For the first time in my life, I have shelves, so I have a place where my books will live, but that is for another time. So let’s get into it, shall we? Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, who has a new weekly topic.
April 7: Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List (submitted by Rachel @ Sunny Side) I’m doing small towns since that’s more my vibe.
Amazon Blurb:
When Vivienne Calloway returns to Sycamore Falls to settle her grandmother’s estate, she plans to stay six weeks, sell the house, and disappear again—no one needs to know who she used to be. But the quiet hardware store owner, Shep Malone, sees only the woman in front of him. His steady hands fix her leaky faucet, his unhurried voice asks about her renovation plans, and suddenly the town she ran from starts to feel like home.
A heartfelt, clean small-town trans romance full of magnolia trees, hardware-store kindness, and the gentle courage of coming home. Perfect for readers who love slow-burn chemistry, found family, and stories where acceptance feels like the first real breath of summer.
Welcome to Sycamore Falls. The magnolia is blooming—and so is love.
Goodreads Blurb:
Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke ventures out to a tiny Chesapeake Bay island community, helping a friend search for answers in the wake of unthinkable tragedy. But in small towns like this, some rocks are never meant to be overturned…
T.J. had the world in the palm of his hand. He was handsome. Popular in school. Smart. A stellar athlete. The son of superstar pro quarterback Tony Okerson, he seemed destined to follow in his father’s footsteps to a career of gridiron glory.
That bright, shining dream ends when T.J.’s lifeless body is found on a rocky shoreline near his family’s Chesapeake Bay home.
Due to his father’s past fame, the tragedy ignites a media frenzy in the normally serene island community. Through a mutual friend, the grieving parents turn to reporter Nichelle Clarke for help. Nichelle agrees to write the story herself and attempt to quell the national media circus.
But as Nichelle begins to explore the facts surrounding the death, she discovers some shocking details. Something doesn’t fit. And while the local sheriff wants to stamp the case a drug overdose and move on, Nichelle becomes convinced that foul play may have been involved.
To the townsfolk, Nichelle is an outsider, putting her nose where it doesn’t belong. But in her experience, that’s exactly where the most damning secrets are kept. And the further she follows the evidence trail, the more Nichelle realizes that this sleepy coastal village is anything but innocent…
Goodreads Blurb:
Corporate lawyer Wren Cooper swore she’d never return to Millbrook—until her aunt’s historic bookshop becomes the target of a corrupt mayor’s development scheme. Back in the small town where everyone knows your business, Wren must team up with Sage Mills, the librarian who’s been her high school crush for fifteen years. As they dig into illegal land deals and witness intimidation, their partnership ignites something neither can ignore. Fighting corruption is dangerous. Falling in love is terrifying. And in a town where secrets spread faster than wildfire, Wren and Sage are about to become the biggest scandal of all.
Goodreads Blurb:
Although she doesn’t realize it, Kendall is drowning in secrets. About her husband Carter, who died in a car crash. About Gabe, who was driving the night Carter died. About her brother George’s girlfriend. Gabe’s return to Sturgeon Falls brings the secrets bubbling to the surface.
Since Carter’s death, Kendall’s been too busy running a B&B, managing a cherry orchard and raising two girls to think about Gabe. But when he shows up at her B&B, memories come rushing back – including the crush she’d had on him.
Can Kendall and Gabe face the past and find forgiveness? Or will the secrets bury them?
Goodreads Blurb:
Enter Nathaniel Cross. A tall, impeccably dressed acquisitions editor from Sterling Publishing in New York, he’s the polished, weaponized smile that gets people to sign things they haven’t read. His company, a corporate behemoth, wants to gut Clara’s grandfather’s legacy and turn it into another soulless, cookie-cutter megastore. To him, her sanctuary is just a vulnerable asset with pre-war wiring and a roof in desperate need of repair.
Clara is determined to send Mr. Perfectly-Symmetrical-Face packing. But when a furious coastal storm brings the fight from the balance sheets to the archives, causing a devastating leak that threatens her most priceless books, the only person who can help is the one man who wants to destroy it all.
