August 2024 – Page 2 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Hannah Tate Beyond Repair

Title: Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair
Author: Laura Piper Lee
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: February 13, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hannah Tate can hardly believe her sleep-deprived eyes when she finds an engagement ring hidden in the closet. Killian, her super responsible, incredibly attractive boyfriend—and the father of her new baby, Bowie—is finally going to propose. But a romantic night out goes horribly wrong when Killian reveals he’s dumping Hannah, not proposing.

Furious and heartbroken, Hannah takes Bowie and moves in with her mama and stepdaddy in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Hannah realizes that her parents’ cabin has vacation property gold written all over it—and could save her mama from going broke. Again.

Only problem? The cabin’s décor is . . . mildly terrifying and it’s in desperate need of renovation. Hannah hires the hot carpenter living in the treehouse next door to fix up the place. Not only does River respect Hannah’s business acumen, he looks at her like she’s a woman, not a hot mess. And Hannah can’t deny that River awakens something new inside her.

Can Hannah embrace a future that looks different from the picture-perfect family she once dreamed of . . . and maybe start living life on her own terms?

Review:

Hannah Tate is the mother to a newborn baby, Bowie. When she finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend’s closet, she’s excited that he’s finally going to propose. However, instead of proposing, Killian says he thinks they should break up instead. On top of that, Hannah has been fired from her job while on maternity leave. Hannah is devastated so she moves in with her mom and stepdad. Her parents are starting up an Airbnb, but the cottage desperately needs a makeover, so Hannah takes over that job. She hires River, the hot carpenter who lives next door, to help her with the renovations. Even though she’s freshly out of a relationship, Hannah feels an undeniable attraction to River. She wants to welcome this new romance, while also working hard to make the Airbnb a success.

This was a sweet slow burn romance. It was an unconventional romance, since it started out with Hannah with a newborn baby, and then breaking up with her boyfriend. There were a few different kinds of relationships in this book. Hannah and her ex were co-parenting their son. Hannah’s mom was married to a good man who she found later in life after many bad relationships. Hannah’s two best friends were a same sex couple who had a baby daughter. These relationships were all at different stages in their lives, which was nice representation in a romance.

Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair is a great romance!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: heart attack, childbirth complications

Have you read Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – August 13

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

Nina Peanut: Creative Genius by Sarah Bowie

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

Ghostsmith by Nicki Pau Preto

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

The Plus One by S.C. Lalli

Thank you Union Square and Co, Del Rey, Simon and Schuster Canada, Berkley, and HarperCollins Canada for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: The Ghostkeeper

Title: The Ghostkeeper
Author: Johanna Taylor
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Perfect for fans of everything from Lockwood & Co to The Haunting of Hill House, this gothic graphic novel follows a young medium with the gift—or curse, as some might say—to communicate with the dead.

Dorian Leith can see ghosts. Not only that, he listens to their problems and tries to help them move on to the afterlife. It’s a gift that’s made him an outcast to everyone in town. That is except for his dearly departed grandmother, who he’s partnered with to turn this paranormal ability into an honest living, and the local bookshop owner, who seems to be the only non-deceased person willing to give him a chance. But it’s all worth it to Dorian, who feels like he’s been given a bigger purpose. A chance to save those who cannot save themselves.

Then one day, the key to Death’s Door is stolen, trapping all the ghosts in the land of the living. Since he’s only one who can see them, the spirits rely on Dorian to retrieve the key before it is too late. If they can’t move on, they’ll soon be consumed by a ghostly rot that has begun to plague them.

As it continues to fester and spread, and the ghosts become desperate for relief, Dorian must do whatever it takes to find a way to bring peace to the restless dead—even if that peace comes at the cost of his own….

Review:

After a brush with death as a child, Dorian Leith could see and speak to ghosts. He listens to their problems and helps send them to the afterlife. However, this gift has made him an outcast in town. There are plague doctors who want to get rid of the ghosts using potions, rather than helping them find peace like Dorian does. The local bookshop owner is the only person in town willing to help Dorian. One day, the key to Death’s Door is stolen by the ghost of a young girl, which prevents any ghosts from passing through to the afterlife. Dorian must find a way to retrieve the key before the ghosts rise up and destroy everyone in town.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! I love stories about people who can communicate with ghosts. This story had a Victorian style setting, which is one of my favourite book settings. There was a lot of tension and heartbreak around the ghosts. Some had quite tragic endings, such as the little girl who stole the key. There were some positives with the ghosts, though, like Dorian spending time with his grandmother’s ghost since he didn’t know her when she was alive.

The Ghostkeeper is a great paranormal graphic novel!

