2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2025 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2025 Reading Challenge
2025 52 Club Reading Challenge
2025 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2025 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge
2025 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge
2025 Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2025 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
2025 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
The Life Skills Reading Challenge
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: April Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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I blinked and, somehow, it's April. Oof! How did March race by so quickly? I didn't have any specific plans to read bookish books in March, but I did manage to get to four of them:
The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan—This book is a murder mystery that revolves around a mythical lost treasure. It's not super bookish, but one of the main characters is a novelist with writer's block who takes on a beachside house sitting gig in the hopes that the beautiful, peaceful surroundings will be the inspiration she needs to get her next book written. Instead, she gets caught up in trying to solve a murder.
Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber—In this series debut, a pair of twin sisters are desperately trying to save their family's dying bookshop. Allie Catt, also a caterer, comes up with the idea of hosting mystery-themed dinners to raise needed funds. Things are going swimmingly until Allie's aunt is murdered and Allie's best friend is accused of the killing. The well-read caterer must summon all the knowledge she's gleaned from her favorite literary detectives to solve the puzzling crime and clear her BFF's name.
The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor—Gaynor's newest historical is about a ship carrying British children to safety in Canada during World War II that is sunk by a German U-boat. One lifeboat, carrying several children, their female attendant, and a handful of men is left floating in the ocean, forgotten. The passengers must survive, somehow, until they're rescued, but when—if ever—will that be? Books come into play because the female attendant is a big reader. She entertains the kids in the boat by telling them the story of Moby Dick from memory.
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister—The star of this thriller, McAllister's latest, is a literary agent and her husband works as a ghostwriter. On the day she is supposed to return to work after nine months of maternity leave, she awakes to find her husband has left the house without saying goodbye, highly unusual for him. She soon learns that he is involved in a hostage situation taking place in another part of London. To her shock, her laidback, affable husband is not a victim, but the perpetrator. How can the man she loves be holding people hostage at gunpoint? Does she even know him at all?
What bookish books did you read in March?
I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading in April, honestly, but these two look promising:
The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White (available July 15, 2025)—When the Nazis begin banning books in Germany, exiled German writers start gathering in Paris, where they open a library to safeguard their books and ideas. Corinne Bastien has made the library her second home, but when Paris is overtaken by Nazis, she loses her precious escape. With the help of a reluctant German soldier, it's up to her to protect the precious library and all the secrets it hold from falling into the hands of the enemy.
The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens—A librarian in the Midwest, Hana Babic goes out of her way to live a quiet, unassuming life. Her dark past is something she is desperate to keep hidden. When her best friend is murdered, Hana's afraid the secrets she's keeping about her previous life as a Bosnian militia fighter will make her a killer's next target. With her best friend's young granddaughter now in her care, Hana must protect herself and her charge at all costs.
What bookish books are you planning to read in April?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your April reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Has Sprung on Mt. TBR, Part Two
I love me a seasonal TBR list, even if I never actually read any of the titles I so ambitiously place on them. Since I was feeling uninspired for last week's freebie-ish prompt, I actually started this week's topic—Top Ten Books On My Spring 2025 TBR List—early. If you want to see Part One of my list, click here or just scroll down on my blog (since TTT posts seem to be the only thing I publish lately).
As always, this fun weekly meme is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Spring Has Sprung on Mt. TBR (Or, Top Ten Books On My Spring To-Read List)
- Part Two -
1. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor—I've been listening to this World War II novel on audio, but it's been slow going and I finally had to turn it back in to the library since another patron had requested it. Luckily, I have an e-ARC of the book on my Kindle. I'm about 60% through the book and it's still plodding along. You'd think a story about the last survivors of a torpedoed ship struggling to stay alive would be more exciting and emotionally resonant, but it just...isn't. I'm determined to finish The Last
Lifeboat since I'm so close. It's just a *bit* of a slog...
2. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth—Since I can't do housework without an audiobook to listen to, I checked out a new one. I read three of this Australian author's domestic thrillers last year and loved them. The Mother-in-Law is about the suspicious death of a wealthy matriarch who had complicated relationships with her two children and their spouses. Although Diana Goodwin left behind a suicide note claiming she can't bear to live with the cancer inside her, the coroner finds no signs of the disease in her body, although he does find evidence of poison and suffocation. Diana was not the warmest of women, but who hated her enough to kill her?
3. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (available July 29, 2025)—Miranda is one of my go-to mystery/thriller writers, so I'm always stoked when she publishes a new book. I started an e-ARC of this one, her newest, yesterday before setting it aside temporarily while I finish The Last Lifeboat. It has to do with a mother returning to her hometown to drop her daughter off for her freshman year of college. Twenty years ago, Beckett left the same school following a deadly fire allegedly set by her roommate, who then vanished, never to be seen again. Already uneasy about leaving her only child in a place she never intended to return to, Beckett finds her past overlapping with her present as she contemplates what really happened the night of the fire.
4. A Town With Half the Lights On by Page Getz (available April 22, 2025)—I like the look and sound of this heartwarming novel. It's about a family from Brooklyn who move to tiny Goodnight, Kansas, to check out the crumbling Victorian home they've inherited. Even while they search for a way to go back to New York, Sid Solvang decides on a whim to buy Goodnight's fledgling diner. As the hopeful transplants try to make a go of their new life, they find themselves wrapped up in the small-town spirit of a place that is suddenly starting to feel an awful lot like home.
5. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister—After about a month of hanging out on a library waiting list, I've finally got my hands on the newest mystery/thriller from another one of my go-to authors. This one is about a woman who is eager to go back to her job as a literary agent after being on maternity leave. She's all set to drop her baby off at daycare and go to work, but when she wakes up, her husband is mysteriously missing from their bed. Then, she hears breaking news about a hostage situation brewing in London. She's shocked to learn that her mild-mannered husband is involved—as the gunman. What has driven him to this extreme and how can she stop him from taking things any further?
6. Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King—The generous folks at Candlewick Press just sent me the first two books in this delightful-sounding middle-grade mystery series. It stars Bonnie Montgomery, aka Montgomery BonBon, a 10-year-old who just happens to be a world-famous detective (or will be someday). When a death occurs at a local museum, the intrepid investigator takes the case!
7. An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette—I'm always on the lookout for fun cozy mysteries. This is the first installment in an older series about a woman who takes a job as a food critic for a Key West, Florida, magazine. Her new boss is the last person she wants to deal with. When the boss ends up dead, the food critic must find her killer before she ends up taking the blame for the foul deed.
8. The Midnight Estate by Kelly Rimmer (available July 22, 2025)—I've got an e-ARC of this forthcoming Gothic family secrets novel. It's about a woman who returns to her Australian hometown to restore her ancestral estate. As she works, she discovers dark secrets long buried by the family she thought she knew.
9. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin—I made some fairly ambitious resolutions for 2025 which lasted for about, oh, 24 whole hours, if that. I've still got goals I want to work on and fulfill, but I'm in desperate need of motivation. I'm hoping this book will help.
10. Off the Map by Meika Hashimoto—Survival stories are my jam and this one sounds exciting. It's about two friends who are feeling distanced from each other, which makes going on the canoe trip their families planned together a little awkward. When the two get lost, they find themselves all alone in the Alaskan wilderness with no idea how to find their way back to civilization. Can they mend their differences and work together to save themselves?
There you go, ten more books I want to read this Spring. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's on your Spring TBR list? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Has Sprung on Mt. TBR, Part One
I was out of town for last week's Top Ten Tuesday, I'm late to the game today, AND I have no creative ideas for the prompt du jour, BUT I'm here. That counts for something, right? Today, we're supposed to be talking about the Top Ten Books That Include/Feature [insert your favorite theme or plot device here]. The sky is the limit with this one and, yet, I got nothin'. So, I'm going to get a jump on next week's topic: Top Ten Books On My Spring 2025 To-Read List. I'll post a Part Two next week.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Spring Has Sprung on Mt. TBR (or, Top Ten Books On My Spring 2025 To-Read List)
- Part One -
1. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber—I just started this cozy mystery today since I'm in the mood for something lighthearted and fun. The story's a little silly—I mean, the heroine's name is Allie Catt, after all—but it's entertaining so far. It's about a murder that takes place at a themed dinner Allie is catering. When her best friend is accused of the killing, it's up to Allie to use all the sleuthing she's learned from her beloved books to catch the murderer.
