Lydia Schoch

March 18, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List

The first book on this list is one has already been released, and I’ve included publication dates for the rest.

Book cover for They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran. Image on cover shows a realistic drawing of a young Asian woman with long black hair submerged in water and staring at the audience with a frightened expression on her face.

1. They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

Why I’m Interested: Water is an underused trope in the horror genre. Frightening things can happen in it if you’re unlucky or not careful!

Book cover for Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed. Image on cover shows a large orange moon or planet hanging low in the sky over a grassy field and some foothills.

2. Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed

Release Date: April 8

Why I’m Interested: While I’d never want to live on Mars personally, I love reading books about how humanity might be able to survive there one day.

Book cover for One Way Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows drawing of a young black woman whose torso has a yellow galaxy superimposed onto it. It’s hard to say where the stars end and the woman begins. There is also a mirror effect going on here, so you can see another copy of her head and the galaxy as an upside down image on the bottom half of the book cover.

3. One Way Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: April 29

Why I’m Interested: Ms. Okorafor is on my short list of authors whose new works I always check out (eventually), but I do need to read the first book of this series before diving into this one.

Book cover for The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig. Image on cover shows a large spiral staircase in a dark woods. The staircase illuminated by a bright yellow light and you can see the small figure of a person - possibly a child - walking up the staircase.

4. The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig

Release Date: April 29

Why I’m Interested: Today I’d like to confess to the Top Ten Tuesday community that I have started reading all of Wendig’s old books but always stopped reading them at some point because they were too scary for me. Will this book be the one of his I actually finish? Only time will tell. He’s a great storyteller from the bits I have read.

5. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Release Date: April 29

Why I’m Interested: Road trips are so much fun to read about.

Book cover for The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett. Image on cover is an underwater drawing of three young white people who are swimming in a pool while facing each other. Their bodies almost form a circle, and I can imagine them chatting as they gently swim.

6. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Release Date: May 6

Why I’m Interested: Mr. Backman is one of those authors I keep meaning to read. His stories always sound so interesting, but none of them have made it off my TBR list yet. Maybe this one will?

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Tagged as TBR, TBR List, Top Ten Tuesday

March 13, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of Apis

Title: Apis

Author: Liz Boysha

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 15, 2020

Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ, Contemporary

Length: 166 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A woman wakes up to find bees are living inside her. It’s a love story.

Content Warning: References to growing up in multiple foster homes. Rape. Attempted sexual abuse. Miscarriage. Bee stings. Stabbings. Fainting. Anaphylaxis from bee stings. A house fire that resulted in a child being orphaned. Metastatic breast cancer. Infertile foster parents who disrupt the placement of their foster child after getting pregnant. Miscarriage. TI will not be discussing any of these topics in my review.

Review:

Hope isn’t a thing with feathers in this universe, but it does have wings.

The world building left plenty to the imagination which fit Astrid’s personality and backstory nicely. She wasn’t the sort of person who would ever stick her nose where it didn’t belong, and she appreciated the same treatment from others. Her fierce desire for independence coloured everything she said and did, including her limited interest in what was happening around her unless it personally affected her in some way. This was a slightly unusual choice, so I commend Ms. Boysha for taking that risk in writing a character who, in a different set of hands, could come across in a much harsher light. There is something to be said for characters who have strong boundaries and aren’t afraid to enforce them, and I hope to meet more characters like this in the future.

One of the things I struggled with as I read part one was how many different traumatic things kept happening to the characters, particularly the protagonist Astrid. Including one to a few of them would have been enough to keep the storyline moving forward, but to have wave after wave of awful experiences that were shared but generally never resolved was too much for my tastes. This is something I’m saying as someone who reads horror and is accustomed to a decent level of scary and disturbing scenes. Other readers may disagree, of course, but I think this would have been a stronger work if Astrid had been given time to process and heal from a smaller number of painful experiences.

