Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

Recent biographies I've led have seemed rather shallow. This, is not one of those. Brady lays out all of her stories and experiences in raw detail, most of it revolving around growing up as someone whose autism went undiagnosed until she was an adult. Even her own family just thought she was an asshole for awhile.

Of course, she grew up in a time when autism wasn't widely diagnosed, and even when it was, it was to a narrow band that she wasn't a part of. After all, as several doctors tell her, she has boyfriends! and can maintain eye contact! and isn't an "unattractive sea monster with no interest in forming meaning ful relationships." Instead, her quirks seem to have gotten her branded as a manic pixie dream girl. But her "quirks" include things like scratching her arms after people touch her and having episodes where she destroys rooms and furniture. Brady is also very up front about using people for housing, attacking someone with a bottle, and her life as a stripper. I wondered about the last as strippers are often touted as having good people skills (and she says several times she doesn't understand social nuance) but she talks about the fact that she was able to do the same routine every night in dim lights. 

There is quite a bit about her time in entertainment as well. I knew her from her season on Taskmaster where she was a bit chaotic but a lot of fun. She talks about that time as a dream job which makes sense because she was allowed, at times, to drop her masking completely.

Highly recommend the audiobook as Brady reads the story herself. 

Four stars

This book came out February 14, 2023

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

He's Not My Boyfriend by Jackie Lau

A fast, fun, and fluffy book that isn't very deep but is still a fun read. 

Iris Chin LIKES her life. She's a structural engineer who hangs out with her other perpetually single friend and hooks up with guys when she feels like it. But her landlord's daughter is coming back to town so Iris is moving in with her grandmother. Right before she moves in, she has a super hot one-night-stand with Alex Kwong. Does he turn out to be the lead on a project she's assigned to? Of course! This is a romance novel, after all. As they spend more time together at work, they spend more time together outside of work. Their eventual happily ever after is a little hand wavy (this is a short-ish read after all).

Three and a half stars

Chin-Williams #2

This book came out November 20, 2018

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Dancy Flynn is a movie star, mostly known for being married to an even more famous movie star. At least, she was, until he dumped her for a younger model. It's just too bad that she drinks too much one night in a very public place. In the same public place her husband's new wife has just debuted her very pregnant belly. It is...  a debacle.

So Dancy make her way to a cabin. Her ex-boyfriend's cabin. Her HIGH SCHOOL ex-boyfriend's cabin. I mean, it's a very nice place to stay on the lake. It just doesn't help that her ex is Chicago Star's quarterback Clint Garrett. 

This one had a little too much drama for me and the ending was a little fast but it follows the Phillips formula and regular readers will enjoy.

Three and a half stars
Chicago Stars #12

This book comes out February 10, 2026

Follows Simply the Best

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Twenty years ago, Clio's mom, Alexandra, wrote a moderately successful story about their house being possessed by a demon. She wasn't the best mother and, now that she's dead, Clio is the only one of the three daughters who wants to go to the funeral. She is also the only one who is willing to go back to the house. While there, she finds a copy of the book she had promised to never read. However, there are annotations written directly to her that we get to read along with the book that Alex wrote. It certainly points to the fact that the demon might be real. And Clio is starting to see evidence of that as well.

Three stars

This book came out September 9, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Final Problem by Arturo Perez-Reverte

stars

This book comes out February 10, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale

Though women often talk about power and money, the author says to manage status first. The others will follow. The likeable badass will be the person who can walk the tightrope between warmth and power. Fragale recommends finding autheic, effective strategies to shape how your customers and coworkers see you. 

One strategy is to manage your status, to mold wahat others think of you. She talks about four quadrants that are made up of warm/cold on one side and assertive/submissive on another.  Women have ofthen been slotted as EITHER assertive or warm, which has lead many of us to believe those are our only options. However, Fragale defines "likeable badass" as being in the  warm/assertive quadrant. The more you show up as warm and assertive, the more value you are percieved to have. 

Interestingly, "powerless" speech (uncertainty) can be seen as "warmer", even though we are often told that we shouldn't self-deprecate or admit weakness. Other tools include humor, choosing the chair at the head of the table, helping others, being aware of verbal/nonverbal behaviors, and smiling. However, she notes several times that no one needs to do all of these things, find what works for you.

A little repetitive but I didn't actually notice until I started to pull together my notes which means that she was able to frame her examples in different enough ways to add the repetition needed to teach people without making it overbearing.

Four stars

This book came out September 3, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Stolen in Death by J. D. Robb

stars

This book comes out September 2, 2025

In Death #61

Follows Framed in Death

Followed by Fury in Death

Ebook ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own