Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Things I Loved About Waiting for Spring


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I wrote a glowing five-star review for Sonya Rhen‘s Waiting For Spring from the Jelly Beans and Spring Things Series a while  ago.  Shayla is the protagonist, and the setting is an annual spring parade where she happens catches the attention of a handsome stranger this time around.

Here are ten things I loved about that short story:

1. Shayla’s kindness extended to everyone, including herself.

2. The romance was an unexpected but welcomed surprise in her life.

3. There can never be enough stories about parades in my opinion.

4. A plot twist that I will not go into detail about here was a delightful surprise.

5. Plenty of room was left for a sequel if one is ever written.

6. The belly dancing. I know almost nothing about that style of dance, so it was fun to learn more.

7. Procrastination as a plot device. Let’s just say that Shayla struggles with this flaw and it does play into how the parade works out for her.

8. Resourcefulness as a plot device. She is also a resourceful person, though, and I enjoyed seeing how she solved a problem of her own doing while under a time crunch!

9. The important of great body language. Parades aren’t exactly the best place for a conversation, but smiles and winks can go a long way in communicating one’s intentions.

10. The crowd’s energy. Half of the fun of parades is seeing how people react to them!

If you like contemporary romance – or even if you’re like me and only occasionally dip into that genre –  I highly recommend checking out this tale. It was delightful.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Make Me Hungry


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This isn’t my dog, but it sure is cute!

This topic originally came from August 31, 2020 which feels like a lifetime ago to me! So much has happened since then.

Here are ten titles that make me hungry. (And I wonder if anyone else will select this same theme this week?)

1.Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

2. Love & Gelato (Love & Gelato, #1) by Jenna Evans Welch

3. Chocolat (Chocolat, #1) by Joanne Harris

4. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (Whistle Stop #1) by Fannie Flagg

5. Pomegranate Soup (Babylon Café #1) by Marsha Mehran

6. The River Cottage Bread Handbook (River Cottage Handbook, #3) by Daniel Stevens

7. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

8. How To Bake A Chocolate Soufflé (Cherry Harbor, #1) by Carly Ellen Kramer

9. The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh

10. Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

All of my answers are from September and October. There don’t seem to be many releases scheduled for November yet, but I do look forward to seeing what shows up for that month later on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz

Release Date: September 1

Why I Want to Read It: This looks like a lighthearted read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Compound Fracture  by Andrew Joseph White

Release Date: September 2

Why I Want to Read It: There aren’t a lot of books about LGBTQ+ people living in rural areas from what I’ve seen. What a refreshing change of scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Luminous Beings by David Arnold

Release Date: September 3

Why I Want to Read It: Three words  –  wild goose chase. What a fun thing to read about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Somewhere Beyond the Sea (The House in the Cerulean Sea, #2)  by T.J. Klune

Release Date: September 10

Why I Want to Read It: T.J. Klune is a great storyteller and someone I always take note of when she releases a new book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. This World Is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa 

Release Date: September 10

Why I Want to Read It: Scary space travel is right up my alley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio 

Release Date: Septmber 24

Why I Want to Read It: Night shift work is so interesting to me. The fact that this is set in a cemetery makes it even better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  This Land Is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story by Julio Anta 

Release Date: October 1

Why I Want to Read It: The cover looks amazing. As the blurb wasn’t yet available when I wrote this post, that is all I have to go with at the moment. Isn’t it cool when a cover can do that for a reader?

 

(This cover is not available at the moment)

8.  If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens

Release Date: October 15

Why I Want to Read It: The premise is delightfully silly. Sometimes you just want to read something that would never happen in real life (or at least I do!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Januaries by Olivie Blake

Release Date: October 17

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve built up a reputation on Long and Short Reviews as a reviewer who loves requesting anthologies. There’s nothing like reading short stories from a variety of writers. It’s such a great way to quickly get to know many authors in the same genre and see if you want to read more from them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

Release Date: October 29

Why I Want to Read It: This is another horror tale I think might be perfect for Halloween. I love getting scared during spooky season.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are ten books I’m looking forward to checking out this summer. If a release date hasn’t been included, that title is already available to purchase or maybe even request from your local library if you have one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. It’s Only a Game by Kelsea Yu

Why I Want to Read It: I’m fascinated by stories about people who must assume new identities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Eruption by Michael Crichton

Why I Want to Read It: Crichton has a long history of writing exciting thrillers that make great vacation reads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  The Ghost of Us by James L. Sutter

Why I Want to Read It: Would I ever go ghost hunting in real life? No, but it is fun to read about in fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Why I Want to Read It: Since this going to be turned into a Netflix film soon, I want to get to know the book’s version of events first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie

Why I Want to Read It: Fellow horror fans, don’t you wish you could give advice to some horror film characters? I feel like more of them would survive if they were aware of this genre in advance and took some basic safety precautions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.  Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba

Release Date: June 25

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like such a playful and lighthearted read. Sometimes one needs a little of that in my opinion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez

Release Date: June 25

Why I Want to Read It: The main character sounds like such an interesting person. It’s not easy to come out of the closet or to feel torn between two different cultures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Someone Like Us by Dinaw Mengestu

Release Date: July 30

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like an exquisite novel full of strong character development and thoughtful commentary on life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Dance of the Starlit Sea by Kiana Krystle

Release Date: August 6

Why I Want to Read It: A Greek myth retelling is right up my alley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

Release Date: August 6

Why I Want to Read It: Kingfisher is one of those authors I always check out when they release something new. Also, I love fairy tale retellings even more than Greek mythology ones!

Top Ten Tuesday: Scary Books With Flowers on Their Covers


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

All of the books in this week’s list are from the suspense and horror genres. This is a trend that I don’t quite understand as flowers feels so sweet and innocent to me.

