Petals & Pages: A WOW Wednesday

Welcome to this week's What's On Wednesdays, hosted right here by Lesley at Let's Get Lost in A Good Book!

I’m keeping our weekly series—WOW—growing with a beautiful new theme: books that feature botanical names in either the title or the author's name. My thumb is definitely not green, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the beauty of a flower, even just in name form.  Since we are moving into the heart of the season, it felt like the perfect way to let our reading list flourish and start this journey with you all. Here are three books that are on my TBR, each one featuring a floral name in some aspect. 

Scarlett and the Kiss Thief by Ivy Smoak - I have absolutely loved every book I’ve read by Ivy Smoak, and this title is simply blooming with potential! It’s the perfect Young Adult romance to tuck into your bag for a sunny afternoon spent tending to your own garden beds.

King of Nothing by Aurora Rose Reynolds - I am always ready to pick up anything by Aurora Rose Reynolds, and this one fits our botanical theme just perfectly! It’s a thorny, captivating read that is sure to grow on you.

The Lilac House by Barbara Josselsohn - Since the lilac is state flower of my New Hampshire, I was immediately drawn to this title! Even though the setting is the Adirondacks, this story has a cozy, hometown feel that makes it the perfect botanical pick no matter where you live. 

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

How to Join the WOW Link-up

Want to join in on the fun? Participating in What’s On Wednesdays is easy! Every Wednesday, I’ll be sharing a specific book-themed prompt to help us all get our reading lists organized. Here is how you can join the link-up:

1. Write your own post: Create a blog post that features your books based on that week's theme.

2. Add your link: Come back here to my weekly WOW post and click the "Add your link" button below.

3. Spread the love: Link back to my post so your readers can find the rest of the group, and be sure to hop around and visit a few other bloggers who have linked up!

New to the meme? Don’t worry about needing to be perfect. The goal is just to connect, share our love for books, and maybe find a few new favorites for our TBR piles!

Next Week’s Theme: Red, White, & Read: Our Independence Day Lineup. To celebrate America's 250th birthday, let's explore some dazzling reads that capture the spirit of our nation's milestone!

Catching Feelings: A Fake Dating Tuesday Trope Talk

One of my favorite tropes is the Fake Dating scenario. It never fails that both the girl and the guy promise to be exclusive while they are fake dating, to make it believable. They promise that it's only going to last while it's fun and that the expiration date is when one of them meets someone that they want to date for real.  And most importantly, both swear that they won't catch feelings.  That last one, it's a lie.  Every single time, it's not just one that catches feelings, it's both.  And then they each try to play it off like there's no feelings involved.  It's always interesting to see which one is going to crack first! 

Here are 3 books with the Fake Dating trope.

Real Fake Love by Pippa Grant - I read this one a few years ago and easily gave it 4-stars. Henri is a hoot and Luca needs her to help stave off his grandmother who is famous for her evil eye.  Henri tends to fall in love too fast and too often so she needs Luca to teach her how not to fall in love. Does it work?  What do you think? 

Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan - this book is #5 in her Game On series and is on my wishlist.  I read and liked The Hook-Up Game (Book #1) awhile ago and being a series in order girl, I will get to it after I read books 2-4. Only on Gameday features Fake Dating and Childhood Friends to lovers and a Shy Girl.  Sounds good to me! 

The Fake Out Flex by Ash Kelly, book 1 in her Hockeymances series.  A new author to me, but it checks off so many tropes that I love:  hockey sports romance-✓, Fake Dating-✓, Brother's Best Friend-✓ and Small town-✓.  

If Fake Dating is one of your favorite tropes, post about it on your blog and then share the link here.  I am always looking for more fakers to fall in love with! 

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

Small Town Romances - Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course e-books! And audiobooks, because audiobooks count too! 

The Stacking the Shelves meme was originally hosted at Team Tynga’s Reviews but since 2021 has been hosted by Reading Reality.  

Scorecard: 

 

6 books added to my TBR

4 Authors that I've read and loved before

4 Small town romances

2 new to me authors 

2 pink covers

First Line Friday Brewing Up a New Adventure

First Line Fridays is a weekly book meme hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Here’s how it works!

