The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

A special thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Scribner for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa See's newest novel is set on the small Korean island of Jeju and is about female friendship and family secrets.

Mi-ja and Young-sook are best friends that are from vastly different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they become divers like the rest of the women in their seaside village. The all-female diving collective is led by Young-sook’s mother. Even though they are "baby divers," the girls realize that with this great responsibility comes great danger.

The novel spans several decades and is anchored with vignettes set in 2008. These vignettes that are dispersed throughout the story provide clues that move the reader forward, but at the same time, anchor them in the past. Beginning during the Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 40s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, and in the modern era which introduces the divers to wet suits and cell phones.

Jeju's residents are caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, forever marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will eventually inherit her mother’s position as their leader. The girls have shared more than just dives, they have shared life's milestones and all of their secrets. But when outside forces turn their world upside down, it become too much for their friendship to survive.

The second half of the novel chronicles the 4.3 Incident. Named for the date it began, which was April 3, 1948, three years after Japan surrendered occupation of Korea, tens of thousands of people were killed. See dramatizes the atrocities committed by the military during the Bukchon massacre in a harrowing scene in which Young-sook loses both the majority of her family and her friendship to Mi-ja.

See's novel is incredibly rich in culture and history, both of which are marred by grief and a monumental historic event. Her writing is intricate and moving, and innately female. She explores the relationships between women: mother-daughter, sister, coworker, and best friend. The best friend dynamic is a particular kind of intimacy that opens you up to betrayal because there are things that you would only tell your best friend. In her novels, it is rarely the men that bring these women any joy. Abuse of male power is also another popular theme whether it be fathers, brothers, husbands, lovers, or bosses.

LISA SEE self-published her first book in 1993 and has gone on to write ten more novels. Her works have been published in 39 languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Ms. See lives in Los Angeles.

Golden Child by Claire Adam

A special thank you to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and SJP for Hogarth for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This deeply affecting novel is set in rural Trinidad. We follow the lives of a family that is trying to make their way with little by way of resources. They live in a brick house on stilts that was built by hand and is surrounded by bush. Clyde, the man of the house, works shifts at the petroleum plant and spends long hours away from his wife, Joy, and their thirteen-year-old twins. The boys must rise early every day to attend school in the capital, Port of Spain.

Although they are twins, the boys are vastly different—Paul was deprived of oxygen at birth and is considered to be developmentally delayed, while his brother, Peter is thought to be a genius destined for greatness.

One afternoon Paul doesn't return home. Clyde sets out on a search for the missing boy who has always caused him trouble. As the days pile up, Paul's fate becomes apparent, and Clyde is faced with making a gut-wrenching, unimaginable decision. This story is not for the feint of heart. Although it is set against a beautiful backdrop, this novel will shake you to the very core.

People are either going to love Adam's debut, or be too outraged with the outcome. I happen to fall into the latter. For me the book was an example of toxic masculinity that the author juxtaposes against a beautiful setting. Trinidad comes to life on the page and becomes one of the only likeable things.

Told mostly from Clyde's perspective, there is a complete lack of growth and trajectory, and you can figure out where the plot is headed fairly quickly. There's really not much of a story and what little there is, is lacking in character development. I wanted more of the twins—they are perfect opposites, two halves of a whole.

As mentioned, the ending is devastating, detached, and abrupt. Given the length of the story, there was certainly room to flesh out the characters and explore more depth of the plot.

CLAIRE ADAM was born and raised in Trinidad. She lives in London

Wingspan by Chris Bohjalian

A special thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Originally Wingspan was produced as a one-act play starring Grace Experience and K.K. Glick. It is the story of Emily, a young flight attendant who is about to embark on her first transatlantic trip. The only problem is that Emily is afraid of flying. Accompanying her on the flight is Karen, a veteran attendant. who is trying to help navigate her fears during a turbulent flight.

The two strike up a conversation and Karen discovers that a fear of flying is not Emily's only secret.

This is Bohjalian's first play and I don't suspect it will be his last. He is a master at dialogue and creating complex and interesting characters. Emily is both vulnerable and strong, she doesn't allow herself to get swallowed up by her fear.

Bohjalian's piece is a commentary on issues women face and the backlash that looms as a result of their decisions.

