Lydia Schoch

July 9, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Planeta

Book cover for Planeta by Ana Oncina. Image on cover is a drawing of a Spanish woman who is standing behind a green-skinned person, possibly an alien, who is covering their eyes with their hands. Title: Planeta

Author: Ana Oncina

Publisher: LoveLove

Publication Date: February 18, 2025

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, LGBTQ+, Romance, Contemporary, Futuristic

Length: 224 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Welcome to Planeta.For months, Valentina has been dreaming of a strange world and a beautiful girl.In her dreams, she’s Val3, and she and An3 live together on a lonely planet in a distant future, entirely unlike the picturesque village where Valentina resides in her waking life. One fateful day, Val’s world gets turned upside down when the girl from her dreams appears in front of her as Anne.While Valentina and Val3 grapple for control of their respective realities, the question of which is real threatens to derail the course of both their love stories. In either world, can anyone really be made for each other…?

Content Warning: Depression.

Review:

Who wouldn’t want their dreams to come true?

The romance between Valentina (Val3) and Anne (An3) was sweet and gentle. I loved seeing them interact with each other and wondered what their future(s) might hold together. These were among my favorite scenes in this graphic novel, and I would have enjoyed having even more of them. They added depth to the plot and helped me get to know both of these characters much better than I would have otherwise. It was a good example of how the romance and science fiction genres can be blended together in natural ways that can appeal to fans who might otherwise not pick up a book from one of those genres.

I struggled to understand the ending and thought what was shared in those last few scenes didn’t match the tone of everything that had come before. It felt like the storyline was foreshadowing a conclusion that never ended up happening. For example, the dual timelines were written in way that made me think one of them was the real one and the other was a dream world, but this mystery was never really solved. As much as I wanted to give this one a higher rating, my confusion and disappointment at how this wrapped up prevented me from doing so.

With that being said, this story did capture the feeling of waking up from a hyper-realistic dream and being momentarily confused and disappointed that none of those events actually took place. This isn’t something that’s easy to explain in fiction, so kudos to Ms. Oncina for making it feel so realistic and relatable. I can’t think of many other authors who have pulled it off, and it makes me want to read more from her in the future.

Planeta was creative.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Stores or Other Physical Place I Wish Still Existed

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

There are so many physical places I wish still existed!

When I was a kid, there was a dollar theatre in one of the towns we moved to. I believe it closed down a year or two after we arrived there, but for a little while we could see older movies there for only $1 per person.

I miss record stores, too. They were a great place to browse and find new music. The one I visited was always playing various records as background music, so you could also discover new artists and songs just by asking the employees what was currently playing.

Chain bookstores still exist in my city, but many secondhand, niche, and indie bookstores have long since shut down, especially since 2020. You could find so many unique books in them, and they had a much calmer ambiance than the places that also sold, say, home decor and candles.

Now some clothing stores are sadly disappearing, too. One of the ones I shopped at for many years is trying to get all of their customers to order online, so I’ve switched to other stores that have my size in stock so I can see how clothes fit and feel before buying them. Clothing and shoes are two things I avoid ordering online due to how much variation there can be in size and feel from one brand to the next. There is no consistency there.

When I was a teenager, I used to walk laps in the mall with my friends. From what I’ve read, many of today’s teens don’t do that much anymore because some malls no longer allow unaccompanied minors in them and because parenting standards for when kids should be allowed to go out by themselves have shifted in many families.

Some of the malls in my city are busy, but others are terribly quiet or have even shut down. I wish the culture would shift back to a time when it was okay for teens to hang out at malls when they’re not in school. There’s nothing wrong with online interactions, but I think many people of all ages could do with more in-person socializing as well.

These are a few of the places I miss. How about all of you?

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Tagged as Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

July 7, 2026 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Include the Word Beach

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The beach is a fantastic place to spend a warm summer day, so beach is the word I picked for this week.