Maybe they are being included as a juxtaposition to the frightening things that often happen in mystery or horror novels? What do you all think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Toxic by Lydia Kang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Undead Truth of Us by Britney S. Lewis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The Depths by Nicole Lesperance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Ghosted: A Love Story by Jenn Ashworth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Almost Insentient, Almost Divine by D.P. Watt

Top Ten Tuesday: Our Recent 5-Star Reads


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

For this week’s freebie topic, I’ve decided to highlight the books that the reviewers here at Long and Short Reviews have recently given five stars.

We don’t rate books that highly very often, so kudos to all of the authors who have earned this honor!

I included their genre or genres in parentheses as well.

This post was written a few weeks in advance, but I gathered up as many recent examples as I could find in our queue.

1. The Excitements by CJ Wray (Fiction)

2. Slaughterhouse by K.A. Lugo (Suspense/Mystery)

3. The Fog Ladies: Date with Death by Susan McCormick (Mystery)

4. Sally Mitts Finds a Home: The Story of a Shy Shelter Kitten by Shain Stodt (Children’s)

5. Dreams of Drowning by Patricia Averbach (Mystery, Paranormal)

6. All Rhodes Lead to Here by Mariana Zapata (Romance)

7. The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy (Mystery, Paranormal)

8. Dogboy vs. Catfish by Luke Gracias (Mystery)

9. The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood edited by Kayleigh Dobbs, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wile E. Young (Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror)

10. Embracing Amelia by Elaine Violette (Historical Romance)

For the fellow reviewers reading this post, how often do you give out five star ratings in your reviews?

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Picture Books About Rain


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

One of my favorite moments as a Long and Short Reviews blogger and reviewer happens when review requests for picture books are submitted to us.

I try to request as many of them as I can because it’s wonderful to see what’s new in that genre and because I deeply enjoy spreading the word about the many beautiful picture books out there.

While I haven’t read any of these picture books yet, they do fit this week’s April Showers theme and they all look adorable.

If you’ve read any of them, please feel free to share your thoughts.

1. Hooray for Summer! by Kazuo Iwamura 

2. The Day It Rained Watermelons by Mabel Watts

3. Stormy Night by Salina Yoon

4. A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman

5. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

6.That Sky, That Rain by Carolyn B. Otto

7.Chirri & Chirra: The Rainy Day by Kaya Doi

8. McBroom the Rainmaker by Sid Fleischman

9. Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer

10. Pika Bunny and the Thunderstorm: Conejito Pika Y La Tormenta by Wendy Gilhula

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Spring 2024 TBR


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I hope all of these books will be great reads!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: I have not seen many books talk about Reddit. This could be really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Titanic Survivors’ Book Club by Timothy Schaffert

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: The Titanic was such an interesting and tragic chapter of history. I’ve often wondered how the survivors coped with their memories from that time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Black Girl Survives in This One by Desiree S. Evans (Editor)

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: The title. Isn’t it fabulous and refreshing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

Release Date: April 16

Why I’m Interested: Spring is a great time to read romance novels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

Release Date: April 16

Why I’m Interested: The horror and mystery genres work well together, and this sounds like it could be quite the adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.Home Is Where the Bodies Are  by Jeneva Rose

Release Date: April 30

Why I’m Interested: I like watching old home videos of myself and my loved ones. The thought of discovering an old while watching something like this is a cool twist on the mystery genre!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni

 

(The file for this cover was too large to upload for this book, but the link below will show it.)

8. Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley

Release Date: May 9

Why I’m Interested: Some stories excel when they mix a lot of different genres and ideas together. I hope this is one of them as the assassin’s guild alone sounds like it would have plenty of plot twists to keep the characters busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Release Date: May 21

Why I’m Interested: I try to check out everything Stephen King writes. Getting scared is fun!

Top Ten Tuesday: Weird or Funny Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Since I recommended this topic to Jana, I thought I should be the one to write Long and Short Reviews’s response to it as well.

Here are ten funny or interesting things I’ve googled thanks to a book. Horror and mysteries are among the genres I read which is why some of these queries are about death and corpses.

1. How long does it take bones to decompose in a grave? Can you still tell something was once a grave if there are no bones left in it?

2. What do zombies think about when they’re not chasing people?

3. Why is the Chosen One so often a teenager instead of someone older and more experienced?

4. How did people figure out which mushrooms were safe to eat when a lot of wild mushrooms will kill you?

5. Why do so many romance novelists dislike big cities?

6. Why doesn’t character X have common sense?

(No, I didn’t actually expect an answer for this one. I was simply annoyed by a character who kept making terrible decisions for no reason).

7.  How long can you live on a spaceship before getting radiation poisoning?

8. Why do so many aliens want to destroy humanity?

9. Books written from a cow’s perspective.

(Because I’d never heard of such a thing and wondered if it existed).

10. Can you write a book without any tropes at all?

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes About Love


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

For today’s Love Freebie theme, I’ve decided to share ten bookish quotes about love.

Some of them are about romantic love, but others are about the many other types of love that exist: platonic, familial, universal, practical, and more.

I believe this holiday can be used to celebrate all of them if you wish.

 

 

1. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

 

2. “Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

 

3. “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
Mahatma Gandhi 

 

4. “Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”
Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

 

5. “Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven

 

6. “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”
Maya Angelou

 

7. “How do you spell ‘love’?” – Piglet
“You don’t spell it…you feel it.” – Pooh”
A.A. Milne

 

8. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

 

9. “Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze. ”
Elinor Glyn

 

10. “There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
Vincent Van Gogh

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Thank you for visiting our post today.