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.

Review: If the Magic Fits (100 Dresses #1)

Title: If the Magic Fits (100 Dresses #1)
Author: Susan Maupin Schmid
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Inside an enchanted castle, there’s a closet—a closet with one hundred dresses that nobody ever wears. Dresses like those need a good trying-on, and Darling Dimple is just the girl to do it. When she tries on Dress Number Eleven, something unbelievable happens. She transforms into the castle’s Head Scrubber! It turns out that each dress can disguise her as someone else. And Darling is about to have an adventure that calls for a disguise or two…or a hundred. 

Review:

I loved this unique fairytale!

In this story, Darling Dimple is an orphan who works as a servant in Princess Mariposa’s castle. Darling loses her job as a scrubber and has to work as a presser. There she discovers a closet full of magical dresses. She has to use the dresses to unlock the magic of the castle and ultimately save the Princess and her kingdom.

Darling Dimple started out as a shy girl, but her confidence grew when she wore the different magical dresses. Each dress turned her into a different person in the castle, from the head of the staff to aristocratic ladies. This was a great way of showing the parts of the story for both the castle staff and the royals.

I love reading retellings of fairytales and original ones. This one was so much fun. There was some foreshadowing at the end, which I think points to the next book in the series being about Darling Dimple’s biological parents.

What to read next:

Ghost of a Chance (100 Dresses #2) by Susan Maupin Schmid

Fairest of All (Whatever After #2) by Sarah Mlynowski

Have you read If the Magic Fits? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – January 2

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 Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe. The release date is January 22, 2019.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.

Yet, against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris. Be it loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. He even starts playing actual hockey with these Texans.

But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Seven Days

Title: Seven Days
Author: Patrick Senécal (translated by Howard Scott and Phyllis Aronoff)
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 1, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For fans of Stephen King’s Misery and Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman comes an engrossing thriller about a monster who becomes a victim and a victim who becomes a monster. From Patrick Senécal, the Quebec author who has sold over a million books worldwide.

One sunny fall day, Dr. Bruno Hamel’s life changes forever.

His beloved seven-year-old daughter, Jasmine, is the victim of a tragic crime. Grief-stricken, Hamel sets in play a meticulous plan. He will kidnap the man responsible for his daughter’s death and make him pay horribly for what he has done. He manages to ambush a police transport and disappear with his target.

But Hamel hasn’t accounted for Hervé Mercure, a detective with a troubled past who becomes certain he can track down Hamel by studying clues in his past—and in the increasingly unsettling phone calls Hamel makes to his partner, Sylvie.

Both riveting and provocative, this daring thriller is an enthralling meditation on what it means to be human—and to battle the monster within and without.

Review:

I have to start this review with some trigger warnings. This book includes the rape and murder of a young girl and graphic torture of a man. There was one point that I almost had to put down the book because the scenes were bothering me, but I skipped a few pages and kept reading.

This story was fascinating because it explored the morality behind killing. Bruno’s daughter was murdered, so he tortured her murderer with the intent to kill him. Is an eye for an eye applicable? Does it justify one death over another? Which one is the worse monster? The one who killed first, or the one who tortured a man for a week? These are difficult questions to think about.

I was expecting a twist to happen at the end. There was a slight surprise, but more the most part it ended the way I expected. Other than some graphic scenes, this was a great crime thriller.

What to read next:

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø

Find You In The Dark by Nathan Ripley

Have you read Seven Days? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books I Read in 2018 That Were Published Before 2018

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 the Best Books I Read in 2018. I made a best of 2018 list yesterday, which divides the books into 3 categories (Adult, Middle Grade, and Young Adult). That post can be found here. This list will be for the best books I read in 2018, but were not published in 2018. Here’s my list:

1. Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

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

3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

4. Three Dark Crowns by Kendra’s Blake

5. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

6. This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

7. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

8. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and

9. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

10. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

Review: Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries #2)

Title: Princess in the Spotlight (The Princess Diaries #2)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 26, 2001
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

She’s just a New York City girl living with her artist mom…
News Flash: Dad is prince of Genovia. (So that’s why a limo meets her at the airport!)

