Jill's Book Blog

Review: His Choice

Title: His Choice
Author: Sheila Kell
Genre: Romance, Thriller
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Will his choice mean certain death to the woman he promised to protect? In Sheila’s passionate novel of deception and desire, a smoking-hot enforcer and a determined reporter are destined to make choices that will change everything.

Enforcer AJ Hamilton is no longer on the right side of the law. Tangled up with Baltimore’s largest crime boss, he has been tasked to threaten a bothersome reporter. After a heated encounter, his attraction to her is as unexpected as it is unwanted. Failing to warn her off, AJ is forced to protect her from her stubborn self and his criminal boss. With tensions high, their passion flares as they battle to stay one step ahead of a criminal mastermind.

Review:

This is a great romantic suspense novel! Megan was a journalist who took risks to expose a crime ring in the city. AJ was an enforcer who had to distract her from her investigation. They were thrown together in unexpected circumstances which started their romance. There were many twists that kept me guessing until the end.

His Choice is a great suspenseful romance!

Thank you The Wild Rose Press for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warnings: death, gun violence, murder

Have you read His Choice? What did you think of it?

Review: The Basketball Tournament of Dreams (The Super Hoopers #1)

Title: The Basketball Tournament of Dreams (The Super Hoopers #1)
Author: Alberto Casamayor, Palma & Kako
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Editoria el Pirata
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Paperback
Release Date: February 13, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Basketball has never been so much fun! Meet the Super Hoopers, the most unusual basketball team you can imagine. Although the Super Hoopers are far from being the best team, their friendship and fun-filled adventures fill their novels. The Super Hoopers is a series about basketball with lots of humor, starring a group of nine-year-old boys and girls who go to the same school. You don’t need to be a basketball expert to have the time of your life with Joel and his awesome group of friends. All pages feature colorful illustrations and include dialogue in comic-style speech bubbles. The story is fast-paced and full of humor. It is recommended for children aged 8 to 11. In The Basketball Tournament of Dreams, Joel and his best friend, Bermú dez, will have to step up their game if they want to pass Physical Education this year because their new teacher, Coach Evans, is stricter than a sergeant. It’s time to get in shape, and to do that, they come up with the brilliant idea of… forming their own basketball team and winning a championship! Something that would undoubtedly be much easier if any of the diverse team members had the slightest clue about playing basketball.

Review:

This is a fun middle grade story! It begins with a couple of friends who want to pass their physical education class easily, so they decide to form a basketball team. However, they aren’t good at basketball. They must figure out how to make a successful team. I liked that this book was illustrated so it would be more accessible for reluctant readers. It’s a fun start to this series!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Have you read The Basketball Tournament of Dreams? What did you think of it?

Review: The Wandering Inn (The Wandering Inn #1)

Title: The Wandering Inn
Author: Pirateaba
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 2, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

“No killing Goblins.”

So reads the sign outside of The Wandering Inn, a small building run by a young woman named Erin Solstice. She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours.

It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a Dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of life, and where Humans are one species among many. But she must adapt to her new life. Or die.

In a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn.

She’s an [Innkeeper].

Review:

In this story, a human named Erin Solstice discovers an inn in a fantasy world. There are dangerous creatures all over this world and she has to figure out how to navigate around them. She can also level up and learn new skills. I really enjoyed the video game aspects of this epic fantasy novel. The characters could “level up” in their jobs and activities. Though there were some differences between our world and that fantasy world, one thing they had in common is the game of chess.

The Wandering Inn is a fun fantasy novel!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com and The Wandering Inn for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warnings: knife violence, death

Have you read The Wandering Inn? What did you think of it?

Review: Creatures and Corridors

Title: Creatures and Corridors
Author: Bill Sienkiewicz, Andrea Mutti
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: The Lab Press
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 11, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

In the summer of 1992, a forbidden role-playing game called Creatures & Corridors takes a dark turn for five high-school sophomores.

It’s the summer of 1992, and five high school sophomores play a rare role-playing game that was banned for being “too Satanic” — Creatures & Corridors. As the kids play the mysterious fantasy game, it unleashes a curse that warps reality around them: orcs storm the living room, killing their parents. The front yard turns into a moat filled with tentacled horrors. And their basement “game cave” transforms into a literal dungeon, laden with bloodthirsty monsters and terrifying death traps. Now, the kids are forced to play Creatures & Corridors for their very lives, as a devilish Gamemaster judges their every move.

