With Thanksgiving barely behind us and Christmas looming right ahead, you'd think I'd be able to come up with something festive for today's Top Ten Tuesday. You'd be wrong. Instead, I'm going to take a more summery slant on our prompt du jour—Top Ten Books Set in X (Pick a setting and share books that are all set there. This could be a specific continent or country, a state, in outer space, underwater, on a ship or boat, at the beach, etc.)—and go with the suggested boat/ship setting. Even though I get terrible motion sickness, especially on water vessels, this is a setting I actually quite enjoy in books. Something about the combination of feelings that ensues just appeals to me: the excitement of an impending voyage, the wonder and fear of what lies below in the fathomless depths of the sea, the claustrophobia of being trapped in a floating tin can with a group of strangers you don't know if you can trust, etc. This summer will find me and my husband on our first cruise, traveling to Alaska, and I don't know what to expect. Hopefully, nothing like what happens in the books on my list (most of which are mystery/thriller novels)!

If you're not aware, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over and give her some love, won't you?

1. Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith—I've talked about this YA fantasy/horror novel before. It's about a group of students who are enrolled in a semester-at-sea program aboard a luxury cruise ship. Liv can't believe it when she's selected to participate. While on board, however, she discovers that she was only chosen for the trip because the girl who was supposed to be there has mysteriously disappeared. When other participants start vanishing and other strange things begin happening on the ship, Liv begins to believe in a supernatural explanation. Just what kinds of monsters lurk under the sea below her? Which type lives above?

2. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann—I'm probably the last person in the book blogosphere to read this non-fiction account of the strange tale of the titular ship. The patched-together vessel floated into Brazil in 1742 carrying a crew of starving English sailors who had been shipwrecked and marooned for months. Although the men were hailed as heroes, another vessel arrived in Chile with a few more of The Wager's survivors. These men had a very different tale to tell...

3. Seven Days in May by Kim Izzo—Based on the author's own family history, this historical novel sounds intriguing. It's about two American sisters who board the Lusitania, knowingly risking the perils of traveling during World War I, but never imagining just how perilous their trip will soon become.

4. The Last One by Will Dean—This thriller has been featured on a few of my TTT lists this year. It's about a woman who embarks on a cruise with her new boyfriend. After a whirlwind night on board, she awakes to find Pete missing from their room. When she steps out of her cabin, she discovers that everyone has vanished. She is the only one aboard the ship, which is floating in the middle of the sea with no land in sight. What happened to all the passengers and crew members? How is the last one going to save herself now?

5. Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Siân Evans—This social history about how women's lives were changed by their journeys aboard luxury liners during the early twentieth century sounds fascinating. It tells the stories of a number of female travelers, from celebrities in first class to immigrants in steerage to stewardesses and other crew members who bustled about the ships making sure everyone was safe and comfortable.

6. The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish—This British thriller concerns a group of people who commute to work in London via riverboat. The shared experience has created a community of riders who intermingle while cruising up and down the Thames. When one of them is murdered and another is accused of killing him, the commuters' lives are all upended. Who killed Kit and why?

7. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor—The lives of two women collide on the high seas during World War II as they desperately try to save themselves and two children after their ship is torpedoed by Nazi U-boats, leaving them stranded in the last available lifeboat. This harrowing survival story is based on  real events. 

8. A Stranger On Board by Cameron Ward—I've mentioned this murder mystery before as well. It's about an ex-marine who is looking for a new start and finds it working as security on board a luxury superyacht. As they head out to open sea, someone goes missing. It doesn't take long to figure out there's a killer on board. It's up to Sarah to find them before they pick off all the other passengers one by one...

9. The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton—In 1934, two women embark on a round-trip voyage from New York to Cuba. One is posing as a wealthy heiress. The other is dead. At least that's what everyone thinks. In reality, she's very much alive and on board to get revenge on the person who wronged her. As the fates of the two women collide, they will find themselves risking everything to make sure justice is finally served.

10. Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban—Like #1, this is a YA thriller featuring a group of students enrolled in a semester-at-sea program. After being betrayed by her boyfriend and her best friend, Jade is looking forward to getting away from it all and losing herself in foreign lands and adventures. She isn't expecting the couple who ruined her life to be on board as well. As her fury at them builds, a murder occurs on the ship. Then more of the students begin to suffer similar fates. There's a killer on board, but who is it? Jade has to find out before more people end up dead.

There you are, ten books with boat/ship settings that I want to read. How do you feel about boats/ships? Which books have you enjoyed with this theme? Which are on your TBR? What setting did you pick for your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours. I also reply to comments left here, although I am a week behind at the moment.

(While preparing my list, I came across this one with the same theme posted by the lovely bloggers over at Beyond the Bookends. Thanks for the help and recs, ladies!)

Happy Halloween! I'm actually not a big fan of this holiday. Never really have been, even as a kid. However, I do enjoy a shivery tale (as long as it's not TOO scary because I'm also a wimp) this time of year. We'll get to that in a minute.

