Top Ten Tuesday – Love is in the Air (and in these book titles)
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 a Love Freebie, so I decided to take it literally and look for book titles on my shelves that have the word “Love” in them. It was a little more challenging than I was expecting, so I instead ended up with a mix of books from my shelves and some upcoming releases that I want to read.
10 Books with Love in the Title
1. A BRUSH WITH LOVE by Mazey Eddings
2. LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren
3. DONUT FALL IN LOVE by Jackie Lau
4. THE LOVE CON by Seressia Glass
5. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood
6. LOVE & GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch
7. LOVE ON THE BRAIN by Ali Hazelwood
8. HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR by Sophie Sullivan
9. THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION by Elena Armas
10. WITH LOVE FROM LONDON by Sarah Jio
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Question: Have you read any of these? Can you think of any other titles with LOVE in them?
Reviews: WITH LOVE FROM LONDON & COUNT YOUR LUCKY STARS
Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty quiet. I did a few chores, read a little, and took a least a couple of accidental naps, lol. Work has had me super busy so I guess my body was telling me it needed to recharge. Anyway, I’ll be blog hopping today to catch up on what I missed while I was napping. Today I’m sharing two wonderful reads that I enjoyed this week. One came out last week and the other comes out this week so if they sound good to you, you won’t have long to wait to pick up a copy. 🙂
With Love from London Goodreads Author: Sarah Jio
Publication Date: February 8, 2022
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Based on the number of tears I cried by the time I got to the end of Sarah Jio’s new novel, With Love from London, I think it’s safe to say this book is going to end up on my Best of 2022 list. Happy tears, sad tears, angry tears – I cried them all.
The story follows Valentina Baker, a librarian who is at a crossroads in her life. She is recently divorced and has inherited a bookshop in London from her estranged mother, Eloise. Valentina hasn’t seen her mother since she was 12 and her mother abandoned her to move to London, so it’s bittersweet news to hear that her mother is gone and there’s no chance for a reconciliation or even an explanation as to why she left her child and never tried to contact her again. As Valentina heads to London to settle her mother’s affairs and decide what to do about the bookshop, she also decides it’s time to learn more about who her mother was and why she left. Unbeknownst to Valentina, Eloise has put together a special scavenger hunt for her that will allow her to learn everything she wants to know.
What I especially adored about this book is that we are given both Valentina’s and Eloise’s perspective. Even though I started out thinking what an awful, coldhearted woman Eloise must have been, as soon as I started learning her story and why she did what she did, my heart just broke for her and I just felt so angry on her behalf. We learn the truth about why Eloise left before Valentina does and that lends a sense of urgency. I desperately wanted Valentina to hurry up and solve all the clues so that she knew the truth about her mother and how much she truly did love her. In that sense, both Eloise’s and Valentina’s stories were equally compelling and engaging.
It was a given that I would love the quaint London bookshop setting and I just knew that Valentina would have second thoughts about selling the building as soon as she laid eyes on what her mother had created. The bookshop is also where the scavenger hunt begins and what a special hunt it is. It takes Valentina all around the local community so that she meets and befriends so many wonderful people who knew and loved her mother. I’m a sucker for books that feature found families and that’s exactly what Valentina finds in London. All of the characters she meets are great too – from her mom’s stern but loveable best friend Millie, to the fun and quirky tenant who lives above the bookshop, and so many more. They all immediately treat her like the family she never really had, which really makes her question whether or not she really even wants to return to her old life, where she was just lonely and unhappy.
There is a bit of romance in the book, but for me, With Love from London is more about Valentina’s journey to know her mother than anything else. It’s a beautifully written story about the unbreakable bond that is mother-daughter love. 5 STARS
Count Your Lucky Stars (Written in the Stars, #3) Goodreads
Author: Alexandria Bellefleur
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
Publisher: Avon and Harper Voyager
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Nothing makes my heart sing more than a second chance romance so I couldn’t resist requesting Alexandria Bellefleur’s latest novel, Count Your Lucky Stars, as soon as I saw that it’s a contemporary romance about two former best friends who might be the key to each other’s second chance at love. I’m so glad I did too! To sum it up in 3 words, this book was sweet, swoony, and steamy!
Margot Cooper has sworn off relationships. Casual hookups are great, but no thanks to anything that involves love and a commitment. Margot has been fine with that for a while, but now that everyone in her friend group seems to have found their special someone, she feels more and more like she’s on the outside looking in. Those feelings intensify as the wedding plans for her friends Brendan and Annie are in full swing and love and romance are in the air 24/7.
When Margot comes face to face with Brendan’s wedding planner, however, her world gets turned upside down. The wedding planner is none other than Olivia Grant, Margot’s childhood best friend and first love. They haven’t seen each other in a decade, but the moment their eyes meet, it’s clear the feelings and the chemistry are still there. The only question is whether Margot will be brave enough to give love another chance.
I really loved watching Margot and Olivia rediscover each other. They’ve been out of touch for so long, and Olivia is recently divorced so, like Margot, she’s feeling vulnerable when it comes to love. The progression of their relationship felt very natural as we learn about their history together and watch them get reacquainted. I especially loved the change in Margot, who we meet in the earlier books in the series. She typically comes across as snarky, blunt, and downright hilarious so it was fun to finally see her softer side come out with Olivia.
While Count Your Lucky Stars could probably be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the first two books in the series before diving into this latest installment as those books introduce everyone in Margot’s friend group and how each of them ended up with their special someone. Reading the books in order had me completely invested in every character in the friend group, which made Count Your Lucky Stars all the more special for me. The writing is wonderful, the characters are lovable and their romances are all so moving. I flew through all three books in less than a week. I don’t know if there will be more books in the Written in the Stars series, but if not, I think Count Your Lucky Stars is a very satisfying conclusion. 4 STARS
Blog Tour Review: Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson, Alana Quintana Albertson 
Published by Berkley Books on February 1, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Retelling
Pages: 304
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
As you can probably tell from its name, Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson is a retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Julieta Campos is a gifted chef who specializes in seafood based Mexican dishes. She and her mother own a restaurant in Barrios Logan. They have both sacrificed a lot to keep their restaurant open, but when Ramón Montez and his father, who own the Taco King fast food chain, buys up the entire street their restaurant is located on, they know their days as restaurant owners are numbered. It stings all the more because the fish taco recipe Ramón’s father used to build his Taco King empire is one he stole from Julieta’s mother years ago. Needless to say, the Campos hate the Montez.
Ramón and Julieta have no idea their families hate each other when they first meet at the local Dia de los Muertos celebration. Ramón helps Julieta properly honor her recently deceased father after she misses the official procession to the cemetery. Then he proceeds to serenade Julieta with romantic Mexican ballads. The chemistry between them is undeniable and they can’t wait to see each other again. That is, until Julieta realizes who Ramón is. Even though she has very strong feelings for Ramón and he feels the same attraction, how can they possibly be together when his father betrayed her mother? Not to mention the fact that he’s now her landlord and wants to turn her beautiful little restaurant and the other Mexican-American owned businesses on the block into Taco Kings and Starbucks.
I really loved Albertson’s contemporary romantic spin on the original Romeo and Juliet. The obstacles that threaten to tear Ramón and Julieta apart, while modern in nature, are still essentially the same obstacles Romeo and Juliet faced. If Ramón wants to be with Julieta, he cannot strip her beloved community of its culture, which means he must stand up to his father. If Julieta wants to be with Ramón, she has to convince her mother that Ramón is not like his father, but she also has to face the fact that she may lose her business because of his family, as well as the love of her community since they will brand her a traitor if she chooses him. They both have very tough decisions to make. Do they choose each other or do they remain loyal to their families?
What I also loved about this take on Romeo and Juliet was that aside from the drama surrounding the star-crossed lovers, there’s also a much lighter element to the story and that involves the Mexican food and the infusion of Mexican culture. I loved the author’s vivid descriptions of both the incredible sounding fish tacos Julieta was known for, and of the Dia de los Muertos festivities and costumes. She brought it to life in such a way that I felt like I was there and a part of the wonderful community vibe. She also had me seriously craving beer battered fish tacos, haha!
The big question though is that even though Ramón and Julieta is technically a contemporary romance, can a contemporary romance that is inspired by a Shakespearean tragedy have a happily ever after? You’ll have to pick up a copy of Ramón and Julieta if you want to find out!
About Alana Quintana Albertson
Alana Albertson is a multi-award winning author, current President of Romance Writers of America’s Contemporary Romance Chapter and the former President of both Romance Writers of America’s Young Adult and Chick Lit chapters. Alana Albertson holds a Masters of Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, Alana currently writes contemporary romance, new adult and young adult fiction. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and four dogs. When she’s not spending her time playing with her sons, dancing, or saving dogs from high kill shelters through Pugs N Roses, the rescue she founded, she can be found watching episodes Homeland, Devious Maids, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.