Title

Authors: Gwendolyn Maia Hicks, River West, Margaret Treanor Frey, Alicia Adams, A. Emery Watkins, Morgan Welch, A. Katherine Black, Nancy J. Hayden, H. A. Titus & Erin Keating

Publisher:Hearth Stories

Publication Date: June 20, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+, Historical

Length: about 124 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:

The Heart That Beats Behind the Bones by Gwendolyn Maia Hicks

The Woman with the Bird in Her Skirts by River West

Tome for Tea by Margaret Treanor Frey

You’re Always Welcome Hereby Alicia Adams

Bitter Tea by A. Emery Watkins

Marginalia by Morgan Welch

Outside of Wonderful by A. Katherine

Black Skogul by Nancy J. Hayden

Past Lives and Loaves by H. A. Titus

Green Water, Blue Water by Erin Keating

Content Warning: Brief references to dementia, terminal illness, and death. I will not discuss them in my review.

Review:

The past may be a foreign country in some respects, but that’s not all that it is.

“Bitter Tea” focused on a short conversation about human nature between a frog witch and Pilpa, the local sorcerer. I appreciated the perspectives it shared on what makes someone a good or bad person and how much one should extend themselves to help others who may or may not actually feel gratitude for the assistance. There aren’t always clear cut answers to such questions, but puzzling out various answers to them is a great way to pass the time while drinking a cup of tea. I would have happily read more about these characters!

Figuring how to to recreate a type of bread that nobody had made in generations lead Mara on a short quest in “Past Lives and Loves.” I loved the cozy fantasy elements of this tale, especially since the individual she needed to talk to was part of a species that is not typically treated so warmly in the mainstream fantasy genre. The focus on maintaining longterm friendships was another reason this was so meaningful to me. I’m always on the lookout for more stories that do precisely that, and this was a lovely example of how friendship can enrich a character’s life.

Skogul was a raven attempting to understand human customs in “Black Skogul.” Mingus was the human who had raised Skogul from a chick to a full-fledged adult, but now Mingus was beginning to show signs of mental and physical decline as he aged. It’s difficult to say too much about this story without giving away spoilers, but I loved the way the non-human perspective was written. Skogul described certain scenes quite differently than any human would, so it took a little thought to understand what was happening in them. This was a good thing, though, given who the protagonist was and how important their relationship with Mingus had become to both characters over the years.

I wish I could have talked about all of the stories in this anthology in my review. Every one of them was beautifully written and enriched my imagination.

Hearth Stories Book Two, Summer Solstice 2024 was sweet, gentle, and heartwarming. I can’t recommend it highly enough as Summer Solstice approaches.

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.

Linda Fetter was my best teacher. She’s almost certainly retired or maybe not even alive anymore based on her age when I first met her and how many years it has been since I graduated high school, therefore I think it’s okay to mention her by name here. I have never seen anything about her online, so I doubt she’ll ever know about this post even if she is still with us.

The first class I took with her was ninth grade Language Arts, and I loved how clearly she explained the grammar lessons she taught to us. She knew just how to use the right metaphors when we weren’t quite getting it.

Our class was the first period of the  day. If we acted too sleepy, she’d have us stand up and do a few jumping jacks to get our blood pumping which I always found amusing.

Later on I took a mandatory speech course as well as two elective courses with her that involved nothing but reading from a pre-selected list of classic novels. The latter were a nice break from the classes I took that had heavy homework loads as all she required of us was that we spend a few minutes reading every night after school. It was so much easier than conjugating irregular Spanish verbs or trying to figure out quadratic equations.

She also added little flourishes to her lessons that I will never forget. For example, she’d play classical music and give us peppermints to suck on during exams because she’d read studies that showed those things improved test scores. (Whether they are still thought to be helpful, I don’t know. She paid attention to the latest academic research of the time, though.)

Sometimes we’d go outside for class at the end of the year when the weather was really nice. That was always a refreshing break from the stuffy classrooms as our school didn’t have air conditioning and it could get rather hot and humid by the beginning of June.

I loved the care and concern she showed for her students and wished she could have taught Language Arts for grades 10, 11, and 12 as well.

I unfortunately do not have pretty handwriting, but I admire those who can write beautiful cursive letters.

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

2. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, #1) by Jenny Han

3. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

5. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

6. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

7. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

8. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

9. Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

10. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Title: Chasing June

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 30, 2016

Genres: Romance, Paranormal

Length: 29 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #7: What do we discover when we dig deep into our past?

