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.
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 Crave (Crave #1) by Tracy Wolff.
Goodreads Synopsis:
My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Little Creeping Things Author: Chelsea Ichaso Genre: Young Adult, Thriller Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: June 2, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When she was a child, Cassidy Pratt accidentally started a fire that killed her neighbor. At least, that’s what she’s been told. She can’t remember anything from that day, and her town’s bullies, particularly the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport, have never let her live it down.
But then Melody goes missing, and Cassidy thinks she may have information. She knows she should go to the cops, but she recently joked about how much she’d like to get rid of Melody. She even planned out the perfect way to do it. And then she gets a chilling text from an unknown number: I’m so glad we’re in this together.
Now it’s up to Cassidy to figure out what really happened before the truth behind Melody’s disappearance sets the whole town ablaze.
Review:
Cassidy Pratt is known as the fire girl in her town because she started a fire when she was a child. The fire killed her best friend, while Cass was saved by her brother. When Cass’s enemy at school, Melody, goes missing, Cass thinks she knows what happened. Melody’s disappearance seems to follow a list that Cass wrote down in her notebook of how she would kill Melody. Cass gets threatening text messages from the unknown person who has her notebook. Finding the person who is blackmailing Cass will lead her to solve Melody’s disappearance.
This book was a quick read for me. It was fast paced and moved along quickly. There were loads of twists that kept me surprised. It was also creepy, since someone had seemed to perform the actions that Cass listed in her notebook. It had to be someone that she knew, since they got ahold of her notebook, so I considered everyone a suspect.
In many young adult books, the lack of parental supervision is strange. Some of the decisions that the parents made in this story were unusual, particularly ones revealed at the end. The way that Cass was the only one blamed for the fire was one way that I found the parents to be unusually absent. Kids can be mean and find any reason to tease another child, which explains the way other children called her the fire girl. However, an adult should have been supervising them so they couldn’t start a fire, yet none of the parents were blamed for their part in the fire. That part was not explained, which put all of the blame and pressure on Cass.
I enjoyed this fast paced thriller.
Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Have you read Little Creeping Things? What did you think of it?
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 The Mall by Megan McCafferty. The expected publication date is July 28, 2020.
Goodreads Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.
The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.
Title: The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) Author: Renée Ahdieh Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: October 8, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.
Review:
In 1872, Celine Rousseau moves to New Orleans after being forced to flee Paris. She moves into a convent with some other girls who have just arrived from Europe. When a wealthy woman asks Celine to create a dress for her, Celine gets involved in a secret society, causing death to those around her.
I loved this setting. Both the time period and location made it so mysterious and extravagant. This was also a time period with a lot of change in society. Celine is biracial, but she can pass for white. She notices that there are people of different races working in the city, which is something she hadn’t seen before. She commented on what a big change this was for society. It’s a shame that 150 years after this book takes place, there is still so much racial inequality.
This story was really exciting. I liked the mystery surrounding the deaths. The ending was surprising and left me with a lot of questions. I hope they will be answered in the next book.
I really enjoyed this story!
What to read next:
Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin
Grim Lovelies (Grim Lovelies #1) by Megan Shepherd
Have you read The Beautiful? What did you think of it?
Title: Rascal Author: Jean-Luc Deglin Genre: Graphic Novel, Humour Publisher: Top Shelf Productions Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: March 17, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When a mysterious mewling package arrives in the mail, one busy young woman’s life changes forever. Rascal lives up to his name, filling every day with wild adventures and long naps: brave expeditions into closets, fierce battles with curtains, and wrestling with slumbering giants… Sometimes she’s tempted to throw him out the window. He’s lucky he’s cute. Over 128 pages, Jean-Luc Deglin paints a purring portrait of one unforgettable black cat, an elegant inky swirl in a world of striking blue tones. Hilarious and heartwarming, exasperating and enchanting, Rascal captures the full range of emotions that come with keeping God’s cutest killing machine as a pet. If you love cats, or dream of having one, this book is dedicated to you. Once you bring Rascal into your life, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without him.
Review:
This is an adorable graphic novel about a woman who suddenly has to look after a cat. Her mom drops off a neighbour’s cat for her to look after. Somehow, the cat has survived being trapped in a box for a week. Then, she finds out that the neighbour has died so she has to keep the cat, which she names Rascal. She has to figure out how to take care of this moody cat.
I laughed out loud many times while reading this book. Anyone who has spent time with a cat will find this so relatable. Rascal was moody and never knew what he wanted. He would bother his owner and scratch her until she figured out what he wanted. He wouldn’t play with the toys he was given, but would play with her shoes. She thought it was great when Rascal killed a mouse, but then he left it on her pillow as a gift. These were really funny anecdotes about owning a cat.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel!
Thank you IDW Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Take It Away, Tommy!: A Breaking Cat News Adventure by Georgia Dunn
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 The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renée Ahdieh.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
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 The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renée Ahdieh.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.
Jill's Book Blog 