Not Another Heroine

Jordan and Katie, two work-friends, break down the best and worst fictional heroines. Each book will be discussed over two episodes and then analyzed in a third Q&A episode. Join our book club on Fable! Vote on your favorite characters, chat with other readers, and tell us what we should read next.https://fable.co/club/not-another-heroine-book-club-with-not-another-heroine-podcast-463770506743Want to sneak a look at our upcoming content? Follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

There wasn't a mage, vampire, or dark faerie prince on a single page but Amy Harmon delivered plenty of adventure and romance in A Girl Called Samson. If Disney's Mulan was a formative experience for you, this heroine might be your new favorite. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58769584-a-girl-called-samson?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=EQ9WycRI2y&rank=1Join our book club on Fable! Vote on your favorite characters, chat with other readers, and tell us what we should read next. https://fable.co/club/not-another-heroine-book-club-with-not-another-heroine-podcast-463770506743Want to sneak a look at our upcoming content? Follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Can a toothsayer read the future of your teeth? Is this week's heroine a dentist or a kingmaker? Tune in for Katie's take on Amanda Bouchet's "A Promise of Fire." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59645282-a-promise-of-fire?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=rPlzaA2pKu&rank=1Join our book club on Fable! Vote on your favorite characters, chat with other readers, and tell us what we should read next.https://fable.co/club/not-another-heroine-book-club-with-not-another-heroine-podcast-463770506743Want to sneak a look at our upcoming content? Follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Jordan fell into a trope trap and read Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim immediately after finishing A Girl Called Samson. If you liked Daughter of the Moon Goddess or any of Tamora Pierce's books be sure to check this one out! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42815556-spin-the-dawn?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=S3bzaZ8UX8&rank=1Want to sneak a look at our upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

There's no such thing as too much Grace Draven (everyone needs to read Master of Crows), but this week Katie took Jordan up on one of her recommendations and read Entreat Me. This is a beauty and the beast story with a more mature heroine and not quite the kind of ending you'd expect out of such a cookie-cutter fairy tale. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18811222Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

You really can't go wrong with anything by Juliet Marillier. This week Jordan convinces Katie to read Son of the Shadows, book two in the Sevenwaters trilogy. Skip forward to about the 3:50 mark in the podcast if you want to jump straight to the book description. They got a little distracted with a charcuterie board in the beginning. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/13927Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Do you like your fantasy romance with an extra topping of miscommunication and cover art in the style of Professor Umbridge? Katie's escapist read isn't for everyone but it just might be for you. Tune in for her take on "The Winter King" by C.L. Wilson.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10485751-the-winter-kingWant to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

If you prefer your fantasy along steampunk lines, Jordan's pick of the week, "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross, may be more your style. A lover's feud between two deities sparks off a global war that provides the backdrop for a "You've Got Mail" style romance. Magical typewriters, a non-sword-wielding heroine, and a well-developed cast of secondary characters drive the story all the way to a cliffhanger. Warning: book two hasn't been released yet.https://rebeccarossauthor.com/divine-rivals/ Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Katie takes us on a detour from fantasy and into contemporary STEM romance with Ali Hazelwood's "Love Theoretically."https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61326735 Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Spoilers ahead! "Bonesmith" by Nicki Pau Preto isn't out until July 25, 2023, and it's the pod's very first ARC from NetGalley. Jordan found some nice things to say about it but really struggled with the author's writing style and connection to the heroine. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62919122-bonesmithSimilar Books: Gideon the Ninth, Throne of Glass, GracelingWant to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Sci-fi? Bloodthirsty heroine? An equilateral love triangle? Katie wanted to love "Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhaou but it kind of flopped at the 40 percent mark. A little bit too much messaging and not enough character development. This author has got a lot going on though, check out their stuff here: http://xiranjayzhao.com/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52459864-iron-widow Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Everyone has a DNF shelf and it's only fitting that the pod gets one too. We somehow managed to finish a novel featuring a magical bop-it earlier this year, but "The Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros killed Jordan in the sample and Katie at the ten percent mark. We're not holding back on this review ladies and gents but check out @mynameismarines for a waaay better breakdown of why you should read ANYTHING else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ynDgfCLuM8 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61431922-fourth-wing?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=DAu2SGCxXL&rank=1 Three Better Books:A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50548197-a-deadly-education?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=AxTgq8rnmB&rank=1 Dragonflight by Anne Anne McCaffreyhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61975.Dragonflight?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=27MK3NbEtJ&rank=10 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28446392-an-ember-in-the-ashes?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_21 Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Did someone say monster romance? "The Hanging City" by Charlie Holmberg is another Amazon First Reads book and it is totally worth losing sleep over.https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63127235Similar Books:"Followed by Frost" by Charlie Holmberg https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25169898-followed-by-frost?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ZWfP685WTv&rank=1 "Archangel" by Sharon Shinn https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33641900-archangel "Eidolon" by Grace Draven https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31942414-eidolon?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=9sq1MqZnW8&rank=1 Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Hallmark movie, second-chance romance is Katie's pick of the week. Check out "Forget Me Not" by Julie Soto.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61618737-forget-me-not?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=rVEiGI9uNT&rank=1 Also check out..."To Die For" by Linda Howardhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/411701.To_Die_For?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=vTDHDtMjyO&rank=1 "Goodnight Tweetheart" by Teresa Medeiroshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8870923-goodnight-tweetheart?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=W1LCq6mOlX&rank=1 "Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love" by isthisselfcarehttps://archiveofourown.org/works/34500952 Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

