Best of 2018: Historical Books

Welcome to my annual “best-of” celebration! I’m changing it up a bit and separating the categories of my yearly best-of lists over a few days. All of this is to celebrate their distinction and spend a few more days talking about all the wonderful entertainment of 2018.

Day 1. Best of 2018: Novellas

Day 2. Best of 2018: Historical Books

Day 3. Best of 2018: Contemporary Books

Day 4. Goodbye 2018 & Looking Ahead

Today is all about HISTORICAL BOOKS. While I dearly love historical fiction, I have read less of it this year. At any rate, these are the favorites from my list!

The rules: sometimes I have to make boundaries for myself when it comes to talking about books because we would all be here a long time if were able to ramble on. SO, I’m sticking to my format of last year and choosing to share 3 things that describe each of these stories along with a link to Goodreads and my review. In no particular order…

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Murder at the Flamingo by Rachel McMillan | Review

Jazz. Grace. Friendship

Impossible Saints by Clarissa Harwood | Review

Suffrage. Romance. Purpose.

Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof | Review

Brotherhood. Atmospheric. Poignant.

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz | Review

Liberty. Honor. Love.

The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews | Review

Arrangements. Mystery. Forgiveness

A Heart Revealed by Josi S. Kilpack | Review

Worth. Growth. Kindness.

My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge by Pepper Basham | Review coming in January!

Family. Tenderness. Hope.

Your turn! What were your favorite historical reads of 2018? Have you read any of these?

“Fall Time, Cozy Time” Book Tag

While it’s looking a little more like winter every day, I’m still wanting to be in the fall frame of mind. I just love all the cozy things of the fall and winter seasons, including reading books by the fire!

This book tag is one I saw on my friend Rissi’s BookTube channel and blog. Though I’m not following the video format, I still thought this was a cute tag and a way to talk about all the cozy things with the prompts!

Fall Time, Cozy Time Book Tag

1: Crunching Leaves: “The world is full of color – choose a book that has reds/oranges/yellows on the cover.”

How about a red, orange, and yellow cover?

Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay | Still Life by Dani Pettrey

When You Look at Me by Pepper Basham

2: Cozy Sweater: “It’s finally cool enough to don warm cozy clothing: what book gives you the  warm fuzzies?” 

Oh my goodness, a recent favorite that gave me the warm fuzzies was the delightful contemporary romance Rose in Three Quarter Time by Rachel McMillan. Also, anything by Melissa Tagg or Courtney Walsh instantly belongs in this category.

3: Fall Storm: “The wind is howling & the rain is pounding – choose your favorite book OR genre that you like to read on a stormy day.” 

Genre: historical romance!

Something like Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof or The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews because they have such character depth, vibrant sense of place, etc

4: Cool Crisp Air: “What’s the coolest character you’d want to trade places with?”

Definitely Tzivia Khalon from Ronie Kendig’s “Tox Files” series because…… she’s strong. SUPER smart. An archaeologist. She’s often underestimated because she’s gorgeous, but she can and will kick butt if necessary.

5: Hot Apple Cider: “What under hyped book do you want to see become the next biggest, hottest thing?”

Recently…. Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh. Poignant, emotional, and REAL women’s fiction at its best. Because it’s an indie book, it might be a little under-the-radar for some readers who would really love it AND be blessed by its message. I hope YOU check it out!

6: Coat, Scarves, and Mittens: “The weather has turned cold & it’s time to cover up – What’s the most embarrassing book cover you own that you like to keep hidden in public?”

NONE! Maybe an older cover or two from 1990’s fiction that’s just not “appealing” by today’s standards, but otherwise, nope.

7: Pumpkin Spice: “What’s your favorite Fall time comfort food(s)?”

Anything with cinnamon. (But this is me all year longgggg.) I love all the baked things with cinnamon that seem to be season-appropriate, too. Apple pie, apple cinnamon doughnuts, cinnamon oatmeal, cinnamon cookies, spiced cranberry scones, cinnamon toast, and the list goes on…

YOUR TURN! What are your favorite things about fall? What would be your picks for these prompts? Join the tag if you want!

Let’s Talk Rereads!

Let’s talk about rereading favorite books! I’m going to ramble on about books for a bit, then ask YOUR opinion on rereading habits…..

I have several books I’d like to reread, but so many NEW books I want to read, too! #bookproblems

SO, I rarely reread a book, though I often enjoy them even more upon a second reading. Knowing certain surprises or twists are coming just makes me pay closer attention to the writing craft with foreshadowing, parallels, etc. I can count my complete rereads of books from the last couple years on 1 hand. They include: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann, Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz, The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall, and the 3 book “Price of Privilege” series by Jessica Dotta.

Sometimes I partially reread a book to refresh my memory. It’s helpful in continuing a series. Many times it starts when I sit down to reread a favorite scene and I end up skimming through a lot of the story again. Ha! This often happens when a Top Ten Tuesday topic needs a little research or quote. Or, when I just need to revisit a sweet moment, quote, or recipe from a fav author. (I’m talking about you all, Hillary Manton Lodge, Dawn Crandall, Pepper Basham, Rachel McMillan, and Katherine Reay.)

This past week, I reread an all-time favorite: The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton. After her newest novel, Many Sparrows, referenced and provided the backstory for some of the characters in TPOTL, I just had to pick it back up and continue with those characters. I had forgotten more details of that story than I realized, so rereading it was a treat once again! This time, I noticed the writing style and world-building (because as Lori says, historical settings do involve some major world building) in a different way, enjoying the scenery and the growth of Tamsen and Jesse all over again.

This brings me to my questions for YOU: Do you reread favorite books? What makes a book worthy of a reread? What have you reread recently?