Sometimes, I just want to get lost in a book that reminds me what it looks like to step fully into your own power.
Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, there’s something that gives me a goosebumps about following a female character who learns to stand tall, speak up, and live life on her terms. I love these stories so much because they don’t just entertain me but they give me that extra motivation to show up as the best version of myself.
Today, I’m sharing a few of my favorites. The women in these books don’t just find their voices, they use them strategically to put good into the world. And I hope it leaves you inspired. ❤️
1. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
England, 1879.
Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.
Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?
Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke...
Check it out HERE.
2. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own.
What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? This is the plot of Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister, a debut novel with exactly the affection and authority to satisfy Jane Austen fans.
Ultimately, Mary’s journey is like that taken by every Austen heroine. She learns that she can only expect joy when she has accepted who she really is. She must throw off the false expectations and wrong ideas that have combined to obscure her true nature and prevented her from what makes her happy. Only when she undergoes this evolution does she have a chance at finding fulfillment; only then does she have the clarity to recognize her partner when he presents himself―and only at that moment is she genuinely worthy of love.
Mary’s destiny diverges from that of her sisters. It does not involve broad acres or landed gentry. But it does include a man; and, as in all Austen novels, Mary must decide whether he is the truly the one for her. In The Other Bennet Sister, Mary is a fully rounded character―complex, conflicted, and often uncertain; but also vulnerable, supremely sympathetic, and ultimately the protagonist of an uncommonly satisfying debut novel.
Check it out HERE.
3. The Queens of Crime
London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.
May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.
Inspired by a true story in Sayers’ own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels.
Check it out HERE.
These are the books I turn to when I need a reminder to own my voice and trust my strength.
What about you?
I’d love to know which books or characters inspire you to be your best self. Hit reply and share your favorites with me. I’m always looking for my next empowering read!
Now for some exciting news…
Introducing The Literary Assistant Book Club
I’m opening a welcoming space where women use the power of books to inspire growth and transformation.
At 22, I discovered who I truly was for the first time. I had left a strict religious environment and barely had a clue of how the “real world” worked. Books became my guide, my teachers, my mentors, and my escape. They showed me who I could become.
Then, at 37, as I stepped into entrepreneurship and built my business, I turned to books again. This time I read for courage, wisdom, and a reminder that we are never done growing.
Now, I’m creating this space for you.
A community for women ready to grow, learn, and evolve together.
Here, we’ll explore books that challenge our thinking, inspire new possibilities, and coach us through the stories and lessons of the world’s best teachers.
This book club will meet you where you are.
You’ll get morning motivations to set the tone for your day, along with weekly summaries of what we’re reading. So even if you don’t have time to read along, you’ll still gain the lessons and inspiration from each book.
All for the cost of a cup of coffee.
Because investing in yourself should be simple and powerful.
Are you ready to turn the page and step into a new version of you?
Join me in The Literary Assistant Book Club and let’s start this journey together. All conversations will happen here on Substack.
Just subscribe for $5 a month to join.
Starting August first, our inaugural read will be Attitudes of Gratitude: How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life (Live Life to the Fullest Guidebook, Positive Thinking Book for Ultimate Happiness)
Check it out HERE.
As a community we have now donated 16 books to women who need them.💝
For every membership upgraded to $5, we donate a historical fiction or romance book to a local women’s shelter.
Affiliate links are used at no extra cost to you, but they help me earn a small amount—just enough to grab a tea and keep writing! ☕
You had me at "Strong Female Characters" and then your first recommendation is Evie Dunmore's series. Yay! I loved this series so much.
I cannot pinpoint one specific book or one specific character that might have influenced me to do the right thing. I think I'm benefitting from all that I have read, but there is one strong female character that influenced me in my teens and is still dear to my heart today: Esme Weatherwax. Strong, independent, takes no BS (especially not from the patriarchy) - deep down I still wish I was more like her.
I have Bringing Down the Duke on my tbr list. I’m glad to see your recommeding it. I’m trying to think of books I’d recommend as well.