Today's TTT prompt is pretty straightforward: Top Ten Books With Destination Names in the Title. I decided to take the topic literally, choosing titles off my TBR list that included the names of real cities around the world. Since I love historical fiction, a genre which lends itself to these types of titles, it was a cinch to create. I've featured some (most?) of these books before, but since they remain unread by me, here they are again! 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Join the TTT fun by checking out the rules on her blog then creating and sharing your own list. The more the merrier.

1. The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer—It's 1942 and Poland is overrun by Nazi invaders. Their presence is irritating and inconvenient, but Elzbieta Rabinek has been unharmed by them so far. Unlike her neighbors in her city's Jewish ghetto. When Elzbieta befriends a nurse in her apartment building, she is propelled into helping those very neighbors. Her actions put her at great risk, especially since she's hiding secrets that could be deadly for her and her family. Does she dare put her neck out for her Jewish neighbors when it could so easily find its way into a Nazi noose?

2. Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung—Cursed with only daughters, the Ang family lives with the shame of having no male heir to inherit their land and wealth. As civil war rages in China in 1948, the male members of the clan abandon their home, leaving the worthless females behind to fend for themselves. As the eldest, Hai stands trial for her family's crimes. Only barely surviving her beating by the Communist army, she knows she, her sisters, and her mother must make a daring escape. Braving every kind of danger, they set out on a perilous thousand-mile journey to find the family who abandoned them so cruelly.

Based on the author's family history, this novel sounds riveting!

3. The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra—Set in India in the 1920s, this is the first installment in a cozy mystery series starring a husband and wife detecting team. When they attend a party at the Century Club, Kaveri spies a suspicious-looking person lurking in the shadows. Shortly thereafter, a murder occurs. She is concerned when a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime and determines to find the killer.

4. Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin—When the Netherlands is invaded in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to England, but loses her 3-year-old son in the process. Desperate to find her child, she takes a job helping children evacuate to the countryside. Hugh Collingwood is a BBC radio correspondent reporting on the war as well as a series of murders that is plaguing London at the same time. When Aleida begs Hugh for help, the two grow increasingly closer as the world around them becomes more and more deadly.

5. A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd—In this reinvention of a classic play, Romeo and Juliet live happily ever after in lovely Italy and become the parents of seven children. Rosie Montague is the eldest of the brood. Content to remain a spinster, she plays matchmaker with every suitor her parents present, finding the groom-to-be a more willing bride. When Rosie finally meets the man who could very well be her match, their betrothal ball goes awry when a duke is killed at the party. Just about everyone had a reason to want the man dead, but who actually murdered him? Rosie is determined to find out.

6. The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes—American librarian Emmy Clarke is sent by her government to Germany to help the Monuments Men recover literature that was stolen by the Nazis. When she comes across an intriguing note written inside one of the books, it leads her on an intriguing quest to uncover a fascinating story of wartime resistance, betrayal, and courage. 

7. The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore—After a patient dies because of a mistake she made while operating, Dr. Tucia Hatherly no longer practices medicine. Not really. In order to support her disabled son, she is forced to take a position with a traveling medicine show peddling phony miracle cures. Desperate to be free of her obligation to the show's overbearing leader, she prepares to run when the show reaches Texas. It's 1900 and just as she's about to flee Galveston, a devastating hurricane—one so mighty that it will go down in the history books—hits. Tucia must decide whether to save herself and her son or to stay and use her doctoring skills to help the storm's victims.

8. The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore—In post-revolutionary Russia, the Goliteva's ancestral mansion in Moscow has been taken over by Bolsheviks. Forced to live in the attic, the family members look for ways to bring light into their grim lives. Sisters Irina and Lili work for the American Relief Administration to help relieve suffering while back in their bleak home, the house whispers to them of long-buried secrets they must uncover. When one of the Bolshevik officials is found dead in their home, another mystery unfolds...

9. A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan—This dual-timeline historical novel features two women from the same family living in Paris during times of war and upheaval. Having thrown her fate in with a handsome revolutionary, Lisette Vigneau casts off her wealthy upbringing to fight for the people. She opens a small bakery to help sustain her fellow Parisians, but her determination falters as the city descends into chaos from famine, violence, and despair. In 1946, 76 years later, 19-year-old Micheline Chartier is mourning the loss of her parents in the war. As the sole guardian of her two younger sisters, she feels trapped and overwhelmed. When a neighbor enrolls her in a baking school, Micheline finds hope and an unexpected connection with her family's past.

10. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton—Another dual-time line story, this one concerns a Cuban American freelance writer who travels to Havana to scatter her grandmother's ashes in the deceased's homeland. While there, she investigates her own family history, where she discovers her grandmother's story of romance, revolution, and resilience in the midst of political chaos in the land of her birth.

