Happy Tuesday! Today I just was not feeling the TTT topic — bucket list books. I have done a couple of these posts and didn’t really want to do the research on books and destinations, so instead I am sharing the latest additions to my NetGalley Shelf. A few of these have already released, so I need to get going on my reading. There is also a good mix of genres — I hope you find one to love.
Spring has been around for weeks in my area of the country, but it has been erratic! We’ve had record high temps, severe weather threats, and even a bit of snow! So crazy! But the flowers are blooming, the trees are budding, and my husband is mowing the grass! LOL! Today’s TTT topic is Spring TBR Lists. I am embarking on a novel approach to my reading life — choosing to read what I want, when I want. Even the few review titles are those I really, really want to read. It’s been a while, folks! I am having a blast! I had to really think about today’s post because past seasonal TBRs have been filled with required reading (books for review.) Today’s list features book club picks and mood reads, which are hard to plan for. But I think I have a great list planned. Let me know what you are reading this season.
Today’s TTT topic, Ordinal Numbers in book titles, looks easy on the surface. It proved harder than I thought though. There are lots of books with first and second in the title, but beyond that there are not many others. Plus, I wanted to include books that I have either read or that I want to read. I ended up adding a few books that my husband has enjoyed (the Joel Rosenberg titles) as well. I hope you find a book that interests you!
Happy Tuesday! Today TTT bloggers are celebrating all things romance with a Love Freebie! After many years of creating these posts it is a bit daunting to come up with something fresh. Today I am featuring romance novels — contemporary, historical, and suspense — that have part or whole of their settings on boats. You know, The Love Boat! 😉 Extra points for those whose characters cement their love on the open seas. Come aboard, they’re expecting you!
Happy Tuesday! Today TTT is featuring book covers with interesting typography. What is typography, you may ask? From Google AI —
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing.
There were a lot of different directions to go with this topic, but I finally narrowed it down to titles with two or more fonts. While some are more subtle than others, the visual interest really grabbed my eye. What do you think?
Happy Tuesday! 2026 has already been one long year and we aren’t even half way through January. If you’ve noticed I’ve been quiet here on the blog, it’s because my MIL fell and suffered a subdural hematoma on the 3rd. She is back at her care facility and is receiving excellent care, but I would appreciate any prayers you lift up. She is 97 years old and the toll of the injury has really impacted her. I will probably be in an out of the blogosphere for the foreseeable future.
But today I have a bit of free time and listing my most anticipated books of the first half of 2026. I long to get lost in a good book! What books are you looking forward to?
Happy Romance Month! For my last post we will travel back in time when romance was just a bit different than it is today. Historical settings are great to set the stage for romance tropes — marriage of convenience, forbidden love, love triangles, etc. — all those that are little harder to put into contemporary timeframes. My list includes some recent reads that span the ages. I know you’ll love them.
The Indigo Heiress by Laura Frantz
Virigina plantation life is all she has ever known. But could the life she was meant to live be waiting on a distant shore?
In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland.
When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as a means of canceling the family’s crippling debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when Leith Buchanan selects her instead.
Despite her initial refusal, Juliet realizes that fleeing Virginia is her only choice after finding herself in the midst of a scandal. The ship just leaving the harbor for Glasgow is her only hope. But she will soon realize that being part of the complex and calculating Buchanan clan is not the sanctuary she imagined–and the man who saved her from ruin is the very one she must now save in return.
Midnight on The Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin
In a time of war, danger lurks beneath the water–and in the depths of the human heart
As the German war machine devours the Netherlands, the only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the occupation is to do the unthinkable–train to become a spy for the Nazis. Once dispatched to Britain, she plans to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. But her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed.
Yet perhaps she is more useful alive than dead. British intelligence employs her to radio misleading messages to Germany from the lighthouse at Dunnet Head in Scotland–messages filled with naval intelligence Lachlan must provide. If the war is to be won, Lachlan and Cilla must work together. But how can he trust a woman who arrived on his shores as a tool of the enemy–a woman certain to betray both him and the Allied cause?
Of Gold And Shadows by Michelle Griep
The shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .
In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.
After eight years in India, Oxford’s most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor’s determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin–rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk–surfaces, and they’re left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows . . . .
Of Love And Treason by Jamie Ogle
Valentine defies the emperor and becomes a hero . . . and the most wanted man in the empire. Compelled by his faith, he has nothing to lose, until a chance encounter with the daughter of a Roman jailor changes everything.
Rome, AD 270. In the wake of the emperor’s marriage ban, rumors swirl that there is one man brave enough to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. A public notarius and leader of an underground church, Valentine believes the emperor’s edict unjust and risks his own life for the sake of his convictions. But as his fame grows, so do fears for his safety.
Iris, the daughter of a Roman jailor, believes regaining her sight will ease the mounting troubles at home. Her last hope rests in searching out Valentine and his church, but the danger of associating with people labeled a threat to the empire is great. Still, as Iris’s new friends lead her to faith in God, Iris is drawn to Valentine and they both begin to hope for a future together beyond the treacherous empire.