Annie Ames returns to her childhood hometown to begin a project with her lifelong friend, Justin: a book documenting the romantic folklore surrounding the legend of Amos Hargrove, the town founder. But no one likes the fact that she’s rifling through old memories and a more than century-old legend. When Annie visits Mary, the town’s oldest resident, she opens an old trunk—and along with a treasured antique wedding shawl, discovers life-altering truths about her feelings for her closest friend…and about the legend of Amos Hargrove and his sweetheart, Finley.

Chasing June 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, and Mayday Mayday Mayday. Subsequent releases include: A Hundred Julys, 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: Reference to a death from pleurisy.

Review:

Folklore is for everyone.

Some of the most memorable scenes in my opinion were the ones that explored how differently people in a small town behave when they’re around folks they’ve known for their entire lives versus a relative newcomer to the community. Even the main characters exhibited this change of emotions which I thought was interesting as they were otherwise pretty warm and friendly folks. As someone who moved to a rural community that was not particularly kind and accepting to outsiders when I was a kid, I always appreciate seeing this topic broached in fiction and wonder whether this will be of equal interest to people who have lived in small towns for their entire lives and have maybe never experienced this phenomenon.

I would have liked to see more time spent exploring who Finley was as a person. There were some tantalizing details mentioned, including a shawl she created, but given how important this character is to the Finding Finley series as a whole I was a little disappointed by how the instalment that was meant to dive more deeply into her life was written. While I expected something romantic and whimsical as usual, I was also hoping for at least a few anecdotes about what she was like when she was alive. Was her personality playful or serious? What was her favourite subject in school? How did she spend her free time as a child and young woman?  There was so much more they could have done with her, and I would have happily gone for a much higher rating if they did.

With that being said, this short story felt like the month of June in some lovely ways. Certain characters have just finished their studies and so have the summer before them to relax and shrug off the stress of writing papers and cramming for exams. The weather during this month of the year is beautiful in many places as well, including the town of Finley, and so everyone can spend plenty of time outside enjoying the flowers before the heat and humidity of the rest of the summer arrives. I haven’t read many authors who pay this much attention to how the seasons can affect the way their characters feel, so kudos to Ms. Schindler for including it.

Chasing June was lighthearted.

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.

I thought all of these videos were amusing and worth checking out, and I’m including a few caveats for those of you who might need them:

Learn to Solve an Integral (A Calculus Parody of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”) AP Calculus BC.

This is Mitchell Gaiser‘s only video ever on YouTube which definitely makes this unique. You don’t need to know anything about boy bands or calculus in order to enjoy it.

What Free Range Chickens Actually Look Like 

Farming While Beige posts videos about raising chickens, eating eggs and chickens, sustainable agriculture, social justice, and similar topics on his channel. (This particular video does not include any political content, but some of his other videos do for anyone reading this who prefers to avoid such topics). It’s simply about the reality of raising thousands of free range birds on a small farm. For example, he shows how he feeds his birds and where they spend their days.  I love his dry sense of humour.

Cucumber Ice Cream from 1885 

Tasting History is a cook who makes old recipes from just about any culture or historical era you can think of, includes combinations of flavours that most people in modern times have probably not tried. It’s such a fun way to explore history and learn a little about the many generations that have come before us.

The Powerful Way Kids Understand Medical Trauma

Dr. Bayo shares all sorts of educational videos about health, medical care, chronic illness, and similar topics. I loved seeing her commentary on this video that showed how child directed medical play can help kids process the emotional side of cancer treatments. The little girl in it is adorable and handling her treatments well.

Edgar Allen Poe Reads His Hatemail 

Eleanor Morton has created satirical and other types of comedic videos for years. This video does not include any political content, but she does occasionally poke fun at political figures from the U.K., the U.S. and other countries elsewhere on her account, so once again viewer beware if you avoid that stuff. I think her literary skits are her best ones, so keep an eye out for her C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien content in particular if you want to do a deep dive on her.

Things My Third Graders Said to Me This Week (Last Week of School)

Keldric Holmes is a third-grade teacher who shares a weekly top-ten list of things his students say to him during the school year. His students are brutally honest and hilarious in the way that only kids can be. Do note that there are occasional and brief references to possibly triggering things like drug use, body shaming, domestic violence, negative talk about food, weight, and diet, etc because not all kids are fortunate enough to grow up in safe and appropriate homes.  They clearly love Mr. Holmes, though, and most of their comments are about silly kid logic as opposed to heavier subjects.

