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.

Sundays in Bed With… How to Catch a Sinful Marquess

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 How to Catch a Sinful Marquess by Amy Rose Bennett.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A reserved debutante and a former soldier make an unlikely but fated match as they hasten for the Isle of Skye.

Orphaned heiress Olivia de Vere should have the world–or at least the men of the ton–at her feet. But when she’s thrown out of a young ladies’ academy, Olivia doubts she’ll ever find someone who will love her, rather than her bank account. To make matters worse, her dissolute cousin Felix is determined to marry her against her wishes. A virtual prisoner in her guardians’ London townhouse, Olivia can’t help but develop a tendre for her neighbor, a handsome Scottish marquess.

Battle-scarred in more ways than one, Hamish MacQueen, Lord Sleat, has braved many dangers in life. But nothing has quite prepared him for the shock of having a young child dumped on his doorstep, with a note claiming she’s his daughter. Just in the nick of time his pretty neighbor appears, offering to act as a nursemaid for the young girl on their journey to his estate in Scotland. He suspects she has her own reasons for wanting to flee the country…

The close traveling quarters leads to a fierce attraction between Olivia and Hamish that seems impossible to resist. But when ghosts from the past and monsters from the present threaten to tear them apart, will their unlikely love survive?

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Pink Covers

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 Your Favourite Colour, so I’m making a list of pink covers. Here’s my list:

1. Chicken Girl by Heather Smith

2. Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally

3. Reveal Me by Tahereh Mafi

4. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

5. My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant by Laura Dockrill

6. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2

Title: Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2
Author: Tomohito Oda
Genre: Manga, Contemporary
Publisher: VIZ Media
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 13, 2009
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation.

Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve! With the whole student body keeping their distance and Komi unable to utter a single word, friendship might be forever beyond her reach.

It’s time for the national health exam at Itan High, and the excitement of eye exams and height measurements have fanned the flames of competition for the unremarkable Makeru Yadano. She’s determined to beat the class idol Komi in the health test, and Komi’s total obliviousness to their impassioned duel just feeds Makeru’s determination. As the epic battle heats up, how will Komi handle her first rival when she’s barely made her first friends?!

Review:

Komi is still on her quest to have 100 friends. She also still can’t communicate with others, so making new friends is a challenge. Komi is idolized by other students, such as Makeru who wants to “beat” Komi in the health exam at school. Along with her few friends, Komi goes outside of her comfort zone to meet new people and have new experiences.

Komi does a variety of things she’s never done before in this story. She goes to a ramen restaurant, where she faces the challenge of having to order her food without speaking. She also goes shopping for clothes, which she has never done before. Even though these outings were outside of Komi’s comfort zone, she was still open to trying new things.

It’s interesting to see how other people interpret Komi’s lack of communication. Most people thought Komi wouldn’t speak to them because she was entitled and popular. They didn’t realize that she can’t speak to them. Komi is actually extremely shy and can’t speak. She didn’t think she was better than everyone else, which is what they interpreted from her silence.

I enjoyed this manga!

What to read next:

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 3 by Tomohito Oda

Not Your Idol, Vol. 1 by Aoi Makino

Have you read Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?

Top 5 Saturday – Detective Books

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Detective Books. Here’s my list:

1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

2. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

3. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

4. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

5. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

(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?

Blog Tour Review: Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter

Title: Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter
Author: Beth McMullen
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Aladdin
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Stuart Gibbs meets The Lost Property Office in this action-packed mystery about a young girl searching for her father from the author of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls—the first in a new series!

Having a world-traversing archaeologist dad means twelve-year-old Lola Benko is used to moving around not putting down roots anywhere. But every day and every hunt for something hidden is an adventure, and no matter what, she and her dad are an unbeatable team.

Then her father disappears. The official story is that he was caught in a flash flood, but Lola’s research shows the day in question was perfectly pleasant. And it will take more than empty reassurances from suspect strangers for Lola to give up on her dad. She has a feeling his disappearance has to do with a mythical stone he was studying—a stone so powerful, it could control the world. But in the wrong hands, it could end it, too…

With the help of some new friends at her school, it’s up to Lola to go on the most important search of her life. 

Review:

Lola Benko has always traveled the world with her archaeologist father, but one day he sends her to stay with her great-aunt in San Francisco, rather than go with him on a dangerous trip. Soon after that, she gets the news that he has disappeared and is presumed dead. Lola is certain that her father is still alive, so she takes over the investigation that he was doing. Along with her new friends from school, she looks for the mythical stone that her father was searching for when he went missing.

This was a fun adventure story. Lola took a lot of risks. In order to start her investigation of her father’s disappearance, she needed money, so she decided to steal expensive pieces of art to sell for millions of dollars. This was a risky thing to do, and it didn’t work out for her. Even though Lola did some bad things with good intentions, she was very smart. She entered a STEM competition with her friends. She also invented many devices. She was a smart girl who took a lot of risks.

