November 2024 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: An Anishinaabe Christmas

Title: An Anishinaabe Christmas
Author: Wab Kinew, Erin Hill (illustrator)
Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 8, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A festive, joyful Indigenous picture book that explores both Christmas traditions and Anishinaabe culture, for fans of Santa in the City and Go Show the World.

One winter solstice, Mommy says, “Baby, we’re going home to the Rez. We’re going to have an Anishinaabe Christmas.” But this is Baby’s first Christmas away from the city, and they’re worried! They have a lot of will Santa know where to find them?Why do we have presents on Christmas?How come they’re going home to the Rez but don’t live there?On the long trip to Mooshom’s and Kookom’s, Baby learns about animals and plants being part of their family, about the North Star leading them home and even the meanings of some Anishinaabe words. Will this Anishinaabe Christmas be Baby’s best yet?

Review:

One Christmas, Mommy and Daddy decide to take Baby to their home on the Rez. It is Baby’s first Christmas away from the city, and they don’t know what to expect. On the drive to see their grandparents, Mommy and Daddy tell Baby what Christmas will be like and teach them some Anishinaabe words.

This is a beautiful picture book. I liked that Baby wasn’t given a gender, so any child could see themselves in their place. Though Baby didn’t know what to expect at Christmas on the Rez, it ended up being a wonderful holiday with family.

An Anishinaabe Christmas is a lovely Christmas picture book!

Thank you Tundra Books for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read An Anishinaabe Christmas? What did you think of it?

Review: The Christmas Countdown

Title: The Christmas Countdown
Author: Holly Cassidy
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of The Christmas Wager comes a charming holiday rom-com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the holidays, and love again.

She’s given up on love and Christmas…but fate has other plans.

All Callie wants for Christmas is to hibernate. She’s still reeling from being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and under no circumstances will she go home for the holidays considering her ex will be right next door with his new, perfect partner. Callie is officially in grinch mode, but her meddling sister, Anita, won’t let her give up on life, love, and Christmas quite so easily.

Anita stages a Christmas intervention for Callie with a homemade Advent calendar challenge—cheerful tasks to push Callie out of her comfort zone and into the holiday spirit, inspired by a childhood tradition. Callie reluctantly plays along, but when she comes face-to-face with a charming baker who just might be the spoonful of sugar she needs, her strict rules on love and the holidays are tested.

As they strike a deal to do the activities together, could the twenty four little doors on Callie’s Advent calendar not only open up one, but two closed-off hearts?

Review:

Callie was recently dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and she still has to see him at work everyday. She doesn’t want to go home for the holidays because she’ll have to see him and his family. To cheer her up and remind her how much she loves Christmas, her sister, Anita, creates an advent calendar for Callie filled with childhood memories and activities to get her out of her shell. Callie decides to follow the calendar. She meets a charming baker who eagerly participates in the activities with Callie and makes her believe in love again.

This was such a cute holiday romance. I loved the way Callie’s sister incorporated so many of their childhood memories into the advent calendar to remind her of the joy of Christmas. Callie and Marco, the baker, had a natural romance that developed throughout their Christmas adventures.

The Christmas Countdown is a fun holiday romance!

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

Have you read The Christmas Countdown? What did you think of it?

Review: The Mentorship Edge: Creating Maximum Impact through Lateral and Hierarchical Mentoring

Title: The Mentorship Edge: Creating Maximum Impact through Lateral and Hierarchical Mentoring
Author: Deborah Heiser
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Wiley
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 13, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Learn how a mentor relationship can make your life more fulfilling

The Mentorship Edge: Unlocking Potential, Nurturing Growth, and Creating Explosive Impact explores how we connect to others, feel valued, get pleasure from life, and believe our lives have meaning through forming mentor relationships with others. This book covers traditional hierarchical mentorship we’re all familiar with, along with lateral mentoring, where you connect with a friend or colleague―someone you can be vulnerable with―whether they work in your department, another department, or outside of your organization entirely.

Insight in this book is drawn from The International Association of Top Professionals 2025 Top CEO and Mentor of the Year Deborah Heiser’s experience running The Mentor Project, a nonprofit mentoring organization with more than 100 mentors at the absolute top of their fields. In this book, readers will learn about:

The proven benefits of mentorship in both work and home life
Mentorship in various fields, including business, research, entrepreneurship, and art
Classic examples of the power of mentorship, like when Steve Jobs asked Steve Wozniak for engineering help when he was at Atari
The Mentorship Edge is an essential guide to demystify the special concept of mentoring and inspire individuals to engage in mentoring naturally, whether hierarchically or laterally, based on their goals and passions.

