Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Reads

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog and go here to see what others have on their Top Ten Tuesday lists!

Winter is upon us (such as it is in southeastern Louisiana), and it’s a perfect time for reads that make you feel all snuggly and warm! Today I’m sharing ten of my favorites. They may be cozy mysteries, they may not, they may involve winter, they may not, but they’re all perfect for reading while curled up with a blanket and a mug of your favorite hot beverage.

1. Comfort Zone by Kimberly Fish
   On assignment to research a handwritten sheet of music, Anna helps a stranded motorist, only to discover she’s rescued retired NFL quarterback Jack Moses. His confidence and fascination for solving problems makes him impossible for Anna to ignore even as they both dart along separate deadlines to save the finances at an inner-city school. Little does Anna know that as she wrestles with secrets from her past and a suspicious approach to people, Jack is running too—dodging women, pro athletes, and a future with no definable end zone.
   
   This is a sweet second-chance romance that actually does involve a little winter weather.
   
2. Bless Your Heart, Rae Sutton by Susannah B. Lewis
   When Rae Sutton’s mama passes away and leaves her the house where she grew up, Rae can’t imagine how the little old place might restore her broken life. Mourning the recent loss of her marriage, she takes the house and settles back into her tiny hometown with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Molly Margaret, and their overweight dog.
   
   Delightful! It’s set in a small town in the South, similar to where I grew up. This is the type of book that’s always a cozy read for me because it reminds me of home.
   
3. Sunrise by Susan May Warren
   When one of Echo’s fellow researchers goes missing, Echo sets out to find her, despite a blizzard, a rogue grizzly haunting the woods, and the biting cold. Plus, there’s more than just the regular dangers of the Alaskan forests stalking her . . .Will Dodge be able to find her in time? And if he does, is there still room for him in her heart?
   
   The Alaskan setting will certainly give you the shivers! (It did me, anyway. Brrrr!) And Susan May Warren writes a heck of a good suspenseful romance.
   
4. Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle
   Holiday time is party time in New York City, but after a sparkling winter bash ends with a murder, Village Blend coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi vows to put the killer on ice…
   
   Any of Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries are great cozy reads. But this one in particular seems perfect for snuggling in with on a winter day. Cookies, coffee, and murder – what better?
   
5. Deadly Keepsakes by Anita Dickason
   When Tori Winters becomes the star witness in a murder trial, someone tries to kill her. Terrified, she’s not giving the killer a second chance. With all her worldly possessions packed in her car, Tori is on the run. A mysterious phone call about an inheritance leads her to Granbury. After all, who would look for her in a small, quaint Texas town?
   
   No cold weather here, just a spine-tingling good mystery! And it’s set in Texas, one of my favorite places.
   
6. Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber
   It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.
   
   I love Heather Webber’s books, and this is the one that started it all! Her books are chock full of Southern charm and a little bit of magic, and I feel like I’m waving goodbye to friends when I finish one.
   
7. Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown
   Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder. Crozet’s thirty-something postmistress, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet’s citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message “Wish you were here” on the back.
   
   This is the first in Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series, and the entire series is wonderfully cozy. The books are set in Virginia, so winter weather often does play a part in the story. There are horses and hounds, cats and Corgis. Fabulous!
   
8. The Whisperers of Evernow by Heidi Catherine
   Manipulated by a vicious King, Jeremiah is stripped of his identity and forced into a life of silent submission as a Whisperer. Allowed only to speak at the command of the King, one thousand Whisperers must line up in rows and chant their sadistic ruler’s darkest desires. As each evil wish comes true, the King’s power over his impoverished kingdom grows.
   
   First in the Kingdoms of Evernow series, this is a shiver-inducing book, with an evil king, a hero trying to break free from his evil clutches, and a fairy-tale romance. So good!
   
9. The Enemy You Gnocchi by Catherine Bruns
   With snow dusting the ground and sauce sizzling on the stove, local chef Tessa Esposito is ready to serve up some holiday cheer. And with the annual Festival of Lights underway, it seems nothing can dim her spirits. Not even Mario Russo, the newest scrooge in town whose espresso bar has been quickly disrupting businesses and stealing customers from Harvest Park’s favorite coffeehouse.
   
   Catherine Bruns writes a wonderful cozy! This Christmas-themed mystery also involves cookies and coffee (those seem to be popular themes with me).
   
10. The Sweetest Thing by Sasha Summers
    For Tansy Hill, nothing is sweeter than honey from her farm—except maybe revenge on the man who broke her heart and humiliated her all those years ago. Dane “The Viking” Knudson has been Tansy’s rival since childhood, and though he’s grown into a frustratingly handsome charmer, he’s also standing between her and the best honey award at the Honey Bee Festival, which Honey Hill Farms desperately needs to stay afloat.
    
    This is an enemies to lovers romance, and a great story about forgiveness, the importance of family, and what happens when long-held secrets are revealed.

Have you read any of these? If not, do any of them grab your attention?