It's Tuesday again, which means it's time for another round of my favorite weekly meme on the Internet.  If you haven't participated in this bookish fun before, what are you waiting for?  Click on over to The Broke and the Bookish to see what all the buzz is about, make your own list, and hop all over the book blogosphere to find new blogs and get lots of great reading recommendations.  It's a good time, I promise!

This week's prompt is: Top Ten Most Anticipated Reads for the Rest of 2017.  It feels like I just did this topic since I used the "Cover Freebie" topic from a few weeks ago to talk about Top Ten Books I'm Excited to Read When They Come Out in Fall/Winter 2017.  Good thing there are so many awesome books still coming in 2017!  Here are ten that I'm looking forward to that I haven't highlighted yet this year:

Top Ten (oops—make that Eleven) Most Anticipated Reads for the Rest of 2017: 


 1. York by Laura Ruby—I'm in the middle of this MG steampunk adventure by the author of Bone Gap (one of my favorite books of 2014) and it's tons of fun.  It's about three kids who are trying to solve a 150+-year-old, world-famous cipher in order to save the home they love in an alternative NYC.  Available now.

 
 2.  Wishtree by Katherine Applegate—I adored both The One & Only Ivan and Crenshaw, so I can't wait to see what Applegate will do with her newest.  Told from the perspective of a tree that functions as the wishing well for a small town, the story should be interesting!  Coming September 26, 2017.

2.  The Agony of Bun O'Keefe by Heather T. Smith—Bun is the daughter of a hoarder.  When her mother tells her to leave, she does.  On the streets of Newfoundland, she meets a quirky cast of characters who become her makeshift family.  Sounds intriguing to me.  Coming September 5, 2017.


3.  Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss—This adult novel about a young novelist and an older lawyer, both searching for themselves, who end up in the same Israeli desert sounds engrossing.  The title makes the book sound like a horror novel, or at least a thriller, so I'll be interested to see how it comes into play in the story.  Coming September 12, 2017.


4.  My Brigadista Year by Katherine Paterson—This historical novel features a young Cuban teen who volunteers with Castro's national literary campaign.  As she travels the countryside teaching people to read, she learns important lessons about her country and herself.  Coming October 10, 2017.


 5.  Landscape With Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson—I enjoyed Feed, Anderson's YA novel about the dangers of technology addiction.  His newest sounds similarly exciting and thought-provoking.  Coming September 12, 2017.


 6.  Slider by Pete Hautman—I don't think I've ever read a novel about competitive eating, so this MG sounds especially tantalizing.  Coming September 12, 2017.


 7.  The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott—This historical novel about an Irish immigrant's dramatic suicide and the way that it impacts his widow and unborn child sounds depressing but compelling.  Coming September 19, 2017.


 8.  Invictus by Ryan Graudin—I loved Graudin's The Walled City, although I haven't been as impressed with her subsequent books.  Still, I'm excited to check out the author's newest.  It's a time-traveling adventure that sounds fun.  The reviews seem a bit so-so, but I still want to see what Invictus is all about.  Coming September 26, 2017.


 9.  Red Dirt by Anna Jarzab—This gritty mystery set in small-town Oklahoma looks intriguing.  Coming August 29, 2017.


 10.  Auma's Long Run by Eucabeth Odhiambo—In this MG novel, a 13-year-old Kenyan girl in the 1980s must decide whether to keep pursuing her dream of becoming a track star as her village is invaded by AIDS.  Sounds sad, but inspiring.  Coming September 1, 2017.

So, what's on your list today?  What are your most anticipated reads for the rest of the year?  Do we have any in common?  Leave me a comment and I'll happily return the favor.

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

*May 24th: http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/, http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, http://rockinbookreviews.com/
*May 26th: http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/, http://thethingsilovemost.com/, http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/
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I love Tuesdays in book blogger land.  Why?  Because that's when my favorite weekly meme happens!  If you haven't participated in Top Ten Tuesday before, you really should.  It's a fun way to grow your TBR list (because you can NEVER have too many books in the queue—ha ha), find fabulous new book blogs, and spread the comment love.  To join in, click on over to The Broke and the Bookish for some easy instructions, then have a great time hopping all over the book blogosphere!

Not surprisingly, today's prompt has to do with summer reading.  In fact, it's a Summer Reads Freebie.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of heat and summer.  I live in a suburb of Phoenix, so I basically spend 9 months out of the year hibernating inside my house with the air conditioning cranked down as low as it can go.  I do, however, love the beach.  Not so much its bright, sunny side; it's dark, dreary beach days that I love.  My list today reflects that preference.

Top Ten Moody, Broody Beach Reads:


1. Almost anything by Peter May—Many of May's novels are set by the sea.  My favorites are Entry Island and his Lewis Trilogy.


 2. The Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths—Ruth is a forensic archaeologist who lives near the sea in Norfolk.  She solves all kinds of mysteries, most (all?) of which boast moody, broody beach settings.  Start with The Crossing Places.


3. The Jess Tennant series by Jane Casey— This YA mystery/suspense series by Irish crime writer Casey is set on the English coast, where there's plenty of blustery atmosphere to be had.  Start with How to Fall.


