jilljemmett

Review: Marvel 1602

Title: Marvel 1602
Author: Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove
Genre: Graphic Novel, yHistorical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Marvel
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 29, 2003
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Marvel 1602, award-winning writer Neil Gaiman presents a unique vision of the Marvel Universe set four hundred years in the past. Classic Marvel icons such as the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and Daredevil appear in this intriguing world of 17th-century science and sorcery, instantly familiar to readers, yet subtly different in this new time. Marvel 1602combines classic Marvel action and adventure with the historically accurate setting of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign to create a unique series unlike any other published by Marvel Comics.

Review:

England, 1602: Queen Elizabeth I is the ruler, and she works with her spies Nicholas Fury and Doctor Strange to uncover a mysterious artifact being sent to England. Fury and Strange also work with Marvel superheroes such as Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men to save the world from Doctor Doom and other dangers.

This was a fun adaptation of the Marvel comic characters. They were slightly different without all of their powers in this setting of Elizabethan London, but the characters were the same people. There were a lot of characters to keep track of throughout the story. I liked that even though some seemed to be original characters, they were later revealed to be part of the Marvel universe in disguise.

Marvel 1602 is a fun graphic novel for Marvel fans!

Have you read Marvel 1602? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – January 23

Happy Pub Day!

Emma and the Love Spell by Meredith Ireland

Thank you Bloomsbury Children’s Books for providing a digital copy of this book!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Check out this link to purchase Emma and the Love Spell (by clicking on this link, the creator may receive a commission on any purchases made).

Review: Curious Tides (Drowned Gods #1)

Title: Curious Tides (Drowned Gods #1)
Author: Pascale Lacelle
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.

Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess.

Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them.

To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore— alive —only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths.

And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.

Review:

Emory has healing magic, but she isn’t at the best student at Aldryn College for Lunar Magic. After Emory was the only survivor when her best friend, Romie, and seven other students died at Dovermere caves, her magic has changed. She gets help from Bas, her best friend’s brother, to learn her new magic. Both Emory and Bas are looking for answers as to why Romie was in the caves and how Emory gained new powers. Her powers catch the attention of a cult-like society at the school, so Emory joins them to get answers, but she’s led back to Dovermere, where it all began.

This story had rich, detailed world building. The magic that everyone possessed was determined by the moon when they were born. Their magic was strongest when that form of the moon was in the sky. It was a complex magic system so that world building took up a lot of the first half of the book. There were some great surprising twists near the end of the story. I can’t wait to read more books in this world!

Curious Tides is a great dark academia story!

Thank you Simon Teen and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing copies of this book!

Content warnings: parental abandonment, imprisonment, death, blood

Have you read Curious Tides? What did you think of it?

Click here to buy Curious Tides on Amazon (by clicking this link, I may receive a commission on any purchases made).

Review: The Secret in the Tower

Title: The Secret in the Tower
Author: Andrew Beattie
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 8, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

1485. Richard III is King of England. Henry Tudor’s invasion looms.

Jack Broom thinks that war and politics have nothing to do with him. He is a simple apothecary’s boy dreaming of becoming a surgeon – until soldiers mistake him for a boy of noble birth.

Narrowly avoiding being dragged to the Tower of London, Jack sets out on a perilous mission to find out who he truly is. With the help of his new friend Alice, he uncovers conspiracies, treason, and the deadly lengths people will go to for power.

Review:

1485: Jack Broom is just an ordinary boy who works at his aunt’s apothecary shop. He dreams of being a surgeon one day, so he studies hard at school. When he meets a soldier from the Tower of London who could introduce him to the famous surgeon, Dr. Argentine, Jack goes against his gut feeling and follows the soldier. However, Jack is in danger when he gets to the Tower. The Tower holds conspiracy, treason, and secrets about Jack’s past.

This was a thrilling children’s novel about the Tower of London. In the 15th century, when Richard III became King, he imprisoned two boys, who were the rightful heirs of the crown, in the Tower of London. They were never seen again, so they were thought to be murdered. This story imagines what happened if they were living in secret in the Tower. I loved the suspense of the secrets in Jack’s past, that even he didn’t know about. It kept me guessing until the end. I loved this reimagining of history.

