We Live and Breathe Books: Five on My TBR

#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme that was hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook. Learn more about it here.

Ombre Covers

I love any opportunity to feature more books and found this meme an interesting way to take a look at my TBR. I hope to also get some feedback from you. Should I keep these books on my TBR? Should I push them up the list? While perusing my TBR, I notice quite a few ombre covers. Not only did they have that layered color effect, but they shared a similar color scheme. Have you read any of these books?

Consider Me by Becka Mack

Carter Beckett is the NHL's resident badboy, top player both on the ice & in the bedroom, and quite possibly the sexiest man to ever grace my field of vision. But worst of all? He knows it.

He’s arrogant, self-centered, and the man doesn’t seem to know what a filter is, let alone how to use one. He’s had everything served to him on a silver platter, including endless strings of women, and apparently, I’m up next.

His only problem? I have no intention of falling for his shi—um, charm.

I have the solution to all my sexual frustrations in a drawer at home, and it’s far less complicated than Carter Beckett. Sure, he may be pretty, but he’s also a walking, talking reminder for you to wrap it before you tap it.

But then I start letting my guard down, and he starts showing me pieces of himself I had no intention of seeing. The bricks surrounding me may be tumbling down one by one, but I’m not sold yet, which means for the first time in his life, Carter’s the one begging.

For my time, my trust, for a single chance.
For me to just…consider him.

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

A powerful plant witch and a grumpy alchemist must work together to save their quiet town from a magical plague in this debut cozy fantasy romance about starting over, redemption, and what it really means to be a good person.

Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.

The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.

Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.

When a mysterious blight threatens every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with a figure from her past knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?

Something to Look Forward To by Fannie Flagg

Joyful and surprising interconnected stories that celebrate the ways people from all across America are learning to cope and to connect in a changing world—from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Fannie Flagg once said that what the world needs now is a good laugh. And that is what she gives us in these thirty warmhearted, often hilarious, always surprising stories about Americans finding clever ways of dealing with the curveballs life throws at us.

We meet Velma from Kansas, a loving great-grandmother who struggles to bridge the generational divide with her great-grandchild in California. Why, for instance, does her great-grandchild sign letters to Velma with “(they/them)”? We cheer for Helen, in Ithaca, New York, who takes an audacious course of action when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Four men in Bent Fork, Wyoming, make a bold decision after learning that the café where they eat breakfast every day is about to be sold to a stranger from out of town. And observing them all is Special Agent Frawley, an odd visitor from another planet, sent to Earth to figure out what makes human beings tick, only to fall in love with one of them—and with her cat.

With her infectious humor, wild imagination, and her great understanding of Americans—and of the human heart—Fannie Flagg holds up a mirror to all of us and lets us laugh at the sometimes eccentric, sometimes brilliant ways people learn to deal with and, ultimately, prevail over life’s challenges.

Chasing Shelter by Catherine Cowles

I came here seeking sanctuary, I never meant to fall for the broody single dad next door.

I've spent my life hiding in plain sight, burying my past beneath layers of carefully constructed lies. Moving to Sparrow Falls was supposed to be a fresh start. A place to lay low. But when I end up living next door to the single dad who just happens to be one of my brother’s best friends, everything changes.

Trace Colson sees too much, asks too many questions, and his protectiveness is as infuriating as it is alluring.

And when danger comes calling, it’s Trace who stands between me and the darkness.

But being close to him is its own kind of risk. Because with every heated glance and every stolen touch, Trace tempts me to open my heart, to dream of a life I’d long since given up on. The only problem? Trace has his own demons, and when they collide with mine, the fallout could destroy us both.

Forever.

Escape to the Swiss Chalet by Carrie Walker

A SWEET and FUNNY romantic comedy for readers of Sandy Barker and Mandy Baggot.

When your life goes off-piste how do you climb back up the mountain?

Holly Roberts is well-known among family and friends for despising the cold, so no one is more surprised than her when she agrees to pack her bags and move to the Swiss Alps. But after getting her heart broken, spending the winter season working as a sous-chef for wealthy twins Genevieve and gorgeous Luca, is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Verbier is home to millionaires and Holly has never felt more out of place in the snow-capped wooden chalet. Thankfully new friends, chalet girl Liv and chef Xavier are there to be her guide in this new world of après-ski and fondue, and to teach her how to get off chair lifts! And then there is Luca... rich, handsome, kind but what is the catch?

She just wanted to escape her problems but could she get her Happily Ever After?