Five-Star Reads from Five Female Authors
Happy Women's History Month!
It’s been a while since we’ve had a good book chat and, in honor of Women’s History Month, I thought I’d go to my shelves and pull a selection by female authors whose work has been foundational to my reading life. While each of these books is fiction, they’re as diverse as the women who wrote them. The connecting thread? At the core, each story is about community, connection, and the relationships that form us. And they’re also just damn good reads.
Kim Fay is an American author whose storytelling often explores themes of friendship, culture, and the culinary arts. Fay's background as a travel writer deeply influences her richly textured narratives. I mention her novel, Love and Saffron, to absolutely everyone who asks for a recommendation because it’s an intimate look at how women form friendships. This one is special because it’s an epistolary novel - told through letters exchanged by the main characters. And at under 180 pages, it’s the kind of book you can cozy up under a blanket and read in one sitting.
Set in the 1960s, Love & Saffron tells the story of an unexpected friendship between Joan Bergstrom, a young food writer in Los Angeles, and Imogen Fortier, a seasoned columnist living in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Their correspondence begins when Joan sends Imogen a fan letter accompanied by a packet of saffron, sparking a shared passion for culinary exploration. Through their letters, the two women grow close while navigating personal challenges and societal changes of the era. What I love best is how Joan and Imogen's relationship illustrates how simple acts of kindness - and taking the risk to reach out to someone you want to connect with - can lead to deep and lasting connections.
Claire Keegan is an Irish writer renowned for her unbelievably precise short fiction that explores themes of family, love, and quiet resilience. I’m always struck by how much she says, and the emotion she evokes, in so few words. Keegan is an author who believes in her reader; she knows you don’t need every single thing explicitly laid out to understand the depth of what’s going on. One of my favorite books by her is Foster. At 92 pages, it’s another incredibly fast read but it’ll stick with you long after you’ve put it down.
Foster follows a young girl who is sent to live with distant relatives on a rural Irish farm while her parents, struggling financially and emotionally, prepare for the arrival of another child. At first shy and uncertain, she gradually comes to experience warmth, stability, and a kind of love she has never known. Her relatives treat her with a gentle care she’s never experienced before, providing not just food and shelter but a sense of belonging and quiet affection. Just as she starts to believe in this new life, she is summoned back to her own family, leaving her to grapple with the loss of something she never knew she needed.
I grew up reading romance novels and some of the very best I’ve read lately are by Kennedy Ryan. Her books are always complex; they paint a full picture of the heroine’s life, beyond the romance. Her characters are relatable and fully entrenched in real life - the good, the bad, and the everyday. Ryan made history as the first Black author to win the RITA Award for Best Contemporary Romance from the Romance Writers of America in 2019 for her novel Long Shot.
My favorite book by Ryan is This Could Be Us. We are in it with Soledad Barnes, a woman whose identity is tightly wrapped around being the perfect wife and mother, who faces a truly crushing upheaval when her carefully curated life unravels. Determined to rediscover herself, Soledad goes on a journey of self-love, intentionally dating herself and embracing activities that reignite her passions. Along the way, she becomes a social media influencer, sharing home hacks, cooking tips, and DIY projects to sustain herself financially.
Soledad’s story deftly intertwines themes of personal growth, resilience, and the transformative power of self-acceptance. The romance aspect of this book is satisfying, but it’s even more satisfying to watch Soledad prioritize her own happiness and come out on top.
Let’s take a left turn into a very different genre of fiction: fantasy. I’m not an avid fantasy reader but recently picked up a few books by T. Kingfisher after Dan recommended them to me. T. Kingfisher is the pen name of Ursula Vernon, an American author known for her fantasy, horror, and folklore-inspired fiction. Her works often blend dark fairy tale elements with humor and emotional depth, which is what I find very appealing.
