Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish wishes (summer 2025)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 Wishes, with the prompt: List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!

When wishlists come up as a TTT prompt, I typically don’t share a link… but what the heck! I’ll jump in with my Amazon wishlist this time around. Really, I’m not terribly comfortable asking people for anything! Mainly, I’m posting this to say — here are books I want to get my hands on… and here’s hoping the Library Hold Fairy works her magic and gets them to me quickly!

Featured authors:

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstong
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Every Summer After (deluxe edition) by Carley Fortune (yes, I’ve read this one already, but I’m dying over the gorgeousness of this new edition!)
Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words by John McWhorter (to satisfy my inner grammar geek)
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Overgrowth by Mira Grant (I read this already as an ARC, but feel like I NEED a hardcover edition for my shelves)
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (not due out until the fall, but I’m already waiting for it!)
Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
The Names by Florence Knapp

What books are you wishing for right now?

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

6May2025

Top Ten Tuesday: California dreaming… authors who live (or lived) in my state

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State. I’m including some authors who are no longer living, but who are certainly very much associated with my (adopted) home state of California!

Although I’m not a native, I’ve been living in California for almost all of my adult life — so it’s home! Here are a selection of books by authors who either live or lived in California. I love my literary neighbors!

Featured authors:

Jasmine Guillory
John Steinbeck
Gail Carriger
Armistead Maupin
Daniel Handler
Nina Lacour
Isabel Allende
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ray Bradbury
Lisa See

It actually was a bit of a challenge to come up with my list this week — I had to do a bit of fact-checking to make sure that authors who I thought live/lived in California actually did! Did anyone else struggle with this week’s prompt?

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

29Apr2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Going to the chapel… books with “wedding” in the title

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Setting the mood with a song…

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 with the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title, with the prompt: Choose a word and find ten books with that word in the title.

I’m in countdown mode until a family wedding at the end of May, so that’s what’s been on my brain, and that’s the word I’m going for! Here are ~~ten~~ eleven books — most of which I’ve read, plus one releasing in May that I can’t wait to read — with WEDDING in the title:

Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong — May new release!
The Wedding People by Alison Espach (my review)
Amanda’s Wedding by Jenny Colgan — on my TBR
On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn (my review)
An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan (my review)
The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (my review)
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan (my review)
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaladdin and Marissa Stapley (my review )
Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto (my review)
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding edited by P. N. Elrod

I originally had ten, but couldn’t resist adding #11 because the title makes me laugh every time I see it!

What word did you choose for this week’s prompt?

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

In case you’re interested in quick links to buying sites for the books mentioned above:

Note: These are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Death at a Highland Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
The Wedding People: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
Amanda’s Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
On the Way to the Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
An Island Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
The Wedding Setup: Amazon
The Wedding Date: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
Three Holidays and a Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
Four Aunties and a Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop – Libro
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding: Amazon – Bookshop

22Apr2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that surprised me

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 that Surprised Me (in a good or bad way).

I’ve decided to embrace positivity! I’m going to talk about books that provided me with surprises that made me happy, intrigued, or otherwise amused and delighted.

My top 10 are:

Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

What surprised me: I picked up this book just to read the chapters about Survivor… and ended up reading the whole thing, start to finish. I did not expect to be that fascinated by a book about TV!

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

What surprised me: Everything! I am not a sports fan. At all. I picked this book up, way back when, after hearing an interview with the author. I did not expect a book about football to interest me in the slightest, but I just couldn’t put it down.

(And yes, this is my 2nd non-fiction book in a row… I am not usually a non-fiction reader, so any time I enjoy a non-fiction book, it’s pretty surprising!)

Amazon – Bookshop.org

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

What surprised me: I was under the impression that this book would be more “literary fiction” than what I enjoy, so I disregarded it whenever it popped up on my recommendations list. Once I finally gave it a try, I was immediately hooked.

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley

What surprised me: I misread the synopsis for this book and had a completely wrong impression of what it would be about! It worked out fine — I ended up loving the book — but seeing what the plot actually was was definitely a surprise for me.

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

What surprised me: The intricacy of the language and world-building. The Goblin Emperor is one of my favorite books, but the first time I read it, the storytelling style was not at all what I expected in a fantasy novel. The use of language itself as a key part of the story was one of the biggest surprises. This book is a masterpiece, and I had no idea before I picked it up and started reading it.

Amazon
My review

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

What surprised me: It’s been many years since I read this outstanding book… but I still remember how I gasped out loud at some of the plot twists!

Amazon – Bookshop.org

Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin

What surprised me: With the main character described as someone who hates books, I was prepared to dislike this book (which I got as a “blind date with a book” — otherwise, I probably never would have picked it up). It turns out, the book is delightful, and the issue around hating books is more nuanced than it might seem. And anyway, this is a sweet, upbeat romance — in a bookstore!! — that’s just so much fun.

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

What surprised me: I was skeptical — did we need another Hunger Games prequel? Surprise! The answer is yes. The story of Haymitch and the 50th Hunger Games pulled me in right away and was impossible to put down.

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

What surprised me: I suppose I can’t really say this one surprised me — whenever I pick up a John Scalzi book, I know it’ll be amazing. And yet, before reading this one, I just couldn’t imagine how a book about the moon turning to cheese could possible work. But it does! In totally fabulous ways.

