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 Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams.
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 Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.
He almost made valedictorian.
He almost made varsity.
He almost got the girl . . .
When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.
But this love story is . . . complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves.
Title: Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5) Author: Tahereh Mafi Genre: Young Adult Publisher: HarperTeen Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: October 2, 2012 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
Review:
This story contains some spoilers for the end of Shatter Me, so don’t read my review if you’re planning on reading Shatter Me.
This novella takes place after the end of Shatter Me. It follows Warner after he was shot. Juliette has run away, and Warner has to deal with his father’s reaction to him losing his experiment.
Warner finds Juliette’s journal from when she was locked up in her room. When he reads it, we get to see more of what she wrote. Bringing her journal into the story was a good way of keeping her narrative in this novella.
I really liked that we get to see Warner’s perspective in this story. It made him seem like a fuller character, because we can see his relationship with his father and his soldiers.
I love this series! I can’t wait to read the next book, Unravel Me.
What to read next:
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi
Have you read Destroy Me? 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 received a bunch of books from publishers this week!
I received a book from HCC Frenzy:
Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) by Maya Motayne
I was approved for two books from St. Martin’s Press on NetGalley:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
I was approved for three books from Simon and Schuster Canada on NetGalley:
Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens by Tania Boteju
Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon
I was approved for a book from Graydon House on NetGalley:
The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton
I was approved for a book from Algonquin Young Readers on Netgalley:
Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small
Thank you HCC Frenzy, St. Martin’s Press, Simon and Schuster Canada, Graydon House, and Algonquin Young Readers for these books!
Title: Twilight of the Elves (The Adventurers Guild #2) Author: Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: November 13, 2018 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
I should probably start at the beginning,Zed wrote, when things first went wrong?.
Zed, Brock, and their friends may have saved Freestone from destruction, but the fight against the Dangers is far from over. No one knows what to expect next from the dark power that forced the elves to abandon their city. And the influx of elf refugees in Freestone strains resources and brews resentment among the townspeople. Things have shifted between best friends Zed and Brock, as well, with their friendship crumbling under the weight of the secrets they’re keeping from each other. When tensions reach an all-time high, Queen Me’Shala, leader of the elves, approaches the Adventurers Guild with a mission. She wants a small group of adventurers to go behind the king’s back on a covert mission to save her city, and Zed, Brock, Liza, Jett, Micah, and their elven friend Fel join the quest. To face a powerful form of magic thought to be extinct, the adventurers will have to learn how to rely on each other and fight harder than ever before.
Don’t miss this second installment of Zack Loran Clark and Nicholas Eliopulos’s Adventurers Guild trilogy, where the stakes are raised, the action is breathless, and the dangers will stop even the bravest of hearts.
Review:
This is a fun story in the Adventurers Guild series.
I love the group of kids who form the Adventurers Guild. They are like a bunch of misfits because they don’t really belong anywhere else. There was a lot of tension between Zed and Brock, the two main characters, because they are both keeping secrets from one another. The characters got a little confusing at times because there were so many new ones, such as the elves they travelled with, and some characters have similar names.
I was reminded of Game of Thrones throughout this story. There were different creatures and species, such as dragons. The elves play an important role in this story. The Adventurers Guild has to try and help the elves get rid of the Lich, which is causing all of their dead to spring to life and attack. Their trek reminded me of when the characters in Game of Thrones go beyond the wall. This story is like a kid-friendly version of Game of Thrones.
I really enjoyed this action-packed story! This is a great series!
What to read next:
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan
Have you read Twilight of the Elves? What did you think of it?
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:
“If I believed in omens, this would be a bad one. There’s only one suitcase left on the baggage carousel. It’s bright pink, covered with Hello Kitty stickers, and definitely not mine.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus.
Goodreads synopsis:
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
Have you read Two Can Keep a Secret? What did you think of it?
Title: The Au Pair Author: Emma Rous Genre: Fiction, Thriller Publisher: Berkley Books Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: January 8, 2019 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother Danny were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.
Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.
Who is the child and what really happened that day?
One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.
Review:
I was so excited about this book! I love thrillers like this. It was kind of a mystery but very suspenseful like a thriller.
I was so intrigued throughout the story. It was hard to stop reading, because I wanted to figure out what happened. There were dual narratives. It alternated between Seraphine’s perspective in 2017 where she’s trying to figure out who the baby in the picture is, and Laura’s perspective in 1992 where she was an au pair for Seraphine’s family before her birth.
I love it when books surprise me at the end, and this one definitely did. However, it was impossible to guess the ending because some information is left out until the end. I don’t like when this happens, but it was necessary to hold the suspense until the end.
I really enjoyed this story!
What to read next:
The Child by Fiona Barton
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Have you read The Au Pair? 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 Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo’s new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she’s always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.
Determined to put a stop to Hideo’s grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone’s put a bounty on Emika’s head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn’t all that he seems–and his protection comes at a price.
Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
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