May 23 Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads Featuring Complicated Romantic Relationships

I know it seems like all I post are memes lately, I swear I have reviews coming up soon too. This week’s TTT is a Summer Reads Freebie. I really enjoy reading outside during the summer months and my favorite beach reads are ones that hook me from the start. During the summer especially with the nice weather beckoning, there are other things that will grab my attention if the book I’m reading isn’t a real page turner.

What is better than a complicated love story? Love is never easy so it seems more realistic when its that way in books too. It feels like the characters earn their relationships in a way, if they have to struggle and fight to stay together against the odds.

Here is my list of page turners and my hot dog legs from last summer by the lake….

Top Ten Beach Reads Featuring Complicated Romantic Relationships

1.  Letters to the Lost by Iona Gray

1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London…Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five…He promised to love her forever. Seventy years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness….

Letters to the Lost became a favorite when I read it. It is both historical and contemporary romance with dual story lines. Keywords in the blurb “all the odds are stacked against them…” So good.

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May 16 Top Ten Tuesday: Unforgettable Moms in Literature

First off, a belated Happy Mother’s Day to the moms. I hope you all enjoyed the special day this past Sunday. The pic of the roses here are the ones I bought for my mom. Onto TTT…

This week’s TTT topic is: Mother’s Day related Freebie: favorite moms in literature, books about motherhood, best mother/daughter or son relationships, books to buy your mom, worst moms in literature, etc. etc.

 

 

When I see moms in books, I tend to be able to relate to them. And when I see wicked moms in books, I think “Shame on her!” lol. My list is a mix of literary mothers who really stood out.

Top 10 Unforgettable Moms in Literature

1. Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter Series

If I had to pick one single favorite mom in all of literature, it would be Molly Weasley. She’s such a great literary mom, she even treats Harry Potter like he’s her own child. She takes care of everyone, she runs a household and also kicks butt. I loved it in she last book where she fought bravely and protected her family. Love her! Plus, she knits!

2. I have to mention Lily Potter from the HP series too

The love that Lily Potter has for her son Harry is what saves his life and protects him. She continues to help him throughout his life even after her death. She appears to  him when he needs her the most.

3. Ma from Room by Emma Donoghue

I haven’t read Room, but I watched the film with my daughter and it was an emotional one. What Ma endures for her son Jack is unthinkable and her strength was unfailing. She puts Jack’s welfare ahead of her own.

May 9 Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Things On Your Reading Wishlist

Happy Tuesday. This week’s TTT topic is: Ten Things On Your Reading Wishlist (if you could make authors write about these things you would. Could be a specific type of character, an issue tackled, a time period, a certain plot, etc.)

Here are my picks with a few examples from books I have read….

1. May/December Age Gaps in Romance
Romances where the woman is a few years older than her love interest. When this is written well, it really works. I like it. Give me more.
Examples: Jane’s Melody and On the Island.

2. Sad Endings
It’s okay if a main character dies at the end or if a couple decides that even though they love each other, it just won’t work. Go ahead, break my heart a little. I can take it.
Example: Nights in Rodanthe 

3. Characters With Physical Disabilities/Illness
One of the reasons I enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars so much is that John Green tackled the topic of cancer with grace and respect. (TFIOS can also go with #2 on my list.) I have read a few other books where a main character has mental illness like depression or PTSD and those were well done. I’d like to read more like that or ones where a central character has a physical disability.
Examples: The Fault in Our Stars and I Know This Much Is True By Wally Lamb

Top Ten Tuesday April 11: Top Ten Of The Most Unique Books I’ve Read

Top Ten Tuesday April 11: Top Ten Of The Most Unique Books I’ve Read

This weeks topic was harder than I thought it would be. As for myself, unique books are ones that are hard to forget.
Here’s my list…

1. The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band
Motley Crue is an American hard rock band that formed in 1982. In The Dirt each of the four band members tells his story from childhood through their time with the band. This book was like a roller coaster ride, wild. There was sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, but you also get to see another side of the group, the guys behind all the glam and fame. Very entertaining.

2. Flowers in the Attic  by V.C. Andrews
I don’t know what it is about Flowers in the Attic. It is just one of those books that is almost awesomely bad, in the best way. The flowery writing, the taboo twist to the story-line, the drama….it’s all juicy.

Top Ten Tuesday May 31: Beach Reads Week

 

May 31: Beach Reads Week — top ten great beach reads, ten books I plan to read on the beach, ten beach reads for those who don’t like typical ~beach reads~, ten authors who are my go-to for beach reads, etc.

You had me at “beach” and “read”. When I think of beach reads, I think of books that are engrossing and have me turning the pages quickly. Here is my list….

1. On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves is contemporary romance set on a beach, and I think it is a great summertime read.

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family’s summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day….

 

2. The Siren by Tiffany Reisz  became an instant favorite. This is juicy erotic fiction that makes for a great beachy read.

Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different—more serious, more personal—and she’s sure it’ll be her breakout book…if it ever sees the light of day.