November 2020 – Page 6 – Jill's Book Blog

Sundays in Bed With… Tsarina

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 Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself.
Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?
From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire.”

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Children’s/YA Books That Would Make Brilliant Graphic Novels

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 Children’s Books That Would Make Brilliant Graphic Novels. Here’s my list:

1. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

4. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

5. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Cracked Up to Be

Title: Cracked Up to Be
Author: Courtney Summers
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: February 4, 2020 (originally December 23, 2008)
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When “Perfect” Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter’s High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher’s pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?
Parker doesn’t want to talk about it. She’d just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her conselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there’s a nice guy falling in love with her and he’s making her feel things again when she’d really rather not be feeling anything at all.
Nobody would have guessed she’d turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.
Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

Review:

Parker Fadley was a perfect student, the captain of the cheerleading team and on the honor roll. In her senior year, she stopped doing her school work and started drinking at school. Her boyfriend has broken up with her, but wants her back, and a new boy at school wants to date her. Parker can’t stand the attention, and she’s on constant suicide watch by the school administration. Something really bad happened before Parker’s senior year, and she feels like she’s to blame.

Parker started out as an unlikeable character. There was an author’s note at the beginning that said it was difficult to get this book published because Parker was so unlikeable. Parker broke the rules and didn’t listen to advice. She didn’t even do things she really wanted to at times, because she felt like she didn’t deserve it. Once I found out what happened, I could understand where Parker was coming from and why she behaved the way she did. Her feelings were valid, and this is the only way her story could be told.

There were some triggers in this book, including alcohol abuse, rape, suicide, and the death of an animal. The death of the animal was really upsetting to me. I find it so hard to read about the death or abuse of animals. It’s the one thing that usually makes me stop reading a book. This one wasn’t a major part of the plot, but I don’t like reading that in any story. The other triggering topics were major parts of the plot and affected the way the story played out so they needed to be there, but the death of the animal was upsetting to me.

I liked this story, but it was a heavy read with only a little optimism at the end.

Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn [audiobook]

Title: Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Audiobook
Release Date: July 7, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse…
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.
As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.
Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.

Review:

Soraya is a princess who was cursed with a poisonous touch. She couldn’t touch anyone, because her touch would kill them. Soraya has been locked away by her family because of her curse. One day, a young man encourages her to come out of hiding. He is the only one who isn’t afraid of her. He makes Soraya question her curse and who she is destined to become.

This was a beautiful fairy tale story. It started with a classic fairy tale curse, with Soraya not being able to touch anyone without killing them. There was a history to her curse and a reason why she was cursed, which followed a traditional fairy tale plot. I wasn’t familiar with the Persian folklore and terms used in this story, so I loved hearing about it in this story. There were many demons and deception that made for a suspenseful story.

The only problem I had with the audiobook was that I wasn’t familiar with the words so they were a little difficult to understand through just listening. This is a personal issue I had with the book, so I didn’t hold it against the book in my rating. At the end of the story, there was an author’s note which explained the words and their meanings, but I would have found it more helpful at the beginning. I think I would have gotten a lot more out of the story if I had been able to read this in print.

I enjoyed this audiobook, but I’d love to read it in print.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First Lines Friday – November 6

This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.

Here are my first lines:

“Once upon always and never again, in an ancient city by the sea, three sisters worked by candlelight.”

Do you recognize these first lines?

…

And the book is… Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly.

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Goodreads synopsis:

Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe … which is now filling with blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.
Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.

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

Review: Miss Meteor

Title: Miss Meteor
Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback ARC
Release Date: September 22, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything.
Witty and heartfelt with characters that leap off the page, Miss Meteor is acclaimed authors Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first book together.

Review:

Lita Perez has never felt like she fit in in her town of Meteor. Years ago, a meteor hit their town, giving it the name of Meteor. When it hit, Lita was created from the star dust. She grew up with the appearance of a human, but she’s from the stars. Now, that background is starting to affect Lita. She wants to fulfill her dream of becoming Miss Meteor by winning the beauty pageant in their town. She gets the help of her former best friend, Chicky, and Chicky’s older sisters who have competed in the pageant in the past. Chicky and Lita have never been the popular girls, and they’ve both been bullied, so they have to work extra hard to make Lita stand out in the competition.

This story had great queer representation. One of the characters was transgender. The way it was described by that character was that his family thought he was a girl when he was born, but they were wrong. This description takes the “blame” off the person who comes out as transgender, since they didn’t choose to be that way. Instead it shows that other people were wrong in assuming he was a girl as a child. I loved this description, since it takes the pressure off the person for being transgender and shows that it isn’t a choice.

There was a lot of bullying in this story, including transphobia, xenophobia, and homophobia. These acts and abuses were addressed. At first, I found it shocking that characters were saying these things to other characters in such a casual way. This shows how bullying can happen in casual ways, including by people who are closely related to you. Eventually it was addressed, but it was upsetting and shocking to read at some points.

