Welcome to another TTT! On first glance you might think I re-posted my blog post from last week, but worry not! This week’s topic is a freebie, and since I’m very much a fan of setting New Year’s goals and then not accomplishing them, I thought it would be fun to make a list of authors whose books I have always wanted to read and haven’t yet. I mentioned last week how much I love discovering new authors, so why not make it a goal to try a book by each of these authors this year? Sounds good to me, but who knows what I’m going to end up doing? Mood reader for life. I read what I want, when I want, and if I’ve set a goal to read something in particular I’ll probably want to read everything under the sun more than that book. But it’s the thought that counts, right? So here’s a list of authors who have been on my to-read list for ages and I still haven’t read a thing they’ve written.

1. Megan Frampton
I have re-fallen in love with historical romance over the last year, and Megan has so many titles that sounds great!

2. Sabrina Jeffries
Ditto to the above. Sabrina has a ton of books out, and the idea of falling in love with the books of an author who has over 70 to choose from is pretty exciting!

3. Sherry Thomas
I’ve been interested in the Lady Sherlock mystery series since the first one came out, and now there’s 7 books in this series! She’s also written some romance I’m interested in.

4. Christi Caldwell
More historical romance! I’ve subscribed to her newsletter and own a bunch of her books, so I think it’s time to maybe… read one of them? LOL.

5. Joanna Shupe
Everyone loves her!!

6. Amanda Bouchet
I love fantasy, and I believe I’ve added every book Amanda has written to my to-read list. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things!

7. Amalie Howard
I’m particularly interested in The Beast of Beswick because I love anything Beauty and the Beast inspired, but she’s got such a great sounding backlist.

8. Erin Hilderbrand
I always see her books popping up on “great beach reads” kinds of lists, and they sound like a fun mix of mystery and a teensy bit of romance. I’ve added so many to my to-read list!

9. Alafair Burke
I love mysteries, and Alafair wrote many books with my favorite mystery writer ever: Mary Higgins Clark. I’m super interested in reading some of her own books

10. Robyn Carr
My mom has been singing Virgin River’s praises since the first few books came out. It’s her favorite series ever, and she wants me to read it so badly. So this year I think I’ll finally give it a try!

Have you read books by any of these authors?
Which titles would be the best place to start?
What topic did you come up with for this week’s freebie?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is about the new authors I discovered in 2022. I really love finding new authors whose books I enjoy, especially if they have a large backlist. I discovered more than 10 new-to-me authors last year, so today I’m sharing my top ten favorites and the books of theirs I read last year.

1. K.C. Dyer – Eighty Days to Elsewhere
2. Sarah Adams – The Cheat Sheet
3. Lindsey Kelk – On a Night Like This
4. Lisa Kleypas – All the books in the Ravenels, Wallflowers, and Hathaways series
5. Danielle L. Jensen – The currently released books in the Bridge Kingdom series
6. Meghan March – Take Me Back
7. Julie Clark – The Last Flight
8. Kate Quinn – The Huntress
9. B.K. Borison – Lovelight Farms
10. Kasey Stockton – Cotswolds Holiday

I’m excited to find even more in 2023!
Which new-to-you authors did you discover last year?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic encourages you to share your bookish goals for the year! These can be milestones you hope to hit regarding follower counts, the Netgalley ratio you want to hit, number of reviews you’d like to write, number of books you’d like to read, certain books/genres you’re wanting to get into or check off your bucket list, etc. I love making goals, even if I sometimes struggle to meet them! I can’t wait to see what you’re hoping to accomplish this year.

1. Read 60 books this year. 
This is what I’ve set my Goodreads goal at, and I think I can do it! I usually set it to 52 books (one for each week), but I’ve surpassed that the last two years so I’ve upped it a little to try and challenge myself more.

