August 2023 – Page 2 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Their Vicious Games

Title: Their Vicious Games
Author: Joelle Wellington
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: July 25, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor .

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.

And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.

But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her competition, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.

Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

Review:

Adina Walker has always been on a scholarship at Edgewater Academy, an upper class (and mostly white) school, because her parents work there. After losing control in a moment with a former friend, Adina had her admission to Yale revoked. Adina will do anything to get that admission back, even compete in a high-stakes game that the Remington family hosts called the Finish. Several young women in Edgewater compete in the Finish to be accepted by the Remington family and have all the advantages of their wealth and power. However, the stakes of this game aren’t what Adina predicted. She must change the rules to survive the Remington’s vicious games.

This was an intense competition story that reminded me of The Hunger Games and Ace of Spades. The game had deadly stakes, which wasn’t what Adina had expected. There was some racism and classism in the story, since Adina was the only Black girl in the game as well as the only girl who didn’t move in the same circles of the Remingtons. I found myself holding my breath while reading this because I didn’t know what twists the games would reveal next.

Their Vicious Games is an intense and twisty story!

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

Content warnings: racism, death, murder

Have you read Their Vicious Games? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – August 8

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

The Raven Throne by Stephanie Burgis

Only a Trenza Away by Nadine Fonseca, Camila Carrossine (illustrator)

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, and Shadow Mountain for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: We Ship It

Title: We Ship It
Author: Lauren Kay
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 20, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This rom-com debut has the fierce girl energy of the movie Booksmart, blended with the awkwardness of Kelly Quindlen’s Late to the Party, topped with a thrilling international meet-cute a la Love and Gelato. Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded. And the plan is a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor. The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago. Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have fun… But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she thought she understood, and the future she’s always planned.

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Schwartz has a plan to become a cardiologist. During spring break, she plans to do a project with her friend so they can win an internship. However, her parents surprise her with a cruise for their whole family, including her younger twin brothers. This cruise would have been a dream come true for Olivia’s older brother, who died when he was seventeen of a sudden heart attack. Olivia isn’t that close to her parents since they never want to talk about her older brother. Then Olivia meets Sebastian, a charming boy who gives her feeling she’s never had before. She opens up to him about her brother and starts to learn more about herself. Olivia decides to let loose and have fun on this cruise, but then she has to face the truths that she’s been avoiding for a long time.

This was a rom com with a serious undertone. Olivia went on a fun cruise with her family but they had the secret of her older brother’s death hanging between them. Her parents didn’t like to talk about him, but she didn’t know why. The romance between Olivia and Sebastian was cute, but it seemed short lived since they didn’t live anywhere near each other. I was surprised at the ending, when all the secrets everyone was keeping were revealed. I didn’t expect the ending to be so emotional, based on the cute cover and the rom com description.

We Ship It is a cute vacation rom com with an emotional side to it.

Content warnings: death of sibling, underage drinking, heart attack, overdose

Have you read We Ship It? What did you think of it?

Review: Everyone Here Is Lying

Title: Everyone Here Is Lying
Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 25, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Stanhope! A safe neighborhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbors become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

Review:

William Wooler has been having an affair, but his mistress ends it one afternoon. He goes home and finds his difficult nine-year-old daughter home alone, when she should still be at school. They have an argument and William loses his temper and slaps her. He storms out of the house after apologizing. However, a little while later, William is called home because Avery has disappeared. Everyone on their street is a suspect, and everyone has secrets.

This was another awesome fast-paced Shari Lapena thriller. It was told through small scenes that alternated between all the characters which gave some insight into what everyone was thinking. It was still hard to figure out who was behind her disappearance because they were all guilty of something in their lives. The story took a surprising twist that I didn’t see coming. The ending was great and satisfying!

Everyone Here Is Lying is a fast-paced thriller!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book.

Content warnings: murder, child abuse, mentions of drug abuse, mentions of sexual assault

Have you read Everyone Here Is Lying? What did you think of it?

Review: Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman

Title: Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman
Author: Diana López
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Kokila
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 18, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The twelve-year-old daughter of La Llorona vows to free her mother and reverse the curses that have plagued the magical town of Tres Leches in this delightfully sweet and spellbinding adventure by beloved author Diana López.

When Felice learns that she’s the daughter of La Llorona, she catches a ride to the magical town of Tres Leches, where her mother is said to be haunting the river. Growing up with her uncle Clem in Corpus Christi, Felice knew that she had been rescued from drowning—it’s where her intense fear of water comes from—but she had no idea her mother remained trapped between worlds, looking for her. Guided by the magical town’s eccentric mayor, Felice vows to help her mother make peace with the events that turned her into the most famous monstruo of US–Mexico border lore. Along the way, she meets the children of other monstruos, like La Lechuza and the Dancing Devil, and together they free Tres Leches from magical and metaphorical curses that have haunted its people for generations.

Diana López’s electric return to middle grade—the first in a series—brims with magic, adventure, and Mexican folklore, and is perfect for fans of Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega and the Jumbies series by Tracey Baptiste.

Review:

Twelve-year-old Felice grew up with her Uncle Clem in Corpus Christi after her mother and brothers drowned in a river in their hometown of Tres Leches. When her uncle’s friend comes to tell them that Felice’s mother is haunting the river as La Llorona, Felice runs away to go meet her mom. However, Felice has a strong fear of water, so she can’t even approach the river. She meets two children who also have parents known as Los Monstruos. With her new friends, Felice must figure out how to save Tres Leches from La Llorona.

This was a fun middle grade story. I enjoyed the representation of Mexican culture. The descriptions of the food made me so hungry! I also liked the representation of phobia and anxiety. Since Felice knew the river killed her mother and brothers, she had a phobia of water. She couldn’t even stand being near rain without having a panic attack. She had to figure out how to manage and conquer her fear, rather than letting it control her life. This was a positive message for kids.

Felice and the Wailing Woman is a great middle grade book!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parents, death of siblings, parental abandonment, drowning

Have you read Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman? What did you think of it?