Edited to add: I'm having trouble commenting on some of your WordPress-hosted blogs. When I try to leave a comment, I get a "Not Acceptable!An appropriate representation of the requested resource could not be found on this server. This error was generated by Mod_Security" error. I'm not sure what this means or how to fix it. So, just know if you have a WP blog and you don't see a comment from me, I got this error when I tried. I'm commenting on everyone's blogs this week; bummer that some of you will never see them. Boo hoo.

It's been a rough week already and it's barely Wednesday, but I didn't want to miss Top Ten Tuesday even if I'm late to the party. TTT makes me happy—I need happy this week! I'm stumped on the prompt, though. My brain and memory aren't up for much right now, so I'm going to forgo the official topic—Top Ten Unlikable Characters You Can't Help But Love—and do a simpler one. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over there and give her some love! And if you want to join in the TTT fun, please do, even though it's not Tuesday.

Now that it's November, I'm really starting to think about the books I still want to read before 2022 is gone forever. My goal is to read 200 books this year; I'm at 153 now, so I've got some work to do. At the moment, I'm concentrating on reading for two book awards programs I'm helping to judge, but—of course—there are other titles I want to get to as well. So here are ten that I want to read before 2022 ends.

1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir—Okay, this is one I need to read, not necessarily want to read, but still...Sci-fi has never been my favorite genre, but Weir's books are so popular that I couldn't not give them a chance. I started The Martian and gave up after a chapter or two. All that detail about every little thing put me right to sleep! My husband adored both The Martian and Project Hail Mary. My book club is reading the latter this month, so I'm finally going to brave it. Wish me luck!

2. A Song Called Home by Sara Zarr—I've enjoyed several of Zarr's YA books. This is her first novel for middle-graders. It concerns a girl named Lou who's satisfied with her life in the city, even if her dad drinks too much and her family has little in the way of material comforts. When her mom decides to move in with her boyfriend, leaving the city and her dad behind, Lou feels adrift. On her last night in her old home, she finds a guitar on her front porch. Although the giver has remained anonymous, she assumes it's from her dad and that learning how to play it will, somehow, keep him close to her despite the distance between them. Sounds like a sweet read.

3. Madwoman by Louisa Treger—I've talked about this historical novel before. It's based on the true story of Nellie Bly's terrifying but illuminating undercover infiltration of the famous mental asylum on New York's Blackwell's Island in 1887.

4. Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer—This Gothic mystery is about a woman who is happy to escape her unraveling life in New York City to stay with an ill relative at a manor house in England. When her young, neurodivergent son discovers human remains in a forgotten wing, she becomes consumed with learning about the woman whose skeleton was hidden in mysterious Ashton Hall.

5. Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese—I'm #3 on the library waiting list for this buzzy novel. You probably already know that the story is a reimagining of the life of the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. It sounds intriguing.

6. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—This classic novella actually fits this week's real TTT prompt about unlikable characters. It's one of my favorite books of all time. I re-read it every December to get me in the Christmas spirit.

7. Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family by Erika Hayasaki—I'm an adoptive mom, so I'm always interested in books like this one. It recounts the true story of a pair of identical twins who were born in Vietnam in 1998. The girls' biological mother could not take care of them. One was adopted and raised in a poor, rural village in Vietnam by her biological aunt. The other was adopted by a wealthy white family and raised in a prosperous Chicago household. When the American adoptive mother learned her daughter had a twin back in Vietnam, she reunited the sisters, who were teens at the time. Sounds like an incredible story.

8. No Strangers Here by Carlene O'Connor—I just heard about this series opener (probably from one of your blogs) and it sounds excellent. When the dead body of a bloke known as "The Dancing Man" is found murdered on a beach in southwest Ireland, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien gets the case. His investigation in the small town of Dingle leads him to the dead man's rumored lover. When Dimpna Wilde's mother comes under suspicion of murdering "The Dancing Man," Dimpna returns to the hometown she gladly left behind to clear her mother's name. 

9. Embers On the Wind by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg—This dual-timeline novel revolves around Whittaker House, an old Massachusetts home that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Inhabited by the ghosts of two women who died there while trying to escape slavery, it's now a posh vacation rental. The ghosts observe the modern-day holiday-makers, many of whom are Black women who are not as free as they appear. 

10. A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge—I'm not a person who cares for real-life drama, royal or otherwise, but this holiday murder mystery sounds like a fun caper. The royal family is gathered in Scotland for Christmas when the king dies from poisoning. Everyone in the dysfunctional clan is a suspect, but who actually did the dirty deed?

There you are, ten books I want to read before 2022 disappears. Which titles are you itching to read before the new year? Do you have any villains you love to hate? I'd truly love to know.

