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 the topic is “Water,” so I’m spotlighting 10 books with the word “water” or a body of water in the title.
1. The House in the Cerulean Sea
Author: T.J. Klune
Page Length: 394
Publication Date: March 16, 2020
Publisher: Tor Books
Synopsis: A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
2. Dark Water Daughter
Author: H.M. Long
Series: The Winter Sea #1
Page Length: 464
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Publisher: Titan Books
Synopsis: A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas.
Launching the Winter Sea series, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young, R. J. Barker and Naomi Novik.
Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.
Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.
Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.
3. The Heiress at Sea
Author: Christi Caldwell
Page Length: 331
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Publisher: Montlake
Synopsis: Perpetually unattached Lady Cassia McQuoid has accepted her fate as a spinster. But how can she be expected to lead a life confined to drawing rooms and royal balls when there’s a vast, exciting world to explore? Cassia can find but one solution: she masquerades as a thrill-seeking lad and stows away on a ship bound for open waters. Adventure awaits. So does notorious privateer Nathaniel Ellsby.
Nathaniel doesn’t want to be the Duke of Roxburghe. Instead, the second-born son relishes his freedom to do as he pleases: pursuing enemy ships in service of the war effort. But when his older brother dies, Nathaniel embarks on one last mission before he fulfills his ducal duties with an arranged marriage. That’s the intention, at least—until he discovers that his woefully green deckhand is a fetching but vulnerable woman in disguise.
Nathaniel’s new mission is to protect Cassia from the perils of the sea, both above and below the water, by sharing the close confines of the captain’s quarters. As roiling emotions turn to love, Nathaniel and Cassia realize the greatest risks—to the Crown, to their futures, and to the heart—still lie ahead.
4. Summer on Sunshine Bay
Author: Debbie Mason
Page Length: 368
Publication Date: May 23, 2023
Publisher: Forever
Synopsis: Lila Rosetti Sinclair returns to Sunshine Bay a bundle of nerves. After being gone for years, sharing the news that she’s engaged—to a man her mother has never met—is going to be difficult to navigate. But when her fiancé David surprises her with an engagement party at Windemere, the upscale inn his parents recently purchased and that just may put her family’s restaurant, La Dolce Vita, out of business, Lila’s got a whole new set of problems.
Eva Rosetti is so ecstatic to finally have her daughter home that she pushes aside her misgivings about having to come face-to-face with Lila’s father again. That is until he sweeps into town and feelings Eva thought far behind her resurface….
With a family business to save and a wedding to plan, Eva and Lila’s reunion is more than either bargained for, but with a little luck and a whole lot of support from friends and family, it may just turn out to be the best summer of their lives.
5. In Deeper Waters
Author: F.T. Lukens
Page Length: 320
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Synopsis: A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.
Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.
That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…
6. The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea
Author: Katherine Quinn
Series: The Azantian Trilogy #1
Publication Date: Sept. 28, 2021
Publisher: City Owl Press
Synopsis: 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚. 𝐀 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥.
Forced to marry the wealthy Count Casbian by her power-hungry father, Margrete turns to the gods, praying for a life free from the men who wish to rule her. Across the sea, a ruthless immortal answers…Planning to use Margrete to reclaim a powerful relic stolen from his people, Bash, a devilishly handsome king, kidnaps Margrete on the day of her nuptials. Bringing her to his home, the mystical island of Azantian, it isn’t long before a devastating secret is revealed—one that ties Margrete to the gods themselves.
Drawn to the spirited woman he’s sworn to hate, Bash cannot stay away from Margrete and the passion she ignites within him. When the lines begin to blur, Margrete must make a choice between a fiery love, and saving the realm from the dangerous magic awakening inside of her soul.
7. The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom
Author: Courtney McCaskill
Series: The Astley Chronicles #3
Page Length: 295
Publication Date: Nov. 18, 2022
Synopsis: Sometimes there’s a fine line between assessing the competition and consorting with the enemy…
Thanks to an imprudent wager made by his younger brother, Edward Astley has to win a classical translation contest being hosted by Oxford University. This means he’ll have to beat the latest star on the literary scene, the anonymous translator whose rendition of On the Sublime is taking Britain by storm. He’s supposed to be studying, but all he can seem to think about is Elissa St. Cyr, the redheaded daughter of his former tutor, who’s every bit as brainy as she is delectable.
Elissa has problems of her own. With her father’s health failing, she’ll soon need to support her mother and sisters through her translation work. And that means she needs to win the Oxford contest, so she can secure the one thing she has never had the opportunity to earn: an academic credential.
To make matters worse, she managed to get stuck in the middle of a pond during a thunderstorm, and the person who happened along to rescue her, witnessing her in the most humiliating moment of her remarkably humiliating life, was her ultimate beau idéal, the brilliant Edward Astley. Now Elissa keeps bumping into Edward everywhere she goes. Which would normally be wonderful …
… except she’s worried he’s going to figure out that she is the anonymous translator everyone is talking about.
8. A River Enchanted
Author: Rebecca Ross
Series: Elements of Cadence #1
Page Length: 480
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Synopsis: Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home.
Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.
As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.
With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.
9. Virgin River
Author: Robyn Carr
Series: Virgin River #1
Page Length: 386
Publication Date: March 27, 2007
Publisher: MIRA
Synopsis: Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included.
When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad, she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving—the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she’s made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.
But a tiny baby abandoned on a front porch changes her plans…and former marine Jack Sheridan cements them into place.
10. Prince of Song and Sea
Author: Linsey Miller
Series: Princes #1
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: Oct. 4, 2022
Publisher: Disney Press
Synopsis: Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him about the details of the deadly curse that has plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, and rumors of ghost pirates lurking the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter left from his mother that reveals Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart, or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.
Now Eric is on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch’s legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win or chase a love that might not even exist? And when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric may discover that true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic.
Can you think of any other book titles that include bodies of water or the word water? Comment below!
Great picks! Loved the book A River Enchanted.
It’s still on my TBR. I need to get to it soon!!
Yes! It is so worth it.
What a great list, Julie. So many great books here, some I’ve read, some on my TBR, and some I will investigate.
Thanks, Carla! I always enjoy seeing what other people put on these weekly posts. You had a great list too!
I always have a list to investigate after reading everyone’s TTT posts.
There’s a lot of great books with bodies of water in the titles. I loved seeing which ones you chose today. I’ve only read Klune’s and Carr’s/ on your list.
Nice! There are definitely a ton to choose from. lol
I totally forgot about A River Enchanted! I have that on my TBR and can’t wait to read this author cos I’ve heard so many amazing things about her books. I also had Cerulean Sea on my list today and I loved that book so much. Great list!
I’ve read other books by the author and loved them, but I haven’t read A River Enchanted yet. If ever want to buddy read it, let me know!
This is a great list! I have to say that I’m obsessed with the cover of The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom!
Me too – it’s so colorful and cute. I love all the covers in that series!
Great picks! So many awesome reads on this list, A River Enchanted & The House in the Cerulean Sea especially 🙂
Thank you! It was a fun topic this week. 🙂
Some interesting picks here, especially A River Enchanted and The House in the Cerulean Sea which are books I keep debating about reading and never quite manage it for some reason. The only one I’ve read, or I should say partly read, is Virgin River. I picked it up when the series first aired on Netflix but I only managed to read around 50 or so pages as the writing style didn’t really work for me.
I have both books sitting on my bookshelves and I still haven’t read the either. lol Someday!!
What a great selection! House in the Cerulean Sea is such a great book. 🙂
Thanks! I’m such a fan of TJ Klune!