With that being said, I was intrigued by how Ms. Boysha used these scenes as possible fodder for the metaphor she was exploring. (I say possible because I believe there are other explanations that could also be just as valid). Trauma of any form can resurface months, years, or decades later in ways that may not make immediate sense to someone who isn’t aware of the backstory. Yes, I’m being vague here, but the details are best teased out by other readers for themselves so you can form your own theories about what this tale means. I found it meaningful to draw parallels between Astrid’s early life experiences and how her life unfolded after the events of the first scene.

Apis filled me with questions.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Characters I Want to Meet

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

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

The word “hello” written in white chalk on a black chalkboard. Here are some characters I’d like to meet.

Sister Monica Joan from Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth would be a good pick because of how creative, funny, and knowledgeable about the past this character was.

She joined Nonnatus House as a young women around the turn of the 20th century when antibiotics, chemotherapy, (the vast majority of) vaccines, genetic testing, and other modern medical advancements were still decades away from being invented. By the time the author of this book was hired to work as a district midwife in the late 1950s, Sister Monica was showing clear signs of cognitive decline and forgetfulness.

Her memory for the past was still strong, though, and she helped the young midwives solve some tricky medical cases involving diagnoses that they hadn’t personally treated before. I’d focus on the past with her and ignore anything she said about the present that didn’t quite make sense. It’s good to meet people where they’re at and learn about what life was really like generations ago.

Matthew Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is my second pick because I love spending time with fellow quiet, gentle people. I feel like I could help him with a few chores around the farm without either of us feeling like we had to speak if there weren’t any words in that moment. There’s something relaxing about hanging out with folks who are comfortable with silence.

Yetu from The Deep by Rivers Solomon. (The mermaids in this book don’t have last names). Like Sister Monica Joan, Yetu struggles with memory issues for reasons that would be spoilers to share in this post. I loved seeing how her curious and intelligent personality found ways around the holes in her memory so she could share her tale. She was thoughtful and filled with opinions about what her life should be like. I could sit and talk to her for hours.

Connie Ramos fromWoman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy would be another interesting person to meet. I think that once she realized I believed that she had time travelled and wanted to help her we could have all sorts of productive conversations. She was not the sort of person who reacts well to being misbelieved, but I would hope she’d open up and share her deepest thoughts with someone who did treat her well.

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Tagged as Bookish Stuff, Character, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

March 11, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Are Written in Verse

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A bouquet of blue hydrangeas sitting on an opened book of poetry that is itself sitting on a a white table. The wall behind the table is painted turquoise blue. Occasionally, new books are released that are written in the form of poetry. That is to say, the entire story is told through one poem (or, more often, many different poems) that push the character and plot development forward.

This is such a creative way to tell a story! Here are some examples of books written this way that I’ve enjoyed.

1. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

2. Sold by Patricia McCormick

3. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

4. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

5. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

6. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown

7. Booked (The Crossover, #2) by Kwame Alexander

8. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

46 Comments

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Tagged as Bookish Stuff, Novels in Verse, Poetry, Top Ten Tuesday

March 6, 2025 · 1:00 am

Newlywed Questions: A Review of The Ring and the Knife

Title: The Ring and the Knife

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 11, 2023

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 32 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Something happened to William Mortimore in Berecombe churchyard, many years ago – something he can’t quite remember. When he unexpectedly finds himself that little country village again, fragments of the past start to haunt him – and lure him to uncover a forgotten secret.

Berecombe – why does William remember the name of that little village? When was he there before? What happened to him that day in the churchyard, long ago? Why can’t he remember? Why does he feel compelled to return? As the questions smother him, he searches to understand the dreadful, portentous meeting his memory has supressed – the terrible secret of his own past.

Content Warning: Murder. I will not discuss it in my review.

Review:

Cemeteries are as full of answers as they are of new questions.

