Penelope's Bones

Penelope's Bones: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It- Emily Hauser

University of Chicago Press

Release Date: June 13, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚

Synopsis: In Mythica Emily Hauser tells, for the first time, the extraordinary stories of the real women behind some of the western world’s greatest legends. Following in their footsteps, digging into the history behind Homer’s epic poems, piecing together evidence from the original texts, recent astonishing archaeological finds and the latest DNA studies, she reveals who these women – queens, mothers, warriors, slaves – were, how they lived, and how history has (or has not – until now) remembered them.

A riveting new history of the Bronze Age Aegean and a journey through Homer’s epics charted entirely by women – from Helen of Troy, Briseis, Cassandra and Aphrodite to Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso and Penelope – Mythica is a ground-breaking reassessment of the reality behind the often-mythologized women of Greece’s greatest epics, and of the ancient world itself as we learn ever more about it.

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I had very mixed feelings with this book. On the one hand, there was some very cool information on the latest archaeaolgical research and discoveries. New technology means DNA can tell us about travel in the Late Bronze Age, if families are buried together, or prove that more warrior gravesites are women warriors than were earlier believed. Texts unearthed through the Hittite Empire introduce powerful queens helping to rule the Hittite world next to Troy, and letters and tablets have been unearthed that suggest enough similarities between pieces of Homer's poems and real life to make Hauser's arguments plausible that the epics contain fragments of memories for ways of life that would have probably been old when the Iliad and the Odyssey were written down. I enjoyed most of the archaeological information, because I like reading about that kind of thing. 

Other parts of the book were, to me, more of a stretch. There was a lot of repetition. Hauser clearly didn't trust her audience to remember who any of the characters were, so would remind you every single time- especially the women already less well known like Briseis. Once or twice I can understand, but it was really annoying having her do it all the time. Each chapter would start with a short fictional story, which I know is the current fad, but personally I find throws me out of the nonfiction narrative and I always find off-putting. Some chapters were a stretch in terms of subject matter. In Circe's chapter, for example, I expected to learn about the ancient world's views on magic, or women living alone, or something else that might focus on women. Instead it is mostly about pigs. Yes, Circe and pigs go together and Hauser manages to connect them to religion and briefly to the mystery cults, but I was hoping for more. 

Frequently in the chapters Hauser brings up the modern retellings we see that are so popular today. Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes, and some of her own books as well. These additions missed the mark for me. The readers of those books may be part of the audience she's trying to reach with this book, but adding the retellings here in the chapters themselves isn't part of the story of Homer's world. It would have worked better in the introduction or conclusion as part of the conversation on why women are now retelling the stories and focusing on reclaiming the lives and voices of the women in Homer's world.

I had high hopes going into Penelope's Bones, and while I would overall recommend reading it, I can't say I was as impressed with the book as I had hoped to be. Maybe I was expecting too much out if it. After all, Trying to uncover what has been pushed to the margins for thousands of years, both by the erosion of time, the men of the time period and by male archeologists until fairly recently, doesn't give you a lot to work with.

I received an ARC of this boon from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

It Takes a Psychic

 

It Takes a Psychic (Ghost Hunters #17)- Jayne Castle

Berkley 

Release Date: June 3, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Leona Griffin is at the height of her career as a para-archeologist thanks to a recent Underworld discovery. Her high profile attracts the attention of an organization of elite, secretive collectors. They want her to authenticate the artifacts that aspiring members submit as evidence to join their group. The ceremony takes place at a glittering reception where Leona is shocked to discover that one of the relics is a powerful Old-World object known as Pandora’s Box. But she’s not the only one interested in that artifact.

Oliver Rancourt, a man with a unique talent—they say you never see him coming—is also there. Leona knows she must not underestimate him. Attempting to make a discreet exit, she stumbles over the body of a waiter wearing the emblem of a dangerous cult. Before she can alert authorities, a police raid sends the reception into chaos. To avoid being arrested, Leona slips away with Oliver—a risky decision that gets her fired.

Now forced to work together, Leona and Oliver pursue an investigation that leads them to the town of Lost Creek where the locals are obsessed with a chilling legend involving a long-dead cult leader and illicit paranormal experiments. But Leona knows the real danger may be the irresistible attraction between herself and Oliver.

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After being kidnapped by artifact pirates and saved by her sister (People in Glass Houses) para-archeologist Leona Griffin is ready to give a few lectures and work her way up the tenure ladder at her university. Finding a dead body at a collector's meeting ends that plan rather spectacularly. Excaping the police raid that follows with the mysterious Oliver Rancourt makes things even more complicated. But also a great deal more interesting. When Leona and Oliver (and dust bunny Roxy) decide to work together to uncover the truth behind leads too strange to be coincides, things start moving fast- and getting dangerous. Good thing all three of them have some tricks to pull along the way!

