Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Destination in the Titles

 

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. 

 

This week's theme is Destination Titles: Titles with names of places in them. Can be fictional or a real place. I'm listing books I've read and enjoyed:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

Lake Silence (The World of the Others #1) by Anne Bishop

The original series with Meg and Simon will always be my favorite, but I was happy to get more with this spinoff!

The Talk of Coyote Canyon (Coyote Canyon #1) by Brenda Novak

Compelling and addictive! You think you're just going to read few chapters and you've read the entire book in one sitting!

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

I've read this several times over the years and for a change listened to the audio back in 2020, narrated by Hugh Frasier "Hastings" in the film adaptations with David Suchet. Love the new covers!

The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belle's of London #2) by Mimi Matthews

Julia's parents were an utter nightmare! So happy she found Jasper and he, along with her friends, helped her stand up to them! The romance was beautiful, swoony and passionate!

The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr

Alameda Island is not that far from me and sounds like a charming place. I need to visit after reading this story. Robyn Carr wrote some crazy ex's in this one, but they get foiled at every turn! Thank goodness Lauren and Beau's romance was steady, calm and lovely!

Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina Marchetta

Wow, can't believe I read this series back in 2011! It was a moving, epic and emotional fantasy series! The writing is clever, moving, with levity to balance out some of the dark! Melina Marchetta is such a talented writer Australian writer!

Agony Hill (Franklin Warren #1) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

An engrossing mystery from the first page! The characters, time period, and setting of Vermont were vividly portrayed! I'm looking forward to the next one!

The Hope of Azure Springs by Rachel Fordham

A historical Western. A mix of romance and suspense. I loved every minute! 

Moonlight over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

This was the first book I read by Morgan and I've been hooked by her romance/women's fiction ever since! I grab up every new release!

Sunday Post #271

 

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's been a week! Gotta say I was in a state of shock on Wednesday. I didn't expect that outcome. I've had a lot of things to distract in the meantime. Cat hijinks!

We have four feral cats that we've been feeding.  Well, there's been another grown cat showing up and suddenly there were 3 babies! Like 4-6 week old babies! Didn't even know this cat was pregnant! So we made a trip to our local rescue and picked up a catching cage. Our goal is to get all neutered/spayed, and hopefully some adopted out. If they aren't we've told the rescue we'll take them back and continue to feed and give shelter. They can get into our garage and we have warming pads for them.

Kitten in our woodpile. Their favorite hiding spot.

There are two, Smokey and Starla, the kittens that started coming around when they were about 2 months that we want to keep here. We just caught Smokey a couple of days ago, him being the friendliest of the bunch, and we're trying to acclimate him in the house, and Peanut. He's confined to the guest bedroom for now. It's a whole process we've read up on. He's a sweet kitty!  Peanut knows there's a cat somewhere in the house and he's been a little, understandably, unsettled. I'm giving him more attention to compensate.

Our fall in the area has been so brilliant this year!

Puzzle: Winter Stores. Done while listening to an audiobook.

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

The House at Watchhill by Karen Marie Moning: 4 Stars

First Do No Harm by Joe Kenda: 4 Stars

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson: 4 Stars

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose: 3 Stars

It's been a weird reading week for me. I've started and stopped a few of books I wasn't feeling. One book is probably going to be a DNF.

Received:

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Random House Audio!

Instagram:

This is one I've had to set aside...

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How was your week?

Ten Before the End: Ten Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

 Happy Friday! I saw this on list/challenge on Instagram and thought I'd make a goal of ten books I want to read by the end of the year. We'll see if I get to all of them. Can't believe we have less than two months left of 2024!

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

I've loved all the books in the series and really anything I've read by Mimi Matthews. I'll be picking this one up soon.

Cursed (Alex Verus #2) by Benedict Jacka

I'm so happy I've finally started the Alex Verus series since I've wanted to read it for some time! Just waiting on my library lend to come through.

The Outlaw Nobel Salt by Amy Harmon

I enjoy historical Westerns and I've enjoyed everything I've read by Harmon. She's written a variety genres. 

The Taken Ones (Steinbeck and Reed #1) by Jess Lourey

I've seen this series on Anne's blog and it's a "read & listen" on Kindle Unlimited. Love a good mystery/crime procedural!

The Mirror (The Lost Bride Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts

I read and loved the first book which ended on a cliffhanger! I'm eager to start this installment!