But when a past debt and a staggering betrayal collide, Valentine, Iris, and everyone they love must fight for their lives . . . and wrestle with trusting a God who can restore sight yet does not always keep His followers from peril.
Something Borrowed by Susie Finkbeiner, Allison Pittman, and Rachel Scott McDaniel
In this brand-new novella collection, three renowned Christian historical fiction authors trace generations of wartime romances through a special wedding dress with love sewn into its seams.
A Heart in Disguise by Rachel Scott McDaniel
Clara Westlake loves her job as a seamstress in the US “Camouflage Corps,” sewing suits for snipers and contributing to the war effort. But when she overhears a threat against her beloved New York City, the Great War comes too close to home–except no one believes her forewarning. She must recruit Marcus Reeves, a childhood friend searching for his purpose after suffering a devastating war injury. As they search for answers together, they may also uncover a love that lasts.
Kate Becker and Ike Finch have worked together at his family’s bookstore since Kate’s husband died in the early days of the Vietnam War. She has her daughter, Eloise, to take care of and bills to pay, and this job was a godsend. A second love is not in the cards, especially not with the world still teetering on the edge of insanity. But when Ike brings little Eloise special flowers one spring day, Kate begins to look at him as more than an employer. Is falling in love again worth the risk?
Today’s TTT topic is beach reads. A beach read can mean different things — a romance with a tropical setting, an escape book, or an engaging whodunit. My list includes books all that plus they literally have beach settings! 😉 You’ll find a variety of genres — there’s something for everyone.
This week the TTT theme has another throwback vibe — books that deserve a re-read. It is rare that I re-read a book — there are just so many other books vying for attention! Last week I shared my favorites from July 2015, so I thought I would pick those from the whole summer of 2015 that would be great to read again. 10 years is a long time in the reading world, so many of the books would be fresh again. I hope you find one to re-read or read for the first time!
My book club members are big fans of Sarah Sundin. As soon as she releases a new historical novel, we know we have to read it! This month we read Midnight on The Scottish Shore. I love that the book’s setting is on the homefront during WWII. Plus, there are spies! Find out more below.
In a time of war, danger lurks beneath the water–and in the depths of the human heart
As the German war machine devours the Netherlands, the only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the occupation is to do the unthinkable–train to become a spy for the Nazis. Once dispatched to Britain, she plans to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. But her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed.
Yet perhaps she is more useful alive than dead. British intelligence employs her to radio misleading messages to Germany from the lighthouse at Dunnet Head in Scotland–messages filled with naval intelligence Lachlan must provide. If the war is to be won, Lachlan and Cilla must work together. But how can he trust a woman who arrived on his shores as a tool of the enemy–a woman certain to betray both him and the Allied cause?
Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the drama and romance of the World War II era. She is the bestselling and Christy Award-winning author of Midnight on the Scottish Shore(February 2025), Embers in the London Sky(2024), The Sound of Light (2023), Until Leaves Fall in Paris (2022), When Twilight Breaks(2021), and several World War II series.
A mother of three, Sundin lives in Southern California and enjoys speaking to community, church, and writers’ groups. Sarah serves as program director for the West Coast Christian Writers Conference.
My Impressions:
I don’t know how she does it, but Sarah Sundin continues to write fresh novels set during WWII. Her latest historical romance set in Scotland showcases the military operations that kept the homefront safe. There are also spies! What a great combination for a page turning reading experience. Main character Cilla van der Zee is an earnest Dutch woman intent on resisting the occupying Nazis. But when things become dangerous in the Netherlands, she comes up with a scheme to get out of the country by pretending to be a spy for Germany. Her plan may be daring, but she never anticipates that getting caught in the UK will entail being seen as the enemy. I loved Cilla’s character — she’s honest (except for the lies she tells 😉 ) and brave, but also impulsive and hardheaded. She’s flawed and entirely relatable. She’s given two choices: become a double agent or risk execution. Since she has never wavered in her allegiance to the Allied cause, she takes on the role. Cilla struggles with being seen as the enemy. I can only imagine no one believing me. But, in a time of war, it’s to be expected. The very serious Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie is one of those who doesn’t trust Cilla, but he knows how it feels. Accused of cheating in college, he serves in the Navy with the shame of his past following him. Both are viewed with distrust and must prove themselves over and over. Themes of forgiveness and reconciliation also run throughout the narrative. The historical details are interesting — there was a lot I was not aware of, and the romance is sweet as the two go from enemies to friends to more. There’s plenty of action in the novel too. Spies on both sides are actively working for their causes.
If you like historical romance set during WWII, then Midnight on The Scottish Shore is a perfect choice. There is a bit of loose thread, so I anticipate seeing more of Cilla and Lachlan in the next great book by Sundin.
Recommended.
Audience: Adults.
(I was provided a complimentary copy by NetGalley. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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