Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic:
Five Star Predictions from My TBR
There are those books I want to read because I love the author. And books I want to read because the plot is intriguing or contains my favorite tropes. And then there are those books that just seeing the cover and reading the synopsis gives you all the feels - and you just know (or at least you really, really hope) that it's going to be great. Here are the books on my TBR that I predict will be five star reads.
Where the Lost Wander | Amy Harmon
In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.
Someday, Someday | Emma Scott
How long would you wait for love?
Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.
The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…
Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.
Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing a chance at happiness and real love.
All I Ask | Corinne Michaels
Teagan Berkley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she's accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been.
Derek Hartz arrives in town with a teenage daughter - and he's full of guilt over his failed marriage and the way he ended his friendship with Teagan. He's determined to set things right with her, but first he needs to gain her trust. Something he's not convinced he deserves.
As Teagan and Derek open up to each other-and confess their deepest secrets-it's impossible for them to deny what's always been between them. But just when their happily ever after is within reach, their complicated history surfaces again and threatens to keep them apart. Forever.
Regretting You | Colleen Hoover
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
The Great Alone | Kristin Hannah
Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
What the Wind Knows | Amy Harmon
Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
Great and Precious Things | Rebecca Yarros
How do you define yourself when others have already decided who you are?
Six years ago, when Camden Daniels came back from war without his younger brother, no one in the small town of Alba, Colorado, would forgive him—especially his father. He left, swearing never to return.
But a desperate message from his father brings it all back. The betrayal. The pain. And the need to go home again. But home is where the one person he still loves is waiting. Willow. The one woman he can never have. Because there are secrets buried in Alba that are best left in the dark.
If only he could tell his heart to stay locked away when she whispers she’s always loved him, and always will…
Great and Precious Things is a heart-wrenching story about family, betrayal, and ultimately how far we're willing to go on behalf of those who need us most.
From the internationally best-selling author of The Simple Wild comes the continuation of a woman’s journey to Alaska and a life she never imagined for herself.
Calla Fletcher returns to Toronto a different person, struggling to find direction and still very much in love with the rugged bush pilot she left behind. When Jonah arrives on her doorstep with a proposition she can’t dismiss, she takes the leap and rushes back to Alaska to begin their exciting future together.
But Calla soon learns that even the best intentions can lead to broken promises, and that compromise comes with a hefty price—a log cabin in interior rural Alaska that feels as isolating as the western tundra.
With Jonah gone more than he’s home, one neighbor who insists on transforming her into a true Alaskan, and another who seems more likely to shoot her than come to her aid, Calla grapples with forging her own path. In a world with roaming wildlife that has her constantly watching over her shoulder and harsh conditions that stretch far beyond the cold, dark, winter months, just stepping outside her front door can be daunting.
This is not the future Calla had in mind, leaving her to fear that perhaps she is doomed to follow in her mother’s fleeing footsteps after all.
Calla Fletcher returns to Toronto a different person, struggling to find direction and still very much in love with the rugged bush pilot she left behind. When Jonah arrives on her doorstep with a proposition she can’t dismiss, she takes the leap and rushes back to Alaska to begin their exciting future together.
But Calla soon learns that even the best intentions can lead to broken promises, and that compromise comes with a hefty price—a log cabin in interior rural Alaska that feels as isolating as the western tundra.
With Jonah gone more than he’s home, one neighbor who insists on transforming her into a true Alaskan, and another who seems more likely to shoot her than come to her aid, Calla grapples with forging her own path. In a world with roaming wildlife that has her constantly watching over her shoulder and harsh conditions that stretch far beyond the cold, dark, winter months, just stepping outside her front door can be daunting.
This is not the future Calla had in mind, leaving her to fear that perhaps she is doomed to follow in her mother’s fleeing footsteps after all.
Raised to rule, bred to lead and weaned on a diet of ruthless ambition. In a world of haves and have nots, my family has it all, and I want nothing to do with it.
My path takes me far from home and paints me as the black sheep. At odds with my father, I’m determined to build my own empire. I have rules, but Lennix Hunter is the exception to every one of them. From the moment we meet, something sparks between us. But my family stole from hers and my father is the man she hates most. I lied to have her, and would do anything to keep her. Though she tries to hate me, too, the inexorable pull between us will not be denied.
And neither will I.
