Happy Tuesday! Today we are talking about bookish discoveries (new authors, new genres, new bookstores, etc.). My lists consists of new-to-me-authors and the first book (but not the last) I read in 2025. I had a great reading year, and these authors added greatly to the fun. I hope you discover a new author too!
Happy last Tuesday of 2025! How is it the year is over?! I had a great year of reading and of course acquiring books. My physical, Kindle, and NetGalley shelves overflow. Today on my TTT post I am featuring the last books to hit my NetGalley shelf. I know, I need to get reading. Let me know what you think of the latests additions.
Happy Tuesday. I am Christmas binge-reading right now, but I am also looking forward to some great reading in the months ahead. Today my TTTWinterTBR list contains a couple of Christmas books I hope to finish up before New Year’s, some book club reading, and some just because reading. I hope you find a book to pique your interest!
We don’t get a lot of snow where I live. We did have a freak snowstorm in late January that left 6 inches on the ground. Needless to say, it threw everyone for a loop! Even the Waffle Houses in town were closed. 😉 So I usually get my snow-fix from books. I grew up outside of Orlando, so snow is always a treat for me. Today’s TTT topic is BooksWith A Snowy Setting. I could just rinse and repeat last week’s Freebie post, but I’ll come up with a few more books for you to cuddle with. Bonus: all have snow on the cover! There are quite a few with Christmas settings as well (it’s an eclectic list), so you can keep your holiday reading going. I hope you love my list!
Between The Sound And Sea by Amanda Cox was a big hit with my book club. I especially liked how the author explored past regrets and the actions we take to make things right. The Outer Banks setting and the WWII connection were also big pluses. So if you liked this book too, here are a few more books to read.
All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner
When Annie Jacobson’s brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he hands her a piece of paper with the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know.
In Mike’s absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. As they work toward healing and pray fervently for Mike’s safety overseas, letter by letter the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.
Author Susie Finkbeiner invites you into the Jacobson family’s home and hearts during a time in which the chaos of the outside world touched their small community in ways they never imagined.
By Way of The Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser
Two courageous young women, tied together by blood and shared passion, will risk everything to save what they love most.
For as long as she can remember, Allie Massey, a gifted physical therapist, has dreamed of making her grandparents’ ten-acre estate into a trauma recovery center using equine therapy–a dream her grandmother, Nana Dale, embraced wholeheartedly. But when her grandmother’s will is read, Allie is shocked to learn the property has been sold to a developer.
Decades earlier, headstrong Dale Butler’s driving passion is to bring home the prized filly her family lost to the Great Depression, but with World War II looming, she’s called upon in ways she never could have imagined. And while her world expands to include new friends and new love, tragedy strikes close to home one fateful night during the Battle of the Atlantic, changing her life forever.
As Nana Dale’s past comes to light in Allie’s search for answers, Dale’s courage and persistence may be just what Allie needs to carry on her grandmother’s legacy and keep her own dreams alive.
The Discovery by Dan Walsh
He inherits the house of a legend—and the secrets that lived inside. In an old wooden box in a Charleston estate lies the story of a lifetime. Was the greatest story his grandfather ever told one he kept to himself?
When Michael Warner inherits his grandfather’s historic Charleston home, he steps into more than just a beautiful house—he steps into the shadow of a legend. Gerard Warner was a literary icon, known for his brilliance on the page and his silence off it. He rarely gave interviews, avoided the spotlight, and took his private life to the grave.
Or so everyone thought.
While settling into the home where Gerard penned his greatest works, Michael stumbles upon something unexpected: a forgotten manuscript—one that doesn’t read like any of the others. It’s a love story set in wartime, full of passion, secrets, and sacrifice. But as Michael keeps reading, he begins to suspect there’s more at stake than a lost novel. What he discovers will challenge everything he thought he knew—about his grandfather, his family, and even himself.
The Discovery is a rich, emotionally layered novel about the cost of secrets, the unexpected ways the past can reach into the present, and the sacrifices made to forge a love that lasts a lifetime.
Some secrets don’t fade with time—they are just waiting to be discovered.
Happy Tuesday! This week TTT bloggers are posting about Thanksgiving and thankfulness. I have done a lot of these posts through the year and just couldn’t seem to come up with anything fresh. So . . . I am spelling out THANKGIVING with titles from books I am thankful for. The authors created books that made me smile, laugh out loud, and cry. They made me think and examine and ponder. They entertained and educated. So a big thanks to all on my list!