The Secret in the Tower is a great middle grade historical story!

Thank you Sweet Cherry Publishing for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: child death, parental abandonment, death of parent, blood, vomiting

Have you read The Secret in the Tower? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – January 16

Happy Pub Day to this book!

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Thank you Del Rey for providing a digital copy of this book!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Whiteout

Title: Whiteout
Author: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 8, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.

From the bestselling, award-winning, all-star authors who brought us Blackout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes another novel of Black teen love, each relationship within as unique and sparkling as Southern snowflakes.

Review:

One night, a few days before Christmas, Atlanta has a snowstorm. Everything in the city stops, but Stevie needs to try to win her girlfriend back. She enlists the help of her friends, who do all they can to get around the city and help Stevie, while also finding their own snowstorm romances.

I loved the book Blackout, which was written by the same authors, so I knew I would love this one. It was so fun to read these intertwined stories of different characters who were working towards the same goal, but who also had their own subplots happening at the same time. There was a list of clues at the end of the story to help you figure out who wrote each chapter. I tried to guess which author wrote which characters while I was reading it, and I think I got a couple of them right.

Whiteout is a fun snowstorm romance!

Have you read Whiteout? What did you think of it?

Review: Adventures in Time: The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Title: Adventures in Time: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Author: Dominic Sandbrook
Genre: Nonfiction, History
Publisher: Penguin Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 5, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series – stories so exciting you won’t believe they’re all true.

Winter has come; and in a far distant land, a warrior queen is expecting a child…’Step through these pages into the Tudor a dangerous place, where one miss-step could cost your life. Through the eyes of Henry VIII’s six very different queens, from a brave Spanish princess to a wise English widow, historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us on a thrilling journey through the twists and turns of a dramatic age. For no one is safe from the wheel of it can take you from a golden throne to the Tower of London…The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened…

Review:

This book tells the stories of each of Henry VIII’s six wives. Each wife gets her own section of the book, which were proportionate in length as to how long they were married. It felt a little rushed at the end, but many things progressed quickly at the end of his life.

This is a great overview of the wives of Henry VIII.

Have you read Adventures in Time: The Six Wives of Henry VIII? What did you think of it?

Review: Woke Up Like This

Title: Woke Up Like This
Author: Amy Lea
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Mindy’s Book Studio
Source: Firefly Books Distributed Lines
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: October 1, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Planning the perfect prom is one last “to do” on ultra-organized Charlotte Wu’s high school bucket list. So far, so good, if not for a decorating accident that sends Charlotte crash-landing off a ladder, face-first into her obnoxiously ripped archnemesis J. T. Renner. Worse? When Charlotte wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed at thirty years old, with her bearded fiancé, Renner, by her side.

Either they’ve lost their minds or they’ve been drop-kicked into adulthood, forever trapped in the thirty-year-old bodies of their future selves. With each other as their only constant, Charlotte and Renner discover all that’s changed in the time they’ve missed. Charlotte also learns there’s more to Renner than irritating-jock charm, and that reaching the next milestone isn’t as important as what happens in between.

Navigating a series of adventures and a confounding new normal, Charlotte and Renner will do whatever it takes to find a way back to seventeen. But when―and if―they do, what then?

Review:

Charlotte Wu is a super organized high school senior who is preparing for prom. She’s the vice-president of student council, and she has to work with her archenemy, J.T. Renner, who is president. While setting up the decorations for prom, Charlotte falls off a ladder and onto Renner. She opens her eyes in an unfamiliar bed, as a thirty-year-old, with Renner sleeping beside her. Neither of them know how they’ve jumped thirty years into the future. A lot has changed in the past thirteen years, starting with their upcoming wedding. Charlotte has no idea why she would be marrying her enemy, who she’s hated since he stood her up for homecoming in their freshman year. If they want to return to their senior year, they have to figure out why they were sent into the future, and maybe they were meant to be together all along.

13 Going on 30 is one of my favourite rom coms, so I was excited to read this similar story! The movie is mentioned in the book, but to Charlotte, it’s considered a movie from her mom’s generation. Charlotte had such strong feelings of hatred towards Renner, it wasn’t hard for those feelings to be flipped to love. Though there was a misunderstanding that caused their rivalry throughout high school, it made sense that it happened the way it did.

