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
Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. How is it already Christmas? This year has flown by! The link to my wishlist is
here.
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Harlow Morgan and the Sky City by Lyndsey Lewellen
About the Book
Harlow Morgan: Airship pilot, trouble magnet, possibly glowing.Airship pilot-in-training, Harlow Morgan is a wiz in the sky, but her father's disappointment on the ground.
In the steam-powered nation of Corshire, where science reigns and magic is outlawed, Harlow’s famous inventor father expects perfection. Her twin sister delivers. Harlow? Not so much. She’d rather fly airships at the Academy than follow in his brilliant footsteps.
But when she tells a reckless lie to save her family name, she puts a classmate's future at risk and exposes a hidden magical artifact tied to her father. Before she knows it, Harlow is swept into a dangerous underground magic war. With strange light burning across her skin and outlaw sorcerers on her trail, Harlow teams up with the boy she betrayed to unlock the truth behind the artifact ... and survive the unpredictable city in the sky.
If the deadly Magics don't get her first, her father's secrets just might.
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The Study of Storms and Magic (A Chronicles of Ixia Novella) by Maria V. Snyder
About the Book
“No one survives the third transgression.”The storm season is fast approaching, and Zethan can’t wait to travel to the Northern Ice Pack in Ixia to aid in taming its ferocious blizzards. It’s a needed break from his twin sister, Zohav’s constant criticism; his magic classes at the Magician’s Keep; and the pressure of being compared to his famous brother, Valek, the hero of Sitia.
Except, this time, Zohav is tagging along to test if her magical abilities to influence water will work on ice. Zohav longs for her old home in Ixia and the quiet life that was ripped from her when she developed magical powers.
Together, with Heli, a strong Stormdancer who can harvest the energy from the formidable blizzards, the trio set off on an adventure. Battling through freezing temperatures, gale winds, icy precipitation, and snow cats, are all part of the job. Unfortunately, the elements aren’t the only danger they face as their escapade turns into a fight for survival.
This novella is set in the Study Chronicles world of Ixia and Sitia! Find out what Valek’s younger siblings are up to in this chilling tale._______________________________________
Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse by Jaime Jo Wright
About the Book
In 1874, a battered woman awakens atop a forgotten gravesite by Lake Superior. Identified only by the locket around her neck inscribed with the name Rebecca, she seeks refuge with an elderly lighthouse keeper named Edgar. But as Rebecca struggles to remember who she is, she finds herself haunted by the lingering memories of Annabel, a mysterious woman who perished in the unforgiving waves of Lake Superior years earlier. With the spirit of Annabel seemingly reawakened, and an unknown adversary on the hunt to silence Rebecca once and for all, there is more at stake than just reclaiming her own memories. Rebecca must reclaim Annabel's as well.
In the present day, author and researcher Shea Radclyffe escapes to the lighthouse outside a historic mining town in Michigan, seeking clarity about her failing marriage. Instantly drawn to the lighthouse's landlord, Shea contends with the vengeful legend of Annabel's ghost and a superstitious community that has buried the secrets surrounding a decade-old murder. As the secrets harbored around Annabel's lighthouse unravel, Shea must navigate a fight of torn loyalty, self-discovery, and the haunting forces of love and a vengeance that should have drowned a century before.
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The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright
About the Book
An abandoned estate encased in stagnant darkness . . .
A haunting legacy intent on silencing all within reach . . .In 1890, the ominous tolling of the bell announces that death has come to Traeger Hall, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her uncle's and aunt's murders. Bound by the terms of her uncle's eccentric will, Waverly finds herself alone in a manor shrouded by death and questioning the reasons for her uncle's paranoia. A madness hovers over Traeger Hall, and Waverly--as well as the people of nearby Newton Creek--are ill-prepared for the woe that has descended.
In present day Newton Creek, whispers of a family curse still cling to the century-old, abandoned property of Traeger Hall. When Jennie Phillips takes possession of the estate after her mother's passing, she is intent on solving the mystery of the Traeger murders. Yet a modern cold case suggests that untimely deaths and mysterious occurrences still plague the property. And as thorny truths surface, Jennie realizes the dark legacy threatens not only the town and the Traeger descendants . . . but also, chillingly, Jennie herself.
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The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White
About the Book
In this gripping World War II historical about the power of words, two people form an unlikely friendship amid the Nazi occupation in Paris and fight to preserve the truth that enemies of freedom long to destroy.
Paris, 1940. Ever since the Nazi Party began burning books, German writers exiled for their opinions or heritage have been taking up residence in Paris. There they opened a library meant to celebrate the freedom of ideas and gathered every book on the banned list . . . and even incognito versions of the forbidden books that were smuggled back into Germany.
For the last six years, Corinne Bastien has been reading those books and making that library a second home. But when the German army takes possession of Paris, she loses access to the library and all the secrets she’d hidden there. Secrets the Allies will need if they have any hope of liberating the city she calls home.
