Top Ten Tuesday – I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books that Make Me Hungry (They could have food items on the cover, foods in the title, be about foodies or have food as a main plot point… they could be cookbooks or memoirs, etc.). Even though my son has gone back to school, it is technically still summer. Temps are still hovering the 90s and ice cream has been on my mind so I thought it be fun to share some covers that feature ice cream on them.
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Books with Ice Cream on their Cover
(in no particular order)
LOVE& GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch
THE UNLIKELIES by Carrie Firestone
LOVE A LA MODE by Stephanie Kate Strohm
FULL SCOOP by Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes
THE ICE CREAM QUEEN OF ORCHARD STREET by Susan Jane Gilman
REVENGE, ICE CREAM, AND OTHER THINGS SERVED COLD by Katie Finn
SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE by Morgan Matson
THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING by Morgan Matson
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Have you read any of these? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Mine is ALL the flavors. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – Questions I Would Ask My Favorite Authors
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Questions I Would Ask My Favorite Authors. This is a fun topic, mainly just because I loved even imagining the possibility of interviewing any of my favorite authors. Assuming that I wouldn’t just turn into a blubbering fangirl mess at the idea of actually talking to them, these are some questions I’d love to know the answers to. I made one list of questions, but the authors I’d most love to ask them to are Victoria Schwab, Leigh Bardugo, Kristin Hannah, Alice Hoffman, Judy Blume, Marie Lu, Rick Riordan, and Becky Albertalli.
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Questions I Would Ask My Favorite Authors
- If you had to pick a favorite characters from all of the books you’ve written, who would you choose and why?
- Which of your books are you most proud of and why?
- What do you find to be the easiest part of the writing process? The hardest?
- Do you miss any of the characters from your books? If so and you could write an epilogue for them, what do you see them doing now?
- Do you have any interesting writing quirks or rituals you would like to share?
- Have you always wanted to be a writer? If you hadn’t become a writer, what do you think you would be doing for a living instead?
- What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
- What is your all time favorite book? Tell me why it’s so special to you.
- If you could give an aspiring author one single piece of advice, what would you tell them?
- And a silly one just to wrap up – what’s your favorite food to snack on while you’re writing?
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Question: Who’s an author you would love to interview?
Review: YOU LUCKY DOG by Julia London
You Lucky Dog by Julia London 
Published by Berkley Romance on August 25, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Thanks so much to Brittanie from Berkley for inviting me to take part in Berkley’s 2020 Romance blog tour. Today I’m excited to share my thoughts with you on You Lucky Dog by Julia London.
*****
Julia London’s latest novel, You Lucky Dog, is the perfect choice if you’re looking for a light read filled with dogs, a little romance (including the sweetest meet-cute), and some hilarious dysfunctional family fun. The story follows Carly and Max, who meet when their beloved basset hounds are accidentally swapped in an incident involving a pot-selling dog walker and an ill-timed encounter with the police. Although their initial meeting is somewhat awkward because of the circumstances, two things become clear right away: 1) Their dogs, Baxter and Hazel, clearly adore each other, and 2) Carly and Max are attracted to one another as well.
The timing couldn’t be worse for either of them though. Carly is an up and coming publicist who is desperately trying to build her brand and grow her clientele, while Max is a professor of neurology at the local university who is working hard in hopes of achieving tenure this year. Carly is also dealing with her dysfunctional divorced parents, while Max has his hands full helping his dad care for his brother, Jamie, who has autism. Even with all of those obstacles in their path, however, after a couple of doggie play dates, Max and Carly can’t deny their attraction any longer and hope they can figure out a way to make things work even though it feels like the deck is stacked against them.
*****
I really loved both main characters in You Lucky Dog. Carly definitely has her hands full with some pretty quirky and moody clients, but I admired her persistence and determination as she continued to push to make things happen for herself. Max is literally the sweetest guy and in addition to loving the way he cares for his dog (and for Carly’s), I also adored the scenes with Max and his brother. Max is such a good brother to Jamie and it just warmed my heart to watch the two of them together. I also, of course, adored Carly and Max together. At first I was hesitant because it felt a little like insta-love but seriously how can you not bond while watching your adorable basset hounds frolic in the park together? Scenes like that sold me on their growing chemistry pretty quickly and I was rooting for them to get together, in part because I wanted Baxter and Hazel to have their own happily ever after.
In addition to the cute factor, there’s also a healthy dose of family drama to balance out the reading experience. Carly’s mother is having a sexual reawakening, which is downright hilarious at times until her awakening actually threatens Carly and Max’s relationship and lends an almost star-crossed lovers vibe to the story. Don’t let that scare you off if you need a happy ending though. The story is meant to be a rom-com so you know what that means. 😊
If you’re into dogs, meet cutes, and romance, with a side of family drama to keep things interesting, You Lucky Dog is a perfect fit for you.
About Julia London
Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming.
Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.
She lives in Austin, Texas.