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.

Giveaway: The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce

Today is the release day for the amazing new anthology The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce! I’m so excited about this book. It is a great read! You can find my review of this book here.

Here are the details for this book:

Synopsis:

The definitive collection of art, poetry, and prose, celebrating fat acceptance

Chubby. Curvy. Fluffy. Plus-size. Thick. Fat. The time has come for fat people to tell their own stories. The (Other) F Word combines personal essays, prose, poetry, fashion tips, and art to create a relatable and attractive guide about body image and body positivity. This YA crossover anthology is meant for people of all sizes who desire to be seen and heard in a culture consumed by a narrow definition of beauty. By combining the talents of renowned fat YA and middle-grade authors, as well as fat influencers and creators, The (Other) F Word offers teen readers and activists of all ages a guide for navigating our world with confidence and courage.

The publisher, Abrams Books, has provided me with a copy of this book to giveaway to one lucky reader!

This contest is open to US and Canada residents.

To enter this giveaway, go on this rafflecopter link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6da9378f3/?

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

The contest is open until 12:00 AM on October 1, 2019.

Good luck!!

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on My Fall 2019 TBR

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 on Your Fall 2019 TBR. Here’s my list:

1. When You Ask Me Where I’m Going by Jamin Kaur

2. Crier’s War (Crier’s War #1) by Nina Varela

3. Jackpot by Nic Stone

4. Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao

5. Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

6. Gravemaidens (Gravemaidens #1) by Kelly Coon

7. Coral by Sara Ella

8. Day Zero (Day Zero Duology #1) by Kelly Devos

9. The Good Luck Girls (The Good Luck Girls #1) by Charlotte Nicole Davis

10. Cold Falling White (The Nahx Invasions #2) by G.S. Prendergast

What books are on your list of Books on Your Fall 2019 TBR?

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

Review: Six Goodbyes We Never Said

Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said
Author: Candace Ganger
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 24, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go

Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her. 

Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects. 

Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Said is no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye. 

Review:

This was a beautiful story about grieving.

There was some great representation of mental health in this book. Dew has anxiety and panic attacks. Naima has anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. I really liked the way her OCD was represented in the repetition of words and sentences. It showed the way she repeated actions and words right on the page.

Though both Dew and Naima were orphans, they had very different experiences. Dew had been adopted by his foster parents, and had a new family. Naima had just lost her father and couldn’t reconcile her final goodbye to him, when she ignored him. They had some things in common, but they dealt with their problems differently.

I loved this book!

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

What to read next:

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash by Candace Ganger

Have you read Six Goodbyes We Never Said? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – September 23

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 Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading SLAY by Brittney Morris.

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

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – September 22

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… Six Goodbyes We Never Said

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 Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go

Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her. 

Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects. 

Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Said is no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye. 

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Characters I’d Love to be Friends With

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 Characters I’d Love to be Friends With. Here’s my list:

1. Harley Quinn (DC Comics)

2. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles)

3. Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries)

4. Kenji Kishimoto (Shatter Me series)

5. Felicity Montague (Montague Siblings)

6. Gert Yorkes (Runaways)

Did you write a #SixforSunday post? What was your list of Characters You’d Love to be Friends With?

(All images from Goodreads)

Review: The Secret of Shadow Lake (Creature Campers #1)

Title: The Secret of Shadow Lake (Creature Campers #1)
Author: Joe McGee, Bea Tormo
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Being the new kid at camp is never easy, especially for a bigfoot, a hyperactive jackalope, a fairy who can barely fly, and the only human boy! A series about the unlikely friendships forged at Camp Moonlight—“where being different isn’t unusual…it’s FUNusual!”

