Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to My Book Collection

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is Recent Additions to My Book Collection. One of these is an ARC, a few of them I got from Kindle Unlimted, a couple were free, and I bought the rest.

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Shade Grown (The Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #8) by Heather Day Gilbert

About the Book

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java...and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

During Lewisburg's popular summer home and garden tour, Macy and her brother Bo discover new aspects of their hometown's history. One of the last homes they visit features a lush commemorative shade garden marking where a Civil War soldier's bones were buried. As Macy pauses to admire a bed of blue hostas, she glimpses a shadowy shape lying beneath the dinner-plate leaves. It turns out to be the body of famed movie star Cody Franklin, who'd purchased the garden house as a quiet country retreat.

Back at the cafe, Macy speaks with Cody's distraught sister, who lets slip that she's afraid her brother's killer will target her next. Macy's heart goes out to the bereaved sibling, and she agrees to speak with Cody's local acquaintances in hopes she'll uncover some helpful backstory.

But someone powerful is lurking behind the scenes, and Macy has to zoom in on the killer before everything fades to black.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown...with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

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One Hit Blunder (Worst Detective Ever #12) by Christy Barritt

About the Book

When the ending of Joey’s upcoming movie leaves her unsettled, she’s determined to rewrite the script.

Actress Joey Darling has a new role. She’s starring as one-hit wonder Emma Jean Gibbons in an upcoming biopic. But the more she learns about the singer, the more Joey suspects Emma Jean’s death wasn’t as accidental as everyone thinks.

Joey sets out to uncover the truth. As the evidence piles up, she’s more convinced than ever that her gut feeling is correct. But the deeper she digs, the more Joey realizes she’s one blunder away from also facing an “accidental” death.

Will Joey manage to rewrite the script? Or will danger derail her movie . . . and her life?

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Behind the Curtain (The Worlds Behind #4) by W.R. Gingell

About the Book

The world Between is full of dangers, shadows, and reflections. Athelas knows the dangers, is one with the shadows—and has finally encountered a reflection that could be just a bit too much like himself for comfort.

The house master has come back. Nobody will quite say who he is, or why he owns the house. And to Athelas’ growing irritation, no one will talk about the oddly powerful influence the house master seems to have over Camellia.

YeoWoo knows exactly who and what the house master is—and she knows exactly how much danger Camellia is in. The question she can’t quite seem to answer is: How much safer is it to put Camellia into Athelas’ power than to leave her in the house master’s power?

There are nightmares skulking in the corners. Pieces of curse lingering beneath the couch. And soon Camellia will have to make a choice between two evils.

To add insult to injury, the teapot has gone missing…

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Drake Hall (The Secrets of Ormdale #2) by Christina Baehr

(This is a cozy gothic fantasy series featuring dragons! I LOVED the first book, Wormwood Abbey, so I'm excited to have an ARC of the sequel! Release date is January 14!)

About the Book

Edith’s ancient home is full of secrets…and dragons are the least of them.

As the new dragon keeper in the hidden valley of Ormdale, Edith expects her first dragon mating season to involve venomous bites and amorous wyverns.

She doesn’t expect to find herself growing closer to an inconveniently appealing suitor next door, or to stumble upon a dragon poacher lurking in the outbuildings, or to uncover a family scandal in the Abbey.

Fortunately, Edith has a mentor to help her sort things out, the spellbinding Helena Drake of Drake Hall. Or does Helena harbour secrets of her own?

For Edith, the dragons were always going to be the easy part.

DRAKE HALL, Book 2 of The Secrets of Ormdale, takes Edith deeper into the cosy gothic world of Yorkshire dragons and the mysterious families who guard them.

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The Study Chronicles: Tales of Ixia & Sitia by Maria V. Snyder

About the Book

“Then what were you waiting for?”
He turned to her. “You.”

New York Times bestselling author, Maria V. Snyder, presents a complete collection of short stories and novellas from the dynamic and complex world of Ixia & Sitia. These stories delve into and expand the critically acclaimed Chronicles of Ixia series, featuring readers’ favorite characters: Yelena, Valek, Opal, Ari, Janco, and Commander Ambrose.

This comprehensive collection includes familiar stories: Assassin Study, Power Study, Ice Study, Shattered Glass, and Diaper Study, along with three exciting and never before seen additions: Diamond Study, Wedding Study, and After Study. Readers will also find bonus content with introductions to all the stories, detailed maps, character timelines, and amazing artwork by talented fans. For Snyder’s fans and Soulfinders, this is a must have compilation and guide for all things Ixia & Sitia.

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Face the Night by Lani Forbes

About the Book

On a harsh frontier where good and evil contend for people’s minds, a young woman must fight for her true identity in this scintillating YA fantasy from the author of the award-winning Age of the Seventh Sun trilogy.

Once, Catriona Macgregor led a charmed life. Daughter of a wealthy rancher, pretty and educated, she looked forward to all the world had to offer—until fate took a turn. Now family, home, and even her name have been stripped away. As “Black Cat Whitfield,” adopted daughter of an outlaw, she’s wanted by the authorities. It certainly wasn’t the destiny she imagined—especially as one of the Blessed.