Thank you Penguin Teen for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: death, death of child, death of parent

Have you read The Ghostkeeper? What did you think of it?

Review: Bright and Tender Dark

Title: Bright and Tender Dark
Author: Joanna Pearson
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books US
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 4, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For readers of Notes on an Execution and I Have Some Questions for You, a wire-taut literary debut about a murder on a college campus and its aftermath twenty years later.

Days after the dawn of Y2K, beautiful, charismatic nineteen-year-old Karlie Richards is found brutally murdered in her campus apartment. Two decades later, those who knew Karlie-and those who just knew of her-remain consumed by her death. Among them is her freshman year roommate, Joy, now middle-aged and mid-divorce, living in the same college town and desperate for a new beginning. When she stumbles upon a twenty-year-old letter from Karlie, Joy becomes convinced the man in prison for her murder was wrongfully convicted. Soon she is diving deep into the dark world of internet conspiracy theorists and amateur sleuth blogs and bouncing off others touched by the long, sensational aftermath of this crime. They include KC, the trans night manager at the building where Karlie was killed; Sheri, the mother of the man serving time; and Jacob Hendrix, the charming professor with whom, Joy knows all too well, Karlie was romantically entangled before her death.

Jumping between 2019 and 1999, Bright and Tender Dark takes us from the era of Reddit threads and online obsession to the evangelism-infused culture of the late ’90s to reveal what really happened to Karlie. It is a compulsively readable, prismatic literary debut that brilliantly mines the mythology of murder, the power of urban legend, and the psychological urge to both protect and exploit what you love but cannot have.

Review:

A week after Y2K, Karlie Richards was found murdered in her apartment. A developmentally delayed young man was convicted of her death, but that has never sat right with Joy, Karlie’s former college roommate. Twenty years later, Joy decides to investigate Karlie’s death herself after finding a letter written to her from Karlie. There are many people who were involved in Karlie’s life and were interconnected in their small college town. This story is told through alternating timelines and perspectives to show what happened to Karlie.

This was an intense thriller story. It had a literary format, with each chapter following a different character and alternating between the years 2000 and 2019. Karlie was brutally murdered, but the man who was put in prison for it was convicted because his disability made him vulnerable. It was tragic. Most of the characters had dark pasts and lots of secrets. There were a few loose ends that I would have liked to have been tied up at the end of the story, but I liked that the whole story of Karlie’s death was given to the reader.

Bright and Tender Dark is a dark literary thriller.

Thank you Bloomsbury Books US and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book for a sponsored campaign.

Content warnings: murder, rape (off page), suicide (off page), dog attack,

Have you read Bright and Tender Dark? What did you think of it?

Review: High Society

Title: High Society
Author: Daniel Kalla
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Tandem Collective
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 28, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From internationally bestselling author Daniel Kalla comes a twisty psychological thriller about a pioneering psychiatrist hiding dark secrets, in the vein of The Golden Couple by Hendricks and Pekkanen and Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty.

At sixteen, Holly Danvers barely survived the car accident that killed her father. While she has no memory of the crash, it took an ayahuasca treatment, a native plant-based psychedelic therapy, in the jungles of Peru for her to emotionally recover. Twenty years later, Holly is a sought-after psychiatrist determined to use her expertise with psychedelics to treat patients suffering from addictions. Ignoring the risks, she embarks upon an unproven new protocol with miraculous results. But her success in probing the traumas of her patients and the secrets they keep is short-lived.

When one celebrity client goes public with his recovery and another overdoses after accusing Holly of improprieties, her world is turned upside down. With her career on the line, Holly reaches out to her mentor—and estranged husband—Dr. Aaron Laing, for advice and comfort. But he has a different agenda, and it soon becomes clear that it will be up to Holly alone to figure out why her clients are relapsing and dying. To accomplish that, she will have to risk her life and revisit her own deep-seated trauma.

Review:

At sixteen, Holly Danvers was in a car accident that killed her father. Her grandfather took her on a trip so South America where she was given psychedelics to recover from the trauma, which inspired her future work as a psychiatrist. Now, twenty years later, Holly is working with a group of patients to use psychedelics to overcome their addictions. It’s a risk because it isn’t an official treatment. However, after one experimental treatment, one of her patients accuses Holly of abusing her. The patient overdoses before she can go public with her accusations. Holly suspects there’s something more to the sudden overdose, which is followed by more suspicious behaviour from her patients. Holly must figure out what’s happening with her patients before her career is ended.

This was such a great thriller! I don’t like medical things in books, so I was a little skeptical about this one, but the medical scenes were fairly short. The chapters were short, which made it a fast paced read. I was surprised at the ending because the person I suspected wasn’t behind everything. I highly recommend this thrilling page turner!