1. The World’s Beaches: A Global Guide to the Science of the Shoreline by Orrin H. Pilkey

2. A Day at the Beach by Mircea Vasiliu

3. Growing Up in Northern Palm Beach County: Boomer Memories from Dairy Belle to Double Roads by Ruth Hartman Berge

4. The Nearest Far Away Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience by Timothy White

5. Long Beach’s Los Cerritos by Geraldine Knatz

6. White Sand Black Beach: Civil Rights, Public Space, and Miami’s Virginia Key by Gregory W. Bush

7. Miranda’s Beach Day by Holly Keller

8. The Outer Beach: A Thousand-Mile Walk on Cape Cod’s Atlantic Shore by Robert Finch

9. Palm Beach Nurse by Peggy Dern

10. Oceans and Beaches by Trevor Day

Do all of you live close to any beaches? (Yes, I think the beaches that can be found on some lakes count, too! It doesn’t have to be by an ocean.)

57 Comments

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Tagged as Top Ten Tuesday

July 2, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Hundred Julys

Title: A Hundred Julys

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: June 29, 2016

Genres:Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: About 35 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #8: Mysterious sightings—and a legend of unrequited love—draws Finley’s newest resident into the midst of the folklore surrounding the town.

Norma Johnson, owner of Finley’s only antique store, has always felt she was mysteriously drawn to the small town. Forced to host the July vintage car show, she bumps headlong into the legend that has surrounded Finley for a century—and in so doing, gains a new perspective on the far-reaching effects of love…

A Hundred Julys is part of Forever Finley, a series of stand-alone episodes or short stories that released once a month throughout 2016. Previous releases include: Come December, January Thaw, Forget February, Dearest March…, April’s Promise, Mayday Mayday Mayday, and Chasing June. Stories following A Hundred Julys include Under the August Moon, Song for September, October Omen, and the Forever Finley Finale (Pale November / December Bells). Stories can be purchased individually, or readers can purchase all installments in Forever Finley: An Episodic Novel.

Content Warning: Grief.

Review:

The past and present can have more in common than you might think!

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that compared Norma with Amos, the ghost who had been haunting Finley for well over a century. Both of these characters had lost romantic partners and never quite moved on from that loss. While I can’t go into much more detail about this without sharing spoilers, I thought it was a marvellous way to connect the past to the present and help to explain why Amos hadn’t found peace in the afterlife yet.

I would have liked to see more plot development in this tale. There was so much more the author could have done with Norma as a character, especially given the many similarities between her and Amos despite the very different eras and cultures they came from. Had a few more pages been added to explore these themes, I would have easily chosen a much higher rating given how much I’ve come to love these characters and this setting over the past eleven months.

The romantic subplot was handled nicely. I enjoy the foreshadowing of it that appeared quite early on and looked forward to discovering how it would unfold as the characters who were involved in it slowly realized the newest possibilities in their lives. There’s something to be said for a slow burn like this, especially for individuals who aren’t even entirely sure that they’re open to falling in love at that point in their lives.

A Hundred Julys was romantic and just a little otherworldly.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Websites I Wish Still Existed

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

The Ooze was a Christian message board created by Spencer Burke that existed about 20 years ago when the Internet was quite different from how it is today. It was a gathering place for all sorts of people who were trying to come up with better ways to live out their faith. I met some incredible people there, including my spouse!

Even though I was a Christian back then, I generally avoided the theological discussions that took place there. I was much more interested in finding practical ways to quietly live out my beliefs as someone who had virtually no extra money to spare but who still wanted to help others in whatever ways I could.

While I am very far removed from that world now, I’d love to have a reunion with many of the genuine folks I met there. They were good people.

See also: message boards in general. I wish they would become popular again as I miss the depth of conversation that could be found in them about all sorts of niche topics. It was almost like taking a college course on those subjects.

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Tagged as Spencer Burke, The Ooze, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

June 30, 2026 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are the titles I’m looking forward to reading later on this year. It’s once again looking a little sparse, but I’m sure that will change as autumn grows nearer. I do have a few Top Ten Tuesday bloggers to thank for some of titles on this list as well, so keep an eye out for that.

1. Our Cut Of Salt By Deena Helm. Tor Nightfire,

Publication Date: September 22

Thank you to Tammy @ Books Bones Buffy for recommending this title earlier this year!

Why I’m Interested: This sounds quite scary. Will it also be a metaphor for the genocide in Palestine? Only time will tell.

2. Building 903 by Lois Lowry

Thank you to Susan @ Blogging ‘Bout Books for recommending this title a few weeks ago!

Publication Date: September 29

Why I’m Interested: I had no idea Ms. Lowry was still writing books, but now I want to catch up on her work. She was one of my favourite authors as a kid.