Romance isn’t a genre I visit very often, so it’s quite the compliment for me to mention how much I loved this one. William and his wife were deeply in love and determined to enjoy their honeymoon when the audience met them in the first scene. I looked forward to getting to know them better and was pleased with what was shared. Newlyweds are so full of hope that this particular pair created a nice contrast between their happiness and the sad things that were happening in the churchyard they decided to visit.

There was a plot hole involving William’s past that I wish had been given more time to develop as the order of events for it never quite made sense to me. Some of these moments were shared non-linearly, so it took me a little bit to piece them together and come up with a reasonable explanation of what must have occurred. If more attention had been paid to this issue, I would have happily gone for a full five-star rating.

With that being said, I enjoyed the plot twists that were revealed later on. They created a satisfying mixture of romantic and paranormal themes that made me wonder what else the characters were about to discover about that quiet little pocket of the countryside that felt so peaceful but was simultaneously filled with intrigue and uncertainty, too. What a treat it was to dig more deeply with them as they pushed forward to figure out why William’s memory had a large blank spot in it.

The Ring and the Knife was romantic and eerie.

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Book I’m Nervous to Read (and Why)

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

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

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is my answer for this week’s prompt.

Why am I nervous to read it?

While I’m usually pretty good at ignoring short-tempered curmudgeons in real life, I developed that skill by emotionally distancing myself from them, setting firm boundaries, and accepting that they are (probably) never going to change.

From what I understand about the plot, Ove does eventually change and become a (slightly? moderately? dramatically? ) more tolerable person to spend time with.

I’ve avoided reading this book so far because I’m worried about being annoyed by how unrealistic the character development will be and how much the narrator will expect the kind characters I’m assuming the protagonist meets to bend over backwards to accommodate his surliness.

I am courteous to people like Ove and help them if I can do so without harming myself in real life, but I also don’t think the onus should be on those of us who are easy going to absorb other people’s anger. It reminds me of when teachers would sit me next to the class troublemakers because I was one of the quiet and studious kids in the classroom. (Yes, I know teachers in some districts have limited options when dealing with disruptive students, but expecting their good students to be the first line of defence against kids who can’t or won’t follow simple classroom instructions is a terrible strategy!)

People like Ove are presumably competent adults who are choosing to behave badly while many of us are quietly dealing with all sorts of problems without ever taking our pain and frustration out on others. A one-time or rare outburst can easily be forgiven, of course, but I avoid people who turn such behaviour into a habit or make excuses for it.

Frankly, I have my own troubles to deal with and simply don’t have the time or energy to try to “fix” the Oves of the world. I wish them well and genuinely hope things improve for them while also believing that it’s ultimately up to them to decide whether or not they will choose to behave in a way that makes others enjoy their company.

Yes, this can be harder for some people than it is for others for a variety of reasons, but part of being an adult is developing these coping skills and taking accountability if you hurt someone else just like you’d work on any other fault. I don’t expect perfection, just effort.

Maybe someday I will have the time and energy to read this book and see if my assumptions about it are valid, though!

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Tagged as Bookish Stuff, TBR, TBR List, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

March 4, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Things Characters Have Said

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The full explanation for this week’s prompt was:

Maybe a character said something really profound or romantic or hilarious or heartbreaking. You could share witty one-liners, mic-drop moments, snippets of funny dialogue between multiple characters, catchphrases, quotes that have become a part of pop culture–like “May the odds be ever in your favor.”, etc.

I rarely write down quotes from books, and when I do they tend to be several sentences long and have not become common sayings in modern English. Therefore, I’ll share some famous one-liners and catch phrases instead and hope that I have not misunderstood this topic:

“Bah! Humbug!”

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

“Big Brother is watching you.”

George Orwell, 1984

”All that glitters is not gold”

Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

“Not all those who wander are lost.“

J.R.R. Tolkien, From “The Riddle Of Strider” Poem in The Fellowship Of The Ring

”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

“The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.”

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

(Maybe I have geeky friends, but I’ve heard this quoted more than once when someone has an existential or complex question).

