{"id":829,"date":"2025-01-21T23:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T04:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eldritchechoes.wordpress.com\/?p=829"},"modified":"2025-01-21T23:45:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T04:45:17","slug":"top-ten-tuesday-1-21-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/2025\/01\/21\/top-ten-tuesday-1-21-25\/","title":{"rendered":"[Top Ten Tuesday] 1\/21\/25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish<\/a> and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ten Most Recent To-Be-Read Additions<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

(In no particular order)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. The Lace Widow (An Eliza Hamilton Mystery #1<\/a>) by Mollie Ann Cox<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Deanna Raybourn, taking us from the city\u2019s gilded mansions to its meanest streets, Mollie Ann Cox\u2019s debut historical mystery puts us at center stage in a time of grave political danger. Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York?

New York, 1804. America\u2019s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. One by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. As Hamilton\u2019s widow, Eliza, pieces together why, she unearths a heartbreaking secret and a dangerous lie that points to another murder\u2014unless she can prevent it.

Eliza\u2019s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before the duel and comes under suspicion for murder. Eliza searches for ways to clear her son\u2019s name, even as she is grieving. And as she combs through her late husband\u2019s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as Secretary of State. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family\u2014but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander\u2019s innocence?

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace\u2014and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York\u2019s high-society families. They know their dead husbands\u2019 secrets\u2014and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.

There\u2019s a dark plot connected with the duel, and there are some willing to kill to keep it a secret. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband\u2019s and son\u2019s names, but keep herself out of the killer\u2019s sights.<\/p>\n\n\n

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2. A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic (Adenashire #1<\/a>) by J. Penner<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A human, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bake-off\u2026

In the heart of Adenashire, where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, Arleta Starstone, a human confectionist works twice as hard perfecting her unique blend of baking and apothecary herbs.

So when an orc neighbor secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Elven Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma.

Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, this human will need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.

While competing, she’ll set off on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships and romance, while questioning whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize.

Escape to for a delightful cozy fantasy where every twist is a treat and every turn a step closer to home.<\/p>\n\n\n

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3. D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding.

Their whole relationship is fake.

Instant I Do\u00a0could be Kris Zavala\u2019s big break. She\u2019s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn\u2019t hurt, either.

D\u2019Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She\u2019s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs.

All they have to do is convince their friends and family they\u2019re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they\u2019re not for real, they\u2019re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it\u2019s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake. \u00a0\u00a0

But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money\u2019s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn\u2019t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. A Dance Towards Forever (The French Connection #1<\/a>) by Alyson Root<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A lesbian romance of second chance love.<\/strong>

There are three things that Sam Chambers knows to be fact. One, her heart is broken, two, her career is sinking, and three, she hasn\u2019t a clue how to turn any of it around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


When her new boss John Spencer shakes things up at the photography company she works for, the last thing she expects is to be sent to Paris on a career changing project. Unbeknown to Sam, the brief glimpse of a dark-haired beauty at St Pancras is about to tip her world upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Anna Holland has the life she worked hard for. She\u2019s successful, she lives in the city of love and she is in a steady relationship with a nice guy. The problem? Her nights are filled with the vision of a red-haired woman. Nothing makes sense when the woman of her dreams shows up in Paris and her office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Together, they start a journey of exquisite discovery. Is there something more to their chance meeting? The unfathomable connection between them would suggest so.<\/p>\n\n\n

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5. Whispers of the Deep (Deep Waters #1<\/a>) by Emma Hamm<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

One of the many engineers that keeps Beta, the city under the sea, running, Mira only wants to make her family proud and to prove herself worthy. She knows the mysterious city better than anyone and it\u2019s her dream to help it flourish.

But then, on a solo job in an abandoned section of the city, she encounters a monster of legend. An undine. A dangerous merman from an ancient civilization, long forgotten.

Arges has fought his entire life for his people. With deadly creatures under his control, he plans to eradicate Beta once and for all to protect his kind and their peaceful way of life. But when a human woman saves him, she unknowingly creates a bond between them, one he can\u2019t ignore. Even though her flaming red hair haunts his dreams, he needs her for information on the undine\u2019s enemies.

So he steals her. Keeps her. Feeds her. Only to realize their bond is far deeper than captor and captive. He cannot let her go\u2014but he cannot keep her under the sea. In a battle to determine if love can survive a war beneath the waves, it will be their decision that changes the tides.<\/p>\n\n\n

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6. Dracula’s Bride (Immortal Monsters #1<\/a>) by Rebekah R. Ganiere<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Mina wants to escape her sheltered life. Blue needs\u00a0a fresh start. Together they might find the satisfaction they both crave.<\/em><\/strong>

Mina has spent the last five years being house servant to her three older siblings- Arthur, Quincey, and Lucy, under the thumb of her volatile Admiral father, But her entire life is changed in an instant–when she is almost run over by a mysterious black horse-drawn carriage.

