Hey bookworm friends! My favourite type of TTTopics are the ones that are open ended, so when I saw this week’s I knew I had to participate. Alice @ The Wallflower Digest suggested “Books that Include/Feature [insert theme or plot device here]”. I recently read Upon A Starlit Tide and adored it (review to come). But the ballroom scenes in that book were so gorgeous they had me thinking about all the other books I’ve read with balls and elaborate gowns ✨. So this is a perfect opportunity to list books that feature a glittering ball; 5 I’ve read and 5 on my TBR.
Link-ups
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Don’t forget to check out her post and link up!
Books That Feature a Glittering Ball (or two)
Books I Read
1. Upon A Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
2. The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
3. Miss Amelia’s List by Mercedes Lackey (My Review)
4. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin E. Craig
5. The Final Empire (& the Mistborn series) by Brandon Sanderson
Please enjoy this stunning Mistborn fan art that I found of Elend Venture reading at a ball 😍! Artist is Rachel J. Russon.
Books On My TBR
6. Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best
7. Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick
9. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
10. Frederica by Georgette Heyer
I had so much fun coming up with this list. Whether regency, fantasy, whimsical, gothic, or masked, I’m excited to be transported to even more fabulous balls in the future!
Let’s chat in the comments!
Have you read any of these? What other books have you read that feature ballroom scenes?
Your topic wins from uniqueness, I think!
Thanks, Stephen, I appreciate that ☺ !
Great theme! I read a ton of regency and balls are so fun!
Thank you 😀 !! I definitely need to pick up more Regency tales! ♥ Any favs?
What a unique topic! I wonder what it’s like to attend a ball in real life?
I wonder all the time too, I keep hearing about fantasy balls being a thing because of the demand from readers, so maybe one day I’ll try to go to one one those.
Haha, wait, why did my brain read this title and think of a literal glittering ball 😂 I’m too tired!! But this is a unique take on the TTT topic! And OMG that artwork of Elend at the ball!! Stunning—I love it! 😍 Makes me want to prioritise re-reading Mistborn instead of picking up all the other books I need to read, lol. House of Salt and Sorrow was great and of course, we can’t forget the balls in P&P! Awesome list 🙂
Ahaha you’re not the only one, when I was trying to figure out what to title my post, Google thought I was talking about Disco balls so maybe it’s a terrible title 😂 Right? That illustration of Elend at the ball is gorgeous, I just HAD to share it for this topic , that artist is so talented! I’d love Mistborn reread but I need to pick up era 2 ! I have not read P&P yet but from the adaptations I know the balls will be amazing! Thank you 😀
Cool choice! I really need to get to A Mask of Mirrors soon, it’s been languishing on my Kindle for a while!
Thank you 😀 & Oh haha, then this might be the sign you need to pick it up. I keep hearing great things about it 😀
I love this idea, it’s one I never would have thought of. The only one of these I’ve read is House of Salt and Sorrows, and I do remember the ball scene😁
Thanks, Tammy! Ah yes, I remember being so enthralled during that whole book but specifically during the ball scenes!! 🙂
Oooh, this is a fun topic! I do enjoy reading about balls in fiction, though I think I would be too much of a wallflower to properly enjoy one in real life. 😉
Thanks for stopping by my TTT earlier!
Thank you, I love reading about them too 🙂 & that’s fair I feel like giant events with a lot of people and spectacle can be overwhelming and I’m sure I’d be torn between wanting to dance and not wanting people to see me dance 😂
Sparkly balls are definitely fun to read about! They’re the kind of thing I avoid at all cost in real life, but enjoy reading about nonetheless 🙂
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Ahaha it seems to be the consensus among a couple of commenters and I can’t say I blame you😜Thanks Susan, hope your reads are treating you well!
This is such a great topic!! I have loved so many of these books too.
Thanks, Leslie 😀 & I’m so glad you love a bunch of these as well, they are hard to resist!
Such a great idea for this theme! Great books too 😄
Thanks for visiting my blog, Kate 😀 & I’m glad you like some of these books too!
I haven’t read many books with balls. (That sentence sounds so naughty.) I have read Pride And Prejudice, though!
Ahah, I know I had such a hard time with the title of my post for that very reason too 😂😂Never fear, I knew what you meant! & Wonderful, that’s one I desperately need to read!
What a great topic! The only one I’ve read on this list is Pride and Prejudice. Looks like a great list of books, though.
Thanks, Yvonne 😀 Hoping to read P&P this year since it would be fitting for Austen’s 250th anniversary 😅
This is a great topic! Very unique.
