Top Ten Tuesday: It’s all above LOVE… My ten favorite love stories from this past year of reading (new & improved for 2025)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Love Freebie, which means we all put our own spin on the topic of LOVE.

Focusing on my favorite love stories from the books I’ve read recently has become my go-to topic for the “love freebie” TTT topic — I’ve been keeping it going since 2020! Here are my ten twelve favorite love stories that I read in the past year:

  1. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (review)
  2. Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot (review)
  3. The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain (review)
  4. Better Than Fiction by Alexis Martin (review)
  5. Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon (review)
  6. My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine (review)
  7. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima (review)
  8. Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (review)
  9. Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong (review)
  10. Funny Story by Emily Henry (review)
  11. The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (review)
  12. The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon (review)

Yes, I went to twelve! I just couldn’t decide which to drop, and had to hold myself back from including even more!

What were the best love stories you read during the past year?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link and let me know your topic!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Top Ten Tuesday: 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To, with the added question: will you be prioritizing these this year?

This was a surprisingly tough topic. I did a pretty good job in 2024 of reading the books I was most excited about. Of the remaining 2024 releases on my TBR list, I can really only name seven that fit the excited description — the rest are maybe, someday books, but not truly high priorities.

Here are my seven books for this week’s list:

1) Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Synopsis: Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as: Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?

Priority for 2025? Yes, I do really want to read this one, and I’m on my library’s hold list.

2) The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn

Synopsis: In this magical tale of self-discovery from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn, a young widow taps into the power that will change the world—if the man’s world she lives in doesn’t destroy her and her newfound friends first.

Priority for 2025? Yes. I’ve enjoyed so many of this author’s books, and bought a Kindle edition as soon as it was released.

3) The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

Synopsis: An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame... From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.

Priority for 2025? Sigh. Unlikely. The Stolen Heir didn’t wow me the way the original Elfhame trilogy did, and by the time The Prisoner’s Throne came out, I barely remembered what had happened in The Stolen Heir. I’d need to reread the first book before reading the second, and right now, that’s not something I see happening.

4) My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Synopsis: Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.

Priority for 2025: Yes! Or at least, I hope so. I have two other “Mary” books to read first (My Contrary Mary and My Imaginary Mary)… but I love the sound of all three, and definitely want to make an attempt!

5) The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

Synopsis: The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

Priority for 2025? Maybe. I’m interested, and I have a copy in my Kindle library… but I can’t say that it’s a burning priority at the moment.

6) Annie Bot by Sierra Green

Synopsis: Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too.

Priority for 2025? This is a big of a cheat, because this is coming up for me as a book group book, so I’ll definitely be reading it!

7) Storybook Ending by Poppy Alexander

Synopsis: From the author of The Littlest Library—a heartwarming novel about a widowed children’s book author who moves into a cottage in the English countryside and finds herself face-to-face with the handsome and brooding blacksmith who lives next door.

Priority for 2025? Yes! I only came across this book late in the year, but the cover drew me in right away, and I’m looking forward to curling up with it when I’m in the mood for a cozy romance.

What 2024 releases do you still hope to read in 2025? Have you read any from my list? If so, which do you recommend?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024.

I did a Top 5 Tuesday post on this same topic at the end of December… but there are so many new-to-me authors I enjoyed in 2024, so why not highlight even more? Check out my previous post, here, and don’t miss the T5T fun with Meeghan Reads!

First, here are the five new-to-me authors I features on my T5T post:

  1. Carley Fortune — I’ve now read all three of her available novels!
  2. Ali Brady — Same — three read, eagerly awaiting a new release!
  3. Meg Shaffer – Read two!
  4. Emilia Hart – Read one, waiting for her upcoming release in March
  5. Julie Leong – Read her debut, and hope there are more books soon to come

And now, even more! Here are ten more new-to-me authors I read in 2024 — all of whom are authors whose books I’ll be looking for in the future as well:

  1. Douglas Preston
  2. Ayelet Tsabari
  3. Holly Gramazio
  4. Ray Nayler
  5. Sarah Beth Durst
  6. Toshikazu Kawaguchi
  7. Katherine Rundell
  8. Alexa Martin
  9. Hildur Knutsdottir
  10. Virginia Heath

Which new-to-you authors did you discover in 2024?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Kindle Library

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection.