Leona is Molly's sister from People in Glass Houses, so it helps if you've read that book first, but I think you could also read this one as a stand-alone. Glass Houses would just give you a little character background for Leona's story, as well as already knowing Molly and their moms heading into this book. Like Molly, Leona has been raised to take care of herself. She has no problem relying on her own instincts and training but is also caring and compassionate. The first night Oliver (and the reader) meet her she frees dust bunnies and follows him into the Underworld where she sets her dress on fire to help them escape some bad guys. If that doesn't make you like her (or Oliver fall for her) what will?! Oliver is more subtle than some of Castle's men. A Museum Guy, as Leona thinks of him, and not a Guild man as many of Castle's previous heroes, Oliver has no trouble with the idea of calling in the Guild and the cops when he thinks there might be more trouble than he, Leona, and Roxy can handle on their own. But underestimate him at your own risk, because he's not above taking care of business when he needs to protect his people. Although Leona got to protect him in this one pretty nicely too.

On a completely random note, I've always been slightly disappointed that Castle describes characters (usually the men) as having specter-cat eyes but we never get to find out more about wild specter-cats or see one. So the sculpture of the specter-cat in this book for some reason made me extremely happy.

Cut-throat collectors and academics, ruthless cults, a fashionista dust bunny, and Castle's trademark banter between her main characters: It Takes a Psychic was just what I needed to read when it came out and I needed something to take me away from a particularly difficult life situation for a few hours. 

A fun addition to the delightful dust bunny world of Harmony

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review

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Sisterhood of Ravensbruck

 

The Sisterhood of Ravensbruck: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler's All-Femal Concentration Camp- Lynne Olson

Random House

Release Date: June 3, 2025

Rating:📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: For decades after World War II, histories of the French Resistance were written almost exclusively by men and largely ignored the contributions of women. Many current overviews of the subject continue to underplay the extent and importance of women’s participation in the Resistance, treating the subject, in the words of one historian, as ‘an anonymous background element in an essentially male story’.

The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück corrects that omission, surveying the bond between four women — Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Genevieve de Gaulle, and Jacqueline d’Alincourt — who fought valiantly against Nazi oppression. While the women belonged to different Resistance movements and networks, they were united by a common they were arrested by the Gestapo, underwent merciless interrogations and beatings, were jailed — and, most significantly, survived, if just barely, the hell of Ravensbrück, the only concentration camp designed specifically for women. In an institution designed to dehumanise and kill, the sisterhood maintained their sense of self and joined together to face down death.

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Lynne Olson is one of my favorite historians, and has a wonderful talent for bringing out hidden voices and stories during World War 2 that help us discover so many new aspects to that time. Her last two books (Madame Fourcarde's Secret War and Empress of the Nile) explore the lives of two women who were trail-blazers both during and after the war, but who during the war helped build the French resistance against the Nazis. The Sisterhood of Ravensbruck follows the lives of four women: Germaine Tillion, Anise Girard, Genevieve de Gaulle, and Jacqueline d'Alincourt who were also part of the French Resistance- and who were sent to (and survived) Ravensbruck camp for that resistance.

The book is divided into three sections: before, during, and after Ravensbruck, and I was a little surprised at much of it focused on the after. As you'd expect with any book dealing with Nazis, concentration camps, etc. there are some parts that are hard to read. But the sisterhood that developed among the women in the camp, particularly the French women Olson focuses on, brought with it such surprising hope as well. They helped each other survive through so many acts that it brought tears to my eyes as I was reading. The Polish women (called "rabbits") who were used as medical experiments in the camp were helped by everyone, including being hidden when the order to kill them came at the end of the war (if you've read Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls, it's based on the rabbit's story). The prisoners knew they all faced death for defying their captors, but they resisted the Nazis again. The strength of the women, sharing their tiny amounts of food, medicine, gathering evidence of the crimes against them in the hope that one day they would be free to use it, was staggering to me. As I read I could only wonder if I would have been that brave, and hope the answer would have been yes.

It should come as no surprise that none of the Ravensbruck women stopped being amazing after leaving the camp. They continued to stand together to ensure whoever needed medical help got it, to help each other reintergrate into post-War life. They stood as witnesses for the dead against the crimes the Ravensbruck Nazis had committed. They helped the "rabbits" get to America for medical tretment. And continued to stand up against injustices and crimes against humanity wherever they saw them for the rest of their lives. 

The inspiration brought to me by this story leaves me speechless. It is hard and uplifting, often at the same time– and absolutely a book we should all read and learn from. As we should learn from these women.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Rules for Ruin

Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy #1)- Mimi Matthews

Berkley Publishing

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician’s systematic attack on women’s rights, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is struck: bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel’s underworld empire from government interference. He’s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise—no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that’s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it’s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It’s the danger to her heart.

