Happy Tuesday! Today TTT’s topic is secondary, or as I like to call them, supporting characters. I see supporting characters as integral to creating a complete story. A reader gets an in-depth look at the struggles of the mains, as well as a richer reading experience. I’m not great at remembering secondary/supporting characters, so I did a search with the term in my blog reviews. I think you’ll find some great books to check out that have great supporting characters, and there’s a variety of genres that should appeal to any reading mood.
Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is buzzwords — words attributed to a book that make you want to read it. With a little tweaking of the topic, I am bringing to you books that might appeal to you if you are looking for a specific trope or plot device. There are 5 buzzwords but 10 books of a variety of genres! I hope my list achieves its goal to make you want to read them immediately! 😉
Happy Friday! I am so excited about one of my favorite historical fiction writers venturing into other genres, namely contemporary romance! Woo hoo! Kim Duffy‘s novel, The Meet-Cute Manuscript looks so fun. Check out the details below.
Here’s the first line:
I’ve never liked March.
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a British lord who’s afraid of it—will they find their own happily ever after?
American Georgina Justice is a modern literary Midas—everything she writes turns to gold. But when a disastrous public breakup with New York’s most attractive heir leaves her unable to believe in or write about love, she’s sent to England to rediscover her inner romantic.
The last thing Georgina expects to find is Graham Michael Phips-Harington, Viscount Rosebury—a brooding, emotionally repressed engineer who spends his free time building trebuchets and trying to preserve his crumbling Georgian manor. At first glance, they couldn’t be more different. She’s a shoe-obsessed idealist with a flair for Regency etiquette; he’s a practical, old-money noble who would rather protect the past than relive it. And then there’s the Rosebury curse, which promises only heartache.
But fate (and Graham’s sister, Eleanor) seem to have other plans. And it’s writing a story neither one of them could have plotted on their own.
The Meet-Cute Manuscript is a low-spice, grumpy/sunshine romance full of swoony moments, British charm, and a nod to Regency novels. It’s the first in the Love on the Page Series, but each book can be read as a stand-alone.
Kimberly Duffy is a Long Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio. When she’s not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes readers back in time and across oceans. Her books feature ahead-of-their-time heroines, evocative settings, and real-life faith. Kimberly loves trips that require a passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of 20 years. He doesn’t mind.
While I probably need a few reading superpowers — being able to stay awake later to get in just one more chapter or reading without becoming distracted — I drew a blank this week. So true to form I am going off topic. Reading itself is a tremendous superpower — it transports you to other eras and worlds, it can make you smarter, and it can make you more empathetic. So let’s celebrate that we read — we have an indispensable superpower!
The books in my list this week are those that made me think, made me feel, and took to me to other places and times. All fed my soul, taught me something, and engaged my emotions. Maybe the authors are really the ones with superpowers!
Happy Tuesday! I have posted on this week’s topic, Bookish Jobs, before, so I am tweaking the topic again. 😉 Sometimes a character’s occupation is essential to the story line. If they hadn’t held these jobs, there would have been no story! I hope one of the books on my list piques your interest.
Happy Tuesday! Today bloggers are tasked with coming up with favorite relationships. I have focused on sisters and on brothers before, but I don’t think I ever created a list of books that explore mother/daughter dynamics. Whether featuring the good, the bad, or the ugly, it’s almost always plenty complicated! There are positives as well, especially in terms of forgiveness and redemption. I hope you like my list.
Happy Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed your long weekend with some rest and reading. I traveled to Chicago to participate in the Windy City Saga Tour hosted by Jocelyn Green. It certainly defied expectations! It was such a fantastic trip filled with lots of reader-nerd fun. I was especially thrilled to meet in person many of my favorite authors. If you ever get the opportunity to join a literary tour, I heartily encourage it.
Speaking of defying expectations, my list today includes books I knew I probably would like, but didn’t realize how much I would love them. They are a mix of genres, so there is definitely something for everyone. I hope you find a book to love.
Top Books That Defied Expectations
Fatal Code by Natalie Walters
In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer
The Lady’s Mine by Francine Rivers
The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar
The Long March Home by Tosca Lee And Marcus Brotherton
Happy 4th Tuesday of Read A Romance Month! Yes, August is officially read a romance month, and for my TTT genre freebie post I am featuring historical romance authors. I love the variety of time periods I can travel to in these novels. They are well-researched, filled with rich historical detail, and feature a happily-ever-after — something that history by itself does not always offer. 😉 I hope one of the books on my list sparks your interest.
Happy Tuesday! Today TTT is talking favorite audiobook narrators. To be honest, I really only notice the narrators of the books I listen to when they are bad. LOL! I know that pacing is important and accents can make or break a good listen, but I guess if I find myself deep in the story and not paying attention to the narrator, then they are doing a good job. So today I am going to list the last 10 audiobooks I listened to that I loved — those will be my favorite narrators 😉 .
Kimberly Duffy has done it again! The Weight of Air, an historical novel with a circus setting!, is an incredible read. It’s one of those books I was swept into from the start. And it has so much — rich historical detail, intriguing characters, and, above all, heart. I loved it and highly recommend it. Find out all the details below, plus more of my very inadequately expressed thoughts.
Two women–bound by blood, torn apart by circumstance–find together that true strength comes in many forms.
In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe’s strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. When he dies unexpectedly, she loses everything she’s ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham in hope of finding the mother she thought was dead.
Isabella Moreau, America’s most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything. Then her daughter Mabel appears alongside the man who never wanted to see Isabella again, and she is forced to face the truth of where, and in what, she derives her worth.
As Mabel and Isabella’s lives become entangled beneath the glittering lights and flying trapeze of Madison Square Garden, their resiliency and resolve are tested as they learn the truth of what it means to be strong.
Kimberly Duffy is a Long Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio. When she’s not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes readers back in time and across oceans. Her books feature ahead-of-their-time heroines, evocative settings, and real-life faith. Kimberly loves trips that require a passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of 20 years. He doesn’t mind.
I’m warning you, The Weight of Air is so much better than my words can express. 😉 It’s one of those books that elicits so many feelings that prove difficult to translate in a review. So, I’ll try to be succinct and clear — but just know, you definitely want to read this book! First the setting: it’s the circus of the early 1900s. Duffy’s descriptions of the big top, the backstage rooms, and the people who inhabited that very special world transported me smack dab in the middle of it all. The story follows a mother and daughter separated for 20 years. Mabel, at 6 feet tall, is dubbed the strongest woman in the world. Her mother, Isabella, is an aging aerialist past her peak. What characters they are! Damaged and flawed and defined by their own and others’ expectations, prejudices, and motivations. While I certainly cannot bend iron bars or fly through the air without trepidation, I could relate to those women on various levels. There are a number of men in their lives (living and dead) who exert influence (good and bad) over them, but it is in making their own way that they find freedom. Two of the male characters, Robert and Jake, I liked very much. But they were not saviors, though they did extend so much grace. They were flawed just like the rest of us, and I cheered their own growth. A few of the themes include grace, forgiveness, and finding strength in Christ when we are at our weakest. A solid historical novel, The Weight of Air, also has elements of women’s fiction and romance. The romance between Mabel and Jake is sizzling sweet — just an FYI for those who like that in their books. 😉 I think this novel would make an excellent book club selection — the well-drawn characters, rich historical detail, the storyline, the setting, and the truths expressed offer so much to discuss. Grab some friends and read it together!
Highly Recommended.
Great for book clubs.
Audience: adults.
(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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