Forced into a reluctant truce, Clara and Nate must work together to save the shop from ruin. As late nights turn into fragile confessions and strategic plans blur with stolen glances, Clara discovers there’s more to the ruthless numbers guy than brand synergy and a sharp suit. But Nate is still on the payroll of the company that wants her gone, and his boss won’t wait forever.
Can two sworn enemies rewrite their story, or will the final chapter of The Bellweather Bookshop be a non-negotiable tragedy?
Goodread Blurb:
Some loves never really end.
They just wait.
Noah Hartman has spent years rebuilding his life after one choice changed everything. Whisper Ridge is his anchor—the town that taught him responsibility, loyalty, and how to live with regret.
Lila Bennett was his weakness.
When she returns to Whisper Ridge, neither of them is prepared for the intensity of what still lingers between them. The attraction is instant. The hurt is unresolved. And the secrets they buried years ago refuse to stay buried.
As they’re drawn back together, passion reignites—and so do the fears that once drove them apart. This time, walking away may cost them more than staying.
Still Standing in Whisper Ridge is a medium-heat, dual-POV, second-chance romance
Small-town intimacy and shared history
Emotional tension and physical chemistry
Forced proximity
A deeply flawed hero seeking redemption
Appearances by fan-favorite characters Cole and Emma
Goodreads Blurb:
Seasons in a Small Town – Spring
In rural Drago, Illinois, Zeke came by his “the Geek” nickname honest, more comfortable in the world of algebra and algorithms than high school’s social hallways. Though that didn’t keep him from longing for the unattainable prom queen, Jennifer.
The one person who did understand his out-of-the-box brain was Darcie, his best friend.
After their high school graduation, Zeke and Darcie for one night jolted from friends to lovers. And then he left town, and she knew he couldn’t look back. What he didn’t know was the depth of Darcie’s feelings for him.
Now it’s 17 years later, and Zeke’s a self-made billionaire founder of a tech security firm, Darcie’s a local cop and Jennifer’s a divorced mom of a tween girl. And their little town is flagging.
At Darcie’s urging, Zeke returns to Drago to boost its economy. Will his new wealth attract the still-beautiful Jennifer? Or will Darcie, the one girl who always made him feel at ease, show him that true love knows no boundaries?
Goodreads Blurb:
The smallest towns have the darkest secrets…
When Carrie’s son, Cal, vanished from the Cornish town of Devil’s Cove, she thought she’d lost him for good. Seven years later, a teenager has been found washed up on the beach.
It’s Carrie’s son. And he’s alive.
No longer the sweet boy she remembers, Cal is deeply troubled, wildly unpredictable, and a growing danger to everyone around him.
Now, Carrie must unravel the mystery of what happened to her son before it’s too late. Because a serial killer is stalking the streets of Devil’s Cove.
And another young child is missing…
Set against the wild backdrop of Cornwall, The Cove is the first part of a nail-biting trilogy about a mother’s fight to save her son from the grip of evil.
Goodreads Blurb:
People change, but some feelings last forever.
Rafael Hunter never thought he’d return to Kittle Falls, but life gave him no other choice. Los Angeles chewed him up, spit him out, and sent him back to square one.
Amara Fowler has lived in the small beach town her entire life. She’s overcome her shyness to grow into the woman she always knew she could be, but she never forgot her secret crush. When the alluring Rafael returns, he can’t help but stir in her a whirlwind of old feelings.
They’ve both changed so much. Has life kept them incompatible or has it molded them into a matching set?
Seaside Kisses is the fourth standalone in the Seaside Hunters collection, a series of sweet contemporary romance novels. If you like falling head over heels for characters as they fall for each other, then you’ll love the latest entry in this light, romantic series with just a hint of mystery.
Goodreads Blurb
Marine biologist Greg Martinez thought his heart had closed for good after losing his wife. Chef Owen Campbell believed love was a chapter he’d already lived. Then a chance encounter at a beachside food truck changes everything. As they navigate teenage grief, second chances, and the courage to be vulnerable again, Greg and Owen discover that life’s most precious connections often emerge in the spaces between loss. With rebellious teenagers, sustainable seafood, and the eternal wisdom of tide pools, these two widowers must decide if they’re brave enough to risk their carefully protected hearts one more time.
Mybookworld24 