Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Books

Hosted by That Artsty Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  Keeping with the love theme since we’re just past Valentine’s Day, this week’s topic is books I loved that have fewer than 2,000 ratings on Goodreads.  All of these books are wonderful, and they clearly need more love!

Discount Prices (Heroes for Hire #1) by C.S. Feldman-21 ratings-I know I’ve mentioned this book several times, and I’m going to again.  It is great, and I can’t recommend it enough.

First Contact (Heroes for Hire #2) by C.S. Feldman-5 ratings-When I first read the premise of the sequel to Discount Prices, I was a little unsure.  The setting sounded much different than the previous book.  However, I loved the first book so much, I had to read the second one.  I’m so glad I did!  I sincerely hope there will be a book three.

The Magician’s Workshop Volume One by Christopher Hansen and J.R. Fehr-93 ratings-An excellent young adult series filled with magic!

The Magician’s Workshop Volume Two by Christopher Hansen and J.R. Fehr-42 ratings-I’m eagerly anticipating volume three!

The Caves of Etretat (Book One of Four) by Matt Chatelain-11 ratings-I read this years ago, but it has stayed with me.

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Justice Unending by Elizabeth Spencer-6 ratings-I really enjoyed the concept of this young adult novel!  I believe a sequel is in the works!

Eagle En Garde by Olga Godim-5 ratings-I enjoyed this fantasy, adventure novel very much.

Blistered (A Modern Greek Myth #1) by Deidre Huesmann-60 ratings-The Modern Greek Myth series is well worth reading!

Priestess (A Modern Greek Myth #2) by Deidre Huesmann-30 ratings

Warrior (A Modern Greek Myth #3) by Deidre Husmann-24 ratings

This concludes my list for the week!  Have you read any of these?  If not, which ones are you most interested in?

Top Ten Tuesday: Great Couples in Books

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

 

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday!  Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so today is all about great couples in books.  Since I wrote a post on this topic last year, I’m going to try not to repeat too many of the couples from my previous list.  Here is this year’s list in no particular order.

Audrey and Thomas-Stalking Jack the Ripper-I seriously need to read the second book!

Cinder and Thorne-The Lunar Chronicles-They aren’t a romantic couple but their friendship is one of the highlights of the series.

Jane and Gifford (G)- My Lady Jane-I had so much fun getting to know them!

Azalee and Joel-The Modern Greek Myth Series-After everything they endure, they deserve to be together.

Persephone and Hades- The Daughters of Zeus Series-I love re-tellings of Greek Myths.

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Anne and Gilbert-the Anne of Green Gables Series-A classic couple!

Beauty and the Beast-Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast-One of my favorite books.

Mercy and Adam-Mercy Thompson Series-I couldn’t help myself!  I had to put them on my list again.  They are such an awesome couple!

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy-Pride and Prejudice-Would a great couples list be complete without them?

What do you think?  Who are some of your favorite couples?  Did any of my couples make your list?

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Upcoming YA Releases I’m On the Fence About

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I love the young adult genre. It’s one of the genres I read the most often, and I’m always on the lookout for the newest titles and authors from it. There are some YA books I’m still deciding whether or not to read this year for reasons I’ll explain below.

1. Prom Kings by Tony Correia

Expected Publication Date: February 5

I wasn’t interested in going to the prom when I was in high school, so I’m wondering if this book will have enough else happening in it to keep me reading.

2. Nick and June Were Here by Shalanda Stanley

Expected Publication Date: February 12

Schizophrenia isn’t a topic that a lot of YA books cover, and I definitely want to support the ones that do. I’m just not entirely sure if I’m in the mood for something that could potentially be a very tough read.

3. The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason

Expected Publication Date: February 19

As with Nick and June Were Here, I’m wondering if this one is going to be too much of a tearjerker for me. The main character’s boyfriend cheated on her with her sister very early on in the plot. The sister was then in a terrible car accident that left the sister with amnesia. I want to read it, but I also don’t know if I can handle a sad ending.

4. Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve

I love the diversity and basic storyline mentioned in this blurb, but I’m not too keen on the zombies. Lately, reading and watching zombie stuff has been giving me horrible nightmares, so I have to be careful about how often I indulge in it. Maybe I should read this at the same time as I read one of the romances on today’s list so my mind remembers to give me pleasant dreams? Ha!

Expected Publication Date: March 12

5. This Is Not a Love Scene by S.C. Megale

I’ve never read a YA book about a character with muscular dystrophy before! I’d like to change that, but I’m so particular about the types of romance novels I read that I wonder if there will be enough non-romance conflict in this one to keep me interested.

Expected Publication Date: May 7

6. We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra

As someone who is part of the LGBT+ community, I’m thrilled to see so much more representation of us in this genre than there was when I was a teenager. As I said earlier, I don’t read very much romance, soI wonder if this one will have subplots on other topics that will complement the main storyline.

Expected Publication Day: May 14

7. In the Silences by Rachel Gold

There is so much going on in the blurb for this one: serious racial tensions, a first love, an interracial relationship, two characters coming out of the closet, and a character exploring her genderqueer identity. It is definitely something I want to read eventually, I just think I’ll need to be in the right frame of mind to think about so many potentially heavy storylines at once.

Expected Publication Date: May 21

8. The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

As interested as I am in stories about human-android hybrids, the comparisons to West World in the blurb did make me pause. I liked that show, but I also found it pretty disturbing at times. I wonder if I should give this tale a try anyway?

Expected Publication Date: May 28

9. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

Expected Publication Date: June 4

To be very honest, I never connected with the main character in this author’s last book, Let’s Talk About Love even though I liked the writing itself quite a bit. I do want to read If It Makes You Happy, but I’m a bit nervous about this happening again.

10. The Arrival of Someday by Jen Malone

This tale is about a teenage girl waiting for an organ transplant. If she doesn’t get a new liver soon, she will die. Reading about medical stuff in vivid detail makes me feel lightheaded, so I’m wondering how graphic this book’s descriptions of liver disease and transplants will be and if I should risk it.

Expected Publication Day: July 23

Will you be reading any of these books later on this year? Which ones do you think I should read?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read In 2018 but Didn’t Get To

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I don’t know about you, but I’m an ambitious reader. There are so many more enticing books out there than there are hours in the day to read them.

Here are 10 titles published last year I honestly did mean to read in 2018. Maybe I’ll have more luck getting around to them this year? Since I strictly avoid spoilers for fiction and non-fiction works alike, I won’t be saying anything about them like I normally do in my Top Ten Tuesday posts. All I know is that their blurbs sound interesting and I really do want to read them soon.

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama.

2. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza.

3. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver.

4. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.

5. The Outsider by Stephen King.

6. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari.

7. The Reckoning by John Grisham.

8. The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani

9. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

10. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult.

Have you read any of these titles? What books did you intend to read last year but never actually got around to picking them up?

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2018

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week is all about authors I read for the first time in 2018.  Since I never manage to stay on top of new releases, some of the authors on my list will probably not be new to you.  However, one of the great things about reviewing for Long and Short Reviews is the opportunity to read some great books from independent authors/publishers who deserve more recognition!

Marty Ambrose-I really enjoyed her historical mystery, Claire’s Last Secret.

Jordan Elizabeth-Her Gothic mystery, Secrets of Bennett Hall is definitely worth checking out!

Grace Lin-I had a wonderful time reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon with my children.

Christine Grabowski-I really enjoyed the premise of her young adult novel Dickensen Academy.

Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows-I absolutely loved My Lady Jane!

Selective Focus Photography Of Three Pine Cones

Kerri ManiscalcoStalking Jack the Ripper was great.  Now I need to get to the rest of the series!

Marissa MeyerThe Lunar Chronicles is an excellent series!

Leigh Bardugo-I finally read the Six of Crows duology.  Now I need to read The Grisha trilogy.

Sandhya MenonWhen Dimple Met Rishi was such a fun read!

What do you think?  Have you read any of these authors?  What authors were new to you in 2018?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I love the feeling of anticipation, so I was just excited for this week’s topic as I was last month when I blogged about my Winter 2018 TBR.

There’s no such thing to me as having too many books to look forward to. The longer the list is, the better! All of the titles I’ll be talking about today will be published at some point between January and June.

1. Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen

Release Date: January 29

Two words: time travel. As soon as I see that phrase, I automatically want to add that story to my TBR. The fact that the main character is from the future and only visiting our timeline only makes it all more exciting.

2. The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

Release Date: February 12

Tor Books has published so many amazing tales over the years that my ears automatically perk up whenever I see them listed as the publisher for something new. The thought of living on a planet that was half covered in permanent daylight and half covered in permanent darkness tickles my imagination, too.

3. Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington’s First Love by Mary Calvi

Release Date: February 19

This is based on a real-life romance. Isn’t it fascinating to think that enough details about that relationship were preserved for someone to write a fictional account of it hundreds of years later?

4. Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Release Date: February 26

I love stories about girls and women saving the day. There can never be enough of them, especially in in medieval-like settings!

5. Internment by Samira Ahmed

Release Date: March 19

This seems like it’s going to be such a good read. I’ve been reading a lot about the internment and concentration camps in World War II lately, so it will be interesting to see how those true events may have influenced the fictional ones in this storyline.

6. Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover 

Release Date: April 9

When I was in high school, one of my classmates planned a school shooting that was discovered ahead of time and thwarted by some quick-thinking adults. Luckily, no one was injured, but it still took me a while to become comfortable reading about school shootings due to this. I’ll be curious to see how this character and his friends react to such a scary event.

7. I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney

Release Date: April 23

Wow, this mystery sounds spellbinding. It’s hard to imagine anyone leaving the house without taking their wallet and cellphone with them in this day and age.

8. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Release Date: May 7

Arranged marriages weren’t part of the culture I grew up in, so I’m looking forward to seeing one example of how this process works. If anyone reading this is from a culture that does arranged marriages, I’d sure like to hear your thoughts on this tale.

9. Middlegame by Seanan MGuire

Release Date: May 7

The blurb mentioned something about the main characters being more than human but less than gods. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I’m quite interested in finding out.

10. Summer Hours by Amy Mason Doan

Release Date: June 4

I don’t read many romance novels, but this one grabbed my attention because of the main character’s regrets over how terribly an old relationship ended for her. It must be pretty difficult to walk into a room full of people who all know about your worst mistake in life. I already have sympathy for her.

What are you looking forward to reading in the first half of 2018?

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2018

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday of the new year!  Today I’m taking a moment to look back on the best books I read last year.

Heroes for Hire: First Contact (Book Two in the Heroes for Hire Fantasy Adventure Series) by C. S. Feldman- I absolutely love this series!  The first book in the series is excellent and the second installment completely lived up to my expectations.  I can’t recommend this series enough!  Here are my reviews of Book One and Book Two.

Somewhere My Lady (Ladies in Time Book One) by Beth Trissel- Reading Beth Trissel’s work is always a pleasure!  Here is my review.

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-I had so much fun reading this book!  I need to get my hands on the second one.  Here is my review.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin-I read this with my children, and it is delightful!  Here is my review.

Claire’s Last Secret by Marty Ambrose-I love a good historical mystery.  Here is my review.

Photography of Book Page

Secret Lady (Ladies in Time Book Three) by Beth Trissel-I just finished this romance and haven’t even written my review yet.  It comes out next month, and I highly recommend it!

Secrets of Bennet Hall by Jordan Elizabeth-This is a wonderfully creepy tale.  Here is my review.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco-I’m so glad I finally had a chance to read this!  Here is my review.

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo-These books completely lived up to the hype.  Here are my reviews of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer-Such a great series!

Have you read any of these books?  If not, which ones are you most interested in?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’d like for Christmas

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday!  This week is all about books I’d like for Christmas.  As fellow book lovers, I’m sure we can all agree that books make wonderful presents!  Here are some I’d love to see under my tree this year.

The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories #1) by Bernard Cornwell-I’ve been watching this show on Netflix and I love it!  In my experience books are usually better than the movie or show.  I’d love to start reading this series.

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Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2) by Kerri Maniscalco-I really enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper and need to read more in this series!

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Escaping Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco-See above.

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How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman-Her book How to be Victorian was excellent, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

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My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-This book was so much fun!  I borrowed it from the library and would now like my own copy.

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My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi, Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-Since I enjoyed the first book so much, I’d like to read the second.

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Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo-Another book I borrowed from the library that I would now like to own.

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Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo-See above.

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Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon by Jane Austen-I’ve read most of Jane Austen’s work, but none of these stories.

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Have you read any of these?  If so, what did you think?  What books would you like for Christmas?