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

            "One coffee, black, for Graug, Storm of the Dread Fields! I call as I set the hot cup of coffee on the pick up counter."  

A man dressed in gleaming metal armor walks up with a brisk nod of his head in thanks before grabbing the cup.

These lines are from an author's debut, published in 2022.  Side note, the author is an online friend of mine - we "met" in the early 2000's on a couponing forum that we helped moderate. Even though I've never met her in person, we are still friends on Facebook and when she announced that she was publishing a book, I jumped right on to Amazon and purchased a copy to support her adventure.  The book is on my TBR list, but I haven't gotten to it yet. 

Genre: A Romantic Cozy Fantasy

Summary: 

When Katherine meets enigmatic and dangerous Hunter she learns her world may not be exactly as it seems. Teaming up with a ragtag group of tenuous allies, Katherine and Hunter must come together to take the first steps in defeating a powerful evil, finding friendship, family and love along the way. 

any guesses? 

It's Side Quest by J. Lofton.  

Have you read Side Quest or Looted (book 2)  ? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments.  Also, share your First Line Fridays posts if you have them. I would love to check them out.

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

What's on Wednesday #1: The WOW Link-up

Welcome to the very first What's On Wednesdays, hosted right here by Lesley at Let's Get Lost in A Good Book!

I’m kicking off this new weekly series—let’s call it WOW—with a fun theme: books featuring coffee cups on the cover. My first WOW confession? I don’t even drink coffee! But I love the idea of the coffee cup as the ultimate morning "kickstart." Since this is the first post of this new meme, it felt like the perfect way to get things moving and start this journey with you all. Here are three books that are on my TBR, each book features a coffee cup on the cover.

The Kiss Class by Ellie Hall: Hockey romance and a coffee cup on the cover? Consider me sold! This combines two of my favorite things into one irresistible read, making it the perfect choice to pair with your morning brew.

Java Hearts & Cupid Darts by Kimberly Krey: The title alone is enough to make me smile! This one rounds out my first list perfectly—it's charming, on-theme, and sounds like a delightful read for anyone looking for a little romance.

Coffee Cup Confessions by Trish Williford: This one was a must-include for my first week. The cover is just so fitting for this "kickstart" theme, and it feels like the perfect companion for a quiet morning reading session.

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

How to Join the WOW Link-up

Want to join in on the fun? Participating in What’s On Wednesdays is easy! Every Wednesday, I’ll be sharing a specific book-themed prompt to help us all get our reading lists organized. Here is how you can join the link-up:

1. Write your own post: Create a blog post that features your books based on that week's theme.

2. Add your link: Come back here to my weekly WOW post and click the "Add your link" button below.

3. Spread the love: Link back to my post so your readers can find the rest of the group, and be sure to hop around and visit a few other bloggers who have linked up!

New to the meme? Don’t worry about needing to be perfect. The goal is just to connect, share our love for books, and maybe find a few new favorites for our TBR piles!

Next Week’s Theme: Botanical Names For our second WOW link-up, let’s celebrate the magic of the garden. Your challenge is to share a book that features a botanical name—this could be in the title (think Lily, Rose, Willow) or an author with a floral-inspired name. Let’s see what blooms on your bookshelves!

Brother's Best Friend: The Forbidden Trope I Can’t Get Enough Of

 

One of my favorite tropes is Falling for your Brother's Best Friend. Maybe it's the forbidden fruit factor since chances are high that the brother has warned all of his friends to stay away from his sister. Or maybe it's the knowing that if your brother trusts his best friend, then he has to be an all-right guy.  Either way, it's there's a girl getting involved with her brother's best friend, I'm all for it. 

Keeping it a secret NEVER works, and there is always some angst when the brother realizes that his best friend and his sister have their own relationship, completely separate from him.

Here are 3 books that I have enjoyed with the Brother's Best Friend trope. 

You Surround Me by A.G. Hayes -  Kenna and Logan not only have to deal with their growing feelings for each other, despite Logan being big brother Matt's best friend, but Logan has a lot to deal with his abusive father. 

