Happy Tuesday! Today is a Freebie Day with a bit of a throwback vibe. I am listing the books I read and loved in July 2015. This was an easy post to compile since I keep a list of all the books I read by month and year. Plus it was fun to lock back on the great books that I have read in the past. If you haven’t read some on my list, I hope you find one to love.
For more great bloggers’ lists, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.
Happy Tuesday! Today book bloggers celebrate Valentine’s Day early with a Love Freebie! I’ve chosen to highlight books with symbols of Valentine’s Day in their titles — love, hearts, and roses — and one that generally leads to the culmination of all that romance! It’s an eclectic list, for sure. I hope you find one to whet your interest.
Happy Tuesday! Today my TTT list features books with characters that cook. The list includes characters ranging from seasoned chefs to newbie bakers to ice cream makers, plus a few chocolatiers! And they cover a variety of genres — something for everyone’s tastes. 😉 Don’t forget to load up on some snacks for your reading time!
I am pretty partial to pink. I even had a house once that was painted pink (kind of a salmon color) and had pink carpet. It was the 80s, what can I say? While I don’t do pink decorating anymore, I am drawn to pink clothing. And I am getting pink streaks in my hair next week (the previous pink streaks washed out too quickly). So it is only fitting that I spotlight books with pink covers, girls in pink dresses, or pink in the titles! Let me know what you think of my choices. Books, not hair color. 😉
Happy May! Today bloggers are sharing books with flowers in book titles or on book covers, etc. I am going with flowers on the cover, since I shared flowers in titles in February. My list features books from a variety of genres — I hope you find one to love!
Happy Tuesday! I have to say I was not feeling this week’s topic. I don’t often re-read a book, and I can’t say I ever considered that I wouldn’t like a book I loved if I read it again. Oh well, that’s what twisting a topic is for. 😉 I do have A LOT of books on my shelves that I have not read. Will I like them as much as I anticipated when I acquired them? You tell me!
Today’s list features 10 yet to be read books on my shelf in a variety of genres. If you have read them, please let me know why I should read them NOW! Note: while creating this post I discovered that 5 of the books are available with my subscription to Audible! Yippee! Of course I downloaded them. They are noted with an asterisk.
Everyone needs a little help from their friends some times! And this summer that someone is me. 😉 I have had and will continue to have a very, very busy summer. Reading for reviewing is kind of on the back burner right now, but I hate not to feature any reviews at all. So I enlisted my friend Carrie to read books that are languishing on my shelf and then share with you her thoughts. We have similar tastes, and I trust her opinions.
Carrie and I became book buddies a long time ago. We have since connected on multiple levels, but books brought us together and continue to enrich our friendship. Carrie read The Key to Love by Betsy St. Amant. Her thoughts are below.
The only thing Bri Duval loves more than baking petit fours is romance. So much so, she’s created her own version of the famous Parisian lovelock wall at her bakery in Story, Kansas. She never expects it to go viral–or for Trek Magazineto send travel writer Gerard Fortier to feature the bakery. He’s definitely handsome, but Bri has been holding out for a love story like the one her parents had, and that certainly will not include the love-scorned-and-therefore-love-scorning Gerard.
Just when it seems Bri’s bakery is poised for unprecedented success, a series of events threaten not just her business but the pedestal she’s kept her parents on all these years. Maybe Gerard is right about romance. Or maybe Bri’s recipe just needs to be tweaked.
Novelist Betsy St. Amant invites you to experience this sweet story of how love doesn’t always look the way we expect–and maybe that’s a good thing.
Betsy St. Amant Haddox is the author of over twenty romance novels and novellas. She resides in north Louisiana with her hubby, two daughters, an impressive stash of coffee mugs, and one furry Schnauzer-toddler. Betsy has a B.A. in Communications and a deep-rooted passion for seeing women restored to truth. When she’s not composing her next book or baby-talking her dog, Betsy can be found somewhere in the vicinity of an iced coffee. She writes frequently for iBelieve, a devotional site for women, and offers author coaching and editing services through Storyside LLC.