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter 2018 TBR

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

My TBR list has been exploding with exciting new titles to add to it recently. This winter is shaping up to be an excellent time for whittling that list down to something more manageable again. Today I wanted to share some of the titles I’m looking forward to reading the most between now and the end of winter as they’re released.

1. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Release Date: January 8

The characters in this book will be doing something I’ve been curious about for many years: purposefully living the same way people did back in the Paleolithic era, stone tools and all. That was more than enough of a lure to convince me to grab this as soon as it becomes available.

2. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Release Date: January 15

It’s so interesting to think about the logistics of hiding something like the ability to shape-shift. I’d never want to use this ability at all because of how easy it would be for a passing neighbor to peek onto my property at the wrong time and realize that I wasn’t as ordinary as I seemed.

3. Talk to Me by John Kenney 

Release Date: January 15

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. The main character of this tale made a series of minor  mistakes over many years that eventually caused serious and possibly permanent damage to his relationships with his wife and children. Then he made a huge error that cost him his job. The thought of someone starting over with nothing so late in life piques my interest.

4. No One Here Is Lonely by Sarah Everett

Release Date: January 22

Grief is one of those experiences that all humans eventually share but is also hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been through it yet. I’m intrigued by the thought of still being able to communicate with a virtual version of a loved one. It’s not clear to me whether that would make it easier or more difficult to say goodbye to them, but I’m curious to find out.

5. The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

Release Date: January 29

I definitely don’t condone lying in general, but I am looking forward to getting to know the main character of this tale better. The blurb talked about why she felt the need to hide her true self from her family, and the reasons it gave were pretty understandable. I’d like to know more about her culture and find out whether she’ll ever be able to be honest with her parents.

6. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Release Date: February 5

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book to be released for a decade. Given how much audiences loved The Hate U Give, her first novel, I think this is going to be a great read and a smashing success for Ms. Thomas.

7. The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Release Date: March 1

The thought of magic being spread virally makes this something I’m quite curious to check out. I’d never heard of something like that before, but it sure would change the way people thought about magic and what it means to be able to do it. Will these characters think of magic as a disease or a blessing?

8. Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi


Release Date: March 5

This is a modern-day retelling of Hansel & Gretel. As soon as I read that part of the blurb, I knew it was a must-read for me. There can never be too many retellings of classic fairy tales if you ask me.

9. Instructions for a Funeral: Stories by David Means

Release Date: March 5

Short story collections grab my attention easily in general. This specific anthology looks like it’s going to touch on some particularly poignant themes about mental illness, family, and grief.

10. The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

Release Date: March 15

Not only is this about one of my favourite branches of science, astronomy, but it looks like it might be about someone’s first love as well. I always enjoy seeing how characters react to this sort of experience.

What are you looking forward to reading this winter?

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter Solstice Reads

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The Winter Solstice is the holiday I observe at this time of the year. I believe there’s something to be said for acknowledging the changing of the seasons and celebrating when the days finally begin to grow a little longer again in December.

From a purely scientific point of view, there’s something fascinating to me about how much the weather shifts from one season to the next. Studying science is a hobby of mine, and I love absorbing as much information as I can about everything from astronomy to zoology.

I also enjoy learning about how various cultures explained and prepared for the changing of the seasons back before humans understood why the western hemisphere has so many more hours of daylight in the summer than we do in the winter. Some of the titles on this list will reflect that curiosity.

Since I’m still hunting down copies of some of these books, I won’t say anything specific about them today. I am really looking forward to reading all of them, though! This is one of those topics that can be approached from so many perspectives that I could read about it for ages and still find new takes on it.

1)  Grandmother Winter by Phillis Root

2) The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer

3) Yule: Rituals, Recipes, & Lore for the Winter by Susan Pesznecker

4) Fireside Stories: Tales for a Winter’s Eve by Caitlin Matthews

5) Winter Waits by Lynn Plourde

6) The Solstice Evergreen: History, Folklore, and Origins of the Christmas Tree by Sheryl Ann Karas

7) Lights for Luucy: A Unitarian Universalist Celebration of Winter Holidays by Connie Dunn

8) Yule: History, Lore & Celebration by Anna Franklin

9) Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice by Melanie Falick

10) The Return of the Light: Twelves Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice by Carolyn McVickar Edwards