Norm is worried about fitting in at camp. Literally. He’s not just tall for a kid. He’s tall even for a bigfoot. Oliver, the only human at camp, has the opposite problem: he’s small enough that a strong wind might knock him over. With the help of their new friends, Hazel (a hyperactive jackalope) and Wisp (a boy fairy who has trouble flying), they’ll have to work together to earn their canoeing certification without disturbing the resident lake monster—or Barnaby Snoop, who will stop at nothing to capture Norm for his personal rare creature collection.

Review:

This is a fun story about going to camp.

Norm is nervous about going to camp for the first time. That’s because he is a Big Foot and he doesn’t know what to expect there. The camp accepts all different kinds of creatures, including big foots, jackalopes, and humans. Norm and his new friends end up having fun, and discovering a secret in the lake at camp. There was also a classic villain who wanted to catch Norm. He was an old man who kept foiling his own plot.

This story reminded me of the Lumberjanes because of the different camp creatures. It also reminded me of the Christmas series by Matt Haig because of how Norm learned to fit in with other creatures who were not like him.

I really enjoyed this cute camp story.

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

What to read next:

Beware the Kitten Holy (Lumberjanes #1) by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen, Shannon Watters

A Boy Called Christmas (Christmas #1) by Matt Haig

Have you read The Secret of Shadow Lake? What did you think of it?

Stacking the Shelves – September 21

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 a book on NetGalley from ECW Press:

The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice by Vanessa Brown

I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Hachette Books:

The Witches are Coming by Lindy West

I was approved for a book on NetGalley from Harlequin TEEN:

Day Zero by Kelly Devos

I was had two wishes granted on NetGalley from Frances Lincoln Children’s Books:

Mary Shelley (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Zaha Hadid (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

I was approved for four books on NetGalley from Simon and Schuster Canada:

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure and Live an Intentional Life by Neil Pasricha

Cold Falling White (The Nahx Invasions #2) by G.S. Prendergast

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Thank you ECW Press, Hachette Books, Harlequin TEEN, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, and Simon and Schuster Canada for these books!

What books did you get this week?

Review: Met Her Match

Title: Met Her Match (Summer Hill #2)
Author: Jude Deveraux
Genre: Romance
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 17, 2019
Rating: ★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

In small towns, no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip…

Terri Rayburn is a girl with a reputation. She doesn’t deserve it, but having grown up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, Virginia, she knows how small towns work. The only way to deal with vicious gossip is to ignore it. So she keeps to herself as she runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

When she returns home from a short trip to find a handsome stranger living in her house, she smells a rat. Someone is trying to fix her up, and she has to admit that Nate Taggert is just her type. However, Nate is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and strictly off-limits.

Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he throws himself into life at the lake. As Nate starts to hear rumors about Terri he’s confused. Knowing how smart, beautiful and strong she is, he’s determined to discover the source of the gossip. Terri doesn’t want to revisit the past, but Nate won’t stop until he discovers the truth—even if the truth might be more than either of them can handle.

Set in the beloved fictional town of Summer Hill, Virginia, Met Her Match examines the tensions between the wealthy townspeople, the summer vacationers and the working-class people who keep the town and resort running. Told with humor and heart, Met Her Match is the perfect summer escape.

Review:

This story was a mix of a romance and mystery. It began with hints of romance, with Nate arriving in town. He meets Terri and there is lots of attraction between them. However, Nate is engaged to the mayor’s daughter. Close to the end of the story, once the relationship problems were solved, it turned into a murder mystery. A decades old case was brought up. It was an unusual change to the story. It would have made more sense if the mysterious elements were brought up earlier in the story.

There were so many characters that I had trouble keeping track of them. I thought I was missing out because I didn’t read the first book in the series. The characters often spoke about things that had happened in the past, but I don’t know if they happened in the first book or not. By the end of the story it was getting difficult to follow because I couldn’t remember all of the characters.

This story didn’t work with me, but if you like romances with some mystery, you will probably like it.

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

What to read next:

The Girl from Summer Hill (Summer Hill #1) by Jude Deveraux

Have you read Met Her Match? What did you think of it?