4.  Almost anything by Kate Morton—Morton is one of my all-time favorite authors.  Many (most?) of her novels are set near water of some kind or another.  My favorites are The Lake House and The Secret Keeper although I've loved all her books.


5.  The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz—This novel, about a newlywed couple who impulsively decide to take a job tending a lighthouse on a remote California island, is the only one on my list that is set wholly in the U.S.


 6.  Broadchurch by Erin Kelly—Based on a popular English tv miniseries, this novel is all kinds of moody/broody.


7.  Shetland series by Ann Cleeves—This mystery series is set in the Shetland Islands, an unforgiving landscape that lends a dramatic air to each story.  Start with Raven Black.


8.  At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen—I loved this dreary novel about a trio of disgraced American socialites who go Lochness Monster hunting in the Scottish Highlands on a lark—and get a lot more than they bargained for.


 9.  The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne—This eerie suspense story will keep you turning pages all night long.


10.  Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton—This twisty thriller is set in the Falkland Islands, another harsh landscape that lends a dramatic backdrop to a gripping story.

So, that's my twist on this week's topic.  What's yours?  Do you have any favorite books that I should add to my list?  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!    

Blackbeard is a pirate legendary for his fearlessness and cunning.  But what is really known about the man behind the myth?  Not much.  Until now ...

In Nicole Castroman's debut novel, Blackhearts, she imagines the famous captain as a young man, eager to take on the world.  After a year at sea, 19-year-old Edward "Teach" Drummond feels he has found his calling.  He has no use for the future that has been set before him—being grounded in Bristol, marrying a society woman he doesn't love, managing the business interests of his wealthy merchant father, and staying far away from something as uncouth as returning to the sea.  All he has to do now is convince his father—a cold, ambitious man—to allow his heir to walk away from it all.  Forever.

Anne Barrett is similarly adrift.  As the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy English merchant and his black slave, she has no real place in society.  When her father dies, leaving her without a protector or an inheritance, the 16-year-old is forced to find a way to support herself.  Although she's never worked a day in her life, she signs on as a domestic in the Drummond household.  It's only temporary, however.  As soon as she's saved enough money to sail to Curaçao, her mother's homeland, Anne will leave her grim life in England far behind.

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, sparks fly fast and furious between them.  It's a forbidden relationship, of course, one Mr. Drummond will never allow to proceed.  As the passion between them ignites, the conflicts of their daily lives intensify.  Everything stands in the couple's way.  Can they find a way to be together despite all the obstacles blocking their path?  Or will their love die before it ever has the chance to truly blossom?

Although Blackhearts doesn't boast a lot of swashbuckling, it's an exciting beginning to what promises to be a satisfying trilogy.  The story does offer a tense, romantic story line which is also fun and well-executed.  Sure, it's predictable, but that really didn't bother me in the least.  I thoroughly enjoyed Castroman's debut; in fact, before I'd even finished it, I found myself at Amazon pre-ordering its sequel, Blacksouls (which I liked even better, by the by).  If you—or your teen—are looking for a clean read that is both engrossing and entertaining, definitely pick this one up.  I loved it.

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman and a little bit of the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer)

Grade:

As a tall, athletic, bi-racial woman, Lane Bishop is used to standing out.  Which is just fine by her.  She'd rather play center field than sit on the sidelines anyway.  When she's invited to a pick-up soccer game to cheer on the Hamilton men—five gorgeous "untouchable" brothers—she quickly decides cheerleading is for the birds.  Not only does she insert some much needed girl power into the game, but she makes the winning goal, and scores a date with Jamie, the most eligible Hamilton.  Lane swore off the LDS singles scene when she moved back to North Carolina, but what can she say?  She's never been able to resist a challenge.  And the commitment-phobic Jamie is a tantalizing challenge indeed.

Not long after winning her "prize," Lane begins to wonder if charming, spontaneous Jamie is the right man for her after all.  If only his older brother Simon weren't so grounded, so thoughtful, so observant ... so different than doesn't-think-twice Jamie.  Is it possible Lane's fallen for the wrong Hamilton?  As the situation grows more and more complicated, she knows she needs to tame her fickle heart.  And fast. 

If the plot summary for Wrong For You, a new LDS rom-com by Jenny Proctor, seems a little thin ... well, it is.  Besides the love triangle at the center of the novel, there's not a whole lot going on with this story.  It's meant to be a light-hearted romance, sure, but that doesn't mean the novel can't have some depth.  Wrong For You is fun and upbeat, with a strong female lead and yet, it just gets a little too silly for me.  I'm not a big fan of love triangles as the only source of conflict in a book in the first place.  I also didn't care much for Lane, who seemed like a big, fat hypocrite to me.  So, while Wrong For You is a light, fun While You Were Sleeping-ish novel, I didn't love it.  It made for easy, breezy reading during a week where my overtaxed brain couldn't have handled much more, but still ... Proctor's got a great storytelling voice; I'd just love a little more depth from her books.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of Love at First Note by Jenny Proctor and LDS rom-coms by Melanie Jacobson)

Grade:

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