Top 10 Tuesday: Books with Handwriting on the Cover

Top Ten Tuesday was created byย The Broke and the Bookishย in June of 2010 and was moved toย That Artsy Reader Girlย in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This weekโ€™s topic is Books with Handwriting on the Cover. (Or fonts that look like handwriting. Titles, subtitles, covers with letters on them, etc.)

1. Darling Venom by Parker S. Huntington (5 stars)

Note: This is the Dark & Quirky special edition.

2. Regretting You by Colleen Hoover (4 stars)

3. Devious Lies (Cruel Crown #1) by Parker S. Huntington (3 stars)

Note: This is the Belle Box special edition.

4. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (5 stars)

5. But I Love Him by Amanda Grace (3 stars)

6. The Name Drop by Susan Lee (TBR)

7. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han (5 stars)

8. Problematic Summer Romance (Not in Love #2) by Ali Hazelwood (TBR)

9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (TBR)

10. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (TBR)


Since there are loads of books out there with fonts that look like handwriting, I challenged myself to find books among my collection that had letters/paper on the cover, too.

Goodreads | Storygraph

Top 10 Tuesday: Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday was created byย The Broke and the Bookishย in June of 2010 and was moved toย That Artsy Reader Girlย in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This weekโ€™s topic is Books I Canโ€™t Believe Iโ€™ve Never Read.

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

2. The Poppy War Series by R.F. Kuang

3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

6. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8. The Giver by Lois Lowry

9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


The reactions I get when I say I’ve never read (or seen) Harry Potter makes me feel like I bring shame to the millennial generation every time TT. Do we share any books on this list?

Goodreads | Storygraph

Top 10 Tuesday: My Favorite Books by 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 of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This weekโ€™s topic is My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors (Pick your ten favorite authors and your favorite book written by each one of them.) (submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext). All of these books are 5 star reads for me.

1. Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice

2. Danielle L. Jensen – The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1)

3. Ava Reid – Juniper & Thorn

4. Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)

5. Rebecca Ross – Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)

6. L.M. Montgomery – Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables #3)

7. Robin Jones Gunn – Yours Forever (Christy Miller #3)

8. Diana Gabaldon – Outlander (Outlander #1)

9. Meg Cabot – Princess in Love (The Princess Diaries #3)

10. Rachel Gillig – One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1)


Honorable Mentions: Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series (all 5 stars), Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series, and Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series.

Goodreads | Storygraph

Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

โ€œand Iโ€™m not afraid to be alone, but iโ€™m tired of being the one left behind.โ€

rebecca ross


Series:ย Letters of Enchantment #1

Release Date:ย April 4th 2023

Publisher:ย Wednesday Books

Genre:ย Young Adult Fiction | Historical Fiction | Fantasy | Romance

Page Count:ย 368

Source:ย Purchased

Goodreads Summary: After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring againโ€ฆ

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Irisโ€™s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Irisโ€™s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands โ€“ that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper โ€“ an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

Thoughts:

there are some books in this world that i’m convinced hold a touch of magic in them.ย divine rivalsย is undoubtedly one of them. with its backdrop of a war of the gods featuring recruitment reminiscent of the draft,ย divine rivalsย is thrilling from beginning to end. ross immediately draws the reader’s heart to the FMC’s woes as she struggles to make her way in a war-torn world with a brother fighting at the front and a mother who drowns her worries in alcohol. setting up a rivalry between the FMC and LI, the chemistry between the characters is palpable from the start as they both endeavor to win a columnist post at their local newspaper. but when magical typewriters create a bond between the rivals as they start to send letters anonymously to each other, their chemistry deepens into a romantic, charming tale that drowns the trials in their lives. when they both leave for the front as war correspondents, the plot propels forward, tugging at your heartstrings as the characters experience the tragedies of war. this book beautifully handles a plethora of relevant themes: the cost of war, guilt, grief, addiction, abandonment, poverty, parental disapproval, hope, love, friendship, and so much more. and its unique blend of historical fiction and fantasy romance offers so much to many types of readers. this is a solid favorite of mine and something i can see myself returning to over and over again as a comfort read.

Rating:

Goodreads | Storygraph

Top 10 Tuesday: May Flowers (Books with Flowers on the Cover)

Top Ten Tuesday was created byย The Broke and the Bookishย in June of 2010 and was moved toย That Artsy Reader Girlย in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This weekโ€™s topic is May Flowers (Interpreted however youโ€™d like). Here is my list of books that have flowers on their cover. These are all books from my TBR list.