Review:

This book is about mentoring, what it is and how it’s done. Mentorship is an important part of work and personal life. There is hierarchical mentorship, where the mentor has more knowledge than the mentee, as well as lateral mentorship, where the mentor and mentee are on the same level as colleagues or friends.

This was a fascinating read. I loved the examples of how mentorship has made a difference in the real world. There were examples of familiar people, like Steve Jobs, and how he was mentored before creating Apple. Mentorship can be used in the workplace as well as in everyday life.

The Mentorship Edge is a great read for any professional who is interested in mentorship.

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

Have you read The Mentorship Edge? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – November 26

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

Heart-Shaped Lies by Elizabeth Agyemang

Thank you Wednesday Books and Penguin Teen Canada for sending me copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders #1)

Title: We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders #1)
Author: Richard Osman
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Source: Book of the Month box
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 17, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve…

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Review:

Steve Wheeler is a retired investigator who is enjoying his quiet life. His daughter-in-law is a private security officer whose current job is protecting the famous author Rosie D’Antonio. After three influencers and celebrities who share the same management company die mysteriously, Amy is certain Rosie will be next. She enlists the help of Steve to join her on a chase around the world to discover the killer.

This was my first read from Richard Osman and I really enjoyed it. I liked the unconventional relationship between the main characters. Steve was Amy’s father-in-law, and I don’t think I’ve read a story with two main characters with that relationship before. There were a few times that I laughed out loud. I listened to the audiobook, which was very good. It was a little confusing at times because there were so many characters to keep track of, but I liked the narrator’s voice.

We Solve Murders is a great new mystery!

Content warnings: death, gun violence

Have you read We Solve Murders? What did you think of it?

Review: The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore (Dream Harbor #2)

Title: The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore (Dream Harbor #2)
Author: Laurie Gilmore
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: One More Chapter
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 29, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller and viral TikTok phenomenon, The Pumpkin Spice Café, comes a brand new spicy romance set in Dream Harbor!

When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazelcan’t understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just need someone to help her out.

Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he’s been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!

Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is a cozy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!

Tropes:
• opposites attract
• small town
• forced proximity
• he falls first

Review:

Hazel is the manager of The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore. One day, she finds a highlighted message in a romance book as she is putting it away. Noah, a fisherman, shows up after she finds the message, and he suggests they follow the clue together. Hazel is going to turn 30 soon and she regrets not having a wild time in her 20s. She decides she can have some fun with Noah, who’s known for only having flings. Hazel and Noah spend a lot of time together, but they start to fall for each other, despite their agreement that it will just be a summer fling.

This book was a spicy romance! It was spicier than the first book in the Dream Harbor series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, because Hazel and Noah already knew each other at the beginning so their romance could begin right away. I liked that the romantic couple for the next book was set up in this one. I’m excited to continue this series.

The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is a spicy summer romance!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe (Dream Harbor #1)
The Christmas Tree Farm (Dream Harbor #3)

Have you read The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore? What did you think of it?

Review: The New Enchantress (Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions #3)

Title: The New Enchantress (Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions #3)
Author: Sunayna Prasad
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: S.A. Prasad Publishing
Source: Author
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 15, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cursed by a sorcerer’s hex, Alyssa McCarthy finds herself in a fight she can’t afford to lose, or everything she knows will be lost!

After she finishes her final year of junior high, fourteen-year-old Alyssa faces an uncertain future in more ways than one when a sorcerer casts a hex that leaves her with involuntary magical powers that are too dangerous to remove.

Unable to control her newly gained abilities Alyssa’s end-of-middle-school sleepover ends in disaster when she knocks her friends unconscious when her powers go out of control. If Alyssa can’t learn to master her magic soon, she will be cursed to forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s slave for all of eternity.

Her only hope is to focus on controlling her emotions if she is to break the curse. However, the difficulties of adolescence, along with the perils and growing disasters she faces, make Alyssa struggle even more. From putting her friends’ lives at risk to losing their trust, she continues to fear what will become of her if she fails.

Will Alyssa be able to break the hex and become the enchantress that she was meant to be, or will she become enslaved to the sorcerer forever?

Review:

Alyssa McCarthy’s magic powers have returned with the appearance of a new villain: Boo-Champ Corey. She has a sleepover with friends that ends in her friends being attacked and stolen away, which sends Alyssa on a hunt throughout the magical world for them. Alyssa has to regain the trust of her friends while also learning how to use her new powers and defeat Boo-Champ Corey.

