Tag Archives: Mario Escobar

Top 10 Tuesday — Destination Titles

12 Nov

Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT prompt is Destination Titles (books with the names of places in their titles). I didn’t anticipate how quickly I could come up with 10 books! My list includes books with cities in the title. The cover art reps the cities as well. Take a close look at A Shadow in Moscow‘s cover! I have a variety of genres and time periods represented — I hope you find one to love!

For more virtual travel, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Destination Titles

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham

Embers in The London Sky by Sarah Sundin

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

The Paris Betrayal by James Hannibal

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt

Top 10 Tuesday — The Cover Made Me Buy It

1 Oct

Happy Tuesday! I had a hard time getting into today’s TTT topic — Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype. So I decided to go off on a tangent and list books whose covers made me buy them. I am a sucker for a great cover. And I don’t seem to have a type that catches my eye either, although 4 on my list include children. But all the books languish on the TBR shelves. Clearly I have a problem with buying, then not reading books. I buy books as though I will live until I am 538. LOL! Let me know if you have read any, and if so, which I should begin immediately.

For all the hype, visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

The Covers Made Me Buy Them

Catching The Wind by Melanie Dobson

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

The Constantine Conspiracy by Gary E. Parker

The Good Dream by Donna VanLiere

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

Remember Me by Mario Escobar

The Romanov Conspiracy by Glenn Meade

The Rose And The Thistle by Laura Frantz

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Top 10 Tuesday — Wishing for Books

11 Jun

Happy Tuesday! I don’t have a book wishlist primarily because my family and friends look around my house and proclaim I already own too many. What do they know!? LOL! But if I did keep a wishlist these books would be on it.

For more bloggers’ wishlists, check out https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com.

Top 10 Books I Would Put on A Wishlist If I Had One

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron

The Crown Conspiracy by Connie Mann

Fatal Domain by Steven James

The Forgotten Names by Mario Escobar

The Garden Girls by Jessica R. Patch

Hidden in The Night by Elizabeth Goddard

The Hudson Collection by Jocelyn Green

One Final Target by Janice Cantore

A Place to Land by Lauren K. Denton

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

Top 10 Tuesday — Great Books That Went Unread in 2023

23 Jan

Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is fortunately or unfortunately (depending how you look at these things) an easy post for me. In my reading life, my eyes are bigger than the time I have available to read. 🙁 This leads to a lot of poor, deserving books left alone on the shelf. And I have to confess, I have more than 10. 🙁

Let me know if you read any of the books on my list so that I can move them closer to the top of my towering TBR pile.

For other book blogger failures 😉 , check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top 10 Books I Failed To Read In 2023

Cold Pursuit by Nancy Mehl

Countdown by Lynette Eason

Counter Attack by Patricia Bradley

Dark of Night by Colleen Coble

Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow

The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller

The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar

With Every Memory by Janine Rosche

The Woman from Lydia by Angela Hunt

The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese

Top 10 Tuesday — Books That Defied My Expectations

5 Sep

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

The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy

When We Were Young And Brave by Hazel Gaynor

Where The Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner

Within These Walls of Sorrow by Amanda Barratt

Top 10 Tuesday — If You Like …

28 Mar

Happy Tuesday! I regularly include an If You Liked . . . post on my blog with suggestions for further reading if you like my book club’s monthly selection. I love connecting readers to new-to-them authors. For today’s TTT prompt I decided to pull from those list to compile a If You Like X Author, Then Try … . While many of these authors will already be on your radar, I hope you find a new favorite!

For more fun, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Authors To Try If You Like . . .

If you like Lynette Eason, especially her Danger Never Sleeps series, then try Hallee Bridgeman.

Captain Rick Norton and his Army Special Forces are on a mission to subdue Chukuwereije, a warlord terrorizing the villages in the jungles of Katangela, Africa, when their mission is interrupted to extract the daughter of America’s vice president.

Dr. Cynthia Myers has used her medical mission in a remote village in Katangela to escape a shallow life of unearned wealth, a philandering fiancé, and a father now square in the public eye. At least here she knows her work and life have meaning. But all that is thrown into chaos when she fails to save the life of Chukuwereije’s mortally wounded son and becomes a target for the warlord’s revenge.

Rick is compelled to use deadly force to save Cynthia’s life. Enraged at the violence she witnessed and riddled with guilt that men died because of her, Cynthia tries to hang on to her anger–but an unexpected attraction is taking hold.

With two members of his team badly injured and rebels in hot pursuit, Rick will have to draw upon all his strength and cunning to get her out alive . . . because he’s beginning to think they just might overcome their differences and be able to make a life together.

If you like Elizabeth Goddard, then try Melissa Koslin.

Former CIA sniper Kadance Tolle possesses a special set of skills and a rare pedigree. She comes from a family of assassins, and by saving Lyndon Vaile’s life she risks being found by them. Despite the danger, Kadance feels compelled to help Lyndon discover who is after him–and his research that seems to prove that the Ebola virus was manmade and is about to be weaponized.