Top Book Titles That Spell Thanksgiving
T — Truth Be Told by Patricia Raybon
H— The Heart of Bennet Hollow by Joanne Bischof DeWitt
A — The All American by Susie Finkbeiner
N — The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
K — The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
S — The Stories We Carry by Robin Pearson
G — Guilty Until Innocent by Robert Whitlow
I — The Indigo Heiress by Laura Frantz
V— The Vanished by Cara Putman
I— Indigo Isle by T. I. Lowe
N — Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright
I am excited to read this month’s book club pick, Between The Sound And Sea by Amanda Cox, for a couple of reasons. Amanda is a fabulous writer — a must-read author for my book club and she will be in attendance at the book festival in my hometown in February 2026! Woohoo! Have you read this book yet? Let us know what you thought.
Every family has its secrets. Josephina Harris wouldn’t mind if her family still had a few of their own after a lawsuit tarnishes their name. When an opportunity opens to become a temporary keeper of a decommissioned lighthouse on a North Carolina island, she jumps at the chance to escape her small town to oversee its restoration.
As the work begins, “Joey” discovers strange notes tucked deep in the crevices of the old stone walls–pages torn from a lighthouse keeper’s log signed by someone named Mae who recounts harrowing rescues at sea. Fascinated by a woman lighthouse keeper, Joey digs into the past only to discover there’s never been a record of a lighthouse keeper by that name.
When things start to go amiss on the island, locals are convinced that it is the ghost of the lighthouse keeper and his daughter who were lost at sea during World War II. As Joey sifts through decades of rumors and legends and puts together the pieces of the past, what emerges is a love story–one that’s not over yet.
Multiple Christy Award winner Amanda Cox is your guide upon the raging seas of young love, heartbreaking loss, and learning to risk it all for a chance at happiness in this timeless novel.
Before becoming a stay-at-home parent, Amanda Cox spent her time counseling children, families, and individuals through life’s challenging moments. Now she uses those same skills to develop layered characters and stories, bringing them on a journey of hope and healing. A journey she hopes her readers experience in their own lives as they read.
A few of her favorite things are the sanctuary of the great outdoors, the feeling of pen on paper, the sound of her children’s laughter, and exploring new places with her husband of 18 years. (Oh, let’s not forget good fiction and good coffee. She’s addicted to both.) You can stay connected with her latest writing updates at http://www.amandacoxwrites.com. You can find her on social media by searching Amanda Cox Writes.
Happy Tuesday! This week’s TTT topic is Cozy/Atmospheric reads. When I see those two descriptors I think of very different types of books. Cozy makes me think of small communities, quirky characters, and a feel-good plot, regardless of genre. Atmospheric reads, to me, are ones in which the setting plays a big part of the plot, often setting the stage for spooky goings-on. I am going to focus on cozy books this week, and for next week’s Halloween Freebie, atmospheric novels.
Happy release day to Christy Award-winning author Robin W. Pearson! Her latest book, The Stories We Carry, is now available! If you love thought-provoking books with characters you will fall in love with, then this Southern fiction novel is for you. Find out the details below.
A small-town bookstore owner finds herself at odds with a newcomer bent on disrupting her quiet life in this Southern women’s fiction novel by award-winning author Robin W. Pearson.
Glory Pryor has carved out a life for herself in Gilmore, North Carolina, cultivating a community around her bookstore, By the Book. While her business is a success, she carries the weight of stories of her own she’s never told anyone. She holds out hope that one day her estranged brother will turn up on her doorstep so she can finally learn where he’s been all these years. Glory’s husband Eli thinks she has her arms wrapped too tightly around the could-have-beens, and that it’s time for them to let go of the store as they head into their retirement years. Glory has different opinions on that—she’s not ready to give up the dream she’s built just yet. Then Adelle Simonette shows up with her young son, Bennett, and Glory’s carefully controlled life begins to crumble.
Newly widowed Adelle Simonette is a single mother trying to find her footing and navigate parenting her young son. Lost in her grief, one thing she’s certain of is that she needs to confront Glory Pryor and everybody who knows her because the woman’s been living a lie. Adelle thinks it’s high time Glory made things right. But Adelle’s finding it hard to tell the truth . . . and there will be no going back once she does.
In the wake of deeply personal grief and loss, two women reckon with a lifetime of silence and secrets to find a path forward toward healing, hope, and restoration.
Contemporary women’s fiction for fans of Denise Hunter, Vanessa Miller, Rachel Hauck, and Rhonda McKnight.
A small-town Southern saga that features bookish heroines and themes of family, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
Includes discussion questions for book clubs.
Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern upbringing, her belief in Jesus Christ, and her love of her husband, seven children, and their dog, Oscar. Her novels are “rooted in the soul of the story” and include her Christy Award–winning debut, A Long Time Comin’, as well as ’Til I Want No More, Walking in Tall Weeds, and her latest, Dysfunction Junction. Robin has corrected grammar up and down the East Coast in her career as an author and editor and in her calling as a homeschooling mama of many. She loves to share about her faith and her family through her fiction; her blog, Mommy Concentrated; and at conferences such as Breathe, Fiction Readers Summit, and Vision Christian Writers; and with her friends and followers. These people and experiences are the source of all the characters living and breathing in the stories waiting to be told about her belief in Jesus Christ and the experiences at her own kitchen sink. Learn more on her website.
When The Wildflowers Bloom Again by Donna Jo Stone is an award winner! Honored with a Carol Award (ACFW) for outstanding Contemporary Fiction, this novel explores trauma and the resulting grace and mercy of a loving God. I highly recommend it, but have lots of tissues available!
Babies are a gift of God, a fact Marigold Parker knows full well.
Fourteen-year-old Marigold (Mary) Parker spends the summer of ’78 with her cousin and best friend, Sharon, biking the roads of their rural neighborhood in Pleasant Waters, North Louisiana. The girls while away the days at the local pond, listening to the BeeGees and talking about boys. Caring for her emotionally fragile mother is Mary’s only worry, until Sharon’s older half-brother finds Mary alone at the pond one day.
She can’t speak of what happened in the woods. The truth will destroy her family and cost her the relationships she holds most precious.
But secrets have a way of making themselves known, and when Mary finds herself pregnant, she’s forced to grapple with hard decisions. Babies are a gift from God. Mary knows this full well, but she doesn’t know how to deal with a pregnancy, or who to turn to for help.
Trials seem to multiply as Mary struggles to keep faith in the God her parents have taught her to trust.
Richly detailed and evocative, When the Wildflowers Bloom Again captures the emotions and the heart, vividly detailing the struggle of facing impossible choices, the true test of family ties, and of the hope found in new beginnings. Infused with both sorrow and faith, Marigold Parker’s tale is a story you won’t soon forget.
Donna Jo Stone is an award-winning author of historical, contemporary, and young adult fiction.
Life is messy and beautiful. In everyone’s story, there is truth and hope. Donna Jo’s novels are about common struggles and finding the faith to carry on through those battles.
When she’s not writing, she loves to read and talk about books, poke around in old bookshops and museums, and spend time with her family.
My Impressions:
It’s been a while since a book has moved me to tears. And that is saying something because I am not a reader of exclusively fun or happy books. I like real life stories filled with real emotions and experiences. But Donna Jo Stone did just that in her coming-of-age novel When The Wildflowers Bloom Again. The book, set in a small Louisiana community in the 1970s, is told in the first person voice of Mary Parker. At fourteen years old, Mary is filled with excitement for the future, with a bit of curious rebellion built in. Her family would say she’s a handful, but really she is a a typical young teenager. That is until her life is shattered by an unspeakable trauma and a life-altering grief. The era portrayed is spot-on. I know, because I grew up during the same time period. And the circumstances Mary faces are also true to life. Mary is left desolate and alone — fearful to reveal her trauma to her grieving and fragile mother. But God’s grace shows through in her Aunt Sister, her mother, and others who choose to stand with Mary. Church and family are portrayed realistically as well. Some are judgmental, while others exhibit the love of Christ. I think that’s pretty accurate. No community or congregation is perfect, only Jesus is. While the book is pretty hard to read — I put it down numerous times to settle my emotions — it is at the end hope-filled.
When The Wildflowers Bloom Again won the 2025 Carol Award (ACFW) for outstanding contemporary fiction. It is well-deserved. Grab some friends to read this one together. You are going to want to talk about it.
Highly recommended.
Audience: older teens and adults.
Great for book clubs.
(I borrowed this book from Kindle Unlimited. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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