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 week’s topic is Books I Read on Vacation, but since I haven’t gone on vacation in a while, I thought I’d switch things up a bit. So, I’m listing some of the places I’d love to go on vacation. Let’s check them out!
1. Venice, Italy
Title: We’ll Always Have Venice
Author: Leonie Mack
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Synopsis: Who can resist the romance of Venice…
When Norah arrives in Venice for a ten-week internship she is surprised to discover that her guide for her work trips around the lagoon is the undeniably gorgeous and kind Gianluca. She can’t help thinking he might be too good to be true, with his endless fascinating local stories, and his infectious laugh.
Norah is still bitter after an accident left her with a serious injury and also meant the end of her long-term relationship. And besides, she’s serious about her career and that means leaving Venice at the end of the summer.
Gianluca has had a summer fling before that led to heartache for him and he won’t do it again. He enjoys the long hours out on the lagoon with Norah, but after a storm strands them on a picture-perfect island for a night, they agree they should just be good friends for the summer.
But life doesn’t always go to plan, and when it’s time for Norah to go, they have to decide whether what they have between them is really just a friendship, and not something more…
2. New York, USA
Title: In a New York Minute
Author: Kate Spencer
Page Length: 304
Publication Date: March 15, 2022
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: A clever, tender, and romantic novel for readers of Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, and Sophie Cousens, this laugh-out-loud debut is a perceptive reminder that fate can have a sense of humor, and that love can happen…In a New York Minute.
Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.
Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.
Only Franny and Hayes couldn’t be a more disastrous match. She’s fanciful, talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other—and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life—and love—she’s always wanted?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon
3. Norway
Title: Christmas Island
Author: Natalie Normann
Publication Date: Nov. 30, 2020
Publisher: One More Chapter
Synopsis: Cosy up in front of a fire and discover Christmas the Norwegian way…full of romance, cosy traditions and hygge!
In the bleak midwinter…
A really frosty wind is making Holly’s life absolutely miserable
After all the years of hard work it took Londoner Holly Greene to become a doctor, now it could all be taken away and she only has herself to blame. She’s retreating to her brother’s rustic home on an island off the coast of Norway to lick her wounds. Only, it’s the middle of winter and icy slush plus endless darkness isn’t exactly the cheery, festive getaway she had imagined.
Nearly stumbling off the edge of a cliff in the dark, Holly is saved by Frøy, a yellow-eyed cat of fearsome but fluffy proportions, and his owner – grouchy, bearded recluse, Tor. Tor has his own problems to face but the inexplicable desire to leave a bag of freshly baked gingerbread men on Holly’s doorstep is seriously getting in the way of his hermit routine.
Call it kindness, call it Christmas, but Holly’s arrival means midwinter has never looked less bleak.
4. Rome, Italy
Title: Birthright
Author: Kathryn Amurra
Series: Soothsayer’s Path #3
Publication Date: Sept. 2, 2022
Synopsis: The daughter of a patrician woman who chose to marry beneath her class, Nerilla has witnessed firsthand the detrimental effects of following your heart. Determined to correct her mother’s mistakes, she has carefully selected the perfect patrician man to wed. The fact that the man is only marrying her to obtain her father’s legendary sword Ceres, which is to serve as her dowry, is of no consequence–that is, until that very sword is stolen right out from under her nose by a handsome thief with a charming smile and innocent eyes.
As an orphan with no memory of his birth parents, Jovian has been searching for the truth about his parentage for as long as he can remember. When a soothsayer tells him that to uncover the key to his past he must seek out the sword called Ceres, he can hardly believe his luck, for he has already stolen that sword from its owner. Unfortunately, he has also already sold it to a man bound for Neapolis.
A chance meeting between Nerilla and Jovian results in what they both know is an ill-advised arrangement. As they work together to find the sword, they discover secrets from their pasts that make them question everything they thought they knew. And they find themselves having to choose between pursuing the perfect plans they’ve laid or risking failure for the chance of achieving their true birthright.
5. Scotland
Clementine’s swapped a London flat for a Scottish castle – but will she get her fairytale ending?
After discovering they were heirs to an enormous fortune, the lives of the five Hiverton sisters have never been the same.
