Spell the Month in books August 2025

I am happy to be participating in this monthly meme again! The last time I did it was December 2023!! When i saw that this month's theme is favorite authors, I knew I had to do a post. I love showcasing my favorites!

 It is hosted by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks. Here is how she describes the meme: Spell the Month in Books is a linkup hosted on Reviews From the Stacks on the first Saturday of each month.

Stacking the Shelves #179 Sunday Post #176 Sunday Salon #170

Hey my bookish friends! How was your week? I am still dealing with my health issue, I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I am going to pass out, or almost passing out. I was hoping it would be completely resolved by now, but it's not. It was another busy week, I think they will be, now that I am back to working 3 days a week. This weekend's agenda is to pack some (no we don't have a move day or new house yet), blog, read, and relax. I love not having any solid plans for the weekend.

Top Ten Tuesday-Beach reads

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Beach/Beachy Reads (Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.) I would literally take any book to the beach, so I am going to with beach settings, most with beach in the title. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-Unforgettable books to read again

 Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Books I’d Like to Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog) I am not a huge rereader, but I am finding more and more books that I do want to re-read, so maybe it is growing on me. In order for me to want to read a book again, it has to make an impression, a book that is unforgettable. So, this is a list of unforgettable books that I would love to read again. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday- unforgettable books to read again

Words by Ginny L. Yttrup

 

Top Ten Tuesday-Summer Vibes

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Summer Freebie (Pick any topic you can think of that fits into the category of “summer”. If it’s winter where you are, switch it up!) I decided to go with book covers that give off summer vibes. I went back to books that I physically own, either a paperback or on Kindle, this way reminding myself of the books I still need to read. And, trying not to share the same books all the time, LOL!  Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-Book covers that are giving me summer vibes

The Good Nearby by Nancy Moser

May Reading Wrap Up 2025

May was busy and went by so fast, I think things will slow down for June. I read 18 books and NO DNFs, yay! Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in reading my review. Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston continues to be a family favorite, we just listened to it for the third time.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  

Top Ten Tuesday-Unique Animal Encounters

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Animal Companions (These animals can be real or fantasy!) (submitted by P.S. I Love Books). I am going to do with Unique Animals and Unique Animal Encounters. Let's see how many I can come up with. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-Unique Animals/Animal Encounters

As You Ice It

Title: As You Ice It

Series: Appies #7

Author: Emma St. Clair

Publisher: Independently Published

Genre: RomCom, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Source: Kindle Unlimited

My Review:

 As You Ice It is the final book in Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor's Appies series. While this book could stand alone, having read the Oakley Island series helped me better understand Naomi and Camden's relationship.

Top Ten Tuesday-I want to read them all

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time (submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books). My answer: my font has gotten larger, and I occasionally do more of a list type review, other than that, my review style has not changed, so it would be pretty boring and impossible to come up with 10 ways my blogging style has changed. Instead, I am going to share ALL the books I am currently wanting to read, and either have downloaded to my kindle, have out from the library,  or own. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-I want to read them all right now! (just the tip of the iceberg, I have more I want to read right now 😂)

 

I checked The Goodbye Bride by Denise Hunter out from the library and then realized I have book #3 Just a Kiss on my physical shelf, so I want to read them both to finish this series.

March Reading Wrap Up 2025

March was a mix of hard moments and fun moments. We had some sickness and I feel like I read more this month trying to relax from the stressful times. I read 25 books in March, but several were 2-stars so they won't be mentioned here. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in reading my review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  

Top Ten Tuesday-Books You'd be a fool not to read

 Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read (Happy April Fool’s Day! In honor of this silly holiday, share the books you think people must read for whatever reason. They could be your favorites, books you deem classics, books that you learned something important from, books you wish you’d read sooner, etc. You could even narrow it down to a specific genre and share the must-reads for that genre. Get creative!) I went back and found the last ten books that I gave five stars to to come up with my list. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Books You'd Be A Fool Not To Read:

 

The Holly Series by C.C. Warrens remains one of my favorite suspense series! Perfect for those who do not enjoy romance in their stories. Holly has had a difficult life and is hiding from a stalker. My review of Criss Cross.

