Time to spring clean! I shifted a few shelves in my TBR (To Be Read) section, and discovered some extremely exciting and swoonworthy books I'm ashamed to say I haven't read! Don't judge, I'm sure you also have *cough* hundreds waiting for you, too. My excuse is I think mine multiply in the dark at night, being romances and all.
But omigosh, I found so much treasure waiting for me.
First up, the very patient and lovely Narelle Atkins sent me her inspirational Snowgum Creek series some time ago. I love Narelle. She's an inspiration not only in her books but in her life, and I feel terrible I haven't read this gorgeous sweet series yet. Now I've unearthed them I can't wait to start. The first sentence refers to runaway bride Kate: She had to escape now!... Wow, what an opener. Thanks so much Narelle. (Sorry I've taken so long!)
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| Picture credit: amazon.com |
Next, I discovered four beautiful bride books by Nora Roberts. Gasp! New-to-me Nora books, unread - happy day! I feel like someone just gave me a birthday present! Everyone loves a bride book, don't they? Oh, the utter romance and wonderful-ness of a wedding. The first in the quartet - yes, four bride books with four wedding planner friends, is Vision in White. This is going to be good...
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| Picture credit: amazon.com |
What next? Happily, readers, I won the following book in a competition from the fabulous Catherine Evans - oh dear, yes, a while ago. Never read but not forgotten. It's a spectacular 3-in-1 anthology, a teeny weeny hard to find now, so absolute gold on my shelf. Catherine's story is called The Healing Season, and there are books by Jennie Jones: A Heart Stuck on Hope, and Lisa Ireland: Honey Hill House. So much rural romance goodness in one book! Lucky, lucky me.
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| Picture credit: Catherine Evans |
Here's a rediscovered blast from the past: Heartstrings by beloved author Rebecca Paisley. I found not one, not two, but three copies on my shelf. (Super reluctantly let one precious paper copy go because I do have an ebook as well...) Time to reread this little gem, published back in the 1990s. Not that I was alive then or anything. 😉 (Yes, I was.) This is a wild west story, where a prim spinster hires a wild west tough guy to sire her baby, so she can give the little one to her childless sister. So much tenderness and fierce family love right there. There's also a talking parrot that reduced me to helpless laughter every time it opened its mouth. Beak. I love this book, so it's going back onto the TBR pile. I'm sure it'll stand the test of time.
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| Picture credit: amazon.com |
I'm going to cheat here and at least claim some success with my TBR. I plucked forth and enjoyed a recent Aussie historical romance, Alison Stuart's splendid The Postmistress, mainly because the next book in the series, The Goldminer's Sister has also just been released. The loosely linked books are set on the Australian goldfields in the 1870s. Yes please, I simply can't get enough of that era. It was truly a fascinating slice of history and romance, with lots of colourful characters, an intrepid heroine, and the best and the worst of the Australian bush thrown in. Such gripping reading, thanks Alison.
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| Picture credit: amazon.com |
Last but not least, there's a brand new addition to the TBR I'm very excited about. I won a book from wonderful Aussie author Darry Fraser - Elsa Goody, Bushranger, set in 1896 South Australia. Our Elsa appears to be on a quest for buried treasure, and her freedom, and embarks on a perilous quest to find Ezekial Jones, the last man to see her brother alive. More exciting colonial history. Thank you Darry, you wonderful author you, and also thanks to Alli Sinclair, who featured the comp for the book on her blog. Lucky me.
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| Picture credit: amazon.com |
So! Do you have a massive, teetering, years old TBR pile like me? Or are you one of those brilliant readers who manages to read everything on your shelf before you get distracted by more shiny new romance?
Confess.... No judging here.
Lots of love dear readers, and please stay safe and well,
Miranda xxx
Love to Love:
My TBR. True treasures await. You?
Love to Laugh:
At funny books, like Heartstrings. You?
Love to Learn:
How you manage your TBR. Random/blind selections, whatever suits your mood, or another method?
