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.

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – April 18

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 Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian.

32333296.jpg

Goodreads Synopsis:

A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.

Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends. Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…

What books are you waiting on this week?

Blog Tour: Suitors and Sabotage

SuitorsAndSabotageTourBanner.png

34499243

Title: Suitors and Sabotage
Author: Cindy Anstey
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley
Release Date: April 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father’s approval. Imogene is ambivalent about the young gentleman until he comes to visit her at the Chively estate with his younger brother in tow. When her interest is piqued, however, it is for the wrong brother.

Charming Ben Steeple has a secret: despite being an architectural apprentice, he has no drawing aptitude. When Imogene offers to teach him, Ben is soon smitten by the young lady he considers his brother’s intended.

But hiding their true feelings becomes the least of their problems when, after a series of “accidents,” it becomes apparent that someone means Ben harm. And as their affection for each other grows—despite their efforts to remain just friends—so does the danger. . .

Review:

This book was great! I didn’t enjoy the last couple of books I read, so this was a great book to get me out of that rut.

I love Victorian novels, and this was a great twist on the traditional love story. Imogene is conflicted between two suitors. And even worse, the suitors are brothers! This would be too scandalous for Victorian times, but it made a great conflict for a contemporary story.

The story was very fast paced. It has mystery elements that keep the story moving. It appears that someone is trying to harm Ben’s reputation, which also would have been a scandalous storyline for the main character of a real Victorian novel.

This was a very exciting story. I loved it, and I highly recommend it!

About the Author:

Cindy.jpgWhenever she is not sitting at the computer, throwing a ball in the backyard, gardening or reading, Cindy can be found–actually, not found–adventuring around the world with her hubby.

She has lived on three continents, had a monkey in her yard and a scorpion under her sink, dwelt among castles and canals, enjoyed the jazz of Beale St and attempted to speak French.

Cindy loves history, mystery and… a chocolate Labrador called Chester. Love, Lies and Spies is her debut novel.

Author links: 
Purchase:

Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (US/CAN)

  • Paperback copy of Suitors and Sabotage

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

April 16th
–SERIESous Book Reviews >> Review
–The Book Drealms >> Guest post
–The Bookish Thought >> Review
–Tale Out Loud >> Review
–QUITE THE NOVEL IDEA >> Review

April 17th
–The Book Dutchesses >> Review
–Jill’s Book Blog >> Review
–Rattle the Stars >> Excerpt
–Dani Reviews Things >> Review
–Darque Dreamer Reads >> Review

April 18th
–Love in a Time of Feminism >> Review
–Lisa Loves Literature >> Interview
–Little Library Muse >> Excerpt
–The Book Maiden >> Review

April 19th
–Milky Way of Books >> Review
–Bibliobibuli YA >> Interview
–Reading With Wrin >> Review
–I Smell Sheep >> Guest post
–Charmed Book Haven Reviews >> Review

April 20th
–What Cathy Read Next >> Review
–Smada’s Book Smack >> Review
–It’s a Book Life >> Review
–Belle’s Book Blog >> Review
–The Heart of a Book Blogger >> Review


Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for letting me participate in this blog tour.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Take Place In Another Country

TTT-Big2

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 a freebie, so I am going to do one of the lists that I missed a couple of weeks ago: Books That Take Place In Another Country. Here’s my list:

10964.jpg

1. Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon

72193.jpg

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
by J.K. Rowling

15507958.jpg

3. Me Before You
by Jojo Moyes

16085481.jpg

4. Crazy Rich Asians
by Kevin Kwan

29385546.jpg

5. Warcross
by Marie Lu

24763621.jpg

6. Wintersong
by S. Jae-Jones

26032825-3.jpg

7. The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black

29749090-3.jpg

8. Batman: Nightwalker
by Marie Lu

28245707-2.jpg

9. Queens of Geek
by Jen Wilde

19161835.jpg

10. Confessions
by Kanae Minato

(all images taken from Goodreads)

Review: White Houses

35876524.jpg

Title: White Houses
Author: Amy Bloom
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Rating: ★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

For readers of The Paris Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenuecomes a “sensuous, captivating account of a forbidden affair between two women” (People)–Eleanor Roosevelt and “first friend” Lorena Hickok.

Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, “Hick,” as she’s known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have. She moves into the White House, where her status as “first friend” is an open secret, as are FDR’s own lovers. After she takes a job in the Roosevelt administration, promoting and protecting both Roosevelts, she comes to know Franklin not only as a great president but as a complicated rival and an irresistible friend, capable of changing lives even after his death. Through it all, even as Hick’s bond with Eleanor is tested by forces both extraordinary and common, and as she grows as a woman and a writer, she never loses sight of the love of her life.

From Washington, D.C. to Hyde Park, from a little white house on Long Island to an apartment on Manhattan’s Washington Square, Amy Bloom’s new novel moves elegantly through fascinating places and times, written in compelling prose and with emotional depth, wit, and acuity.

Review:

Since I’m Canadian, I don’t know much about American History. I wasn’t very familiar with the Roosevelts before reading this story. I learned a lot, but this story just wasn’t for me.

The story was quite confusing at times. It jumped around in the timeline. The main story was about Lorena and Eleanor in a hotel in New York following Franklin Roosevelt’s death. But Lorena would tell stories from her past at times. It was confusing when she would jump to a different time between paragraphs. Sometimes, I would be reading a scene and I would forget what the point of it was or even how she got to that story.

Whenever I read historical fiction, I end up googling the characters to see what parts are true. Many of the events in the story really happened. But some seemed over the top. One example of this is a scene with a circus troupe near the beginning of the story. It reminded me of the exaggerated circus story from the movie Big Fish. These scenes didn’t seem connected. This book was really missing an overall plot to weave these scenes together.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – April 16, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

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:

35876524

This weekend I finished White Houses by Amy Bloom.

 

What I’m currently reading:

34499243.jpg

I’m currently reading Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey.

 

What I’m reading next:

31193365.jpg

Next I will be reading Running Through Sprinklers by Michelle Kim.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!

Review: The Woman in The Window

34848682.jpg

Title: The Woman in the Window
Author: A.J. Finn
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Gift
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Rating: ★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Review:

This book didn’t live up to the hype for me. I was expecting an amazing thriller, but I didn’t understand the excitement.

Anna was a very annoying character for me. She took tons of pills and mixed them with alcohol, but she was a psychologist, so she should have known better. The whole story was based on wondering if she was imagining things or not, and all those stimulants didn’t help her case. Really, there weren’t any likable characters in this book. The Russels were furious with her, though their son, Ethan, would speak to her. And even the police were rude and jumped to conclusions. It was frustrating to read.

I don’t want to give away the ending for those who haven’t read it yet, so I won’t give my comments on that. I guessed what was happening before it was said. I knew what happened to Anna’s family, and the solution to Jane Russel’s identity ended up being the first thing I thought of when I read it! The thing about figuring out this mystery is to look at what’s being said, and more importantly what’s not being said.

The last couple of chapters were pretty exciting, but unfortunately, the rest of the book was frustrating so I didn’t enjoy it.

Review: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1: Squirrel Power

23732096.jpg

Title: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1: Squirrel Power
Author: Ryan North, Erica Henderson
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Marvel
Source: Purchased
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos: There’s one hero that’s beaten them all-and now she’s got her own ongoing series! (Not that she’s bragging.) That’s right, you asked for it, you got it, it’s SQUIRREL GIRL! (She’s also starting college this semester.) It’s the start of a brand-new set of adventures starring the nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world!

COLLECTING: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 1-4

Review:

Squirrel Girl is a cute superhero. She’s a quirky girl, who is part squirrel and can speak to squirrels. She was so funny, which made it an entertaining read.