Lawn Bubble.

James Callender found a gigantic bubble of water underneath his grass in July of 2015, so obviously he decided to try to pop it. Clink on the link above to see if he succeeded.

Cat in a Heated Blanket.

Lacy Babcock seems to have stopped making YouTube videos about five years ago. This is the only video I’ve seen from her again, but it includes a cat who has reached peak levels of coziness thanks to a heated blanket.  As someone who has essentially no experience with cats, I never would have guessed one would make this much noise out of what I presume is deep happiness.

Happy Pride Month, everyone! In honour of it, I’m tweaking this week’s theme so that all of the titles on it are about LGBTQ+ characters. These are all books I’ve been meaning to read but not have read yet.

If you’ve read any of them, did you like them? If you’re familiar with this subgenre, What other LGBTQ+ books did you think were great stories?

And don’t you wish we all had unlimited time to read?

1. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

2. Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

3. They Both Die at the End (They Both Die at the End, #1) by Adam Silvera

4. The City We Became (Great Cities, #1) by N.K. Jemisin

5. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Technically, I did read a little of this book, but then it was due back at the library and so I couldn’t finish it. Someday I will try again.

6. The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #1) by T.J. Klune

7. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

8. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

9. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

10. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Title

Author: Grist (Editor)

Publisher: The New Press

Publication Date: February 7, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, LGBTQ+

Length: 169 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Afterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world. Inspired by cutting-edge literary movements, such as Afrofuturism, hopepunk, and solarpunk, Afterglow imagines intersectional worlds in which no one is left behind—where humanity prioritizes equitable climate solutions and continued service to one’s community. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality. Afterglow welcomes a diverse range of new voices into the climate conversation to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. A creative work rooted in the realities of our present crisis, Afterglow presents a new way to think about the climate emergency—one that blazes a path to a clean, green, and more just future.

Content Warning: Drug use. Pregnancy. Grief. I will briefly mention the last two items in my review.

Review:

There are many different ways to imagine a better future for humanity.

Augusta decided to begin a worm swap with other communities to improve everyone’s soil in “A Worm to the Wise.” This angle surprised me a little, and I was curious to discover what life was like in her version of the future where fuel costs had grown so high that most people could no longer travel long distances. There were layers of conflict and meaning in this tale that made me wish it had been expanded to something full-length. It had so much information to share with the audience, and I was eager to learn more about her world.

Some of these twelve tales felt uneven to me, and I struggled to connect to them due to the limited information they shared about what the future might be like. “The Tree in the Back Yard” was one such example of it, especially given Mariska’s response to her first visit to her father’s grave. It was completely understandable to see how difficult this experience was for her, but I found myself wishing for more information about why she didn’t keep trying to visit him and pay her respects given how important those things were to her and how much effort she put into selecting the right resting place for him. Having more details would have made this a more satisfactory read, and this was repeated often enough in this collection that I did feel the obligation to mention it in my review.

“El, The Plastotrophs, and And Me” followed a family who had just been approved to conceive their second child. The society they lived in limited births for ecological reasons, so they were thrilled to have the chance to become co-parents again. I was fascinated by how the protagonist explained the difference between wanting a romantic partner and wanting a child as these two concepts were not necessarily linked in this universe.  There were some plot twists that only made the protagonist’s life plans more complicated as well, and I wished I could have followed them for a longer period of time.

Afterglow – Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors was thought provoking. 

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.

Are we picking real or mythological animals this week, friends? I wish some of you could jump into a Time Machine to tell past me which option is going to be more popular this week.

Since you can’t do that, I’m going to give two answers.

As far as real animals go, rabbits would be my first pick if I wasn’t allergic to them and their hay.

They are quiet and usually pretty small creatures that don’t need to be taken outside for walks like a dog does.

This means that when I’m having a migraine or other health troubles, I could still rest at home and not have to go out into the bright, noisy world.

A pet rabbit would be no bother at all on those days.

I also think they’re absolutely adorable little mammals and would love watching them hop around and play or perhaps take a peaceful nap depending on the time of day.

If we’re strictly speaking of magical friends here, I think Brownies would be a nice household companion. I would happily give them food,respect, and a peaceful home and would appreciate whatever small repairs or improvements they decided to make to my home in exchange.

