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: Candy Hearts

Title: Candy Hearts
Author: Tommy Siegel
Genre: Comics, Humor
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 2, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Tommy Siegel’s Candy Hearts comics offer a hysterical window into the many ways romantic couples are not at all on the same page. 

From the awkwardness of flirting during a pandemic to scrolling through disastrous dating profiles, Candy Hearts hilariously captures the secrets, lies, and misunderstandings behind every relationship. With dozens of never-before-seen comics and a special Candy Hearts sticker set, this book is the perfect Valentine’s Day (or Anti-Valentine’s Day) gift for your friends, lovers, or even yourself.

Review:

This is a hilarious collection of comics featuring anthropomorphic candy hearts. They feature different kinds of love, such as romantic love and parental love. Each page featured a different story and a different set of candy hearts. The comics were also quite contemporary because they talked about dating during the pandemic.

In many of the comics, the two characters had opposite feelings, such as the two that rode a tandem bike. One loved it and the other was embarrassed. In other comics, the characters secretly had the same feelings, such as the two that were being separated and pretended to be sad but were secretly glad that they could finally watch what they wanted on TV.

Some of the comics referenced famous romantic stories and fairytales. There were references to Titanic and Romeo and Juliet. I liked the comic of Beauty and the Beast, which mentioned Stockholm Syndrome. One of my favourite sets of comics were the ones based on online app dating profiles. It showed different examples of photos, including one at a wedding, one with a child, and one with a group of people so you can’t tell which one is the actual person in the profile. These were hilarious because they were so accurate.

I loved this comic collection! I highly recommend it as a Valentine’s gift!

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

What to read next:

I Hope This Helps: Comics and Cures for 21st Century Panic by Tommy Siegel

Snug: A Collection of Comics About Dating Your Best Friend by Catana Chetwynd

Have you read Candy Hearts? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books Written the Year I Was Born

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 Books Written Before You Were Born. Since February is my birth month, I decided to make a list of Books Written the Year I Was Born. These books were written in 1993. Here’s my list:

1. Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

2. Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett

3. Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stone

4. Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman

5. Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

7. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

8. The Giver by Lois Lowry

9. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

10. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

(All book covers from Goodreads)

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

Happy Pub Day – February 2

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

Maya’s Big Scene by Isabelle Arsenault

In Love and Pajamas by Catana Chetwynd

Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel

The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. by David Levithan

Love in English by Maria E. Andreu

All the Ties of Fate by Adalyn Grace

Everything That Burns by Gita Trelease

Muse by Brittany Cavallaro

What Big Teeth By Rose Szabo

City of Villains by Estelle Laure

Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto

The Project by Courtney Summers

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

What books are you most excited for this week?

Blog Tour Review: We Could Be Heroes

Title: We Could Be Heroes
Author: Mike Chen
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Mira Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 26, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.

Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.

Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.

When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.

Review:

Jamie woke up one day in an apartment with a note that said he has a superpower to read and erase minds. He decided to use that power to rob banks, giving him the name Mind Robber. Zoe also woke up in an apartment with a note that said she has super strength and a name tag with Zoe Wong written on it. Zoe stops criminals and has been given the name Throwing Star. When Jamie and Zoe clash, they start to realize there are similarities between their pasts. The two vigilantes work together to figure out where they came from.

This was such a thrilling superhero story. It started out with Jamie and Zoe in action, with him robbing a bank and her trying to stop him. It developed into a broader story about identity. There were loads of secrets that they kept from each other and that they had to learn along the way. I really couldn’t put this book down.

My only criticism is that the ending felt a little long. There was a long, technical action scene. However, the final pages were definitely worth the wait!

This is a great science fiction superhero story!

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

What to read next:

Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

About the author:

Mike Chen is a lifelong writer, from crafting fan fiction as a child to somehow getting paid for words as an adult. He has contributed to major geek websites (The Mary Sue, The Portalist, Tor) and covered the NHL for mainstream media outlets. A member of SFWA and Codex Writers, Mike lives in the Bay Area, where he can be found playing video games and watching Doctor Who with his wife, daughter, and rescue animals. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @mikechenwriter

Have you read We Could Be Heroes? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – February 1

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 We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading This Golden Flames by Emily Victoria.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.

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

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – January 31

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… We Could Be Heroes

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 We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.

Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.

Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.

When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Bookish Hates

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 Bookish Hates. Here’s my list:

1. Deckled Edges!!!

2. When a book isn’t in stock at a store

3. When books or promotions aren’t available in Canada

4. Dogeared pages

5. Books left lying open, spine side up

6. When people borrow books and don’t return them

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Blog Tour Review: Wench

Title: Wench
Author: Maxine Kaplan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 19, 2021
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A funny, fiercely feminist YA epic fantasy—following the adventures of a tavern wench

Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone—whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard—take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name—dodging unscrupulous guards, a band of thieves, and a powerful, enchanted feather that seems drawn to her. Fast-paced, magical, and unapologetically feminist, Wench is epic fantasy like you’ve never seen it before.

Content warning: Some magic in the book involves self-harm.

Review:

Tanya has worked at a tavern with her adopted father for the past ten years. When he suddenly dies one day, she loses the tavern. The Queen’s guard takes it from her, so she decides to travel with them to see the Queen and get the title for her tavern back. On their journey to the city, Tanya finds a magical quill that the guard is also transporting. Tanya ends up connecting herself to the quill through blood magic, which leads her on an epic journey through different worlds.

This was quite an extensive magical journey. Tanya went to many different kinds of lands, including forests, a palace, and a volcano. The blood magic was intriguing because it was irreversible. She was connected to the quill in a very intimate way that also had complications.

This story focused on Tanya, but it was written from a third-person perspective, rather than a first-person perspective. I think I would have felt more of a connection to Tanya if it had been written from her point of view. Tanya also seemed to get distracted from her goal of retrieving her tavern. She became focused on the quill and magic, rather than just working towards getting her tavern back. If she had stayed focused on her original goal, she could have completed it much quicker. Also, since it was called “Wench” I thought there would be more of a focus on her working at the tavern. That was a small part of the story, with most of it being about the quill and magic, so the title is deceiving.

This was a good epic fantasy story, but it could have been presented in a more accurate way.

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

What to read next:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

About the author:

Maxine Kaplan was born in Washington, DC. She and her twin sister spent their early childhoods trotting behind their journalist parents as they traveled around the world, eventually settling in Brooklyn, NY. Maxine graduated from Oberlin College in 2007. Following a long stint in the world of publishing, she has worked as a private investigator since 2009. She lives in her adopted hometown of Brooklyn, NY, with her dimwitted, but soulful cat.Her first novel The Accidental Bad Girl received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and will be available in paperback January 5, 2021. Her sophomore novel, Wench, is coming in January 19, 2021. 

Giveaway:

One person will win a finished copy of Wench. The giveaway starts on January 25th and ends on February 1st.

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fc15a59520/

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

Top 5 Saturday – Weapons on the Cover

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Weapons on the Cover. Here’s my list:

1. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

2. Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga

3. The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

4. Shadow Frost by Coco Ma

5. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

(All book covers from Goodreads)

If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!

Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?