While oldest sister Ariana settles in Norfolk, Clementine heads up to the remote Scottish Highlands to move into the castle that forms part of their estate. Not bad for a girl brought up scrabbling for money in a tiny house in East London…
However, Clem quickly finds out that Ruacoddy Castle is falling apart, the neighbours – especially grumpy young farmer, Rory – are suspicious of her and the eccentric housekeeper, Ottoline, is still in residence.
But as Clem finds herself growing closer to the village community, even growing closer to Rory and forming an alliance with Ottoline, she realises that life in the Highlands might just be the change she needed.
She just needs to find out if Manolo Blahnik make wellies…
Take a trip to the gorgeous Scottish countryside with this utterly feelgood, romantic and hilarious read – fans of Jenny Colgan, Holly Martin and Cressida McLaughlin will love this!
LINKS: Gooodreads | Amazon
6. Shanghai, China
Title: If We Ever Meet Again
Author: Ana Huang
Series: If Love Duet (Book 1)
Page Length: 298
Publication Date: June 30, 2020
Synopsis: One year, two opposites, and a love that will blindside and, ultimately, shatter them.
She’s an aspiring interior designer who dreams of falling in love. He’s an ex-football star who thinks love is a con. She’s a virgin, and he doesn’t do virgins. He’s cocky, infuriating, and not her type. She wants the fairytale. He wants freedom.
Blake and Farrah shouldn’t have fallen for each other the way they did: totally, completely, and irrevocably. Because they’re studying abroad in Shanghai, and they only have one year. Because forces at home threaten to rip them apart, even if they don’t know it yet. And because, eventually, they must face the most heartbreaking lesson they’ll ever learn: sometimes, even the greatest love can’t conquer all.
7. Egypt
Title: Song of the Nile
Author: Hannah Fielding
Page Length: 640
Publication Date: Feb. 14, 2020
Publisher: London Wall Publishing
Synopsis: Luxor, 1946. When young nurse Aida El Masri returns from war-torn London to her family’s estate in Egypt, she steels herself to face the challenges ahead.
Eight years have passed since her father, Ayoub, was framed for a crime he did not commit and died as a tragic result. Yet Aida has not forgotten, and now she wants revenge against the man she believes betrayed her father – his best friend, Kamel Pharaony.
Then Aida is reunited with Kamel’s son, the captivating surgeon Phares, who offers her marriage. In spite of herself, the secret passion Aida harboured for him as a young girl reignites. Still, how can she marry the son of the man who destroyed her father and brought shame on her family? Will coming home bring her love, or only danger and heartache?
8. London, England
Title: This Time Next Year
Author: Sophie Cousens
Publication Date: Dec. 1, 2020
Publisher: Putnam Books
Synopsis: In this warm-hearted love story for fans of One Day in December, a man and woman who were born at the same hospital on New Year’s Day meet on their thirtieth birthday and discover the many times their paths almost crossed before.
Down-to-earth baker Minnie Cooper knows two things with great certainty: that her New Year’s birthday has always been unlucky, and that it’s all because of Quinn Hamilton, a man she’s never met. Minnie and Quinn were born at the same hospital just after midnight on New Year’s Day thirty years before, and not only did he edge her out by mere minutes to win the cash prize for being the first baby born in London in 1990, but he stole the name she was meant to have, as well. With luck like that, it’s no wonder each of her birthdays has been more of a disaster than the one before.
When Minnie unexpectedly runs into Quinn at a New Year’s party on their mutual thirtieth birthday, she sees only more evidence that fortune has continued to favor him. The handsome, charming business owner truly seems to have it all–including the perfect girlfriend. But if Quinn and Minnie are from different worlds, why do they keep bumping into each other? And why is it that each frustrating interaction somehow seems to leave them both hoping for more?
9. New Orleans, USA
Title: Ancient Protector
Author: Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising (Book #1)
Publication Date: June 30, 2020
Publisher: KR Press, LLC
Synopsis: Even as he fights for their future…
With the world still rebuilding after massive dragon attacks, famous singer Star isn’t willing to rely on a stranger to protect her family—though dragon shifter Lachlan is difficult to resist. Something about him is strangely familiar, but she doesn’t understand why. He’s already helped Star rescue her sister from a recent abduction, but trust doesn’t come easy when his kind has nearly hunted her race to extinction. When her sister’s kidnapper launches another violent attack, Star has no choice but to accept Lachlan’s aid. But no matter that he’s stepped up to protect her, she’ll never allow the ancient Scottish dragon into her heart.
