Hello, dear readers! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt from Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl is the best books I read in 2024. I stumbled upon some really great books this year, and it was hard to pick just ten. I discovered an amazing new-to-me author (Kate Quinn), and I listened to some wonderful new-to-me narrators (Saskia Maarleveld and Xe Sands). All of these books were audiobooks, except for The Paradise Problem, and I highly recommend the audiobook versions. I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings. HAPPY TUESDAY and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎉

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400F. Trim and remove any silver skin from the pork tenderloin. Bring balsamic to a boil and cook over low heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Stir in cherry preserves; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in thyme. Combine garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub over pork. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and spray with oil. Brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Spoon half of the glaze over the pork and transfer to the oven. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 145F. Depending on the thickness, this will range anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes so using a thermometer is a must so it’s not dried out. Let it rest tented with foil 10 minutes before slicing. Slice into 12 slices. Spoon remaining cherry sauce over the pork. 

NOTES: The best tip for not overcooking pork tenderloin is to use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. Here’s how to do it: 

NUTRITION INFO: 2 slices, Calories: 233 kcal, Carbohydrates: 15 g, Protein: 32 g, Fat: 3.5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 98.5 mg, Sodium: 365.5 mg, Fiber: 0.5 g, Sugar: 14 g

(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)

AUTHOR: Abby Jimenez

RATING: ★★★★

RELEASE DATE: April 1st, 2025

REVIEW: What a great little love story! This is the first book I’ve read by Abby Jimenez, and I enjoyed it so much I finished it in two days. The snarky dialogue made me laugh out loud SO many times, and the emotional moments brought tears to my eyes. This is a funny yet moving story about a family dealing with dementia, and Xavier is an admirable hero you can’t help but swoon over. Samantha is a down-to-earth and relatable heroine, and she’s also someone to admire. I would highly recommend Say You’ll Remember Me to everyone. It was a nice little break from historical fiction for me, and I look forward to reading more of Jimenez’s work in the future. 

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.)

AUTHOR: Noelle Salazar

NARRATORS: Xe Sands and Patrick Zeller

RATING: ★★★★

REVIEW: As always, Noelle Salazar broke my heart - but in a good way. When my heart aches and/or I cry while listening to or reading a book then you can be rest assured the writing and narrating is amazing. That was the case with The Lies We Leave Behind. Noelle has such a beautiful way with words. Her descriptions are so vivid I can picture everything in my mind as the story unfolds, and I feel as if I’m there witnessing it all. My emotions were all over the place while listening to this book. Historical fiction has always been my favorite genre, especially those that take place during World War II, but it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me since my youngest son recently enlisted in the military. Reading about the horrors of war hits differently when you know your child could be in the midst of it someday. I adored Kate and William’s love story. I’m glad William was able to move on and get married after he thought he’d lost Kate, but it really saddened me that she didn’t find love again, especially after the horrible things she went through. Xe Sands is an incredible narrator, but I have to admit it took me awhile to warm up to Patrick Zeller’s narrating. He has a very deep and rich voice that kind of startled me at first, but by the end of the book I was sobbing over the tremor and emotion that resonated in his voice when he found out the truth. It was very moving. I would highly recommend The Lies We Leave Behind to everyone.  

Hello, dear readers! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt from Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl is Books on My Winter 2024-2025 To-Be-Read List. I don't have ten at the moment, but here are a few I’ve had on my NetGalley shelf for a few months now that I hope I can get to soon. Unfortunately, life has been really life-ing lately, so I haven’t had much time to read. Fingers crossed that changes in the new year. HAPPY TUESDAY!

TITLE: The Flight Girls (audiobook)

NARRATOR: Xe Sands

REVIEW: Dear readers, if you've read any of my reviews over the past couple of years then you already know I'm a huge fan of historical fiction. You should also know I'm a big fan of Noelle Salazar too, so this review will probably come as no surprise to you. I don't know why it's taken me so long to read The Flight Girls, but I'm so glad I did. I believe this is the first historical fiction book I've read with the bombing of Pearl Harbor as a focal point, and Noelle does such an amazing job (as always) describing the horrors from that day and really putting you in the heroine's place so that you can see it and feel it from her perspective. The narrator, Xe Sands, also did an excellent job portraying the heroine, Audrey, and the many other characters in the story. This was my first time listening to her, and I look forward to listening to more of her work. 

So many emotions come to the surface while listening to this book. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I gasped. The friendships between the women pilots is so endearing, and I loved cheering them on. I clapped over their accomplishments and fumed over the disheartening lack of recognition they endured. My heart ached for them during their times of loss and soared with them through their times of joy. I felt like I knew each one of them by the time the story ended, thanks to Noelle's incredible storytelling. The ending was beautiful and perfect, and I was honestly sad when the story ended. I highly recommend The Flight Girls to everyone. 

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large oven safe enamel deep skillet with a fitted lid, bring the milk, ¼ teaspoon salt or bouillon cube, thyme and sage to a simmer over low heat 5 minutes, until aromatic. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Wipe the skillet. Melt the butter in the skillet then add the leeks, cook 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, 1 minute. Add the cooked turkey, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, black pepper, 1 cup of the chicken broth, peas and carrots, 2 tablespoons parsley and thyme and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add ¼ cup cornstarch to the remaining 1 cup chicken broth and mix well, pour over the turkey and cook, stirring until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Smooth the turkey mixture in the skillet and top with the sliced potatoes starting from the outside, overlapping the potato slices in a spiral until you cover all of the meat. Remove the sage and thyme from the milk and pour over the potatoes, top with Gruyere cheese; cover the skillet tightly with foil or a lid. Bake on the second rack from the top of the oven, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Remove the lid and broil until the cheese is slightly browned and golden, about 3 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley. 

NUTRITION INFO: 1 ¼ cups, Calories: 383 kcal, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Protein: 46 g, Fat: 11 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 107.5 mg, Sodium: 775 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 4 g

(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste)

Hello, dear readers! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt from Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl is all about Thanksgiving and/or thankfulness, so I decided to go with listing some Thanksgiving themed books. I haven’t read any of these, but let me know if you have. Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!