Search This Blog







2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (2)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee
- Texas (3)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (2)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (6)
- Austria (1)
- Canada (2)
- England (21)
- Fiji (1)
- France (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Mexico (1)
- New Zealand (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Bahamas (1)
- Vatican City (1)





2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge








Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo



2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge





Showing posts with label Lia Louis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lia Louis. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Top Ten Tuesday: "Heart" Books On My TBR List
9:05 PM
Freebies always stump me and today's is no exception. I wracked my brain to come up with a creative topic for the Valentine's/Love Freebie, but nothing came to mind. In the end, I just decided to go with books on my TBR with "heart" in the title. I'm not much for romance reading, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had ten (but not many more) on my want-to-read list.
If you want to join in the TTT fun, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Top Ten Books On My TBR List With "Heart" in the Title
- in no particular order -
1. Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country in the World by Sarah Smarsh—The product of generations of Kansas wheat farmers on her paternal side and generations of teenaged mothers on her maternal side, Smarsh is well-acquainted with the effects of intergenerational poverty. This close, intimate look at what it means to be part of America's working class poor sounds fascinating.
2. The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee—I'm a big fan of Lee's YA historical novels. This book is the only one the author has written that I haven't read yet. It's a contemporary story about a 16-year-old girl who uses her ability as an aroma expert to help others find true love. As much as she longs to be a normal high school kid, she knows that if she falls in love, her gift will disappear. When she finds herself falling for the perfect guy, her whole life begins to change...Sounds like a cute love story!
3. The Metal Heart: A Novel of Love and Valor in World War II by Caroline Lea—Following the Allies' win in North Africa, a large group of Italian soldiers are shipped to a remote island off the Scottish coast until the end of the war. When Dorothy and Constance—sisters who have been orphaned—volunteer to tend to the sick and injured men, Dorothy finds herself drawn to one of the prisoners. Their forbidden friendship causes strain between Dorothy and her sister as well as Dorothy and her community. When she is faced with an impossible choice, Dorothy must decide where her true loyalties lie.
4. Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story by Mazie K. Hirono—As a genealogist and the descendant of Europeans who immigrated to America in the 1800s, I'm endlessly fascinated by immigration stories. This one is written by a woman who was born in Japan, immigrated to Hawaii as a young child, and is now a U.S. Senator.
5. Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert—This YA novel sounds odd, but intriguing. It concerns a teenaged girl who is experiencing strange occurrences that seem to be linked to her mother's mysterious past. With the help of the boy next door, she starts digging into the secrets her enigmatic parent is clearly hiding.
6. Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier—When the remains of a woman missing for fourteen years are discovered, it leads to the reopening of a cold case that stirs up the lives of three best friends, forcing them to reckon with dark secrets and terrifying truths.
7. A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan—I've never heard of Madge Oberholtzer, but her story sounds intriguing. Her deathbed testimony outed KKK leader D.C. Stephenson, which brought the organization to its knees.
8. The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis—Louis' books sound like romances I would actually like to read. This one revolves around a grieving widow who finds solace in playing music in a London Tube station. When someone begins leaving the sheet music for her dead husband's favorite songs on the station's piano, the widow is incredulous, curious, and, for the first time in a long time, hopeful. Could this—whatever it is—be her second chance at life and love?
9. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng—I still haven't read Ng's newest, which is about a boy who embarks on a quest to find the mother he has never had a chance to know except through her banned poetry.
10. Heart Spring Mountain by Robin MacArthur—When Vale, a bartender in New Orleans, is informed that her estranged mother is missing after a violent tropical storm ravaged her Vermont town, she feels compelled to go home. As she looks for her mom, she digs deep into her family's roots and history, revealing shocking secrets that change everything.
There you go, ten "heart" books on my TBR list. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What did you do for today's Valentine's/Love freebie? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, February 08, 2022
