Historical Women in the Big City

Benedict and Murray, Amanda Skenandore, guides for Pride, and more ...

June 09, 2026

Book Club News: June Issue

Hello Book Clubbers,

This month, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray are back: Members discuss their latest historical fiction collaboration, A Pair of Aces, where two women team up to bring down a notorious gangster in 1930s New York. We’re also talking about Amanda Skenandore’s timely novel When No One Else Will, focusing on an illegal abortion clinic in ‘40s Chicago.

Maria Reva’s Endling, the riveting and strange depiction of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that made our Top 20 last year, is available in paperback and ready for your book club to discuss with our original reading guide and related features.

Glory Edim’s Well-Read Black Girl began as a book club and online community, and is now working with W.W. Norton’s Liveright on a series. Learn all about WRBG Books and other exciting projects shaping the future of publishing.

Happy Pride! Celebrate with our selection of recommended LGBTQ+ books for book clubs. And see what’s ahead with more discussions and Ask the Author interviews this summer.

Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team

Book Club Discussions

Discussions are open to all! If you’d like to participate, you can do so by creating an account here. Please note that discussions can contain spoilers.

A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

From the Jacket

A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious gangster Lucky Luciano, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian.

From the Discussion

“One of the things I liked about this book was that it was reframing the narrative in a mob story to be female-centric.” —Mary_K

“These authors make a great writing team and are able to provide their characters with distinct personalities and experiences based on the time period and their race. This was especially true for this novel and The First Ladies where a relationship developed between a white woman and a black woman in an era when that was not the norm…I would immediately add any book these authors write together to my TBR list, and look closely at their individual books as well.” —Laura_K

See what people are saying in response to this question: Eunice Hunton Carter and Polly Adler were well-known figures in 1930s New York. Were you familiar with either of them before reading A Pair of Aces?

When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore

From the Jacket

Based on the true story of an illegal women's clinic at the center of a high-profile trial in 1940s Chicago and the nurse who risked her safety and freedom to work there, a thought-provoking, powerfully timely novel of courage, sisterhood, and women's healthcare for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kerri Maher, and Audrey Blake.

From the Discussion

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I enjoyed the book, especially as the discussion for women’s rights is a current topic and it is helpful to reflect on the past. I would think this would be a good book club selection, as there is a lot to discuss.” —Dee_Driscole

“I stayed up way too late a couple nights to finish this book. It really had me transfixed.” —Lynne_Brosch

See what people are saying in response to this question: Regret is a recurring theme in the novel. Do you think it’s possible to live a life without regret? How does regret or fear of regret drive people’s choices?

Featured Paperback

Stay on top of paperback releases for your book club with our Recent Paperbacks section, and discover additional content for featured titles, including reviews, “beyond the book” articles, and discussion questions. Below is just one new paperback we recommend.

Endling by Maria Reva

Maria Reva's debut novel Endling follows a group of Ukrainian women involved in "romance tours"—a cultural phenomenon akin to the mail-order bride system in which men from around the world come to meet Ukrainian women with the goal of marriage. At these events, the men are referred to as bachelors and the women as brides. But these brides live double lives. While they follow the tedious rules of engagement at Romeo Meets Yulia—even creating imperfections in their outfits for the men to fix for them—they're powered by desires that are as far from wedded bliss as can be.

A Ukrainian native raised mostly in Canada, Reva retains close ties to her Ukrainian family and culture. While she was writing Endling, her homeland was invaded by Russia. … continued

Review by Erin Lyndal Martin

WRBG & Other Diversity Publishing Projects

Yrsa Daley-Ward’s The Catch (2025), recently released in paperback, has a bizarre and intriguing premise: twin sisters who were separated at a young age, adopted into different families after their mother’s death, diverge in their reactions when one of them spots a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London, seemingly not aged at all and living as she might have had they never been born.

The Catch is the first title in the Well-Read Black Girl Books series under W.W. Norton’s Liveright imprint. The series came about as a collaboration between Liveright and Glory Edim, founder of the Well-Read Black Girl community, which began in 2015 as an online platform and book club and has since grown into a nonprofit organization and recognized name in the literary world. … continued

Reading Guides for Pride (and Beyond)

Celebrate Pride Month with our selection of nearly 90 recommended LGBTQ+ book club books, which feature queer and trans people and subjects relevant to their lives, and all come equipped with discussion guides.

This is one of 100+ themed reading guide categories available to BookBrowse members.

Non-members can browse a limited number of categories, while members can access the full selection.

Discussions & Ask the Author Interviews

Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification. You can also find inspiration for your book club among our more than 200 past discussions.

Currently, we’re discussing A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, and When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore, among other books.

Starting June 18, we feature Merry-Go-Round Broke Down by David Woo and Margalit Shinar.

BookBrowse regularly hosts Ask the Author sessions in our community forum. We invite you to follow along and post your own questions in any interviews that interest you.

Join us for this week’s conversation with Jaleigh Johnson, author of The Reimagining of Thornwood House, a BookBrowse First Impressions pick.

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