2. Get my Netgalley feedback ratio to 80%. 
For those of you who don’t use Netgalley, the feedback ratio is my nemesis. On your Netgalley account it shows the percentage of the books you’ve reviewed from the books you requested. Back in the olden days this ratio didn’t exist and, as a baby blogger who was excited to review books, I requested everything I thought I might like (not expecting to be approved for them all). But I was. lol. I dug myself into a huge hole that I’ve been spending years trying to climb out of. I’m hoping this is the year I hit the recommended 80% (although, I’d like to go higher if possible!).

3. Request and accept fewer books for review.
This kind of goes hand in hand with #2. I don’t want to fill my plate so full that I can’t enjoy my Kindle Unlimited and Audible memberships, my library, and the books I already have on my shelves or receive as gifts. For years, I exclusively read review copies and missed out on a lot of other titles I was super excited about.

4. Read more backlist titles. 
A large portion of last year was spent reading books that came out 10-12 years ago and I LOVED it. I loved reading different things than everyone on social media. I loved sharing my love of titles whose spotlights burned out years ago. It was fun going in a different direction than the majority.

5. Share my thoughts on every book I read. 
I think I’ve put too much pressure on myself to write super in-depth, long book reviews (especially for review copies I receive), and that prevented me from reviewing a lot of the books I read because I just wasn’t in the mood. But blogging shouldn’t feel like a chore! So even if it’s just a few sentences, I want to post a review for every book I read this year.

6. Read more books from my bookshelves. 
I’ve got shelves full of unread books, and I want to try making those a priority this year! If I don’t like them, I can donate them so I have room for more!

7. DNF more. 
I did much better with this last year, but I want to do even better! If I’m not enjoying a book, I need to cut my losses. Life’s too short for bad books!

8. Not try to force my mood.
I’m a major mood reader, and sometimes I find myself trying to force my mood to read something because it’s the right time to do it. Like, in September/October I tend to want to read spooky and atmospheric books, but last year I couldn’t find any I loved! I spent the entire spooky season DNFing book after book because nothing worked for me. I probably wanted to continue on my historical romance kick instead. I sort of caused my own book slump!

9. Read the books I’m excited about immediately. 
I’ve wondered if I’m the only one who does this, but if I get my hands on a book I’m super excited about I tend to save it for the opportune moment. A trip, a stretch of time when I’m in less pain so maybe I will enjoy it more, a holiday, after I’ve read x first, after I’ve accomplished this goal, etc. And so often, I end up not reading the book at all. Maybe the mood leaves me or I find something else or that opportune moment never comes. I need to read the books I want to read right away, and not when the stars align.

10. Find more books off the beaten path.
I feel like book bloggers tend to all read the same books. We all seem to be chasing the latest release, the “it” book of the season, the latest social media sensation, etc. I want to go looking for books not everyone is talking about. I want to be different!

What are some of your reading goals this year?
How many books are you hoping to read in 2023?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023 (that I’m aware of at this point). I’ve been dealing with intermittent power outages today, so this will be short and sweet! Can’t wait to see what you all are excited about this year!

1. The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker
2. Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
3. The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath
4. Yours Truly, The Duke by Amelia Grey
5. Where Are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
6. Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
7. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
8. Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron (It’s my name!!)
9. The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
10. The Only Game in Town by Lacie Waldon

Welcome to another TTT, and Happy New Year!!! I wish you all the best 2023 has to offer. But before we start looking ahead, let’s reflect on 2022! I love sharing my top ten favorite books every year because I can look back on them years later and remember all the great books I’ve read. I enjoy keeping records like this! I read a lot of really great books (and binged some amazing series) this year, so here we go! I’m sharing these in the order I read them. I hope it’s just as hard for me to narrow my list down to 10 this time next year!

Eighty Days to Elsewhere by K.C. Dyer
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
Enemies Abroad by R.S. Grey
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

Did you love any of these as much as I did?
Tell me a couple of your favorite books of 2022! I’d love some recommendations.

Happy reading in 2023!

OH. I have a little request. Please, please submit any TTT topic requests you have through this form!
After nearly 700 topics, it’s becoming a little difficult for me to keep coming up with new ones!