This was a good year for josei, even if most people didn't realize it because nobody was marketing their josei releases as part of that demographic (which is a rant for another day).
If nothing else, it was a year that brought us a new Fumi Yoshinaga book and there was no way I was NOT going to talk about it.
TAMAKI & AMANE (Tamaki to Amane), by Fumi Yoshinaga. First published in 2022 and first published in North America in 2025.
PLOT:
Throughout the ages, there has always been a Tamaki and an Amane. Sometimes they are a tragic couple in the Edo era, torn apart by pride and death. Sometimes they are a pair of Taisho-era school-girls supporting each other through the trials of marriage and motherhood. Sometimes they are two former squadmates who bond while running a black market cafe during the Occupation. Sometimes they are a terminally-ill nurse and a lonely little boy in desperate need of comfort and attention.
Despite the circumstances, a Tamaki and Amane will meet and their lives will always be changed by that meeting.
