Top Ten Tuesday & TMST: Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List

 

This week I'm combining two weekly Tuesday memes:

I missed TMST and TTT's 2/25/25 topic. Both were Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List. I'm posting it now. Yep, I'm behind!

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. For info on TMST click HERE.

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic.

(Click on cover to take you to Goodreads listing)

How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2) by Kristen Perrin

Death at a Highland Wedding (A Rip Through Time #4) by Kelley Armstrong

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts

Cold Burn (National Parks #2) by A. J. Landau

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

Other People's Summers by Sarah Morgan

The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

What is on your Spring TBR?

Sunday Post #290

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

It feels like ages since I last posted a Sunday Post, but it's only been two weeks. I was sick for three weeks after Montana and I wasn't sure I'd be well enough to attend a wedding we were set to go to last weekend in Las Vegas, but I finally felt better. We flew up last Saturday went to lunch at the hotel, then the wedding and then flew home early Sunday. Tiring, but we had fun visiting with friends and dancing. 

Gardens inside the Wynn in Vegas

Wynn Gardens

This week I worked and spent time planting all my plants I've grown from seedling into the garden: tomato, cucumber, green onions, jalapeno peppers, Anaheim chilies, cilantro, summer squash, zucchini, and more I'm probably forgetting. I also planted a bunch of cosmos, zinnias, scabiosa. Lots of things are starting to bloom in the garden!

Lilac starting to open

Pansies and Johnny Jump-Ups coming back nicely after winter!

Puzzle completed: Cape Village by Charles Wysocki

Puzzle: Pickwick Cottage by Charles Wysocki. You can see on the middle right there's a piece missing. I looked all over the floor and couldn't find it. It showed up under the table a week later! Have no idea how that happened.

Two weeks worth of reading:

(Click on cover to take you to Goodreads link)

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie-4 Stars

A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper-4 Stars

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie-4 Stars

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman-3.5 Stars

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison-3 Stars

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto-4 Stars

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary-4.5 Stars

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming-3.5 Stars

Received:

Thank you to Harlequin Trade, Harlequin Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Random House Audio, Zibby Publishing and Libro.fm!

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How was your week?

Review: The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

 

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

Publication Date: March 4th 2025 by Graydon House & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 49mins

Narrators: Katharine Chin

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Emma Page and her family’s lives center around books, however in very different ways. Emma’s parents own The Mighty Page, a publishing house dedicated to elevated “literary” books, while Emma loves the feel-good romances introduced by her late grandmother. Her sister, Jenna, is a powerful book influencer paid to push books she hardly even reads anymore.

 

Emma has written a book, but it’s the kind of mainstream, women’s fiction her parents wouldn’t consider publishing. When her parents announce a business collaboration with a best-selling author Emma despises, she’s threatened by him and put in a tough position.

 

I really enjoyed seeing Emma reconnect with her sister while uncovering some of their family secrets. I loved how they banded together to take down a vile man! Emma’s parents weren’t very likeable in the beginning, mostly her mother, but I understood her better by the end with some backstory revealed.  

 

The Page Turner took a little to get into, with a lot of commentary on the publishing world and some of the narrow views on what constitutes quality reading, but it shaped up to be a feel-good story!  I was also moved by the author’s note on what inspired his story.

 

I enjoyed Katharine Chin’s narration, and I thought she did well with both male and female voices. I listened at 1.75x normal speed.

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

A young romance writer makes a discovery that throws her elitist family into chaos.

Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social-media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide: As much as she’s dreamed of the day her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

Blog Tour Review: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Deadman) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Deadman) (Vera Wong #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publication Date: April 1st 2025 by Berkley Books

Pages: 336

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Vera’s life is full with family and friends since the last story, but she’s maybe just a bit bored. However, things change when she spies a distressed young woman, Millie, outside the police station. Millie’s friend, Thomas, a social media influencer, is missing, and the case intersects with one that Detective Selena Gray, her soon to be daughter-in-law (according to Vera), is working on.

 

In her investigation Vera comes across several new people who need her wise advice and mothering. I love Vera’s no-nonsense approach to other people’s problems! She’s hilarious and usually right. She also had an abundance of understanding and sympathy for her new friends, and they needed it!

 

Vera Wong’s Guide for Snooping on a Dead Man had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments but also dealt with a serious and troubling issue that is so prevalent today! I enjoyed reading the author’s note describing the real event that inspired the plot for Vera’s latest caper. The ending hinted at another story to come for Vera. I look forward to it!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.…

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena's, Vera finds a treasure Selena's briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander's murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn't do for her future daughter-in-law.

Review: Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

 

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

Publication Date: April 1st 2025 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Zeke and Lexi find themselves in the middle of the ocean on a houseboat with no phone reception, a dead battery and no means of navigation. They’re essentially strangers but now must rely on each other to survive.