With shadowy figures pursuing them and a Mastermind watching their every move, Kadance and Lyndon must scramble to stop an impending bioattack at the State of the Union address. But their warnings fall on deaf ears, and it becomes increasingly clear that there’s no one they can trust — except perhaps each other.

Strap in for a breakneck story that will have you up all night, hurtling toward the last page as the clock ticks and time runs out.

If You like Patricia Bradley, especially her Natchez Trace Park Rangers series, then try Janice Cantore.

As a police officer in Table Rock, Oregon, Leah Radcliff puts her life on the line to help others every day. But at home, Leah’s battling her own personal nightmare: Brad, her abusive husband, a fellow officer, celebrated hero, and beloved son of a powerful prominent family. Brad’s violent outbursts and suspicious activities have left Leah physically and emotionally scarred, until one desperate action to put a stop to his abuse results in deadly consequences.

Though public opinion seems ready to convict Leah, Officer Clint Tanner is one of the few to believe she acted in self-defense. As he works with Leah’s attorney to produce the evidence they need, new truths about Brad’s dark side come to light—and reveal a deep-rooted problem in Table Rock. There are some who have breached their sworn duty to serve and protect . . . and they’ll do anything to keep their secret safe.

If you like Sarah Sundin‘s WWII fiction, then try Mario Escobar.

Saint-Malo, France: August 1938. Jocelyn and Antoine are childhood sweethearts, but just after they marry and are hoping for a child, Antoine is called up to fight against Germany. As the war rages, Jocelyn focuses on comforting and encouraging the local population by recommending books from her beloved library in Saint-Malo. She herself finds hope in her letters to a famous author.

After the French capitulation, the s occupy the town and turn it into a fortress to control the north of French Brittany. Residents try passive resistance, but the German commander ruthlessly purges part of the city’s libraries to destroy any potentially subversive writings. At great risk to herself, Jocelyn manages to hide some of the books while waiting to receive news from Antoine, who has been taken to a German prison camp.

What unfolds in her letters is Jocelyn’s description of her mission: to protect the people of Saint-Malo and the books they hold so dear. With prose both sweeping and romantic, Mario Escobar brings to life the occupied city and re-creates the history of those who sacrificed all to care for the people they loved.

If you like Nancy Mehl, especially her creepier novels 😉 , then try Tom Threadgill.

Catherine Mae Blackston is missing. She is not the first.

While investigating Blackston’s recent activities, FBI Agent Jeremy Winter stumbles upon a string of missing persons within state parks. Unable to convince his boss that Blackston’s disappearance is anything other than a lost hiker, Winter joins forces with a local police officer to continue the search. 

As the clues mount, a dark figure from Jeremy’s past emerges with an ultimatum — one that could force him out of the Bureau. Afraid that his girlfriend, fellow agent Maggie Keeley, will be dragged into a high-stakes political game, he delays his decision. But as the tally of missing persons increases, Winter closes in on the unlikeliest of suspects. 

The bodies are out there. 

He just has to find them before his past catches up with him.

If You like Amanda Cox, then try Susie Finkbeiner.

In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When Mindy, one of those children, announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adopted family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival in their lives.

Though her father supports Mindy’s desire to meet her family of origin, he struggles privately with an unsettling fear that he’ll lose the daughter he’s poured his heart into. Mindy’s mother undergoes the emotional rollercoaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy’s sister helps her sort through relics that whisper of the effect the trauma of war has had on their family–but also speak of the beauty of overcoming.

Told through three strong voices in three compelling timelines, The Nature of Small Birds is a hopeful story that explores the meaning of family far beyond genetic code.

If you like Courtney Walsh, then try Janet W. Ferguson.

Animals always made more sense than humans did to marine biologist Skye Youngblood. After her mother’s tragic death, she left Alabama and never looked back. These days, she pours her heart into protecting nature’s sea creatures. When she returns to Dauphin Island, Alabama, for a temporary manatee migration study, her dark past is much too close. She can’t let her guard down. But how can she keep her heart hidden when a kind man with a genuine smile makes her want a fresh start?

Charter fishing pays the bills for widower Pete Thompson and his little girl, but like his father, a pastor, Pete can’t help but fish for men. Only, after growing up under constant scrutiny as a preacher’s kid, Pete’s ways are a bit more unconventional. And the bulk of his life revolves around raising his precious daughter.

When he witnesses the car wreck of a new marine biologist on the island, it doesn’t take a genius to see that more than just her physical pain needs tending. Pete feels called to help Skye find true healing, but he’s navigating dangerous waters. And he’s not at all sure he’ll walk away unscathed.

If you like Lisa Harris, then try Susan Sleeman.

When cybercriminals hack into the US Marshals’ Witness Protection database and auction off witnesses’ personal details to the highest bidders, the RED Team led by FBI Agent Sean Nichols begins a high-stakes chase to find the hacker. But before he can even get started, the first witness is targeted and barely escapes with her life. Sean believes Phantom, an obsessed hacker who previously outwitted the top minds in the field, is behind the attack, and Sean needs this witness’s help, as she’s the person who has come closest to discovering Phantom’s identity. 

