I don't even know what to say about the state of the world anymore. I'm just going to post the following picture of my family and say that I hope and pray and—to the best of my ability—work toward, a future that is safe and peaceful for all my children regardless of their skin color:


On a lighter note, it's Top Ten Tuesday time.  Yay!  This is my favorite bookish meme.  If you haven't joined in before, you really should—it's a great way to spread the love around our great book blogging community.  All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to get started.  Easy peasy.

Today's topic is a fun one:  Top Ten Books That Give Off Summer Vibes.  Summer is my least favorite season (ironic, given that I live in the Land of Eternal Sunshine) and I actually seem to avoid it in my reading as much as I do in my real life.  So, I'm going to change up the topic a little bit today.  Jana, our TTT host, just announced a summer reading challenge she and Reading With Jessica are hosting from June 1 - August 31.  It has a Bingo format, where you cross off different prompts when you read books that fit the categories.  The kicker?  Each book has to be written by an author you've never tried before.  Sounds fun, right?  I haven't come up with a coordinated attack for tackling the challenge yet, but here are the Top Ten Books I'm Planning to Read for the New-to-Me Author Summer Bingo Event.  Want to Bingo with me?  You can find all the info here. 




1.  Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles—I just started this magical YA fantasy, a genre I don't usually read.  It's about a powerful show magician who's determined to break out of the gilded cage in which her mentor is keeping her.  When she escapes, she finds herself in a complex world that she doesn't understand.  So far, I'm enjoying the writing, the imaginative world, and the strong, willful heroine.  (Challenge categories:  Summer 2020 Release, Author With a "J" in Their Name, First in a Series)


2.  The Other People by C.J. Tudor—I don't usually like books centered around a revenge plot, but this one sounds intriguing.  It's about a father who wants justice after his daughter is abducted and killed.  (Challenge categories:  Author With a "J" in Their Name, Standalone)


3.  Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle (available June 9, 2020)—This thriller revolves around Charlotte, a newlywed who's trying to ignore the small-town whispers about the real cause of her husband's first wife's death.  When the body of a young woman is found in the same place where his first wife died, Charlotte is forced to take a closer look at the husband she isn't sure she really knows.  (Challenge categories:  Summer 2020 Release, Your Favorite Genre, Contemporary)


4.  The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader—A mother and her daughter seek asylum at the Orchard House, their family estate in Michigan.  As she works in the orchards and gets to know their caretaker, she begins to discover the way to a new start.  (Challenge categories:  Summer 2020 Release, Summery Book Cover, Contemporary, Standalone)


5.  That Summer in Maine by Brianna Wolfson (available June 23, 2020)—During one summer in Maine, two women who don't know each other have an affair with the same man.  Sixteen years later, their daughters find each other and decide to spend a summer in Maine getting to know their biological father.  (Challenge categories:  Summer 2020 Release, Contemporary, Summery Book Cover, Your Favorite Color on the Cover, Beach on the Cover, Standalone)


6.  The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper—I'll be reviewing this one for a blog tour later in the summer.  It centers on a young widow who receives a large sum when her husband dies in the Great War.  Knowing his family in Australia needs the money more than she does, Fleur travels Down Under and finds herself in a strange country living a life she never expected as the owner of a remote farm and a crumbling curio shop.  Sounds like a fun read!  (Challenge categories:  Summer 2020 Release, Your Favorite Color on the Cover, Standalone, Set in a Country Other Than Your Own)


7.  A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette—Bronwyn Crewse has returned to her small Ohio town to renovate and reopen her family's ice cream shop.  A delayed opening means her first day in business coincides with the first snowfall of the year—and the murder of a drifter who harbored an old grief against Bronwyn's family.  I'm enjoying cozy mysteries lately and this series opener is getting good reviews.  (Challenge categories:  Contemporary, Cool Off With a Wintry or Snowy Setting, First in a Series)


