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BookBrowse Free Newsletter 06/28/2016

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Hello Davina (new free list)

A few months ago we published part one of our Best 2016 Book Club Books. Below is part two. All ten novels received 5-star reviews from our reviewers and have reading guides; and all are recently or soon to publish in paperback (and are also available in hardcover and ebook.) And, for a limited time, all the related reviews and beyond the book articles are available for free.

But first, we're currently discussing Sweet Caress by William Boyd and Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart - if you've read one or both, please do join us; and if you have not read them, I encourage you to follow the links to find out more about both books!

For those of you who also subscribe to our weekly BookBrowse Highlights - there'll be no issue later this week as we'll be getting a head start on the 4th July weekend.

Happy Independence Day to our US readers!

Your Editor
Davina 
bookclubThe BookBrowse Book Club

Please Join Us to Discuss:

Book Jacket
Sweet Caress by William Boyd

Published May 2016, 464 pages

When Amory Clay was born, in the decade before the Great War, her disappointed father gave her an androgynous name and announced the birth of a son. But this daughter was not one to let others define her; Amory became a woman who accepted no limits to what that could mean, and from the time she picked up her first camera, one who would record her own version of events.


Book Jacket
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

Published May 2016, 416 pages

An enthralling novel based on the forgotten true adventures of a woman who would  become one of the nation's first female deputy sheriffs, who must confront her past and defend her family - and does so in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.
More about this book
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Discussion Coming Soon

This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell

Publishes July 19. Discussion opens Aug 2 

A dazzling novel from bestselling writer Maggie O'Farrell, winner of the Costa Novel Award - an irresistible love story that crisscrosses continents and time zones as it captures an extraordinary marriage, and an unforgettable family, with wit, humor, and deep affection.
About this book 

bestBest Books for Book Clubs in 2016 (Part 2)

The Nightingale
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Hardcover & ebook Feb 2015, paperback Oct 2016. 448 pages. Published by St. Martin's Press

One of the highest rated books ever in our First Impressions program (where members read books ahead of publication), this haunting novel of two sisters in occupied France also won BookBrowse's Best Fiction award for 2015. While we have had many perspectives of World War II, this intriguing look at the lives of women during one of history's most traumatic periods yields many fascinating aspects worth mulling over today. Powerful and utterly absorbing.


Letters to the Lost
Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

Paperback May 2016, also in ebook. 384 pages. Published by St. Martin's Griffin

Sometimes you just want a dash of everything. This moving story set in World War II mixes romance, historical fiction and mystery in generous doses to give a novel that will satisfy even the most difficult-to-please readers in your club. Written as a series of letters, the literary device is as engaging as the story.


Girl Waits with Gun
Girl Waits with Gun
by Amy Stewart

Paperback May 2016, also in ebook. 448 pages. Published by Mariner Books

Nobody - not even a rich and successful businessman - tells Constance Kopp what to do. When pushed with her back against the wall, Constance and her sisters decide to do what it takes to protect themselves, societal mores of the early twentieth century be damned. Proof that strong women come in all stripes (and sizes), this spunky novel based on the true life Kopp sisters, will win many hearts and minds.


The Last Pilot
The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock

Paperback May 2016, also in ebook. 320 pages. Published by Picador

When you're in the middle of history-making events, it might be difficult to exalt the personal to an equally high plane, but that's exactly what Jim Harrison, a young married pilot who is a crucial component of the U. S. space program needs to do. This crisp debut expertly shows how the most personal details of our lives can clash against collective ambitions and the kinds of sacrifices we're often called upon to make under such difficult circumstances.


When the Moon Is Low
When the Moon Is Low: A Novel  
by Nadia Hashimi


Paperback Apr 2016, also in ebook. 384 pages. Published by William Morrow Paperbacks

Imagine persecution so horrific that you have no choice but to upend your entire life and flee. When her family is targeted by the Taliban, that's exactly what Fereiba is forced to do, three children in tow, A BookBrowse First Impression reviewer noted : "unbelievable love, courage and tenacity of being a refugee as well as the smell of fear are all in this book. Yet, it is somehow hopeful. I learned a great deal about so much and enjoyed this book immensely. Somehow every nation must find a way to welcome and support refugees -- they are leaving a hell we can't imagine."


The Fair Fight
The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

Paperback Apr 2016, also in ebook. 480 pages. Published by Riverhead Books

Given that the world just laid to rest a fighter known for his courage and skill at reinvention, this historical fiction novel set in eighteenth-century England will knock you out for its depiction of women fighters who got into the ring and gave it their all with bare knuckles. A mesmerizing book that will give you a ringside seat for a little-known slice of world history, The Fair Fight will give you much to cheer about from the sidelines.


Our Souls at Night
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Paperback June 2016, also in ebook. 192 pages. Published by Vintage

In his sixth and final novel Haruf, who died in 2015 just before Our Souls at Night was published in hardcover, returns one last time to the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. In less than 200 pages, he delivers a parting gift to his many fans with another plain-spoken book that speaks to the heart of love and grief, life and death.


Bull Mountain
Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich

Paperback June 2016, also in ebook. 320 pages. Published by Putnam Books

The romance of the American South is usually presented in high-definition gloss but this winner of BookBrowse's Best Debut Novel award doesn't shy away from the bad and ugly. A compelling portrait of one family's flourishing business that must stand the test of the times, this novel is full of swashbuckling adventure and just plain old fun.


The Marriage of Opposites
The Marriage of Opposites
by Alice Hoffman

Paperback July 2016, also in ebook. 384 pages. Published by Simon & Schuster

Travel in both time and space to the early nineteenth century in idyllic St. Thomas and learn about the extraordinary woman who was the mother of Camille Pissarro, the father of Impressionism. A close-knit Jewish community on the island has ties and secrets that are shaken when scandal breaks with one strong-headed woman as its driving force. Another winner from a veteran writer.


The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes
by Anna McPartlin

Hardcover & ebook Aug 2015, paperback Aug 2016. 368 pages. Published by St. Martin's Press

Despite its title, this is not a Debbie Downer of a book, but instead a celebration of life in all its glory. Rabbit Hayes is delivered a devastating diagnosis and is determined to infuse her last days with endless love and zest for everything she holds dear. A difficult subject handled with grace, this book will generate many worthy topics for discussion.


List curated by Davina Morgan-Witts. Written by Poornima Apte

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