Top Ten Tuesday: All You Need Is Love (and a Mystery and Some Action/Adventure and a Ghost Story and...)
12:48 PM
Since Valentine's Day is on Monday, today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is, not surprisingly, a love freebie. My mind always blanks on freebies and I'm especially stumped on this one because I'm just not much for romance. In fiction, anyway (in real life, I've been married to my college sweetheart for 24 years). I mean, I don't mind a love story; I just don't want it to be the only story in a book, you know? Still, there are a few romance novels I've seen around lately that I wouldn't mind reading. What do the books on this list have in common? They're light, sweet, and funny (at least as far as I can tell—if I'm wrong, let me know, please). Swoony, without being smutty (I hope). I'm a right prude, so I don't want anything more than that, thank you very much!
If you want to join in the TTT fun, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.
Top Ten Romance Novels I Might Actually Read
1. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood—This love-in-the-lab rom com sounds super fun (even though I'm not a fan of fake dating tropes). It's gotten lots of rave reviews all over the book blogosphere. Plus, just look at that cover. It's adorable!
2. Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis—Two strangers trapped in a snowstorm together fall in love in this "heartwarming" novel. This one got a lot of buzz around the holidays. Sounds like a fun Christmas read for the end of the year.
3. What You Wish For by Katherine Center—I've enjoyed several of Center's novels, so I'm definitely up for this one. Set in a school, it's about an unrequited romance between a librarian and her new principal that gets a second chance to blossom.
4. So Not My Thing by Melanie Jacobson—Jacobson's sweet, sassy romances are always entertaining. Her newest is the first in a duology set in the author's native Louisiana. It's an enemies-to-lovers story about a pop star and the woman whose most humiliating moment was plastered all over the Internet because of him.
5. Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham—This historical novel features a woman who helps run her family's 100-year-old bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina. When she discovers an old, forgotten love letter in the store's attic, it sets her off on a treasure hunt that just might end with a romance of her own.
6. A Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund—I've enjoyed other books by Hedlund, so I might be up for this one. It's the first in a series about a group of British women who board a bride ship bound for British Columbia in the 1860s in search of escape, improved circumstances, missing family members, and—oh, yeah—love.
7. An Impossible Imposter by Deanna Raybourn—Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat since it's more mystery than romance. It does, however, feature one of my favorite literary couples, so there ya go...This is the seventh installment in the Veronica Speedwell series, which is tons of fun. In this newest outing, Veronica and Stoker are tasked with deciding if a man with amnesia is really a client's long-lost brother.
8. The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson—I'm not someone who enjoys camping (although sleeping in an RV is infinitely more appealing than braving a tent), but this love story about a woman whose camper makeover mirrors the transformation of her life, looks like a cute, happy read.
9. Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker—I loved Barker's debut Regency romance, so I'm definitely up for more. This one features a spunky woman who saves a child's life, thus attracting the attention of her handsome older brother. As the two fall for each other, she must tell him the unfortunate truth—she's already engaged to marry another man.
10. A Lady's Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett—The plot summary of this historical romance is giving me Deanna Raybourn vibes (see #7). It's about a brilliant female scientist in Victorian England who is on a secret mission for the Crown. She's assigned a bodyguard, who turns her head more than she'd like.
There you have it, ten romance novels I might actually read. Might. We'll see. Are you a romance novel lover or hater? Which are your favorites? Based on the list above, what titles would you recommend to me? 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!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)

Readin'
Beach Thriller by Jamie Day
Listenin'
Hidden Rooms by Kate Michaelson
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
-
Sweet Spot by Kemper Donovan4 hours ago
-
-
-
July Reflections16 hours ago
-
-
-
-
A Curse Carved in Bone1 day ago
-
-
-
The Whisper By Chelsea Iversen1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
A Brewed Awakening2 days ago
-
Lehane, Dennis "Shutter Island" - 20033 days ago
-
-
-
Haiku reviews...5 days ago
-
-
Books read in June3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
June TBR1 month ago
-
-
Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney5 months ago
-
-
Sunday Post #5681 year ago
-
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus2 years ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?2 years ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction













