LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: A Traditional Affair by Joanie MacNeil

August 23, 2021 By 1 Comment

Thanks for joining us on our 14th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

Within the imposing halls of historic Carabrae, Scotland, Australian Kate Fielding finds herself caught in an unusual love triangle.

Dark and dominating, traditional Scot Galen MacBain is intrigued by the outspoken young woman who stirs both his demons and his passions. Marriage to Kate would provide him with an heir and a father for her child. Kate cannot accept Galen’s convenient proposal. Though her baby would inherit the wealthy MacBain estate, her marriage to Galen would be for the wrong reasons.
Their lives are pitched together in a push and pull search for love, trust and family values. Will this modern and determined young woman resist the temptation to accept Galen’s proposal of marriage?

 

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Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: ,

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Places to Read

August 17, 2021 By 28 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Wasn’t this a fun prompt? There are so many different ways to answer it.

1. While waiting for news of any sort, especially if you don’t yet know if it will be positive or negative news.

2. At the dentist’s or doctor’s office.

3. When waking up. Why not get a few pages in while you’re waiting for the tea to steep or the eggs to finish hard boiling.

4. When I’m bored or restless.

5. At a coffee shop.

6. While healing from an injury. I fractured a bone a few years ago and was so grateful for the cheerful distraction of books while I did all of the resting needed for my body to fully heal.

7. After donating blood or receiving a vaccination. Reading can help speed through the mandatory observation period for minor procedures like these.

8. When I’m feeling nervous.

9. If I’m in a lighthearted mood.

10. When I’ve had a bad dream. Sometimes it helps to clear those images out of my mind in the middle of the night if I can find happier ones to take their places.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Are Questions

July 13, 2021 By 24 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Wasn’t this week’s prompt a fun one? Here is our list.

1. What Does a Witch Need? by Ida DeLage

2. Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

3. What’s Good for a 4-Year-Old? by William Cole

4. What’s the Number For 911 Again? by Leland Gregory

5. When Will It Snow? by Syd Hoff

6. The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond

7. What Happened to Heather Hopkowitz? by Charlotte Herman

8. What Do You Do When Your Mouth Won’t Open? by Susan Beth Pfeffer

9. Why Me? Why Did I Have to Get Diabetes? by Robert Messinger

10. What Makes A Lemon Sour? by Gail Kay Haines

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021

June 29, 2021 By 34 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m beyond excited for all of these books.

Yes, I know that all I’ll be doing on September 7 is reading based on how many of these titles come out then. LOL!

1. The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi 

Publication Date: September 1

Why: It’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. How cool is that?

 

2. Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)  by Jay Kristoff 

Publication Date: September 7

Why: I love stories about scary vampires, and this one definitely seems like it fits the bill.

 

3. The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

Publication Date: September 7

Why: This looks like a nice blend of mystery and dark fantasy.

 

4.We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson

Publication Date: September 7

Why: Coming-of-age novels are the perfect thing to start September off with if you ask me.

 

5. Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero  by Saadia Faruqi 

Publication Date: September 7

Why: It’s hard to believe that we’ll be observing the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this year. I’m curious to see how this book handles that topic, especially for readers who weren’t alive then or weren’t old enough to remember it.

 

6. Mary, Will I Die? by Shawn Sarles 

Publication Date: September 7

Why: The idea of Bloody Mary freaked me out when I was a kid! I want to know why these characters were brave or foolhardy enough to try to summon her.

 

7. To Break a Covenant by Alison Ames  

Publication Date: September 7

Why: Ghost stories are the best, and this one looks particularly fun.

 

8. Hello (From Here) by Chandler Baker  

Publication Date: September 7

Why: I’m ready for a love story set during Covid-19 lockdowns. Do you all feel the same way?

9. The Shaadi Set-Up  by Lillie Vale 

Publication Date: September 7

Why: Online dating can be so complicated. I like reading books about characters who must navigate it.

 

10. A Lot Like Adios  by Alexis Daria 

Publication Date: September 14 (Look! We finally moved past September 7. Haha!)

Why: I don’t normally read many romance novels, but I do like the second chance trope. After the 2020 and 2021 so many of us have endured, I’m in the mood for happily ever afters for everyone.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Summer 2021 TBR

June 15, 2021 By 40 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are the ten books I’m most looking forward to reading this summer. If a publication date isn’t listed, the book has already been published.

1. The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo 

Why: I’ve often wondered what it was like to live through the Jazz age.

 

2. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Why: There aren’t a lot of fictional books out there about workplace bullying and abuse. This one sounds good.

 

3. A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water, #1)  by Bethany C. Morrow  

Why: I love magical realism and mermaid tales.

 

4. The Very Nice Box by Eve Gleichman

Why: I don’t know I’ve ever read a satirical thriller before. That combination of genres sounds amazing.

 

5. Sisters of the Snake (Ria & Rani #1) by Sasha Nanua

Why: There’s something fascinating to me about a princess switching places with an orphan.

 

6. The Secret Keeper of Jaipur  by Alka Joshi

Publication Date: June 22

Why: It sounds like good historical fiction.

 

7. Rescue on Turtle Beach  (Wind Riders #1) by Jen Marlin

Publication Date: July 6

Why: This story sounds adorable. I rescued a turtle once when I was a teenager!

 

8.This Poison Heart (This Poison Heart, #1) by Kalynn Bayron

Publication Date: July 15

Why: Briseis sure sounds like she has an amazing magical ability. I can’t wait to see what it would be like to make plants grow with a simple touch of your hand.

 

9. The Hand of the Sun King  by J.T. Greathouse

Publication Date: August 5

Why: There’s something about hot, humid summer days that makes me want to read high fantasy. Maybe it’s because I read so much of it during summer breaks when I was a kid?

 

10. Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

Publication Date:August 24

Why: Ms. Chow sounds like she’s had an interesting life. I’m curious to read her thoughts on grief.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: My Ten Most Recent Reads

May 4, 2021 By 48 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are my ten most recent reviews at Long and Short Reviews as of when I wrote this post.

If you’re interested in joining the Long and Short Reviews team, go to our Become a Reviewer page for more information.

We have a wonderful group of reviewers and are always happy to welcome new folks aboard!

 

1. Spirit in Time by Julie Howard

Genre: Romantic Mystery

Why I Liked It: It had genuine character development that I mentioned wanting to see more of in my review of the first book in this series. Isn’t it wonderful when authors do this?

 

2. Fern and Otto by Stephanie Graegin

Genre: Children’s

Why I Liked It: There were so many clever references to classic fairy tales and legends.

 

3. To the Moon and Back For You by Emilia Bechrakis Serhant

Genre: Children’s

Why I Liked It: The main character was a loving, attentive parent. I also liked how open-ended the storyline was as far as how she eventually was able to become a mother.

 

4. Short Poems, Long Tales by Rashid Osmani

Genre: Poetry

Why I Liked It: All of poems were short, sweet, and to the point. I appreciate that sort of poetry.

 

 

5. Mae the Mayfly by Denise Brennan-Nelson

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Why I Liked It: Mae was such a brave little Mayfly.

 

6. The Ferret by Tom Minder

Genre: Mystery

Why I Liked It: The descriptions of how the Witness Protection Program works were fascinating.

 

7. Hunted: A Short Story by Brandon Tolin

Genre: Science Fiction

Why I Liked It: Cryptozoology is one of those topics that isn’t covered nearly enough in this genre, so I was happy to see it here.

 

8. Where Are You,  Agnes? by Tessa McWatt

Genre: Children’s

Why I Liked It: I didn’t know much about the early life of Agnes Martin, a famous Canadian painter, and was excited to learn more.

 

9. Sparky Brain – Epileptic Tips and Stories by Ada Almond

Genre: Non-Fiction

Why I Liked It: Someone I care about has epilepsy. It was interesting to read about this author’s experience with it and learn about some things that have helped her reduce her seizures.

 

10. Masquerade Season by ‘Pemi Aguda

Genre: Science Fiction

Why I Liked It: The main character was incredibly sweet and likeable. He made me want to learn more about the world building.

 

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Movie Review: Howard Original

April 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Movie Review: Howard Original

Director: Natalie Rodriguez

Writer: Kevin Michaels and Natalie Rodriguez

Stars: Kevin Michaels, Natasha Galano, Katt Balsan, Jasmine Richards, Ivon Millian, Alessandra Mañon, and Iliyana Apostolova.

Due to recent tragic events in his life – particularly with MULTIPLE failed relationships – a screenwriter named HOWARD begins to question his life and the meaning of it. He escapes to a cabin, in hopes to find closure from both his writer’s block and hysterical, yet painful past. Only, HOWARD finds himself in a state of reality and an altered universe when he finds an abandoned cat named BLUE while reflecting on his personal and work relationships.

Rated: 3 Stars

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He’s not a good guy, but he is an interesting one.