Molly Gray may look like an ordinary 25-year-old woman, but she's not. She possesses an innocent guilelessness and a forthright manner, the combination of which is discombobulating to say the least. People just don't know how to react to her and vice versa. Molly's beloved Gran was the one who helped her navigate the confusing world of social interaction. Now that she's gone, Molly's feeling more at sea than ever. Grieving the devastating loss of the only person who's ever really understood her, she throws herself even more doggedly into her job as a maid at the elegant Regency Grand Hotel. There's nothing she loves more than donning her crisply-ironed uniform, organizing her housekeeping cart just so, and returning untidy rooms to perfection.

When Molly enters the room of Charles Black, a wealthy business tycoon, and his new, much younger wife, she expects to do her usual cleaning, with the bonus of a wee chat with the lovely Giselle, who—to Molly's shock—seems to enjoy these regular convos with her lowly maid. Molly's stunned when she, instead, finds Charles dead in his bed, the victim of a bloody homicide. It's not long before Molly, with her unusual demeanor, becomes the lead suspect in the mogul's murder. She didn't do it, but who did? In order to clear her name, Molly must find the man's real killer. With her keen attention to detail and her intimate knowledge of the Regency Grand, she's the perfect woman for the job, even if some of the hotel's more subtle inner workings have escaped her until now. Can this unconventional Nancy Drew solve the case? Or will Molly be forced to exchange her spotless maid's uniform for a germy prison jumpsuit?

Book hype often has a weird negative effect on me. Instead of enticing me to read a much-lauded tome, it pushes me away from it. This was the case with The Maid, the bestselling debut novel by Canadian author Nita Prose. Although it was touted as a clever, heartwarming, fun mystery—four adjectives I'm very much in favor of—I wasn't sure I really wanted to read it. One too many rave reviews later and I just had to know if the book is all it's cracked up to be. Guess what? It is. The Maid truly is a gem. I adored it. Molly is an appealing heroine, whose antics made me laugh. I love that she's authentically herself while also being much more than she seems. The other characters are colorful (Many even have colors for last names—a homage to Clue, I guess?), although not nearly as memorable as Molly. Her individuality, coupled with Prose's unique narrative style, makes this novel stand out. This is a good thing because The Maid's plot is actually fairly straightforward and generic. I saw all of its twists coming but one. I didn't love the Big Reveal at the end, but it definitely gives the book another layer of depth that will make book clubbers happy by giving them something juicy to discuss. All in all, I loved The Maid. It's entertaining, hopeful, and just all-around enjoyable. In this case at least, you can believe the hype!

(Readalikes: Hmm, I can't really think of anything. You?)

To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Maid with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.

October 31st is right around the corner. Are you ready for Halloween? How do you usually celebrate the holiday? We're still in the middle (well, hopefully, nearing the end) of remodeling, so I'm not putting up any decorations this year. My 13-year-old is going to go trick-or-treating with her friends, my 17-year-old will probably hide out in his room, and the husband and I will likely attend a block party with friends who live on a street in our neighborhood that's apparently a lot more happening than ours! For TTT, we're acknowledging the spooky season with a Halloween freebie. My mind often blanks on open topics like this, so I'm excited to see what everyone does with it.

If you want to join in the TTT fun (and who wouldn't?), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

When I was combing through my Goodreads TBR lists last week for my TTT list of Book Title Words That Always Catch My Eye, I noticed an interesting word popping up among my TBR titles: monster. I read very little horror these days, so it was kind of odd that I could find even one monster book among them, let alone almost ten. The fact that only one of them is in that genre made me think this might be a fun topic to explore today. So, here we go with:

1. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia—Eliza is the anonymous creator of a wildly popular webcomic with an equally popular (and carefully curated) online persona. The problem is that real-life Eliza is nothing like the Internet version. When a new boy moves into town, Eliza's tempted away from the safety of her digital community. And that's when everything starts to go wrong...I've read tons of rave reviews for this YA novel. It really does sound cute.

2. Monster by Michael Grant—I enjoyed the first six books in the YA dystopian Gone series. Monster, which came out in 2017 (four years after the series "ended"), is the seventh. It starts up four years (Coincidence? I think not!) after the dome disappeared, freeing the kids trapped inside. Now, meteorites are bombing the earth and spreading a deadly virus. Can the teens rally once again to face off against a terrifying new menace?

3. The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope—Historical fantasy isn't my usual cup of tea, but I love this book's cover and the story sounds compelling as well. It stars Clara Johnson, a woman living in 1925 Washington, D.C., who can talk to spirits. Indebted to a powerful entity for saving her life, Clara accepts a risky bargain to free herself from its bondage. She must steal a valuable ring from D.C.'s wealthiest lady. It doesn't take long for Clara to realize she's caught up in something—both earthly and otherworldly—that is way more than she bargained for. 

4. Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier—Maybe historical fantasy is my genre because this MG novel also sounds really intriguing to me. It's about a young chimney sweep in Victorian London who defies death every time she goes to work. When her luck runs out and she's caught in a chimney fire, she thinks it's the end—until she wakes up in an abandoned attic and meets her unlikely savior.

5. Monster by Walter Dean Myers—This acclaimed YA novel is about a 16-year-old boy who is on trial for felony murder. Is he guilty or innocent? Is he really the monster everyone thinks he is?

6. Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova—The Salazars take their job as protectors of magical creatures seriously, rescuing those who accidentally wander into the real world and making sure they get home safely. When Mr. Salazar is killed during a mission, his wife decides the family has risked enough. She moves her children to a boring little town where nothing exciting ever happens. When Valentina notices something strange in a viral video game, she knows the Salazars are desperately needed. Can she convince her family to find a magic egg before it hatches havoc on the world? Or are their days as protectors really over?

7. The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession With the Unexplained by Colin Dickey—I don't believe in monsters or aliens, but this still sounds like a fun read.

8. The Monsters We Make by Kali White—Based on a real-life crime spree, this novel focuses on the disappearance of a paperboy in a small Iowa town. Both a local police officer and an enterprising young woman looking for a way out are determined to solve the case.

9. Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen—Although she doesn't look like it with her blonde hair and blue eyes, 15-year-old Sarah is Jewish. This makes her a perfect tool for the Resistance. Posing as a student, she goes undercover at a posh boarding school for the daughters of powerful Nazi leaders. She's to befriend the child of the scientist in charge of making a deadly bomb and use her to steal the blueprints and stop the planned destruction. Can Sarah fulfill her dangerous mission without being found out?

10. Monsters by Ilsa J. Bick—The only real horror book on this list, Monsters is the final volume in a YA zombie series that I never finished. I loved the first novel, Ashes, so I'll give it a re-read then continue on with the series. 

There you are, ten "monster" books that I want to read. Have you read any of these? Which "monster" books would you recommend? 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!

As book lovers, we spend hours feasting on deliciously-crafted sentences, but do we ever consider the individual morsels that make up a tasty word string? I do and I don't. I mean, I like words and wordplay, but I don't spend a lot of time contemplating things like which words are my favorites. Do you? If you do, you'll have no problem with today's TTT prompt: My Top Ten Favorite Words. As for me, I'm going to have to twist things up a bit. When it comes to the books I read, there are definitely words in a title or plot summary that always catch my eye. So, I decided to comb through my Goodreads TBR lists and see which ones show up most often in the 1331 titles there. I realize some of these may be more about title trends than my particular preferences, but it's still kind of interesting. Let's just go with it, shall we?

If you want to join in the TTT fun (and of course you do!), click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

My Top Ten Favorite Words to Find in a Book Title (According to My TBR Lists)  

1. Girl

This one shows up 139 times on my list. I think this one has more to do with title trends then anything else, but still, I do tend to read books with female protagonists.

2. Home/House

One hundred eighteen titles on my list have "home" or "house" in them. Makes sense as I love atmospheric Gothic novels, juicy domestic thrillers, and shivery ghost stories.

3. Mystery

This word mostly shows up in subtitles or the name of a series, but still, you all know that I love me a puzzling mystery. One hundred seven of the titles/subtitles on my list contain this word.

4. Book

Like a lot (maybe most) of you, I enjoy books about books. It's not exactly a shocker, then, that "book" shows up in 83 of the titles on my list. I'm actually surprised it's not more than that.

5. Life

Another word that's not exactly a head-scratcher. Most books deal with life in some way, right? It makes sense that "life" is part of 79 titles on my list. 

6. Murder

No detective is needed to figure out why "murder" appears 71 times on my lists. I'm a mystery lover after all.

7. Story

Like "life," "story" is what reading is all about. I don't care what genre it is, if a book tells a riveting story, I'm in! This word shows up 67 times on my TBR list.

8. Last

There's something mysterious about the word "last," isn't there? It calls to me. Fifty-one times, to be exact.

9. Dead

Again with the murder mysteries. "Dead" comes up 50 times on my list. That's it??

10. Night

"Night" is also a mystical sort of word. It's prominent in the mystery/suspense/thriller genres as well as in a lot of historical fiction. It appears 49 times on my lists.

Edited to add: I was in a hurry when I posted this list, so I forgot to add some of the other most common words I found among my TBR titles: 

There you go ten (ish) words that I dig in a book title. Which titular words always catch your eye? Do you have favorite words? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.