CHRIS BOHJALIAN is the author of twenty books, including The Guest Room; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; The Double Bind; and Midwives which was not only a number one New York Times bestseller, but an Oprah’s Book Club selection.

Bohjalian's work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and three novels have become movies (Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers) and The Flight Attendant has been optioned for a televisions series.

Chris lives in Vermont with his wife.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group—Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A college freshman stumbles back to her dorm room and falls asleep. She sleeps all morning and into the next evening. Her roommate, Mei, tries to wake her without success; paramedics can't rouse her, nor the doctors at the hospital. Then another girl falls asleep, and then another.

The college is put on lockdown quarantining the students. Panic sets in as the once sleepy town descends into chaos. Those that are infected are experiencing a higher-than-normal level of brain activity and are intensely dreaming, but what are they dreaming about?

Thompson Walker uses third person perspective and divides the book into small, digestible chapters. This is not particularly effective, in fact there is a disconnect—it is as if the narrator is completely detached. Because of this format, the characters are not fully developed and I didn't feel an affinity towards any of them—I wanted to, especially Mei.

Written in luminous, hypnotic prose, The Dreamers is a beautiful, sweeping novel yet I was left feeling frustrated because nothing actually happens. That, coupled with the fact that there are several loose ends, left me thinking about this book long after I finished it. I'm rather perplexed to be honest, and not in a good thought-provoking way, but questioning what I just actually read.

KAREN THOMPSON WALKER is a graduate of UCLA and the Columbia MFA program. A former book editor, she wrote The Age of Miracles in the mornings before work. Born and raised in San Diego, California, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband.

Is There Still Sex in the City? by Candace Bushnell

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, and Grove Atlantic/Grove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sex and the City was a cultural phenomenon—Carrie Bradshaw redefined the single girl. Fast forward twenty years and Candace Bushnell is back with a commentary on sex, dating, and friendship after the age of fifty.

In this book, Bushnell's topical chapters are a comment on trying to find love when you are middle aged, and how to navigate after divorce with the modern tools that are readily available to singles today. She also updates one of her more popular stories from Sex and the City, "The Bicycle Boys," about the dudes who are always trying to bring their bicycles up to a woman's apartment. There are other amusing anecdotes—getting Tindered, or the "Unintended Cub Situation" where a competent, put-together older woman temporarily loses all sensibility when she becomes the love interest of a much younger man.

Is There Still Sex in the City? is a satirical look at how middle-aged women are perceived, the unrealistic expectations put upon women by way of not aging and doing/having it all, as well as all the different stages and types of love—marriage, having children, not having children, divorce, and widowhood. This book is exactly what we need more of. What does it really mean to have it all? Who judges these things? Why are women constantly being compared to another woman's best instead of their own personal best? Some days it is a huge feat just to even get out of bed in the morning. The levels of expectations that women, both young and old, experience, and the pressures of society to be thin, beautiful, youthful, and successful are both crippling and unrealistic. These same pressures are not put on men, especially with appearance (see the section about the "Mona Lisa" treatment).

Bushnell is a fantastic writer. She's engaging, captivating, and razor sharp and this wry social commentary collection is no exception.

CANDACE BUSHNELL is the critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling author of Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, The Carrie Diaries, One Fifth Avenue, Trading Up, Four Blondes, Summer and the City, and Killing Monica.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

A special thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A charming couple living in the burbs with their two children—she's a real estate agent and he is a tennis pro—seem to have it all, even good looks. They are the couple next door, members of your clubs, parents of your kid's friends, and the friends you have dinner parties with.

But forget about the seven-year itch, how about the fifteen-year one that brings with it the most interesting, yet gruesome way to keep a marriage alive.

Theirs is getting away with murder.

Samantha Downing, that was a crazy ride and I loved every second of it!

The character development is nothing short of incredible and the reader will have a love/hate relationship with them. Gah! Prepare to have your loyalties tested, you won't know who to trust. This book is dark and twisty in the best possible way, and I'm totally blown away that this seize-you-by-the-throat-thriller is Samantha Downing's debut.

Downing's writing is taught and tense and kept me on my toes. I absolutely had no idea what was going to happen. And can I tell you that the last sentence of the book literally made me gasp. Bravo!

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SAMANTHA DOWNING is working on her next standalone novel.

She currently lives in New Orleans.