Devil's Due (Red Letter Days #2)

I read the first book back in 2012 and requested the second book. It's been sitting on my shelf on Netgalley since 2013. Yikes! I'm trying to knock out my old ARCs. Wish there was an audio version.

The House at Watch Hill (The Watch Hill Trilogy) by Karen Marie Moning

I loved her Fever series, (books 1-7, at least. 8 and 9, not so much, never read the last 2) so I was curious. I'm listening to it right now and enjoying it.

Schemes & Scandals (A Rip Through Time #3.5) by Kelley Armstrong

I've been enjoying this series! A modern day homicide detective somehow gets transported back to Victorian Scotlad. I'm eager to see what Mallory and Gray get up to next!

The Outsider (Holly Gibney #1)

I've been wanting to read Stephen King and I thought the Holly Gibney series would be a good way to try him.

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #1) by J.L. Bryan

Another series that's been on my TBR for ages. 

Here's my 10 Before the End. What books would you like to get to before the end of 2024?

Review: The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

 

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

Publication Date: September 24th 2024 by Canary Street Press

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

Imogen’s whole life revolves around her work. Growing up with an unstable mother and home environment makes the success and security she finds in her career calming. However, she’s felt pressured to make up an ideal life outside of work and backed herself into a corner with the stories she’s told. Add to that, her mother’s current crisis causes a problem with an important account, leading Imogen’s boss to enforce some time off.

 

Dorothy, a widower, business owner and longtime client of Imogen, hears of her predicament and insists Imogen come stay at her vacant cottage in the Cotswolds. Dorothy’s daughter Sara wasn’t pleased with her mother’s offer, and I was inclined to dislike Sara, but there’s more to that whole story.

 

I was stressed and hurt for Imogen. She put on a brave face, manufactured an idyllic life when she actually led a self-contained, lonely existence. I was outraged on her behalf as details were revealed about her mother and her upbringing! I was elated as things started going her way, and she found that she had people in her corner! The romance with Miles, the local veterinarian, was the icing on the cake.  I loved the way he immediately took up for Imogen and was there for support. Of course, with a veterinarian there were several sweet animals. All filled my heart with joy!

 

I love Sarah Morgan’s stories! She combines gorgeous settings with emotional stories that warm your heart! The Holiday Cottage was a feel-good story brimming with all the cozy winter vibes!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with a heartfelt story of friendship, finding yourself, and the surprising ties that bring us together.

To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder.

Suddenly, Imogen is handed a holiday gift she definitely doesn’t want: enforced time off work to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage is a picture-perfect haven… Can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?

For Dorothy, helping Imogen offers a longed-for chance to make reparations for her own past. But as her daughter Sara keeps reminding her, it brings risks, too. Yet Dorothy knows that only a leap of courage will allow her family to grow and heal. And perhaps this Christmas, with Dorothy’s help, the new life that Imogen is slowly piecing together could be better than anything either of them could imagine…

Sunday Post #270

 

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 skipped last week because we were in Montana again. We got home on Monday late and I feel like I've been recuperating since then. We helped our daughter and SIL move into their house there and it was a lot of work. Still, we had a good time together, watched one of the Wonder Woman movies, played cards, went on a couple of hikes, so it wasn't all work. 

Longhorn cattle in Montana

It's been cold and rainy the last few days here at home and it seems like the trees fully changed overnight:

We slept in today, went to lunch and I worked on a puzzle while finishing my audiobook: 

Treehopper's General Store

Read:

This is my reading for the last two weeks:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett-4.5 Stars

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill-3.5 Stars

Fated by Benedict Jacka-5 Stars

The Wedding Engagement by Zoe Allison-3 Stars

Lightning in Her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland-4 Stars

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave-4 Stars

The Tainted Cup and Fated by Benedict Jacka were books that I've been wanting to read for a while. I'm so glad I've been requesting less so I was able to fit them in, because I loved both! I saw Lark's Top Ten Tuesday and The Woman in Black was featured. It was a movie I had always wanted to watch, but I thought I'd listen to the audio first. It was a classic ghost story! Nice and spooky. The audio was a dramatized version and part of my Audible membership. Now I need to watch the movie and see how they compare.

Received:

Thank you to Berkley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Random House Audio!

Instagram:

It's been cold and rainy the last few days, so of course Peanut is napping and enjoying the fire. A purrfect background for my Instagram post!

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How was your week?