I got some exciting news! I happened to glance at my phone and see that my trusty friend Sarah McCoy (author of THE BAKER’S DAUGHTER and all-around awesome lady) Tweeted that THE CARE AND HANDLING OF ROSES WITH THORNS won the American Library Association’s Best Women’s Fiction award for 2013!
Every year, the Reference and User’s Association (RUSA) picks their “Literary Tastes” awards across different genres.
Woot woot!
ADRENALINE
“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn (Crown, 9780307588364)
It’s her fifth wedding anniversary: where’s Amy? Assumptions are dangerous in this chilling psychological thriller. The dark and twisty plot, unbearable levels of tension, and merciless pacing will rivet readers.
Read-alikes
“The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith
“Before I Go to Sleep” by SJ Watson
“Defending Jacob” by William Landay
Short List
“The Fear Artist” by Timothy Hallinan (Soho Crime, 9781616951122)
“Into The Darkest Corner” by Elizabeth Haynes (HarperCollins, 9780062197252)
“The Survivor” by Gregg Hurwitz (St. Martin’s Press, 9780312625511)
“The Inquisitor” by Mark Allen Smith (Henry Holt, 9780805094268)
FANTASY
“The Rook” by Daniel O’Malley (Little, Brown, 9780316098793)
When Myfanwy wakes up with no memory, surrounded by corpses, she must immediately impersonate herself in order to unravel the conspiracy at the heart of a secret supernatural intelligence agency. This offbeat debut combines the fast pacing and suspense of a thriller with the gritty, detailed world-building of urban fantasy.
Read-alikes
“The Demi-Monde: Winter” by Rod Rees
“The Eyre Affair” by Jasper Fforde
“The Domino Men” by Jonathan Barnes
Short List
“The Troupe” by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit, 9780316187527)
“The Steel Seraglio” by by Mike Carey, Linda Carey, and Louise Carey (ChiZine, 9781926851532)
“The Killing Moon” by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit, 9780316187282)
“Alif the Unseen” by G. Willow Wilson (Grove, 9780802120205)
HISTORICAL FICTION
“Bring Up the Bodies” by Hilary Mantel (Henry Holt, 9780805090031)
Ambitious royal advisor Thomas Cromwell is at the pinnacle of his power and uses it to subtly engineer the downfall of his enemies, including the Queen, Anne Boleyn, and her inner circle. This intricately plotted character study presents a fresh perspective on the ever popular Tudor Court.
Read-alikes
“Mary, the Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley” by Alison Weir
“A Man for All Seasons” by Robert Bolt
“I, Claudius” by Robert Graves
Short List
“Sarah Thornhill” by Kate Grenville (Grove, 9780802120243)
“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller (Ecco, 9780062060617)
“Sutton” by J.R.Moehringer (Hyperion, 9781401323141)
“The Cove” by Ron Rash (Ecco, 9780061804199)
HORROR
“The Ritual” by Adam Nevill (St. Martin’s, 9780312641849)
In the remote forests of Sweden, the friendship between four men disintegrates when they wander off the hiking trail and find themselves stalked by an unseen and increasingly violent menace. “Blair Witch” meets black metal in this dark and suspenseful horror novel.
Read-alikes
“The Ruins” by Scott Spencer
“Deliverance” by James Dickey
“Neverland” by Douglas Clegg
Short List
“Breed” by Chase Novak (Mullholland Books, 9780316198561)
“The Haunting of Maddy Clare” by Simone St. James (New American Library, 9780451235688)
“This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Touch It” by David Wong (St. Martin’s Press, 9780312546342)
“The Return Man” by V. M. Zito (Orbit, 9780316218283)
MYSTERY
“The Gods of Gotham” by Lyndsay Faye (Putnam, 9780399158377)
The discovery of a mass grave of child prostitutes spurs “copper star” Timothy Wilde to hunt a killer through the seamy underbelly of 1840s New York City. Colorful period slang enlivens this carefully researched story about the dawn of modern policing.
Read-alikes
“The Yard” by Alex Grecian
“The Alienist” by Caleb Carr
“Gangs of New York” (film, Miramax, 2002)
Short List
“Don’t Ever Get Old” by Daniel Friedman (Putnam, 9780312606930)
“Trickster’s Point” by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books, 9781451645675)
“The Chalk Girl” by Carol O’Connell (Putnam, 9780399157745)
“The Beautiful Mystery” by Louise Penny (Minotaur, 9780312655464)
ROMANCE
“Firelight” by Kristen Callihan (Grand Central, 9781455508594)
Bartered as a bride to the masked nobleman Benjamin Archer, Miranda Ellis – a woman with a supernatural secret – becomes his only defender when he is accused of a series of murders. This is a dark and smoldering Victorian paranormal where love redeems two complex and damaged characters.
Read-alikes
“When Beauty Tamed” the Beast by Eloisa James
“Second Sight” by Amanda Quick
The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley
Short List
“The Black Hawk” by Joanna Bourne (Berkley, 9780425244531)
“At Your Pleasure” by Meredith Duran (Pocket Star, 9781451606959)
“Lucky in Love” by Jill Shalvis (Forever, 9781455503728)
“A Lady Awakened” by Cecelia Grant (Bantam, 9780553593839)
SCIENCE FICTION
“Caliban’s War” by James S. A. Corey (Orbit, 9780316129060)
One wants control; one wants vindication; one wants his daughter back; and one wants revenge (and maybe a new suit). The shifting points of view of these four distinctive characters, an electrifying pace, and the threat of an evolving alien protomolecule propel readers through this grand space adventure.
Read-alikes
“Hellhole” by Brian Herbert and Keven J. Anderson
“Gardens of the Sun” by Paul McAuley
“The Ghost Brigades” by John Scalzi
Short List
“The Hydrogen Sonata” by Iain M. Banks (Orbit, 9780316212373)
“11/22/63” by Stephen King (Scribner, 9781451627282)
“After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall” by Nancy Kress (Tachyon, 9781616960650)
“Exogene” by T.C. McCarthy (Orbit, 9780316128155)
WOMEN’S FICTION
“The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns” by Margaret Dilloway (Putnam, 9780399157752)
Galilee Garner’s carefully managed routine of teaching, rose breeding, and kidney dialysis is disrupted when her teenage niece moves in. Readers will root for the growth of this prickly character as she discovers the importance of cultivating human connections.
Read-alikes
“Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout
“The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
“As Good as it Gets” (film, Columbia Tristar, 1997)
Short List
“Wife 22” by Melanie Gideon (Ballantine, 9780345527950)
“A Grown Up Kind of Pretty” by Joshilyn Jackson (Grand Central, 9780446582353)
“The Secret Keeper” by Kate Morton (Atria Books, 9781439152805)
“I’ve Got Your Number” by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press, 9780385342063)
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