2. The House of Lost Secrets by Anstey Harris—Ever since Rachel Willoughby first invited Jo Wilding to Clachan, her family's cottage in the wilds of Scotland, it has been a dream refuge for Jo. The rugged landscape captured her heart, as did Jo's brother. Years later, Rachel beckons Jo back to the seaside sanctuary to reveal a long-buried secret, one that could change their friendship forever.
3. Isle of Ever by Jen Calonita (available March 25, 2025)—This forthcoming middle-grade fantasy novel is the first in a new series about a 12-year-old girl who learns she's the heir to an unimaginable fortune. All she has to do is follow a set of clues, find an island that disappeared long ago, and break a 200-year-old curse. Easy peasy! What could possibly go wrong?
4. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker—This is my book club's pick for March. It sounds intriguing and inspiring.
5. The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chien (available April 1, 2025)—This is the 11th installment in one of my favorite cozy mystery series. When a rash of thefts and murders descends on Asia Village, private detective Lydia Shephard is called in to help. Enlisting the aid of Lana Lee, she launches an investigation that seems to be pointing to a secret organization that might just have ties to Lana's own family.
6. Red Rising by Pierce Brown—Sci-fi isn't really my thing, but I do like a compelling dystopian story. I've heard so many good things about this book, the first in a series, that I finally just bought myself a copy. It's about a man who lives in a society on Mars that uses a strict caste system. When he discovers that his life at the bottom is a lie, he risks everything to infiltrate the institute, a proving ground for people wanting to be part of the top caste. Will his sacrifice be worth it if he has to become the very thing he despises?
7. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson—I need to read a book set in the state where I was born for a reading challenge. This middle-grade novel fits the bill and it just sounds like an enjoyable read. It's about a kid who moves from Florida to Washington State. Fearing he'll be teased for being a Sasquatch hunter, he's thrilled to find two new best friends with the same interest. Together, they form a Bigfoot hunting company and tackle their first intriguing case.
8. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell—This mystery/thriller doesn't come out until July 29, but I have the e-ARC and I'm dying to read it! The story stars Aubrey Spencer, an architect who is fascinated by derelict and abandoned buildings. While photographing the Seabrink Hotel, a once glamorous edifice that has sat empty for decades but is about to be renovated, she meets an online celebrity who is equally fascinated by the old hotel. When the man's corpse is discovered the next morning at the bottom of a cliff, Aubrey is understandably shaken. Although the police think the death was an accident, she's not so sure. It's not the first time someone has been killed at the old hotel. Aubrey can't let it go until she finds out what really happened to the dead man.
9. Dust by Hugh Howey—I read Wool and Shift earlier this year, then took a break from the intense storyline. Now, I need to finish the trilogy by reading Dust. Jules is the star of the book as she leads Silo 18 in a war to save their lives from destruction.
10. Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander—I've been enjoying Alexander's Secret Bookcase Mystery series. This third installment sees Annie Murray hosting a spooky dinner party at an old farmhouse with a sinister past. Everything is going swimmingly until a guest is killed at the table. Who murdered the man and why? When her good friend is accused of the crime, Annie finds herself once again investigating a murder.
There you go, ten books I'm hoping to read this Spring. What do you think? Have you read any of them? What are your Spring reading plans? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Sunday, March 02, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: March Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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February is a short month and it sure whooshed on by for me! I'm still a bit startled that it's March already. It was 80 degrees outside yesterday here in the Phoenix area and I am not ready for that kind of nonsense. Good thing my husband and I are spending next week in Utah. It should be much cooler there while we attend two genealogy conferences. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for no snow. Last time we went to RootsTech, we drove home had to drive for an hour in a snowstorm. Yikes!