They’re bound by the past.
Lachlan lost the woman he was meant to mate millennia ago. Unable to live in a world without her, his pain drove him to hibernation. He never thought he would move on—until Star. He’s well aware the feisty shifter is his new destiny, so if tailing her to New Orleans is what he has to do to be near her, then so be it. When Star is attacked, Lachlan resolves to protect her at all costs. And he won’t have to do it alone. It will take Lachlan, his clansmen, and Star’s misfit band of friends to rain fiery vengeance down upon their enemy if she and her sister are to ever be truly free. Only then can he claim her and discover the shocking truth that lies buried in their past.
10. A Cat Café – Anywhere!
Title: A Cat Cafe Christmas
Author: Codi Gary
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: Oct. 4, 2022
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: Veterinarian and animal lover Kara Ingalls needs a Christmas miracle. Opening the Meow and Furrever Cat Café to find loving homes for adorable, adoptable cats was a dream come true—but with more cats than customers, it’s quickly turning into a nightmare. If Kara can’t figure out some way to get the café out of the red, it won’t last past the holidays.
Marketing guru Ben Reese may be annoyingly smart and frustratingly bossy, but when he hatches a plan to put the café in the “green” by Christmas, Kara realizes that she’d be a fool to turn down his help. And so what if he turns out to be an excellent problem solver and nerdy-hot—he can’t even handle fostering one little kitten. She needs to keep their relationship professional and focus on saving the cafe.
But if Ben and Kara can set aside their differences—and find homes for all the cats by Christmas—they might discover that, by risking their hearts, they’ll have their own purr-fect holiday . . . together.
Have you been to any of these places? Where would you like to go on vacation? Comment below!
I hope you get to see all of these places someday!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-types-of-books-i-read-on-vacation/
I love both Venice and Rome and definitely want to go back. I do love books that are set in real places. These all sound brilliant.
I’ve dreamed of going to Italy for so long!!
I hope you get there eventually. It is a gorgeous place
New Orleans would be a cool place to visit.
Right! It seems like it would be a lot of fun.
I will have to take a look at the Cat Cafe book for sure! How lovely your post is today with a selection of great books to read! I hope you get to travel to these destinations soon!
Elza Reads
Thank you so much!
I want to go to New Orleans and Charleston, South Carolina.
I hope you get a chance to go soon!
I loved Christmas Island when I read it last Christmas – Norways on my bucket list!
I hope you get a chance to get there one day. It sounds so amazing
Great twist, Julie. I hope you get to vacation at all these places during your lifetime. I would go to any except China and Egypt. I have gotten to Scotland but would go back.
Thanks, Carla! Scotland looks gorgeous. Definitely one of my top dream vacations!
I was only there for 9 days, not long enough at all, but boy did I love what I was able to see and do.
They’re all great choices. I’d go to a cat cafe any time too😺
I’ve been to a cat cafe in Charleston, SC and I’ve been to London (only overnight) and New York (many times)
Oh my gosh, jealous! I’ve been to New York many times but always love visiting. We went recently and saw Wicked. So good!!
I love your take on this week’s prompt! I’d like to visit a cat cafe! It sounds amazing. 😍
Thank you! It really does! I think I’d have a hard time leaving. lol
I visited Scotland for the first time last year and it was wonderful! I can’t wait to go back. My husband and I are planning a return trip next year to revisit some places and explore new ones. We’re super excited. I hope you get to vacation in all these spots someday!
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Ahhh – jealous! I would love to get there in the next couple of years.
I’d say yes to any of these destinations, and this looks like a great bunch of books to get ready with!! Scotland is very high on my list of dream destinations… one of these days!!
It sounds so beautiful. We’ll both get there eventually!! lol
Great picks, Julie! I’d absolutely love to go to New York, Shanghai and London as well 😍
Well, if you ever get to New York, I will meet you there! It’s only four hours away from me. 🙂