Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at dp. My original plan was to participate as and when I had the time to put a post together. That then turned into posting ‘weekly without fail’ until I was forced to take a break following surgery to both shoulders (that recovery happened to coincide with a complete and utter loss of reading and blogging mojo 🤷🏻‍♀️). But now I’m back and I’m going to take a much more chilled approach to all things bookish. Which means TTT will return to being a regular feature on damppebbles but a ‘no pressure’ one (that’s the plan anyway!).

The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.

This week’s theme is a Love Freebie seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day in a few days time. As someone who tends to read darker, more murderous fiction, choosing a love-themed topic to link my books together has been tough. My husband, who is always great at this sort of thing, came up with a few interesting ideas but I’m worried they make me sound a bit…odd (fictional serial killers I love….😬🤨…hearts on the cover [he meant actual anatomical hearts 🫀 – which is an interesting idea but I don’t have anything that fits the bill, thankfully!🤢]…books with weapons on the cover [I need to share his thought process here to stop him from sounding odd — he was thinking about cupid with his bow and arrow, that’s where weapons came from 😬🤨). Anyway, I’ve decided to shelve his ideas for now and just go with covers that are predominantly red (I’ll include pink if I can’t find enough books on my shelf with red covers). Let’s face it, as a crime reader, if I can’t find enough red covers, I’m REALLY going to struggle with pink!!

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1. The Contest by Jeff Macfee
More white than red really but I’m only just warming up!

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2. The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
Still not read it but really, really want to!

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3. The September House by Carissa Orlando
Another book I am DESPERATE to read!

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4. Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
Don’t even own this one yet. It’s a wish list book and another I am very keen to read!

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5. Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
I’ve read this one, hurrah! And very good it is too. I have a request in for this author’s second book on NetGalley. Fingers crossed my request is approved.

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6. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Possibly more black than red but I’m going to include it anyway as it’s an excellent book!

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7. The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry
Another one I’ve read (and another one you could argue is more black than red but hey-ho!)

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8. The 13th Girl by N.V. Peacock
Phew! It’s another one I’ve read. Enjoyed this one a lot.

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9. End of Story by Louise Swanson
Cheating a little with this one as this is the hardback cover. The more recent paperback cover is very blue.

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10. The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen
I have this on my TBR but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Must change that this year as it sounds ACE!

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Easier than I thought and not a trace of pink in sight! I can’t help but feel some people may look at these covers and see orange, not red. But I can assure you they are red…ish! Most of them, anyway…

Have you read any of these books? Are there any on my list that take your fancy? Do you think I should have gone with a ‘fictional serial killers I love’ theme instead? Do you look at these covers and see red? Or orange? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.

So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!

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