Think You've Got Mail but with... zombies? "The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy" by Megan Bannen is Jordan's pick this week.https://www.goodreads.com/series/369919-the-undertaking-of-hart-and-mercyAlso check out..."You've Got Mail" (the movie!) "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Rosshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784546-divine-rivals"Love in the Afternoon" by Lisa Kleypashttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7491418Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine

A very quick conversation about Katie's pick this week, "This Vicious Grace" by Emily Thiede, and a slightly longer conversation about changes in the publishing game, and hopes to not find ourselves on an Amazon hitlist (the bad kind).https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58957873 "Belladonna" by Adalyn Gracehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59227936-belladonna"The Young Elites" by Marie Luhttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/20821111"Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhaohttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52459864"The Burning Sky" by Sherry Thomashttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/17332556 

Outrageously gorgeous blue aliens, electric football, and a heroine with a massive chip on her shoulder are the main components of Jordan's pick of the week: "Blade Dancer" by S.L. Viehl. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127740110-blade-dancer-by-s-l-viehl?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_20 This is sci-fi (romance) in all of its tropey, laser-gun glory, but there's also an assassin school, a tragic family history, and enough emotional conflict to keep the relationship building until the very end. Similar Books: "Scout's Progress" by Sharon Lee and Steve Millerhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/288768.Scout_s_Progress?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=JxPQBEAmde&rank=1 "Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhouhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52459864-iron-widow?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_10"Daughter of No Worlds" by Carissa Broadbent https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49826643-daughter-of-no-worlds?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=d3JZwaVEr4&rank=1 Want to sneak a look at upcoming content? Check out our YouTube channel or follow us on Instagram @notanotherheroine 

It's another k-drama special this week with Jordan giving a short preview of the rom-com "Love is for Suckers," available to stream on Viki. (Katie did not have the right bingo card for this episode.)https://www.viki.com/tv/38814c-love-is-for-suckers?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgNanBhDUARIsAAeIcAtZU4RArAGwLmeIQfQPWfG8anQy_Zmw-5SSjKVJKC9ZH-kCNlThSIgaAvniEALw_wcB 

Welcome to SPOOOOOKY SEAAASON! Katie's pick this week features cursed tarot cards, fever-inducing mist, and a heroine with a monster in her head in Rachel Gillig's "One Dark Window".https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58340706-one-dark-windowAnd if you've already read One Dark Window, or are looking for something similar (but different):"Uprooted" by Naomi Novikhttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22544764"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwabhttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50623864"Crown Duel" by Sherwood Smithhttps://www.goodreads.com/ru/book/show/21628465

This week Jordan gives us a lesson on romantic suspense with her pick of the week, "Cover of Night" by Linda Howard. As Katie says, think the love child of James Bond and Gilmore Girls. We don't have any similar books this week (this one is pretty far in left field!) but another author to check out is Suzanne Brockmann, a romantic suspense author that came from the same publishing era as Howard.