3. As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers

Publication Date: October 13

Why I’m Interested: I try to read everything Ms. Chambers releases as I love her writing style and vivid imagination.

4. Dead Batteries: A Novel by Kate Maupin

Publication Date: October 27

Why I’m Interested: I’ve mostly moved on from reading horror and post-apocalyptic stuff, due to our current world being more than frightful enough as is, but I’m fascinated by the protagonists who apparently find that setting less stressful than life was before a virus wiped out almost all of humanity.

A greyscale book with a heart on the cover.

The cover for this book has not been released yet.

5. Take My Word for It by Levar Burton

Publication Date: November 10

Why I’m Interested: Honestly, I mostly just want to read his chapters about Reading Rainbow and maybe Star Trek: The Next Generation. They were among my favourite shows as a kid!

46 Comments

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Tagged as TBR, TBR List, Top Ten Tuesday

June 25, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Parched Lands

Title: The Parched Lands

Author: N.A. Ratnayake

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 14, 2018

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: About 18 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Amanthi is a teenage student in a not-so-distant future school system of hyper-testing and top-down control. In this world, creativity is a liability — but Amanthi is not deterred from dreaming. THE PARCHED LANDS delves into the tangled issues of race, tracking, high-stakes testing, and creativity starvation that run through America’s public school systems. This short story was published as a part of Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0, Issue 7: Expectations.

Review:

Knowledge is power.

Amanthi was a brave and likeable protagonist who I wish I could have spent more time with. It takes courage to stand up against a system that one has never lived outside of, especially for a teenager who also wishes to fit in with her peers and reach her academic goals. Some of my favourite scenes involving her were the ones that showed what she was like when she wasn’t trying to remain at the top of her class. While academics are important, they are only one piece of the puzzle that can be used to describe what someone is like, and they cannot be used to explain someone’s heart and soul.

I found myself wishing for more levels of meaning in this short story. The premise was straightforward, and its criticisms of modern educational culture, while completely justified in my opinion, followed that same path. This could have easily been a five-star read for me if the author had dug more deeply into the themes to reach the centre of what is wrong with things like large language models and the incessant focus on testing at the expense of creativity and lifelong learning in many schools.

Despite this, I did enjoy the world building in this piece. The educational system in this vision of the future was so focused on pushing up grade point averages and test results that it was overlooking the many other ways someone can find success not only in life but also in their personal development. I nodded along as I read the descriptions of the body modifications that students underwent in order to get as much out of them as possible in the classroom. While it was obviously an exaggeration of what actually happens in the classroom, the emotions connected to the commodification of learning were eerily similar in real life and in fiction.

The Parched Lands made me wish for a sequel.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Have You Ever Attended Your High School Reunion? Why?

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Black and white photo of an empty hallway filled with sunlight in a school.

For illustrative purposes only. This wasn’t my school.

No, I’ve never attended any of my high school reunions and I never will.

Let me explain.

I was homeschooled from preschool through grade 3 and had excellent experiences with that for the most part.

In grades 4 and 5, I attended a wonderfully friendly little school in the western portion of the United States. Had I stayed there, maybe things would have turned out differently.

The summer before I began grade 6, we moved cross-country to a rural part of the midwest because a church there hired my dad as their new pastor. Most of my classmates had been together since kindergarten, if not much earlier in life, and at best the majority of them were not at all interested in welcoming new kids into the fold.

I was bullied for years, mostly emotionally although there were a few minor physical altercations as well. In retrospect, these experiences caused severe depression and social anxiety. Yes, I made a few friends along the way, but no one I kept up with after graduation.

One thing that kept me going was the thought that someday I would never again be legally required to interact with any of the people who made my life miserable for so many years.

My final year of high school only included two classes on campus which was a massive relief. The rest of the time, I was joyfully taking courses at a local college for free thanks for a dual enrolment program my school offered.

I was confused by classmates who grieved the end of high school. Their experiences were nothing at all like mine.

For me, those years are something I will revisit in the rare blog post but that is all.

I forgive those classmates and genuinely hope they’ve become kind and accepting adults, but I never developed the deep emotional connection to that chapter of my life that I’d need in order to be willing to travel internationally and spend a substantial sum of money just to attend a class reunion. The window of opportunity for that closed many years ago. No thank you.

