I'm a little late to the party today, but I didn't want to miss my favorite weekly meme so here I am! Today's prompt is perfect for the new year: Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2023. Other than reading 200 books (my Goodreads goal) and completing the reading challenges I've taken on, I really don't have any reading/blogging resolutions to speak of. I'm just going to keep doing what I do and not stress about something that's supposed to be fun, you know? I enjoyed last week's topic—Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023—so much that I'm going to keep it going this week. In case you missed it, here's my Shiny New Releases, Part One. 

If you want to get on the TTT party bus (and you do!), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

- in order of publication date - 

3. Finally Seen by Kelly Yang (available February 28)—I enjoyed New From Here, Yang's 2022 middle-grade novel about a Chinese-American family's experiences in California during the COVID-19 pandemic, so I'm excited to read this one, her newest. It's about a 10-year-old Chinese girl who moves to Los Angeles after living with her grandmother in Shanghai for five years. Lina is excited to be reunited with her parents and younger sister after so long, but America is not exactly what she expected. Has she made a huge mistake? Should she have stayed in Shanghai, even if kids there made fun of her? If she doesn't fit in in either country, where does she belong?

4. The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green (available March 14)—I enjoyed Green's Windy City saga, but I wasn't aware that she had a new book coming out until I saw it on several TTT lists last week. Set in the 1920s, her latest features Egyptologist Lauren Westlake. When a detective investigating a string of art forgeries approaches her for aid, Dr. Westlake can't help but be intrigued by the puzzling mystery. 

5. Lone Women by Victor LaVelle (available March 28)—Horror isn't something I read a lot of these days, but when I saw this book mentioned on numerous TTT lists last week, I knew I needed to read it. It concerns a woman who sets out for the Montana wilderness in 1914 to take advantage of the government's offer of free land. Leaving trouble behind her in California, she drags along a mysterious trunk that must always remain locked, inside of which is a secret that ensures there will be plenty more trouble to come.

6. The House Is On Fire by Rachel Beanland (available April 4)—Have you heard about the 1811 fire at a theater in Richmond, Virginia, that killed 70 people, including Virginia's governor? I hadn't. This novel explores the tragedy from several different viewpoints, examining the actions and inactions that make all the difference in the literal heat of the moment.

7. A Wealth of Deception by Trish Esden (available April 18)—The second installment in Esden's Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series, this one has Edie Brown—a Vermont antiques and art dealer—discovering an unsettling collage with a mysterious provenance. As she and her colleagues investigate the piece, they find themselves getting too close to a dangerous art underground where criminals will kill in order to protect their profitable scams.

8. Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See (available June 6)—Tan Yunxian is a physician in 15th-Century China who is devoted to providing the best care she can to her female patients. She forms a fast friendship with Meiling, a miwife-in-training, who shares her passion for helping people. When Yunxian is forced into an arranged marriage, she is forbidden by her mother-in-law to continue her medical practice and ordered not to see Meiling. Being a "proper" wife is a soul-sucking occupation that does not suit Yunxian. How can she break free and return to her real life's purpose?

9. What Remains by Wendy Walker (available June 13)—When Detective Elise Sutton unwittingly walks into a deadly situation in a department store, she's forced to make a split-second decision. To save one life, she takes another, a choice that has her neighbors lauding her as a hero. She certainly doesn't feel like one, especially when she connects with the man she saved and begins to realize he's not who he says he is. Did Elise make a terrible mistake?

10. The Only One Left by Riley Sager (available June 20)—I don't know about you, but I can't resist a new Sager book and this one sounds especially tantalizing. It's about a notorious murder that took place in Maine in the 1920s in which one sister killed another. The accused was never charged with the crime. In the six decades since it happened, she has become a recluse, never leaving her family's mansion. When she offers to tell her home health aide everything, it becomes obvious that there's a lot more to the story than anyone ever imagined.

There you go, another ten new releases I'm looking forward to reading. Do any of these look appealing to you? Which up-and-comers are you highly anticipating? What are your bookish goals for 2023? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT! 