If All Else Sails

Title: If All Else Sails

Estimated Release: August 5, 2025

Author: Emma St. Clair

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fiction,

Source: Net Galley

My Review:

If All Else Sails is a stand-alone novel by Emma St. Clair that will be released in August.  Based on the side characters, it does have the potential to become a series. 

Top Ten Tuesday-Marriage of Convenience

 Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Books that Include/Feature [insert your favorite theme or plot device here] (for example: unreliable narrators, coming of age, darkness vs. light, time travel, metafiction, a specific romantic trope, good vs. evil. cliffhangers, flashbacks, plot twists, red herrings, loose ends, stories within stories, meet cutes, symbolism, etc.) (submitted by Alice @ The Wallflower Digest) I really enjoy the Marriage of Convenience trope, so that is what I am going to share about today. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten-ish Marriage of Convenience stories (click on the cover if you want to read my review):

The Serendipity

Title: The Serendipity

Series: Only Magic in the Building #1

Author: Emma St. Clair

Publisher: Create if Writing, LLC

Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomCom, 

Source: Own

My Review:

I am starting to think Emma St. Clair could write anything and I would enjoy it. The Serendipity is the first book in a multi-author series Only Magic in the Building. I am not normally a "magic" person, but, again, Emma St. Clair, plus the fact that it wasn't talking animals, or flying people, it was more teleportation and enjoying the story for what it is.

Stacking the Shelves #159, Sunday Post #156, Sunday Salon #150

Hey my bookish friends! How was your week? Mine was A WEEK. My nephew went to the hospital last Saturday with a cough he has had for 2 months, on Tuesday he was diagnosed with cancer! A bit more on that below. My son is having friends over this evening, the worst timing with time-change, but thankful he has the opportunity. I will be hiding in my room with my books and computer 😁.

Stacking the Shelves #157, Sunday Post #154, Sunday Salon #148

Hey my bookish friends! How was your week? Mine was hard and long. We got several updates on family members health that was not good, my sons lab work has quite a few abnormals, yet no word from his medical team, my husband's aunt went into hospice and passed yesterday, plus extra work. I had book club on Thursday and that went well. This morning is work and after that the plan is to go to Cleveland and see frozen Lake Erie. We'll go to Church tonight, and tomorrow will be a rest day.

Top Ten Tuesday-Ten books to read in a snow storm

 Happy Tuesday, my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.) While it is a great topic, I am going to tweak it for books to read in a snow storm. These books might have a snow storm in them, or they might just have snowy covers, we'll see what I come up with.Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-Ten + books to read in a snow storm

It does have a blizzard in it, my full review will be up on Thursday, but I LOVED Waiting for Gilbert by Tasha Hackett, so much witty banter, overall a fun story.

Stacking the Shelves #141, Sunday Post #138, Sunday Salon #132

Hey bookish friends! How are you doing? I am doing good. It was a busy week and I am ready for the weekend. I got my flu and Covid shots yesterday, which always make me tired and sore. I am going thrifting with my daughter and husband this morning, then I plan to read, sew, crochet, and blog for the rest of the weekend.

Top Ten Tuesday-FALLing for reading

Happy Tuesday, my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype (and did you make the right choice?) I tend to avoid books that are super hyped, for whatever reason that is a turn off to me. Sometimes I will end up reading a hyped book years later, but probably wouldn't have enough to make a list from. So, I am going to go with books that are great to read in the fall. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.  

Ten-ish books that are great for reading in the fall: (click on the book cover if you want to see my review of the book)

The sweater weather series are loosely tied together by their cozy fall romcom vibe and take place in the same town, Harvest Hollow.

  

Top Ten Tuesday-Books that are easy to escape into

Happy Tuesday, my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape (bonus points if you tell us why!). I am of the mindset that ALL books (at least fiction) provide an escape, so I am tweaking the topic just a little bit to books I recently loved escaping into. In order to make the list, the books must have received 5-stars from me. And, since I have read a TON of romcoms recently...hopefully there is a little bit of variety in the list😂.  Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.  

Top Ten Tuesday: books I recently loved escaping into (tweaked it even more so I am not using the same author or series):