There you go, ten historical novels on my TBR list with names of real cities in their titles. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Which hist-fic stories with city names in the titles have you enjoyed? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also respond to comments left here (although I'm a week behind at the moment).

I'm a little late to the party today, but I didn't want to miss my favorite weekly book blogger event. Today's prompt is an appropriate one for the start of a new year—Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2024—but I had so much fun with last week's topic—Top Ten Most Anticipated Reads Releasing in the First Half of 2024—that I decided to make a Part Two. (If you missed Part One, click here.) In addition to the up-and-comers on my TBR list that I didn't mention last week, I added a bunch more titles from your lists, and now I'm even more excited for 2024's exciting lineup of books.

Before we get to my list, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love.

- in order of release date -  

1. Trapped in Yosemite by Dana Mentink (available February 1)—I'm not a big fan of romantic suspense, but this one sounds exciting. When Yosemite National Park is leveled by a massive earthquake, a K9 handler and his ex-fiancee are thrown together to save the life of her young daughter. With dangers both natural and human throwing roadblocks in their way, they are quickly running out of time to save the child and themselves.

2. Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin (available February 6)—When a young widow escapes to London after the Nazis invade The Netherlands, she becomes separated from her 4-year-old son. While working to help a British agency evacuate children to safety, she enlists the help of a handsome journalist to help her locate her lost boy. With bombs and a series of murders causing chaos in London, it's becoming increasingly clear that they are running out of time and into more danger than either one of them bargained for. 

3. Sisters of Fortune by Anna Lee Huber (available February 20)—You all know I can't resist a Titanic book! Based on a true story, this historical novel concerns the Fortune sisters, three siblings returning home to the U.S. from their Grand Tour in Europe. Their voyage on the grandest ocean liner ever built changes all of their lives in irrevocable ways.

4. The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker (available February 20)—Billed as Orphan Train meets Water For Elephants, this historical novel concerns a young orphan who finds unexpected acceptance and belonging when she is sold to a traveling circus at four years old. Almost 100 years later, she receives a DNA kit as a gift, the results of which open up old secrets and new questions about her family, her past, and herself.

5. Baby X by Kira Peikoff (available March 5)—In this futuristic thriller, DNA from anyone can be used to create babies. Celebrity DNA is especially desirable, creating a thriving black market for eager fans who are also prospective parents. In an effort to prevent the theft of his biological matter, singer Trace Thorne hires Ember Ryan, a bio-security guard, to protect his interests. Despite Ember's strict protection, a pregnant woman claims to be carrying Trace's child. Is it true? What are Trace and Ember going to do about it? 

6. These Tangled Threads: A Novel of Biltmore by Sarah Loudin Thomas (available April 2)—Almost a decade ago, the friendship between Lorna Blankenship and two of her friends was torn apart by a betrayal. Now, Lorna, a master weaver, has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to design a gown for Cornelia Vanderbilt's society wedding. In order to do it, she will have to face past secrets and hurts in order to reunite the women and enlist their help in accomplishing her monumental, life-changing task.  

7. The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi (available April 9)—Based on a true story, this historical novel tells the story of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective. Also a Union spy, she's tasked with befriending a Confederate socialite. With a working-class background and secrets of her own that must stay hidden, that may be more difficult than it seems. If she can succeed in her mission, it could mean the end to America's bloody Civil War. 

8. That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk (available June 11)—On the eve of their college graduation, seven students sneak into their school's rare books library to perform a Greek-inspired ritual asking for wisdom from the Gods. Minutes after they start, the lights go out and one member of the group drops dead. As more students die, the others must root out the murderer before it's too late for them all. 

9. The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant (available June 18)—Emlyn is happy with the simple life she lives as a hunting and fishing guide in the wilds of Idaho, far away from her past life. When an old flame seeks her out to enlist her help in finding a mutual friend, who seems to have disappeared, Emlyn is reluctantly pulled back into a world she's desperate to leave behind. She can't deny that her survival skills make her especially suited for the task, so she reluctantly agrees to follow the man she once loved into the woods to search for her former best friend in spite of the increasing danger.

10. Secrets of Rose Briar Hall by Kelsey James (available June 25)—In Gilded Age New York City, a beautiful young woman marries a wealthy stockbroker and moves into his luxurious mansion. Everything changes after the party she throws for her husband's powerful associates goes awry somehow. Millie can't recall what happened at the event, but it must have been horrible for her friends to have shunned her, leaving her alone and bewildered in her cold, empty house. What really happened on the night of the party? 

There you go, ten more 2024 releases I'm looking forward to reading. Do any of them strike your fancy? What new releases are you excited to crack open? What are your bookish goals for 2024? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here (although I am a week behind at the moment).