As a treat for their employees—many of whom were immigrants with little money for frivolities—Chicago's Western Electric Company planned an elaborate lake excursion to take place on July 24, 1915. Four passenger steamers were chartered to carry people down the Chicago River from Cicero, Illinois, to Michigan City, Indiana, where the company would provide an afternoon of food and fun. Invitees were bubbling over with excitement about the prospect of enjoying a day off picknicking with their families. The festival-like atmosphere soon turned to horror, however, when the overpacked S.S. Eastland began listing to port. In less than 15 minutes, the vessel rolled, trapping hundreds of people inside the doomed ship. Although the boat was still attached to the dock, resting in shallow water, and was equipped with plenty of lifeboats, 848 passengers and crew members died in the disaster.

Drawn by the Current, the final novel in Jocelyn Green's Windy City Saga trilogy, revolves around this forgotten tragedy. Our (fictional) heroine is Olive Pierce, a 29-year-old insurance agent, who is excited when she unexpectedly receives two tickets to attend the outing. She and her best friend, Claire Sterling, board the S.S. Eastland looking forward to a lovely day. When the boat rolls, chaos ensues, and it's only belatedly that Olive realizes Claire is not among the survivors. To assuage the grief and horror resulting from her experience on the Eastland, the insurance agent throws herself into her work, battling red tape to help those affected by the disaster. When she encounters resistance to her efforts, Olive enlists the help of a handsome newspaper photographer. As the two work together, secrets are revealed that could put everything Olive's working for at risk. Can she find justice for those who deserve it most? Will she ever be able to put her own nightmares behind her?

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Drawn By the Current from the generous folks at Bethany House via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Today's TTT topic is an interesting one: Top Ten Books That Are Too Good To Review Properly (I Have No Words!). Usually, I have the opposite problem—too many words. The reviews I tend to choke on are for classic books that have been critiqued so many times there's literally nothing new to say about them. Since I don't read that kind very often, I'm going to have to spin the prompt today. 

How about a game? Let's see if it's even possible for me to be succinct when writing about books. You up for it? Okay, here's how it's going to go. I'm going to describe the last ten books I've read in just one word. Stop laughing! I can do this. I think. To make it even more challenging, I will try to avoid the adjectives I tend to most overuse in my reviews: engrossing, fascinating, compelling, heart-warming, enjoyable, tense, fun, depressing, entertaining, and taut (my husband always makes fun of me when I describe books as "taut psychological thrillers"). I'm not even going to include a plot summary, although I will link the titles to Goodreads. Will I emerge victorious? Let's see... 

But first, be sure to hop over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess some love. If you're feeling listy today, join in the TTT fun!

(from most recent to least)

I read lots of books every year written by authors I haven't read before. In fact, of the 203 books I read in 2021, 126 of them were by new-to-me writers. I've knocked out 12 novels so far this year; half of them are by authors whose books I've never explored before. I think it's safe to say I enjoy making new author discoveries. It's especially fun when they've got a nice, long backlist for me to check out! For today's list, I tried to highlight the new writers I found last year that I liked so much I read more than one of their books in 2021.

If you'd like to participate in Top Ten Tuesday (and you really should—it's the most fun weekly book event on the Internet), just hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

1. Kate Albus—Okay, I actually only read one book by Albus this year, but only because that's all she's published so far. A Place to Hang the Moon is such a gem that I really, really can't wait to see what this debut author does next. 

2. Addison Armstrong—I'm the mother of two boys who were born at 29 weeks gestation. My experience with these tiny babies naturally drew me to Armstrong's debut, The Light of Luna Park, which tells the based-on-a-true-story of an innovative doctor in 1926 New York who saved the premature babies other physicians wouldn't by charging Coney Island visitors money to gawk at them. The admission fees paid for the infants' care, which helped many of them to grow and thrive. Armstrong's second novel, The War Librarian, sounds equally as fascinating as her first.

3. Elizabeth C. Bunce—Bunce is probably best known for her YA novels, but I found her because of her charming middle-grade mystery series. I listened to all of the books—Premeditated Myrtle, How to Get Away With Myrtle, and Cold-Blooded Myrtle—last year and loved every one of them. I am anxiously awaiting In Myrtle Peril, which comes out in October.

4. Amy Lynn Green—Green has written two historical novels for adults. I loved The Lines Between Us, a thought-provoking mystery about conscientious objectors who worked as firefighters in the U.S. during World War II.