Christian Bauer may be German, but he never wanted anything to do with the Nazi Party—he is a professor, one who’s done his best to protect his family as well as the books that were a threat to Nazi ideals. But when Goebbels sends him to Paris to handle the “relocation” of France’s libraries, he’s forced into an army uniform and given a rank he doesn’t want. In Paris, he tries to protect whoever and whatever he can from the madness of the Party and preserve the ideas that Germans will need again when that madness is over, and maybe find a lost piece of his heart.
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Fathoms (Oceans of Time Book 3) by Lisa T. Bergren
About the Book
Can the She-Wolves of Siena survive the lion’s den?
Luciana Betarrini is living a nightmare. Blinded in battle, she is unsure what her future holds.
When Lady Tiliani Forelli volunteers to serve as the young Lady Romano’s governess—in order to protect the child—Luciana quickly follows suit, volunteering as a tutor. But as they navigate life in the treacherous neighboring castello, they find Lord Ercole a chameleon of adversaries, intent on mastering the She-Wolves of Siena any way he can.
Together, Luciana and Tiliani must find a way to bring Ercole down and buy time for Domenico and Marcello to establish new allies. But Luciana continues to find herself at a crossroads: Is she willing to risk leaving Sir Giulio Greco forever in order to chase healing through the time tunnel? Or is she called to accept her plight—in light of the myriad blessings of her new medieval life—and make her way through the best she can?
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Singularity (The Eternities Duology) by Shannon McDermott
About the Book
Machines in rebellion, humanity on the brink . . .
Lila Stanislaw, a freelance analyst with a roster of foreign clients, is summoned by the U.S. government to hunt down a mysterious threat. She joins a team of strangers with pasts as colorful as her own. The mission spirals when they discover that the AI created to run the new colony on Mars has gone rogue on Earth. As the conflict mounts to war, Speaker of the House Manasseh Cruz joins the fight with an implacable will to destroy the enemy. But the team, racing to find any vulnerability, must first confront the question of what the AI truly is.
As robots stalk the landscape and toxins poison the air, Lila is certain that the AI must be completely destroyed for the good of humanity. But she will find that not all humans, or even all of her teammates, agree.
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Bookwyrm Acquisitions (The Book Hoard Collective Book 1) by Constance Lopez
About the Book
How far would you go to get something you really wanted? Like, this-is-the-key-to-achieving-your-ultimate-happiness wanted?Hi, I’m Cammie. I work at a bookshop, I love a quiet night in, and I’m a dragonshifter with no magic to speak of. Which means unless I can grow my hoard—and by extension, my magic—I’m not much different than a human.
But then the perfect book—the exact book I need to kickstart my book hoard—practically drops into my lap, only to be snatched away when a filthy rich, ridiculously hot guy sweeps in and claims it before I can.
Rude.
Now I’m desperate to get it back, and I’m willing to resort to extreme measures if necessary—measures like bribery, mild stalking, or… taking a job offer?
When the gorgeous book thief offers me the book of my dreams and a huge salary just to find him more books, how can I say no?
Except there’s a catch: the offer comes with a non-negotiable temporary relocation. If I want my book, I have to live in the hot, mysterious billionaire’s castle while I work for him. And living with him means inevitably getting mixed up in his business—some of which might be far more dangerous than I’ve bargained for.
I’m not
that desperate… am I?
Bookwyrm Acquisitions is the first book in a new urban fantasy trilogy for fans of Shari Tapscott, KM Shea, and Kenley Davidson. If you love found family, animal companions, and clean romance, dive in today!
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The Betrayal of Eden (Grimoire & Key Book 1) by Erin Phillips
About the Book
Before she can rise above them all, she must first fall.
I’m on the precipice of a cliff.
One light breeze away from falling off.At 16, Eden Fortin sees nothing but a bright future ahead of her. With a valuable promotion on the horizon, she is granted a coveted spot as a debutante alongside her wealthy friend, Fallon Riviere, an important step in escaping the sordid South Bout and securing a future with her beau, Myles Taillefer, the son of a powerful congresswoman.
But the happily ever after of Eden’s fairytale rise will be more dangerous than she realizes.
Hunter Calder, an indentured servant in the Riviere household, is far too familiar with the family’s schemes. Forced to pay off his father’s debt, he discovers a dark secret about the mysterious grimoires Cartier City uses to maintain order. However, revealing the truth might not provide the freedom he seeks.
As Eden becomes overwhelmed with the requirements of high society, her rivals uncover the means to her undoing. Just as grimoire magic works in ripples, so the ruin of Eden Fortin will be the catalyst for bringing Cartier City to its knees.
Filled with suspenseful mystery, shattered dreams, and dire consequences, the first book in this sweeping reimagining of Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece,
The Count of Monte Cristo, invites you into the resplendent world of Cartier City and will make you question everything you know about happy endings.
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Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? What books are you hoping Santa brings you this year?