I appreciate that, Cindy thanks 🥰
Who doesn’t love a glittering ball in a romance/fantasy book? Really intrigued by Upon a Starlit Tide. I can’t seem to look away from that cover. I love Pride and Prejudice and I hope you get a chance to read it.
Right? So enchanting! A Starlit Tide was SO good and that cover really does it justice. I posted my review on it yesterday in case you want to read my thoughts on it. Thank you, I plan to get to it this year but reading plans do have a mind of their own.
I LOVE a good ball! Especially when we get descriptions of all the outfits and food. The Mask of Mirrors is an all time favourite series of mine, and the descriptions of the clothes in that series is unmatched, and I’m really intrigued by Upon a Starlit Tide. Great list 🙂
Yess! The outfits especially! And I love reading about all the preparations surrounding them too. Oh wow, that’s so cool 🙂 That sounds amazing!! Upon A Starlit Tide was excellent, one of my favs this year so far. Thanks, Becky!
I love books with balls in them, especially fantasy ones where you get a combination of high society and the supernatural 😍 Mistborn isn’t a book I’d have guessed had balls in it though 😂 another reason for me to check that one out. Especially as that fanart feels so relatable (doesn’t everyone want to hide from parties with a book? 😂) You know I loved Foxglove King though and I also enjoyed House Of Salt & Sorrow.
I hope you enjoy the books on your TBR. I’ve heard of Georgette Heyer but haven’t tried anything by her. Mask Of Mirrors I keep seeing mentioned lately. I’m going to have to look up Swordspoint and Pride & Prejudice feels perfect for this list.
I recently brought The Rose Bargain and I’m sure that will feature some ballroom scenes 😍 I can’t remember the specific scenes as it’s been years but Dark Days Pact was set in the Regency era and comes with those sort of high society trappings too. I really need to reread that one to finish the series soon 😂
Yes me too, I love the combination of historical settings and magic so much! Aha right? Before I read Mistborn I never would have guessed either but that series is so full of surprises! 😜Yes, you might love Elend and that is relatable for all of us bookworms! lol
Yes, I do know you loved Foxglove King a lot but I didn’t know you’d read & liked House of Salt & Sorrow, it was also quite atmospheric which I loved!
Thanks, I keep hearing about how funny Georgette Heyer is and a few of her titles are on my TBR but I haven’t read any yet. & yes Mask of Mirrors is all over the place these days but I’m not mad about it! Swordspoint is a classic fantasy from the 80s, I’ve seen a couple people in my IG circle mention it.
Ohh The Rose Bargain, just read the synopsis and it does feel like there might be a ball in there! And interesting never heard of Dark Days Pact, ohh ‘Regency adventure’ and ‘Buffy-esque demon hunter’ that’s going on my list immediately lol!
They go together so beautifully 😍I’m glad to hear it wasn’t just me being dense with my surprise 😂 very true.
I think it was before we started talking. I enjoyed it and loved the atmosphere as you said. The sequel was such an unexpected delight and felt on a whole other level though…to be fair that could be my gothic loving heart but I did see someone else fall for that one too.
Ooh really? I didn’t know her books were funny. Always a plus. I hops you enjoy them. And yes definitely not a complaint.
I added it to my TBR. It sounds pretty good. I just don’t know how I’ve never heard of it before 🤔
Id be very surprised if there isn’t 😂 from what I remember I enjoyed it so hopefully it’ll be worth it. This was a while ago though. If you ever fancy a buddy read let me know as i have all three books sitting on my shelves and it may push me to finally reread and finish the series 😂 I think it kind of gave me Regency Shadow Hunter vibes but I’m not 100%.
Oh not at all, I bet lots of other people were also surprised.
Yeah that makes sense, I read it years ago too, before I even posted about books. I have not picked up the sequel yet though!Glad to hear it’s fantastic though!
I think funny in the way that Austen is funny, with social commentary and witty conversations from what I’ve heard.
& Oh cool, yeah it’s interesting to see what things we’ve ever heard of before.
Ah okay cool I think I need to start making a list of possible buddy reads for us but yes I would be down. haha 😀
Yes I guess so.
It’s pretty different but so good and went in some very unexpected directions. I hope you enjoy it whenever you get to it.
Ah right, makes sense. It’ll be interesting to see what you think of them. Yes very true.
That’s if you can get hold of copies anyway but yeah I should do the same tbh. I wrote down who I agreed to have some with but not which books 🙈
Thank you 😀 !
Oh my gosh that’s so funny we both did the same thing, next time I’ll have to write down which books as well 😂!
Ah yes, a good ball scene is so fun!
I agree, they’re so fun to read about! 🙂
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