5. Jocelyn Green—Another historical fiction author, this Green also writes books set in America's past. I enjoyed the first two novels in her Windy City saga—Veiled in Smoke and Shadows of the White City—in 2021. The third installment, Drawn by the Current, comes out in a week. I can't wait!

6. Jennifer L. Holm—I fell in love with The Lion of Mars, Holm's uplifting middle-grade novel set in space, when I read it last July. After that, I raced through her Boston Jane trilogy, which I very much enjoyed. 

7. Regina Scott—I've talked a lot about Scott's American Wonders series ever since I read A Distance Too Grand back in July. I also enjoyed the second book, Nothing Short of Wondrous, and am looking forward to reading A View Most Glorious sometime soon. 

8. Sarah Stewart Taylor—I discovered Taylor's Maggie D'arcy series mystery series last year. I enjoyed the first two books in the series and am looking forward to The Drowning Sea, which comes out in June. Taylor has also penned a mystery series starring an art historian who's an expert in gravestone art, which sounds excellent. Unfortunately, my local libraries don't carry the books. Boo hoo.

9. Tessa Wegert—Death in the Family, Wegert's debut, generated a lot of buzz when it came out in 2020. It lived up to the hype for me, so I read the second book in the series as well. I'm excited for the third, Dead Wind, which comes out in April. 

10. Elissa Brent Weissman—Weissman's heartfelt The Length of a String was one of my favorite books of 2021. I'm currently listening to her newest novel, The Renegade Reporters, which is a fun one.

There you go, ten new authors I found in 2021. Have you read any of them? Which writers did you discover last year? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. 

I don't know about you, but it doesn't matter how many books I have gathering dust on my shelves waiting to be read, my head is still turned by the shiny and new! I'm an excitement-is-overrated kind of girl about most things. When it comes to books, though? The FOMO is real, apparently. I do try to alternate new books with older picks for variety's sake, but I always end up reading more new releases than I think I will in a given year. On that note, I'm embracing today's TTT topic: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2022. I've already shared several of the ones I'm most excited about, so in this list I'm going to talk about books you haven't heard me chattering about before. It's a mix of historical fiction (of course), mysteries (naturally), and even a dystopian thriller (still a fan).

Before we do that, though, be sure to hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love. Consider joining in the TTT fun, won't you? It really is a good time!

(by release date)

1.  At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp (available January 25)—In this YA thriller, a group of teens is intent on breaking out of their treatment center. When they do, they discover that a deadly pandemic is sweeping the outside world. As things quickly go from bad to worst, they have to figure out how to survive. 

2.  Drawn by the Current by Jocelyn Green (available February 1)—I read the first two books in the Windy City Saga last year. This third volume revolves around Olive Pierce, who narrowly misses a terrible death when the tour ship she's on rolls over, killing almost half of its passengers and crew. Olive's best friend is among them. Although Olive tries to put the tragedy behind her, she can't help investigating what really happened to her friend. 

3.  The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers (available March 1)—When Maddie Sykes, a young seamstress, arrives in Bright Leaf, North Carolina, she's in awe of the bright, bustling town that thrives on the profits being made by Big Tobacco. It's not long before Maddie realizes the place has a dark side. As many women battle significant health problems, she seems to see a link between their suffering and Bright Leaf's cash crop. Should she bring her concerns to the town's tobacco bigwigs? Or will being a whistleblower destroy everything she's worked so hard to build for herself?

4. Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss (available March 29)—I'm always up for a fun cozy mystery and what's cozier than cheese? In this first installment in a new series, a woman looking for a fresh start opens up a cheese shop in Sonoma Valley. When a sharp-tongued food critic visits the store and ends up dead, she becomes a suspect. Soon, the cheesemonger is playing detective in order to clear her own name.

5.  The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina (available April 5)—It's 1944 and teenaged Maria is returning home to her Polish village after being forced to labor for the Nazis. She's stunned to discover her village has been razed and her parents killed in a bloody battle between the Polish resistance and Ukrainian nationalists. To her astonishment, the leader of the resistance is her brother. When he goes missing, Maria is forced to enlist the help of a Ukrainian boy she doesn't trust to help her find him.

