks. A whole portion. Book 6: Goode Girls: Steal by J.J Aaris. 🌟🌟🌟 I think I only bought this because I read The Goode News and it was so good. This one was OK. Book 5: Contract Bound by Elle Mae 🌟🌟 Now, this is the book that I bought mainly because the cover was stunning. Book 4: A Game of Hearts and Heists by Ruby Roe 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Yeah, good stuff. I am mainly waiting for book 2. Promising stuff. Book 3: Cuffing Season by Monica McCallan 🌟🌟🌟 When I saw the tag "ice queen" well this was not what I expected, but it was OK. Book 2: Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia 🌟🌟🌟 Review already up. Book 1: Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice. 🌟🌟🌟 So much violence, the review is already up. 🤪 End of Valentine's week 😜 Next week is packed. Night shifts, traveling, interviews, family, birthday celebrations. I am also planning on reading books 8 and 9, The Awkward Truth and The Song of Achilles respectively. And then I am binge-reading that pirate series because I need to find out if there will be Grace/Quinn canon. That better happen because if not... argh. #wlw #wlwbooks #sapphic #lesbian #valentines #bookstagram #queer https://www.instagram.com/p/Co2870Ljnha/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#wlw #wlwbooks #sapphic #lesbian #valentines #bookstagram #queer

[stigmatamama]

9 People you want to get to know better!

Favorite color: Currently bouncing between dark olive green or orange! 

Currently reading: Have to be honest with grad school I haven’t had too much time to read, but I am making my way through Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia. Murder mystery taking place in the Harlem Renaissance. So far very good would recommend. Also reading Monuments in Plywood, a book by the band La Dispute about their making of their album Panorama, also very good and interesting. 

Last song: Slow Like Honey - Fiona Apple 

Last series: Television series? Funny enough the iCarly reboot. It is so corny but my roommate loves it and its grown on me. That and I have been rewatching Adventure Time! 

Last movie: Barbie! I saw it last night! Everyone should go see it, I think everyone can take something different away from it! 

Tagged by @goth-emo-mezzo-soprano Love your blog so thank you! I’ve been wanting to rewatch Gilmore Girls and you just gave me the push to do that! 

Tagging: @parametric-nuance @antivenom1997 @errrorcode @ifeltfree @l4tedawns @beetlejuicesgraveyardrevue @one-warm-line @franthonyofficial @theamulet

If you’ve been tagged before sorry but if not have fun! 

#ask me #tagged #personal

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: June 28, 2022

New Releases: June 28, 2022

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the…

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#Aliette de Bodard #Ann McMan #Bad Things Happen Here #Bi #Castleton Hearts #Chelsea M. Cameron #Davey Davis #Dead Letters from Paradise #Dr. Julia Shaw #Godslayers #Harlem Sunset #Just One Look #Nekesa Afia #Patricia Wants to Cuddle #Rebecca Barrow #Samantha Allen #X #Zoe Hana Mikuta

[aimlacely-sapphic]

The current bane of my existence is the absolute dearth of high quality BIPOC or queer cozy mysteries. I'm a cozy mystery lover through and through but I am begging for content not made by cis het white women 30 years older than me...

Shout out to Y. S. Lee's The Agency, Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mystery Series and Mia P. Manansala's Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries for being the notable exceptions (all of which are absolute favourite series of mine)!

Also very much not a cozy mystery but shout out to Nekesa Afia's Harlem Renaissance Mysteries for delivering with that high quality queer black protagonist and anti-police mystery! This is the content I'm looking for in my life

#cozy mystery #bipoc books #the agency #bookblr #mystery lover #books and reading

[nedlittle]

⭐i read a total of 16 books books in june (110% of my total goal) and 5694 pages (125% of my total) goal.