 

Swept Away was brilliant! There was something magical and magnetic between Zeke and Lexi from the start, but facing the trial together cemented their bond. Having nowhere to go, they shared their deepest feelings, insecurities, fears and dreams. I was on the edge of my seat with some of the things that happened, worried about their survival!

 

Beth O’Leary is famous for her surprise twists and there was one here that reshaped things. I did suspect before it was revealed, though. It did make things messier and complicated but didn’t change my love for the story from beginning to end! I will say that I was more than a little miffed with Penny.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend's daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.

Author Bio: Beth O'Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Beth writes her books in the English countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she's not at her desk, you'll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

Review: The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett

 

The Lady Sparks a Flame (The Damsels of Discovery #2) by Elizabeth Everett

Publication Date: March 25th 2025 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Lady Pheobe Hunt was shipped off to America to pay for her crimes and has spent the last few years there. Now she’s back in England to help her mother and sister get situated after the death of her father. What a horrible man!

 

Sam Fenley, an enterprising and now wealthy businessman, wants to buy their London Estate and agrees to help them catalog their country house and get it and the contents ready for auction as well. He thinks he might offer for the younger sister, she’s beautiful and titled and it would be a step into the aristocracy that Sam has been looking for. However, Lady Phoebe is the one that captures his attention with her icy demeanor, sharp wit and air of sadness that hangs about her like a cloak.

 

There’s a lot of bad memories and ghosts for the poor Hunt women! Sam was the breath of fresh air needed as they sorted things out! I absolutely loved him! He was kind, confident, and determined but didn’t take himself too seriously.

 

Lady Phoebe Hunt was introduced in the previous series, and she certainly was a villainess, but of course, there was far more to her story.

 

The Lady Sparks a Flame was lovely! The writing was gorgeous and clever with splashes of humor that balanced out some of the darker bits. The romance was delicious and spicy with the perfect foundation and buildup! I think fans of Tessa Dare or Lisa Kleypas would definitely enjoy this story! Characters from the past series figure in and appear here, but I feel you could read the story as a standalone.

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

A Lady with a past. A man with ambition. A romance far from London society that might bridge their divides.

Lady Phoebe Hunt never anticipated returning from exile. A fatal choice drove her from England, but the death of her father—and the revelation of his debts—has brought her home. Once she settles her father’s estate, she will return to America, where she has reinvented herself. There’s no reason to remain, not even for one gravitationally challenged but deliciously tempting Sam Fenley.

Samuel Fenley is all ambition. Rising from shop boy to wealthy investor, he’s left knocking on doors that open only for those with a title. Unless he buys the damned door itself—and the estate that goes with it. Sam offers to relieve Phoebe of her burdens, but is her crumbling mansion all Sam wants? Or is it the Lady herself?

When threats from Phoebe’s past spark new dangers, Sam and Phoebe discover that neither is what the other expected. Standing on the edge of disaster, the disgraced Ice Queen will have to decide if she wants to forge through life alone, or let an unlikely hero melt her heart.

Sunday Post #289

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Happy Sunday! I'm finally starting to get better. Marginally. I've been sick the whole week, coughing and congested. I went to the doctor because I was worried I had an ear infection (I did). Got antibiotics, but other than that they just told me to take cold meds. I tested negative for Covid. I called in sick on Monday, was supposed to fly out to Texas on Wednesday to babysit our older grandkids, but canceled my flights because there was no way I could get on a plane in my state. My husband flew out and is coming home today. 

Peanut and Starla napping

Hyacinths coming up

Yellow and Purple Primrose

Puzzle completed: Vintage Summer Books by Aimee Stewart

I've been alone with the cats, in a brain fog. I didn't get much reading done. We have some sunny days but also a lot of rain. Yesterday was gorgeous today is back to rainy and gloom. I worked a puzzle while listening to audios and watched two movies. The Dry and Force of Nature both based on the Jane Harper mysteries I read a few years ago. I thought they did a good job. I hope they make the final book into a movie, too.

Read:

(Click on cover to take you to Goodreads listing)

Dead Man's Folley (Hercule Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie-4 Stars

Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley-3.5 Stars

The Lady Sparks a Flame (The Damsels of Discovery #2) by Elizabeth Everett-4.5 Stars

I didn't read as much as I hoped to. Dead Man's Folly was narrated by David Suchet, the actor who plays Hercule Poirot in several film adaptations. He captures Hercule brilliantly both on film and on audio and is my favorite. Such an excellent actor! Scot and Bothered was cute, but so many flashbacks slowed the pace and took away from the story, IMO. To be fair, I haven't been in the mood for romances for a while, but it was a review book I downloaded a while back. I really enjoyed The Lady Sparks a Flame and should've had my review posted on Friday. I plan on posting it this week. 

Received:

Thank you to Harlequin Audio, Berkley, Bookouture, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Griffin and MIRA!

How was your week?