Howard was an argumentative, crass, and deeply prejudiced character whose profound lack of self-awareness made me shake my head. He was the last person I’d ever want to spend time with in real life, and yet I found myself fascinated by his repeated refusals to learn from his mistakes or listen to the feedback he was given about his abhorrent behavior from many of the women who crossed his path.

Other films on this topic would generally shown a small crack in the main character’s persona early on as evidence that he knew what he was doing was wrong and that he was at least theoretically capable of changing. The fact that this one gave the audience no hints about him learning the error of his ways or even admitting he had major issues relating to other human beings only made me more curious to see how such a belligerent and stubborn character would react to all of the plot twists that were being thrown his way.

I was often confused by the flashbacks in the storyline. While some of them were necessary in order to understand the deeper meanings of the plot, they happened so regularly that I struggled to keep the timeline in order in my head. Once or twice I paused this film in order to write down how I thought everything fit together and then checked it later to see if I was correct. It would have been helpful if more of the most important scenes had been shown in the order they actually occurred. There were times when I was totally wrong about how they should have fit together, and that only puzzled me more.

Blending the satirical and dreamlike elements of the plot together was a good choice. This was especially true during the portions of it near the end that would have been easy to take literally if they’d been shot in a more straightforward manner. I appreciated having these reminders to dig more deeply into what was happening and think critically about what I was watching. They did a good job of tying up some loose ends for me.

Howard Original kept me on my toes. I’d recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for something genre bending and thought provoking.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings, Movie Review, Television Show Tagged With: , ,

Top Ten Tuesday: Colorful Book Covers

April 20, 2021 By 30 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

All of these books have nice splashes of color on their covers, don’t you think? I haven’t read any of them yet, so do let me know if you’ve read and enjoyed any of them when you comment.

1. A Million Worlds with You (Firebird, #3) by Claudia Gray

2. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Dead Astronauts (Borne #2) by Jeff VanderMeer

3. Dead Astronauts (Borne #2) by Jeff VanderMeer

4. A Tyranny of Petticoats (A Tyranny of Petticoats, #1) by Jessica Spotswood

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6. The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy, #2) by Katherine Arden

7. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

The Undercover Captain by Henry Vogel

8. The Undercover Captain by Henry Vogel

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare

9. City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare

10. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: Places In Books I’d Love to Live

March 30, 2021 By 52 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

All of the places I picked for this week’s prompt were fictional and magical. If only I could really go visit them! Wouldn’t it be neat to drink butter beer or have a conversation with a talking animal?

1. Hogsmeade from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

2. The Shire from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.

3. The quiet village of Carvahall from Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle series

4. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children from Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, #1) series

5. Oxford College from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
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6. Anywhere that Aziraphale and Crowley are spending time together from Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

7. Oz from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)

8. The spacious home of the big friendly giant From Roald Dahl’s The BFG

9. The home planet of the little prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince
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10. Cair Paravel from C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Spring 2021 TBR

March 16, 2021 By 44 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m so excited for these spring 2021 releases! Which ones were also on your lists?

 

1. Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

Release Date: Already released.

It Sounds Good Because…I’ve never read a young adult book about uterine cancer before.

 

2. Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira

Release Date: Already released

It Sounds Good Because…our world needs more dancing and romance at the moment.

 

3. Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan

Release Date: April 6

It Sounds Good Because… it deals with some pretty pertinent issues like immigration, bullying, and xenophobia.

 

4. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

Release Date: April 22

It Sounds Good Because… portals to other worlds never fail to ignite my imagination.

 

5. Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton

Release Date: May 4

It Sounds Good Because… I adore the idea of falling in love with someone before you know what they look like.
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6. China by Edward Rutherfurd

Release Date: May 13

It Sounds Good Because… I deeply enjoy historical sagas.

 

7. Ophie’s Ghosts  by Justina Ireland

Release Date: May 18

It Sounds Good Because… ghost stories are always intriguing to me, especially when they’re set in the past

 

8.  Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

Release Date: May 25

It Sounds Good Because… long-haul space travel requires so many things to go right in order for the characters to safely make it to their destinations.

 

9. Nia and the New Free Library by Ian Lendler

Release Date: June 1

It Sounds Good Because… little free libraries make my heart sing.

 

 

10. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Release Date: June 15

It Sounds Good Because…I’m fascinated by the concept of genetic matchmaking programs. Wouldn’t it be nice to immediately know which people would make a great husband, wife, or life partner for you? I think that would make the dating process so much easier for everyone.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With:
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