Top Ten Tuesday/ Animals On The Cover

I know I took this week’s prompt very out of the box. Well, I had a few ideas, but I also considered the books to add to the list, so then I thought of the topic of animals. They make us happy and act like fools sometimes, even if their home is a tank. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl, who has a new weekly topic.

April 1: Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read (Happy April Fool’s Day! In honor of this silly holiday, share the books you think people must read for whatever reason. They could be your favorites, books you deem classics, books that you learned something important from, books you wish you’d read sooner, etc. You could even narrow it down to a specific genre and share the must-reads for that genre. Get creative!)

Goodreads Blurb:

When a boxset of Broadchurch is more appealing than having sex with your husband, then perhaps it’s time to hide the remote…

Cait and Matt have been married for 30 years. They are rock solid; an inspiration to others; stuck together like glue – aren’t they?
But Cait can’t shake off the feeling that something is missing. They are fit and healthy, if a bit skint – but the whole world should be their oyster now that Matt has retired, giving them the time to do those things that really matter – and more importantly – together. So why is she left wondering if this is all there is? Has Matt always been this annoying and infuriating? And where have those ants-in-her-pants suddenly come from?
It’s not helped by the reappearance in her life of Tom Lewis, the love of her life who broke her heart at university and who, despite the fact she hasn’t she hasn’t seen him for decades, is still exerting his magnetic pull.
Her friends are Lorna, who recently lost her husband, and Debs whose husband recently left her. The three women must all question what they want out of the rest of their lives – and how they are going to get it…

Goodreads Blurb:

Leaving Chicago should have been my escape, not a plunge into a murder mystery.

I’m Jessica, a city girl in a small town where everyone’s got eyes on me. Back in Chicago, I was the prime suspect with the local police when my boss got helped along to the afterlife. Despite full exoneration, my new reputation followed me wherever I went, and left me without a job.

Leaving town was my only option, and starting over as my own boss in Foxberry Falls, Virginia, was my solution. When another murder happens in my new digs, It’s deja vu all over again.

The suspicious sheriff has me in his crosshairs, but I’m not going down without a fight. With my pot-smoking neighbors and a sneaky black cat by my side, I’m determined to unravel this web of deceit before it captures me.

Without even knowing it, I’m edging closer to the truth, but also closer to danger.

In a town where gossip spreads faster than wildfire, and everyone’s got skeletons in their closets, I have to watch my back. I’m determined to get myself out of this mess and my life back in order, even if it means facing the killer head-on.

Goodreads Blurb:

Top Three Reasons Camp Minnehaha is The Worst

1. The spiders (wayyyy too many legs)
2. King Arthur (a rampaging goat intent on my destruction)
3. Victoria a.k.a The Diva (an evil cabin mate obsessed with French beauty products and my humiliation)

Chloe McCorkle knew a summer camp where you had to learn a career was a bad idea. She tried to tell her parents, but they just had to go on vacation to Alaska and ship her off for two weeks. It’s not ideal, but she’s going to try to make the best of it. She might even learn some skills that will help her make money for the new bike she’s been eyeing. But Chloe quickly discovers there’s only one area at which she excels; she manages to get more demerits than anyone else in camp…

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:

A dead-end career. A love life that’s DOA. When fate sends her on a wild goose chase, can she land the deal of a lifetime?

New York City realtor Lauren Bent is desperate for a break. Five years after earning her license, she’s still looking for a major sale and an escape from the shadows cast by her more-fortunate brother and pushy mother. So, when her estranged great-aunt passes away and her wealth comes up for grabs, the struggling property broker sees her shot to turn everything around.

Forced to compete in a contest to prove worthy of the riches, Lauren finds herself in a war with her greedy, self-absorbed family. And between accidentally setting fire to an apartment, lying siblings, and a poodle mistaking her for a hydrant, the beleaguered young woman fears she has no chance to win after Johnny, the bane of her high-school days, is named the tournament’s judge.

Will Lauren’s star-crossed chase for fame and fortune come with a longer-lasting prize?

Goodreads Blurb:

Forty something, self-proclaimed cougar, Rebecca is committed only to her cats and her career. Her veteran single girl lifestyle has been peaceful and happy – that is until she started dating age-appropriate Steve, an entomology professor with a sweet smile and demeanor to match. Who knew an insect scientist could be so appealing?

