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I tried to pick characters from a wide variety of genres and eras for this week’s prompt.

1. Sula by Toni Morrison

2. Mort (Discworld, #4) by Terry Pratchett

3. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

4. Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1) by Margaret Atwood

5. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

6. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

8. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

9. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

10. Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1) by Eoin Colfer

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Here are ten books I was excited to read last year but never ended up reading. Maybe 2022 will be the year I finally give them all a try? If you’ve read them, tell me what you thought of them!

1. Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

2. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

3. 1. The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi 

4. A Lot Like Adios  by Alexis Daria

5. Ophie’s Ghosts  by Justina Ireland
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6. Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

7. Hello (From Here) by Chandler Baker

8. Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

9. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

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

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books I Hope to Receive for Christmas.  This is a pretty easy list to make as I can always think of more books I’d love to read!

The Flame Bearer (The Last Kingdom #10) by Bernard Cornwell-Definitely one of my favorite series!

The Winter King (The Warlord Chronicles #1) by Bernard Cornwell-Since I’ve enjoyed The Last Kingdom series so much, I’d like to read more of Bernard Cornwell’s work.  This one sounds intriguing!

Ross Poldark (The Poldark Saga #1) by Winston Graham-I really enjoyed the show, and now I want to read the books!  If you’ve read the books and seen the show, which do you prefer?

How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman-I absolutely loved her book How to Be Victorian, so I’m excited to read this one!

My Contrary Mary (Mary #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-I really loved the Janie series so I’m looking forward to trying this one!

Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson #13) by Patricia Briggs-Okay, so I’m cheating a bit by putting this on my list as it isn’t out yet, but it would be great if I could get it early!

Shatter the Earth (Cassandra Palmer #10) by Karen Chance-I’m so far behind in this series it isn’t even funny, but I’m collecting the books and will definitely get caught up!

Queen’s Gambit (Dorina Basarab #5)-I’m behind in this series too, but again, I will get caught up!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab-I’ve yet to read anything by V.E. Schwab.  I really need to fix that and this book sounds intriguing!

When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan-A friend recommended this.  It sounds interesting!

Have you read any of these?  If so, what did you think?  If not, do any of these pique your interest?  Merry Christmas!

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There are so many incredible books coming out this winter! Here are ten books I’m looking forward to reading. If no publication date is listed for them, they were published earlier this month and should hopefully be available at your local bookstore or library right away.

1. If This Gets Out  by Sophie Gonzales

Why I Want to Read It: Fame is something I’ve never been interested in. Becoming wealthy doesn’t seem like a good trade off for giving up so much privacy and personal autonomy. With that being said, I do like reading about how others deal with being famous.

2. A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

Why I Want to Read It: I recently developed an interest in reading about missing person cases and old crimes in general. Detectives and researchers have been solving many cold cases with the help of new technology and certain DNA databases that ordinary people use to discover their family trees. While the protagonist in this book uses paranormal means to solve cases, I’m hoping he’ll reference the many ways we use in our world to solve them as well.

3.The Midnight Girls  by Alicia Jasinska

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like a fast-paced and exciting adventure!

4. Here’s to Us (What If It’s Us, #2) by Becky Albertalli

Why I Want to Read It: To be perfectly honest with you all, I haven’t read What If It’s Us yet. I’m hoping the release of the sequel will finally prompt me to begin this series.

5.The Kindred by Alechia Dow

Publication Date: January 4

Why I Want to Read It: Winter is the perfect time to read science fiction in my opinion, especially if it’s set in warm places that aren’t currently blanketed in snow and ice.

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6. Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1) by Sue Lynn Tan

Publication Date: January 11

Why I Want to Read It: I’d never heard of the legend of Chang’e before, so I’ll be going into this retelling with no preconceived expectations of what it might be like. Once I’ve read it, I’m hoping to find reviews written by people who grew up with this legend to see what they thought of it.

7. The Saints of Swallow Hill  by Donna Everhart 

Publication Date: January 25

Why I Want to Read It: Every so often, I get the urge to read historical fiction. The fact that I know nothing about turpentine farming only makes this novel more appealing.

