The Freedom to Read: Zara’s August Book Reviews
I am a romance writer so, of course, I love reading romance. But that is not all that I read. This summer I have read my usual number of romances, but I have also read several novels that I found exceptional. I thought I would share these with you. Maybe you will discover a new genre or author to love as I have done.
Bent Road by Lori Roy
In this women’s fiction historical novel, a Great Depression era family must uproot from the city and move back to the Kansas farm the father grew up on. But their return is accompanied by the reigniting of secrets long kept hidden– secrets the father had run away from many years before. Now his wife and children will come to suffer for his failure to be honest with himself and do what was right.
Beautifully written and told from multiple viewpoints, Bent Road builds in tension, power, and horror as the layers are peeled back on the tattered personal and abusive relationships in this small farming community.
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Daughter of a governor for the all-conquering Empire, Mehr lives a constrained life in a culture where women are kept closeted and controlled. But she is different. Her mother was not of this culture, but from the desert people who have been driven to near extinction by the Empire. From her mother, Mehr has inherited power and magic that she will only learn about when she is forced to serve the Emperor’s religious leader, and which she will only take control of when she discovers true, true love.
Building on non-Western traditions, this fantasy is rich in imagery and powerful emotions.
The Lady Brewer of London by Karen Brooks
Life was extraordinarily hard for women in the 1400s. But when Anneke Sheldrek’s ship merchant father drowns at sea, she faces untold debts, troubles, and tragedies. Time after time, she makes knife-edge decisions, all with the goal of keeping her family together. Not all of them work out to her benefit.
This book is not for the faint-hearted. Every time you think nothing worse could happen, something does. There is violence, rape, and abuse. Several times, I was tempted to put the book down and read something lighter. But reading to the end of this historical novel with romantic elements was well worth it.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This fantasy is set in a gray, overly rigid world where those with magical powers are discriminated against. Told from the point of view of a meek, quite unmagical inspector of orphanages, the story unfolds like a blossoming flower as he inspects an orphanage on an island in the sea.
Through the magical children he meets there and the man he comes to cherish, we are treated to a beautifully constructed story about the rewards of accepting and loving others no matter how different. A book that teaches without being didactic.
Salt the Snow by Carrie Callaghan
Writing a novel about an unlikeable person is a true challenge. Carrie Callaghan has taken up this challenge in recreating the struggles of real-life reporter Milly Bennet, a woman resisting the conventions of her time. Callaghan effectively captures the confusion and struggle of being a woman alone in a culture she barely understands, living in harsh physical circumstances, facing untold gender discrimination, and working in a language in which she is less than fluent.
Drawn to Russia by the communist revolution, Milly becomes disillusioned by her career, by the politics, and by love. But these are not Milly’s biggest issues. Her very boldness and outspokenness risks herself and her friends and her very life. She is hard to like and hard for the reader to sympathize with, but she is also very real. Bravo, Carrie Callaghan.
Read to be Free. Read What You Choose.
As you can tell, there was some romance in these books., but there was also plenty of tragedy, gut-wrenching secrets, and horror. Yet, I found each one worthy of the time I spent reading each. Every one was memorable. Every one was a new take on the world. Reminding me that there is no one right way to write a book or tell a story.
I have a number of romances to read next. I am looking forward to those guaranteed happy endings. But I encourage you, my readers, to explore books outside the genre too. Read for fun. Read for tragedy. Read to explore. Read to learn. Read to experience the highs and lows of life.
Wow that does sound like some heavy reading! I admire your ability to stick with the task. I enjoyed reading the reviews of each one, and the passion and experiences each author brought to the task! Sounds like an interesting tour through our culture.