I love this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic – Bookish Settings I Want to Visit. In coming up with my list, I decided very quickly that I needed to narrow my focus down to avoid another Top 100 Tuesday fiasco đ So I zeroed in on small town settings… and from there it was a logical leap to ‘at Christmas’. Because, c’mon. Small towns at Christmas? Adorable.
Some of these small towns are actual locales. Others are strictly from the authors’ imagination. But once we figure out how to leap between the real world and the fictional world? I’m booking a vacation.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and the towns are listed here in no particular order đ
Ransom, Virginia is the setting for Pepper Basham’s Mitchell’s Crossroads series
Check out her blog post about Ransom!
Visit Ransom in these books:
 
Fools Gold, California is the setting for Susan Mallery’s Fools Gold series
Check out a map of Fools Gold!
Visit Fools Gold in these books:
 
 
Reviewer’s Note: These are NOT Christian fiction and may contain foul language and/or ‘open door’ bedroom scenes. I remember these three as being ok, but I can’t guarantee it.
Lenox, Oregon is the setting for Nicole Deese’s Love in Lenox series
Check out Nicole’s tour of Lenox!
Visit Lenox in these books:
 
 
South Cove, California is the setting for Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap series
Check out this list of all the books/storefronts!
Visit South Cove in these books:
 
 
Prince Edward Island is the setting for, of course, the Anne of Green Gables series as well as Liz Johnson’s Prince Edward Island Dreams series.
Visit Prince Edward Island (for real) and in these books:
 
 
Gatlinburg, Tennessee is the setting for several of my fave novels, actually.
It’s also one of my favorite places to visit, but I still haven’t made it there at Christmas.
Check out Gatlinburg in the winter!
Visit Gatlinburg (in real life) and in these books:
 
 
Maple Valley, Iowa is the setting for Melissa Tagg’s Walker Family series
Check out Melissa Tagg’s Maple Valley Pinterest board!
Visit Maple Valley in these books:
I couldn’t help but include Hogsmeade, the only completely non-Muggle town in J.K. Rowling’s Britain.
Check out this profile of Hogsmeade!
Visit Hogsmeade in these books:
Hope Harbor, Oregon is the setting for Irene Hannon’s Hope Harbor series
Check out Irene’s gorgeous photos of the Oregon coast!
Visit Hope Harbor in these books:
Wishing Bridge, New York is the setting for Ruth Logan Herne’s Wishing Bridge series
Check out Ruthy’s plotting inspiration for this series!
Visit Wishing Bridge in this book (so far):
What about you? What small town bookish settings would you want to visit at Christmas?
Lenox is a fabulous place to visit! I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve read by Nicole set in that town. Also, I own one of Susan’s ‘Fool’s Gold’ books and even started to read it last year… but I never finished. Why I don’t know.
Three cheers for Melissa’s books too. Love those stories. đ
As always, this post is fabulous, Carrie.
Although Hope Harbor is a fictional town, Irene did her research in small Southern Oregon coastal town where she set the series in. I love these books because I live on the Northern Oregon coast & wished I could take a scenic ride down to visit Hope Harbor! đ I fell in love with her characters and also wished they were people I could meet. I can’t wait for Pelican Point to come out in April!
P.S. My copy of Welcome to Wishing Bridge is scheduled to be in my mailbox tomorrow (Dec 5th) and I’m going to immediately immerse myself in it! Can’t wait đ
It kind of startles me every time I hear the name Pelican Point, because that is the name of the place my great-grandparents homesteaded on the west side of Utah Lake in the late 1800s. It’s been taken over by towns now.
I love small town settings, so I can see why you’d want to visit these places. đ Hogsmeade would be amazing to visit!
Great list…especially South Cove and Hope Harbor. I want to visit some of the other places and they are on my TBR list.
I love small town settings. It would be Jan Karon’s Mitford for me. â€ïžâ€ïž
Great list as always, Carrie! I have had Hope Harbor in my sights for a while now. The Oregon coast is definitely on the bucket list.
I just finished “Welcome to Wishing Bridge” last night, so of course I want to go there. And who wouldn’t want to go to Maple Valley and meet those folks?! Great post!
Ooh, Hope Harbor looks gorgeous. I will have to add it to my fictional destinations list. I actually just got back from Gatlinburg and it is gorgeous at Christmas as is the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville NC. They really go all out for the holidays. I’m happy to see Lenox and Maple Valley on the list as well. They definitely made my list!
I love how you included Fool’s Gold!! So did I!! Isn’t that place just the best?!? I would love to visit and fall in love with a handsome man and the beautiful town. Definitely checking out the other series you listed!! Thanks for the recs!!
My Top 10 Bookish places to Visit
Awwww thanks bunches for including Maple Valley. I am constantly wishing it was a real place…which is probably why I just keep setting books there because then at least I can visit in my imagination.
I’d like to visit Susan May Warren’s Deep Haven! đ
Steadfast, Wisconsin form Lyn Cote’s Winter’s Secret! So cozy and snow…perfect Christmas setting.
Hogsmeade!!!! Yes!!!! Lol!!!
I want to visit ransom at Christmas! That would be awesome!
Thanks for including it, Carrie !!!
I knew you’d have a fun twist on the prompt! We both chose Mitchell’s Crossroads. That would be such a fun place to visit at the holidays or any time.
I’d love to visit Narnia at Christmas time.
Yes please! Take me away!
I would happily go to any of these places! Great list.
Hereâs a list of 9 that I would LOVE to visit, in no particular order. I KNOW Iâll think of several after the fact! I strayed some from the Christmas setting but… đ You already mentioned the first 3. đ
Maple Valley
Hope Harbor
Prince Edward Island
Deep Haven by Susan May Warren
Rock Harbor by Colleen Coble
Chapel Springs by Denise Hunter
Mitford by Jan Karon
Galveston Island (Bella series) by Janice Hanna Thompson
Merryweather (the historical village in True To You) by Becky Wade
See, I did it already! LOL! Smitten, Vermont by Coble, Hunt, Hunter, and Billerbeck <3
Ah Hogsmeade would be wonderful to visit at Christmas!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/05/top-ten-tuesday-136/
wouldn’t it be great?
I can’t think of any fictional places, maybe because they all sound so lovely and cozy? My real Christmas travel bucket list is Mackinac Island (only been there in the summer), Gatlinburg, Montreal (have you seen the pictures?!), and Germany to see a real Kriskindlmarkt.
They all sound so cozy and Christmasy!
I’ve always wanted to visit the Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas. I did a huge project on it in high school. It would be beautiful at Christmas!
Iâve heard itâs absolutely gorgeous at Christmas!