Character-Strong Fiction

Try these books if you're looking for:

• fiction with great characterization
• stories that transport you to a different time or place
• focus on characters, relationships, story, action, events

The Little Lady Agency 
By Hester Browne
F BROWNE Little L #1
Reviled by her snobby family but adored by her friends, unemployed etiquette expert Melissa Romney-Jones reinvents herself as Honey, and goes into business as a matchmaker for inept bachelors. I love the characters in this one. The second book is my least favorite in the series, but the third book is worth the wait.

Terrier 
By Tamora Pierce
YAF PIERCE Beka Coo #1
When sixteen-year-old Beka becomes “Puppy” to a pair of “Dogs,” as the Provost’s Guards are called, she uses her police training, natural abilities, and a touch of magic to help them solve the case of a murdered baby in Tortall’s Lower City. I’m generally not much of a fantasy reader, but this one gripped me from the beginning. The characters are a lot of fun and the plot is intense and gripping. I was sad when I finished the last book. The audio for these are excellent.

Forgotten 
By Catherine McKenzie
F MCKENZIE
Emma Tupper goes on an African vacation but falls ill and is stranded there for six months. In the meantime everyone back home thinks she’s died and her apartment has been leased to a handsome photographer. Throwing herself into her work, Emma struggles to reconnect with her friends and rebuild her life. I loved the way this book made me think about what I would do in her situation. It created a lot of natural empathy.

The Eyre Affair 
By Jasper Fforde
SCI-FI FFORDE Thursday #1
In a world where one can literally get lost in literature, Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection, tries to stop the world’s Third Most Wanted criminal from kidnapping characters, including Jane Eyre, from works of literature. The synopsis doesn’t really do the book justice, but it is exceptionally hard to describe. Jasper Fforde can be trusted to take you on a wild, witty, and often bizarre ride that is both fun and extremely intelligent. Also try his YA series, The Last Dragonslayer.