11 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops, Personal Life

Tagged as Boundaries, Bullying, Childhood Stories, High School, Mental Health, Reunion, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

June 23, 2026 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m back to my usual short list of seasonal TBR titles. I hope all of them are excellent, and I’ll fill in the rest of my summer selections with mood reads and maybe a few books from some of your lists, too.

1. Cat Love: A Novel by Tomás Q. Morín

Why I’m Interested: Who would have thought that the cat in Schrödinger’s box could be a narrator. Quite creative.

2. In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure by Rowan Jacobsen

Why I’m Interested: I enjoy reading nonfiction about new medical studies and discussions about what is actually the healthiest way to live. This does not mean that I’m going to throw my sunscreen out and try to get sunburns or a tan over the summer, of course, but I do think it’s important to keep up with the latest research when possible.

3. My Name Was Baby: An Intersex Memoir by Chris M. Arnone

Publication Date: June 26

Why I’m Interested: I also love learning about all sorts of medical conditions, especially when they are written from the perspective of people living with them. This sounds like it could be quite the educational read.

4. Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves

Publication Date: July 7

Why I’m Interested: It’s nice when the angel of death is portrayed as a kind and gentle person. I hope the storyline will do this character justice.

70 Comments

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Tagged as TBR, TBR List, Top Ten Tuesday

June 18, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025

Title: Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 (Hearth Stories Book 4)

Author: J.C. Pillard, Erin Keating, Amanda Fetters, Alicia Adams, T.R. Steele, Kendra Recht, T.S. Weaver, and Christian Emecheta

Publisher: Heart Stories

Publication Date: June 18, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Romance, Historical

Length: About 110 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the publisher.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Hearth Stories is a speculative fiction magazine focused on cozy fantasy stories. Each issue features a letter from the editor, author bios and interviews, and wonderful stories focused on family, home life, connection, and the natural world.

This issue features the following stories:

A Different Kind of Worship by J.C. Pillard

The Washing Witch by Erin Keating

The Braided Lintel by Amanda Fetters

To the Scribe Who Reads This by Alicia Adams

No More Walls by T.S. Weaver

An Ordinary Love Story by Christian Emecheta

Content Warning: A terminal illness, aging, grief, and death.

Review:

Anything is possible when the forests are filled with the energy and life that summer brings.

In “A Different Kind of Worship,” a minor god named Salix sat at the bedside of his last worshipper, Ruldi. When Ruldi died, so would Salix, but for now they shared the same peaceful existence in a small home together. I adored Salix’s gentle and kind personality and was curious to discover how he would spend his final days. While I can’t discuss the plot twists in this story without sharing spoilers, I can say they were just as beautiful and meaningful as the protagonist was and I finished the final paragraph with a tear gleaming in my eye and a smile on my lips. This would have made an incredible short film!

The first sentence of “Fully Formed” in which the narrator explained that nobody wanted to let Rowan bury his golden apple beetle pupae in their gardens immediately piqued my curiosity. It seemed like such a minor favour to give that I couldn’t imagine saying no to it, but I wanted to learn more. This was an excellent example of how to include world building into a short story that entices the reader to keep going. While I can’t go into much detail about it without sharing spoilers, I can say that the folklore surrounding beetles and apple trees was particularly lovely.

The relationship between Linden and Marna in “An Ordinary Love Story” was sweet and gentle, but what drew me into this chapter of their lives even more deeply was the time they spent learning how to be healers. It was an apprenticeship that lasted about a year and included both herbal and magical remedies. This was the perfect combination of themes in my opinion, especially as their friendship began to evolve into something more than that and they needed to figure out how to break the news to their mentor.

Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 was a well-written anthology that made me yearn for summer to begin.

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Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Alicia Adams, Amanda Fetters, Anthology, Book Reviews, Christian Emecheta, Erin Keating, Fantasy, Hearth Stories, Historical, J.C. Pillard, Kendra Recht, LGBT, Paranormal, Romance, T.R. Steele, T.S. Weaver

Lydia Schoch

A Review of Planeta

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Stores or Other Physical Place I Wish Still Existed

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Include the Word Beach

A Review of A Hundred Julys

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Websites I Wish Still Existed

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

A Review of The Parched Lands

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Have You Ever Attended Your High School Reunion? Why?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2026 To-Read List

A Review of Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025

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