8.  The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (available July 21,2020)—This one is set in a Dublin hospital during World War I and the deadly flu pandemic.  The women at its center change each other's lives in meaningful ways over the course of the novel.  I've never read anything by Donoghue, but I find pandemic novels fascinating, so this one appeals.  (Challenge categories:  Set in a Country Other Than Your Own, Standalone, Hyped)


9.  The Lost Family:  How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland—As a budding genealogist, I find genetics and family relationships endlessly intriguing.  I can't wait to read this one, which I have on hold at the library.  (Challenge categories:  Recommended By a Friend, Reader's Choice, Lesser-Known)


10.  Mind Games by Nancy Mehl—This series opener features FBI behavioral analyst Kaely Quinn, whose career is ruined when she's ousted as the daughter of a serial killer.  Starting over in a new city with a demotion to field agent, she gets caught up in a puzzling murder case.  Mehl writes "faith-filled" mystery and suspense, so I'm hoping this one will be clean and uplifting, but also compelling.  We'll see.  (Challenge categories:  First in a Series, Contemporary, Your Favorite Color on the Cover, Lesser-Known) 

There you go.  What do you think of my choices?  Have you read any of them?  Any suggestions for other books that might fit the challenge's prompts?  What summery books are on your list today?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!  

Despite winning a Pulitzer Prize for a photograph depicting the grimness of The Great Depression, 32-year-old photographer Clay Havens is feeling uninspired.  His creative juices have turned to sludge and he's fairly sure his newest assignment isn't going to provide the spark to get them flowing again.  As part of President Roosevelt's plan to sell his country on his New Deal, he's sending journalists into Appalachia to "capture the rugged, steadfast nature of hill people, whether they possess it or not, and to portray their hardship in a way that will make the public sympathetic to their plight and ready to cast their votes accordingly" (14*).  Feeling more like a propagandist than a photographer, Havens nevertheless travels to eastern Kentucky with his reporter friend, Ulys Massey.  Another prize-winning photo may not be hiding in the hollers, but at least the assignment will keep Havens and Massey out of the breadline.

When the pair arrives in Chance, an offhand remark from one of the small town's more unsavory residents piques their curiosity.  Rumors of a scorned family of people with blue skin send them traipsing through the woods to Spooklight Holler.  Havens is immediately entranced when he and Massey come across a skittish young woman with skin the color of a robin's egg.  A deadly snakebite lands Havens in the extended care of the woman's family.  As he and Massey spend more time with the infamous Blues, they become fascinated by their way of life and horrified by how the family has been treated by their White neighbors.  While Havens spends his time wooing kind, gentle Jubilee, Massey's itching to sell the Blues' remarkable story to the highest bidder.  Reluctant to oust the already hunted people who have been so good to him, Havens searches frantically for a way to stop his partner from causing more trouble for Jubilee and her family.  The city slickers' presence has already prompted violence locally; what will happen if Jubilee's beautiful blue face is splashed across the cover of Time?  Caught between duty and love, Havens scrambles frantically for a solution that will stop Massey, protect the Blues, and convince Jubilee to give him a chance with her fragile heart.  With Chance's White population already whipped into a heated frenzy against the Blues, Havens' time is rapidly running out ...

Earlier this year, I read and adored The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, which featured the Blue people of Kentucky.  So, when Isla Morley contacted me about reviewing her newest novel, which was inspired by the same fascinating clan, I jumped at the chance to grab myself an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of The Last Blue.  I'm so glad I did because just as The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek did, this one immediately captured not just my interest but also my heart.  I loved everything about it, from its engaging heroine to its atmospheric setting to its tender love story to the ending that almost undid me entirely.  While the book touches on issues of prejudice, fear, exposure vs. exploitation, identity, family, and self-discovery, at its heart, it's really about love in all its messy, life-changing glory.  If you, too, are intrigued by the Blue people, or if you just enjoy rich, immersive historical fiction, I absolutely recommend picking up a copy of this luminous, lovely novel.

Intrigued?  Good.  Learn more by checking out this interview with Isla Morley:


(Readalikes:  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson and Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris)

Grade:

*Quotes are from an uncorrected proof and may be changed in the final version of The Last Blue.