This is a great third book in the series. It was action packed. Alyssa had to deal with regular friendship drama that most kids face, as well as learning how to use her magical powers. The writing and storytelling really improved throughout the series. The ending was open to more books in the future so maybe there will be more books about Alyssa McCarthy.

The New Enchantress is an exciting magical middle grade novel!

Thank you Sunayna Prasad and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign.

Content warnings: death of parents (off page)

Other books in the series:

Have you read The New Enchantress? What did you think of it?

Review: Third Shift Society, Vol. 1

Title: Third Shift Society, Vol. 1
Author: Meredith Moriarty
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Life’s funny. One minute you’re jobless, deep in debt and on the verge of eviction; the next you’re in a fight with a monster and getting a job working for a Paranormal Detective with the head of a Jack-o-Lantern. It’s an age-old story.

In one afternoon, Ellie discovers that monsters are real, she has latent psychic powers, and a well dressed man with a pumpkin for a head wants her to be his partner. It’s a lot to take in. Now the clumsy but determined Ellie and her Pumpkin-headed boss Ichabod have to team up and fight the things that go bump in the night.

Before she can say “boo,” Ellie finds herself tangled up in a magical world where monsters are real, demons tend bar, and psychic conversations take place in a super unsettling mystical void. And there are even more dangerous forces at work, just out of sight.

This volume collects Season 1 of the bewitching WEBTOON comic Third Shift Society .

Review:

After suddenly losing her job, Ellie discovers that paranormal creatures are real and she has magic powers. She meets Icabod, a man with a pumpkin head, who invites her to work with him as a detective at Third Shift Society. They must fight paranormal creatures to make the world a safer place.

This is such a fun graphic novel! I loved the way paranormal creatures were hiding in plain sight in the world of this story. I was surprised that people didn’t have a stronger response to seeing Icabod with a pumpkin head, but he was so charming, it was easy to forget that he didn’t look like a human.

Third Shift Society, Vol. 1 is a fun start to this graphic novel series!

Other books in the series:

Third Shift Society, Vol. 2

Have you read Third Shift Society, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?

Review: Grammie and Pupa’s House

Title: Grammie and Pupa’s House
Author: Daisy Butterfield, Justin P. Wayoro (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Daisy Butterfield Press
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Grammie and Pupa’s House!The door is always open and everyone is welcome in as the smell of fresh baked pies and cookies lingers in the kitchen air. So, pour a cup of tea and sit down and relax. It is my pleasure to share with you a day in the life of Grammie and Pupa as seen through the eyes of their granddaughter, Daisy.

Review:

Daisy lives on the same street as her Grammie and Pupa. On Saturday morning she goes to their house to spend the day. She bakes and picks fruit with her Grammie and she gardens with her Pupa. She has a wonderful time and is excited to go back tomorrow.

I grew up across the street from my grandparents so I could relate to this story. I saw them every day of my childhood. It’s lovely to have such a special connection to your grandparents, like Daisy had in this story. I loved the vibrantly coloured illustrations that went along with the story!

Grammie and Pupa’s House is a beautiful picture book!

Thank you Daisy Butterfield and iRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for a paid campaign.

Have you read Grammie and Pupa’s House? What did you think of it?

Review: Cruel Winter With You

Title: Cruel Winter With You (Under the Mistletoe Collection #1)
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Novella
Publisher: Amazon
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For two former childhood friends, a blustery winter storm stirs some frosty—and scorching—memories in a delightful short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

Review:

On Christmas Eve, Jamie Malek’s father sends her to her childhood best friend’s house to borrow a roasting pan. When she gets there, her best friend’s younger brother Marc is the only person there. Since it’s a bad storm and too dangerous for Jamie to walk all the way home, she ends up staying the night, allowing them to confess all the romantic feelings they’ve been holding onto all of their lives.

This was a friends to enemies to friends to lovers romance, and also a bit of a second chance romance. These kinds of romances always feel so emotional to me. The characters and their backstory was well developed in this short novella.

Cruel Winter With You is a perfect holiday novella!

Other books in the series:

Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)
All by My Elf (Under the Mistletoe Collection #3)
Merriment and Mayhem (Under the Mistletoe Collection #4)
Only Santas in the Building (Under the Mistletoe Collection #5)

Have you read Cruel Winter With You? What did you think of it?