Hi Miranda, Thanks for sharing my book in your post. One day I’ll get all my Heartsong books back into print (I’m thankful I have the rights back). And, one day I’ll make progress on shortening my tbr list. The print book pile is not too big, but the ebook tbr list is ridiculously long. I like binge reading series and tend to wait for whole the series to be published before I start book 1. :)
ReplyDeleteNarelle! Thanks so much for stopping by, so lovely to hear from you! I agree with your series binge reading efforts, actually. Nothing better than sitting down *knowing* you have an entire series at your fingertips, ready to roll. Nothing worse than getting to the end of, say, Bk 2 in a 3 book series and having to wait a year or similar. Always such a long wait! Although with some authors, like our lovely Anne Gracie, I simply cannot wait and dive in anyway. Keep writing Narelle, you are an inspiration and wonderful to read.
DeleteAnd P.S. my ebook TBR is probably much bigger than even I know... Ah well...
DeleteHello Miranda! So happy you enjoyed Elsa and co as she sets out on her quest. I had great fun writing the book, and loved the um, research road trip. Thanks for having Elsa on your blog xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Darry, thanks so much for stopping by! To be honest I haven't read Elsa just yet, but she's right up the top of my TBR pile because I'm loving the Australian history setting ATM - between you and Alison Stuart, I'm a happy reader. Congratulations on all your books, absolutely wonderful to read - keep writing and I'll keep reading!
DeleteHi Miranda! I'm so glad you won a copy of Darry's fabulous book. Happy reading (and hi Darry!)!
DeleteAlli, I was so thrilled to win, thankyou so much! I love it when that happens, especially when it's a book I've had my eye on but my purse has its woes... I find romance authors are always so generous with time, books and encouragement. Lucky us as readers, and lucky for the romance writing community. Thankyou.
DeleteMy TBR pile is typical I think from reading the other comments. If only I didn't have a day job all the reading I could do, but alas. I actually think I would be a little anxious if I didn't have a pile of books ready to read. I think there is a name for that.
ReplyDeleteCassandra, I cannot even begin to imagine the terror of having no books to read! It's bad enough when suddenly I'm caught at an appointment and realise it's going to take far longer than I thought, and the wait will be looonnnng and I finish my book too soon. All I can say is thank goodness for the Kindle app on my phone! A library at my fingertips. I do believe the word for the fear of running out of reading material is ABIBLIOPHOBIA. There you are. We are two abibliophiles. A good duo!
DeleteThank you, Miranda. I’m delighted you enjoyed THE POSTMISTRESS ❤️ I think there will be a third Maiden’s Creek book so keep an eye out!
ReplyDeleteAlison, what excellent news to hear on a wet and drizzly day in Sydney! How exciting! Something very special to look forward to. Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteThank you, Miranda, for showcasing Last Chance Country.
ReplyDeleteMy TBR pile(s) is ever-growing and teetering crazily in many many places! So many ways to have books now - physical books, then those on all the apps on all the devices. I have piles everywhere. It's book heaven!
Happy reading through the piles,
Catherine xo
Catherine, so pleased you popped in to say hi! I'm desperately pleased to have books everywhere too. Book heaven, as you say. Nothing could please me more. Every time I think I've reduced the TBR, somehow they grow again - and I couldn't be happier. So glad to hear you've got piles everywhere, as every author should... !
DeleteHi Miranda. My TBR pile is way way too big and I worry I'll never get through it, especially as it seems to grow more and more all the time. I will admit to having favourite authors whose books I read the moment I buy them (E.g. Nora Roberts. And, yes, I read the Bride Quartet series. Gorgeous stories).
ReplyDeleteOh Enisa, I was absolutely sure you'd read Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet, being such a NR fan yourself. Somehow or other they got pushed behind some books and then... lost until now! But sometimes that's a very happy discovery, finding such pleasures in your immediate future to read. I think we all seem to accumulate more books than we can read. Ah well, that's my happy place, surrounded by books.
DeleteHi Miranda,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have a large TBR pile. Thanks for the recommendations. My pile just grew bigger. It must be time for a few days of solid reading. Bliss.
You said it, Sharon! A few days of solid reading IS bliss! So glad to hear you've got a pile, too, we are obviously not alone from all the comments. I just love being around people who love books and enjoy them and read them and pile them...and everything them... Happy sigh.
DeleteI love reading through your lists, Miranda! Really looking forward to the annual Christmas list and can't believe how close we are to December already. Loads of books on my TBR pile to enjoy between now and then as well.
ReplyDelete