Author: Jana

Top Ten Books Set In Places I’d Love to Visit

Posted August 1, 2022 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic features books set in places I’d love to visit. I love traveling so much, and I frequently choose books because of where they take place. It was hard to narrow this list down to just ten picks!

1. Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton – Havana, Cuba
I’ve always wanted to visit Cuba. It’s a place that seems frozen in time, and it sounds beautiful.

2. Well Met series by Jen DeLuca – A Renaissance Faire
This series takes place at so many faires and they sound like so much fun!

3. The Gem Thief by Sian Ann Bessey – Santorini, Greece
I’d LOVE to explore Santorini!

4. Take Me Back by Meghan March – A fancy, isolated island paradise near Belize
I’ve been to Belize and oh my gosh, the heat and humidity nearly drained the life from me. But this book takes place on a breezy island that’s private, quiet, and beautiful.

5. Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm by Jaimie Admans – Christmas tree farm in Scotland
This farm sounds magical and beautiful, and has a hunky sweetheart of a man next door.

6. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler – Moose Springs, Alaska
I love Alaska and I bet the Northern Lights are seen here often!

7. Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar – Finnish Lapland
This book takes place at a snowy resort in Lapland where people go to see the Northern Lights. There’s cabins with Christmas trees and ornaments you can use to decorate, a reindeer farm, and a husky dog nursery!

8. Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch – Irish countryside
There are castles and historic sites and there’s so much pretty scenery! Plus, the author writes really great scenery descriptions.

9. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – The Night Court
I LOVED The Night Court and the secret, beautiful city of Velaris. The setting was just so pretty and magical. I also loved the people there, and all the new characters I got to meet. Plus, Rhys…

10. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall – Istanbul, Turkey
I’ve wanted to visit forEVER!

Which books are set in places you’d love to visit?

The Attraction Distraction by Jenn McKinlay | Audiobook Review

Posted August 1, 2022 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

The Attraction Distraction by Jenn McKinlay | Audiobook ReviewThe Attraction Distraction by Jenn McKinlay
Series: A Museum of Literature Romance #2
Narrator: Sara Young
Published by JMO Ink on June 7, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Length: 3 hours and 20 minutes
Format: Audiobook ARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Royal Valentine, a second novella in the Museum of Literature romcom series, in which the only thing standing between a single-minded Classics scholar and the literary discovery of a lifetime is her heart.

There is nothing Sarah Novak loves more than a literary adventure. When the director of the Museum of Literature sends Sarah to an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea to look for a rare artifact from Ancient Greece, Sarah, an expert on the Classics, is all in.

One problem. Nine other scholars are also on the hunt for the artifact, one of whom is Irishman Liam Maguire, Sarah's ex and the man she beat out for the curator position at the museum seven years ago. Liam wants to form an alliance, but Sarah refuses. He broke her heart once before; she's not giving him the chance to do it again.

When a series of mysterious "accidents" befall the scholars one by one, Sarah is forced to rethink her position on her sworn enemy, particularly when Liam saves her life. She agrees to team up with the swoony Irishman, knowing full well that finding the treasure will likely cost her heart.

I try really hard to not spoil anything, but there’s a chance that some may feel that my review, albeit very vague, might include a small spoiler. Proceed with caution!

I was looking for a fun story to listen to while working on a crochet project, so I jumped on this one when I saw that the audiobook was available for review! I love books that feature some kind of travel, and since the synopsis mentioned a “literary discovery” I was very intrigued and excited to dive in. What I got was a melodramatic, far-fetched, ridiculous storyline. The plot is weak and silly, for lack of a better word. The characters had no substance or real personality. I had to look up their names because I couldn’t remember either of them. Their past break-up is brought up way too many times. We get it. lol. They broke up! The romance was unconvincing and uninteresting, but it was closed-door and sometimes that’s what I’m in the mood for (especially with audiobooks). The “literary discovery” requires the ability to suspend your disbelief and it’s so outlandish that the author has to come up with a special twist to cover it all up. The twist is just the ridiculous cherry on top of the ridiculous sundae. There’s a bit of suspense, but the kind that makes you roll your eyes. Really, The Attraction Distraction read like a parody of something I can’t quite put my finger on and the more I think about it the more annoyed I am I spent the time on it. LOL.