I’ve bought a few hardcover editions of favorite books over the last several weeks, but since those are all books that I’ve already read (and in some cases, already have in my e-library), I thought I’d focus on my greatest buying temptation: Kindle books. I can’t resist a good Kindle price break, even though the result is having more e-books than I have time to read. It’s not the worst problem to have!

Here are the ten Kindle books I’ve added most recently:

  1. Burn by Peter Heller
  2. Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
  3. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
  4. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
  5. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
  6. Says Who? by Anne Curzan
  7. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
  8. The Glory by Herman Wouk
  9. The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
  10. There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev

Have you read any of my recent additions? What books have you bought most recently?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Top Ten Tuesday & Top 5 Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2025

It’s Tuesday… the listiest day of the week!

I enjoy two different Tuesday memes, and once again, their topics align this week — so I’m linking up with both.

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Bookish Goals for 2025, with the prompt: How many books do you want to read this year? Are you hoping to read outside your comfort zone? Are there books you meant to read last year but never got to? Are there new-to-you authors you’re hoping to read?

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — and the topic is Top 5 bookish resolutions for 2025, with the prompt: What are 5 bookish resolutions you want to achieve in 2025? Any reading challenges you will be signing up for? Or would you like to focus on a specific genre or diversity to read more from? (Click here to see Meeghan’s upcoming T5T topics for January – March)

Isn’t it great when Tuesday topics fit together? I’m not necessarily answering their specific prompt questions — focusing more on my reading and book-shelving habits than on the specific books I want to read. (And not that much has changed from this time last year — I could probably just copy and paste my entire post from 2024 and call it a day!)

My goals are less about numbers, genres, or challenges. Instead, I’ll talk about my intentions: I intend to improve some of my reading and bookish habits, although my focus may shift during the year. Below are goals (intentions) that I’ll try to keep in mind as 2025 rolls along.

Read whatever I feel like, as much as I can. I say this every year… and every year it’s worth repeating! I’m always happiest when I read without a plan. It’s a wonderful feeling! Apart from ARCs and book group books, this is the approach that works for me… which is why I tend not to participate in very few (if any) reading challenges.

Keep ARC requests manageable, and keep up with the ARCs I’ve committed to. I’m a little over-extended for the first few months of 2025, but once I read all my February and March ARCs, my commitments should be much more under control. I intend to slow down on requesting any additional ARCs, other than ARCs for books I intend to read upon release no matter what.

Plan ahead to make time for my book group books. We have our book-of-the-month picks all set for 2025, and I’d like to be more thoughtful about planning my reading time so I include these books without feeling pressure or worrying about deadlines.

Commit to reading (or sampling) my priority series for 2025, which I highlighted in my series-to-read post for this year.

Keep my Goodreads challenge goal realistic. I’ve ended up exceeding my Goodreads challenge goal during each of the past several years, but that has a lot to do with including graphic novels and children’s books in the mix. Which is great, and I love when that happens, but I don’t want to assume it’ll be true every year. I’m starting with a more modest number to keep the pressure off and allow time for reading bigger books too, if I feel like it. And if I find myself ahead of target by mid-year, I can always adjust to a more ambitious goal.

Remember to note the format of the books I read. This isn’t a big deal, but I’ve been noticing that I tend to read certain genres via audiobook and others via print, and I probably should say which is which in my reviews. Not that it truly matters, but the audio experience can be very different than the print experience, and even just for my own reference, I’d like to be more consistent about classifying books correctly.

Continue finding time for classics. I’ve been participating in the Classics Club spins for the past couple of years, which I love — but I have a big list of classics yet to read, and I’d like to carve out some time for at least one or two outside of the “spin cycle”.