Downer: Dad can’t have any more kids. (So no heir to the throne.)

Shock of the Century: Like it or not, Mia Thermopolis is prime princess material.

Mia must take princess lessons from her dreaded grandmére, the dowager princess of Genovia, who thinks Mia has a thing or two to learn before she steps up to the throne.

Well, her father can lecture her until he’s royal-blue in the face about her princessly duty–no way is she moving to Genovia and leaving Manhattan behind. But what’s a girl to do when her name is Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo?

Review:

There are a lot of changes in Mia’s life in this book. Her mother is pregnant and is planning on marrying her algebra teacher, Mr. Gianini. Her mother plans to have a small wedding at the city hall, but her paternal grandmother takes over the wedding and plans a big event at the Plaza. It was fun to see how everyone reacted to this big wedding (both in anger and excitement), which most people dream of but cannot afford to have. 

Mia also has a secret admirer in this book. She hopes it is her crush, but she only finds out who it is at the end of the book. 

This book takes place over a very short period of time. It only spans about a week and a half. It is fast paced because the chapters were short and quick to read. 

I love rereading this series. Some references are a bit dated, but it is still a great series for young adult readers today. 

What to read next:

Princess in Love (The Princess Diaries #3) by Meg Cabot

Shadowland (The Mediator #1) by Meg Cabot

Have you read Princess in the Spotlight? What did you think of it?

Best Books of 2018

These are my best books of 2018. These books were published in Canada in 2018. There were so many great books published this year! I divided the books into 3 lists of ten books: Adult, Middle Grade, and Young Adult. It was so hard to choose ten books for each list because there were so many great books! These lists are in no particular order. Here are my lists:

Top Ten Adult Books

Keep Her Safe

Thing to do When It’s Raining

Find You in the Dark

Then She Was Gone

The Home for Unwanted Girls

Come From Away

Queen of Kenosha

The Kiss Quotient

Another Woman’s Husband

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Top Ten Middle Grade Books

The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray

A Possibility of Whales

Tara Takes The Stage

Clara Voyant

Misfits (Royal Academy Rebels #1)

The Truth About Martians

Blended

Father Christmas and Me (Christmas Series #3)

Kate’s Really Good at Hockey

Pickled Watermelon

Top Ten Young Adult Books

The Cruel Prince

American Panda

The Hazel Wood

The Wicked Deep

The Queen’s Rising

Kens

Isle of Blood and Stone

Golden Hour

Save the Date

The Light Between Worlds

Did you enjoy these books? What are your best books of the year?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – December 31

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 Seven Days by Patrick Senécal.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading If the Magic Fits (100 Dresses #1) by Susan Maupin Schmid.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman.

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

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – December 30

Happy New Year!

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 7 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Six for Sunday – 2019 Books

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2018 can be found here. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is 2019 Books. Here are the six books I’m most excited about for 2019:

1. Romanov by Nadine Brandes

2. Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

3. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

4. The Wicked King by Holly Black

5. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

6. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Did you write a #SixforSunday post? What was your list of 2019 Books?

Sundays in Bed with… Seven Days

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 Seven Days by Patrick Senécal.

Goodreads Synopsis:

For fans of Stephen King’s Misery and Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman comes an engrossing thriller about a monster who becomes a victim and a victim who becomes a monster. From Patrick Senécal, the Quebec author who has sold over a million books worldwide.

One sunny fall day, Dr. Bruno Hamel’s life changes forever.

His beloved seven-year-old daughter, Jasmine, is the victim of a tragic crime. Grief-stricken, Hamel sets in play a meticulous plan. He will kidnap the man responsible for his daughter’s death and make him pay horribly for what he has done. He manages to ambush a police transport and disappear with his target.

But Hamel hasn’t accounted for Hervé Mercure, a detective with a troubled past who becomes certain he can track down Hamel by studying clues in his past—and in the increasingly unsettling phone calls Hamel makes to his partner, Sylvie.

Both riveting and provocative, this daring thriller is an enthralling meditation on what it means to be human—and to battle the monster within and without. 

What book are you in bed with today?