Category: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Books Featuring Water on the Cover

Posted August 28, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 14 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is super broad: Water. These can be books that take place on/in/under the water, books with water/bodies of water in the title or on the cover, etc. If you know me, you know I love a pretty cover so I decided to share book covers with water or bodies of water on them! These are all books I’ve either read and enjoyed, or hope to read soon!

Would You Rather by Allison Ashley
(I know this is not the cover the book ended up being published with, but I wish it was and this is my form of protest.)

The Secret by Julie Garwood

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin

Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins

Rebound by Noelle August

Captivate by Vanessa Garden

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

By Love or By Sea by Rachel Rager

The Love Academy by Belinda Jones

The Widow by Carla Neggers


Four Romantasy Books I Enjoyed & Six I Want to Read

Posted August 21, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is genre freebie, which means you get to pick a genre and build a list around it. I’ve talked about romantic suspense and historical fiction in previous posts like this one, so today I thought I’d talk about the romantasy (romantic fantasy) genre! I’ve fallen in love with this genre over the years, but good ones are hard to find (I’ve DNFed quite a few)! I’m hoping maybe some of you have recommendations for me based on the ones I’ve enjoyed and the ones I think I’ll like! I’m purposely not including YA fantasy (unless they’re steamy) because I like the spice!

Romantasy Books I’ve Enjoyed

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas
(I don’t consider this series to be YA, even though one could argue that it is.)

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

Ledge by Stacey McEwan

Romantasy Books on my To-Read List

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

Of Earth and Flame by Elayna R. Gallea

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick


Top Ten Characters from Different Books Who Would be Great Friends

Posted August 14, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 13 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Characters from Different Books Who Should Team Up, which was submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext. What a fun topic! I enjoyed looking through all my books and thinking about the different characters and who would make good friends. It was a challenge in some cases, but I now need all of these authors to team up and make my ideas come to life.

1. Evie from In the Weeds by B.K. Borison and Nari from Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kylie Dunbar
Both Evie and Nari travel around for their social media accounts, Evie to showcase small businesses and Nari to showcase fun travel destinations. I think they’d love discussing what they do and traveling together!

2. Olivia from First to Fall by Jenny B. Jones and Olive from The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Their names are similar, and both of them pretended to be married to someone they didn’t like before ultimately falling in love with them! If that doesn’t bond you, I don’t know what would.

3. Mila from The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn and Grace from The Last Bookshop In London by Madeline Martin
Mila and Grace are both brave women who sacrificed a lot and fought against Hitler in different ways during WW2. And they’re both bookish, so I think they’d have a lot in common.

4. Nathan from The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams and Dallas from My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh
These guys are both athletes who fake date the women they ultimately fall in love with in order to gain better publicity for themselves. Nathan plays football and Dallas plays hockey, so I can picture quite the bromance between them as they talk about sports and living life in the spotlight. I think their partners would be great friends, too!

5. Leah from Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm by Jaimie Admans and Stella from Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
Both Leah and Stella bought Christmas tree farms on a whim! They live in different countries, so they won’t be each other’s competition. They can just share tips and bond over their love of trees!

6. Adam from The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and Matt from Hotshot Doc by R.S. Grey
This one is hard to explain because it’s just a feeling I have. Matt is a cocky surgeon, Adam is a cocky professor. Both are young and successful and they like science/medicine. I dunno! I think they’d be buds if they ever had any spare time!

7. Maybell from Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle and Zoey from The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
They’re both so sweet and have similar personalities!

8. Noah from Enemies Abroad by R.S. Grey and Caleb from Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison
If these two taught in the same school, I’d want to go there for sure. They’re both super nice guys!

9. Avery from Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton & Nina Bocci and Sunday from Love, Loss, and Pasta Sauce by Stephanie Taylor
Both ladies flew off to Italy after hitting a major pothole in their love lives for a fresh start and found love. I think they’d love going out for gelato together!

10. Easton from Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler and Graham from The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
These adrenaline junkies would make great mountain climbing/hiking buddies!

Do you agree with any of my picks?
Which two characters from different books do you think would make good friends?


Top Ten Tuesday Link-up – August 8, 2023

Posted August 7, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 10 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! I’ve spent the last few days thinking about today’s topic, Books I’ve Read/Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday (submitted by Ellie at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm), and finally realized I just don’t have the spoons to make a list this week! Do you ever have a day or a week (or a month or a year, hi Friends theme song!) where tasks feel daunting and unachievable? That’s where I am right now, and I think it’s important to recognize this and give yourself some grace. So if you’re in the same place I am, pull up a chair and a throw blanket and read everyone else’s lists with me this week! I’m so excited to see what books you’ve discovered by participating in Top Ten Tuesday! I know it’ll make me smile (and maybe break my TBR, oh well)!

I’m going to be updating the TTT page with the topics for the rest of the year over the next week or so. If you have any ideas for fun topics, please fill out this form! This meme has been around for so so long and I’m running out of ideas!


Top Ten Forgotten Backlist Titles

Posted July 31, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Top Ten Forgotten Backlist Titles, and encourages you to think outside all the shiny, new, trendy titles and think about ones that aren’t talked about much anymore. These could be titles that came out last year and never got the publicity or hype they deserved, or they could be books from decades ago that deserve a comeback. I don’t know about you, but I often get caught up in all the new releases and pretty soon I’m reading the same books everyone else is. There’s no variety, and social media is full of pictures and reviews of the same handful of books. I made it a goal this year to read more titles that aren’t talked about much, and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job with it so far! Hopefully this week we can all expand our TBRs with older titles that could use some more time in the spotlight.

1. The Charm School by Susan Wiggs (released April 1, 1999)
I met Susan Wiggs at an author event a few years ago and brought this, my favorite book of hers, to have her sign. When I handed it to her, she looked at it wistfully and told me this book had a bit of a cult following among high school teens when it came out. I was one of those teens, I guess, but I didn’t know anyone who had read it. I just love pirates. lol.

2. Master of Seduction by Kinley MacGregor (released January 5, 2000)
Teen Jana really loved pirates, and she still does! I actually just ordered this one because I want to read it again! I loved this so much!

3. My Heart Stood Still by Lynn Kurland (released January 1, 2001)

4. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (released February 28, 2006)

5. Catherine and the Pirate by Karen Hawkins (released August 20, 2002)
My first pirate romance!

6. What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long (released February 22, 2011)

7. On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves (released September 4, 2011)

8. Honor Bound by Brenda Novak (released October 23, 2011)
I don’t even know if this one is available anymore except on audio (odd choice for audio to be all that’s left), but this is another pirate romance!

9. A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare (released March 27, 2012)

10. Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett (released August 28, 2012)
I believe this series was abandoned when the publisher went belly up, but I so wish Anna Scarlet (aka Anna Banks) would continue! I loved this!

I had no clue this post would end up being mostly historical romances, but here we are. lol. I’ve been reading this genre longer than any other genre! What are some backlist titles you LOVE?