Can't Wait to Read!
Many thanks to writer Stephanie Thornton for curating this week’s Can’t Wait To Read. Thornton’s next work of historical fiction, And They Called It Camelot, which tells the story of Jacqueline Kennedy, comes out next March. If you’re a writer interested in curating an upcoming list, email Spine Authors Editor Susanna Baird, susanna@spinemagazine.co
I write about tougher-than-nails women from history so it should come as no surprise that I’m looking forward to a whole slew of books focusing on strong women. Here they are, in no particular order:
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
St. Martin’s Press, August 2019. I’ve been waiting for this one for months. A female firefighter from Texas in a story about courage and survival, forgiveness and love? Sign me up.
The Girl in White Gloves: A Novel of Grace Kelly by Kerri Maher
Berkley, February 25, 2020. I’ve thought to myself several times that someone needed to write a novel about Grace Kelly and I pretty much squealed out loud to discover that Kerri Maher had taken on the story of the famous actress-turned-princess. And have you seen the cover? It’s stunning.
(Cover not available)
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal by Bryn Turnbull
MIRA, July 7, 2020. Wallis Simpson is the woman who led King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne, but before Wallis it was Thelma Morgan Furness who captivated the would-be king. I’m actually cheating a little on the list here because I’m in the middle of an advance reader copy of this one and it’s absolutely fantastic.
Bringing Down the Duke (League of Extraordinary Women Book 1) by Evie Dunmore
Berkley, September 2019. I have a soft spot for stories about suffragettes and this romance between a British suffragette and a powerful duke looks like it’s going to be a fun one. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the League of Extraordinary Women has in store for readers.
Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women by Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, E. Knight, Sophie Perinot and Heather Webb
William Morrow, October 1, 2019. This is the latest collaborative novel from the History 360 team and this time they’ve taken on the women of the French Revolution. Six different women—princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—weave their tales together in what promises to be a bloody and unforgettable read as these women topple a monarchy and try to change the world.
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City Book 1) by Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury Publishing, March 3, 2020. When I want a read that is a pure, unadulterated pleasure read that keeps me up late at night, Sarah Maas is one of my go-to authors. This upcoming contemporary fantasy is the story of half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan, who gets dragged into a murder investigation … with an infamous assassin. I’m going to have to clear my schedule for this one.
Stephanie Thornton has been obsessed with the stories of history’s women since she was twelve. Her latest novel, American Princess, reimagines the life of Theodore Roosevelt’s wild child daughter Alice, and her next novel, And They Called It Camelot (March 2020), will tell the story of iconic First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Thornton is also the critically acclaimed author of four novels set in the ancient world: The Secret History, Daughter of the Gods, The Tiger Queens, and The Conqueror’s Wife. She is a high school history teacher by day and lives in Alaska with her husband and daughter where she spends her free time running, traveling, and baking.