The problem? Steve is a widower with baggage to spare. Memories of his late wife fill his home. Smiling photos and jars of bugs serve as constant reminders of Steve’s continued attachment to his dearly departed wife, Noreen, who shared his passion for creepy crawlies!

Now that Rebecca is facing her commitment phobia by moving in with Steve, she is becoming more unhinged. Behaving more like her zany friends than her level-headed self, she burns her butt at the tanning salon, crashes on energy drinks, and even loses a hamster. Throw into the mix a few delusional relatives, a sarcastic teenager, and a fluffy dog who sheds a new dog every day, and Rebecca doesn’t recognize her old self.

And if that isn’t enough to push her over the edge, her smokin’ hot ex returns, reminding her of a simpler time with a man who carries no more baggage than a wallet.

Goodreads Blurb:

Evangeline Moon was right where she wanted to be… doing the job she was born to do. At last, she had a big story to report on… and few things were bigger than murder!

When Evangeline, a determined television reporter, is called to cover the story of a man found murdered in the grand and mysterious Heathcliff House, she quickly realizes that there’s more to the case than meets the eye.

As she digs deeper, she discovers the victim had a secret past which could very well be linked to his demise.

Along the way, Evangeline also discovers that Heathcliff House is haunted by the ghost of a golden retriever named Lucky, who is insistent she follow him into the woods…

What’s that all about?

With the help of her beloved cat, Samson, Evangeline works to solve the crime and bring the killer to justice.

Goodreads Blurb:

A saboteur. A bookstore in trouble. A writer on the verge of ruin.

After a painful divorce, Mathilda “Mat” Kincaide has one clear vision. Ascend the throne of her family’s cherished chain of bookstores. Yet a mysterious troublemaker lurks in the heart of her store, intent on derailing Mat’s every ambition. She can’t be distracted, even if the new hire with her sizzling librarian appearance and saucy glances tempts Mat to bend her no relationship rule.

Camdyn Stone is a gifted writer. Or at least she was. With a looming deadline, Camdyn must complete a manuscript before Christmas or face financial ruin. Working at Kincaide Books is a refuge for this self-doubting one-hit-wonder. If only Camdyn could find inspiration for her next book in someone other than her sexy new boss.

In a whimsical bookstore, with eccentric patrons and a snarky cat, Mat and Camdyn must work together to save the Kincaide legacy.

But will they find love along the way?

Join Mat and Camdyn on a heartfelt journey where love unfolds, passions flare, hearts collide, and the quest for true love takes root in the most unexpected of places. In this captivating sapphic romance novel, love weaves a tale with an intensity that transcends all boundaries.

Goodreads Blurb:

Single mom, Leah Taylor, has her hands full with a grandfather, an inventor, who lives a bit risky when it comes to his job and two sons, one a rambunctious genius. But it is her free spirited beagle who gets her into trouble with her new neighbor, Dr. Shane O’Grady, when her dog makes a move on his champion bichon that he wants to breed.

Leah and Shane clash over their dogs that clearly like each other. Leah is determined to ignore her neighbor, but when her youngest son who tries to defy gravity and fly ends up hurt, it is her neighbor, the doctor, who takes care of her son. Can Leah and Shane find love or has love gone to the dogs?

Goodreads Blurb:

When Daniel de La Luna arrives as a scholarship student at an elite East Coast university, he bears the weight of his family’s hopes and dreams, and the burden of sharing his late uncle’s name. Daniel flounders at first―but then Sam, his roommate, changes everything. As their relationship evolves from brotherly banter to something more intimate, Daniel soon finds himself in love with a man who helps him see himself in a new light.

But just as their relationship takes flight, Daniel is pulled away, first by Sam’s hesitation and then by a brutal turn of events that changes Daniel’s life forever. As he grapples with profound loss, Daniel finds himself in his family’s ancestral homeland in México for the summer, finding joy in this setting even as he struggles to come to terms with what’s happened and faces a host of new How does the person he is connect with this place his family comes from? How is his own story connected to his late uncle’s? And how might he reconcile the many parts of himself as he learns to move forward?

Equal parts tender and triumphant, Andrés N. Ordorica’s How We Named the Stars is a debut novel of love, heartache, redemption, and learning to honor the dead; a story of finding the strength to figure out who you are―and who you could be―if only the world would let you.

Alex