Top Ten Tuesday/ Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl with a new topic every week.

March 14: Books on My Spring 2023 To-Read List

I picked ten books with dogs on the cover because they are cute!

Goodreads Blurb:

Esther Holley, the eldest in the family, has always had her life firmly in control until a miscarriage knocks her off course. Two months later, still emotionally spinning, she separates from her husband Will, a sheep farmer and man of few words and moves back in with her parents.

Life as a singleton thirtysomething living in her parents’ house is miserable, but Esther is determined to re-boot her life, including going on a few unfortunate dates. She’s shocked when tight-lipped Will shows up on her doorstep determined to woo her back. They’ve been married for seven years, but Will wants to return to the beginning, dating and getting to know each other again.

New challenges face them as they start over–and new chances too. Can Esther and Will save their marriage, especially when faced with the hardest decision of all?

Goodreads Blurb:

It’s all fun and games until my best friend starts dating someone who isn’t me.

This story starts when my best friend, Tanner, takes “having a girlfriend” to “completely ignoring me” fast enough to give me whiplash.

Making matters worse while I’m recovering from said whiplash, some guy in leather ruins my life—by stealing my parking spot in front of my favorite bookstore.

Making matters unbelievable, Leather Motorcycle Man is the new editor where I work, my new boss, and the only thing now standing between me and being able to publish my book.

Talk about bad luck.

I hate him; he can’t stand me; my sister won’t stop believing this is our Enemies to Lovers, Sweet and Sassy, Small-town Romance, seventy thousand words, confirmed HEA.

Trust me, I loathe saying it, but…if this guy keeps sneaking himself into the heart Tanner is vacating, my sister might just be right.

Goodreads Blurb:

Ben Porter may be living the dream, but it’s not his.

His dad’s health scare might not be the ideal reason to come home for the summer, but it’s a welcome break from the stellar glitz of Ben’s life in Los Angeles. Even if modeling has him rivaling Marky Mark’s fame, posing isn’t his passion. Landing a role with a Boston Shakespeare theater brings him closer to fulfilling his dreams of being a real actor.

Facing the reason he went west in the first place? That’s another story.

Lucy Minola’s dreams were shattered seven years ago when a drunk driver smashed into her brother’s car. She knows it was her fault. So as penance, she works hard to care for her family, goes to confession faithfully, and buries all the feelings she had for the person who left when she needed him most: her brother’s best friend.

When an injured dog brings them back together, Lucy’s good-girl facade begins to crack. Women everywhere are obsessed with the rad body they see in magazines, but she’s the only one Ben seems to notice.

She can’t trust herself with the man who walked away… but can she let him go a second time?

Goodreads Blurb;

For Hannah Farraday, working at her family’s new equine center is a dream come true. Each of her cousins has found their happily ever after, but she’s not looking for Prince Charming. Especially not one who rides into town and knocks her boots over tea kettle.

Dallas police officer Dale Johnson plans to leave Texas in the dust. What should have been a pit stop in Tuckers Bluff is turned on its head when a chance encounter with a beautiful woman on horse back leaves him playing knight in shining armor.

Can fairytales come true when reality and dreams collide?

Goodreads Blurb:

THE OLYMPIAN WINS HER HEART is the story of Alex Mason, a successful, overworked, financial analyst who, upon the death of her father, inherits the family ski resort. Hoping to sell her inheritance to developers and forget the pain of her past, Alex was not expecting to face those memories or her very first crush, Olympic skier, Bohdi Vonn. Alex finds her plans for a smooth sale derailed, by the cooked books of her father’s business partner and the blue eyed man responsible for the last 16 years of heartache. Alex will need to decide if she wants to close the deal with the developers or open her heart to a lifetime of love.
Bohdi Vonn was the country’s darling. Medalled Olympian, and endorsements, that provided a life of comfort. Retired from skiing, after an injury, Bohdi wants nothing more than to spend his days, running the T-Bar Pub, and rebuilding his life at Talisman Mountain. When news the resort will be sold to unscrupulous developers, Bohdi swears he will do anything to stop it. He just isn’t prepared to go to battle with the determined and beautiful Alex Mason. His best friends sister is all grown up, stunning and she still hasn’t forgiven him for her brother’s death, on the hill, years ago. Knowing he has only one chance to save the resort, Bohdi sets out on a mission to show Alex the true value of the mountain, forgiveness and his heart.

Goodreads Blurb;

Firefighter Braden Mahoney is devastated when his beloved Weimaraner, Jelly Bean, fails the canine arson investigator test. Faced with the challenge of raising the money for advanced training, it’s Braden’s sweet grandmother and her best friend who suggest he use the services of the new event planner in town. Not that he needs a push in Cassie Santorini’s direction. Ever since she arrived, Braden has had his eye on the sassy Greek goddess…and can’t stop thinking about getting the rest of him on her, too.