6.  The Unquiet Dead by Stacie Murphy (available April 5)—I enjoyed A Deadly Fortune, the first book in Murphy's supernatural Gilded Age mystery series, so I'm excited for the second installment. In this one, Amelia Matthew is using her newfound talent for communing with the dead to make a decent living at a New York nightclub. When she encounters the spirit of a recently-murdered girl, she doesn't want to get involved. Then a young Black man connected with the nightclub gets accused of the killing, and Amelia can no longer stand idly by. Once again, she becomes embroiled in a perilous investigation that could put her and everyone she loves in danger.

7.  The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson (available May 3)—I'm sure I'm not the only one who's excited for this sequel to the popular The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I've actually had an e-ARC of the book for a couple months now, but I haven't managed to get to it yet.

8. Breathless by Amy McCulloch (available May 3)—In this mystery/thriller, a journalist and beginning mountain climber agrees to scale a treacherous peak in order to get the story of a lifetime. The least experienced member of the climbing team by far, she grows concerned as the group endures a series of unfortunate accidents and suspicious deaths. With nowhere to go, she finds herself in a desperate fight for her life—in more ways than one.

9. A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong (available May 31)—I enjoy Armstrong's Rockton series, so I'm all in for her newest book, a time-travel murder mystery. The story revolves around a homicide detective in modern day who is stunned to find herself suddenly in Victorian Scotland. When a young man is strangled to death, she investigates the case, hoping it will lead her back to her real life.

10.  The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (available June 7)—When a woman's scream pierces the quiet of the reading room at the Boston Public Library, security guards go into immediate action. While the scream is being investigated, patrons are detained. Four strangers, all of whom were sitting at the same table at the time of the incident, spend the time getting to know one another. As alliances are struck and secrets are revealed, one of them will be unmasked as a murderer.

There you have it, ten releases I'm looking forward to reading. Do we have any in common? Which up-and-comers are you excited about? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

It's been over twenty years since 43-year-old Sylvie Townsend had her heart smashed to bits by a lying suitor.  She's never quite recovered, but she has found fulfillment in mothering her adopted daughter, Rose Dabrowski.  At 17, Rose is a headstrong young lady who yearns for independence and freedom.  Although Sylvie is trying to loosen the apron strings, she fears her impulsive daughter is headed for nothing but trouble.  When Rose launches a desperate search for her birth family, Sylvie tries not to take it as an affront.  Knowing she needs to be supportive, she attempts to push her anxiety and fears away and give her beloved daughter the space she so obviously needs. 

With the colorful, chaotic 1893 World's Fair in full swing right on their doorstep, Sylvie has warned Rose repeatedly to be very careful when out and about in Chicago.  Her worst fears are realized when her daughter vanishes without a trace.  Has the young woman been abducted?  Or has she run away from home to escape her mother's suffocating watch?  Sylvie cannot rest until she knows Rose is safe.  Enlisting the help of her sister, Meg, and a multi-lingual musician named Kristof Bartok, she combs the extensive World's Fair venue in frantic hope of finding her missing child.  While the search brings her and Kristof loser together, Sylvie feels herself drifting further and further from Rose.  Can she find her daughter before it's too late?  With Chicago growing more crowded and dangerous by the day, Sylvie fears she'll never see Rose again ...

Shadows of the White City, the second book in Jocelyn Green's Windy City Saga trilogy, takes place 22 years after the first book, Veiled in Smoke.  Although Meg and other characters from the initial installment are present in the second, it's really Sylvie's story.  While she and her cohorts aren't super original story people, they are sympathetic and likable.  I definitely identified with Sylvie, especially in her plight as an adoptive mother.  Her devotion to and desperate yearning for connection with her daughter felt all too real to me.  The World's Fair makes for an exciting backdrop to the story.  Green describes it vividly, dropping all kinds of fascinating tidbits about the event throughout the novel.  As far as plot goes, the tale remains compelling to the end, even though it's significantly longer than it needs to be.  The mystery of Rose's whereabouts is not very mysterious or surprising, but it still keeps the story interesting.  Like Veiled in Smoke, Shadows of the White City is a Christian novel, so it's clean, uplifting, and faith-promoting.  Although the book is overly long with a predictable storyline, I still enjoyed this engaging read.  I'm looking forward to the final installment in the trilogy, which features Meg's grown-up daughter and the way the 1915 Eastland Disaster in the Chicago River impacts her life.  Sounds intriguing!

(Readalikes:  Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green; also reminds me of The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill)