Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For November, we’re looking at rich people behaving badly, a heated tribal election on a Anishinaabe reservation, the humorous tale of an obituary writer falsely declared deceased, new science fiction and fantasy releases, a novel on audiobook about the infamous Virginia Hill, a history of the Cherokee Nation, and nonfiction about Rogers, Arkansas, just the next county over.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Contentious Divorces, Tribal Elections, Obituary Writers, Science Fiction Espionage Thrillers, Tiger Castles, Gangsters, the Cherokee, and Rogers”Category: historical fiction (books)
Jo Harkin’s The Pretender
Thanks so much to Julie for kindly adding this book to the collection at my request! It is an unusual and compelling novel that I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction, particularly the early Tudor period! If you know your history, you probably see the word Tudor and think of Queen Elizabeth I or her father Henry VIII and his six wives. And you’d be right, but if you really know your history, you may also think of Henry’s father, Henry VII. This novel is set during Henry VII’s reign and the late War of the Roses and focuses on Lambeth Simnel, a little-known claimant to the throne.
Continue reading “Jo Harkin’s The Pretender”Book Buzz: Horror, Historical Fiction, Eleanor Roosevelt, Picasso, Montana, An Experimental Thriller, The Prairie, Hawaii, Spinach, and a Safari Gone Wrong
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For October, we’re looking at vampire horror, historical fiction spanning the 1800s and 1900s, literary fiction, a twisty new thriller with an unusual premise, ecologically themed nonfiction, a story of a spinach empire, and an audiobook about a safari that takes a murderous turn.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Horror, Historical Fiction, Eleanor Roosevelt, Picasso, Montana, An Experimental Thriller, The Prairie, Hawaii, Spinach, and a Safari Gone Wrong”Book Buzz: Espionage, Curses, Romance, Surreal Historical Mystery Sequels, Contemporary Mystery Debuts, Audiobooks, and Healthy Nonfiction Reads
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at a new-ish contemporary espionage thriller series, this year’s If All Arkansas Read the Same Book pick, romances and mysteries–both historical and contemporary, audiobooks in a range of genres, and nonfiction on healthy living.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Espionage, Curses, Romance, Surreal Historical Mystery Sequels, Contemporary Mystery Debuts, Audiobooks, and Healthy Nonfiction Reads”Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime
In the early 1930s, Dorothy Sayers is a well-known mystery novelist, but she has deep secrets of her own. She is also a leader in the newly formed Detection Club, which wants to make mystery writing more prestigious. However, even within the ranks of the Detection Club, where everyone is ruffled by the press’s tendency to dismiss their work as genre fiction, there is dissension and tension over who to admit. Some of the more traditional members believe Dorothy and Agatha Christie are the only women authors worthy of admission. Dorothy and Agatha then team up with three other talented women mystery writers–Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham–to solve a real-life mystery to prove their credibility.
Continue reading “Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime”Book Buzz: Summer 2025 Book Tasting Edition
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For July, we’re looking at the book menus used for yesterday’s book tasting, and filling in the gaps of what hasn’t already been covered on the blog.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Summer 2025 Book Tasting Edition”Book Buzz: Beach and Summer Reads
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at the perfect read for summer, whether you’ll be at the beach or on a staycation.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Beach and Summer Reads”Book Buzz: Familiar Stories in New Settings, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Dark Academia Fantasy, Family Sagas, DIY Podcasts and Sourdough, and Fishing
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at new twists on classic literature, a novel about the realities of living with bipolar disorder, a standalone fantasy book, a plethora of family sagas, how-to books on starting your own podcast and baking sourdough, and a meditation on the joys of fishing.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Familiar Stories in New Settings, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Dark Academia Fantasy, Family Sagas, DIY Podcasts and Sourdough, and Fishing”Book Buzz: Tennis Spies, Dracula Retellings, Flowers, Ninevah Tales, Wind Farms, and New England True Crime
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at historical fiction that depicts a fascinating little known WWII story, horror that sets Dracula in the present from Mina’s point of view, a heartwarming tale of grief and flowers and Titanic on audiobook, as well as historical fiction that weaves an epic tale of the city of Ninevah on audio, and nonfiction about environmental battles in Montana and true crime in 19th century New England.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Tennis Spies, Dracula Retellings, Flowers, Ninevah Tales, Wind Farms, and New England True Crime”Book Buzz: Reissued Classics, Roman Mythological Fiction, Island Fiction, Science Fiction Metafiction, Vermont Mysteries, Historic Flights, The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and Monarch Butterfly Migrations
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For March, we’re looking at a re-release of Shogun, a retelling of the founding of Rome, two different novels set on remote islands, a unique science fiction novel about a science fiction novel, a new historical mystery series set in 1960s Vermont, an audiobook about a race to fly across the Pacific in the 1920s, Western true crime about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a chronicle of following the over 10,000-mile annual monarch butterfly migration on a bicycle.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Reissued Classics, Roman Mythological Fiction, Island Fiction, Science Fiction Metafiction, Vermont Mysteries, Historic Flights, The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and Monarch Butterfly Migrations”
Berryville Book Buzz 