Hello and welcome back to Get Rec’d! This is where I impart some book recs, usually pulling from recommendations I’ve given or received.
We have a community recommendation this time, and if there are ever books you want to shout about or think would be of interest to the site, feel free to send an email. I also have some upcoming nonfiction, a horror anthology, and a sci-fi novella.
Have you received any great recommendations lately? Tell me about them in the comments!
The Black Girl Survives in This One
Horror-writing great Tananarive Due writes the introduction, which automatically put this one on my radar. I also love anthologies for tired brain reading. This one has a wonderful list of writers, many of whom I’ve enjoyed previously.
A YA anthology of horror stories centering Black girls who battle monsters, both human and supernatural, and who survive to the end
Be warned, dear reader: The Black girls survive in this one.
Celebrating a new generation of bestselling and acclaimed Black writers, The Black Girl Survives in This One makes space for Black girls in horror. Fifteen chilling and thought-provoking stories place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors who slay monsters, battle spirits, and face down death. Prepare to be terrified and left breathless by the pieces in this anthology.
The bestselling and acclaimed authors include Erin E. Adams, Monica Brashears, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Desiree S. Evans, Saraciea J. Fennell, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Daka Hermon, Justina Ireland, L.L. McKinney, Brittney Morris, Maika & Maritza Moulite, Eden Royce, and Vincent Tirado. The foreword is by Tananarive Due.
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In Memoriam
This recommendation was sent in by Arielle, who says:
I’m here to return the favor of this blog recommending me books that scrambled my brain. This book will make you hurt so much, but you’ll be happy about it. It’s simply one of the best romances I’ve read in ages, which is odd because it’s not being marketed as a romance novel. And it should be.
In Memoriam by Alice Winn is one of the best written and researched historical romances I’ve had the pleasure of reading. This is a book for fans of Atonement, Brideshead Revisited, Downton Abbey, KJ Charles, and generally queer historical romances that come for your sanity and well being. It’s set in WWI between two privileged teenagers, both in love (much catnip for those who love angst and mutual pining) before facing the horrors of WWI, together and apart. The world is beautifully, sometimes achingly researched, and the romantic scenes help the reader understand the miscommunications between these two as they grow up, try to survive in the horrors of war, and fight for their love amid shellshock. Trigger warnings for era-accurate homophobia, references to sexual assault in the public school system, anti semitism, and depictions of ptsd and war.
Admittedly, I’m wary of anything that combines the words romance and Atonement as that is not a romance novel. I tried looking at Goodreads reviews at whether there’s any sort of HEA, but couldn’t find anything. If you’ve read this, please comment below as historical fiction with romantic elements and a historical romance are two very different things when it comes to reader expectations.
GMA BUZZ PICK • INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER AND AWARD WINNER • A haunting, virtuosic debut novel about two young men who fall in love during World War I • “Will live in your mind long after you’ve closed the final pages.” —Maggie O’Farrell, best-selling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait
A Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR
“In Memoriam is the story of a great tragedy, but it is also a moving portrait of young love, and there is often a lightness to the book.”—The New York Times
It’s 1914, and World War I is ceaselessly churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. The violence of the front feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. News of the heroic deaths of their friends only makes the war more exciting.
Gaunt, half German, is busy fighting his own private battle–an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the glamorous, charming Ellwood–without a clue that Ellwood is pining for him in return. When Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist to forestall the anti-German sentiment they face, Gaunt does so immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. To Gaunt’s horror, Ellwood rushes to join him at the front, and the rest of their classmates soon follow. Now death surrounds them in all its grim reality, often inches away, and no one knows who will be next.
An epic tale of both the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut.
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In the Watchful City
Tor is great at releasing some topnotch novellas. This one reminded me of a mix of Neon Yang’s Tensorate series and Janelle Monáe’s The Memory Librarian anthology.
In the Watchful City explores borders, power, diaspora, and transformation in an Asian-inspired mosaic novella that melds the futurism of Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station with the magical wonder of Catherynne M. Valente’s Palimpsest.
The city of Ora uses a complex living network called the Gleaming to surveil its inhabitants and maintain harmony. Anima is one of the cloistered extrasensory humans tasked with watching over Ora’s citizens. Although ær world is restricted to what æ can see and experience through the Gleaming, Anima takes pride and comfort in keeping Ora safe from all harm.
All that changes when a mysterious visitor enters the city carrying a cabinet of curiosities from around the world, with a story attached to each item. As Anima’s world expands beyond the borders of Ora to places—and possibilities—æ never before imagined to exist, æ finds ærself asking a question that throws into doubt ær entire purpose: What good is a city if it can’t protect its people?
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It’s Not Hysteria
This one is out soon! This one takes into account more intersectionality in receiving healthcare, especially when it comes to reproductive health.
An inclusive and essential new resource for reproductive health—including period problems, pelvic pain, menopause, fertility, sexual health, vaginal and urinary conditions, and overall wellbeing—from leading expert and fierce advocate Dr. Karen Tang
Did you know that up to 90% of women experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues in their lifetime? Yet these conditions are overwhelmingly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or dismissed. The root causes for these issues, such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMDD, or pelvic floor dysfunction, don’t receive the stream of funding for research and new treatments that other conditions do, despite affecting up to half the population.
Dr. Karen Tang is on a mission to transform how we engage with our bodies and our healthcare. It’s Not Hysteria is a comprehensive guide to common conditions and potential treatment options, with practical tools such as symptom prompts and sample questions for your provider, to equip readers to take control of their gynecologic health.
Reproductive healthcare, from abortion to gender-affirming care, is under siege. The onus continues to fall on patients to find and advocate for the care they need. In the face of uncertainty and misinformation, It’s Not Hysteria is destined to become a new classic that educates and empowers women and those assigned female at birth.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
This book is available from:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in
our posts, as well. Thanks!
