Hello,

This week, we bring you the book club discussion of our recently featured Editor's Choice pick The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. This Spanish Inquisition period story blends historical fiction with a dollop of magic.

Our current Editor's Choice is just the warm-weather read you've been searching for! Jo Piazza's The Sicilian Inheritance has it all: A multigenerational family mystery, beautiful landscapes and captivating prose.

As you gear up to head outdoors this spring, check out our "beyond the book" reading list of titles about humans' connection with birds, accompanying J. Drew Lanham's poetry collection Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves.

You can also take a look at our category of books set in the American South, along with our subscribers' top historical fiction for book clubs of 2023.

With best wishes,

The BookBrowse Team

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.

Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath.

"Luzia is one of my favorite female characters I have had the pleasure of reading in a while. She’s strong and smart and captivating...Would highly recommend this book to multiple readers." —beth annem

"This story deepened my understanding of the Spanish Inquisition by showing the fear and the horrific methods of interrogating people suspected of heresy." —Patricia Ann

"This is my first Bardugo novel and I’m a fan!...the interesting court politics, the social boundaries and consequences that different characters have to deal with, the magic, which is fun and inventive, and the love story." —jos

This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez, The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson and Icarus by K. Ancrum.

We also bring you previews of upcoming books, First Impressions reads, recommendations for your book club and more.

Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas?

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Sara Marsala is going through a rough patch, to say the least. In the process of divorcing from her husband and battling for custody of her four-year-old daughter, being forced to close her restaurant that she poured her heart and soul into, and now learning of the news of her beloved great-aunt Rosie's death, Sara feels as though she's in the process of losing everything she once held dear. When she receives instructions from Rosie to travel to the family's homeland in Sicily to claim a deed of valuable land that possibly belongs to the Marsala family, Sara only reluctantly agrees out of affection for her late great-aunt. It's only when she arrives in Sicily that she receives another missive from Rosie in which the real purpose of this trip is made clear: she wants Sara to investigate the death of Rosie's mother and Sara's namesake, Serafina Forte. ... continued

Throughout his collection of poems Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves, J. Drew Lanham explores the restorative effect of immersing himself in nature. His particular passion, however, is birds. Humans have long been fascinated by the freedom, grace, and beauty of our feathered friends, ingraining them in mythology and symbolism for generations. As such, Lanham is not the first writer to explore our powerful relationship with birds, nor will he be the last. Each of these books tackles the same topic, albeit from its own unique and fascinating angle. ... continued

J. Drew Lanham's Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves and Erik Larson's The Demon of Unrest, both featured in our current e-zine, are just a couple of the 400+ books in our South, USA category. Discover more featured recommendations, both fiction and nonfiction, set in the American South, from the hills of Kentucky to the lush Florida Everglades to the Texas-Mexico borderlands.

This is one of 100+ themed categories you can explore on BookBrowse to find the perfect read for your book club or yourself. Members can access all categories and filters to narrow their browsing, while non-members have limited access.

Historical fiction is often a well-loved genre for book clubs. It allows members to learn more about a particular time and place at their leisure while enjoying the twists and turns of a good story and sharing it with others.

We've already published the results of our most recent annual survey showing the Top 10 book club books of 2023, but how did historical novels fare? Below are the works of fiction set in past eras that book club members took the most pleasure in discussing. ... continued

BookBrowse Highlights is one of our four free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.

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