Cassie has spent years putting family first, even moving to Bitter Bark when her mother falls in love with the local veterinarian. Having a huge new extended “family” is fun, especially when one smokeshow of a firefighter attends the gatherings, but Cassie has no plans to remain in this small town. She’s ready to pursue her big city dreams. But when Braden asks for an assist for his precious pup, Cassie agrees to help him set up a town-wide scavenger hunt. It isn’t exactly a hardship to be around those blue eyes and brawny shoulders, especially since they both agree everything – even the undeniable sparks that crackle between them – is temporary.

But when temporary gets complicated by feelings that might lead to forever, Braden and Cassie start to question the direction they’re headed. Should they follow their dreams…or their hearts? It’ll take a dog with a bad nose and a good heart, two particularly meddlesome grandmas, and some help from the clan that loves them to make sure Cassie and Braden follow the clues and find their way to each other’s arms.

Goodreads Blurb:

adley Hayes has been in love with her brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember. Now at thirty-one, she’s determined to make Sam see her as more than just the little girl who used to follow him around the family farm. Aware of his fear of commitment, she’s ready to show him that happily ever after isn’t just meant for the fairy tales.

Sam Bennett, Red Maple Falls fire chief and notorious bachelor, swore he’d never make a pass at any of his best friend’s sisters, but when Hadley confesses her feelings, he can no longer deny their chemistry. Trying to hold on to a promise he made when he was only fifteen becomes increasingly hard as their relationship intensifies.

A tragic turn of events sends Sam spiraling and reminds him that he’s not the hero who everyone sees—he’s the kid from the wrong side of the tracks who never really belonged. Determined to prove Sam’s worth, Hadley refuses to give up on him, but will her love be enough to pull him from the ashes or will their happily ever after go down in flames?

Goodreads Blurb:

Lydia Eastlee has skipped a decade of her life.

When she married a much older man, Lydia took a shortcut from grad student to middle-aged matron. Do not pass go. Do not drink jug wine or buy Ikea bookshelves.

Now Lydia finds herself a 45-year-old widow. She’s got a suburban McMansion she doesn’t want, a hole in her day where her job used to be, and a bunch of married-couple friends eligible for Social Security.

Lydia wants to start over and recapture the endless possibilities life offers at age 25.

She adopts a shelter dog with issues.

Buys a charming little starter home on the verge of collapse.

And accepts a job she doesn’t know how to do.

Lydia soon learns that youth isn’t for the faint-hearted. Her dead husband is trying to control her future through the terms of his will. And her impulsive decisions may cost her some new friendships she can’t bear to lose.

But with the help of a quirky dog trainer, a hilarious colleague, and a hunky young carpenter, Lydia may get a second chance at the life she missed.

Goodreads Blurb:

Darby Livingston is a survivor. If she can survive breast cancer, she can survive the humiliation of accidentally flashing her pink panties to a stranger. A sexy doesn’t-believe-in-fairy-tales stranger called Reid. Reid is the key to making Darby’s amateur theater production of Cinderella a success, so she’ll swallow her pride and beg, bribe, or use her feminine wiles to secure his help, because the play’s donation to a cancer charity means everything to her.

Reid Hudson is used to being judged and ridiculed for his ability to sew amazing wedding gowns for Invercargill’s boutique bridal shop, Next Stop Vegas. Whatever. He’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants in life. But on the list of things Reid Hudson doesn’t want… A) To be roped into costume-making for a cast of wanna-be divas. B) To discover an off-the-charts attraction with the play’s Ugly Stepsister, Darby. And C) To fall in love with that feisty and funny woman who has no guarantee of a happy ever after.

Along with her terrier side-kick, Duke, can Darby convince Reid that if the shoe/slipper fits, maybe she’s The One he’s been looking for all along?

Goodreads Blurb:

Working in law enforcement imparts certain things in a man. The smell of gunpowder in the air. The sight of blood spatter at a crime scene.

And the amount of trouble a woman is in by the pitch of her scream.

Six weeks prior, on the heels of the most hellish case he could ever remember, Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner, Billie, were placed on administrative leave from the Columbus Police Department. Fearful of what the media might say, the brass decided to put them at arm’s length, allowing the aftermath of that fateful night to settle. Not used to being placed on the sidelines, and no good at sitting still for long, the decision was made to travel west to his native Oklahoma and help his parents begin the long process of unpacking their new home.

A process that lasted but a single afternoon before the duo found themselves within earshot of a scream too pointed to ignore.

Acting on pure instinct, the two give chase, unknowingly pulling themselves into something much bigger happening across the plains for the better part of a decade. Young women with seemingly nothing in common disappear, held for months or years before turning up, while some are never found at all.

Alex