A wrap-up of my WFWA-authored novels read in 2025
Each year, I do a wrap-up of the novels I’ve read that are authored by Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) authors.
As a fellow member of WFWA, I may be a bit biased, but I go out of my way to include novels by WFWA in my annual reading … and I have not yet been disappointed.
This year’s readings – fully 10 by WFWA authors – ended with an exciting anthology (the second in our Feisty Deeds series!) featuring a full twenty-five WFWA authors, giving readers wonderful chance to sample authors through their short stories, which could provide an opportunity to discover your new favorite authors.
My WFWA novels also transported me to France’s Alsace-Lorraine during Christmas market season, brought me to New York City where a fake dating agreement betweeen a journalist and a rock star may lead to something more, whisked me away to rural Connecticut where a recently divorced library worker settles into her new home with a courtly ghost, placed me in the opearting room in the new Johns Hopkins medical school in the late nineteenth century, and allowed me to follow along with a spunky, young girl in Texas who must survive the difficult Dustbowl years.
Next, I travelled to England to follow the life of Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of The Rights of Women, then journeyed on to Buffalo, New York and the burgeoning interest in séances and the spiritual world in the 1850s, only to jet over to Europe once more, to follow along on Jo Van Gogh’s tireless efforts to establish then reputation of her brother-in-law, artist Vincent Van Gogh, and finally, I took up residence in an old, Irish castle with a mother striving to protect her family from malevolent forces.
All were fabulous reads, and you can read my reviews for each novel here below. Hope you’ll enjoy these novels as much as I have!
Feisty Deeds II : Historical Tales of Batches and Brews
Carolyn Korsmeyer (Editor); Christy Matheson (Editor); Elaine Aucoin Schroller (Editor); Kay Smith-Blum (Editor); Kimberly Sullivan (Editor); Apple An: Debra Borchert; Paulette Brooks; Teri M. Brown; Elisabeth Carson-Williams; Heather Dodge Martin; Gabi Coatsworth ; Joan Fernandez ; Beth Anne Hill ; Beata Kurcz; NJ Mastro; Kimberly Nixon ; Lorraine Norwood; Margaret Porter; April Quarto Wright; Barb Buckley Ristine; Suzanne Uttaro Samuels; Ashley E. Sweeney; Nina Wachsman; Patty W. Warren
Full discolsure: I am a contributing author and co-editor of this collection, but I can certainly comment on the other twenty-four stories in this wonderful collection.
Twenty-five authors.
So much to love about this collection.
Twenty-five authors have contributed beautifully crafted stories about women concocting food, brews and potions, spanning eras and the globe.
From a war-weary Polish mother and daughter, baking local specialties to bring home their soldier, to Chinese sisters longing for a holiday treat of rice balls during the difficult years of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and on to a peace-loving 1970s hippie commune battling it out over allowing “capitalist” coffee into their utopia, these stories will keep you up late to read “just one more”.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
His Last Christmas
Debra Borchert
Over a year later, Claire is still reeling after her husband’s unexpected death. After a mishap that leads to her losing her job, Claire finds a photo of a young boy in her husband’s suit jacket – and a message implying it might be her son.
Claire flies off to France’s Alsace Lorraine region to discover the truth.
Family secrets are revealed as Claire seeks to delve into mistakes of the past, including her own, and to open her heart to a second chance at love.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
Till Taught By Pain
Susan Coventry
This novel provided a fascinating look into the pioneering days of surgery, including the brilliant – yet flawed –mind of one of those giants of scientific discovery in medicine. William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922) entered the field of medicine at a time when it was changing rapidly. He was instrumental in developing the use of anesthesia for operations, developed surgical gloves, and experimented with mastectomies to combat breast cancer.
He also trained up young, promising medical students in these techniques through the new Johns Hopkins Medical School. But Halsted lived a double life. Experiments in anesthesia led to his own drug addiction to cocaine and morphine. This was an engaging study of a deeply flawed man, and all those around him, including his own wife, who enabled his addiction. The author has a medical background and this adds an extra layer to the explanations and the medical research of the time. A highly recommended read of an era of scientific leaps in medicine, seen through the eyes of one complicated individual – and the woman who loves him.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
My Rockstar Neighbor
Kathy Strobos
I always enjoy reading Kathy Strobos’ novels, feel-good romantic tales set in New York City, and so I picked this up when I heard she had a new one coming out.
Maddie is a young, ambitious newspaper reporter clawing her way up from entertainment filler pieces to hard-hitting city beat stories. Currently, she’s investigating a possible city government bribery story that could just give her the big break she needs. If only it weren’t for her rockstar next door neighbor cutting into her sleep with his songwriting.