High Society is a great thriller!

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

Content warnings: addiction, overdose, suicide, murder, needles, hallucinations, fire, car accident

Have you read High Society? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – August 6

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

PetWizards by Kirk Scroggs

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by M.J. Wassmer

Guardians of Dawn: Ami by S. Jae-Jones

Hot Earl Summer by Erica Ridley

HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers

The Sleeping Giant by David A. Robertson

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Union Square and Co, Sourcebooks Landmark, Wednesday Books, Forever, Bloomsbury YA, and Tundra Books for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Seven Faceless Saints (Seven Faceless Saints #1)

Title: Seven Faceless Saints (Seven Faceless Saints #1)
Author: M.K. Lobb
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Thriller
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 7, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the city of Ombrazia, saints and their disciples rule with terrifying and unjust power, playing favorites while the unfavored struggle to survive.

After her father’s murder at the hands of the Ombrazian military, Rossana Lacertosa is willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle the corrupt system—tapping into her powers as a disciple of Patience, joining the rebellion, and facing the boy who broke her heart. As the youngest captain in the history of Palazzo security, Damian Venturi is expected to be ruthless and strong, and to serve the saints with unquestioning devotion. But three years spent fighting in a never-ending war have left him with deeper scars than he wants to admit… and a fear of confronting the girl he left behind.

Now a murderer stalks Ombrazia’s citizens. As the body count climbs, the Palazzo is all too happy to look the other way—that is, until a disciple becomes the newest victim. With every lead turning into a dead end, Damian and Roz must team up to find the killer, even if it means digging up buried emotions. As they dive into the underbelly of Ombrazia, the pair will discover something more sinister—and far less holy. With darkness closing in and time running out, will they be able to save the city from an evil so powerful that it threatens to destroy everything in its path?

Discover what’s lurking in the shadows in this dark fantasy debut with a murder-mystery twist, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kerri Maniscalco.

Review:

Roz Lacertosa has been devastated since her father was killed on the battlefield. It made her want to rebel against the system that put him in the war, by using her powers as a disciple of Patience. Damian Venturi is the captain of security at the Palazzo, which houses disciples of the seven saints. When the disciple of Death is found murdered, Damian is asked to investigate by himself, but he ends up teaming up with his childhood friend Roz. Roz is also investigating some strange murders outside of the Palazzo. They notice similarities between the murders, but as they search for answers, they discover dark secrets that put their whole world in danger.

This book was a thrilling murder mystery. It was fast paced and intense. Roz and Damian were in opposing positions. Roz was a disciple of Patience, but she resented her powers because it was the people in charge of the disciples who killed her father. Damian had not been chosen by the saints as a disciple, so he was considered one of the unfavored in society. While Roz resented her powers, Damian wished he had them. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I’m excited to read the sequel!

Seven Faceless Saints is a thrilling fantasy!

Content warnings: death, death of parent, gun violence, poisoning

Other books in the series:

Disciples of Chaos (Seven Faceless Saints #2)

Have you read Seven Faceless Saints? What did you think of it?

Review: PetWizards

Title: PetWizards
Author: Kirk Scroggs
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: August 6, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Perfect for animal lovers and fans of Lumberjanes, here is a hilarious graphic novel about a boy named Finch with the not-so-secret ability to control animals, and his mission to save the school musical and win the heart of his crush. Finch Eaglehawk may seem like an average oddball with a taste for the dramatic and glam-rock musical numbers, but he has a secret. Finch is a PetWizard, with the ability to control the animal kingdom—well, the “et cetera” category of the animal kingdom. Though he loves his naked mole rats, bearded dragons, and boa constrictors, Finch yearns for more. With the help of his best friend, Aberdeen, a mysterious new kid named Erica, and an ancient PetMaster manual, Finch tries to learn how to own his powers and use them to help those in need, protect the vulnerable, and, most important, impress his crush, Ken Chu, the star of the upcoming school musical.

Review:

Seventh grader Finch Eaglehawk is a petwizard, which means he can control animals. The group of animals he can control is referred to as “etcetera,” which includes naked mole rats, boa constrictors, and bats. When Finch is asked to provide a grand finale of the school play with birds, he agrees to impress his crush, Ken Chu. However, Finch can’t control birds. Along with he’s sidekick Aberdeen and the new girl Erica, Finch must figure out a way to fulfill his promise of birds at the play.

This was such a fun graphic novel. I laughed out loud a few times while I was reading it. I loved the quirky characters. They had to do some creative problem solving to try to give Finch the ability to control birds. Aberdeen was my favourite character. She was funny and adorable. I hope there will be a sequel because I would love to see these characters again!

Petwizards is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

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