Last Ten Books I Added to My TBR List (December 2025)

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 Last Ten Books I Added to My TBR List

1. Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth
2. The Bible in 52 Weeks Devotional for Boys: A Year of Growing in Faith by Lord Badu
3. The Bible in 52 Weeks Devotional for Girls: A Year of Growing in Faith by Jaseña S'vani
4. A Novel Engagement by Anneka Walker
5. First and Forever by Lynn Painter
6. The Escape Room by Marissa Meyer
7. The Proposition of the Season (Fairfax Sisters, # 3) by Michelle Kenney
8. Spellcast (A Fire in the Sky, # 3) by Sophie Jordan
9. An Unconventional Lady by Sarah E Ladd
10. Empire of Flame and Thorns (Flame and Thorns, # 1) by Marion Blackwood

Have you read any of these? Or are these on your TBR list? Which books have you added to your TBR list? Let me know!

The Curiosity Keeper - Review

The Curiosity Keeper (Treasures of Surrey, # 1)

By: Sarah E Ladd

Publication: July 7th 2015 by Thomas Nelson

337 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Regency

Source: Personal Kindle Library (freebie)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--“It is not just a ruby, as you say. It is large as a quail’s egg, still untouched and unpolished. And it is rumored to either bless or curse whomever possesses it.”

Camille Iverness can take care of herself. She’s done so since the day her mother abandoned the family and left Camille to run their shabby curiosity shop on Blinkett Street. But when a violent betrayal leaves her injured with no place to hide, Camille has no choice but to accept help from the mysterious stranger who came to her aid.

Jonathan Gilchrist never wanted to inherit Kettering Hall. As a second son, he was content working as a village apothecary. But when his brother’s death made him heir just as his father’s foolish decisions put the estate at risk, only the sale of a priceless possession—a ruby called the Bevoy—can save the family from ruin. But the gem has disappeared. And all trails lead to Iverness Curiosity Shop—and the beautiful shop girl who may or may not be the answer to his questions.

Curious circumstance throws them together, and an intricate dance of need and suspicion leads the couple from the seedy backwaters of London to the elite neighborhoods of the wealthy to the lush, green Surrey countryside—all in the pursuit of a blood-red gem that collectors will sacrifice anything to possess.

Caught at the intersection of blessings and curses, greed and deceit, two determined souls must unite to protect what they hold dear. But when a passion that shines far brighter than any gem is ignited, each will have to decide how much they are willing to risk for their future, love, and happiness.

I've only read one other book by Sarah E Ladd (The Weaver's Daughter), and I enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away by it, but I did enjoy it. One thing I remember striking me was that it wasn't a book driven by the romance, and now I feel I can say this is likely the case for her writing style because that was certainly the case for The Curiosity Keeper. And while I was interested in the main story and conflict of The Weaver's Daughter, I wasn't as excited about this in The Curiosity Keeper, unfortunately.

Based off the description, I kind of thought Camille and Jonathan would be going on an adventure to hunt down the stolen ruby. That was not the case at all. In fact the entire story around the ruby and the hunt for it just fell flat for me.

Camille herself was fine. She wasn't a highborn lady. And she's been working as the book keeper of her father's shop. She both resourceful and vulnerable. But as her storyline progresses I just kept wondering how things would wrap up in the obvious way that had been set up from the beginning. Yet it just didn't seem like there was any way to get there. And when we finally did, I felt disappointed in the journey.

Jonathan is the second son. He was never intended to inherit so he set out to develop a career as an apothecary--a career he cares about. I could understand his desire not to give up his profession due to the change in circumstances, but I wished he'd seemed to care about the family's situation a little more.

The romance. Oh I just wished the romance had been done better. If this aspect had been on point then it would have made up for the other disappointing factors. Mostly I felt like the relationship between Camille and Jonathan went from zero to seventy-five to one hundred. The relationship didn't seem to be progressing until next thing I know we had arrived leaving me feeling like I didn't know how we got there.

The Curiosity Keeper was a disappointment for me. I expected more given my prior experience with Sarah E Ladd. I'm not quite ready to write her off as an author not for me, but I'm close. The Curiosity Keeper gets 2.5 Stars. Have you read The Curiosity Keeper? What did you think? Let me know!

The Weaver's Daughter - Review

The Weaver's Daughter

By: Sarah E Ladd

Expected Publication: April 10th 2018 by Thomas Nelson

320 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Kate's loyalties bind her to the past. Henry's loyalties compel him to strive for a better future. In a landscape torn between tradition and vision, can two souls find the strength to overcome their preconceptions?

Loyalty has been at the heart of the Dearborne family for as long as Kate can remember, but a war is brewing in their small village, one that has the power to rip families asunder --including her own. As misguided actions are brought to light, she learns how deep her father's pride and bitterness run, and she begins to wonder if her loyalty is well-placed.

Henry Stockton, heir to the Stockton fortune, returns home from three years at war seeking refuge from his haunting memories. Determined to bury the past, he embraces his grandfather's goals to modernize his family's wool mill, regardless of the grumblings from the local weavers. When tragedy strikes shortly after his arrival, Henry must sort truth from suspicion if he is to protect his family's livelihood and legacy.

Henry has been warned about the Dearborne family. Kate, too, has been advised to stay far away from the Stocktons, but chance meetings continue to bring her to Henry's side, blurring the jagged lines between loyalty, justice, and truth. Kate ultimately finds herself with the powerful decision that will forever affect her village's future. As unlikely adversaries, Henry and Kate must come together to find a way to create peace for their families, and their village, and their souls - even if it means risking their hearts in the process.

I've been reading both historical fiction as well as Christian fiction more frequently. Sometimes this is tricky for me because I don't enjoy all time periods and I don't enjoy all Christian stories. I do typically enjoy the regency time period and Sarah E Ladd had high ratings on all of her previously published books. I can now see why.

Henry was easy to like as I often find so for main male characters. His PTSD from the war was used in just the right way to make it believable but yet not end up being a story about war PTSD. I liked that he was honest about trying to do the best he could for the entire village while not sacrificing progress. His genuine appreciation for the character of Kate was my favorite part of their romance.

Kate was at a disadvantage. Because her brother already chose a path different from the one their father had mapped out for him, Kate was able to see how her father responded and regarded her brother. Not wanting to damage her own relationship with her father, Kate endures quite a lot of verbal scolding. I appreciated Kate's struggle to be considered valuable in the weaving profession yet not being considered beause she was a woman.

The romance was enjoyable, but it was a slow building romance for sure. As a matter of fact I really feel like the story about the weaver's conflict with the mills was more of the driving component of the story and the romance took a backseat to this. Normally I might find this annoying, but I enjoyed the conflict over the fight against progress enough for it not to matter.

While The Weaver's Daughter is classified as Christian fiction and published by a Christian publisher, I really wouldn't have known this was the case based upon the story alone. There were no "preaching" moments. And as a matter of fact, the characters rarely mentioned their faith...even in passing. Principles of Christianity--namely forgiveness and the downfall of pride--were present throughout. I think this is a good example of showing and not telling. I do see a place for stories that have a more direct approach where faith and principles are concerned, but I enjoyed this one nonetheless. It was really just a nice clean story with a great moral. So if you're hesitant to read Christian fiction because you don't want to be preached to yet you like historical fiction, I really like you'll enjoy this one.

Favorite quotes:

-"We cannot control what others do. We can only control how we react to it. Being angry will only hurt you, not them."

-At one time nothing mattered more than having a beautiful wife, amassing possessions, and claiming power. Now, his heart--his soul--longed for things not so tangible: Safety. Security. Happiness. Justice. Hope. Forgiveness.

The Weaver's Daughter was a quick read for me given my limited time to read this year. I know I would have finished it much sooner had I had the amount of time that I used to. I enjoyed the history involved just as much if not more than the romance which is rare. I didn't feel like I was having a history lesson or a sermon considering this book is labeled as Christian fiction. The Weaver's Daughter gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Weaver's Daughter? What did you think? Let me know!