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

What surprised me: Based on the cover, I thought this book would be a bit on the corny side… but it was actually really fun and endearing. I was surprised by how much I liked it!

Amazon – Bookshop.org
My review

And there you have it — ten books that surprised me in all sorts of good ways!

What books have surprised you?

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

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

15Apr2025

Top Ten Tuesday: My Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 My Unpopular Bookish Opinions.

That’s hard! But I’m up for giving it a try. Maybe these opinions are more popular than I realize, but here goes my attempt:

The Twilight series is actually better than people think. If you read them when they came out, then you remember how all-consuming and impossible to put down these books were. Sure, we can (and do) poke lots of fun at the more ridiculous plot points… but these books were an amazing read at the time.
Wuthering Heights will never appeal to me. I can’t see why this book is so beloved… and believe me, I’ve tried!
Many “classic romantic couples” are dysfunctional as hell. Romeo and Juliet, I’m looking at you… not to mention Heathcliff and Catherine, and many more.
Zombie fiction has passed its peak. Enough, already.
Assassins and killers are not compelling protagonists. Books about killers seem to be all the rage, and I’ve actually read a couple of good ones — but no matter how you dress it up, I still can’t get behind having a murderer (no matter how great the cause!) as a lead character we’re supposed to root for.
Grumpy love interests would just be jerks in real life. Romantic fiction is amazing, and I know people love the grumpy-sunshine trope… but I think so many of these guys would be actually insufferable if you met them in person.
Fourth Wing is nonsense. Don’t throw rocks at me! I know I’m in the minority on this — but to me, this book is a weird mash-up of a [insert any YA about a special school here] + death + sex + dragons. It doesn’t work.
Sprayed-edge books aren’t special anymore. I do love when there’s a gorgeous edition of a book I love, and I’ll happily buy one, but it seems like it’s becoming more and more standard for new releases to have the painted edges, no matter what it is (but especially in fantasy/romantasy). It’s starting to feel like too much of a good thing (and/or, just another excuse to raise prices for a new book).
Reading stats can have a negative effect on reading. I’m guilty of falling into this trap: We set a reading goal to read xx number of books in a year, then plan our reading to make sure we meet that target. I think readers (again, including myself) who focus on the numbers, page counts, etc often end up avoiding longer or more challenging books out of fear of missing their targets.
Celebrity books clubs are good for readers and the book industry. Don’t scoff! I have a post coming soon about celebrity book clubs in general, but my quick take is that there are some really great books that get attention because they’re book club picks, when they might have totally gone unnoticed otherwise. I think these type of clubs overall do a great service for the reading community.

I’ll just wrap things up with what I think should be a POPULAR opinion: People should read whatever they want! Read what makes you happy! That’s it, that’s all that matters.

What are your unpopular bookish opinions?

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

8Apr2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Springy Covers

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 with Springy Covers. When I think of springy covers, I think of light colors, flowers… and the occasional cupcake too.

So here we go — my top ten books that give me spring vibes:

Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery
Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
Jane in Love by Rachel Givney
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

What books make you think of spring?

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

1Apr2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Just foolin’…

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 April Fools Day-themed — officially, it’s Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read. That didn’t really call to me, so I’m taking a simpler approach and highlighting ten books with “fool” in the title.

First, a bunch that I’ve read:

1) Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell: A terrific novel set behind the scenes in Shakespeare’s time. (review)

2) Fool Moon by Jim Butcher: The 2nd book in the Dresden series. This is one of the books that made me realize — yup, I’m hooked!

3) The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory: My first book by this author. I loved the way a Jewish woman serves as a viewpoint into the court of Queen Mary.

4) Fool by Christopher Moore: A brilliant (and super funny) King Lear retelling! Still one of my favorite Moore books.

5) The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George: One of the first Tudor novels I ever read. I remember being totally immersed.

6) Fool’s Paradise by Dale Walker: Non-fiction travelogue about Saudi Arabia. I read this so long ago that I barely remember it — but I do know I enjoyed it at the time.

And to round out my list, a few more that fit my foolish topic:

7) Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter: It’s a ~~Buffy~~ Spike prequel! How can I resist? I hope to read this later this year, maybe as a nice summer diversion.

8) A Fool and His Honey by Charlaine Harris: This is the 6th book in the Aurora Teagarden series, which I haven’t read… but I’ve been meaning to give it a try, since I’ve enjoyed so many other of her books.

9) Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins: A few bookish friends have recommended this author over the years, and this book looks especially cute!

10) Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer: I feel like I should have read this story already! I know I’ve heard about it, and we definitely had books of stories by this author in my house growing up.

Happy April Fool’s Day! Do you have any other “foolish” books to recommend?

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

End note: Since I mentioned Buffy… Fool for Love is one of my favorite Buffy episodes (season 5, episode 7), and since it fits the theme, I thought I’d end with a little photo montage!

11Feb2025

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

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (review)
Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot (review)
The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain (review)
Better Than Fiction by Alexis Martin (review)
Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon (review)
My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine (review)
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima (review)
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (review)
Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong (review)
Funny Story by Emily Henry (review)
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (review)
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!

Save

4Feb2025

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

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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!

28Jan2025

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

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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:

Carley Fortune — I’ve now read all three of her available novels!
Ali Brady — Same — three read, eagerly awaiting a new release!
Meg Shaffer – Read two!
Emilia Hart – Read one, waiting for her upcoming release in March
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: