Happy Tuesday! Today bloggers are sharing new-to-them authors from 2022. I love discovering new authors. Often their books become must-reads. A few of the books may be debuts, but by and large, the authors on my list have other books to their credit. More great books to read! 😉
Today’s post is a look back at the best books I read in 2022. I read a lot of great books, so this post was hard to write. How do you distill down to just 10 books out of 80+? I gave it a go, using my rating system to search for those that could be included on my list. The genres vary, but all are outstanding. I hope you find one to love too.
Happy Thanksgiving week! That is how I am framing it, because my family began the festivities last Saturday with an extended family lunch. This week I will have all my kiddos and their families (including my beautiful one and only grandchild) at our home in the beautiful north Georgia mountains. We certainly do have a lot to be thankful for. In the past I have posted about books featuring families, books that helped make me the reader I am today, and all kinds of bookish goodies I am thankful for. Today’s TTT features one book from each month so far this year that I am thankful I had the opportunity to read. Spanning a variety of genres, the books featured well-developed characters, just the right setting for my mood 😉 , action, and well-told, engaging stories. I hope you find a book to love!
Happy Tuesday! Today I am sharing books that have ALL the feels. You know, the kind of book that grabs your heart and won’t let go. The kind of book it is sometimes awkward to read out in public. 😉 There was a particularly heart-rending Christmas book I listened to on my morning walks. If any of my neighbors happened to look out their windows as I walked by, they witnessed me laughing hysterically and crying uncontrollably all in one circuit of the neighborhood. Embarrassing! If you want a book that will create emotional havoc in your life (kidding, not kidding), take a look at my list. (It’s cool how the covers and titles compliment each other in a completely random fashion.)
For more bloggers with emotional reactions to their reading choices, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Books With ALL The Feels
Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese
Before I Saw You by Amy K. Sorrells
The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox
The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar
The London House by Katherine Reay
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox
Where The Blue Sky Begins is the first book I’ve read by Katie Powner, but it will not be the last! Probably the best book I have read all year, this general fiction novel touched my heart in so many ways. And I laughed and cried and laughed again. It is wonderful. Read. It!
Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.
When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.
At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final goal: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.
After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important question:Â What matters most when the end is near?
Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. Katie is a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who believes every child deserves a loving family. Visit http://www.katiepowner.com.
My Impressions:
Oh. My. Goodness! There are so many words to express just how good Where The Blue SkyBegins by Katie Powner is. But of course, this is one review where I will struggle to get them all out. Here are a few — beautifully written and plotted, quirky characters you will love, a setting that feels like home, and a message that resonated deep in my heart. This general fiction offering is probably the best book I have read all year!
Eric Larson is sent by his uncle to a small Montana town to work in his company’s local financial services business. Eric, bless his heart, believes he has it all to make the office successful and to win his position on the 10th floor of the corporate headquarters. Eunice ( pronounced You-Niece and that’s important) is the next door neighbor who blackmails him into driving her to make peace with those she believes she has wronged. Eric believes he is doing the eccentric woman a favor, but Eunice is who helps shape him into the man he becomes by the book’s end. Along the way there’s a crazy chicken, some wise home health nurses, an octogenarian receptionist, some clients in need of financial help, and a thrift store owner that impart important lessons to both Eric and Eunice. This book made me laugh and laugh and then cry and then laugh again. Powner creates a wonderful balance between life’s joys, absurdities, and grief. It is wise and deeply moving. And I regretted turning the last page.
Where The Blue Sky Begins will be on my best of 2022 list, and will be on yours as well as soon as you read it. 😉 What are you waiting for?
Very Highly Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Happy Friday everyone! I am excited to share a new-to-me author today, Katie Powner. She isn’t new to the Chrisian Fiction scene, but Where The Blue Sky Begins will be my first novel to read by her. The buzz is strong with this book; I cannot wait!
Here’s the first line:
Eric Larson had never seen such a sorry excuse for a town.
Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.
When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.
At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final goal: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.
After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important question:Â What matters most when the end is near?
Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. Katie is a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who believes every child deserves a loving family. Visit http://www.katiepowner.com.
Today’s TTT is all about typography — book covers where the title takes center stage. I went with fancyfonts as my focus. I have a mix of those I have read and some on my TBR list. There are a lot of great books on the list; hope you find one to love!
I can’t wait until it is Fall here in the sunny South. High temperatures are still in the mid-80s where I live, but we have had a hint of cool-ish air in the mornings. Not enough to declare it is sweater weather, but it’s promising. 😉 I have a lot of great books on my TBR list spanning a number of genres. There should be something on my list to pique everyone’s interest!
I am so behind on my reading! So far behind that today’s TTT topic was easy for me. I have been in a reading slow-down recently and it is taking me ages to get through a book. It’s not that I haven’t been reading great book. I have! But I have been very distracted of late, that it’s even hard to lose myself in a good book. My list today features authors whose books are on my shelves and those I have just heard about.
What about you? Who are some authors you are dying to read?
The last 2+ weeks have been a whirlwind around here with both expected and unexpected travel. I have been out of town many more days than at home — lots of catching up to do! All that to say I have chosen the easy way out with my TTT list. Memorable character quotes is being twisted to a variation on first lines — the first sentence uttered by a character. All the books featured today are on my near future TBR list. I hope you find a book that piques your interest.
“And King David, a warrior poet, cried out to God, ‘Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.'”
“You’ll never believe it, but I discovered two more diaries!” Miss Cora’s voice wavered, but even at ninety-two it had not lost its cultured tone.
“Thanks for coming with me today. I needed this.”
“What are you doing, Miss Travers?”
“We shouldn’t be doing this.” Lindsey Waters whispered as she stood in the dark hallway next to her sometimes friend, sometimes enemy, and all-the-time troublemaker.
“I’m green with envy! Paris is the most beautiful city in Europe!”
“It will be over soon, little Hebrew,” said the man with painted lips, blood-red and curving with false tenderness.
“Seif, you will send your child to this school?”
The last child, a girl with wide brown eyes and a riot of red curls trailed her hand over the robe. “It’s softer than I thought it’d be.”
“You’ve got manure in your hair, Gerrit,” Luisa whispered, her Italian accent still strong even after thirty years in the States.
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