Anyway, I only managed to read one bookish book in February and, truthfully, it wasn't even all that bookish. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano is about a mystery writer who's dealing with a recent, bitter divorce; two needy young children; an empty bank account; and a looming deadline for her a book she's already collected a hefty advance for but can't seem to get written. When a desperate woman overhears a plotting conversation Finlay is having with her agent, she mistakes the writer for a hit woman, and hires her to kill the woman's husband for a large sum of money. Finlay is only a murderer on paper, but she desperately needs the cash and the husband really is a scumbag. It may be an offer Finlay can't refuse...
Even though the plot is totally unrealistic and absurd, this novel is hilarious and fun. I loved it. It's the first in a series and I'm absolutely looking forward to reading more.
Did you read any bookish books in February? Are you planning to read any in March?
As for March, I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading exactly. I just started this one, which also features a writer as one of the main characters:
In The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan, the writer and several others are looking for a famous treasure in a small seaside town in Nova Scotia. As they soon find out, there's more to the treasure hunt than meets the eye. Folks in quaint Maple Bay are hiding dangerous secrets and someone will kill to keep them buried.
It's a fun read so far. Not all that bookish, really, but entertaining and compelling nontheless.
I'm not much of a romance reader. This one looks cute, though, and it's very bookish:
An Overdue Match by Sarah Monzon stars quirky librarian Evangeline Kelly. After her fiancé abandons her at the altar because she's losing her hair due to alopecia, she swears off love. For herself, anyway. Instead, she launches a secret matchmaking service using librarian patrons' check-out histories to pair up suited readers. When Tai Davis offers to help with the scheme in exchange for dates with Evangeline, she finds herself reluctantly in league with him, which might just lead to a match of her own.
We'll see what I actually end up reading in March, but this one sounds fun, so it's a definite maybe. I'd love to know if you have any bookish books on your docket this month.
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your March reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Friday, February 28, 2025
Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Swans of Harlem (Young Readers' Edition) by Karen Valby
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At the peak of the civil rights movement, Lydia Abarca was the first ballerina in a Black ballet company to grace the cover of Dance magazine. Alongside founding members Shelia Rohan and Gayle McKinney-Griffith and first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells, Abarca invited a bright light to shine on Black professional classical dancers. Grit, determination, and exquisite artistry propelled these swans of Harlem to dizzying heights as they performed around the world for audiences that included celebrities, dignitaries, and royalty.
Forty years after the swans of Harlem made history, when Lydia's granddaughter wanted to show her own ballet class evidence of her grandmother's success, she found almost none — just some yellowing photographs and programs in the family basement. With The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults), these revolutionary ballerinas and longtime friends give voice to their stories on and offstage, reclaiming their past so that it is finally recorded, acknowledged, and lauded, never to be lost again.
The adult edition (Knopf/Pantheon; April 2024), on which this Young Adult edition is based, has been hailed as “a captivating corrective to an often-whitewashed history” (Publishers Weekly, starred) and is in development as a Netflix miniseries under the helm of the producer behind Black Swan, 12 Years a Slave, Slumdog Millionaire, and numerous other box office hits.
Arriving to shelves just in time for Black History Month, this “poignant and gripping piece of little-known history” (Kirkus) will captivate fans of narrative nonfiction, dance memoirs, and forgotten histories and inspire readers of all ages and interests to chase their dreams and follow their hearts.
I haven't had time to read The Swans of Harlem yet, but I'm very intrigued by the story it tells. I'll definitely be picking it up soon. If you're also interested in reading it, you'll want to enter this giveaway to win a copy of the young adult edition of the book for yourself:
Grand Prize Giveaway:
- 5 winners will receive a paperback copy of The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults) by Karen Valby.