Carrie’s Thoughts:
The Key to Love by Betsy St. Amant is a surprising mix of romance and discovery. Bri Duvall is a baker. She loves everything about her life: her small town of Story where she grew up, the Pastry Puff bakery where she is following in her mother’s footsteps, and the Love Lock wall that started it all with Bri’s parents’ lock starting the tradition after their tragic car accident. Bri is the character everyone loves. She’s kind and thoughtful and puts others before herself. She is determined that one day she will find that perfect romance and live her happily ever after just like her parents and she won’t settle until she finds the perfect guy. At first glance, she seems unbelievable. As you read though, you will discover she has unrealistic ideas on what her parent’s romance was before the accident and how her life should be. Then things start shifting in ways Bri does not like. The Pastry Puff has been struggling and there is someone who continues to give offers to the owners of the bakery. Bri resolves to save the bakery by doing an article on the Love Lock Wall. But the motorcycle riding, tattoo wearing, gruff writer the magazine sent is nothing that Bri is expecting but EVERYTHING she is needing.
Gerard doesn’t see the Pastry Puff as anything special or worth saving but wants the promised promotion after he writes the article on the bakery. In researching for the article, he discovers there is more to Bri than the overly sweet optimistic romantic he first thought her to be. She has many dreams that she is scared to take the leap of faith to see them come true. But writing an article that will save the Pastry Puff will make Bri happy but keep her there and not allow her to soar to the heights he can see she can go.
As a reader, I have never been so unsure of what I wanted to happen for the end of a book. I wanted the Pastry Puff to survive and not be bought out, because as I read I fell in love with the town of Story and all its residents. But in my heart I knew that wasn’t best for the main character. I was so torn about it; I couldn’t put the book down until I had finished. Betsy St. Amant did a beautiful job of weaving personal wants and desires (with a mix of unrealistic expectations) with God’s timing and restoration and trusting in Him that the unknown isn’t always a bad thing. The unknown can bring about greater things that can’t even be imagined. Betsy wrapped up this romantic story in a way that fulfilled everything I wanted as a reader and more that I hadn’t even predicted. This is a great read, but beware you will most definitely want some sweets while reading this delightful book!
Happy Tuesday! This week I am featuring books — some I have read, others on the TBR list — that have LOVE in the title. They run the gamut of genres but all feature love in some form or fashion. There are books for your reading list and books for your kids. Check them out — there’s still time to get them before Valentine’s Day! 😉
2020 was going to be the year of Beckie! For you Seinfeld fans, you know what I mean 😉 . I retired from my job (doing my husband’s books) late 2019 and only had some tax tasks to take care of in January. My first grandchild was born in December 2019. And I had all of the time in the world to travel, visit my family, and read, read, read! Boy, was I in for a big disappointment! The first two things on my agenda were thwarted by breast cancer and, of course, Covid. The third? You would think that not being able to go anywhere would have created great reading opportunities. For me, not so much. I ended up reading a lot less than in past years.
Did you read less or more last year?
Last year has set this year’s bar very low. I have few expectations of 2021. Plans are held loosely. It’s only January, and I have already had to cancel one trip to see my grand baby. 🙁 My Goodreads Reading Goal is set low as well. But there are many unread books staring at me from my shelves. I am determined that while the number of books may be low, the quality will be high. Included in books I want to read are those I missed last year, hence today’s Top 10 Tuesday list. All of these books deserve to be read — here’s hoping I do in 2021. For more books bloggers didn’t get to, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday challenge is a fun one — pick book titles that would make great song titles. Song titles and book titles have so much in common. They both are catchy and easy to remember and capture the essence of the book/song in one phrase. Song titles usually come from a line in the lyrics. Book titles often do the same thing — it’s fun when you come across the reference while reading. This week I went to my shelves for inspiration and found some books residing there that reference real songs for their titles, so I included some of those as well. Hope you find a book to love.
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