The one thing that I would have liked to see more of is an explanation on how Lita came to be in Meteor. It wasn’t very clear how she was created from star dust. It was an interesting and fun science fiction storyline which left me with some questions.

I really enjoyed this original pageant story.

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TBR Thursday – November 5

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is Fable by Adrienne Young.

Goodreads Synopsis:

For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.
But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him, and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.
Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: Clean Getaway

Title: Clean Getaway
Author: Nic Stone
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 7, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a middle grade road-trip story through American race relations past and present perfect for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds.
How to Go on an Unplanned Road Trip with Your Grandma:
* Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED.
* Fasten Your Seatbelt: G’ma’s never conventional, so this trip won’t be either.
* Use the Green Book: G’ma’s most treasured possession. It holds, history, memories, and most important, the way home.
What Not to Bring:
* A Cell Phone: Avoid contact with Dad at all costs. Even when G’ma starts acting stranger than usual.
Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, take a trip with New York Times bestselling Nic Stone and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover the world hasn’t always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren’t always what they seem–his G’ma included.

Review:

After getting suspended from school, Scoob’s Spring Break trip was cancelled. His grandmother, G’ma, sold her house and bought an RV to go on a special trip. Scoob sneaks out of his dad’s house and travels across multiple states with his G’ma in her new RV. Soon after they leave, she starts acting strange. She refers to Scoob by his father’s name many times. She also insists on stopping at various jewelry stores on their way. Scoob isn’t sure what their destination is, but he starts to question why G’ma has taken him on this trip.

This was such an original story. It’s a middle grade story, but it actually got quite dark at times. Perhaps that’s because I was reading it as an adult, so I picked up on the warning signs of what G’ma was doing quite early on. There were serious events in this book that were heavier than many middle grade books I’ve read.

Scoob was a black boy traveling with his white grandmother. They often got strange looks, since they weren’t the same race and didn’t appear to be related at first sight. G’ma was familiar with this reaction, because she married a black man in the 1960s. They weren’t allowed to go into certain businesses as a mixed race couple. She was even concerned about finding a doctor when she was pregnant, because she didn’t think a doctor would want to look after a white woman who was carrying a mixed race baby. This seems absurd to me, reading it from the twentieth century. It’s disturbing that this would have happened just a few decades ago. Though G’ma was white, she had a unique perspective of being in a relationship with a black man and experiencing racism because of that.

This was an original middle grade novel!

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – November 4

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is The Cousins by Karen M. McManus. The expected publication date is December 1, 2020.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying comes your next obsession. You’ll never feel the same about family again.
Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.
Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.
The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Elvis Puffs Out: A Breaking Cat News Adventure

Title: Elvis Puffs Out: A Breaking Cat News Adventure
Author: Georgia Dunn
Genre: Graphic Novel, Humour
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This just in: your favorite purr-nalists are back and reporting on all of the most pressing cat issues in this third collection of Breaking Cat News comics for middle-grade readers.
Anchor cat Lupin and his faithful field reporters, Elvis and Puck, are as cute and funny as ever in Elvis Puffs Out. There’s no shortage of news to cover this time around: In the wake of a winter snowstorm, the team tries their hand at meteorology (with mixed results). Man and Woman nurse a stranded kitten back to health. And the pessimistic, straight-laced Elvis demonstrates that even he has a soft side.

The fun continues in the “More to Explore” section, with lessons on wooden-spoon puppet theaters, the basics of reporting your own news stories, and—as always—charming paper dolls to craft.

Review:

The Cat News reporters are back in this fun graphic novel. The cat reporters live with a family with two toddlers and they find lots of breaking news in their daily lives. They experience a snowstorm, a birthday party, a protest, and a stray kitten being fostered in the home.

This is a hilarious graphic novel series. My family and I care for a colony of feral cats at our house, so I could relate to these different cat personalities. I loved the reaction that the cats had to snow. They said the ground had disappeared and created a void. Some of our cats just experienced snow for the first time and they were just as shocked as the cats in this book.

The cats also reported on the news in a hilarious way. The actions of the humans often caused breaking news for the cats. For example, they were worried when the humans brought fire, in the form of a birthday candle on a cake, near the baby on her birthday. The cats asked the humans for interviews, but their owners couldn’t understand them so they couldn’t give interviews.

This is a hilarious parody on breaking news for cat lovers!

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Other books in the series:

Breaking Cat News
Lupin Leaps In
Take It Away, Tommy

Have you read Elvis Puffs Out? What did you think of it?

Goodreads Synopsis:

1. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

4. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

5. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Sadie by Courtney Summers

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What to read next:

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

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What to read next:

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

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Review:

What to read next:

Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

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Review:

What to read next:

Take It Away, Tommy by Georgia Dunn

Cone Cat by Sarah Howden

Other books in the series: