Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book.

Review: The Witch King

Title: The Witch King
Author: H.E. Edgmon
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind. This debut YA fantasy will leave you spellbound.

Wyatt would give anything to forget where he came from—but a kingdom demands its king.

In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.

Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.

Review:

Wyatt is a witch who ran away from his home and his marriage contract with a fae prince. The prince, Emyr, finds Wyatt in Texas, where Wyatt has found his transgender identity. Emyr has to bring Wyatt back to their kingdom, Asalin, so they can get married and fulfill their blood contract. However, Wyatt has bad memories of Asalin and doesn’t want to return. He will do anything to get out of this marriage. Wyatt is forced to travel to Asalin with his human best friend Briar, where he discovers Emyr may still be the boy he used to love. Tensions run high between the witches and the fae, leading Wyatt and Emyr to make life changing decisions.

This is the YA fantasy book I’ve been waiting for! I loved that the main character was transgender. Wyatt’s gender identity was an aspect of his personality but not his entire character. There were many moments where Wyatt commented on when someone treated him respectfully or not. Some of the ignorant and mean characters misgendered him or used his deadname (former name). He felt respected and acknowledged by characters who used his correct pronouns, even to refer to moments in the past. These were informative scenes that taught me about being transgender.

In this fantasy world, witches are non-fae children born to fae parents. Since they are considered outsiders in their family, they are ostracized from society and are often abandoned as children. Wyatt compared being a witch in that world to being queer in the real world. Wyatt had experienced being a witch and being queer. This metaphor of the witches and fae compared to being queer was a refreshing take in a fantasy novel.

The Witch King is a fabulous, diverse fantasy! I highly recommend it!

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve

About the author:

H.E. EDGMON H.E. Edgmon was born in the deep south but has had many homes, dropped out of school to do gay stuff, and is at least a little feral.

In both their writing and daily life, they aim to center the voices of Indigenous people, trans people, and survivors of trauma. It is always their goal to make fascists uncomfortable.

They have an eccentric little family of their own design, several very sensitive pets, and a lot of opinions. They can most often be found on Twitter @heedgmon.

Where to buy:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-King-Duology/dp/1335212795/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-witch-king-he-edgmon/1137425923 

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335212795 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Witch-King/H-E-Edgmon/9781335212795?id=7303188004859 

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-witch-king/id1526009284  Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/H_E_Edgmon_The_Witch_King?id=9q70DwAAQBAJ

Have you read The Witch King? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Book Quotes with X Theme, so I decided to do My Favourite Book Quotes. Here’s my list:

1.

“Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess

2.

“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.” – Marissa Meyer, Cinder

3.

“… broken isn’t the same as unfixable.” – Marissa Meyer, Winter

4.

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.” – V.E. Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic

5.

“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives–or to find strength in a very long one.” – V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

6.

“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.” – V.E. Schwab, Vicious

7.

“No mourners. No funerals.” – Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows

8.

“Memories were beastly little creatures, after all—they rose with the faintest whiff of nourishment.” – Chloe Gong, These Violent Delights

9.

“Libraries were full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.” – Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass

10.

“To the stars who listen—and the dreams that are answered.” – Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

What’s your list of quotes on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Happy Pub Day – May 25

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley

Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra

The Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy

Misfit in Love by S.K. Ali

Strong Like the Sea by Wendy S. Swore

Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon

The Coming Storm by Regina M. Hansen

Shark Summer by Ira Marcks

Aetherbound by E.K. Johnson

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

The Ivies by Alexa Donne

Sister of the Bollywood Bride by Nandini Bajpai

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Vision Zero by David Yoon

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Sixteen Scandals by Sophie Jordan

Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Strong Like the Sea

Title: Strong Like the Sea
Author: Wendy S. Swore
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Featuring a secret ocean code with a hidden message for YOU to decipher!

Even though twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii, she won’t surf or swim with her friends—not since the ocean and its hidden creatures swept her out to sea. Instead, she grabs her best detective hat and decodes her mom’s latest challenge

Alex’s mom works in counterintelligence and leaves codes, ciphers, and puzzles behind for Alex to solve, always with a “treasure” at the end. It’s a brilliant game between them, and Alex loves figuring out her mom’s puzzles—especially the tricky ones—but when an emergency at sea puts her mom in possible danger, solving the next one suddenly feels far more urgent.

Friends help as Alex races to decipher each clue before time runs out, but when the trail leads to grumpy old Uncle, his enormous dog Sarge, and a sea turtle unlike any other, the challenge changes into something bigger than any before. With storms on the horizon and lives on the line, Alex must face her fears to solve Mom’s challenge and save those she loves. With her ohana to help, she must be strong like the sea.

Review:

Twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii but she’s scared of the water. Her mom travels with the navy, and she leaves codes and puzzles for Alexis to solve while she’s gone. Alexis has to solve her most difficult puzzle yet. She needs help to solve it, including from her grumpy Uncle. Before she can finish it, her mom goes missing. This becomes Alexis’s most important challenge, as she races to finish it to make her mom proud.

I would have loved this book when I was a kid. I loved puzzles and mystery stories. Alexis had many different types of puzzles to solve, including treasure hunts and codes. These sounded so fun, and may spark an interest in puzzles for young readers.

I loved the island setting. I haven’t been to Hawaii but I definitely want to go after reading this story. There were many Hawaiian terms used throughout the story, but they were either explained in the context of the sentence or in the glossary at the end. Food was an important part of the story as well. Most of it sounded really delicious, except for the stinky fruit they used to make a healing tea. I loved learning about Hawaiian culture in this story.

Strong Like the Sea is a great middle grade novel!

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

What to read next:

Sugar and Spite by Gail D. Villanueva

Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby

Have you read Strong Like the Sea? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – May 24

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!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Strong Like the Sea by Wendy S. Swore.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Unboxing: Once Upon a Book Club YA Box – September 2020

This month, I was chosen by the Once Upon a Book Club VIP Program to receive a box to review. I was sent the Miss Meteor box from September 2020!

This book subscription is special because there are gifts that you open while you’re reading. Each gift corresponds to something that is mentioned on a page in the book. When you get to the pages with a corresponding gift, there is a sticky note reminding you to open your gift. This makes the reading experience so fun!

This is the book with the four gifts. The book was Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore. It’s a fun YA Sci-fi story. My review for Miss Meteor can be found here.

Now here are the gifts that went along with the book:

The first gift was a pink spatula.

The second gift was a mini cornhole game.

The third gift was a beautiful lace mantilla, or shawl. This will be a perfect light cover up in the summer.

The last gift was a purple iron-on patch that says “Meteor Tours.”

This was another beautiful box from Once Upon a Book Club!

If you’d like to purchase something from Once Upon a Book Club use my discount code Jemmett10 to get 10% off anything on the site!

Thank you Once Upon a Book Club for providing a subscription box in exchange for a review. 

Do you get any subscription boxes? Which ones are your favourite?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – May 23

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 7 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Strong Like the Sea

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 Strong Like the Sea by Wendy S. Swore.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Featuring a secret ocean code with a hidden message for YOU to decipher!

Even though twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii, she won’t surf or swim with her friends—not since the ocean and its hidden creatures swept her out to sea. Instead, she grabs her best detective hat and decodes her mom’s latest challenge

Alex’s mom works in counterintelligence and leaves codes, ciphers, and puzzles behind for Alex to solve, always with a “treasure” at the end. It’s a brilliant game between them, and Alex loves figuring out her mom’s puzzles—especially the tricky ones—but when an emergency at sea puts her mom in possible danger, solving the next one suddenly feels far more urgent.

Friends help as Alex races to decipher each clue before time runs out, but when the trail leads to grumpy old Uncle, his enormous dog Sarge, and a sea turtle unlike any other, the challenge changes into something bigger than any before. With storms on the horizon and lives on the line, Alex must face her fears to solve Mom’s challenge and save those she loves. With her ohana to help, she must be strong like the sea.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Best Character Arcs

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2021 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Best Character Arcs. Here’s my list:

1. Jem Carstairs – The Infernal Devices series

2. Kaz Brekker – Six of Crows series

3. Rhysand – A Court of Thorns and Roses series

4. Ronan Lynch – The Raven Cycle series

5. Cardan – The Folk of the Air series

6. Lila Bard – Shades of Magic series

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Cool for the Summer

Title: Cool for the Summer
Author: Dahlia Adler
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Lara’s had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he’s talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe…flirting, even? No, wait, he’s definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara’s wanted out of life.

Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.

Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she’s finally got the guy, why can’t she stop thinking about the girl?

Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

Review:

Lara has had a crush on Chase Harding, the star quarterback at her school, for six years. When she starts her senior year, Chase finally notices her and starts flirting with her immediately. However, Lara isn’t the same girl she used to be. She spent the summer with her mom at her mom’s boss’s summer house where she met Jasmine, the daughter of her mom’s boss. Lara and Jasmine had a summer romance that Lara thought was in the past since Jasmine was going back to her home with her mom. Now that Jasmine has moved to Lara’s school, she is a constant reminder of their summer fling. Lara has to wonder if it was just a fling and she should enjoy the attention from Chase, or if she has deeper feelings for Jasmine.

This was such a fun story. It would be perfect for summer because there were many scenes from Lara and Jasmine’s summer spent at the beach. There were also lots of feelings in this book. Lara was experiencing so many emotions, with her surprise feelings for Jasmine and her dreams of dating Chase coming true. This was a heart pounding story about figuring out your teenage romantic feelings.

This story explored what it means to identify as bisexual. In other novels that I’ve read with bi characters, they have a hard time defining their feelings. Lara had always had a crush on Chase so she assumed she was straight. When those feelings were finally recognized by him, she thought she had to be with him since that was her dream. However, she started to question her sexuality after having a relationship with a girl. For some reason, it’s sometimes difficult for people to accept that people can like both girls and boys, including the person experiencing those feelings themself. It’s possible to identify as bisexual and be in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex or the same sex, without being identified as straight or gay. Lara had to come to terms with her feelings before she could become her true self.

Cool for the Summer is the perfect summer read!

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Have you read Cool for the Summer? What did you think of it?