Others: Mostly positive "Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage -- and lost his mother and all memory of her when he was a child -- but he is also gifted with a mysterious power. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand, a blue light that lifts him up and lands him a mile away. This strange brush with death forces a new urgency on Hiram's private rebellion. Spurred on by his improvised plantation family, Thena, his chosen mother, a woman of few words and many secrets, and Sophia, a young woman fighting her own war even as she and Hiram fall in love, he becomes determined to escape the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey into the covert war on slavery that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia's proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the deep South to dangerously utopic movements in the North. Even as he's enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, all Hiram wants is to return to the Walker Plantation to free the family he left behind -- but to do so, he must first master his magical gift and reconstruct the story of his greatest loss."--
Genres: fantasy, historical fiction
Lists: …
Anya Bergman
2023 · 1 review
Others: MixedNorway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. When Zigri, desperate and grieving after the loss of her husband and son, embarks on an affair with the local merchant, it's not long before she is sent to the fortress at Vardø, to be tried and condemned as a witch. Zigri's daughter Ingeborg sets off into the wilderness to try to bring her mother back home. Accompanying her on this quest is Maren - herself the daughter of a witch - whose wild nature and unconquerable spirit gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown, and to risk all she has to save her family. Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent to Vardø in disgrace. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court? These Witches of Vardø are stronger than even the King of Denmark. In an age weighted against them they refuse to be victims. They will have their justice. All they need do is show their power.
What made the match, strongest first
Bernard Cornwell
1997 · 458 pages · 4 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveA story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal, EXCALIBUR begins with the failure of Lancelot's rebellion and the ruin of Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. The Saxons, sensing the disunity of the Britons, seize the chance to destroy Arthur. The climax of the war comes with the legendary triumph at Mount Badon, and Arthur's great victory. But the promises he made then come back to haunt him after the years of peace and glory.
What made the match, strongest first
Vaishnavi Patel
2024 · 1 review
Others: PositiveA powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi . A mother and a son. A goddess and a prince. A curse and an oath. A river whose course will change the fate of the world. Ganga, joyful goddess of the river, serves as caretaker to the mischievous godlings who roam her banks. But when their antics incur the wrath of a powerful sage, Ganga is cursed to become mortal, bound to her human form until she fulfills the obligations of the curse. Though she knows nothing of mortal life, Ganga weds King Shantanu and becomes a queen, determined to regain her freedom no matter the cost. But in a cruel turn of fate, just as she is freed of her binding, she is forced to leave her infant son behind. Her son, prince Devavrata, unwittingly carries the legacy of Ganga’s curse. And when he makes an oath that he will never claim his father’s throne, he sets in motion a chain of events that will end in a terrible and tragic war. As the years unfold, Ganga and Devavrata are drawn together again and again, each confluence another step on a path that has been written in the stars, in this deeply moving and masterful tale of duty, destiny, and the unwavering bond between mother and son.
What made the match, strongest first
Kelly Regan Barnhill
2022 · 424 pages · 7 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveA rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are. The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of. Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden. In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve.
What made the match, strongest first
Elodie Harper
2025 · 480 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveDeploying the same gripping plot dynamics and unforgettable sense of time and place that she used in the bestselling Wolf Den trilogy, Harper tells the thrilling story of the child of one of Ancient Rome's most implacable foes, Boudicca. There is more than one way for a woman to fight. From the author of the bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy. A dazzling new standalone novel set in the Roman world about the daughter of one of Britain’s most powerful heroines… Meet Boudicca's Daughter. Boudicca. Infamous warrior, queen of the British Iceni tribe and mastermind of one of history's greatest revolts. Her defeat spelled ruin for her people, yet still her name is enough to strike fear into Roman hearts. But what of the woman who grew up in her shadow? The woman who has her mother's looks and cunning but a spirit all of her own? The woman whose desperate bid for survival will take her from Britain's sacred marshlands to the glittering façades of Nero's Roman Empire… Born to a legend. Forced to fight. Determined to succeed. Meet Solina. Boudicca's Daughter.
What made the match, strongest first
Lucy Holland
2021 · 419 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveMy sister’s heart broke on the river—and the river took it and bore it away. In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, there is old magic to be found in the whisper of the wind, the roots of the trees, and the curl of the grass. King Cador knew this once, but now the land has turned from him, calling instead to his three children. Riva can cure others, but can’t seem to heal her own deep scars. Keyne battles to be accepted for who he truly is—the king’s son. And Sinne dreams of seeing the world, of finding adventure. All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky. It brings with it Myrdhin, meddler and magician. And Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne—three siblings entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, who must fight to forge their own paths. Their story will shape the destiny of Britain.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itthe top narrator of the year for me was joe morton and he was the one who narrated the water dancer and i have to give him credit because i know that people talked about the plot like the water dancer having a very slow plot like plotting plot but when you listen when you have a really good narrator that just goes out the window and doesn't really doesn't really matter so that was like really wonderful
Neutralthe water tends to buy I see codes we won't keep that one in