Nick is an aspiring rock musician, who keeps his life financially afloat as a parttime accountant. He and his band are getting a lot more attention, and appear to be on the verge of signing with an important label, until one false move jeopardizes that success. Luckily, a “girl next door” girlfriend could polish his image. Can he get Maddie to agree?
This is a fun fake dating romcom that doubles as a mystery. It was fun to watch Maddie and Nick grow closer as they support one another in their careers. And, like all Strobos novels, New York makes a fun backdrop. A highly enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
A Field Guide to Library Ghosts
Gabi Coatsworth
What a fun novel! Fiona is nursing her wounds after a bruising divorce. It doesn’t help that she keeps bumping into her ex with his new, pregnant wife all around her hometown of Philadelphia. Needing a change, she accepts a job offer as the new executive director of a library in small-town Connecticut.
Along with her possessions, she takes along a painting: one that develops her sixth sense. Fiona learns she can converse with George, the 1870s gentleman in the painting. And George, in turn, enlists Fiona’s help in tracking down his long-lost love.
A new job, new friends and a possible love interest await her in Connecticut, along with the need to placate a very persuasive George in his quest to reunite with his soulmate.
A highly enjoyable read – told through the alternating voices of Fiona and her amusing nineteenth century gentleman. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
Unspoken: A Dust Novel
Jann Alexander
I enjoyed following the journey of Ruby Lee Becker, a young girl living in the Texas panhandle in 1935. Ruby’s family farm – and its starving residents – suffer greatly during the Dust Bowl.
As the family falters, young Ruby gets shipped off to a distant relative in Waco, Texas, but her sole objective is to return home.
I enjoyed following along on the journey in west Texas, touching upon the economic and social disaster of long-term droughts in farming communities, the Depression, the dissolution of families, the placing of children in abusive children’s homes, the hobo life on the railways and America’s entrance into WWII.
This was an engaging tale, all told through the eyes of a young girl in a sweeping coming-of-age story. Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
Solitary Walker: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft
NJ Mastro
As someone who studied a great deal of of political theory, Mary Wollstonecraft and her A Vindication for The Rights of Women was the staple woman in almost every political philosophy class I ever took.
But aside from this famous treatise, and the knowledge that Mary Wollstonecraft was the mother of author Mary Shelley, of Frankenstein fame, I knew very little about the life of this prolific author and political philosopher.
NJ Mastro’s novel was a deeply engaging and page-turning account of Mary Wollstonecraft’s life. From her unlikely ascent to famous author to her sojourn to France during the French Revolution and its aftermath, Wollstonecraft led an exemplary life.
Mastro masterfully captures the time and the tumultuous currents across Europe in these pages. A highly recommended read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
Riddle of Spirit and Bones
Carolyn Korsmeyer
This dual timeline novel is set in Buffalo, New York in present day and 1851.
In the modern storyline, Dan is working on a gas pipeline project, when he unexpectedly unearths a skeleton. Once it’s determined a cold case from a century and a half ago, a university research team is called in to investigate.
In 1851, penniless orphans Jane and Lydia have their lives upended (once again) when their Aunt Madeleine’s husband dies, leaving his wife unnamed in his will. Madeleine moves her nieces to western New York, but along the way seeks out the burgeoning spiritualist movement to obtain answers from her husband beyond the grave. Jane and Lydia respond very differently to these séances to commune with the dead.
This atmospheric novel alternates between past and present, as the mystery of the long-abandoned skeleton comes to life. A compelling, page-turning read, and a fascinating look at the spiritualist movement.
A highly recommended read.
Saving Vincent
Joan Fernandez
I always enjoy stories about art, so I was drawn to Saving Vincent.
This is the story of one woman’s dedication to bolstering the artistic legacy of her brother-in-law, Vincent Van Gogh, after his tragic death. Vincent Van Gogh never enjoyed financial success during his prolific career.
His brother, Theo, was an art dealer and fully supportive of his brother’s artistic endeavors. But when Theo died soon after his brother Vincent, he left behind his widow, Jo, and their young son with little financial security.
Despite all odds, Jo quickly learned to maneuver the art world and took on the mantle of ensuring Vincent’s legacy. A fascinating, recommended read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy – all thoughts are my own.
The Horned Women
Christy Matheson
What a fun novella.
American divorcée Maura moves her two young children and two older stepchildren to a crumbling Irish castle, part of her divorce settlement.
They are easing into their new life abroad, when an evening visitation by horned women places their entire (precarious) existence at risk.
Through cunning, a mother’s selfless bravery, and an intimate knowledge of Irish folklore, Maura must strive to protect her blended family from malevolent forces.
A highly recommended story.
