I spent the weekend before last visiting family in the Columbia River Gorge, where rain showers and cool breezes reminded me of what Spring is supposed to be like. Guess what greeted me when I came home to the Arizona desert? Bright sunshine and blazing heat. The temperatures have been a little milder this week, but even still, our pool has been a popular place for family and friends lately!  *Sigh* While Spring in Arizona is nothing like the Pacific Northwest's version, it does bring the promised blossoms to add much-needed color to our parched, dry landscape. I know very little about flowers, but I am grateful for the cheery pops of pretty they bring. 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is appropriate for the season here in the U.S.: May Flowers. It's a choose-your-own adventure topic to celebrate Spring. I'm going to stay pretty basic and highlight ten books on my TBR list that have a type of flower in the title. I think I'll even be able to make it without repeating any of them. We'll see. I also just realized that they're all historical fiction. Does that genre lend itself more readily to flower-y titles? Interesting...

As always, this fun weekly meme is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog to join in the party!

1. The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano—Private investigator Peter Driscoll has been hired to locate a priceless, legendary sapphire which is allegedly in the possession of silent film star Lily Temple. In an effort to get close to her, Peter enlists Lily's help with a case. As the two grow closer, their partnership becomes increasingly dangerous, not just for their physical well-beings but also for the state of their hearts.

2. White Rose by Kip Wilson—This historical YA novel revolves around Sophie Scholl, a real German woman who created a resistance group while she was in college called The White Rose to fight against the Nazis in non-violent ways. When their clandestine activities are discovered, Sophie and her fellow collaborators find themselves at the mercy of the very group they're trying to destroy.  

3. Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee—At 16, Lorena Leland dreams of achieving fame and fortune by becoming a writer. The crash of the stock market in 1929 dashes her hopes as well as those of Americans all over the country, causing widespread unemployment, poverty, and depression. Desperate to help her family financially, Lorena takes a job interviewing the formerly enslaved for the Federal Writers' Project. As she grows close to one of her subjects, her eyes are opened and her heart expanded in ways she never could have predicted.

4. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman—Sage Winters has been grieving the death of her twin sister for six years. When her resentful stepfather reveals the truth—Rosemary, who was always a little different, didn't die but was actually committed to the Willowbrook State School (a real institution that was eventually closed down because of the horrendous abuses that were committed there), from which she has just disappeared. Furious and determined to find out what happened to her sister, Sage gets herself committed to the school in order to find answers.

5. The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis—This dual-timeline novel centers around the Frick mansion, a real Gilded Age home in New York City that was turned into an art museum in the 1930s. In 1919, a down-on-her-luck artists' model is thrilled to land a position as the secretary for Helen Frick, the daughter of Henry Clay Frick, a wealthy robber baron. The longer Lillian is in the family's employ, the more she learns about them and their secrets, putting her very life at risk. Fifty years later, an English model arrives at the Frick mansion, now an impressive art museum. When she stumbles upon a series of messages hidden within the museum, she is led on a hunt for not just a concealed treasure, but also possibly the solution to a decades-old murder.

6. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly—Three women are at the heart of this World War II novel. Caroline Ferriday is a New York socialite who works at the French consulate. Kasia Kuzmerick is a Polish teen whose position as a courier for the resistance puts her in danger every day. Herta Oberheuser is a doctor who takes a job with the German government in order to escape her desolate life, only to find herself trapped in a position she's not sure she wants to be in. The three women's lives intersect when Kasia is sent to a concentration camp. 

Incidentally, this is the first book in a trilogy, all of which have flower titles.

7. The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson—On a night of celebration in her family's Thousand Islands castle, 4-year-old Poppy goes peacefully to bed. In the morning, she is nowhere to be found while her father's dead body lies in the smoking room. Eighty-five years later, Chloe Ridell lives on the island, where she is working to preserve the environment and breathe fresh life into her family's candy shop. When a young Pendleton relative shows up on her doorstep, Chloe is thrust into a search for answers about what happened to young Poppy so long ago.