The narration was ok for the most part, except the reader pronounced “parquet” like par-ket, which is wrong. It should be pronounced par-kay. She also said “Mycenaean” like my-seen-ee-un, which is wrong. It’s pronounced my-suh-nee-uhn. I’m pretty sure the copy I received through Netgalley was the finished product but if not, I hope both of these mispronunciations were fixed before it hit retailers! All in all, I’m glad I didn’t pay for this and that it was a quick listen (I sped it up so it went faster than the roughly 3 hours it defaults at).

Top Ten Books From My Past Seasonal To-read Posts I STILL Haven’t Read

Posted July 25, 2022 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 17 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by Dedra at A Book Wanderer. Thanks, Dedra!

I’ve said it once and will say it at least a thousand more times in my life: I’m a mood reader. I read what I want, when I want or I will not be happy. It’s just a fact, and I started enjoying book blogging much more when I allowed myself to do this. I host 4 seasonal TBR posts a year and I rarely stick to them. lol. A lot of my old TBR lists contain books I still haven’t read, but don’t really want to read anymore. So I’m not even going to cover those. I’m going to share 10 of the books I am still really, really excited to read! And I’m not including anything from lists I’ve written this year because that’s just not fair. lol.

1. The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller (featured on my fall 2021 to-read list)
2. Survive the Night by Riley Sager (featured on my summer 2021 to-read list)
3. Must Love Cowboys by Carly Bloom (featured on my spring 2021 to-read list)
4. A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey (featured on my spring 2021 to-read list)
5. The Trouble with Tabbies by A.G. Henley (featured on my winter 2020-2021 to-read list)
6. The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James (featured on my fall 2020 to-read list)
7. Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay (featured on my summer 2020 to-read list)
8. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (featured on my winter 2019-2020 to-read list)
9. A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet (featured on my winter 2017-2018 to-read list)
10. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (featured on my summer 2015 to-read list)

Which ones should I prioritize? Which ones should I forget about?

Top Ten 2022 Christmas Book Releases I’m Excited to Read

Posted July 18, 2022 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 20 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a freebie, which means you get to pick any topic you’d like! If you can’t come up with one your own, feel free to go back into the TTT archive and choose a past topic you either missed or would like to do again. In honor of Christmas In July, a gift-giving event I host each July, I thought it would be fun to share my excitement for some upcoming Christmas book releases! I love Christmas books, particularly romances, so much and I’ve got quite a few on my radar for the end of the year!

1. The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
2. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss
3. A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary
4. All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox
5. Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichert
6. Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan
7. Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop by Kiley Dunbar
8. Home Sweet Christmas by Susan Mallery
9. Alaska for Christmas by Jennifer Snow
10. Let It Snow by Beth Moran

What topic did you pick for this week?
Do you love Christmas books as much as I do?

Top Ten Summery Book Covers

Posted July 11, 2022 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 17 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by Ellie @ Curiosity Killed the Bookworm, and is about book covers that look or feel like summer! I love this topic and will be sharing all my favorite colorful, summery book covers today! Most of these are relatively recent or upcoming releases I’m excited about and I’m going to try really hard to share books I haven’t mentioned on the blog  yet. It’s so easy to just talk about the same books all the time, but so many deserve love!

1. All Roads Lead to You by Jackie Ashenden
2. Luck and Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
3. The Setup by Lizzy Dent
4. The Meet Cute Method by Portia MacIntosh
5. Head Over Feet by Whitney Dineen
6. The Suite Spot by Trish Doller
7. Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay
8. Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella
9. Chasing the Italian Dream by Jo Thomas
10. Her Aussie Holiday by Stefanie London

Have you read any of these? Are you excited about any of them?
What’s the summeriest (lol) book cover you’ve seen lately?