How to Score Off Field by Sara Ney -  Drew returns to his hometown and discovers that his long time best friend's little sister Tess has grown up nicely, and after spending some time together, there's a little surprise for them both. 

Cocky Score by Kenna King - Autumn's PR company assigns her with the task of helping to improve the image of pro hockey player Briggs Conley. The same Briggs Conley that is her brother's best friend, and the same Briggs Conley that she's been crushing on for years.  Add a fake dating scenario and an angry big brother into the mix and this is one you won't be able to put down.

If Brother's Best Friend is one of your favorite tropes, post about it on your blog and then share the link here.  I am always looking for more BBF's to fall in love with! 

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

Playing for Keeps - Stacking the Shelves 6.13.2026

 

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks, because audiobooks count too! 

The Stacking the Shelves meme was originally hosted at Team Tynga’s Reviews but since 2021 has been hosted by Reading Reality.  

If you could see my TBR, you'd want to put me in the Penalty Box for even thinking about adding to my shelves, but when it comes to hockey romance, I'm Playing for Keeps! 

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First Line Friday - June 12, 2026

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line and then head over to her blog to include your link if you'd like. 

            "Good news - you're not having a heart attack."

One summer can change everything.

Brooklyn-based Hannah is a bestselling author struggling to write her second book after personal losses. Her older sister, Sara, still lives in Chatham, Cape Cod, where they grew up, and is married with four children. Once a dedicated librarian, Sara dreams of reviving her love affair with literature, but instead, she is stuck with too many family responsibilities and a fizzling marriage.

When Hannah gets the chance to retreat to her aunt’s oceanfront house in Chatham for the summer, it seems like just the thing to get her creative juices flowing. And she’ll be able to spend more time with Sara, who is eager to find her way back into the workforce, to do something rewarding and book-related. The pair will spend the summer making friends, rekindling romance— especially Spencer, an old acquaintance from high school-turned very hot grump— and opening themselves up to the magic of books and the beach.

Perfect for fans of Mary Kay Andrews, Susan Mallery and Brenda Novak, The Seaside Sisters will delight and charm you as easily as an ocean breeze.

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

The Books We Set Aside: Why I’m Finally Ready to Finish Flight & Glory

Every reader has that one series they hold onto, the one they know they'll love so much they don't want to finish it, the one that comes to mind when they see or hear an author's name. 

—or, in my case, the one that hit just a little too close to home to finish when it was first released.

I’m finally diving back into Rebecca Yarros’ Flight & Glory series. As you may know, I’ve read (and loved) books 1 through 4 (5 stars all around)  in this series.   When book 5 The Reality of Everything, was released, my son had already committed to the Marine Corps and we were waiting for his ship date, and I needed my reading time to be a total escape. Now that he’s finished his service, I’m finally ready to pick that last book up and have it downloaded on my Kindle, waiting for me..

Luckily, there were other books by Rebecca that I read during my hiatus from Flight & Glory so I didn't need to take a complete break from her writing. Her Renegades series, featuring Wilder, Nova and Rebel was the perfect series to enjoy, and as much as I loved Paxton Wilder, Landon (Nova) Rhodes' story was my favorite!  Earlier this month, I dove back into the Yarros stratosphere with In the Likely Event, which has proved to me again that her contemporary romances always earn 4 to 5 stars from me because of the way that she manages to balance high-stakes emotion with that perfect touch of romantic tension. She just knows how to pull you in and keep you there until the very last page. Of course, I can’t talk about her books without mentioning my absolute favorite, The Last Letter—that story absolutely gutted me. 

If you are into Fantasy, be sure to check out her Empyrean series, book 4 is expected to be out in September, so it's a great time to get started with Fourth Wing. Personally, I'll be sticking to the contemporary side of the Yarros universe for now, but I know many of you are already obsessed with that series!

Have you ever had to put a book aside because it was too close to your own life, only to pick it back up years later? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your stories.

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

WOW: Coming Soon

Keep your eyes on the blog next Wednesday, June 17th! I’m launching a brand-new weekly book cover meme called WOW: What's on Wednesday? 

