No matter what, this week’s prompt is. I need to figure out how to insert my Kindle books into the list. Since this is one reading goal I’m behind on, and I’m pretty sure there will be some gems which are yet to be discovered. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, who has a new weekly topic.
May 12: May Flowers (This is a companion to the April Showers topic from last month. Interpret however you’d like: books with flowers on the cover, colorful covers, books set in springtime, books where flowers/plants are a common theme, titles with flower names in them, characters named after flowers, covers that are as pretty as flowers, books featuring gardens, etc.)
Goodreads Blurb:
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have to give up my amazing life and move back to Lilly Leaf Falls. But sometimes when life gives you lemons, you just have to throw it all away and start over…because what’s lemonade without the sugar?
Now, I’m here and constantly at odds with the new mechanic in town who seems to hate me for some unknown reason. Everyone in town seems to love Jack, though, and I am public enemy number one. They all want to know what happened to incur my fall from grace, but it’s none of their business.
I like my secrets.
And apparently, Jack has some of his own. It’s the one thing that we could actually bond over.
That is, if we can stop hating each other long enough.
Goodreads Blurb:
She’s paid to be your best friend on your big day… but she never expected murder to be part of the deal.
Emelia Walsh has one of the most unusual jobs on the planet—she’s a Professional Bridesmaid. Armed with an emergency kit that would impress MacGyver, Emmy steps into strangers’ weddings and becomes whatever the bride a confidante, an emotional buffer, or a human fire extinguisher.
When Emmy arrives at the picturesque Evergreen Summit Resort for Monica Turner’s winter wedding weekend, she’s prepared for the usual wardrobe malfunctions, family tensions, and maintaining her cover as the bride’s “old college friend.” What she’s not prepared for is the web of secrets, rivalries, and suspicious circumstances swirling beneath the perfect snow-globe setting.
When a shocking murder disrupts the wedding plans, Emmy’s role shifts from emotional buffer to amateur sleuth—all while dodging questions from handsome but infuriating Detective John Sutton, who seems both suspicious of her—and strangely interested.
In this charming first installment of the Bridesmaid’s Guide to Murder series, Emmy discovers that when you make a career out of stepping into other people’s stories, sometimes those stories include murder.
Goodreads Blurb:
When Samantha, a lively American student from Berkeley, meets her quiet and precise Japanese roommate, Natsuki, neither expects that a random dorm assignment will spark a life-changing bond. From late-night bento experiments and campus walks to shared laughter and unspoken confessions, their friendship grows into something more enduring than either imagined.
But when Samantha is invited to Kyoto, the story unfolds into a journey across borders, traditions, and hearts. Between temple visits, festivals beneath glowing lanterns, and awkwardly hilarious cultural mishaps (like mistaking wasabi for avocado in front of an unimpressed sushi chef), Samantha discovers more than just Japan—she discovers pieces of herself she never knew were missing.
At the center of it all is Ren, Natsuki’s reserved older brother, whose calm presence conceals feelings too deep to name. Against the backdrop of cherry blossoms, cicadas, and soft Kyoto rain, Samantha finds herself caught in a tender triangle of loyalty, affection, and unspoken desire.
Goodreads Blurb:
Five people, three secrets, one planned proposal. What could possibly go wrong? A holiday in a luxury villa on Corfu sounds like the answer to all their prayers but it will change their lives forever. A week in paradise might not be long enough……..
Goodreads Blurb:
A woman who lives by her senses. A man who lives by logic. Sometimes the chemistry is just right.
Brooke Nesbitt has a genius for fragrances. She infuses her artisan soap with beautiful scents, and follows her nose through life, relying on her intuition to tell her what’s true. The last thing she’s going to do is fall for a hard-headed lawyer, even if he smells like a sultry tropical night.
Theo Chambers has built his legal career on evidence and facts. He doesn’t care about truth. He cares about what he can prove in court. He’s not going to fall for an airhead client, especially one who smells like sunlight and possibilities.
When a rival accuses Brooke of making toxic soap, she needs Theo’s help to clear her name. Theo wants to win this case as quickly as possible, because Brooke is scrambling his senses with her delicious fragrances, making it hard to think of anything but desire.
As the legal case heats up, so does their relationship. Logically, Brooke and Theo are all wrong for each other. So why do their hearts tell them it’s right?
Amazon Blurb:
After three years of grief, Dr. Winifred Aldridge has perfected the art of existing—until a wheelbarrow full of compost and an exuberant gardener named Ethel Whitfield shatter her carefully preserved life.
At seventy-two, Winnie never expected to feel desire again. At sixty-nine, Ethel never expected to experience real love. But in a San Francisco community garden, among tomato plants and bleeding hearts, two widows discover that it’s never too late to bloom.
Goodreads Blurb:
In post-war England, Lady Eleanor Ashworth returns to her crumbling estate, a hollow widow expected to remarry. But in the overgrown gardens, she discovers Edith Fairweather—the gardener’s daughter who makes Eleanor feel alive for the first time. As they work side by side, restoring beauty from ruins, an impossible love blooms. Choosing each other means losing family, security, respectability. Together, they flee to the Scottish Highlands to build a life on their own terms—hidden but real, precarious but precious.
Goodreads Blurb:
Five years ago, a miscommunication destroyed their summer romance. Now software developer Willow Bennett and landscape architect Mabel Ashford are forced to collaborate on a virtual reality project—three thousand miles and eight time zones apart. As video calls blur professional boundaries, they uncover the broken phones and wrong addresses stole their happy ending, not lack of love. Navigating career pressures, international complications, and the fear of falling again, they must decide if love is worth fighting for across an ocean. Because sometimes the greatest distance isn’t measured in miles—it’s measured in the courage to try again.
Goodreads Blurb:
Not going to lie. There are some perks to being a rock star.
The money, the adoring fans, the grammy—rubbing it in my ex’s beautiful face.
Five years ago April Rain dumped me after her celebrity father convinced her that I—a lowly law student—wasn’t rich or famous enough to date a pop star.
Now everything has changed. She’s left the spotlight and I’ve made a name for myself.
Can’t say I mind watching her squirm as I flirt with her friends at my beach house or catch her sneakily checking me out when she thinks I’m not looking.
The only drawback? We’re expected to sing a duet at my best friend’s wedding.
How am I supposed to write a love song with the woman who broke my heart? How to keep pretending that I’m over her?
Amazon Blurb:
When Quinn Ashford walks into a small-town cafe after forty-five years away, she comes face-to-face with Tilly Morrison—the woman she loved at seventeen and never forgot. Separated by their parents’ cruelty and lost letters, both women married others and built full lives. Now widowed and in their sixties, they’re given an impossible second chance. Can first love survive decades apart? In this heartwarming elder romance, two women prove it’s never too late for happiness, rekindling their passionate connection and reclaiming the future stolen from them. A story of patience, courage, and love that transcends time.
After twenty years together, Alice and Elsie should be celebrating. Instead, they’re wondering if they’ve become strangers sharing a house. On the eve of their anniversary ceremony, a midnight conversation forces them to confront a terrifying are they still in love, or just too comfortable to leave?
It looks like I picked 11 books. I hope it’s ok? After all, I’m the one who is reading them.
Alex
Mybookworld24 