My path takes me far from home and paints me as the black sheep. At odds with my father, I’m determined to build my own empire. I have rules, but Lennix Hunter is the exception to every one of them. From the moment we meet, something sparks between us. But my family stole from hers and my father is the man she hates most. I lied to have her, and would do anything to keep her. Though she tries to hate me, too, the inexorable pull between us will not be denied.
And neither will I.
Molly and Finn Alcott had the picture-perfect marriage. With two gorgeous children, a lovely home and their own business, they were the couple others aspired to be. But when news of their divorce spreads through town like wildfire, it sends their beautiful image up in flames.
Molly spends years mending her broken heart. She finds joy in a life centered around her kids and career. Her happiness has a different picture now.
Then one day, she finds a letter in her mailbox. Written in Finn’s handwriting, dated over fifteen years ago, it’s a letter he wrote Molly after their first date.
Week after week, Finn’s letters appear. Each marks a date in their history. Each holds the confession of the man who still owns Molly’s heart. Each heals a wound from their past.
It’s just too bad Finn isn’t the one sending them.
Molly spends years mending her broken heart. She finds joy in a life centered around her kids and career. Her happiness has a different picture now.
Then one day, she finds a letter in her mailbox. Written in Finn’s handwriting, dated over fifteen years ago, it’s a letter he wrote Molly after their first date.
Week after week, Finn’s letters appear. Each marks a date in their history. Each holds the confession of the man who still owns Molly’s heart. Each heals a wound from their past.
It’s just too bad Finn isn’t the one sending them.
In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.
The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.
But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.
When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.
How long would you wait for love?
Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.
The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…
Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.
Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing a chance at happiness and real love.
Teagan Berkley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she's accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been.
Derek Hartz arrives in town with a teenage daughter - and he's full of guilt over his failed marriage and the way he ended his friendship with Teagan. He's determined to set things right with her, but first he needs to gain her trust. Something he's not convinced he deserves.
As Teagan and Derek open up to each other-and confess their deepest secrets-it's impossible for them to deny what's always been between them. But just when their happily ever after is within reach, their complicated history surfaces again and threatens to keep them apart. Forever.
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.
As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?
How do you define yourself when others have already decided who you are?
Six years ago, when Camden Daniels came back from war without his younger brother, no one in the small town of Alba, Colorado, would forgive him—especially his father. He left, swearing never to return.
But a desperate message from his father brings it all back. The betrayal. The pain. And the need to go home again. But home is where the one person he still loves is waiting. Willow. The one woman he can never have. Because there are secrets buried in Alba that are best left in the dark.
If only he could tell his heart to stay locked away when she whispers she’s always loved him, and always will…
Great and Precious Things is a heart-wrenching story about family, betrayal, and ultimately how far we're willing to go on behalf of those who need us most.
Have you read any of these books?
What book on your TBR do you predict will be a five star read?
What book on your TBR do you predict will be a five star read?
I've only read The Kingmaker and it's absolutely AMAZING! I chatted with Kennedy Ryan about it last Christmas and she did a ton of research and had sensitivity readers! I highly recommend it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Zeee! Kennedy Ryan always impresses me with her attention to detail. I can't wait to dive into The Kingmaker.
DeleteOh Wild at Heart looks nice. I remember seeing good things about the Simple Wild. The Oregon Trail book looks good too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually drawn to the American West setting (or that time period) but it's Amy Harmon so I'm going for it.
DeleteGreat list! Where the Lost Wander and What the Wind Knows both sound really interesting. I hope you enjoy all of these!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess! I'm excited for both of those by Amy Harmon.
DeleteI also think Wild at Heart will be a winner for me. I just want more of Calla and Jonah's romance this time. I started The Great Alone on audio, and stopped. I think it's a book you need to read, because the beginning was a bit slow and quiet, but I have enjoyed Hannah's books in the past, and think it was a format issue for me
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for more Calla And Jonah. I know there's going to be conflict (otherwise why write the story) but I can't wait to be with them again. Hopefully The Great Alone will work better for you as an e-book.
DeleteThe King Maker!! I can't wait for you to read it. I'm also really looking forward to Wild at Heart. It sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteKennedy Ryan almost always destroys me so I'll have to be ready for The King Maker!
DeleteI have the Colleen Hoover book on my TBR! I typically really enjoy her books! I hope these are great reads for you!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Thanks Leslie! I have really high hopes for Regretting You.
DeleteOmg yes, The Great Alone absolutely WRECKED me! I hope that you love it too :) I'm so excited for Wild at Heart and I'm really hoping it'll be as great as the first book! Also keen to read Where the Lost Wander. Hope all of these live up to your five star predictions, Tanya!