1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

2. The Dating Plan (Marriage Game #2) by Sara Desai

3. Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After #1) by Emiko Jean

4. Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout #1) by Lucy Score

5. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

6. All’s Fair in Love and War (Miss Prentice’s Protogees #1) by Virginia Heath

7. The Plus One (A Brush with Love #3) by Mazey Eddings

8. Never Ever After (Never Ever After #1) by Sue Lynn Tan

9. Dream On by Angie Hockman

10. How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days (A Lady’s Guide #3) by Sophie Irwin


Have you read any of these books? Is there one I should prioritize over the others?

Goodreads | Storygraph

Review: The Regency Switch by Helen Gaskell

“you have made my world brighter with every part of you.”

helen gaskell


Series:ย Standalone

Release Date:ย February 26th 2026

Publisher:ย HQ Digital

Genre:ย Adult Fiction | Historical Fiction | Regency | Contemporary Fiction | Romance

Page Count:ย 312

Source: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Goodreads Summary: Etta Moore expects nothing more from a Tuesday than another dull day in the office. But when her morning commute ends in Regency England, she is forced to accept the she and her ancestor Miss Henrietta Bainbridge โ€“ or โ€˜Mad Hettyโ€™, as sheโ€™s known amongst the ton โ€“ have switched bodies.

Suddenly Etta and Hetty must get to grips with the new worlds they find themselves in. For Etta, itโ€™s goodbye to dating apps and the daily commute and hello to the list of things โ€˜Ladies Do Notโ€™ do. Luckily the dashing Lord Stanhope is on hand to aid her through even the most shocking of faux pas.

Meanwhile Hetty, who has always felt unseen and unknown, finds her truest self blossoming with the help of 21st century medicine and the most welcome attentions of her rather beautiful Adult Learning teacher, Stella.

Two hundred years away from everything theyโ€™ve ever known, might Etta and Hetty have actually found a place where they each truly belong?

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

Thoughts:

interesting, witty, and full of life, this book puts a quirky spin on the classic historical romance novel. featuring two FMCs that couldn’t be more different from each other, it was fascinating to read as they learned to navigate the new time period they found themselves in after The Switch. the pacing of the novel was seamless, bouncing between the Regency time period of 1817 and the modern time of 2023 at the perfect intervals to reconnect with our FMCs. the romances gave a great variety, with one featuring an electric chemistry while the other featured a sweeter romance. the novel also provides commentary on societal expectations, mental health, and human rights. some of the characterizations were a bit frustrating, particularly the way etta spoke at length multiple times about her love of historical romance books and shows, yet she committed multiple faux pas that she should have known wouldn’t be appropriate in the time period she found herself in. it also felt a bit offputting that the FMCs don’t respect bodily autonomy and make life-altering choices in bodies that do not belong to them. if you can set aside the bits of the novel that don’t really make sense, this is still a quick, engaging read for someone who wants a spin on a classic Regency romance.

Rating:

Goodreads | Storygraph

Places My Books Have Taken Me | April 2026

Places My Books Have Taken Me is a Monthly Meme hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog where we take a look at all the places that our books have taken us that month. Click on the book titles to see my reviews for each.

1. Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross

Places: Oath, Cambria & Avalon Bluff, Cambria (Fantasy)

Rating: 5 stars

2. Pride Comes Before a Fall (Miss Prentice’s Protogees #3) by Virginia Heath

Place: Regency Era Bath, England, UK & Mayfair, London, England, UK

Rating: 3.5 stars

3. Ruthless Vows ( Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross

Places: Avalon Bluff, Cambria; Oath, Cambria; River Down, Cambria & Hawk Shire, Cambria (Fantasy)

Rating: 4 stars

4. A Deal with a Debutante (London’s Most Eligible #1) by Chelsea Bobulski

Places: Edwardian Era Hampshire, England, UK & Mayfair, London, England, UK

Rating: 4 stars

5. Without a Clue by Melissa Ferguson

Place: Miami, Florida, USA; Luxury Cruise Boat to Barcelona, Spain

Rating: 4 stars


Have you read any of these books? What was your favorite book you read in April?

Goodreads | Storygraph