Continue to pare down the number of physical books on my shelves, and be mindful about which I keep and which I send on their way. 2024 was the year where one of my dreams came true, and I finally installed my very own Little Free Library. I’ve begun sorting my many, many books into keepers and non-keepers. For the ones I no longer feel the need to own, I’m trying to sell the ones in best condition on Pango Books, and most of the others are going into the LFL.

Do a big audiobook reread: I’ve been wanting to do an audio re-read of the Green Creek series by TJ Klune. I haven’t started yet — the books are long, and I only want to start when I know I’ll have both the time and the focus to listen to the four books in the series straight through.

What are your bookish goals for 2025? Whatever they may be… wishing you lots of bookish delights!

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025.

Despite good intentions (read more from my shelves! request fewer ARCs!), I find myself with an absolute TON of ARCs and preorders for new books releasing over the next few months. Yes, I’m looking forward to reading them all (that’s why I requested/ordered them!), but it feels like a lot to keep up with, no matter how amazing they’ll all be.

Still — I really am excited about reading these upcoming new releases!

Here are (just some of) the books I can’t wait to read in the first half of 2025:

Listed in order of release date:

  1. The Sirens by Emilia Hart (3/4/2025)
  2. The Tomb of Dragons (Cemeteries of Amalo, #3) by Katherine Addison (3/11/2025)
  3. The Martian Contingency (Lady Astronaut, #4) by Mary Robinette Kowal (3/18/2025)
  4. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (3/25/2025)
  5. Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (4/1/2025)
  6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (4/22/2025)
  7. Overgrowth by Mira Grant (5/6/2025)
  8. Death at a Highland Wedding (A Rip Through Time, #4) by Kelley Armstrong (5/20/2025)
  9. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (6/3/2025)
  10. The Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady (6/3/2024)
  11. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (5/22/2025)

Yes, that’s eleven, not ten: I just couldn’t decide which one to drop!

What upcoming new releases are you most excited for? If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Top Ten Tuesday & Top 5 Tuesday: Favorite books of 2024

It’s that day of the week again…

I enjoy two different Tuesday memes, and once again, their topics align this week — so I’m linking up with both!

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Best Books I Read in 2024.

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — and the topic is Top 5 books of 2024.

Since we have a top 10 and a top 5, why not combine and list my Top 15 Books of 2024? (That’s actually easier, in a way — fewer hard decisions to make!)

I could have added even more — but I’ll stop at 15. I’m including a mix of genres and topics; some serious books, some upbeat or funny or romantic — but all are books that I really enjoyed and that I’m especially happy to have read!

Without further ado…

Here are my 15 favorite books from my 2024 reading:

  1. The Women by Kristen Hannah
  2. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
  3. The Guncle by Steven Rowley
  4. The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain
  5. The Secret Countess by Eva Ibottson
  6. Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
  7. My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
  8. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
  9. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
  10. A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
  11. Songs for the Broken Hearted by Ayelet Tsabari
  12. Close Knit by Jenny Colgan
  13. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
  14. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
  15. Weyward by Emilia Hart

What were your favorite reads of 2024? Do we have any in common? If you wrote a TTT or T5T post, please share your link!

Top Ten Tuesday & Top 5 Tuesday: Books on my wishlist (winter 2024)

It’s that day of the week again…

I enjoy two different Tuesday memes, and this week, their topics align — so I’m linking up with both!

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. There’s a prompt to include a link to our book wishlists, so people can grant wishes if they choose to — but honestly, I’m not particularly comfortable with that, so I’ll just list a bunch of books that I hope the Book Fairy brings!

Also… as I’ve mentioned in past years, Santa doesn’t visit my house… but I do enjoy looking at new books by the light of my menorah!

