Welcome to another TTT! This week’s post is bookish goals for 2024. 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 52 books this year. 
One a week seems doable, although I hope it’s more! I just don’t like pressuring myself.

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. 
I love sharing my love of titles whose spotlights burned out years ago and 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. 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!

8. Make time to re-read favorites.
I try to not re-read books even if I loved them because my tbr is so unbelievably long that I’ll never have time for everything I want to read. I’m not being fair to myself with this mentality! Just like I love to re-watch movies, I love re-reading my favorite books. I need to let myself do that this year. I can already think of a few I want to read!

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 2024?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is one of my favorites. I love gushing about all the upcoming releases I’m excited about. It’s so hard to narrow it down to just ten, but at least I can focus on now through June instead of the entire year. I’m going by order of release and not level of excitement because, as always, you can’t make me rank things!

1. A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (released January 2, 2024)

In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

2. Bride by Ali Hazelwood (releasing February 6, 2024)
I really wish I didn’t hate this cover so much!

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

3. The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang (releases February 13, 2024)

From bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles.

San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.

4. A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen (releases February 27, 2024)

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

5. The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves (releases March 26, 2024)

Thirty-four-year-old Wren Waters believes that if you pay attention, the universe will send you exactly what you need. But her worldview shatters when the universe delivers two life-altering blows she didn’t see coming, and all she wants to do is put the whole heartbreaking mess behind her. No one is more surprised than Wren when she discovers that geocaching―the outdoor activity of using GPS to look for hidden objects―is the only thing getting her out of bed and out of her head. She decides that a weeklong solo quest geocaching in Oregon is exactly what she needs to take back control of her life.

Enter Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist searching for distraction as he struggles with a life-altering blow of his own. Though Wren initially rebuffs Marshall’s attempt at hiker small talk, she’s beyond grateful when he rescues her from a horrifying encounter farther down the trail. In the interest of safety, Marshall suggests partnering up to look for additional caches. Wren’s no longer quite so trusting of the universe―or men in general―but her inner circle might argue that a smart, charismatic psychologist isn’t the worst thing the universe could place in her path.

What begins as a platonic road trip gradually blossoms into something deeper, and the more Wren learns about Marshall, the more she wants to know. Now all she can do is hope that the universe gets it right this time.

6. The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton (releases April 9, 2024)

With three months until liftoff, a struggling event planner and a sinfully hot astronaut must decide if their fake relationship is worth a shot at happily-ever-after.

Risk-averse event planner Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to be evicted. With no choice but to gamble on her shaky start-up, the last thing she needed was to run into her smug ex and his new, less complicated girlfriend at her favorite coffee shop. Panicked, Amerie pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met by spilling Americano all over his abs. He plays along – for a price.

Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a plan: for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent’s doting partner in front of his loving but overly-invested family. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house and can put every penny towards her struggling business.

What Amerie doesn’t plan for is Vincent’s gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he’s exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she’ll settle for the safe life—or shoot for the stars.

7. Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle (releases April 23, 2024)

From the celebrated author of You Deserve Each Other and Just Like Magic, a steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

8. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren (releases May 14, 2024)

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

9. Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb (releases June 4, 2024)

A divorcée embarks on her “year of yes” and crosses paths with a shy and sensitive birdwatcher who changes her life.

Newly divorced, almost-empty-nester Celeste is finally seeking adventure and putting herself first, clichés be damned. So when a friend asks her to “partner” with his buddy John for an event, Celeste throws herself into the role of his temporary girlfriend. But quiet cinnamon roll John isn’t looking for love, just birds—he needs a partner for Tucson’s biggest bird-watching contest if he’s ever going to launch his own guiding business. By the time they untangle their crossed signals, they’ve become teammates…and thanks to his meddling friends, a fake couple.

Celeste can’t tell a sparrow from a swallow, but John is a great teacher, and the hours they spend hiking in the Arizona wilderness feed Celeste’s hunger for new adventures while giving John a chance to practice his dream job. As the two spend more time together, they end up watching more than just the birds, and their chemistry becomes undeniable.

10. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (releases June 11, 2024)

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone—much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script—it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter—even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?

What upcoming books are you looking forward to? Do we have any in common?

Welcome to another TTT! And Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely holiday season and the best New Year’s Eve. I’m wishing you the absolute best 2024, filled with love, success, tons of amazing books, and lots of cozy places to read them in. I am so glad 2023 is over. It was truly one of the hardest years of my life, and I’m looking forward to starting fresh. I did read a lot of great books in 2023, though, so I’m excited to share those and also see which books you loved the most! I’m not counting re-reads and my list is not in any special order because it’s hard enough to pick 10 favorites. You can’t make me rank them, too!

1. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
2. My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh
3. First to Fall by Jenny B. Jones
4. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
5. In the Weeds by B.K. Borison
6. The Only One Left by Riley Sager
7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
8. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
9. Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
10. The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole

What’s your absolute favorite book you read in 2023? If you can’t pick, tell me several!
Do we have any in common? Or do you want to read any of these?

Welcome to another TTT! And Merry Christmas! I’m writing this post to you on Christmas evening, still sick with covid-19. I hope you had a nice, relaxing holiday with those you love. My family and I are all sick and have been in bed all day, so we are postponing our Christmas until everyone is well enough to enjoy it. At this point, we’re shooting to have New Year’s Eve be our Christmas Eve but we’re taking things day by day. I’m on my 12th day of being sick, and I’m hoping things get better soon.

Since I haven’t opened gifts from my family yet, this post will not be my complete holiday book haul but it does include titles I received from last week’s bookish wishes TTT as well as my #TBTBSanta haul, a book or two I got on sale, and a 2024 title I received for review.

1. Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas
Thank you to Cheryl Malandrinos, who sent me the paperback for my collection! Lisa Kleypas is my favorite author, and I’m collecting all of her books for my personal collection. This one is a favorite of mine!

2. Till Death by Jennifer Armentrout
Thank you so much, Nicole at BookWyrm Knits for this paperback! Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres, and I am so excited about this one!

3. Solo for the Season by Martha Keyes
Thank you, R! I don’t know exactly who you are, as the gift note only said “R”. I love Martha Keyes, and dove into this one right away. I finished it night before last, and it was a really sweet story that lifted my spirits and gave me a fuzzy dose of festive cheer!

4. Kissing for Keeps by Martha Keyes
R sent me two Martha Keyes books, and I’m so grateful! Thank you! I borrowed this book and loved it so much that I wanted my own copy to read again and again. I’m so excited to have my very own now!

5. Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
This book and the next two came from my Broke & Bookish Secret Santa, Nathalie! Thank you again, Nathalie! I love holiday books, so she knew what she was doing when she sent me these.

6. A Season for Love by Lisa Kleypas

7. A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh

8. 26 Ways to Come Home for the Holidays by Jennifer Joy
This was on my wish list and popped up as free, so I grabbed it! I love it when that happens.

9. New York, New Year, New You by Rachael Bloome
This is free on Kindle right now!

10. A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas
I got this for review on Netgalley! When all my Christmas romance reading is over, I’m going to need something totally different and this sounds great!

What books have you recently added to your bookshelf?

As we close out another year of TTT, I wanted to thank you for participating in this fun weekly list-making meme with me. TTT will turn 14 years old in 2024, and I’m delighted that it’s been so successful and become such a fun part of the book community! If I’m being honest, I’m also floored that there’s been enough topics to keep it going this long. LOL. I wish you a happy and healthy (no covid!) New Year, and that all your dreams come true. See you in 2024!