I found the twists predictable and not surprising. I’ve read many similar adventure books, so that may be why I could figure it out. This story also has the stereotypical absent parents. Lola’s great-aunt wasn’t very hands-on because she had agoraphobia, so she never left the house. However, she didn’t seem as concerned about Lola’s whereabouts by the end of the story. I would have liked her great-aunt to be more consistent throughout the story. I enjoyed the adventure that Lola went on, though the twists weren’t surprising.

This is a fun middle grade story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen

Jinxed by Amy McCulloch

Have you read Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter? What did you think of it?

The Friday 56 – Bringing Down the Duke

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice.

The Rules are:

  • Grab a book, any book.
  • Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
  • Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it) that grabs you.
  • Post it. And share your link.
  • It’s that simple.

I chose Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore.

Here is my line from page 56 in my copy:

“Seven years had passed since she had stood in another grand library and another aristocrat had torn her limb from limb.”

Did you make a post for the Friday 56?

Review: Intercepted

Title: Intercepted
Author: Alexa Martin
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own…

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She’s definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There’s just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team’s wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin’s relationship to survive the season.

Review:

Marlee is dating one of the football stars of the Denver Mustangs. They’ve been together for ten years, but they aren’t married. The other wives of the football players reluctantly accept her into their club, even though she isn’t technically married to a player. One day, the team gets a new quarterback. Gavin Pope had a one night stand with Marlee years ago and she hasn’t been able to forget it. When she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating, it’s easy for Marlee to leave him and let Gavin come to her rescue. It’s not so easy for her to deal with the gossip that follows her since she left one football player for another. She has to put the gossip aside to focus on her new relationship.

This was such a fun story. I’m not athletic and I don’t play any sports but I really enjoyed this story. There was a reality show years ago called Hockey Wives, that followed the wives of Hockey players during their clubs and charity work. The football wives in this story reminded me of those women. It’s fun to see how they have their own groups that go alongside their husbands’ jobs. However, there was also a lot of gossip and rumors that started in this group of women.

I became so attached to these characters. I loved Marlee and I felt so sympathetic towards her when she had her heartbroken. I was rooting for her and Gavin the whole time. I loved the ending of the story! I’m excited to see this series continue, and to see what happens with the characters in the next book.

What to read next:

Fumbled (Playbook #2) by Alexa Martin

Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert

Other books in the series:

  • Fumbled
  • Blitzed
  • Snapped

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

TBR Thursday – August 27

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The sequel to VICIOUS, V.E. Schwab’s first adult novel.

Sydney once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she is alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol, and then there’s Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn’t know about his most recent act of vengeance.

Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains. And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: When I Was You

Title: When I Was You
Author: Amber Garza
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

You meets Fatal Attraction in this up-all-night psychological thriller about a lonely empty-nester’s growing obsession with a young mother who shares her name.

It all begins on an ordinary fall morning, when Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s pediatrician to confirm her upcoming “well-baby” appointment. It’s a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly has never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there’s another mother in town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched.

But Kelly can’t stop thinking about the woman who shares her name. Lives in her same town. Has a son she can still hold, and her whole life ahead of her. She can’t help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician’s office, it’s simple curiosity getting the better of her.

Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose, taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears, well, the other one may know why.

Review:

Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s former pediatrician one day to remind her of her baby’s appointment. However, her son is now nineteen, so she doesn’t have that appointment. It is meant for another mom who is also named Kelly Medina. It becomes even stranger when Kelly goes to her gym, and finds out that this other Kelly Medina was also at the same gym that morning. Kelly decides she must meet this other woman whose life mirrors her own. Their relationship quickly becomes an obsession, when Kelly starts to wonder why this new Kelly has arrived in her town.

This story had a bunch of typical thriller tropes. Kelly has a past with some mental health struggles. Kelly could be unreliable because she lied to her friends and husband. There were some mysterious things that happened in her past that also contributed to her unreliability. Since the people close to Kelly suspected something was wrong with her new relationship with the other Kelly, I was suspicious as well.

There was a surprising twist in part two of the story. I didn’t see it coming. Some of the reveals that happened close to the end of the story weren’t very surprising because they had been hinted at so much throughout the first part of the story. There was a good twist that was shocking, and I liked the end of the story.

This was a good, fast paced thriller.

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

What to read next:

Someone’s Listening by Seraphina Nova Glass

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

About the author:

Amber Garza has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Coffee and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music, and talks about her characters like they’re real people. She lives with her husband and two kids in Folsom, California, which is—no joke—home to another Amber Garza.

Have you read When I Was You? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – August 26

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Before the Crown by Flora Harding. The expected publication date is September 15, 2020.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Before the crown there was a love story…

Windsor Castle, 1943

As war rages across the world, Princess Elizabeth comes face to face with the dashing naval officer she first met in London nine years before.

One of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy, Philip represents everything she has always been taught to avoid. Instability. Audacity. Adventure.

But when the king learns of their relationship, the suitability of the foreign prince is questioned by all at court.

He is the risk she has never been allowed to take. The risk not even the shadow of the crown will stop her from taking…

Step through the palace gates and discover a captivating historical novel of royal secrets and forbidden love exploring the tempestuous courtship between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the wake of WWII.

What books are you waiting on this week?