Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: Sarah’s Dream (The Grémillet Sisters #1)
Author: Giovanni Di Gregorio, Alessandro Barbucci
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Publisher: Europe Comics
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 15, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Being sisters is never easy. But when you’re as different as Sarah, Cassiopeia, and Lucille, it’s even harder! The first is haunted by recurring dreams, the second lives with her head in the clouds, and the last spends most of her time with her cat. Then one day they discover a mysterious photo of their mother pregnant. Where was it taken, and who is the baby? And most importantly, why was this photo hidden away in the depths of the attic? To find out, they’ll have to venture into the tangled forest of the Grémillet family secrets!
Sarah is the oldest of three sisters, and she’s always felt responsible for her younger sisters Cassiopeia and Lucille. Sarah has a recurring dream of a large tree holding her mom’s bedroom, with a jellyfish inside. Before she can reach the jellyfish, she always wakes up. While Sarah and her sisters are making a Mother’s Day gift for their mom, they find an old photo of their mom at the base of the tree from Sarah’s dream. They have to enter a hidden forest to learn their mother’s secrets.
I loved the mystical aspects of this story. Sarah has a mysterious dream that is connected to her mother’s past. There was a strange forest that held their mom’s secrets. These mysterious secrets also created some beautiful, mystical images in the illustrations.
This story deals with the death of a newborn at the end. This can be a sensitive subject for some readers. However, it could also introduce the subject of a child’s death to young readers. This story could create a starting point for talking about that difficult subject.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
Thank you Europe Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Sarah’s Dream? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
This weekend I finished Sarah’s Dream (The Grémillet Sisters #1) by Giovanni Di Gregorio, Alessandro Barbucci.
I’m currently reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
Next I will be reading Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:
I did 9 weekly blogging memes:
How was your week? What did you guys read?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas.
Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
What book are you in bed with today?
This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Brave Main Characters. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
Did you make a Six for Sunday list?
Title: Jackie and Maria: A Novel of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas
Author: Gill Paul
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 22, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
From the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Wife comes a story of love, passion, and tragedy as the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas are intertwined―and they become the ultimate rivals, in love with the same man.
The President’s Wife; a Glamorous Superstar; the rivalry that shook the world…
Jackie Kennedy was beautiful, sophisticated, and contemplating leaving her ambitious young senator husband. Life in the public eye with an overly ambitious–and unfaithful―man who could hardly be coaxed to return from a vacation after the birth of a stillborn child was breaking her spirit. So when she’s offered a holiday on the luxurious yacht owned by billionaire Ari Onassis, she says yes…to a meeting that will ultimately change her life.
Maria Callas is at the height of her operatic career and widely considered to be the finest soprano in the world. And then she’s introduced to Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man and her fellow Greek. Stuck in a childless, sexless marriage, and with pressures on all sides from opera house managers and a hostile press, she finds her life being turned upside down by this hyper-intelligent and impeccably charming man…
Little by little, Maria’s and Jackie’s lives begin to overlap, and they come closer and closer until everything they know about the world changes on a dime.
Jackie Kennedy was the beautiful, sophisticated husband of the senator Jack Kennedy. She knew he was unfaithful, and after the still birth of her son, she needed a break from him. Jackie traveled to her friend Ari Onassis’s yacht, which changed the course of her life. Maria Callas was a world famous opera singer. She was introduced to Ari and they began a love affair. However, Maria wanted to have a family and marry Ari but he didn’t want to commit. Jackie and Maria are two powerful women who both love the same man.
I didn’t know much about the Kennedys before reading this book and I had never heard of Maria Callas. I usually look up the real people while I read historical fiction to find out which events really happened, but I resisted this time so I was surprised at what happened in the story. I tend to read historical fiction about real people I am familiar with, so this was a different read for me. I learned a lot about the Kennedys, Ari Onassis, and Maria Callas.
This story was intense and tragic. There were some tough situations, such as stillborn babies, suicide, murder, and affairs. What makes these things even more tragic in the story is that they are based on real events. Even though there were some upsetting scenes, I couldn’t put this book down. I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. I was also quite surprised at the twists since I didn’t know what would really happen with the characters.
This is an amazing, well written story.
Have you read Jackie and Maria? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Award Winning Books. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!
Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?
Title: Princesses Versus Dinosaurs
Author: Linda Bailey, Joy Ang (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Two popular storybook titans, princesses and dinosaurs, battle to determine who should star in this laugh-out-loud picture book for fans of Shark vs Train and The Book With No Pictures.
This is a princess book!
No, it’s a dinosaur book!
No, it’s . . . a T. rex book? A dragon book? A rubber ducky book?!
From Linda Bailey, award-winning and critically acclaimed author, and Joy Ang, Adventure Time-artist and illustrator of the Mustache Baby series, comes an irresistibly irreverent picture book in which plucky princesses and determined dinosaurs have a battle royale over whose book this is. When they start calling in the big guns — or rather, the big carnivores — and decide to build a wall to resolve their differences, princesses and dinosaurs alike learn a thing or two about open-mindedness and sharing.
This book starts out with some princesses singing and dancing. The next page has dinosaurs roaring. Is it a princess book or a dinosaur book? They can’t decide so they have to bring in their friends to figure out what kind of book it is. Eventually they separate the book with a wall, but it may be more fun for everyone if they can all play together.
As soon as I saw the title of this book, I knew it would be adorable. The characters break the fourth wall by talking about what the book is about. It was also funny when they brought in some friends who took over the story.
This book defies the stereotypical gendered children’s stories. Princess stories are usually targeted towards girl readers, while dinosaur books are targeted towards boys. This book has both princesses and dinosaurs, so it is for everyone. There was also a princess who looked like a boy, so any child can see themselves in the princess characters.
This is a fun picture book!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Princesses Versus Dinosaurs? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice.
The Rules are:
I chose Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy.
Here is my line from page 56 in my copy:
“Dakota glances over her shoulder before taking a step closer to me. ‘Can you keep a secret?'”
Did you make a post for the Friday 56?
Jill's Book Blog 