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Raised in a girl's school that teaches women to think for themselves- along with teaching a few select students more useful life skills like picking locks- Effie Flite is ordered by the school's headmistress to take down a viscount standing in the way of a Parliamentary bill that will mean married women get to keep control over their own property. It's an assignment that appeals to her not only as a woman, but as a way of gaining her freedom and making her own way in the world, and Effie is willing to take it. After all, the viscount isn't exactly an innocent man.

But Gabriel Royce needs those secrets to stay hidden so he can blackmail the viscount for his own ends. The most powerful man in St. Giles, Gabriel has plans and he needs a few rich politicians to achieve those plans. When Gabriel and Effie meet, each knows a worthy opponent when they see one. And the longer their battle of wills and wits continues, the more they realize they may just be each other's perfect match. 

I absolutely fell in love with these two. Effie and Gabriel are dedicated to their respective causes, stubborn, intelligent loners and absolutely sure they are hardened cases against the outside world. Put them in the same room and BAM! Sparks ignite before either one knows what's happened. Effie challenges Gabriel as no one ever has, refusing to back down from her own agenda and forcing him to rethink his own plans. Gabriel is overprotective, finds intelligence in a woman total catnip, and is willing to put himself in situations that could get him rejected to make sure Effie is ok without even thinking about it. They share bone-melting kisses and her poodle Franc likes him. Clearly, these two are meant for each other.

A clash of business and personal interests, strong personalities, delightfully barbed wits, and high-stakes adventure, this is a romance not to be missed! Perhaps Mimi Matthews best book yet!

If you like women who believe knowledge is power, you'll love the women of the Crinoline Academy.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Whack Job

Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder- Rachel McCarthy James

St. Martin's Press

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Rating: 📚

Synopsis: For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill.

Much like the wheel, the boat, and the telephone, the axe is a transformative piece of technology—one that has been with us since prehistory. And just as early humans used the axe to chop down trees, hunt for food, and whittle tools, they also used it to murder. Over time, this particular use has as the axe evolved over centuries to fit the needs of new agricultural, architectural, and social development, so have our lethal uses for it.

Whack Job is the story of the axe, first as a convenient danger and then an anachronism, as told through the murders it has been employed in throughout from the first axe murder nearly half a million years ago, to the brutal harnessing of the axe in warfare, to its use in King Henry VIII's favorite method of execution, to Lizzie Borden and the birth of modern pop culture. Whack Jobsheds brilliant light on this familiar implement, this most human of weapons. This is a critical examination of violence, an exploration of how technology shapes human conflict, the cruel and sacred rituals of execution and battle, and the ways humanity fits even the most savage impulses into narratives of the past and present.

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I'm not a massive reader of true crime books, but the description of Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder sounded unusual, and more my style. It sounded like I'd be reading a book exploring our relationship with the axe through time, maybe comparing it with our relationship to other potentially murderous tools (and really, aren't they all?) and why the axe won when a weapon was reached for. The book's description really sold me. 

The book itself didn't match the description and I ended up highly disappointed. Over 12 chapters author Rachel McCarthy James never really gives us her definition of an "axe murder" which meant that I disagreed with her on probably the first 8 or so chapters. People died, but often in war where axes were weapons, or state executions where axes were used (think Henry VIII). Are those murders? The axes are symbolic of power in several of these cases, which was interesting, but not related to murder in my opinion. 

The tone and focus of Whack Job was also all over the place. Sometimes dry and scholarly, sometimes humorous or flippant. The early chapters in particular were more a general history where if you didn't pay attention you could miss the death-by-maybe-axe completely. I'm particularly thinking of Ch 1 here. I've worked in a museum with an amazing collection of hand axes and they deserve to be talked about and clearly James wanted to talk about the early weapons/tools hand axes were. But since the "murder" is pretty vague in Ch 1, perhaps talking about the development of axes from stone tools on might have found a more impactful place in an introduction? Or call the book something like "The History of the World in 12 Axes", which would warn the reader that they are going to get a lot of general history of ancient Egypt, China, Greece, etc. and at some point axes will wander in. The book takes a turn around Ch 9 and focuses on specific killings done with an axe in the 20th century, although you still get more set-up than I at least felt was needed. 

Overall, not a book I'd recommend. Maybe if you're a serious fan of axes you'll get something out of this book, but generally I found the book not well written, prone to wandering, and seriously lacking in focus. Don't be fooled by the interesting book description- the pages don't remember that's what they were supposed to be focusing on.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Archangel's Ascension

Archangel's Ascension (Guild Hunter 15)- Nalini Singh

Berkley Publishing

Release Date: May 6, 2024

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.

Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.