8. From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos 

Publication Date: February 8

Why I Want to Read It: There are a few old secrets in my family tree that I’ve only been able to partially untangle. It’s fascinating to me to read about how these things are dealt with in other families.

9. Extasia by Claire Legrand

Publication Date: February 22

Why I Want to Read It: The comparison to The Handmaid’s Tale in the blurb piqued my interest. I also enjoy reading about ancient societies who were formed to fight against evil.

10. Death of a Knit Wit by Peggy Ehrart

Publication Date: February 22

Why I Want to Read It: Cozy mysteries often have wonderful puns in their titles, and this one is no exception to that rule.

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic was freebie.  Since Christmas is swiftly approaching, I decided to browse Goodreads in search of book covers featuring beautiful red, green, or gold dresses.  I’ve only read Beauty, so I can’t say if the others are good or not.  If you’ve ready any, let me know what you thought!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand-I love the deep red of this dress.  I’ve enjoyed the Lady Janies series so many I should give those authors individual work a look.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen-I’ve featured this cover before as it is so pretty!  I’ve not read it yet though.

Beauty by Robin Mckinley-A beautiful golden cover!

Rumors by Anna Godbersen-I know nothing about this series, but that is a gorgeous red dress!

Daughter of Silk by Linda Lee Chaikin-I love the green and gold of this cover.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder-A gold and red cover!

Once: Before Midnight/Golden/Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey-Such a gorgeous deep green.

The Lightkeeper’s Ball by Collen Coble-Another red and gold cover!

The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot-Red and green dresses on the same cover!  I also think this sounds intriguing.

Love’s Reckoning by Laura Frantz-I’ll end with this glowing cover.

Which cover was your favorite?  Have you read any of these?  If so, what would you recommend?

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week is all about Bookish Memories  I have many wonderful memories about books, so let’s get to the list!

One of my very earliest memories of reading is sitting on my mom’s lap in a rocking chair as a child.  She would have a stack of books on one side, and she read them, she’d set them on the other side.  When we made it through the stack, she’d start over again!

I’ll always remember going to the library as a child.  I’d go to the back section and check out the old, often overlooked books of fairy tales and myths from places all over the world.  I loved the feel and smell of the old pages.

Reading Little House in the Big Woods is another cherished memory.  My second grade class read it and did all sorts of activities associated with the book, like making butter and candy in the snow.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and it sparked my interest in history and historical fiction.

As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite book is Beauty by Robin McKinley.  I read it for the first time when I was in fourth grade.  I was browsing the school’s library (again seeking out old books of fairy tales) when the librarian recommended Beauty.  I loved it and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I’ll also never forget the first time I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  I was in seventh grade at the time and we read The Hobbit  and The Fellowship of the Ring as part of our class work.  I fell in love with Middle Earth and all the characters and adventure to be had.  My parents gave me the series for Christmas that year so I could finish it on my own.

Discovering Edgar Allan Poe was also memorable.  I had to memorize a poem for a Language Arts class, and as I was looking through my dad’s books, I stumbled upon his collection of Poe’s poetry.  The first one I read was Annabelle Lee.  It was so haunting and passionate!  It remains my favorite poem.  (Of course I then went on to discover Poe’s short stories!)

Interview with the Vampire was the first book with vampires I ever read.  My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time), was reading it.  We were in high school and he’d borrowed it from his older sister.  He had the book out one afternoon, and I started reading over his shoulder  It wasn’t long before I had the book.  I went on to read the rest of the series and to seek out more books with vampires.

Of course one of the great things about books is sharing them with others.  I’ve had a lot of fun discussing books with my husband and my friends.  However, the best memories are of sharing books with my children.  Snuggling with my kids under a blanket on the couch reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one memory that comes to mind as we’ll be heading into the Christmas season soon.

I had a lot of fun making this list and reminiscing! What is your favorite bookish memory?

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Honestly, who doesn’t love reading a five-star book? Here are ten books we’ve reviewed at Long and Short Reviews this autumn that have earned this coveted rating.