8. Peony in Love by Lisa See—I can't find much in the way of a plot summary for this novel, but apparently, it's a ghost story set in 17th Century China.

9. The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley—As the last person in her family line, Emilie inherits a magnificent chateau and vineyard in the south of France. Along with the property comes a tower of debt and a mountain of secrets. Desperate to know what became of Constance Carruthers, a British woman who worked as an undercover agent in Paris during World War II, Emilie starts digging for answers in her new home.

10. the next book in the Myrtle Hardcastle mystery series by Elizabeth C. Bunce—I have to cheat a little in order to get ten different flowers on my list, so just go along with me here...Each of the installments in this entertaining middle-grade historical mystery series has a title that includes a play on the name Myrtle: Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity; Cold-Blooded Myrtle; In Myrtle Peril; etc. I'm not sure when the next one comes out, but I know it will have a "Myrtle" title when it does.

There you are, ten books on my TBR list with the names of flowers in their titles. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Can you think of any others I need to read? What spin did you take for your list today? 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! 

Even though I can be a harsh critic when it comes to books, I always try to keep things positive around here, especially for Top Ten Tuesday. I considered going rogue instead of doing today's prompt—Top Ten Petty Reasons You've DNF'd a Book (or Reduced Its Rating)—but I'm not feeling very creative, so I'm going to stick with the assigned topic after all. I'm a fairly picky reader, so it shouldn't be too hard to come up with ten reasons I get bugged enough to put down a book. 

As always, this fun weekly meme is hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her site and give her some love, wontcha?

It's BORING! If a book has no plot or it's bogged down by too many extraneous details, excessive words, superfluous characters, etc., then I'm out. It doesn't have to be a glued-to-my-seat page turner, but there has to be enough tension, conflict, and action to hold my attention.

It has graphic content that I just don't want to read. Let's set aside the fact that I'm currently reading a book where every other word seems to start with an "f" and end with "ck"... I'm a fairly big prude, so I tend to shy away from books with strong language, excessive blood/gore, disturbing content, and "sexy" scenes.

The characters are unlikable/irritating/dull. I mean, I don't necessarily have to love the main character in the book I'm reading, but I have to like them enough to want to spend multiple hours with them! It's also best when I feel a connection to them, which makes me worry about them, root for them, and care about what's going to happen to them. When I don't give a fig about any of them? Yeah, Imma DNF that one real fast.

It's too confusing. If a plot is unnecessarily complicated or an author's prose is so dense that I have to read a paragraph three times to understand what they're trying to say, then...I'm done.

The author hasn't done their homework. I read a novel once where a character (let's call her Jane) goes to visit her rich sister (Jill) and needs to borrow her Tesla. Jill tosses Jane her car keys and Jane starts up the Tesla, reveling in the sound of its expensive engine purring. Um...There are several problems here. Not only are Teslas not driven with keys (I use an app, with a key card as a backup), but they don't have engines. There is no purring; in fact, they're almost silent. (Seriously, I've had to honk at people to warn them I'm there because they can't hear my car coming.) Getting "small" details like this wrong yanks me out of a story and makes me distrust the author. If they didn't bother to check something as simple as how to drive a Tesla, what else did they get wrong? I don't necessarily DNF for this because hey, everybody makes mistakes, but I definitely lower my ratings when authors/editors get things wrong that they could have easily researched.

Mood, man. Sometimes, I'm just not feeling a book for no fault of its own. If this is the case, I often go back to it when I'm feeling more inclined.

The audiobook narrator's voice grates on me. When this happens, I DNF the audiobook and read a paper or electronic version instead.

Poor writing. I'm all about clarity over creativity, so I don't need flowery, poetic, achingly beautiful word art. I do, however, want to be engaged by vibrant prose that's sculpted into paragraphs that pop, sentences that sing, and dialogue that dances. Or, at least, words that flow so smoothly that I get so fully immersed in a story that I forget I'm reading at all.