I grew up loving fairy tales and it’s been so much fun to revisit some of those well-known stories through Kingfisher’s perspective. She always has a different view of what’s really going on and turns characters who have been historically glossy and untouchable into real people.
Thornhedge is a great example of this. A retelling of Sleeping Beauty, we get to know Toadling who has spent centuries guarding a hidden castle, ensuring that no one disturbs the enchanted princess sleeping within. Unlike the story we’ve all been told before, the princess was not cursed—she was placed in magical slumber for the safety of everyone around her.
When a determined knight arrives, seeking to break what he assumes is an evil spell, Toadling struggles to keep him away without revealing the dark truth. As their confrontation deepens, secrets about the past and Toadling’s own origins begin to unravel. The story subverts classic Sleeping Beauty tropes, exploring themes of duty, trauma, and belonging. In the end, Toadling must decide between clinging to the role she has always known or embracing a different future. (Same, Toadling. Same)
Another author I learned about thanks to Dan (the perks of being married to a 6th grade reading teacher) is Elizabeth Acevedo. Acevedo is a Dominican-American author and poet known for her YA fiction that explores identity, culture, and the experiences of Afro-Latinx youth. Her work, influenced by her background in slam poetry, is celebrated for its lyrical style, emotional depth, and unflinching honesty. Dan pressed a copy of The Poet X in my hands, telling me to “Just go with it. You’re going to love this.”
The Poet X blends poetry and narrative to tell the story of Xiomara Batista, a Dominican-American teenager growing up in Harlem, who feels unheard in her strict religious household. With a body that draws attention she doesn't want and a mother who expects her to be devout, Xiomara turns to poetry as a refuge, filling her notebook with her deepest thoughts and emotions.
When she’s invited to join her school's slam poetry club, Xiomara faces a difficult choice—pursue her passion in secret or obey her mother’s rigid expectations. As she navigates first love, her changing faith, and the power of her voice, Xiomara begins to push against the constraints placed on her. Xiomara’s circumstances are her own, but the struggles and desires she’s experiencing as a teenager made me feel so connected to my own youth. I’d love to know Xiomara as an adult and see what she’s up to now.
I’ve saved my very favorite for last. I first read Maeve Binchy’s work in middle school, and my imagination was instantly activated by her warm, character-driven storytelling that captures the ordinary intricacies of human relationships and small-town life. She wrote with such humor and honesty about love, friendship, and the struggle to go your own way in life. Binchy’s influence is a massive reason that I’m a writer.
One of my favorite books by Binchy is Tara Road. Ria Lynch seems to have a perfect life in Dublin, with a loving husband, two children, and a beautiful home — until her husband abruptly leaves her for another woman. Devastated, Ria accepts an impulsive invitation from Marilyn Vine, a grieving American woman, to swap houses for the summer.
As Ria settles into Marilyn’s Connecticut home and Marilyn into Ria’s world in Dublin, both women confront painful truths about their lives and find unexpected strength in their new surroundings. Ria begins to reclaim her independence, forming new friendships and uncovering secrets about Danny. Meanwhile, Marilyn, initially withdrawn, slowly opens herself to the warmth of Ria’s friends and community. Through their journey, both women discover resilience, friendship, and the possibility of new beginnings.
You will, no doubt, have noticed several recurring themes that I’m drawn to in my reading: friendship, resilience, and forging one’s own path forward. How about you? Let me know which female authors you’re especially drawn to and why. Let’s build a hefty TBR list in the comments!
Hello, Sara. I’m more of a non-fiction reader, myself. I’m reading,
The Secret War of Julia Child.
Are you familiar with her? She has an iconic voice and was a tv chef who taught French Cooking to the Boomer generation of women. EVERY Boomer knows who she is. Well, at 6’2” and single, she worked at a secret American spy agency!
What!?
If you are not familiar with her, Google her and listen to her voice. It’s iconic. And her blue blood English mesmerized me as much as I mimicked it for fun. That woman LOVED butter!