Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is hilarious book titles, but I have been so busy dealing with life stuff that I didn’t have time to come up with my list today! I might come back and update this later, but I’m posting the Linky now so you can link up your posts!
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas Everything has a price.
Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.
Everything except her.
Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart is frozen. But she has no interest in living in the fast-paced world of a ruthless man who always plays to win. When a newfound enemy nearly destroys Cassandra’s reputation, Severin seizes the opportunity he’s been waiting for. As always, he gets what he wants—or does he? There’s one lesson Tom Severin has yet to learn from his new bride: never underestimate a Ravenel.
The chase for Cassandra’s hand may be over. But the chase for her heart has only just begun . . .
As you may or may not have figured it out by now, I am flying through Lisa Kleypas’s books at a speed that honestly surprises me. I rarely read two books of the same genre in a row, so the fact that I’m on my 8th Lisa Kleypas historical romance in a row really says something about these books! I was so, so excited to read Cassandra’s love story and Lisa Kleypas has delivered. Again. As always, my main points are bolded.
1. Ok, so Cassandra is the last member of the Ravenel family to fall in love. She’s Pandora’s twin sister, and is the quieter, sweeter of the two of them. She’s been so kind and caring and loving towards her family and, of course, deserves the very best man in the entire world. I loved learning more about her and seeing more of her personality. She’s so understanding with Tom, yet she also calls him out when she needs to.
2. Tom Severin completely stole this book for me. I will admit that I was initially concerned about Lisa Kleypas’s choice for Cassandra. Tom has been mentioned in passing throughout the books in this series, but all I’ve ever really known about him is that he’s a rich railroad tycoon and he’s got a love-hate friendship with the Ravenel men. Actually, it’s mostly been hate because Devon and West haven’t said much good about him at all. I thought he would be cold and unfeeling but I really, really loved him. He’s super serious and not at all socially savvy. He’s of the opinion that money will get him whatever he wants in life, so when Cassandra doesn’t immediately fall all over herself to be his bride he’s downright confused. Like, literally surprised and confused by this situation. I loved watching him fall in love and learn how to navigate something like this. He is so thoughtful and considerate, and Cassandra quickly becomes the most important thing in his life.
3. The meet cute is adorable (seriously one of my favorites ever), and the progression of the romance is so unbelievably sweet and swoony. Tom and Cassandra have the best banter, and they are so cute together! Tom comes up with the idea of a marriage contract so they can both ensure they’re happy! My goodness, how cute.
4. Chasing Cassandra is relatively low-angst, low stakes and I loved every second of it. Lisa Kleypas knows how to put her characters through stuff. I was expecting a little danger, maybe some conflict, but this was just light and flowy and all smiles for me. It made for the most wonderful reading experience!
So basically, you need to meet Tom and Cassandra. They’re great as individuals, but even better as a couple. And that’s what makes a great love story, right? Queen Lisa Kleypas’s writing is, as usual, flawless. I love her books so much! Just go get all of them.
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 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).
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?