Trouble is, she’s a witness under the care of US Marshal Taylor Mills, and Sean is reluctant to work with the captivating marshal who knows his deepest secrets. But Phantom claims he knows where the witness is hiding and will kill her, so to stop the hacker, Sean and Taylor must work through their personal pain and learn to trust each other . . . . The seconds are ticking down before someone dies.

If you like Lynn H. Blackburn, then try Lisa Carter.

Secrets and danger hide deep in the canyons and arroyos of the Navajo Nation When federal agent Aaron Yazzie is assigned to protect the only witness to a drug cartel execution, he hides Kailyn Eudailey in the safest place he knows . . . the vast, untamed wilderness of the Navajo Reservation. Transporting Kailyn to New Mexico may not be as easy as Aaron would like. Kailyn is a high-maintenance Southern belle who is determined to assert her independence at every step. Though Aaron works to protect her from the dangers that could get them both killed, Kailyn is getting to him. Although, she doesn’t know the real him. As an undercover agent, Aaron has grown adept at playing many roles. But will he be able to embrace his true identity and God’s plan for his life in order to keep Kailyn alive?

If you like Erin Bartels, then try Catherine West.

Sometimes we’re allowed to glimpse the beauty within the brokenness . . .

Savannah Barrington has always found solace at her parents’ lake house in the Berkshires, and it’s the place that she runs to when her husband of over twenty years leaves her. Though her world is shaken, and the future uncertain, she finds hope through an old woman’s wisdom, a little girl’s laughter, and a man who’s willing to risk his own heart to prove to Savannah that she is worthy of love.

But soon Savannah is given a challenge she can’t run away from: Forgiving the unforgivable. Amidst the ancient gardens and musty bookstores of the small town she’s sought refuge in, she must reconcile with the grief that haunts her, the God pursuing her, and the wounds of the past that might be healed after all.

Where Hope Begins is the story of grace in the midst of brokenness, pointing us to the miracles that await when we look beyond our own expectations.

Top 10 Tuesday — Book-Loving Heroines

21 Feb

Happy Tuesday! Today TTT is featuring favorite heroines. I have been a bookworm since forever, and I love a character that shares my passion for books and reading. They are the kind of characters that become friends. My list today includes heroines that are unapologetic book nerds like me, or are those who come to love books in the course of the novel. It’s an eclectic list, as I am an eclectic reader. I hope you can find a book and heroine to love! Note on the list: all are randomly listed. In the case of series in which they appear, I have listed the first book.

For more favorite heroines, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Book-Loving Heroines

Belle from Beauty And The Beast

Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Nora Bradford from True to You by Becky Wade

Helma Zukas from The Library Murders by Jo Dereske

Adelaide Proctor from Head in The Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

Alice Grace Ripley from Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

Grace Percy from Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

Jocelyn Ferrec from The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

Avis, Louise, Martina, and Ginny from The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green

Clara Blackwell from Hope Between The Pages by Pepper Basham

Top 10 Tuesday — New-To-Me Authors in 2022

24 Jan

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! 😉

For more new authors, visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top New-To-Me Authors in 2022

Among The Innocent by Mary Alford

The Blackout Book Club by Amy Green

Driving Force by Kate Angelo

Firefly Diaries by C. C. Warrens

Honor’s Refuge by Hallee Bridgeman

In Search of A Prince by Toni Shiloh

A Light on A Hill by Connilyn Cossette

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

Operation Joktan by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn

Shadows in The Mind’s Eye by Janyre Tromp

When The Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

Where The Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner

Top 10 Tuesday — The Best of 2022

3 Jan

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.

For more bloggers’ lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Best Books Read in 2022

All That It Takes by Nicole Deese

The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox

The Lady’s Mine by Francine Rivers

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

The Premonition at Withers Farm by Jaime Jo Wright

Then Sings My Soul by Amy K. Sorrells

When The Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

When We Were Young And Brave by Hazel Gaynor

Best Book of The Year

Where The Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner

Top 10 Tuesday — Thankful Freebie

22 Nov

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!

For more thankful bloggers, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books I Am Thankful For

January — A Light on The Hill by Connilyn Cossette

I used this novel as a part of my Faith And Fiction Bible study of sanctuary cities. What a wonderful resource to draw from.

February — Bride of A Distant Isle by Sandra Byrd

An “oldie” but a goodie, I loved going back to Victorian England in this novel.

March — In Search of A Prince by Toni Shiloh

Toni’s unique setting and fairytale nod to Princess Diaries was a delight.

April — All That It Takes by Nicole Deese

Women’s fiction/romance that touched my heart.

May — The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

English translation of Escobar’s moving novel set in WWII-era France.

June — Fatal Code by Natalie Walters

An unputdownable romantic suspense is just what I needed to kickstart my summer reading.

July — Sea Glass Cottage by Irene Hannon

What is a summer without a visit to Hope Harbor?!

August — Bookshop by The Sea by Denise Hunter

Another winner of a summer read. A small beach town and a bookshop, what’s not to love?

September — Every Word Unsaid by Kimberly Duffy

An exotic location, an independent and exasperating heroine, timely message.

October — The Lady’s Mine by Francine Rivers

A feel good read that sparked a lot of great conversation with my book club.

November — Where The Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner

The best book I have read all year!