my favourite was the right thing to do at the time by dov zeller and my least favourite was harlem sunset (harlem renaissance mysteries #2). i did not finish two books: bad gays: a homosexual history by huw lemmey and ben miller [review here] and ha’penny (small change #2) [review here]

full list of books and ratings under the cut 🖊📚

juniper & thorn by ava reid 4.5⭐ [fantasy, horror] [review]

the impossible girl by lydia kang 3.75⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

mistress of the art of death (mistress of the art of death #1) by ariana franklin 4⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

the pendragon legend by antal szerb (tr. len rix) 3.5⭐ [classics, mystery] [review]

harlem sunset (harlem renaissance mysteries #2) by nekesa afia 3⭐ [historical, mystery, queer] [review]

horrid by katrina leno 3.5⭐ [horror, ya] [review]

when women ruled the world: six queens of egypt by kara cooney 3.25⭐ [history, biography] [review]

the liars’ club: a memoir by mary karr 3.5⭐ [memoir] [review]

miss aldridge regrets by louise hare 3⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

farthing (small change #1) by jo walton 4.5⭐ [historical, mystery] [review]

tokyo ever after (tokyo ever after #1) by emiko jean 3.25⭐ [ya, contemporary, romance] [review]

the masqueraders by georgette heyer 3.5⭐ [historical, romance] [review]

the right thing to do at the time by dov zeller 5⭐ [queer, romance] [review]

rebecca by daphne du maurier 5⭐ [classics, gothic, romance] [review]

the winter guest by w.c. ryan 3.75⭐ [historical, mystery] [romance]

the whole picture: the colonial story of art in our museums & why we need to talk about it by alice procter 4.25⭐ [art, history] [review]

#reading #reading wrap up #bookblr #sometimes i make stuff #a few of these reviews TRULY go fully off the rails into the ocean. my review for tokyo ever after devolves into a tirade against capitalism #my review for miss aldridge's regrets features the line 'dear god did those rich white people blend together like the world's most expensive #my dnf reviews are normally meh but this month i had THINGS TO SAY

[july-19th-club]

Read in 2022:

My Heart is a Chainsaw; Jade Daniels #1 – Stephen Graham Jones (Dec. 21-Jan 22) 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson (Jan)  

All Systems Red; Murderbot Diaries #1 – Martha Wells (Jan) 

The Wind’s Twelve Quarters short story collection – Ursula K. Le Guin (Jan) 

Always Coming Home – Ursula K. Le Guin (UNFINISHED; SKIMMED – Jan)  

A Desolation Called Peace; Teixcalaan #2 – Arkady Martine (Jan – May) 

Death’s End; Three Body #3 – Liu Cixin (UNFINISHED – Jan – May – ?)  

Artificial Condition; Murderbot Diaries #2 – Martha Wells (Feb – March)  

Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People will Believe Anything – Kelly Weill (Feb – March) 

The Appeal – Janice Hallett (Feb) 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf; Dark Star #1 – Marlon James (Feb – March DNF AGAIN :( ) 

In Love – Amy Bloom (March) 

Woman Eating – Claire Kohda (April) 

Help/Thanks/Wow: The Three Essential Prayers – Anne Lamott (April)  

We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans in Comedy – Kliph Nesteroff (Apr – May) 

The Raven Tower – Ann Leckie (May – June) 

Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library – Amanda Oliver (May) 

The Sign for Home – Blair Fell (May) 

The Name of the Wind; Kingkiller Chronicle #1 – Patrick Rothfuss (May – still not finished) 

The Fifth Season; Broken Earth #1 – N. K. Jemison (May – July) 

Dracula; via the Dracula Daily read-along email club – Bram Stoker (May – Nov)  

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing – K.C. Davis 

Rogue Protocol; Murderbot Diaries #3 – Martha Wells (June) 

Sonnetts from the Portuguese – Elizabeth Barrett Browning (June)  

The Cyrano Factor – Medievalchic on AO3 (June) (I read so little fanfiction and it was novella-length so I felt compelled to count it) 

Harlem Sunset: Louise Lloyd #2– Nekesa Afia <3 (June – July) 

“Drive” from Nobody’s Magic short story collection – Destiny O. Birdsong (June – July) 

Something that May Shock and Discredit You – Daniel Lavery (June) 

One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez (June – Aug) 

Get In Trouble short story collection – Kelly Link (July) 

Devil House – John Darnielle (July) 

The Swimmers – Julie Otsuka (July) 

The Tale of Beren & Luthien – J.R.R. Tolkien (July) 

The Goblin Emperor – Katherine Addison (July – Aug) 

The Thief – Megan Whalen Turner (REREAD – DNF – Aug) 

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (zine) #45 – (Aug) 

Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America’s Misguided Wars – ed. Andrew Bacevich & Daniel A. Sjursen (Aug) 