- US only, we will select the winners and ship directly
- The giveaway starts at 12:01am ET on February 24th and ends March 9th at 11:59pm ET
- Rafflecopter giveaway link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/
Don't forget to check out these other stops on the blog tour:
February 24th — The Candid Cover
February 25th — The Story Sanctuary
February 26th — Lit Lemon Books
February 26th — Tea Time Lit
February 27th — Twirling Book Princess
February 28th — Bloggin' 'bout Books
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Voices of the Past Coming From the Future (Or, Top Ten Upcoming Historical Novels I'm Looking Forward to Reading)
The majority of the books I read are not set in the here and now, so today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is right up my alley: Top Ten Books Set in Another Time (can be historical, futuristic, alternate timelines, etc.). Since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, I'm going to stick with that, but to jive a little more on the time theme, I'm going to focus on historical novels I'm looking forward to reading that are coming out in the (near) future. I'll try to highlight titles I haven't mentioned here before.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Upcoming Historical Novels I'm Looking Forward to Reading
1. The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy (coming May 1, 2025)—Set in 1925 in the Ozarks, this novel concerns Sadie Halloran, a grieving young woman in need of a new start. When she learns that her aunt—an artist who lives in a mansion on an Arkansas bluff—is in need of a live-in companion, she jumps at the opportunity. She's soon ensconced in an eerie, decaying house with her dementia-laden aunt who paints terrifying portraits and hints about dark family secrets. Is there any truth behind her aunt's mutterings? Sadie aims to find out...
2. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong (coming May 20, 2025)—The Rip Through Time historical mystery series is one of my all-time favorites. It's about a homicide detective who is assaulted while visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Mallory awakens, she discovers she's still in the city, but it's now 1869 and she's inhabiting the body of a saucy young housemaid. Her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, is a physician who moonlights as a medical examiner. As Mallory tries to figure out how to get herself home, she can't help but try to help Dr. Gray solve the cases of violent death that show up in his morgue, even if it means blowing her cover. Eventually, she tells him the truth and is able to aid him more openly.
In Death at a Highland Wedding, the fourth book in the series, Mallory and Duncan travel to the Highlands to attend an acquaintance's nuptials. While exploring the grounds of the groom's ancestral castle, they come across a wildcat caught in one of the groom's traps. The animal's wounds don't match its apparent cause of death, however, which puzzles Mallory and Duncan. When a murder occurs at the wedding, they find themselves investigating a strange and mysterious case.
3. Smoke on the Wind by Kelli Estes (coming June 24, 2025)—Also set in the Scottish Highlands, this novel is about two mothers traveling the West Highland Way with their sons, 200+ years apart. When Keaka Denney starts having strange visions of a woman from the past who's in dire need of help, it leads to an odd, logic-defying encounter that just might save both women.
4. Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs (coming July 15, 2025)—Based on a true story, Wiggs' newest concerns a group of young women who are inmates at a Catholic reform school in 1968. They've been brought there for various reasons—fighting, unwed pregnancy, same-sex attraction, protection, etc—and now must figure out how to survive their sentences without going mad.
That's all the plot I can find for this one. The story sounds interesting but depressing, although the publisher's blurb promises that it's "life-affirming." I hope so!
5. The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman (coming July 29, 2025)—I don't always love Wiseman's books, but this one sounds too intriguing to miss. It's set in 1930s rural Virginia, against the backdrop of the eugenics movement in the United States which led to the forced sterilization of thousands of people because of their race, lack of education, poverty, disability, etc. Lena Conti, an unwed mother with a 2-year-old daughter, is left alone at Ellis Island when the rest of her family is sent back to Germany. A relative of the family, a widower with young children, agrees to house Lena in exchange for housework and childminding. As she adjusts to her new life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she realizes that people in this tight-knit community are deathly afraid of the government, which is trying to paint them all as too backward and ignorant to have children and land. When Lena's worst fears are realized and she finds herself torn away from her daughter, she resolves to do anything she has to to get her back.
6. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (coming August 1, 2025)—When something terrible happens, shattering Kathleen McDaniel's hopes for a privileged, peaceful life in New York, she runs as far and as fast as she can. She finds a home on Galveston Island, Texas, where she works at an orphanage helping the nuns care for the children. When her past comes callling at the same time the infamous 1900 hurricane starts brewing, Kathleen must find some way to survive everyting that is coming for her.