First, some exciting news:

My Little Free Library is finally open for business! Other than some clean up from the landscape company (hence the fences in the background) and a few plants that need to go in, our big front yard remodel is done. After almost a year of sitting in boxes in my hallway, my LFL is finally set up. Isn't it cute? We live right by a community mailbox, so I'm hoping it will get lots of traffic. 

Okay, on to our Top Ten Tuesday prompt for today. (As always, TTT is hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.) I was going to compile a list of my favorite "spooky" book authors for today's Halloween freebie, but as I started doing it, it seemed awfully...familiar. Looking back at previous years confirmed that I had already created such a list for TTT a couple years ago. Since the lists were pretty much identical, I bagged that idea. (If you want to see my list of My Top Ten Favorite Go-To Authors for Haunting Halloween-ish Reads from 2021, click here.) Since I can't think of anything more creative, today I'm going to talk about ten spooky books on my TBR list. I'm a bit of a wuss, so "spooky" for me is probably not nearly as scary as it is for you!

1. The Only One Left by Riley Sager—Sager is one of my favorite writers of creepy, atmospheric books. His newest features a reclusive elderly woman, notorious for allegedly murdering her family as a teenager, who decides to finally tell the real story behind the killings. Is the crone an innocent woman whose life was ruined by false accusations? Or is she a cold-blooded murderer who's not done with her dark work?

2. Murder Road by Simone St. James (available March 4, 2024)—I've got an e-ARC of St. James' latest, which tells the story of a young couple who take a wrong turn while looking for the resort where they're planning to spend their honeymoon. They pick up a hitchhiker, who they realize only belatedly is bleeding profusely. When the girl later dies, the newlyweds become suspects in her murder. A string of unsolved killings has been happening along that same deserted highway. As the couple investigates, desperate to clear their names, they find that something otherworldly is at work. 

3. The Last One by Will Dean—This chilling novel is about a new couple who decide to take a trip on a luxury cruise ship together. On the morning of their second day at sea, Caz wakes up to find her boyfriend gone. When she steps outside her room, she discovers that he's not the only one. All the passengers and crew members have disappeared, leaving Caz in the middle of the ocean by herself. What happened? How will she save herself from whatever menace made an entire cruise ship of people vanish?

4. My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon—McMahon's books never fail to thrill (and terrify) me! Her newest effort is about a woman who is persuaded to take in her dying mother for one last Christmas together. After living with her mom's verbal abuse and alcoholism for too long, the two have been estranged for years. One final bid for quality time together turns into a nightmare when strange things begin happening and the daughter starts to wonder if her parent has been possessed by a demon.

5. The Girl in White by Lindsay Currie—This MG novel is set in a small town that's proud as punch of its reputation as one of the region's most haunted places to visit. New to Eastport, Mallory definitely feels unsettled by the place. She's having nightmares, missing chunks of time, and feels like she's being watched. When Mallory encounters the same terrifying old woman she's been dreaming about, things start to get really weird...

6. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney—Feeney's latest features an elderly woman living in a nursing home and the enigmatic woman who cares for her. Both of them have secrets concerning a kidnapped baby and the murder of an old lady. How do the cases connect? The two women will find out when they filter through each other's lies to discover the truth. 

7. The Dark by Emma Haughton—Emergency room doctor Kate North has been upended by a personal tragedy. Eager to start over somewhere else, she takes the opportunity to be the emergency replacement for a doctor at a UN research center in Antarctica. Her predecessor died in an accident on the ice. As the winter darkness descends, Kate begins to suspect there's more to his death than meets the eye. Completely cut off from civilization and fumbling around in almost total darkness, it's up to her to figure out what really happened. 

8. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas—It seems like everyone's read this dark academia novel but me. It's set at an exclusive college, famous for nurturing the world's most promising minds. Students are required to spend three years at the isolated institution, leaving music, media, friends, family, even their clothes behind. First-year student Ines is ready to soak in the intoxicating environment, but when a tragedy occurs, she starts to realize just how trapped she really is in a place that is much darker and more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

9. Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker—This YA horror novel concerns a group of teenagers who board a plane flight, headed for a school ski trip. A terrifying supernatural creature takes over the flight, demanding that one of the passengers be sacrificed or all of them will die. As the kids scramble to save themselves, each person's deepest, darkest secrets are revealed, including the truth behind the death of one teen's sister.

10. The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong—In post-World War I England, Ruby Vaughn runs a rare bookstore in Exeter. When a customer in Cornwall requests a box of books, she's forced to deliver them, even though she swore she would never return to the area. Imposing Penryth Hall is the home of a former friend and her husband. After an unnerving night spent in their presence, Ruby is anxious to leave. Then, the husband turns up dead, launching a murder investigation and frantic talk of an old curse returning to haunt the present. 

There you go, ten spooky books that are haunting my TBR list. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What did you do for today's Halloween freebie? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here (although I am a week behind at the moment).

What is it that really gives you those lazy days of summer vibes? Lounging on a sandy beach with an ice-cold drink in your hand? The tantalizing smells of a backyard barbecue wafting through the air? Roasting marshmallows over a smoldering campfire in the woods? Licking ice cream out of a sugar cone while it slowly melts down your arm? This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about those sights, smells, and activities that just scream summer and how they're portrayed in and on books. 

