Category: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

• Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
• Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
• Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
• Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

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This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List. There are some absolute crackers coming out in the next couple of months, including from some of my favourite authors, so my list is all about keeping up with ARCs. Most of the books are also on my list for the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge. It’s a list heavy on historical fiction, my favourite genre.

Links from each title will take you to the full book description on Goodreads.

1. Throw Away the Key by Jason M. Hough (Crooked Lane Books, 14th July) – A former CIA locksmith turned glorified janitor is haunted by a botched Cold War operation
2. Daughters of Naples by Diana Giovinazzo (Crooked Lane Books, 21st July) – Three sisters face danger in WW2 Naples
3. The Millionaire Waltz by Anthony Quinn (Abacus, 6th August 2026) – A young woman treads a path between danger and desire in 1920s London
4. Where are the Kings by Donal Ryan (Doubleday, 13th August 2026) – A story of family secrets in the aftermath of bereavement
5. The Eagle & the Wolf by Gordon Doherty (HarperCollins, 13th August 2026) – First in a new series about Attila the Hun
6. The Knife Maker of Venice by David Gilman (Head of Zeus, 13th August 2026) – A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive in seventeenth-century Venice
7. Invitation from a Dictator by Rory Clements (Viking 13th August 2026) – On the eve of WW2, a royal guest is lured into Hitler’s deadly web
8. Conqueror by Simon Turney (Head of Zeus, 27th August 2026) – Fourth in the series about famed Roman general and statesman, Agricola
9. Cold Sunset by William Boyd (Viking, 3rd September) – Third novel starring accidental spy Gabriel Dax, set in Cold War Moscow
10. Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday, 10th September 2026) – Foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn joins an oddball team preparing for the launch of the 1951 Festival of Britain

What books are you hoping to read in the next few months?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

• Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
• Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
• Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
• Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

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This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Bookish Wishes but as is often the case I’m going off-topic.

As it’s summer here in the Northern Hemisphere (although it hasn’t felt like it recently), my thoughts are turning to long evenings sitting in the garden sipping a glass of wine or something stronger. So here are ten books whose titles I think would make good names for cocktails, along with some tasting notes.

Links from each title will take you to my book review. Cheers!

1. Thunderball (by Ian Fleming) – A vodka martini with extra kick
2. Wild Dark Shore (by Charlotte McConaghy) – The Antarctic cousin of a Dark and Stormy
3. Peach Blossom Spring (by Melissa Fu) – The Chinese cousin of a Bellini
4. Cairo Gambit (by S. W. Perry) – Your mummy chooses the ingredients
5. Green Ink (by Stephen May) – Heavy on the creme de menthe
6. Gabriel’s Moon (by William Boyd) – Or perhaps you’ll be seeing stars
7. Estella’s Revenge (by Barbara Havelocke) – Watch out for the pips
8. Bitter Orange (by Claire Fuller) – Like an Aperol Spritz but…well, fuller flavoured
9. Love and Fury (by Samantha Silva) – Starts off sweet, ends up sour
10. Wrecker (by Noel O’Reilly) – Make it the last one of the evening

I had to exclude White Dog by Rupert Whewell, Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass and Hokey Pokey by Kate Mascarenhas because they are actual cocktails!

Can you think of other book titles that would make great names for cocktails?