Thank you to Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext for submitting these theme! While my list of favourite books always evolves over time, these are titles that I enjoyed reading and still think about quite often. 

Since TTT bloggers don’t always all share the same taste, I’ll briefly describe why I love all of these stories as well.

1. The Deep by Rivers Solomon

The world building in this novella was exquisite, but I can’t say much else about it without sharing spoilers. All you need to know going in is that mermaids exist in this universe and have very little in common with Ariel.

2.The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

There were so many fantastic subplots included here about topics like emotional abuse, the harm of strict gender roles, learning how to stand up for yourself, living with a chronic illness, etc. that this is something I tend to reread every year or two. I’d particularly recommend to people who are like me and generally don’t read much romance because while falling in love was part of the story, it was not at all the entirety of it.

3. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Ms. Waters made her name writing lesbian romance novels, so some fans were disappointed to see her step away from that genre when The Little Stranger came out. I thought she did an excellent job of branching out and trying something new with this mystery that may or may not include paranormal elements depending on how you interpret certain scenes.

I love it when authors take risks with their work like this.

4.Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

This novella had excellent character development and would make an amazing film. Once again, I can’t share anything else for spoiler reasons or I’d be gushing with admiration for the protagonist.

5. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

The mystery and science fiction genres meld together in this novel about a woman who is either time travelling to save the future or who is having strong hallucinations while being treated by doctors who may be subconsciously allowing their sexist and racist beliefs to cloud their judgement.

I’ve had pretty good experiences with the medical establishment for the most part, but there have been a few times when I wondered if my symptoms weren’t being taken seriously due to my sex, disability, and/or sexual orientation. It can be hard to tell what’s actually going on in certain situations, especially given how overworked doctors and nurses often are, and I thought it was interesting that this ambiguity was explored so thoroughly in this book.

6. A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1) by Becky Chambers

This is the epitome of a comfort read if you ask me. It’s such a peaceful and utopian setting.

7. A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver

Honestly, all of Ms. Oliver’s poetry is wonderful, especially for people who struggle to understand this genre. She had such a thoughtful and accessible writing style that anyone who has ever stepped foot into nature and liked it has a good chance of relating to something she wrote.

8.The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

This is a sobering story about corporate greed, the abuse of low-income workers, and how a few brave young women spoke out to improve things for future generations.

9.The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

I adored the magical realism in this book as well as the 1920s retelling of an old Russian fairy tale. It was creative and bittersweet.

10.Foster by Claire Keegan

This reads like a story a grandmother might tell her grandchildren about what life was like generations ago. I desperately want a sequel for it.

Title

Author: Stephen Howard

Publisher: Wild Hunt Books

Publication Date: April 3, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary

Length: 106 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A couple mourning the loss of their young daughter take up an opportunity to renovate a rural cottage on the remote North Yorkshire Moors. However, they can’t process their grief as increasingly eerie events unfold. Is it their daughter haunting them or something else?

Content Warning: the death a child that occurred before this novella began. I will be discussing it briefly in my review.

Review:

Moving forward rarely happens on a set schedule.

I adored the house’s motivation for attempting to communicate with Priya and Simon, the couple who just moved in. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, it was a fresh perspective on the haunted house genre that made me eagerly want to learn more. Mr. Howard is a creative storyteller, and these scenes in particular were well done and made me want to check out more of his work.

This would have been a much stronger work if more time had been spent fleshing it out, especially when it came to the character development. While the minimalistic descriptions worked better for the storyline given how straightforward it was for the most part, I found myself wishing I knew more about who Simon and Priya were as individuals. There simply wasn’t enough space in this novella to explore their personalities, histories, and what their marriage had been like before little Lily passed away.

The ending was as unexpected as it was thought provoking. I was intrigued by what it had to say about the process of grief and how easy it is to get stuck in certain phases of it for some people. It takes courage to pull oneself out of those spirals and move forward when what one really wants to do is wallow in the past. While I would have liked to see another chapter added at the end to explain what was really going on in the house, I also understand why the author decided to leave those questions unanswered. Grief in real life is often accompanied by questions that can’t possibly be answered, too, so it made sense to reflect that in fiction as well.

If anyone reading this review would like a recommendation for a similar read, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters explores similar themes surrounding grief, the loss of a child, and the physical and emotional decay of a home and may be of interest to you.

This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are made me want to read more haunted house tales.