Just like I normally do for posts like this one, I’ve sorted our answers out into romance and non-romance categories.

Romance and Erotica 

Return to Star Valley by RaeAnne Thayne

Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber

From Rags to Kisses by Shana Galen

A London Season by Joan Wolf

The Guardian by Joan Wolf

All Other Genres 

A Different Pond  by Bao Phi

Last Seen Alone by Laura Griffin

In a Jar by Deborah Marcero

Alice’s Adventures Under Water by Lenny de Rooy

101 Ways to be Less Stressed: Simple Self-Care Strategies to Boost Your Mood and Mental Health by Dr. Caroline Leaf

What five-star books have you all ready recently?

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“Thunder gods don’t hide.”
The Russian shrugged. “I am not like Thor. I have Russian depth of character. And I like to help people, not hurt them. Usually I help with vodka. You want some?”
― Kevin Hearne, Hammered

“I’m not some character from a boys’ manga.” ~Yukio”
― Kazue Kato, Blue Exorcist, Vol. 9

“Sir,” returned Mrs. Sparsit, ” I cannot say that i have heard him precisely snore, and therefore must not make that statement. But on winter evenings, when he has fallen asleep at his table, I have heard him, what I should prefer to describe as partially choke. I have heard him on such occasions produce sounds of a nature similar to what may be heard in dutch clocks. Not,” said Mrs. Sparsit, with a lofty sense of giving strict evidence, ” That I would convey any imputation on his moral character. Far from it.”
― Charles Dickens, Hard Times

“I really do admire you a bit. You’re an intelligent person of great moral character who has taken a very courageous stand. I’m an intelligent person with no moral character at all, so I’m in an ideal position to appreciate it.” – Colonel Korn”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

“The pause was to Elizabeth’s feelings dreadful. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said: “And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.”

“I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you— had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“They’re monsters.”
“That’s what Edward thought.”
“Oh, yeah? He a friend of yours?”
“No, Miss Librarian. Just a main character in a wildly popular vampire series.”
― Shannon Delany, Secrets and Shadows

“You put a spell on the dog,” I said as we left the house.
“Just a small one,” said Nightingale.
“So magic is real,” I said. “Which makes you a…what?”
“A wizard.”
“Like Harry Potter?”
Nightingale sighed. “No,” he said. “Not like Harry Potter.”
“In what way?”
“I’m not a fictional character,” said Nightingale.”
― Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London

“Women of the Gallagher Academy, who comes here?” she asked.

Just then, every girl at every table (even the newbies) stood and said in unison, “We are the sisters of Gillian.”

“Why do you come?” my mother asked.

“To learn her skills. Honor her sword. And keep her secrets.”

“To what end do you work?”

“To the cause of justice and light.”

“How long will you strive?”

“For all the days of our lives,” we finished and I felt a little like a character in one of my grandma’s soap operas.”
― Ally Carter, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

“One’s character is set at an early age, son. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life.” He was quiet for a minute then dropped the curtain and said, “I hate to see you swim out so far you can’t swim back.”
― Wendelin Van Draanen

“The most serious point in the case is the disposition of the child.”

What on earth has that to do with it?” I ejaculated.

My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining insight as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. Don’t you see that the converse is equally valid. I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes

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Happy Halloween from everyone at Long and Short Reviews!

In honor of this holiday, today I’ll be sharing ten paranormal books that we’ve recently reviewed here.

They’ve been divided into two sections. The first section is for all of the paranormal romance and erotic stories, and the second is for paranormal tales in other genres.

Romance and Erotica

Merry Little Wishing Spritz by Cherie Colyer

Mile High with a Vampire by Lynsay Sands

The Witch and the Stag by Victoria Rogers

Night Class by Hannah Crow

Cliff’s Descent by Dianne Duvall

Other Paranormal Stories

Friends to the End by C.L. Cloyer

More Than I Bargained For by Kelli A Wilkins

Extinction Plague by Greig Beck

Operation Loch Ness by William Meikle

The Five Things by Beth Merwood

What paranormal books have you read recently that you loved? We’re always interested in new suggestions!