 Lousy/lazy copy editing. If there are major typos, grammatical errors, logic problems, continuity issues, etc., I get jerked out of the story. Self-published titles have been the most problematic for me in this, but I have found plenty of mistakes in books put out by the big guys, too. Unless they're major, I don't usually DNF for this reason, but I do take marks off my grades/ratings because it's annoying and takes away from my pleasure in reading the book.

Too cheesy/sappy/sentimental. I don't mind an inspirational, feel-good read—unless it's so saccharine or preachy or obviously motivational that it drives me mad. Subtlety works much better for me as a reader.

There you are, the top ten reasons I DNF a book or reduce its grade/rating. Do you relate to any of them? What makes you set a read aside? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. (Note: I really try to visit the blogs of everyone who participates in TTT and leave a thoughtful comment. Last week, I had to go out of town to check on my dad, who was recently diagnosed with dementia, so I didn't get to most of yours. I know you are all devastated. Ha ha. Seriously, though, I'll do better this week. Promise!)

Note: I'm late to the TTT party this week. I got sidetracked from finishing my post by a bookish event. My husband was supposed to go see Rainn Wilson talk about his new book, Soul Boom, with a buddy. His friend wasn't able to make it, so I went instead. Wilson was funny and charming as he discussed how a mental health crisis in his 20s led him on a spiritual journey that eventually brought him back to the Baha'i faith in which he had been raised. After the chat, we stood in line for an hour to meet the actor/author and get our books signed. It was a fun evening out.

This photo is a tad blurry and it's definitely not a very flattering angle for me, but alas, it's proof that I met Dwight Schrute (I mean, Rainn Wilson) :)

Anyway...

You know the drill: you're SO excited to buy or receive a new book that you can't wait to read, you stick it on your shelf "just for now," and then, ten years later, there it still sits. The poor baby is dusty, forgotten, neglected, alone, and still unread. Why do bad things happen to good books? It's a downright travesty, one that plays out constantly (in my home at least). Once I acquire a volume, it seems to lose its immediate allure, dooming it to out-of-sight-out-of-mind territory. Does this happen to you or is it just me? I suspect my bookshelves are not the only ones where lonely tomes sit year after year, just waiting to be remembered...

Good news for those sad, abandoned books! Today's TTT (hosted, as always, by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl) is all about these sad, forgotten titles. We're being asked for the Top Ten Unread Books On My Shelves I Want to Read Soon. I'm going to tweak the prompt just a tad to feature some of the physical review books that have been lingering on my shelves for—wait for it—10+ years! Yikes. When I downsized homes back in 2022, I culled my massive book collection by donating over 1000 books. The titles in my list today made the cut and yet, I still haven't managed to read them. I want to, make no mistake; I just haven't gotten around to it. One of these days weeks years decades I'll actually do it.

1. Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose (acquired September 2009 from HarperCollins)—This volume of literary criticism examines the history and significance of the famous diary as an important, enduring piece of art.

2. The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain (acquired May 2010 from Meryl Moss Media)—Maya and Rebecca Ward are sisters who witnessed the brutal murder of their parents when they were teenagers. Always the more dynamic of the siblings, Rebecca persuades her timid sister and her husband, Adam, to join her in providing medical relief to victims of a North Carolina hurricane. When Maya is involved in a helicopter crash, she is presumed dead. In their grief, Rebecca and Adam find comfort in each other's arms, not realizing that Maya is alive, but struggling to survive in a remote wilderness...Will Maya make it home? What will happen then?

3. Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of 50 Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy (acquired June 2010 from HarperCollins)—In this commemorative book, Murphy, a filmmaker, interviews a number of prominent people, including Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, and Anna Quindlen, about the impact To Kill a Mockingbird has had on their lives. 

4. Hidden Things (later changed to A Hidden Affair) by Pam Jenoff (acquired July 2010 from Atria)—The second book in a duology, this novel features Jordan Weiss, an intelligence officer with the U.S. State Department. A decade ago, she was a coxswain at Cambridge when her crewmate and boyfriend, Jared Short, drowned the night before the team was to compete in their final race of the year. When a former classmate asserts that Jared's death was no accident, Jordan launches her own investigation into the incident. In this second book, she is still looking for answers. This time, she reluctantly pairs up with a handsome stranger whom she's not entirely sure she can trust...

5. Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons From My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani (acquired December 2010 from HarperCollins)—I've enjoyed a number of Trigiani's novels as well as her family cookbook, so I'm not sure why I haven't read this one yet. In it, the writer pays tribute to both of her grandmothers, who lived their remarkable lives with humor, wisdom, and grace.

6. No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley (acquired August 2010 from HarperCollins)—On August 1, 2008, eleven climbers died on K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. It was the deadliest day on the mountain to date. Bowley, an investigative journalist, recounts the disaster in this detailed account.

7. South of Superior by Ellen Airgood (acquired May 2011 from TLC Book Tours)—This heartwarming debut novel revolves around a woman who leaves the bustle of Chicago behind for a quiet life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is charged with caring for two elderly sisters, one of whom is sweet, the other sour. As she navigates her new job and life in a small town, she finds healing, friendship, and love.

8. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (acquired June 2011 from HarperCollins)—Prophecy says that each century, a great one is chosen. Elisa is supposed to be the chosen one, but she feels more like the princess of failure, with nothing special about her. With everyone counting on her to save them, she has to find the greatness within herself in order to save not just her people, but also her heart.

9. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (acquired March 2012 from Penguin Random House)—An aspiring seamstress, Tess is ecstatic when she secures a job as a personal maid for the wealthy, well-known Lady Duff Gordon. Not only is she working for an influential woman, but she will be traveling with her on the elegant H.M.S. Titanic. When the ship goes down, Tess witnesses some questionable actions taken by her employer. As Lady Duff Gordon becomes subject to suspicious questioning, Tess is caught in the media whirlwind as she comes to terms with her own feelings about what she experienced on the ship. 

10. The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri (acquired April 2012 from HarperCollins)—When Nora Cunningham's well-known husband is caught in a scandalous affair, she runs from the spotlight with her two young children in tow. They retreat to a remote seaside town on the coast of Maine, a place the locals say is touched with Irish magic. After Nora spends a lonely evening on the shore sobbing bitter tears into the ocean, she discovers a handsome, mysterious fisherman shipwrecked nearby. Is he really a selkie, summoned by her sadness, like her superstitious friends believe? Or is he simply a heartbroken soul like Nora, someone who could help her heal?

There you are, ten review books that have been sitting on my review shelf for a very long time that I still haven't read. Have you read any of them? Which forgotten titles on your shelf do you still want to read? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

I just got back from a fabulous 2-week vacation to the U.K. in which everything went pretty much as smoothly as it could. Even the few things that didn't go quite as planned turned into happy accidents and funny memories. This hasn't been the case with every holiday I've gone on, naturally. I've been on trips marred by nasty weather, illness, car trouble, family drama, forgotten medication, kids having meltdowns, and one memorable (but very minor, thank goodness) trip to a Canadian emergency room. Although I pray for uneventful vacations in real life, I want the opposite in my fiction. Bring on all the holiday murder and mayhem! I mean, c'mon, who wants to read about a smooth-as-silk holiday? Not I! Today's TTT prompt is actually Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Go On Vacation With, but I'm going to put my own spin on it and list some vacation thrillers on my TBR list. I actually did this same topic back in 2020 with ten different books, so take a look at that if you're into this genre as well.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Pop on over there and give her some love, won't you?

1. The River Wild by Denis O'Neill—I loved the film version of this survival story starring Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep, but I've never read the book. The story is about a couple whose marriage struggles lead them to go on a white water rafting trip with their young son, hoping they can heal what's broken with some concentrated bonding time. When they rescue two stranded rafters, they unknowingly pick up a pair of criminals on the run. The family's peaceful outing soon turns into a desperate run against two armed killers and a powerful river, both of which seem to be conspiring to kill them.

2. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (available May 21, 2024)—In spite of relationship issues with her wannabe actor boyfriend, Lyla auditions with him for a new reality show that pits couples against each other for a large cash prize. Along with their fellow competitors, Lyla and Nico are left on the shores of a beautiful, exotic, and very remote island. After the game's first challenge leaves the contestants boiling with anger, a violent storm sweeps in, cutting the players off from all communication with the outside world. With no way to call for help and supplies running low, the couples must band together to survive. Or not.

3. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam—I'm probably the last person on earth to read this buzzy thriller. It's about a family from New York City who rent a luxurious Long Island home for a much-needed rest from their busy lives. Everything is going swimmingly until a knock on the door in the middle of the night changes everything. An older couple has arrived, claiming to be the owners of the home. They bring terrible news—a mysterious power outage has shut down the city, causing widespread chaos and panic. Something about the situation doesn't seem right to the vacationers, but with phone and Internet service down, there's no way for them to know what's really happening. Can they trust these newcomers? Or is something way more sinister than a power outage going on?

4. Never Coming Home by Kate Williams—In this YA thriller, ten of the world's most famous teen influencers are invited to Unknown Island. This paradise of the privileged has just opened and the whole world is talking about its beauty, luxury, and exclusivity. When the "First Ten" receive their coveted invites, they think they're being rewarded because of their massive followings. Wrong. They're being trapped because of the secrets each one of them is hiding. Someone wants those bombshells released. Someone wants to punish their keepers. Someone doesn't want the powerful influencers to leave the island. Ever. 

5. The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis—Twenty years ago, four teenagers embarked on a study abroad adventure in Provence, France, and became the best of friends. The girls spent their weekends visiting elegant Séraphine Demargelasse, one of the students' grandmother, at her fancy chateau. Two decades later, Séraphine invites them back. None of the women understand the sudden invitation, but each has their own secret reason for accepting. When their host is found murdered after a night of celebration, those secrets begin to emerge as everyone scrambles to figure out what is happening and why. 

6. Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok—When the titular character disappears while on vacation in the Netherlands, the Lee family is devastated and confused. What happened to their smart, successful oldest daughter? Amy, the youngest of the Lee siblings, has always been shy and easily intimidated. She idolizes her sister, her polar opposite. Determined to find answers for her distraught parents, Amy calls on every ounce of courage she possesses and embarks on a journey to figure out what happened to Sylvie. Along the way, she'll expose shocking secrets and discover deep truths about her sister, their parents, and herself. 

7. The Last Guest House by Caroline Mitchell (available April 16, 2024—today!)—In need of some R&R after working a taxing case, Detective Constable Nicola McKenna agrees to go on a relaxing vacation to Scotland's remote Isle of Skye. When they discover that their hotel has been overbooked, they scramble to find alternate accommodations. The Loch House has some odd rules, which Nicola finds more than a little unsettling. An incoming snow storm unnerves her even more and shows her just how very wrong things are at the sketchy guest house...

8. The Search Party by Hannah Richell—Max and Annie Kingsley have left their stressful life in London behind to run a glamping site. To ensure everything goes well for its grand opening, they decide to give their new venture a test run. They invite a group of family friends to join them for a fun, relaxing weekend. It doesn't take long for things to go sideways. With tension already on the rise, a sudden storm crashes in and one of the group disappears. As they try to find their missing member, secrets will come to light, families will be pitted against each other, and friendships will crumble. Will any of them ever recover from their dream weekend turned hellish nightmare?

9. Descent by Tim Johnston—The Courtlands are hanging out in the Rocky Mountains enjoying one last family vacation before their 18-year-old daughter, Caitlin, heads off to college. When she and her brother go for a run one morning and only Sean comes back, the family is thrown into a wild panic. What happened to Caitlin? Have they lost her forever? 

10. The River At Night by Erica Ferencik—If there's one thing everyone can agree on it's that Winifred Allen needs a vacation. Even still, she's a tad reluctant to join her best friends on a rafting and hiking adventure in the Maine wilderness. Her misgivings come to fruition when a freak accident turns their harmless excursion into a desperate struggle for survival against nature, each other, and the most dangerous type of wildlife: other humans.

There you go, ten novels about vacations going terribly wrong that I want to read. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Are there any other books you've loved about holidays gone awry? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.