Today's TTT prompt—Top Ten Dynamic Duos—should be a simple one. Pairings like Frodo and Samwise Gamgee or Sherlock and Holmes come immediately to mind. I figured such well-known duos would be on everyone's lists, though. I didn't want to do the same ole, same ole, but I honestly couldn't think of a creative spin for this one. I got up way too early after this morning after having a nightmare about rushing to board an international flight only to realize I didn't have my passport, so yeah, I think my brain is just mush right now! In an effort to give my poor, tired mind a rest, I'm going to go with an easy TTT topic of my own devising: Top Ten Upcoming New Releases I Want to Read. Although I've already read a number of 2022 up-and-comers, there are a bunch more I'm excited about, so here goes.

Before we get to that, though, be sure to hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess some love. If you're feeling listy today, join in the TTT fun. It's always a good time.

Top Ten Upcoming New Releases I Want to Read  

in order of publication date  

1. This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel (out today)—Although Darling Rose Gold was a very meh read for me, I'm still interested in reading this one, Wrobel's sophomore effort. Here's the story: Natalie's worried about her sister, Kit, who hied off to a remote island to join a 6-month program designed to help her become her "Maximized Self." Natalie hasn't heard from Kit since. When Natalie receives a sinister email from the program's leader threatening to reveal a secret Natalie has been keeping from her sister, Natalie heads to the island to rescue her sibling. Turns out, that's a whole lot easier said than done. 

2. Under Lock and Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian (coming March 15, 2022)—A family-run business, Secret Staircase Construction specializes in building hidden rooms and secret passageways for private clients. Tempest Raj never intended to be part of the business, but when her life implodes, she has little choice. While on a job, Tempest discovers the dead body of her former stage double inside a wall that was supposedly sealed 100 years ago. Frightened that she was the actual intended victim, she sets out to find a killer. The first installment in a new mystery series, this one sounds like a lot of fun!

3. The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Alpsten (coming March 15, 2022)—The daughter of Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, Tsarevna Elizabeth is beautiful and privileged. When her fortunes turn, however, she finds herself in a desperate fight for survival. Will she live to take the throne? Or will she suffer the same fate as her murdered brother?

4. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (coming April 12, 2022)—In 1973 Alabama, a young Black nurse sets out to change the world, or at least to make a difference in her local African-American community. Tasked with distributing birth control to impoverished women, Civil's shocked to discover that her first clients are only 11 and 13. Desperate to give the children choice and freedom, she takes the girls under her wing. Then, the unthinkable happens, changing all of their lives forever...

5. Queen of the Tiles by Hannah Alkaf (coming April 19, 2022)—Set in Malaysia, this YA mystery revolves around a cutthroat Scrabble competition. Najwa Bakri has entered the competition for the first time since her best friend, Trina Low, died. Now that Trina's dead, the top spot is open and everyone wants it. Things get complicated when Trina's inactive Instagram is suddenly resurrected, spewing cryptic posts and messages. What is going on? What really happened to Trina? I love Scrabble almost as much as I love mysteries, so I'm all in for this novel. Sounds exciting.

6. Hide by Kiersten White (coming May 24, 2022)—YA novelist White makes her adult debut with this tantalizing thriller. It centers around a competition that places 14 contestants in an abandoned amusement park for a week. If you can hide well enough not to get caught, you win a huge sum of money. Mack is a hiding expert, but when her opponents start disappearing one-by-one, she realizes there's a lot more to this competition than meets the eye.

7. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan (coming May 31, 2022)—I adore Ryan's World War II novels, so I'm excited for her newest. Like her other books, this one is about women on the homefront coming together to support and strengthen each other in tough times.

8. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager (coming June 21, 2022)—I'm a fan of Sager's creepy stories, so I always look forward to a new book from him. This one is a Rear Window-ish tale about Casey Fletcher, a woman whose guilty pleasure is spying on the glamorous couple who live across the lake. When one of the perfect pair mysteriously disappears, Casey's determined to find out what happened to her.

9. The It Girl by Ruth Ware (coming July 12, 2022)—Ware is another thriller writer whose books I'm always excited to read. Her newest concerns a tight group of friends whose lives were upended when one of their number was killed. When new evidence about the murder comes to light years later, it throws their lives and friendships into a tailspin once again. 

10. These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall (coming August 9, 2022)—This spooky YA novel is being billed as The Haunting of Hill House meets Knives Out. Um...yes, please! The story is about a Helen, a teen girl who is shocked to inherit her family's hulking ancestral home, even though she and her mother have been estranged from their kin for as long Helen can remember. Her grandfather's will stipulates that Helen will only receive the inheritance if she lives in the home for a year. Harrowstone Hall has haunted Helen's nightmares all her life. Can she really live there for a full year?

There you go, ten upcoming releases I'm looking forward to reading. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which 2022 books are you most excited about? 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!  

Ashley Simon-Hockheimer loves reporting the news. She's been on her school's news crew since she was in second grade. Now that she's in sixth, she should be the undisputed star of The News at Nine. If it weren't for that unfortunate decision to film a teacher doing something embarrassing, she would be the lead anchor, not cringe-y Harry E. Levin. Ugh. 

Tired of watching from the sidelines, Ash and two of her friends decide to create their own show, The Underground News. They don't have a fancy sponsor to gift them sophisticated equipment like the school does, but that doesn't mean they can't make a quality program that will attract lots of viewers. All they need to make their little homemade show go viral is a big, juicy story...

When the girls stumble across a story that could have a potentially huge impact on their school and community, they can't wait to break it. While they race to verify their information, they have to contend with dodgy sources, friendship drama, and fending off Harry, who's about to steal their scoop for himself. Who will break the story first? Will Ashley finally get the chance to shine as lead anchor? Or will her nemesis steal her glory once again?

Elissa Brent Weissman's The Length of a String was one of my favorite reads of 2021. I wanted to read more from her, so I picked up The Renegade Reporters since it looked like a fun book. It is both of those things; it's also a timely story about the hot-button issue of online privacy. The novel looks at the pros and cons of tracking people's movements online, providing a perfect springboard for thoughtful discussion in a classroom or at home. It also shows the benefits of teamwork, learning from one's mistakes, and using your voice for good. While it does get a little far-fetched, overall The Renegade Reporters is a warm, upbeat read that is entertaining and empowering. I enjoyed it.

Note: I listened to this book on audio, an experience I highly recommend. The narrator, Keylor Leigh, does an excellent job. Her voice is smooth and easy on the ear. I'll definitely look for more books with her as the reader.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)

As World War II rages on, life in the English countryside has been irrevocably changed. Threatening planes streak through the sky, devastating telegrams keep arriving on doorsteps, and home cooks scrabble to put together decent meals from the meager pickings they can forage from the forest and village. While residents strive to keep their chins up, it's getting more and more difficult by the day. 

Things perk up for four women when they learn a popular BBC radio program will be hosting a cooking contest in their area. The winner will be rewarded with a coveted spot as The Kitchen Front's first female co-host. Snagging first place will be life-changing. For Audrey Landon, a grieving war widow with three young sons, it would mean keeping a roof over her children's heads (however leaky it may be). Lady Gwendoline Strickland doesn't need the prize money, but she would love to laud a victory over her sister, who was always their mother's favorite. A young kitchen maid, Nell Brown dreams of being free from working for a family she despises. Zelda Dupont, a trained restaurant chef, craves the validation winning would give her in a competitive profession that's filled with condescending men. With each member of the quartet fiercely determined to come out on top, the contest quickly becomes a tense affair that some of them would do anything (even cheat) to win. Audrey, Gwendoline, Nell, and Zelda all have struggles and secrets the others don't know about. As their defenses are slowly chipped away and a fragile friendship forms between them, the contest starts to become something wholly different. Which one of them will emerge victorious? And how will the experience change all of their lives?

War books cannot usually be described as uplifting or heartwarming and, yet, that is exactly how I would characterize The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. The story also features heartache, sorrow, and struggle, but overall, it's about unity, friendship, and the power of a loving support network in helping one learn to stand on her own two feet. Audrey, Gwendoline, Nell, and Zelda are all likable characters, whose challenges make them sympathetic and relatable. Although their story has a predictable end, I didn't care a smidge. I enjoyed every word of this charming, empowering novel. Because it highlights recipes for delicacies like The Ministry of Food's Sheep's Head Roll and Zelda's Raised Spam and Game Pie, The Kitchen Front—unlike most novels I read that are centered around food—did not make me salivate. It did, however, give me new appreciation for WWII cooks who had to use their own resourcefulness and ingenuity just to turn their meager rations into something at all edible! 

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other books by Jennifer Ryan)

Today's TTT topic is an interesting one: Top Ten Books That Are Too Good To Review Properly (I Have No Words!). Usually, I have the opposite problem—too many words. The reviews I tend to choke on are for classic books that have been critiqued so many times there's literally nothing new to say about them. Since I don't read that kind very often, I'm going to have to spin the prompt today. 

How about a game? Let's see if it's even possible for me to be succinct when writing about books. You up for it? Okay, here's how it's going to go. I'm going to describe the last ten books I've read in just one word. Stop laughing! I can do this. I think. To make it even more challenging, I will try to avoid the adjectives I tend to most overuse in my reviews: engrossing, fascinating, compelling, heart-warming, enjoyable, tense, fun, depressing, entertaining, and taut (my husband always makes fun of me when I describe books as "taut psychological thrillers"). I'm not even going to include a plot summary, although I will link the titles to Goodreads. Will I emerge victorious? Let's see... 

But first, be sure to hop over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess some love. If you're feeling listy today, join in the TTT fun!

(from most recent to least)