Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Reads That Include Great Found Families

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 Recent Reads That Include… so I decided to spotlight recent reads that include awesome found families. This is one of my favorite tropes, and I’ve read so many books lately that do it well. Here are 10 of my faves!

Title: Heir

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series: Heir Duology

Page Length: 512

Publication Date: Oct. 1, 2024

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hot-headed mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her tribe for an unforgiveable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who speaks to the earth, air, and water to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But then, she falls for a charismatic and inconvenient fugitive who keeps getting in her way.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire, nephew of a famed and venerated empress, but he’s loathe to pick up the mantle when his aunt steps down. As the son of the most hated emperor in the history of his people, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir masterfully interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with the burdens of power, the treachery of love and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed. Get ready for a dark and breathless journey that will captivate readers and that may cost these young people their lives―and their hearts. Literally.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon    |   Review

Title: The Siren’s Cursed Kiss

Author: Kat Kinney

Series: Everwood Falls #3

Page Length: 265

Pub Date: April 1, 2025

Synopsis: EVERWOOD FALLS… a small supernatural community tucked up in the Colorado Rockies where witches, werewolves and vampires can live without fear of discovery, and those with curses they can’t control are sent to keep the existence of magic from being revealed to Mundanes.

Green witch Sage Summers is no stranger to curses. The night her power manifested, the park outside her apartment devoured a strip mall. Classified by the Magic High Council as too dangerous to live in the Mundane world, she’s made a life for herself in Everwood Falls with her organic produce, a weekly stand at the farmer’s market, and the best group of friends a witch could ever hope for. But isolation has also meant the loss of her family, as well as an ex-fiancé who decided to put her and Everwood Falls in his rearview mirror and leave the moment his hex was lifted. Good riddance to bad warlocks. But now that same ex, Dominic Storm, has returned to town with disturbing a coven of sirens has had their power stripped from them… and they believe the magic user responsible is hiding in Everwood Falls.

Merman and high school math teacher Gideon Fischer has always been pulled between the merfolk and siren worlds. When someone from his past shows up in Everwood Falls begging for help, he’s forced to confront not only the reasons he left his family and the call of the sea, but also the magic swirling in his half-siren blood. He and Sage Summers are the one equation that keeps him up at night. She’s beautiful, fierce, wickedly powerful… and has more walls guarding her heart than the Great Barrier Reef. As attacks against witches increase, Gideon will need Sage’s help to uncover who is behind the mysterious blood feud between sirens and witches… before someone is seriously hurt.

With a herd of enchanted elk, carnivorous spruce trees, and sentient pumpkins that stalk the local landscaping, Everwood Falls is a quirky mountain town where fangs and fur mean found family.

LINKS: Goodreads  | Amazon | Review

Title: Earl Crush

Author: Alexandra Vasti

Page Length: 352

Pub. Date: Jan. 21, 2025

Synopsis: In Alexandra Vasti’s newest Regency rom-com, a reclusive earl’s life is turned upside down when a stranger shows up on his doorstep with an astonishing proposal—and an inconvenient connection to espionage.

For three years, wallflower heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace has anonymously penned seditious pamphlets. And for almost as long, she’s corresponded with the Earl of Strathrannoch, whose political ambition is matched only by his charm. When Arthur’s latest letter reveals his dire financial straits, Lydia sets out for Scotland to offer him the only salvation she can think of—a marriage of convenience. To, um, herself.

Unfortunately, the Earl of Strathrannoch has no idea who she is.

When a bewitching redheaded stranger offers him her hand in marriage, Arthur Baird is stunned—but when he learns that his traitorous brother has been writing to her under Arthur’s name, he’s bloody furious. He’s content to live alone in his moldering castle, and he has no desire for a provocative, radical wife. (Or at least, he shouldn’t.)

But Arthur is desperate to track down his brother, who’s become dangerously entangled in British espionage, and he needs Lydia’s help. What he doesn’t need? The attraction that burns hotter each moment they spend together. As Lydia slips past his defenses and his brother’s mysterious past becomes a very present threat, Arthur will have to risk everything to keep her safe—even his heart.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Review

Title: The Bones Beneath My Skin

Author: T.J. Klune

Pub. Date: Feb. 4, 2025

Page Length: 416

Publisher: Tor

Synopsis: A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Review

Title: The Serpent and the Wolf

Author: Rebecca Robinson

Page Length: 352

Publication Date: Nov. 19, 2024

Publisher: Saga Press

Synopsis: All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon    |  Review

Title: A Reign of Rose

Author: Kate Golden

Series: The Sacred Stones #3

Page Length: 496

Publication Date: Oct. 8, 2024

Publisher: Berkley

Synopsis: They must save the world—but can they also save each other?

