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.
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 A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.
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 A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison.
Goodreads Synopsis:
When they’re stuck under one roof, the house may not be big enough for their hate…or their love.
When Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Hills, he’s ready for the questions, the stares and the feeling of not belonging. Not that he cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the rough streets of Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything, much less how the rest of his life will play out.
Golden girl Nandy Smith has spent most of her life building the pristine image that it takes to fit in when it comes to her hometown Pacific Hills where image is everything. After learning that her parents are taking in a troubled teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames.
Now with Trice living under the same roof, the wall between their bedrooms feels as thin as the line between love and hate. Beneath the angst, their growing attraction won’t be denied. Through time, Trice brings Nandy out of her shell, and Nandy attempts to melt the ice that’s taken Trice’s heart and being. Only, with the ever-present pull back to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.
Title: Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars #1) Author: Tara Sim Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: January 7, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide.
Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…
Packed with high-stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is the first novel in an epic YA fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo.
Review:
This story is a gender swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve never read that book, but I really enjoyed this story.
The narrative switches between Amaya, a prisoner on a ship, and Cayo, the son of a businessman in the main city. Amaya escapes her captivity, and she tries to take down the men who were keeping her prisoner. Cayo also does his own investigation to figure out who is making counterfeit money in their city.
I liked the pacing of this book. There were some small reveals every couple of chapters. I was surprised at the twists that happened. I also liked the main characters. They had good chemistry with each other. I’m curious to see where the story goes next.
Thank you Disney Book Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody
Serpent and Dove (Serpent and Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin
Have you read Scavenge the Stars? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I was approved for four books on NetGalley from Quarto Publishing Group:
Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present by Arabelle Sicardi, Sarah Tanat-Jones
Martin Luther King Jr. (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, Mai Ly Degnan
Stephen Hawking (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, Matt Hunt
David Attenborough (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabela Sánchez Vegara, Mikyo Noh
I received a book on NetGalley from Penguin Random House Canada:
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
Thank you Quarto Publishing Group and Penguin Random House Canada for these books!
Title: Best Friends (Real Friends #2) Author: Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel Publisher: First Second Source: Borrowed from a friend Format: Paperback Release Date: August 27, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Sequel to Shannon Hale’s award-winning graphic novel memoir, “Real Friends”, this new graphic memoir picks up where “Real Friends” left off. As Shannon grows a little older, the rules of friendship always seem to be changing, leaving her guessing and trying her best to just keep up. “Best Friends” shares its predecessor’s frankness, compassion, and enthralling, heartfelt visual storytelling. Junior high, as it turns out, is quite the roller coaster.
Review:
This story is about Shannon’s year in sixth grade. She had many confusing experiences. Her friends didn’t want to play the same games as her anymore. She was supposed to get boys to like her, but at the same time ignore them so they would like her. She was confused by the mixed signals.
I loved that Shannon’s creative writing was a big part of the story. When she felt stressed, she would return to writing the fantasy story she was working on. At the end, she even included the actual copy of the story she wrote, including the notes from her teacher. I liked seeing how this important aspect of her life was included in the story.
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“A sex tape. A pregnancy scare. Two cheating scandals. And that’s just this week’s update. If all you knew of Bayview High was Simon Kelleher’s gossip app, you’d wonder how anyone found time to go to class.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… One of Us Is Lying (One of Us Is Lying #1) by Karen M. McManus.
Goodreads synopsis:
The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. AndSimon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.
Have you read One of Us Is Lying? What did you think of it?
Title: Good Girls Lie Author: J.T. Ellison Genre: Fiction, Thriller Publisher: MIRA Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: December 30, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Goode girls don’t lie…
Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond. But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.
In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions the cruelties of the secret societies or the dubious behavior of the privileged young women who expect to get away with murder. But when a popular student is found dead, the truth cannot be ignored. Rumors suggest she was struggling with a secret that drove her to suicide.
But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.
Review:
This was an amazing thriller!
The narrative switched between first person and third person perspectives between chapters. At first, I was confused as to who was narrating. I prefer it when the chapters have the narrators labeled when it alternates. However, this was a clever way of telling the story. This narration style had a purpose in the story, and it couldn’t be told any other way.
There were so many twists throughout the story. I kept gasping at what was happening. I was surprised right until the last page. It was a fantastic thriller!
I loved this book! It’s a great thrilling read!
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
The Finishing School by Joanna Goodman
About the Author:
J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.
Have you read Good Girls Lie? What did you think of it?
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 The Testaments (The Handmaid’s Tale #2) by Margaret Atwood.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades. When the van door slammed on Offred’s future at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her–freedom, prison or death. With The Testaments, the wait is over. Margaret Atwood’s sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