7. The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson (coming August 26, 2025)—Prohibition may be in full force, but in the Missouri Ozarks, the Strong family does what it always has—makes moonshine. With their father drowning his grief over their mother's death in his own product, it's up to the three Strong sisters to keep the business running. That's no easy task with Prohibition agents hiding in every holler. When tragedy strikes, the women will have to fight even harder to keep their business and their family together.
8. The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell (coming September 16, 2025)—Romance really isn't my genre, but this love story just sounds like fun. It's about two actors who are starring together in an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. There are plenty of emotions zinging back and forth between them...just not the good kind. When an electrical accident transports the sniping co-stars back to the Regency Era, they have to work together to figure out how to get home, preferably without totally screwing up history. Can they do it?
9. The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes (coming September 30, 2025)—In 1949, eleven years after a radio station dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells convinced Americans that Martians were invading the planet, an Eucadorian station decided to broadcast their own version. Appalled listeners, terrified of impending alien gas raids, set fire to the radio station building, killing fifteen people.
This novel tells this tragic true tale through the eyes of two journalists whose families were profoundly affected by what happened at the radio station. Although they don't trust each other, they decide to work together to find the answers both of them are desperately seeking.
10. The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermott (coming October 14, 2025)—Another novel that is based on a true story, this one takes place at a Manhattan house party thrown by Alfred Hitchcock in 1956. The famous movie director is delighted to announce to his celebrity guests that the venue he's chosen for his gala is known to be haunted. When ghostly happenings start occurring, Carolyn Banks (whose aunt owns the home) must confront some long-held family secrets.
There you are, ten upcoming historical fiction titles that I can't wait to read. Are you a hist fic fan? Which are your favorites? If you're not into the genre, why not? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Ten New-to-Me Authors I'm Hoping to LOVE This Year
It's been a couple weeks since I've participated in my favorite weekly meme, and I've missed it and all of my TTT friends! It's good to be back.
Although I could probably do a Top 100 post with this week's topic—Top Ten Books I Never Reviewed—I'm going to go back to last week's Love Freebie instead. Since I'm always trying out new-to-me authors, I thought I'd highlight some I'm hoping to LOVE this year.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Hope to LOVE in 2025
1. Chanel Cleeton—I've been meaning to read Cleeton's Cuba-inspired historical fiction novels for years.
2. Elle Cosimano—I started reading Finlay Donovan Is Killing It very early this morning while waiting for my daughter to arrive home from a weeklong school trip. It's been keeping me royally entertained since the first page. I've got the whole series downloaded on my Kindle—I see some series binge-reading in my near future!
3. Emily Critchley—Both of Critchley's dual-timeline mysteries sound like reads I would enjoy.
4. Veera Hiranandani—Hiranandani's middle-grade novels about kids of Indian descent struggling to find their place in the world sound intriguing to me.
5. Elise Hooper—Hooper's historical novels cover a lot of territory, from Little Women to the 1928 Olympics to Walt Disney's studio in the 1950s. I want to read all of them!
6. Elizabeth Macneal—Macneal's novels are all set in England in the 1800s. They sound unique and compelling.
7. Ginger Reno—Reno writes books based on her Cherokee heritage. She has a couple of picture books coming out soon. Her debut novel, a middle-grade book called Find Her, which is about a missing Indigenous woman and the young daughter who's desperate to find her, is getting lots of positive buzz.
8. Lauren E. Rico—Although her latest novel, a mystery titled After the Ocean, is the one getting all the attention right now, Rico isn't a debut author like I thought. She's written a number of women's fiction and romance books. After the Ocean and Familia are the ones I'm most interested in.
9. Katy Watson—Watson writes "Golden Age crime for modern times," which sounds right up my alley. Her Three Dahlia cozy mystery series features a trio of actresses who work together to catch killers. It sounds really fun.
10. Jane Yang—Yang's debut novel, The Lotus Shoes, came out in January. Set in 1800s China, it tells the story of two very different women who must work together to survive in the wake of a scandal that makes them both outcasts in an unforgiving society.
There you go, ten authors I'm hoping to LOVE this year. Have you read any of them? Which are your favorites? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
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