Review:

This graphic novel is about a role playing game called Creatures and Corridors, similar to Dungeons and Dragons. The teens who were playing end up opening up a portal to another world within the game. This story reminded me of Stranger Things, but with a much darker spin. If you’re missing Stranger Things, you should check out this graphic novel!

Creatures and Corridors is a great fantasy graphic novel!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warnings: death, death of parents

Have you read Creatures and Corridors? What did you think of it?

Review: Menilmonea (The Cycle of the Titans #1)

Title: Menilmonea (The Cycle of the Titans #1)
Author: David Catuhe
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Self-published
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 10, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Menilmonea’s life is guided by traditions, rituals, and legends, all centered around worship of the Mother. A mycomanceress, the young girl once received a gift connecting her to nature and mushrooms, though she views it more as a curse.

When the turtle Titan Tunka, protector of their village, fails to awaken from his slumber, Menilmonea and her friend Aureal set out in search of help from the neighboring frog Titan. But never did they expect to feel so shaken by the upheavals unraveling their world, which may well be on the verge of collapse… This marks the beginning of a journey of transformation in which the two friends must face revelations that could shatter everything they thought they knew about their world… and the very history of their people.

A coming-of-age fantasy novel that defies genre conventions and readerly expectations, Menilmonea skillfully weaves together belief, heritage, and the search for identity. Here, the adventure begins when you stop following the rules.

Review:

This is a great fantasy story! The main character, Menilmonea, had the ability to communicate with mushrooms, which I’ve never read about before. It was an interesting exciting adventure story about two girls who go on a journey to save their village. There were beautiful illustrations throughout the book which showed the gorgeous fantasy setting!

Menilmonea is a beautiful fantasy book!

Thank you Bookinfluencers for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warning: death of parents (off page)

Have you read Menilmonea? What did you think of it?

Review: Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3

Title: Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3
Author: Miyuli
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this stunning debut series by Miyuli, perfect for fans of fantasy and romance, a struggling witch crosses paths with an angsty vampire, setting the stage for either love or war.

Morgana Winterberry belongs to a long line of witches, while Oz belongs to the rival vampire clan. After lifting a magical curse on the vampires, Morgana makes an uneasy truce with them, very much against her family’s warnings.

Morgana and Oz plan to work together to investigate who cursed the vampires in the first place, and who summoned the ghouls that are stalking the forest. Much to Morgana’s worry, signs point to someone in her family using her powerful ancestor Neil Winterberry’s grimoire.

As Morgana tries to understand her stronger but more volatile magic, and learn more about her mysterious great-great-grandfather, she starts hearing a chilling and all too familiar voice in her head.

It will take a witch and a vampire, growing closer every day, to get to the bottom of things.

This volume collects episodes 40 to 58 of the hit fantasy WEBTOON series with over 76 million reads, Morgana and Oz

Review:

This third book in the Morgana and Oz series was so fun! I love the dynamic between Morgana, a witch, and Oz, a vampire. They’re from rival groups but they have realized that they can actually help each other. This is a fun series with beautiful illustrations!

Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3 is a great graphic novel!

Thank you Wattpad Books for sending me a copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

Have you read Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3? What did you think of it?

Review: Joy to the Girls (She Gets the Girl #1.5)

Title: Joy to the Girls (She Gets the Girl #1.5)
Author: Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, LGBTQ
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For Alex and Molly, the last three years have felt like Christmas every day. So what better way to celebrate their final winter break of college than a romantic holiday getaway in a town right out of a Christmas-card?

Aside from sampling all the holiday cheer Barnwich has to offer, Alex and Molly have an important mission this weekend: to help their friend, Cora, get her crush to fall for her. But in between ice skating, snowball fights, and matchmaking schemes, it becomes obvious that both of them have another mission this weekend: to not reveal the huge secrets they’re each keeping from the other. Secrets about their post-college plans that just might threaten to tear them apart.

Will these two be able to help Cora get the girl and keep theirs—or will this be the last Christmas of Alex and Molly’s love story?

Review:

This is a cute holiday novella. It’s a companion novella to the novel She Gets the Girl, however it can be read as a stand-alone. There was a fun cameo appearance of the characters from Make My Wish Come True. There was romance and lots of tension because both of the main characters were keeping secrets from each other.

Joy to the Girls is a fun holiday novella!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book.

Other books in the series:

She Gets the Girl (She Gets the Girl #1)

Have you read Joy to the Girls? What did you think of it?

Review: A Heart for Christmas

Title: A Heart for Christmas
Author: Sophie Jomain
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A teen reclaims her independence and opens her heart to Christmas with the help of a handsome ski instructor in this swoon-worthy young adult holiday romance told in a groundbreaking advent calendar format, with chapter-a-day reading making it a true slow-burn!