ReplyDeleteI'll need to prepare myself for The Great Alone... like every other Kristin Hannah book. :) And I'm also super excited for Wild at Heart!
DeleteMost of these are new to me. I will have to look them up.
ReplyDeleteHere is my TTT https://fangirlpixieblog.com/2020/02/04/top-ten-tuesday-5-books-on-my-tbr-i-predict-will-be-5-star-reads/
Thanks for visiting, Mir.
DeleteI have not read any of these, but I hope they end up being awesome books for you!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Thanks Lauren! :)
DeleteWhere the Lost Wander sounds like a lovely read.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT .
Thanks Lydia - I'm looking forward to it. :)
DeleteThe Kingmaker and Great and Precious Things are on my tbr as well!! Man, I hope we love them!!!
ReplyDeleteI actually started Great and Precious Things last night so hopefully it lives up to my expectations.
DeleteRegretting You is also on my TBR. It looks like a fantastic read and I'm really hoping to enjoy it, as well :) I haven't read any of Colleen Hoover's books yet.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!
Megan | Ginger Mom & Company
Colleen Hoover is one of my (very small) handful of favorite authors so I already know I love her writing and her story telling. Hopefully we'll both love Regretting You!
DeleteLetters to Molly and Someday, Someday were 5 star reads for me. The other ones were close. I'm hoping Wild at Heart will be 5 stars, too.
ReplyDeleteLetters to Molly will be my first by Devney Perry and I hope I'll love it. I just have a feeling she's going to be one of those perfect authors for me.
DeleteI have only read one book that made your list but I did give Regretting You 5 stars. I have Great and Precious Things on my tbr. I hope you love all of these!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing you gave Regretting You 5 stars, Carole!
DeleteI have a copy of Regretting You sitting on my shelf - I've never read Colleen Hoover before, but I have high hopes!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll love it, Angela!
DeleteLoved Regretting You and I hope it's a 5 star read for you! I'm nervous about picking up Wild at Heart because I loved the first book so much I don't want it to spoil my thoughts on Calla and Jonah. I may wait for reviews to come in before I dive in.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel! I'm excited for Regretting You. I know what you mean about Wild at Heart. I don't want to see Call and Jonah struggle but then again, without conflict there's no story.
DeleteI plan to read Tucker's newest and I have the Great Alone. I loved Regretting You. Fantastic list!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll love Regretting You, too. Hoover never disappoints me. And Wild at Heart should be excellent!
DeleteI love the blurb you shared about Letters to Molly. It sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing it and the others.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb. I'm excited for Letters to Molly.
DeleteI really enjoyed Letters to Molly and What the Wind Knows. I'm really looking forward to Someday, Someday since I just finished Forever Right Now. Hope these are all 5 stars for you!!
ReplyDeleteEmma Scott always rips my heart out... but in a good way. LOL
DeleteMy mom read Regretting You and really enjoyed it. Hope it does end up being a five-star read for you!!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Thanks Nicole. Colleen Hoover is one of my top faves so I'm pretty confident that I'll love it.
DeleteI hope these books all turn out to be 5 stars for you! I almost gave The Great Alone 5 stars. The ending was too melodramatic for my cynical soul, but mostly I loved it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Well now I'm even more intrigued by The Great Alone.
DeleteSo let's see ...I have read and loved Someday, Someday; Great and Precious Things; Where the Lost Wander; What the Wind Knows; Regretting You .....LOL Have fun Tanya!
ReplyDeleteI have lots of good reading ahead of me! :)
DeleteThe Great Alone is one I really loved. This list also reminds me that I still need to read The Simple Wild. Forever behind, lol.
ReplyDeleteI read The Simple Wild at a time when it made an impact on me when it made not have at any other time. I had such a strong reaction to that story. I'm definitely excited for more.
DeleteThe Kingmaker has been getting great feedback so I have no doubt that'll be a 5-star read too.
ReplyDeleteKA Tucker is one of those author who has been on my radar forever (since 10 Tiny Breaths) but I've never read her books. I have no idea why but I don't have much of an urge to do so either... But I love the covers of the latest series and hear only good things so maybe I'll give her a shot at some point. :)
Hope you love these as much as you expect!
Interesting about K.A. Tucker but I have authors like that, too. Despite rave reviews and big fan bases, they just don't appeal to me for whatever reason.
Delete