The Blessed, rare people like Cat, are supposed to use their gifts to carry out missions for the Patron Saints, but she can only imagine that Saint Prudentia made a terrible mistake in choosing her. Still, her gift has never deserted her. Whenever danger threatens, Cat receives a vision—just in time to save her life. And when she meets a renegade priest, Father Ignatius, he helps her understand how her ability may be part of a much bigger picture. A picture that involves facing up to the monstrous Baron Caldwell—the one who ordered her parents killed—and his son, Adrian, who betrayed them all.

Cat is torn between guilt over her parents’ death, a longing for vengeance against their killers, and a dismaying new interest in Adrian. It would be easiest to flee the whole situation and never look back. But as someone once told her, you can’t outrun the darkness on your heels. There’s only one way to break through to sunrise—by turning to face the night.

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Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul by Jennifer Tucker

About the Book

Find hope amid anxiety through the spiritual practice of breath prayer in this beautifully illustrated and practical guide to connecting body, mind, and spirit during times of stress. Breath as Prayer will lead you through the practice and the proven health benefits of Christian breath intentional prayers centered around Scripture that focus our minds on Christ as we calm our bodies through breathing. Breath as Prayer With a beautiful foil-accented cover, Breath as Prayer is an ideal gift God created our bodies, minds, and spirits to be intimately connected with one another. Purpose-filled breathing is one of the most effective, calming ways to integrate all aspects of who we are, especially during times of intense stress. Breath as Prayer invites you to the crossroads of Christian contemplative practice, Scripture, psychology, and science to deepen your faith, bring peace to your body, and discover a new reliance on Christ. Breathe deeply, lean into God's Word, and discover why every breath can be an invitation to pray.

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I Am In Here by Creston Mapes

About the Book

"Little Do They Know, I Can See and Hear Everything!"

Eighteen-year-old Hale Frodele is presumed braindead from a tragic church bus accident in which he lost his younger brother, Nate.

Little does anyone know—Hale hears and understands everything with crystal clarity.

Hale remembers when his mom died at age 44 of pancreatic cancer and his dad turned his back on God.

Hale understands that the unbeliever his dad remarried whispers bitterly that Hale is ‘pitiful’ and ‘ruining’ her marriage.

Hale knows his father has borrowed a large sum of money from a deranged loan shark named Sebastian and the payback is due in 48 hours.

Hale believes in his best friend Gilbert, who still visits him weekly, prays for his healing, and is beginning to realize something is very wrong in the Frodele household.

Hale is in here . . . and he has a mind-blowing story to tell.

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Scrooge and the Girls Next Door by Melanie Jacobson

About the Book

When the sunniest woman in Creekville buys the house next to the grumpiest man on the street, sparks fly . . . and not just because she keeps blowing his fuses...

Twenty-six-year-old Paige Redmond, single mom and go-getter, can’t wait to give her daughter, Evie, the Christmas of her dreams. Nothing can get in Paige’s way, not even her newly purchased fixer-upper cottage needing way more fixing than she planned.

Paige tackles the holiday with Clark Griswold spirit, amusing the entire town—except for her humbug next door neighbor, the grumpy but deliciously handsome Professor Henry Hill. With the help of colorful friends and found family—plus a feral cat and a pancake snowman—Paige and Evie wage a campaign to cure the cranky professor of his Christmas blues.

When Paige's feelings for Henry wind up as tangled as her Christmas lights, there's suddenly more than Christmas spirit on the line. Will Henry pull the plug on their first solo Christmas? Or can Paige and Evie convince the town's biggest scrooge to open his grinchy heart to the holiday . . . and to them?

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Shadowcast by Crystal D. Grant

About the Book

After witnessing the brutal death of his brother at the hands of the Steward Knights, Mason Grey turns to vengeance. Using his Gifts to read and control the minds of others, he climbs the ranks of the Dark Army, determined to earn the coveted Shadowstone-a powerful tool against the light-wielding Stewards. But when he is wounded in battle, he finds himself recovering in the home of a chatty peasant girl...without the use of his Gifts. Even worse, the girl mistakes him for one of the Stewards he despises.

Seria Gayle longs to be seen as more than the town washerwoman. When she finds an injured Steward in the woods, she welcomes the chance to use her healing skills and hopes it will earn her some respect. But as she nurses the sullen stranger back to health, she discovers he is nothing like the knights she has long admired.

When Mason's true identity is revealed, Seria is devastated and humiliated. But she is offered a chance at redemption by the very prince that Mason hates. Now Mason struggles between two choices: accept the Shadowstone to avenge his brother or pursue this newfound light in the form of a peasant girl. With time running out and war looming, will Mason and Seria defy their own convictions for a chance at love or stand against one another like they've sworn to do?

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Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think about them? What are some of the books you've recently added to your collection?