Squirrel Girl, aka Doreen Green, starts college in this story. She has a serious roommate, who loves her cat, Mew. Doreen’s squirrel antics attempted to distract her from the cute guy, Tomas, who she kept running into around campus. But the one who really stole the show was Tippy-Toe. Tippy-Toe is Doreen’s squirrel sidekick and partner in crime. She was so adorable!

I really enjoyed this cute story. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for more books in the series!

Review: My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel

Title: My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
Author: Kitty Curran, Larissa Zageris
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The romance novel that lets you pick your path, follow your heart, and find happily ever after

You are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of eighteenth-century society, courtship season has begun, and your future is at hand. Will you flip forward fetchingly to find love with the bantering baronet Sir Benedict Granville? Or turn the page to true love with the hardworking, horse-loving highlander Captain Angus McTaggart? Or perhaps race through the chapters chasing a good (and arousing) man gone mad, bad, and scandalous to know, Lord Garraway Craven? Or read on recklessly and take to the Continent as the “traveling companion” of the spirited and adventuresome Lady Evangeline? Or yet some other intriguing fate? Make choices, turn pages, and discover all the daring delights of the multiple (and intertwining!) storylines. And in every path you pick, beguiling illustrations bring all the lust and love to life.

Review:

When I was a kid, lots of my classmates loved choose your own adventure stories. But I didn’t. I wanted a complete story to read, and I didn’t want anything to change from the original. However, I thought I would give this one a try since I love Victorian romances. And I loved it!

There are three directions your story could go. You could choose the brooding Sir Benedict Granville, who is like Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. You could choose Captain Angus McTaggart, who is like Jamie from Outlander. Or you could choose to go on an adventure with the socialite Lady Evangeline. For my review, I followed the path with Angus MacTaggart, also known as Mac.

The story was so entertaining! It had everything from a spy, a faked death, orphans, and a burned down mansion, all of which are aspects that make a great Victorian novel. I loved this story and I was satisfied with the ending. The great thing about this book is that you can read it over and over, following different paths, and end up with different endings. I will definitely be reading this book again!

Review: Isle of Blood and Stone

30339493-2.jpg

Title: Isle of Blood and Stone
Author: Makiia Lucier
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: April 10, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ulises asked, “How can I look at these maps, see this riddle, and do nothing? They are my brothers.”

Elias reached across the table and flicked aside two shells with a fingertip. The map curled into itself. “It’s bound to be a goose chase. You know that?”

“Or a treasure hunt,” Ulises countered, “and you’ve always been good at those.”

Nineteen-year-old Elias is a royal explorer, a skilled mapmaker, and the new king of del Mar’s oldest friend. Soon he will embark on the adventure of a lifetime, an expedition past the Strait of Cain and into uncharted waters. Nothing stands in his way…until a long-ago tragedy creeps back into the light, threatening all he holds dear.

The people of St. John del Mar have never recovered from the loss of their boy princes, kidnapped eighteen years ago, both presumed dead. But when two maps surface, each bearing the same hidden riddle, troubling questions arise. What really happened to the young heirs? And why do the maps appear to be drawn by Lord Antoni, Elias’s father, who vanished on that same fateful day? With the king’s beautiful cousin by his side—whether he wants her there or not—Elias will race to solve the riddle of the princes. He will have to use his wits and guard his back. Because some truths are better left buried…and an unknown enemy stalks his every turn.

Review:

I loved this book!

It was very fast paced. I read the first half of the book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Everything moved very quickly, so it was never boring.

The beginning of the story was a little confusing because it starts right in the middle of the action. At first, it was difficult to connect the prologue to the rest of the story, but it quickly becomes clear how the events of the prologue are important to the story.

I loved the ending of Elias’s search. I had no idea where the story was going to end up, but I think a clever reader could figure it out before the end. There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming, though!

I’m so excited about this story! I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series goes!

TBR Thursday – April 12

TBRThursday-700x350.png

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 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

36040400.jpg

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?