Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Movie Review: Voicemails for Isabelle
August 10, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Voicemails for Isabelle written and directed by Leah McKendrick
Starring: Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, and Ciara Bravo
Publisher: Netflix
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars (8 on IMDB)
Reviewed by AstilbeJill leaves voice messages to her deceased sister telling her about her chaotic life in San Francisco. Unwittingly, a mysterious Austin TX real estate agent begins to receive their confessions.
Love has many faces.
Chronic illness isn’t a topic I‘ve seen covered in the romance genre very often, so I was immediately intrigued by Jill’s relationship with her sister who had a life-threatening health condition. While I don’t want to give away too many spoilers in this review, I can say that I loved the early segments that showed how their relationship had developed from childhood on through to adulthood and how the uncertainty and unfairness of life had shaped both of their personalities.
The final act did feel a little rushed to me, especially given how upset Jill had been with Wes earlier on. While this conflict between them was absolutely necessary in order for certain plot twists to play out later on, I would have liked to see a few more scenes showing how they worked things out so that the ending could have a few more layers to it and be even more satisfying for this viewer than it already was.
With that being said, I loved the chemistry between the two main characters. They had a lot in common and I enjoyed the slow burning romance that ignited between them as they got to know each other better while also juggling some serious life issues along the way. There was a nice mixture of themes included like complicated family relationships, grief, and the stress that comes from being in the wrong job that only made the romantic scenes all that much sweeter.
Voicemails for Isabelle was heartwarming and romantic.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for August 5, 2026
August 5, 2026 By 1 Comment
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Reason I’ve Stopped Reading or Watching a Series
Top Ten Tuesday: Frozen Desserts on Book Covers
August 4, 2026 By 36 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
For this week’s cover freebie, I will be continuing the summer theme and sharing ten book covers that include a frozen dessert on them somewhere. Even though I couldn’t find something in every category, my search included but is not limited to ice cream, gelato, sherbet, sorbet, snow cones, popsicles, frozen yogurt, mochi, Italian ice, fudge bars, ice cream sandwiches, Semifreddo, and so much more.
It especially makes me happy to see more frozen desserts being sold that are free of common allergens as that was much less common when I was a kid. Everyone deserves a sweet treat on a hot day!
1. The Milkshake Detectives by Heather Butler
2. Banana Split (A Culinary Mystery, #7) by Josi S. Kilpack
3. Big Gay Ice Cream: Saucy Stories & Frozen Treats: Going All the Way with Ice Cream: A Cookbook by Bryan Petroff
4. Cherry by Lindsey Rosin
5. Eating Things On Sticks by Anne Fine
6. Islanders by Cathy Thomas
7. The Complete First Summer: Books #1-4 by Melissa J. Morgan
8. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown
9. Love & Gelato (Love & Gelato, #1) by Jenna Evans Welch
10. Sundae My Prince Will Come (Wish, #6) by Suzanne Nelson
What is your favourite frozen dessert when the temperature rises?
TV Review: Widow’s Bay (Season 1)
August 3, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Widow’s Bay (Season 1) created by Katie Dippold
Directors: Hiro Murai, Ti West, Sam Donovan, and Andrew DeYoung
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll, and Dale Dickey
Publisher: Apple TV
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeA New England mayor trying to boost tourism on his island must navigate strange events suggesting it might be cursed.
It may be a small town, but it’s anything but sleepy.
The plot twists in this show were fantastic, and I was surprised by them on more than one occasion. What made them even better was how much effort the creator put into not only giving the audience fantastic clues but also making plenty of space for alternative interpretations of them as well. This meant that even when I was wrong about where the plot was headed, I still felt satisfied by my attempts to predict the ending of season one as my theories were perfectly reasonably at the time.
Horror and mystery are even more enticing to me when mixed together, and I loved digging into the history of Widow’s Bay as secrets were slowly revealed and a few explanations as to why this small community had such terrible luck were put forward by various characters. The paranormal themes only made everything scarier and more thrilling, and I’m hoping that these types of scenes are given even more screen time in the future as they provided ample opportunities not only for frights but also for some memorable character and plot development as well.
Speaking of small towns, I thought this was an honest portrayal of both what it’s like to live in a rural community as well as what it feels like to move to one and interact with people who have all known each other for their entire lives and may not always be that interested in getting to know outsiders. The tensions between various groups of people including newcomers, lifelong residents who wanted to see their community grow, and those who strongly preferred for things to remain the same forever were well written, fair, and sometimes downright hilarious. Honestly, I could understand everyone’s perspectives even if I didn’t necessarily agree with all of them, and I thought this added some nice conflict as well early on when the paranormal antagonists weren’t as active yet.
This first season of Widow’s Bay has me eagerly anticipating what might happen next. What a wild ride!
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 29, 2026
July 29, 2026 By 3 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
My Life in Photos or Gifs
TV Review: The Quilters
July 27, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Title: The Quilters
Director: Jenifer McShane
Producer: Jenifer McShane
Starring: Joe Satterfield
Publisher: Netflix
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars (10 on IMDB)
Reviewed by AstilbeIn this award-winning short documentary, men in a Missouri maximum-security prison design and sew beautiful, personalized quilts for foster children.
Rehabilitation begins with empathy.
I adored the sensitive and kind framing of this documentary, especially given the fact that many of the men who sew these quilts have been incarcerated for decades or even for the rest of their lies for what were in a few cases hinted to be terrible crimes. It’s not always easy for filmmakers or audiences to see the humanity in people with these kinds of violent pasts, so I appreciated the fact that as little time as possible was spent exploring what, exactly, they did to end up in a level 5 facility. Those details, while obviously important in other contexts, were not relevant to work these inmates were doing for children living in foster care or with disabilities like autism.
As someone who knows little about sewing, I was fascinated by the many detailed steps it requires in order to sew a quilt, weighted vest, or weighted blanket. For example, I didn’t know that cloth needs to be ironed and stretched out before being sewn together or what happens if those steps aren’t done properly. The inmates were trained carefully on their craft, and the items they produced were incredible. It was especially interesting to see how every inch of an item was inspected methodically before being shipped out to the children who were waiting for their gifts.
Regret and forgiveness were two of the deeper themes of this documentary that played out quietly in the background. A few of the men featured will probably never leave the maximum-security prison in Missouri where they have already lived for decades, so hearing their thoughts on the many years they’ve had to consider their life choices was especially poignant. I don’t want to share too many spoilers about what they’ve learned along the way, but I will say that they have had a lot of time to work through their feelings and I liked the way they expressed them.
The Quilters was a beautiful and heartwarming look at how dramatically people can change for the better when given the chance.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 22, 2026
July 22, 2026 By 2 Comments
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Books I Wish I’d Discovered Sooner
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 15, 2026
July 15, 2026 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Would You Go Skydiving? Why or Why Not?
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 8, 2026
July 8, 2026 By 2 Comments
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