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books I want for Jolabokaflod, and the prompt is: The year we were travelling Europe for Christmas is the year I discovered Jolabokaflod — the Icelandic tradition of giving books as gifts on Christmas Eve. Which is honestly like the greatest tradition I’ve ever seen. So, which books would you like to receive if you celebrated Jolabokaflod?

Honestly, I love this question, and I think celebrating Jolabokaflod is going to have to become my family’s next/newest holiday tradition!

Getting down to business…

Here are my top bookish wishes this holiday season!

  1. A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong: This is the 2nd Rockton book, and I’d be happy to own any and all volumes in the series!
  2. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon: An upcoming book group read.
  3. I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong: I’ve already read this book as an ARC, but would love to have a hardcover edition for my shelves. A signed copy would be even better!
  4. The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey: Another that I’ve read in e-book format — but a hardcover would go so well with my Expanse series books.
  5. The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss: I don’t tend to buy myself non-fiction books, but I think this one would be a great gift to receive.
  6. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell: This book has gotten so much buzz this year, and after reading a different book by this author, I’m eager to check it out.
  7. You Like It Darker by Stephen King: I usually try to keep up with Stephen King’s new releases, except when they’re story collections. Still, I wouldn’t say no if this showed up at my house!
  8. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson: There are actually a bunch of books by this author that I’d like to read.
  9. The Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis: I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this book since I first heard of it, but I’ve been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the Kindle or hardcover price to drop.
  10. The Bewitching Hour by Ashley Poston: It’s a Buffy prequel! About Tara! I don’t think I’d buy it, but I’d be happy if it fell into my lap (and if not, there’s always the library).

What books are you wishing for? If you wrote a TTT or T5T post, please share your link!

Top 5 Tuesday (on a Wednesday!): Top 5 “new” authors of 2024

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

Note: I’m a day late, but it’s the thought that counts! And my thought it that it’s perfectly okay to do Top 5 Tuesday on a Wednesday!

Last week’s topic was was Top 5 old authors of 2024 (which I interpreted as “old-to-me”), so it makes sense that this week’s topic would be Top 5 new authors of 2024! Meeghan’s prompt is: Tell us all about your favourite new authors. Either debut authors from 2024, or new-to-you this year..

To follow up from last week’s post, I’m going with new-to-me authors — authors whose books I tried for the first time in 2024… and loved!

My five are:

1: Carley Fortune

Read in 2024:

2: Ali Brady

Read in 2024:

3: Meg Shaffer

Read in 2024:

4: Emilia Hart

Read in 2024:

5: Julie Leong

Read in 2024:

There are even more new-to-me authors whose books I enjoyed in 2024… but I’ll stop at five!

Which new or new-to-you authors did you enjoy in 2024?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for winter 2024/2025

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List.

I’ll have a slew of new releases and ARCs to read from about February onward, but before then, I’m going to try to focus on books I’ve been meaning to get to for a while… with maybe one or two new releases mixed in as well.

My top 10 books on my winter TBR:

  1. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: I keep saying this is a priority read, and yet I still haven’t read it! I’d like to get to it before the end of 2024… but the clock is ticking.
  2. The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn: A new release from a favorite author! I haven’t seen any chatter about it yet, but it sounds so interesting.
  3. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer: Another one I’ve been wanting to get to. I loved this author’s more recent book, The Lost Story.
  4. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire: The 10th Wayward Children book will be released in January. I’m always up for another book in this series.
  5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix: Upcoming new release for January. I love the sound of it.
  6. The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune: This backlist title is being reissued (with a gorgeous new cover) in Februrary — meanwhile, I have the Kindle version, and can’t wait to dive in.
  7. The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava: My library hold is (finally) almost ready!
  8. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett: It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a Discworld book, but this one seems like a great choice for this time of year!
  9. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone: I stumbled across a description of this romance, and it caught my attention… and was available from the library when I went looking for it.
  10. A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong: This is the 2nd book in the Rockton series; I’m about 50% through with book #1 (City of the Lost), and I know I’ll want to keep going!

What books will be keeping you warm this winter? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!