When eighteen-year-old April heads to the foothills of Mont Blanc in the Alps to spend her first Christmas at her father’s chalet, she’s hoping for a change. Ever since her heart operation two years ago, she’s lived as carefully as possible. Supervised exercise, green tea, rice cakes, focusing only on her studies. But now, she’s healthy and there’s a world out there that she’s missing.

When April’s ski instructor turns out to be her best friend’s older brother, Augustin, it feels like a sign. As Augustin encourages April to build up her strength, April feels drawn to him in ways she wasn’t expecting. Augustin is daring and gorgeous, and April doesn’t want to let her life pass her by any longer. But is her just-healed heart ready for a Christmas miracle?

With this book’s unique advent calendar format, each of the twenty-four chapters is sealed by its own perforated enclosure that readers can gently tear open—by hand or with the help of a ruler—to read a chapter a day in the weeks leading to Christmas!

Review:

This is an advent story, with 24 chapters. Each chapter is sealed so they can be opened and read in the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Each chapter ended in a way that made me want to keep reading. April had a heart transplant 3 years earlier so she had to protect her heart both literally and figuratively. This YA romance had a heartwarming holiday romance.

This is a great advent YA romance!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book.

Content warnings: heart transplant, hospital scenes, attempted suicide (mention), bullying (mentions)

Have you read A Heart for Christmas? What did you think of it?

Review: Hunger

Title: Hunger
Author: Nihaarika Negi, Joe Bocaroda, José Villarrubia
Genre: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
Publisher: The Lab Press
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 28, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In 1896 Bombay under British rule, famine-stricken mutant Izna embraces her monstrous nature to seek revenge against oppressive forces.

In 1896 Bombay, under British rule, a concentration camp holds IZNA, a plague-infected and famine-stricken being. Mutated through medical experiments, she, along with others, becomes a mutant. British officers invite famine photographer William Wallace Hooper to document the mutants, unaware he’s controlled by a shape-shifting vampire called Pisach. The Pisach infects prey with insatiable hunger, while Hooper bonds with Izna amidst rulers’ games with famine slaves.

Unbeknownst, Izna descends from women embracing monsters. Discovering Hooper’s role in her mother’s death, she wishes to become a monster herself. Transformed into a half-human, half-mutant, half-beast, she embraces her hunger, consuming oppressors and drenching her land in blood. This infinite hunger mirrors trauma’s generational and cultural impact, forging an inseparable link between oppressed and oppressor. The graphic novel blends True Blood, Kill Bill, and Spiral Into Horror, delving into hunger’s exploration of trauma’s pervasive influence.

Review:

This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. It’s about experiments that were performed in a concentration camp in India in 1896. The experiments turned many subjects into mutants who were further experimented on. The illustrations were at times gruesome, but that suited the horrific subject matter. This would be a great graphic novel for a book club or other literary discussions.

Hunger is a powerful graphic novel!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign.

Content warnings: body horror, famine

Have you read Hunger? What did you think of it?

Review: The Thieves’ Carousel

Title: The Thieves’ Carousel
Author: Briana Chen
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Publisher: Z-Choice International
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

What price would you pay to undo a death?

In the shadowed streets of Aspizia, two thieves—Lyo Morandi and Jasper Bray—risk everything to rewrite the past. Haunted by the death of their friend Milo, they set their sights on a forbidden a ring reputed to alter time.

To steal it, they must infiltrate the Thieves’ Carousel, a ruthless exhibition where the city’s most dangerous criminals flaunt their treasures—and fight to keep them. But as Lyo and Jasper descend deeper into the catacombs beneath Aspizia, they uncover a truth far more dangerous than they the ring’s power comes at a devastating cost.

Loyalties splinter. Betrayal lurks around every corner. Loyalties splinter. As the game turns deadly, they must ask How far will they go to rescue the past and save the future—and how much of themselves are they willing to lose?

The Thieves’ Carousel is a gripping tale of ambition, sacrifice, and the haunting price of second chances.

Review:

This is a gripping fantasy set in a dark world of secret societies and thieves. Lyo and Jasper want to play the Mago’s trial to bring back their friend Milo. However, it comes at a cost. This story kept me guessing until the end. It was fast paced and thrilling!

The Thieves Carousel is a thrilling fantasy!

Thank you iRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warnings: death, knife violence

Have you read The Thieves’ Carousel? What did you think of it?