It's Top Ten Tuesday time!  Get excited!  Since Valentine's Day is in a few days, this week's prompt is a love freebie.  I don't know why freebies throw me so, but I just could not come up with anything fresh and original for this topic.  So, I'm going to highlight ten books I've read so far this year that have garnered some love from me.  I'm not saying these are perfect, favorite reads, just ones that I've enjoyed.

First, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few instructions, make your own TTT list, then hope around the blogosphere showing some love to the participating blogs.  It's fun and a great way to revisit favorite sites, find new ones, and add some fabulous-sounding reads to your always-growing TBR pile mountain mountain chain.  What's not to love?

Top Ten Books That Have Earned Some of My Readerly Love So Far This Year (in no particular order):


1.  Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon (available April 28, 2020)—Maybe it's the Mormon pioneer ancestry that flows through my veins, but I love me a good wagon trail story.  Harmon's newest concerns a 20-year-old widow named Naomi May who is journeying across The Overland Trail with her family.  Trekking West is difficult enough, but when Naomi falls in love with a half-Pawnee mule skinner, things get even more complicated.  Where the Lost Wander is primarily a love story, but it also boasts plenty of adventure, humor, drama, and heartbreak.  I finished this sweeping saga last night and loved it.


2.  The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (available February 18, 2020)—I was fortunate to snag a copy of this creepy novel, which is definitely more Halloween than Valentine's Day.  It's about an eerie little town in upstate New York where young women tend to go missing.  Our heroine, Carly Kirk, moves to Fell to investigate the disappearance of her aunt, who vanished from the motel where she worked over thirty years ago.  Soon, Carly is caught in a kind of time warp at the empty motel, which is a whole lot more occupied than anyone realizes.  If you like a good The Shining-ish story, you're definitely going to want to check out this freaky tale which had me jumping at every sound, even though I read it in the middle of the day with all the lights on ...


3.  The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer—The Bloody Jack series is one of my favorite YA series of all time.  It's fun, it's exciting, it's different, and it's just all kinds of entertaining.  Even though the tales get "saltier" and bawdier as they go, I still love these books.  Someone suggested listening to these novels on audio because the narrator—the late Katherine Kellgren—is so fabulous.  I agree.  She's excellent.  I enjoyed this one a lot, just as I have every other Bloody Jack book.


4.  Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain—I already reviewed this one, so I won't say too much about it except that I found it to be a compelling and satisfying mystery.


5.  Second Sight by Aoife Clifford—I didn't absolutely love this Australian murder mystery since it's pretty bleak and depressing, but I did find it engrossing.  The atmospheric setting and twisty plot definitely won some readerly love from me.


6.  The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron—Cambron is a new discovery for me, so I'm working on reading her whole backlist.  I enjoyed this gentle romantic suspense novel about an unconventional woman making a living as an illusionist, just like her late mentor, Henry Houdini.


7.  The Hollows by Jess Montgomery—This is the second book in Montgomery's Lily Ross mystery series about a widow who takes over after her husband, the town sheriff, dies.  I think I liked the first book better, but this one also tells an engrossing tale which kept me guessing.


8.  Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien—The Noodle Shop mysteries are all super fun.  This one, the fourth in the series, is no exception.


9.  Tweet Cute by Emma Lord—This one is getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason.  It's a sweet, upbeat romance that's light, funny, and entertaining.  Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day read?  You've found it!


10.  The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan (available April 28, 2020)—I'm cheating with this one since I haven't read it yet, but a copy of this one is on its way to me as we speak.  I love novels about sisters, family mysteries, and DNA surprises, so this book—about three close-knit sisters who find out they're not the only Sweeneys out there—sounds fun.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to love it.

There you go, ten books that have earned my readerly love (or at least like).  Have you read any of them?  What did you think?  What topic did you choose for your love freebie today?  I'd truly love to know.  Comment on this post and I will return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT! 

It's Tuesday, so that can only mean one thing: it's time for my favorite bookish meme.  Since I already did a version of this week's topic (Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf) not long ago, I'm going to change it up a little and talk instead about the My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions.  I've always utilized my local libraries (both city and county), but after spending a pretty penny on new books in 2019, I'm going to try to borrow more and buy less in 2020. We'll see how that goes ...

First, won't you join the TTT fun?  It's easy and enjoyable, I promise!  All you have to do is head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few quick instructions, make your own list, and then spend some happy hours surfing through the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to find reading recommendations, discover new blogs, and spread the love throughout our wonderful blogging community.

Alright, here we go with My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions:


1.  The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer (audiobook)—Ever since I found that I don't actually hate audiobooks, I've tried to have one on deck at all times.  I borrowed this one, the eighth installment in one of my favorite YA series, because of a recommendation from an anonymous blog commenter.  I always enjoy the Bloody Jack books and this one is no exception.  I'm especially taken with the narrator, the late Katherine Kellgren, who does an excellent job giving voice to the irrepressible Jacky Faber.  The books are hefty, so the audiobook is over eleven hours long.  Still, it's a fun one.


2.  A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths—I'm behind on the Ruth Galloway mystery series, but it's another one I've enjoyed immensely.  This installment, the fourth, concerns the murder of a museum curator, then the museum's owner.  Naturally, Ruth and D.I. Nelson are called in to investigate.  I can't wait to catch up with Ruth and Co.


3.  Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu—I've heard good things about this mystery series starring a feisty Singaporean widow who runs a restaurant and solves mysteries in her spare time.  The opening installment involves a murder and the disappearance of one of Aunty Lee's guests, two puzzling events that must be related.


4.  What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr—In this standalone from Barr, a woman in her 60's wakes up in the Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home.  Although she can't remember how she got there, Rose is convinced she's still in her right mind.  When another shocking event occurs, she becomes sure of it—someone is trying to eliminate her.  But why?


5.  Second Sight by Aoife Clifford—I always like a good going-home-to-confront-secrets-of-the-past type books, so this one sounds appealing.  It's about a lawyer who returns to her Australian hometown after a devastating wildfire, only to witness an old friend commit a crime that propels her on a journey to uncover the secrets others would like to remain buried forever.


6.  Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson—I enjoyed Johnson's newest MG novel, Dog Driven, so I wanted to try another one by her.  Ice Dogs is a survival story about a girl who gets lost in the Alaskan wilderness during a dogsled race.  Sounds exciting!


7.  The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan—I've only read a couple of Colgan's novels, but I loved them both, so I want to read more from her.  The Café by the Sea is the first book in her Mure series.  It stars Flora, who returns to her hometown to lick her wounds, only to find herself caught up in the dramas of island and family life.  Fun!


8.  Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner—Graphic novels aren't really my thing, but this one jumped out at me while my 11-year-old daughter was perusing the shelves for Pokémon books.  The story centers on a half-white, half-Japanese boy who is sent to a California internment camp during World War II.  Should be a quick, interesting read.


9.  A Sky Full of Stars by Linda Williams Jackson—This is another book I noticed while browsing the children's section with my daughter.  Set in 1955, the story is about a 13-year-old girl who's frightened of growing racial tension in her Mississippi town.  Trying to decide if she should leave the state altogether or attempt to stay and push for change, she learns some valuable lessons about racism, community, and taking action.


10.  The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers—I've never read anything by Meyers, but the title of this 2013 novel caught my attention.  It's about a woman whose extramarital affair leaves her pregnant and alone.  Five years after she places the child for adoption, her lover's wife finds out what happened.  Told from the perspectives of three women caught in the drama, it's a novel about the consequences of infidelity, the journey toward forgiveness, and the power of family, even in the most unlikely of situations.

There you go, ten books I recently grabbed off the library shelves.  Have you read any of them?  What have you checked out lately from the library or acquired from a bookstore?  I'd love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!