Count Vlad \u201cBlue\u201d Draugr flees his castle in Transylvania after an unspeakable act draws too much attention his way. Now secluded in his rural English estate, he finds himself drawn to a most unlikely creature. The sweet and innocent Mina Van Deem from the neighboring estate.\u00a0

Unable to get her out of his thoughts Blue wants nothing more than to make her like him \u2013 a vampire. But Blue\u2019s thirst for blood keeps him from fully trusting himself to keep his fangs off her neck.\u00a0

In an act of desperation, Mina runs from her dysfunctional family and escapes to London. There she finds more than solitude in the sooty city streets that are alit with whispers of a string of recent bloody murders–she finds Blue, waiting for her, tempting her, stalking her. And as she falls deeper under his spell, Mina learns that some creatures lying in the shadows of London’s underbelly are more enticing than she ever thought possible.\u2028


Those who crave the dark\u00a0passion of Dracula and Crimson Peak, Dracula\u2019s Bride will be your new favorite.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. How Am I Doing?: 40 Conversations to Have with Yourself by Corey Yeager<\/a>, Cade Cunningham\u00a0(Foreword)<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Life is hard. But it gets a whole lot easier when you start to talk it out. In How Am I Doing?<\/em>, you’re invited into a series of conversations with yourself to improve your mental health as you discover your purpose, honor your story, and explore who you want to be.<\/strong>

Dr. Corey Yeager, psychotherapist for the NBA\u2019s Detroit Pistons and most recently featured on Oprah and Prince Harry’s\u00a0The Me You Can’t See<\/em>\u00a0on Apple TV+, offers you 40 questions to help you raise awareness of your thoughts and emotions and reconnect with who you want to be.

Over the course of these 40 conversations with yourself, you’re invited

Build trust with yourselfConsider how past traumas affect your life todayGrow a practice of positive self-talkLet go of guilt and regret from your pastDevelop mental health strategies for what to for moments when you’re depressed or anxiousIncrease your confidence and embrace your emotions\u00a0

Each of the 40 questions is paired with a short, thoughtful reflection from Dr. Yeager, along with prompts and self-care strategies to help you look at yourself in the mirror and come into alignment with who you want to be.

So join the conversation;\u00a0nothing is off-limits here<\/em>. Come check in with yourself and take these small, simple steps to journey toward a more honest and harmonious way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n

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8. The Wedding Witch (Graves Glen #3<\/a>) by Erin Sterling<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Bowen Penhallow has always been a loner, studying dark and ancient magic on a mountaintop in Wales. He prefers it that way, but when his friend Declan\u2014who happens to be a ghost\u2014asks him to attend a Yuletide wedding at a grand estate deep in the Welsh countryside, Bowen reluctantly agrees.

Tamsyn Bligh is not a witch, but she makes her living off of them. As a procurer and seller of magical items, Tamsyn\u2019s business is not always above board, but she\u2019s been trying to fix that (mostly.) Bowen is an occasional customer\u2014as well as the star of several of Tamsyn\u2019s dirtiest dreams\u2014but she\u2019s been around enough witches to know that, as a human, getting involved with one is not the smartest idea. She\u2019s finagled an invite to the Witchy Wedding of the Century in the hopes of finally making a score big enough to retire. Just one priceless magical artifact from Tywyll House would set her up for life.

But Tamsyn isn\u2019t the only one sneaking about in Tywyll House, and the mix of a very strong spell combined with a wedding mishap transports Bowen and Tamsyn into Tywyll House\u2019s past, to the Yuletide Celebration of 1957. As Bowen and Tamsyn work together to get back to the present, they must also face off with the origins of Tywyll House\u2019s haunting, the suspicions of their fellow witches\u2026oh, and the fact that somewhere between the mistletoe and the bonfire, they might be falling in love.<\/p>\n\n\n

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9. The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In this beguiling mid-century historical fiction novel set in 1960s Italy, an ambitious American actress and single mother snags the starring role in a mysterious horror movie shooting on location in a crumbling medieval castle outside Rome…<\/strong>

Readers who enjoy the moody gothic allure of Kate Morton and Silvia Moreno-Garcia or the immersive settings of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Davis will be enthralled by Kelsey James’ spellbinding web of intriguing mystery, family secrets, forbidden love, and mid-century Italian flair.

Rome, 1965:<\/em> Aspiring actress Silvia Whitford arrives at Rome’s famed Cinecitt\ufffd Studios from Los Angeles, ready for her big break and a taste of la dolce vita<\/em>. Instead, she learns that the movie in which she was cast has been canceled. Desperate for money, Silvia has only one choice: seek out the Italian aunt she has never met.

Gabriella Conti lives in a crumbling castello<\/em> on the edge of a volcanic lake. Silvia’s mother refuses to explain the rift that drove the sisters apart, but Silvia is fascinated by Gabriella, a once-famous actress who still radiates charisma. And the eerie castle inspires Silvia’s second chance when it becomes the location for a new horror movie, aptly named The Revenge of the Lake Witch<\/em>–and she lands a starring role.

Silvia immerses herself in the part of an ingenue tormented by the ghost of her beautiful, seductive ancestor. But when Gabriella abruptly vanishes, the movie’s make-believe terrors seep into reality. No one else on set seems to share Silvia’s suspicions. Yet as she delves into Gabriella’s disappearance, she triggers a chain of events that illuminate dark secrets in the past–and a growing menace in the present . . .<\/p>\n\n\n

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10. Unromance by Erin Connor<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Sawyer Greene knows romance. She\u2019s a bestselling author of the genre\u2014or she was, until her college girlfriend left her with nothing but writer\u2019s block and bitterness. So when Sawyer gets stuck in an elevator with a handsome stranger, she sees it for what it is: not<\/em> a meet-cute but a chance encounter with a charming man whom she will sleep with exactly once\u00a0and go on her way. Easy enough…until she runs into him again at a Christmas market straight out of a Hallmark holiday movie.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Are you looking forward to any of these titles or have read them yourself? I’d love to know your thoughts!! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Ten Most Recent To-Be-Read Additions (In no particular order) 1. The Lace Widow (An Eliza Hamilton Mystery #1) by Mollie Ann Cox Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Deanna Raybourn, taking us… Continue reading [Top Ten Tuesday] 1\/21\/25<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[193,311],"class_list":["post-829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","tag-memes","tag-top-ten-tuesday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":918,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions\/918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astral-stasis.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}