Category: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Books Featuring Modes of Transportation on the Cover

Posted August 12, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 16 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Traveling is one of my favorite things to do, so when I saw that Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next submitted this fun topic, Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel, through my topic request form I knew I had to put it on the schedule! I’ve written several travel-focused TTT posts over the years such as: books to read if you love traveling, books that awaken the travel bug in me, books featuring travel, books I read while I was on vacation, books that take me somewhere, books set outside the USA (and again here), and books set in places I’d love to visit. Sooooo since this topic has popped up a lot on my blog I thought I’d switch things up and feature books with modes of transportation on the cover! I will absolutely be stopping by as many blogs as possible so I can get more books to add to my tbr! Books with travel aspects are my FAVORITES.

1. Rebel Summer by Cindy Steel
2. The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon
3. How the Grump Saved Christmas by Claire Kingsley
4. Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
5. Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean
6. Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer
7. Artifice by Sharon Cameron (this one sure looks out of place in the collage, doesn’t it? lol)
8. Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne
9. Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler
10. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

I’ve only read the last three on this list. Have you read any of the first seven?
What’s your favorite travel-themed book? I’d love recs!


Top Ten Favorite Books from Ten Favorite Book Series

Posted August 5, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 9 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by A Hot Cup of Pleasure, and asks us to share ten of our favorite books from series. It’s like a double top ten this week! I read a lot more series in my YA Days that I do now, since so many adult series are series of standalones, but I still love my series when I come across good ones! I love re-visiting characters and locations. Can’t wait to see which series and books you feature this week!

1. Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas (The Ravenels, book #4)
2. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses, book #2)
3. In the Weeds by B.K. Borison (Lovelight, book #2)
4. Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare (Castles Ever After, book #2)
5. Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas (Hathaways, book #4)
6. Well Traveled by Jennifer DeLuca (Well Met, book #4)
7. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers, book # #)
8. An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons, book #3)
9. Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel (Christmas Escape Standalones)
10. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco (Stalking Jack the Ripper, book #2)

Tell me what some of your favorite book series are!


Top Seven Books I Wish Had More Christmas in Them

Posted July 29, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 7 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Books I Wish Had More/Less [Insert Your Concept Here] In Them. You could do more/less romance, more/less world building, less info dumping, more/fewer pages, more character development, fewer characters, fewer descriptions, more suspense, etc. In honor of Christmas In July, I’ve decided to go with books I wish had more Christmas in them! The books I’m listing below are all Christmas novels that are marketed as such, but they weren’t festive enough for me and I was left feeling disappointed that I didn’t get what the cover/title/synopsis promised me. When I read a Christmas book, I want to smell the cookies baking and hear the carols playing. Some of these books were DNFs for me and some I really enjoyed but not as Christmas books.

1. Love in the Scottish Winter Highlands by Beatrice Bradshaw
I loved this book, but the synopsis makes it sound like Christmas would be a larger theme than it is. This book kind of breezes right through, placing a larger focus on the fall months. I enjoyed the Christmas parts I got, but for such a short book it spans quite a few months and December is right in the middle. I was disappointed when December ended and we moved in to January and February.

2. An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow
This book was actually a lot deeper and more heavy than I was expecting when I looked and the beautiful cover. I was picturing steamy Hallmark, but this was more of a drama than a romance for me. Everyone is working through a lot of stuff. I honestly can’t remember much Christmas at all.

3. The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr

4. Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran
Considering the title, you’d think this would be very Christmassy, but there had been no mention of Christmas yet by the time I DNFed!

5. A Match Made in Venice by Leonie Mack
Despite what the cover would indicate, this is not a Christmas book. It’s a winter read, which is fine, but it would have been nice to know! I feel tricked and a little annoyed I spent my limited holiday reading time on this. There were a few passages that described Venetian traditions surrounding Christmas and New Year’s, and the flooding of the city, which I loved, but I wish there had been more!

6. Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist by Codi Hall
All drama, very little Christmas.

7. The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
All the magic from Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was gone. This wasn’t festive or happy, and I ended up DNFing because it was making me sad!

I’ve spent way too much time on this list when I’d rather be watching the Olympics, so I’m cutting this short today!
I can’t wait to see what topic you chose to do this week, and will be doing my best to run around the Linky and see what everyone is talking about!

I’d love recs for Christmas books you loved!

Are you watching the Olympics at all?


Top Ten Debut Novels I Enjoyed

Posted July 22, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 10 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by Angela @ Reading Frenzy, and is “Debut Novels I Enjoyed”. A debut novel is an author’s first published book. You could also choose to share genre or age group debuts if you’d prefer, such as an adult fiction author’s first YA book or a mystery writer’s first romance. I’ve decided to go with the former myself. I’m excited to see what books you pick!

1. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
2. One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette
3. Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise
4. Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
5. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
6. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
7. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
8. The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

(I read Cinder and Shadow and Bone right when they came out, and I met both of these authors in their debut years! It’s so fun to see how their careers took off and shot into space.)

What are some of your favorite debut novels?


Top Ten Things I Love About Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Posted July 15, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 7 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Ten Things I Love About [insert book title here]. I decided to go with Fourth Wing because I’ve been obsessed ever since I read it last year, and cannot wait for Onyx Storm! Did you see the cover reveal dropped recently? I’m excited to see what book you chose to gush about this week!

1. Dragons (Tairn is my love.)
2. The special bonds between humans and dragons (they communicate telepathically!).
3. Friendships/found family. I love Violet’s friends and squadmates.
4. It’s not just about the spicy times, like so many romantasy novels are. There’s a major fantasy backdrop and developed world to immerse yourself in.
5. Strong heroine. Violet is no shrinking violet (lol pun not intended, but such a happy accident!).
6. Xaden. Yum. I haven’t felt this way about a bad boy character since Rhys.
7. Disability representation. I have ehlers-danlos too, and I loved seeing Violet be supported and respected. Yes, she needed some accommodations but she was never treated as less than anyone else. She was portrayed as strong and capable, and I felt seen.
8. The romance is not the kind of enemies to lovers that makes you hate both characters for how they treat each other. It was just the right mix of animosity and feelings.
9. It broke my heart, but also made me feel like I’d be ok. So. Many. Emotions.
10. There’s so many twists and turns, and I am so grateful book 2 was so close to being released when I finished this one because I NEEDED IT. And I need the next one!!

Have you read Fourth Wing?
What book did you pick for this week’s topic?