The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy...and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…

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Archangel's Ascension threw a curve right from the start by being broken into two timelines: "Today" which is actually 700 years in the future, and "Yesterday" which is the present for the series' normal timeline. I admit to a moment of panic when I fiugred that out, but I should have had more faith in one of my favorite authors. The majority of the book takes place in the current timeline, so situation normal.

Aodhan and Illium admitted in their last book that they loved each other and in this book we get to see them trying to figure out what that means. Because despite what they think, both men still have some issues they need to deal with. Together in New York they investigate the murder of a young vampire and his human girlfriend that has some similarities to Aodhan's past. Meaning he has to face that past, and we as readers get to learn some more about it. 

The murder investigation is pretty basic, but does a good job of helping reset a 'situation hopefully normal' and reminding everyone life doesn't need to be all about wars, zombies and other major craziness, but can be about the more day to day concerns as well. And perhaps should be. It also allows Aodhan a chance to consciously fit more into himself in a way he hasn't before. We see him trying to talk to strangers, to allow physical contact with friends. We see both Adi and Ilium talking to others to try and figure out how not to mess up their changing relationship and hurt each other as they grow. There's plenty of angst along the way, perhaps more than is needed, but readers who have been with the series since the beginning and have been cheering the two on will probably be more lenient with the repetition than they would be otherwise.

The title gives away what the "today" section will be about, and on the whole I thought that was really beautifully done. I did cry a bit in a few places, have to admit. You can tell the series is almost wrapped up, and it will be interesting to see if Singh goes back to the present day for the end, or jumps to her new future and shakes things up there.

This sequel to Archangel's Light is what readers have been waiting for- the conclusion of Illium and Aodhan's story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 

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Design of Books

 The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers- Debbie Berne

The University of Chicago Press

Release Date: March 12, 2024

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Design is central to the appeal, messaging, and usefulness of books, but to most readers, it’s mysterious or even invisible. Through interiors as well as covers, designers provide structure and information that shape the meaning and experience of books. In The Design of Books , Debbie Berne shines a light on the conventions and processes of her profession, revealing both the aesthetic and market-driven decisions designers consider to make books readable and beautiful. In clear, unstuffy language, Berne reveals how books are put together, with discussions of production considerations, typography and fonts, page layouts, use of images and color, special issues for ebooks, and the very face of each the cover.  

The Design of Books speaks to readers and directly to books’ creators—authors, editors, and other publishing professionals—helping them to become more informed partners in the design of their projects. Berne lays out the practical steps at each stage of the design process, providing insight into who does what when and offering advice for authors on how to be effective advocates for their ideas while also letting go and trusting their manuscripts with teams of professionals. She includes guidance as well for self-publishing authors, including where to find a designer, what to expect from that relationship, and how to art direct your own book.
 
Throughout, Berne teaches how understanding the whats, hows, and whys of book design heightens our appreciation of these cherished objects and helps everyone involved in the process to create more functional, desirable, and wonderful books.

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Whether you're an author or just someone who loves books, at some point you've probably wondered about what goes into designing a book's cover. But how many of us think about the rest of the book? 

Somethings might seem obvious once you start thinking about them: cookbooks or picture books need extra work on the interior pages to make things look good. Otherwise, how hard can it be? There can't be that many decisions to make, right? 

Professional book designer Debbie Berne wrote The Design of Books to show readers, writers, editors, and anyone else interested in designing books what's involved in the process. She wanted to bridge the knowledge gap between her world and everyone else. And she does an amazing job. She shows the reader the myriad design decisions every book has to go through: both outside and inside. From colors and images to fonts and spacing, how the type of paper that gets chosen can effect the reading experience, how the number of pages automatically makes other choices happen. Little illustrations throughout the book teach us design jargon for page numbers, spaces, headers, footers, etc. in charming ways. Ebooks get their own chapter and I was amazed at the thought that has to go into things I would never have imagined– and how designers have to take into account things that aren't in their control! It turns out book designers are rather like my own profession, editors– when we're really good at our jobs, you don't notice our work at all.

One of the must-read chapters is the last chapter "The Design Process", where Berne walks us through the design process a manuscript takes from author to finsihed product in both the traditional and self/hybrid publishing worlds. If you're considering publishing a book, I can't stress how much you need to read this to get a feel for the decisions that get made, when they get made, why they get made, and when (or if) you as an author get to have a say in that process. And the sort of feedback that works best for the designer you're working with. It's the kind of education we all need, and probably most of us only find out we need it after we're completely lost and confused in the middle of publishing something.

Berne uses her own experiences and a sense of humor to make what could have been a very dry textbook something fun, readable, and memorable. The Design of Books is a must-read for those curious about how books are designed and those considering publishing a book themselves. Go into the process with a baseline knowledge of how your manuscript will become a book and how you can impact that design!

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