The thing I probably most associate with summer is immersing myself in cool, refreshing water. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest's scenic Columbia River Gorge. As a family, we'd often head to the river (or one of the area's many lakes) and spend the day picnicking on the grassy bank and frolicking in the water. In the Arizona desert, backyard swimming pools are plentiful. Here, summer means the scents of chlorine and sunscreen, the sound of happy kids splashing in the water echoing throughout the neighborhood, and the sweet relief of soaking your hot, sweat-slicked body in a pool's chilly depths. Since water was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this prompt, I decided to center my list around books that take place in, on, or around the water. Because I'm me, none of the books on my list are the kind of light, frothy stories that are most often associated with easy, breezy summer reading. Most of them have a sinister bent, but that's what you get from a mystery/thriller lover like me!

First, though, be sure to head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess some love. While you're there, you can get all the details about TTT and check out dozens of fun lists about the Top Ten Books or Covers That Feel/Look Like Summer.  

(mostly because they take place in, on, or around the water)

1. Those We Drown by Amy Goldsmith (available July 11, 2023)—I don't read a lot of horror and when I do, it has to be horror lite or else I won't be able to sleep. This YA novel seems to qualify. It's about a group of students who are chosen to spend a semester at sea aboard a luxury cruise ship. Liv's thrilled with the opportunity, but her enthusiasm dims when she learns she's only there because another girl disappeared mysteriously. When The Eos gets underway and more people vanish, Liv realizes there's something very sinister, even otherworldly, going on...and she's trapped.

2. Under a Dark Summer Sky by Vanessa Lafaye—Billed as The Help meets The Perfect Storm, this 2015 novel is set in the Florida Keys in 1935. As the sun bakes the town of Huron Key, a shocking act of violence rips through the small community. With tension already tearing the place apart, a vicious storm is brewing in the skies. Will anyone survive the impact when the fury of the oncoming storm meets the broiling anger on the ground?

3. Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison—This is the first installment in a cozy mystery series featuring a woman who inherits a dilapidated hotel on an island off the coast of Cornwall. Along with her sister, she removes to the location permanently—only to find all is not as it seems. When someone is killed at the hotel and another follows, the situation gets even more complicated as the sisters find themselves being accused of murder.

4. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune—It seems as if everyone has been talking about this second chance romance. It does sound fun. The story revolves around 32-year-old Fern, who has reluctantly returned to her hometown to try to save her family's disintegrating lakeside resort business. Everything's a mess until Fern's summer fling from over a decade ago comes walking in to help. Will's not the same guy he was back then. What's he hiding? And what effect will his presence have on Fern and the business she's trying to save?

5. The Last One by Will Dean (available August 8, 2023)—This thriller has a simple, but terrifying premise. Caz and her boyfriend board a luxurious cruise ship, ready to have the time of their lives enjoying all the vessel's many amenities. And they do. For one night. The next morning when Caz wakes up, her boyfriend is gone—along with everyone else. Caz is alone on a giant ship in the middle of the Atlantic. What happened to the ship's passengers and crew? Why is Caz the only one left? And what in the world is she going to do now?

6. A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams—Like #2, this historical novel is set in a beach town in the 1930s. This time, it's Rhode Island, where socialite Lily Dane is looking forward to her annual summer stay at the shore. She gets a nasty shock when her former best friend arrives in town along with her husband, Lily's one-time fiancé. Along with all the drama the situation brings up between the former friends, there's also a hurricane barreling their way. Will any of them escape unscathed by a summer that's sure to be unforgettable?

7. Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm—It's the summer of 1953 and 11-year-old Penny is determined to spend it well by playing baseball and swimming in the city pool. Only her mother forbids her from going to the pool, terrified she'll catch polio. Growing family drama makes everything that much worse. How can Penny salvage her summer, which is turning out to be the worst one she's ever experienced?

8. A Stranger On Board by Cameron Ward—And Then There Were None on a luxury cruise liner? Yes, please! That's what this thriller sounds like to me. It stars Sarah French, an ex-Marine who takes a job as a security officer onboard a superyacht. Someone goes missing as they head out to sea and Sarah soon realizes there's a killer on the vessel. Can she catch them before they pick off the passengers and crew one by one?

9. Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong—After a bitter divorce, Laney Kilpatrick is left with nothing. Almost. The one thing she does have is an island house that she rents out for the money she so desperately needs. After a series of strange and sinister incidents on her property, Laney goes to the island to investigate. Another small group arrives unexpectedly at the same time. When a dead body turns up and the group's only means of transportation disappears, it becomes obvious that something has gone horribly wrong on the island.

10. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson—I love Jackson's Southern novels and I've still yet to read this one. The story revolves around Thalia, a woman who is visited in the night by what appears to be the ghost of her 14-year-old neighbor. The next day, the girl's dead body is found floating in her pool. Although everyone in town thinks it was suicide, Thalia believes the apparation was trying to tell her what really happened—and she won't rest until she finds the truth.

There you go, ten summery (ish) books that take place in, on, or around the water. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What titles did you pick for your list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here at BBB.