Kane Ravenwood, King of Onyx Kingdom, would go to the ends of the continent for Arwen Valondale, but what if she’s beyond even that? Broken in ways he never imagined he could be, Kane must find a way to fulfill the prophecy and kill his father, Fae King Lazarus. And after what he’s endured, he’s willing to save Evendell by whatever means necessary—even if that spells his own death.

Little does Kane know, he’s not the only one fighting for revenge. Arwen is no longer afraid to fight—no sacrifice is too great, no enemy too daunting. Now, nothing will stop her from destroying Lazarus and his allies, because she knows if she fails, both realms will be doomed forever.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon    | Review

Author: Darcy Burke

Series: Rogue Rules #3

Page Length: 316

Publication Date: July 9, 2024

Publisher: Zealous Quill Press

Synopsis: Rogue Rules When a young lady is ruined, her friends vow none of them will ever be ensnared by a scoundrel again. They will resist every gentleman’s charms even—and especially—if it means gaining a reputation for being impossible to woo. It will take extraordinary rogues to break their rules…From USA Today Bestselling Author Darcy Burke, author of The Untouchables and Phoenix Club series, comes your next Regency romance must-read. When the Viscount Seduces

After a disastrous Almack’s debut, bookish and clumsy Gwendolen Price is determined to improve her reputation and make her parents proud. The Viscount Somerton, her brother’s friend and one of Society’s most eligible bachelors, offers to help her, and she’s certain his attention will increase her standing—even though he’s exactly the kind of rake she has vowed to avoid. Lazarus Rowe, the eminently unserious and dashingly handsome Viscount Somerton, has spent a lifetime hiding his shameful he simply cannot read well. With a speech to Parliament looming, he’s desperate to remedy this deficiency. The chance to help his friend’s hopelessly bluestocking sister seems the perfect trade—his presence as her devoted escort in exchange for her help as his tutor. As sparks fly between them with every lesson, Gwen refuses to fall for a rogue while Lazarus, begins to reconsider his rakish ways. When a woman from his recent past makes a shocking revelation, Lazarus fears all is lost. Will Gwen retreat to the safety of her books, or do she and this almost-redeemed rake have a chance at a real life happily ever after?

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon    |   Review

Title: The Sins on Their Bones

Author: Laura R. Samotin

Page Length: 416

Publication Date: May 7, 2024

Publisher: Random House Canada

Synopsis: Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.

But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen.

Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he’s come to love.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon    | 

Title: More Than a Little Spark

Author: Remi Carrington

Series: Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch #9

Page Length: 244

Pub. Date: Feb. 12, 2025

Publisher: Phrey Press

Synopsis: A car crash. A cowboy. And a moody tween. That’s how my happily-ever-after starts.

An adorable cowboy literally carries me to safety after my car flips, and that’s when I feel it. The spark. Until meeting him, I always thought the spark was just figurative. Nope. Real tingles.

He’s friendly and attentive but cautious, and I start to think he isn’t interested. Then I get the scoop. Carson recently adopted his nephew and is learning to be a dad. To a preteen.

That only makes me like Carson more. I make that clear, and we start dating. Taking it slow, we date in secret for a while. And the little spark turns into more.

When it’s clear this isn’t a passing infatuation for either of us, he introduces me to Fred.

And the kid doesn’t like me.

How do I get him to understand that I don’t want to divide their little family? I just want to become part of it.

Is it even possible to get a tween boy to change his mind? I hope so. My happily-ever-after depends on it.

LINKS: Goodreads  |  Amazon | Review

Title: Fear the Flames

Author: Olivia Rose Darling

Series: Fear the Flames #1

Pub. Date: Sept. 17, 2024

Page Length: 384

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Synopsis: An exiled princess teams up with the last man she thought she could trust in the start of a dazzling and unforgettable epic fantasy romance series.

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

An immersive fantasy filled with a sizzling reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance, a world to get lost in, dangerous quests, dragon bonds, and an entertaining band of characters to root for, Fear the Flames marks the stunning debut of Olivia Rose Darling.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Review

Related Posts