Cyrano de Bergerac – Edmond Rostand (REREAD - first time since high school! - Aug – Sept) 

Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman (REREAD – DNF – Sept) 

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant – Roz Chast (Sept)  

Rosemary & Rue; October Daye #1 – Seanan McGuire (Sept) 

Nona the Ninth; Locked Tomb #3 – Tamsyn Muir (Sept) 

A Local Habitation; October Daye #2 – Seanan McGuire (Sept – Oct) 

I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy (Oct) 

A Choir of Lies – Alexandra Rowland (Oct-Nov) 

An Artificial Night; October Daye #3 – Seanan McGuire (Oct – Dec) 

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity – David Graeber & David Wengrow (Nov 22 – ? still reading) 

Leech – Hiron Ennes (Dec) 

all told i've read a total of 48 books this year, which is way more than i thought i'd read when i was going through my list. technically it's probably closer to 40 because some of the books are DNFs or books i'm still trying to finish - but nonetheless i think i had a pretty varied and rewarding reading experience this year! the list for next year is everything i didn't read on this year's list, plus like two small steno pages of books i've written down since then - about 220 books. i'll probably add even more as the year goes on.

#i should post pics of what my lists look like they're crazy long #but i love keeping them in a physical little notepad #i should honestly make one for stuff i watch or sewing projects too but thats like ridiculous for shows #because i always get halfway through and then take a break and come back months later #which doesnt fit with my checking-off-a-finished-thing system #i COULD do it with the projects though and i think i will

[rockislandadultreads]

Women’s History Month: Fiction Recommendations

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

Harlem, 1926. Young Black women like Louise Lloyd are ending up dead.

Following a harrowing kidnapping ordeal when she was in her teens, Louise is doing everything she can to maintain a normal life. She’s succeeding, too. She spends her days working at Maggie’s Café and her nights at the Zodiac, Harlem’s hottest speakeasy. Louise’s friends, especially her girlfriend, Rosa Maria Moreno, might say she’s running from her past and the notoriety that still stalks her, but don’t tell her that.

When a girl turns up dead in front of the café, Louise is forced to confront something she’s been trying to ignore - two other local Black girls have been murdered in the past few weeks. After an altercation with a police officer gets her arrested, Louise is given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or wind up in a jail cell. Louise has no choice but to investigate and soon finds herself toe-to-toe with a murderous mastermind hell-bent on taking more lives, maybe even her own...

This is the first volume of the “Harlem Renaissance Mystery” series.

Circe by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child - neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.

Until Frida has a very bad day.

The state has its eye on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgement, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.

Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet seems to have the perfect life with her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into the city, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.

Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.

#women's history month #fiction #female authors #strong female protagonist #strong female characters #Book Recommendations #book recs #Reading Recs #reading recommendations #Library Books #TBR pile #tbrpile #to read #Want To Read #Booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

September Monthly Recap:

September was busy as all get out, and October’s shaping up to be worse, and yet I still managed to read 18 books in September. My favorites this month were A Taste of Gold and Iron, Last Exit, and A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, all recent releases! I read 6 new releases this month in total, and really enjoyed most of them - but also now I have so many books out from the library the stack threatens to crush me. Wish me luck dealing with it during my busy October!

The Hate U Give by Angie Carter: 4.75/5

Prince’s Gambit by C.S. Pacat: 4/5

Kings’ Rising by C. S. Pacat: 4/5

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery: 5/5, re-read

You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria: 4.25/5

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham: 4.75/5

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows: 5/5

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia: 1.5/5, dnf

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid by Thor Hanson: 4/5

Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep: 4.5/5

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian: 4.5/5

Protect the Prince by Jennifer Estep: 4.25/5

Crush the King by Jennifer Estep: 4.5/5

Last Exit by Max Gladstone: 5/5

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring-Blake: 4.75/5

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen: 3.5/5

Invisible Things by Mat Johnson: 2/5

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland: 5/5

And again, progress on goals under the cut:

22 in 2022: 11

Read 100 books: 140

Read 40% AOC: 33.8%

Completing Series: 24 caught up/completed vs. 20 started

Translated Works: 5

Books in Spanish: 0

Numbered TBR: 11

Discworld: 2

Books by an Indigenous Author: 2

Physical TBR: 13

Storygraph Recs: 3

#september 2022 #monthly recap #book review