It’s going to be a quick, fun, and visual way to share our favorite covers. Mark your calendars—our very first weekly object drops next week!

#6Degrees of Separation for June 2026

The idea is simple - Each month Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best picks out a book for the starting point and then form a chain of 6 more books to see where you end up.  

The rules:  - you can choose to connect your books using any theme, genre, author, plot point, etc that speaks to you.    Than head on over to Books Are My Favourite and Best and drop your link in her comments.  Invite your own readers to join in on the fun and paste their links here and on Kate's post.  If you decide to share your post on Twitter, using the #6Degrees hash tag. 

For June 2026, Kate has chosen The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig as our first book. 

Starting Point: The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig 

A dead-end job, an aunt's intervention, and European travels.

Book 1: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. 

A series of  envelopes from her late aunt sends a girl on a quest across Europe.

Book 2: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. 

Hadley is on her way to Europe when a missed plane puts her on a later flight where she meets and gets to know Oliver during their 7 hour flight.

Book 3: In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros.   Meeting as strangers on an airplane, Izzy and Nate forge an immediate bond just minutes before their flight descends and  crashes into a Missouri river (which they survive). 

Book 4:  Puck Me Secretly by Odette Stone.   Max and Rory are strangers on a harrowing flight to Vancouver that descends and results in an emergency landing. 

Book 5:  Offside by Juliana Stone. Billie-Jo returns to her small hometown, starts playing hockey in the men's pickup league, alongside the man who broke her heart years ago. 

Book 6: Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey.  Keri returns to her small hometown and meets up with the boy whose heart she broke years ago. 

That was a crazy ride to go through my list of books I've ever read to create this list.  With the exception of In the Likely Event, all of the books were ones I read five or more years ago and yet they have stayed with me.  

I challenge you to put together your own #6Degrees list and share it with me in the comments! 

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

Stress Relief for Book Lovers

 Are you feeling anxious about the week ahead?  Here's a fun, little, bookish tool that you can use as a soothing distraction.   When your mind is racing, give it a shake to knock all of the books around and then calmly organize the books one by one back on the shelf.   It's the perfect stress-relieving desk accessory for students, teachers or  anyone who just could use a quiet mental break.  

Mini Bookcase - anxiety relief

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

A Little Spark by Chris Parsons

We received an email earlier this week, asking if we'd be interested in receiving a shipment of books from a publisher to share with the children in the community!!  We're still working out the logistics including the arrival date, but I was so excited to be able to say yes to this opportunity.

The book?  A Little Spark by Chris Parsons  (Illustrated by Mike Motz)

When the survival of their hometown is threatened, two unlikely comrades join forces on a quest to defeat a dangerous enemy and bring back the only one who can save them all.

Beyond the frozen mountains there lies an oasis from the frigid cold and the howling winds. A place the animals call Lake Zuron. What a wonderful place, happy creatures of all kinds, living in harmony and warmth thanks to their very own fire-breathing dragon named Daniel.

But one day everything changed when the unthinkable happened. The Dragon fire goes out and immediately the air begins to chill. Things were not looking good but just when all hope was lost, an unlikely hero steps up. Join Spark the mouse on an adventure of a lifetime as he and his friends do their part to save their town from an icy demise.

With the magical power of Daniel, the Dragon there could be hope. But first they must face and defeat a dangerous enemy, the vile beasts who own these mountains where nobody passes through.

Along this journey maybe you will discover that it’s that little Spark in each of us that really matters, and that a little Spark could save them from the coming cold. The story reminds us that we all need something in life every day to ignite our passion and spirit – to help the world be a “warmer” place and to look for ways to “Be That Spark.”

The story itself is good on it's own, but throughout the pages, you'll find QR codes that you can scan and be taken to a Youtube channel to hear songs related to the characters of the story. How cute is that?

Want to check out the book, grab a digital Kindle copy, or gift one to a friend? Find it on Amazon here!

🎧 Prefer to listen to the fully produced musical audiobook? You can actually stream it for free right now by signing up for a Free Audible Trial: Listen Free on Audible here!

Be sure to check it out!!

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)