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Tagged as Quotes, Top Ten Tuesday

February 27, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of Winter’s Chill

Title: Winter’s Chill

Author: J D Savage

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: January 18, 2025

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 61 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Melinda Wilson receives news that her mother has died by suicide. Not believing that her mother committed suicide, she returns to her childhood home along with her best friend Greg Creston. As she digs into her mother’s death, strange things to start happen. As Melinda digs deeper to find the truth she finds her father’s diary. Inside she finds information that would destroy the family name and rock the town to its core. As things get dangerous who will survive winter?

Content Warning: Death. Discussion of suicide as a possible cause of death. Murder. Brief references to blood.

Review:

Winter is full of frights.

The atmosphere was well done. There’s something about old houses that can be a little eerie even if they don’t have anything malevolent hiding in the corner, and this only becomes a stronger feeling when reading about homes that do have a paranormal presence. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the cold areas of the house as that could have easily been explained away by the fact that historical buildings can often be cold and drafty during the winter. To encourage the reader to continue to believe there was a less ordinary explanation for that was a smart decision and one that kept me reading.

This story would have benefited from another round of editing in my opinion. One of the characters was introduced with a last name but later referred to by a completely different last name. Had he been earlier shown to be a liar, I would have assumed that this was yet another example of him misleading others. He was always written as a truthful person, though, so I can only assume this was an error and not a hint about his moral character. There were some punctuation errors sprinkled through it as well that I found distracting. As much as I would have liked to choose a higher rating, I wasn’t able to do so due to these issues.

Not everyone is lucky enough to come from an upstanding family, especially when one digs more deeply into their heritage. Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that explored Melinda’s feelings about the information she discovered about the past and how it could destroy the good name her family had in the community. No one should be held personally responsible for the actions of their ancestors, of course, but there is also something to be said for seeking out the truth and making amends as much as one possible can once they know what really happened.

Winter’s Chill was a scary read for a snowy night.

6 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Horror, J D Savage, Novella, Paranormal, Psychological Horror, Self-Published

February 26, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favourite Hobby and Why

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

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

You all might have noticed this already, but I’m easily amused, and I think that’s a good thing. I cannot narrow my answer down to just one hobby, but I’ll try to keep this brief.

I love:

Reading and writing, of course.

These ones basically go without saying. If I have sufficient access to good stories and writing materials, I can amuse myself all day.

Taking long, meandering photography walks

This is a fuzzier answer, so let me give a couple of examples.

About 2 years ago my spouse and I took a bus to a beach that’s a bit of a trek from our house. We walked up and down the boardwalk and I snapped photos of my favourite things there like trees, boulders, and a ridiculously large but delightful beach chair. (See photo).

Then we bought two hamburgers, an order of fries to share, and a soda to share. I wanted to stay there all day!

Last autumn we spent the day at High Park and did something similar. First we enjoyed our hamburgers, fries, and soda, and then we spent a few hours walking around the park and snapping photos of the wildlife and plants there.

Every walk is different. Sometimes i find a fun, new dairy-free bakery to visit, a live musical performance we weren’t aware of, a new mural, or a little park I didn’t know was recently built.

I love these free surprises. You don’t have to spend money to have fun, and when I do buy things on occasion it’s almost always something like lunch that I would have needed no matter where I was at that time of day.

Walking is a healthy, easy habit to get into as well. I know I spend far too much time online or watching tv shows when the weather is bad, so I try to make up for that by taking long walks when it’s mild outside.

Jigsaw puzzles

I love the challenge of putting them together. They’re such a fantastic distraction from whatever else I might be worried about or dealing with in life.

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Filed under Blog Hops, Personal Life

Tagged as Hobbies, Personal Life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

February 25, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Another Time

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The word time is printed on a piece of cardstock. The cardstock is on fire and the flames have almost reached the printed word on this document. One of the reasons why I enjoy science fiction so much is how often authors in this genre set their tales in alternate universes, alternate timelines, or in versions of the past or future that are likewise different from our own in important ways.