Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

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.

I'm excited to share with y'all some of the books that have made me laugh out loud. There were a couple authors (Jen Turano and Bethany Turner) who I could've listed every single book of theirs. But I thought that would've been too much, lol, so I narrowed it down to just my favorite.

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Hadley Beckett's Next Dish by Bethany Turner

About the Book

Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanaugh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel's other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.

When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he's sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public's good graces is to work alongside Hadley.

As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along, but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love. In the meantime, hide the knives.

Fan-favorite Bethany Turner serves up a heaping helping of humor and romance with this thoroughly modern story centered on cooking, enemies, and second chances.

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In Good Company by Jen Turano

About the Book

After growing up as an orphan, Millie Longfellow is determined to become the best nanny the East Coast has ever seen. Unfortunately, her playfulness and enthusiasm aren't always well received and she finds herself dismissed from yet another position.

Everett Mulberry has quite unexpectedly become guardian to three children that scare off every nanny he hires. About to depart for Newport, Rhode Island, for the summer, he’s desperate for competent childcare.

At wit’s end with both Millie and Everett, the employment agency gives them one last chance–with each other. As Millie falls in love with her mischievous charges, Everett focuses on achieving the coveted societal status of the upper echelons. But as he investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the children’s parents, will it take the loss of those he loves to learn whose company he truly wants for the rest of his life?

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The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

About the Book

On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn't.

And then she died.

Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change. . . .

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The Thirteenth Chance by Amy Matayo

About the Book

Baseball star Will Vandergriff knows any number of women who would happily pretend to be his girlfriend. In a last-ditch effort to restore his good standing with his team’s higher-ups, he enlists the help of his neurotic, goody-goody neighbor. Schoolteacher Olivia Pratt might be a bit quirky and a bit of a loner, but she’s a lot more inviting than she knows. Will hopes that bringing her to his next game might revamp his reckless reputation and help get his career back on track. The only problem? The plan works a little too well. Not only do the higher-ups love Olivia, but Will plays his best game yet. Suddenly his losing streak is a thing of the past, and Olivia is his new good-luck charm. Will feels anything but lucky.

After years of keeping the world at bay, Olivia Pratt is pulling off the ultimate performance—not only reluctantly posing as Will’s girlfriend but also insisting that she’s oblivious to his major-league appeal. But she can only lie to herself for so long. Being by Will’s side feels good. Really good. Maybe it’s finally time to make a pitch for everything she really wants—and to find out just how exhilarating love can be.

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All Systems Red by Martha Wells

About the Book

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

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Paranormia by Paul Regnier

About the Book

A nerdy nobody is heaven's newest hero. It's too bad that the devil fights dirty…

Chris Loury is penniless and painfully geeky. So when the struggling illustrator makes a wish that grants him supernatural visions, the lines start to blur between his comics and reality. After he crosses paths with a protector who calls himself an angel, Chris must decide if being a hero is worth the danger.

When his newfound confidence helps him connect with the girl-next-door, he hopes he can balance a relationship and a superhuman secret. But after a devilishly gorgeous woman with money and an ulterior motive tempts him with career success and fame, he puts his crush, his town, and his life in jeopardy.

Will Chris fulfill his destiny and save the city from destruction?

Paranormia is an enthralling urban fantasy adventure. If you like underdog heroes, supernatural battles, and a dash of humor, then you’ll love Paul Regnier’s action-packed novel.

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Crossed Out by Christina Coryell

About the Book

Ruth Erickson always spends her morning break doing the crossword puzzle. Tate Darrow just messed it up. What’s that old saying about love and war?

Ruth Erickson is good at crossword puzzles. Stupid good at crossword puzzles. It might even be her thing, if that weren’t a sad thing to claim as a thing. She would probably say her thing was taking care of her daughter, Emily, a spunky nine-year-old with a dog fascination. Maybe being a waitress, but she was mainly good at that in order to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

In light of that knowledge about crosswords, it’s perfectly understandable why she freaked out when Tate Darrow started writing on her crossword puzzle at the café. Who does that? Besides, she didn’t know at the time that he’d taken a sabbatical from his job as a photojournalist to visit his ailing father. Certainly didn’t know that his sudden inheritance of a dilapidated mountain cabin and a moody dog had him out of sorts.

Love is definitely in the air. Puppy love – between Emily and the dog. Romantic love between Ruth and Tate would be infinitely more puzzling. And yet . . .

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The Beast of Talesend by Kyle Robert Shultz

About the Book

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme…

...Disney got it wrong.

My name is Nick Beasley. I’m the one they call when things go bump in the night...because I can always prove that there’s actually nothing to worry about. After all, magic and monsters aren’t real.

At least, that’s what I’ve been telling people for a long time. But now that I’ve been magically transformed into a big hairy monster, I’m not sure they’re going to believe me.

And no, a kiss won’t help. The only person who may be able to fix me is the enchantress who did this to me in the first place.

She says it was an accident, but I’m not sure I can trust her. Why would the Beast Curse randomly crop up again after hundreds of years?

And if it wasn’t an accident, what might the person responsible do next?

I have to protect the city of Talesend from the monsters in the shadows...even if one of the monsters is me.

Disney meets Dresden (with a pinch of Discworld) in this 1920’s urban fantasy. Don’t miss out on the series fans are raving about.

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Ready to Fumble by Christy Barritt

About the Book

I'm not really a private detective. I just play one on TV.

Joey Darling, better known to the world as Raven Remington, detective extraordinaire, is trying to separate herself from her invincible alter ego. She played the spunky character for five years on the hit TV show Relentless, which catapulted her to fame and into the role of Hollywood’s sweetheart.

When her marriage falls apart, her finances dwindle to nothing, and her father disappears, Joey finds herself on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, trying to piece her life back together away from the limelight. A woman finds Raven—er, Joey—and insists on hiring her fictional counterpart to find a missing boyfriend. When someone begins staging crime scenes to match an episode of Relentless, Joey has no choice but to get involved.

Joey’s bumbling sleuthing abilities have her butting heads with Detective Jackson Sullivan and kindling sparks with thrill-seeking neighbor Zane Oakley. Can Joey channel her inner Raven and unearth whodunit before she ends up totally done in? And where is her father anyway? Can she handle fame, or is disappearing into obscurity the wiser option?

Get Ready To Fumble your way through this enchanting new series.

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Fly Me to the Moon by Diane Vallere

About the Book

Sylvia Stryker wants to explore the galaxy. A family scandal kept her from leaving home. Can a white lie help her change her future?

Sylvia Stryker used to help run her parents' dry ice farm, until her dad's arrest nearly left them bankrupt. But after finagling a job on board an outer space cruise ship, she's ready to explore all that outer space has to offer. With a private room in the staff quarters, her robot cat by her side, and the responsibilities of uniform management, Sylvia is thrilled to return to work--until she discovers the second navigation officer dead in the inventory closet.

Neptune, the head of ship security, finds Sylvia's presence to be the most suspicious part of the incident; that's what happens when you hack your way into a last-minute job opportunity! But despite his efforts to pin the murder on Sylvia, she won't accept how the clues are unfolding. And if Sylvia doesn’t expose the murderer on the cruise, then she’ll never learn the truth about her family.

Fly Me to the Moon is the quirky first cozy mystery featuring uniform lieutenant Sylvia Stryker. If you like unique characters, delightful plots, and cool space fashion, you’ll love Diane Vallere’s entertaining Space Case Cozy series.

Buy Fly Me to The Moon to blast off into out-of-this-world cozy adventure today!

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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 that made you laugh out loud?