Woke Up Like This is a fun time travel rom com!

Thank you Firefly Distributed Lines for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent, divorce

Have you read Woke Up Like This? What did you think of it?

Review: Patience, Princess Catherine (Young Royals #4)

Title: Patience, Princess Catherine (Young Royals #4)
Author: Carolyn Meyer
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Clarion Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 1, 2004
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

England anxiously awaits Prince Arthur’s betrothed—the Spanish princess who will be its future queen. But when Arthur dies not long after the wedding, Catherine of Aragon’s fate becomes uncertain. Will the king and Catherine’s parents arrange a marriage with Arthur’s brother, Henry, or will she return to Spain a widow? Through all this turmoil, the young princess’s resolve remains unshaken. She will one day be England’s queen . . . no matter how long it takes.

Review:

Spanish Princess Catherine was sent to England to marry Princess Arthur Tudor, the future King. A few months after their wedding, Arthur died, but Catherine stayed in England. For many years, her future remained uncertain. Will she go home to Spain or marry Arthur’s younger brother Henry? Catherine must be patient while she waits, determined to one day be Queen of England.

This is a great middle grade adaptation of Catherine of Aragon’s life. It told her story leading up to her marriage to Henry VIII. Each chapter began with a passage about what Henry was doing at the time and what his feelings were towards Catherine. The story focused on the big events that happened over the eight years that Catherine was left waiting to be Queen.

Patience, Princess Catherine is a great middle grade story for readers interested in history.

Other books in the series:

Mary, Bloody Mary (Young Royals #1)
Beware, Princess Elizabeth (Young Royals #2)
Doomed Queen Anne (Young Royals #3)
Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine De Medici (Young Royals #5)
The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie Antoinette (Young Royals #6)
The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary Queen of Scots (Young Royals #7)

Have you read Patience, Princess Catherine? What did you think of it?

Review: Sinner’s Isle

Title: Sinner’s Isle
Author: Angela Montoya
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Joy Revolution
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A spellbinding romantic fantasy about a powerful witch who will do anything to escape the remote island she’s being held captive on, including blackmail a notorious, charming pirate who washes up on shore, from debut author Angela Montoya.

Rosalinda is trapped on Sinner’s Isle, an island filled with young women like her—Majestics, beautiful witches loathed by society for their dangerous magic yet revered by powerful men who want to use them.

For years, she has been kept under the watchful, calculating eye of Doña Lucia. Now eighteen, Rosa will be the prized commodity at this year’s Offering, a fiesta for the wealthy to engage in drink, damsels, and debauchery. That is why she must flee—before someone forces the vicious phantoms within her to destroy everything she touches.

Handsome, swashbuckling Mariano has long sailed the high seas as the Prince of Pirates. Then the king’s fleet attacks his father’s infamous ship, leaving him marooned on Sinner’s Isle with only an enchanted chain meant to lead him to his heart’s desire. Instead, he falls into the hands of a brazen (although) bewitching headache—Rosa.

Together they must outwit each other and their enemies before the Offering ends and it’s too late to escape the perils of Sinner’s Isle.

Review:

Rosalinda lives on Sinner’s Isle, where she’s been kept for most of her life along with other Majestics, who are witches. Rosa is a powerful Majestic, with shadows that can do her bidding. Every year the Majestics are offered up to powerful men in the world, so they can be bonded for life and use their powers to help the men. It’s Rosa’s year to be offered, and she’s the most powerful girl of the year. Mariano is the son of infamous pirates. When his father dies suddenly, he must escape their ship before his uncles kill him to take his place. Mariano washes up on Sinner’s Isle, where he encounters Rosa. They make a deal for Mariano to help Rosa and her best friend escape their fate as Majestics, but it isn’t easy to escape their destiny.

This was an exciting and original story! It was interesting how the Majestics were both revered and ostracized from society. They had magic powers, so they were used to be bonded with powerful men, but they were also sent to an isolated island away from the rest of society. There were some surprising twists that I didn’t see coming. The story had a great, complete ending, but there is also the possibility for another book in this world in the future.

Sinner’s Isle is a great debut novel!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parents, death, blood, violence

Have you read Sinner’s Isle? What did you think of it?