Contemporary – Page 29 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Beth and Amy

Title: Beth and Amy
Author: Virginia Kantra
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Retelling
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Four sisters face new beginnings in this heartfelt modern take on Little Women by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.
Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she’d like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York’s competitive fashion industry, ambitious Amy is determined to get out of her sisters’ shadow and keep her distance from their North Carolina hometown. But when Jo’s wedding forces her home, she must face what she really wants…and confront the One Big Mistake that could upend her life and forever change her relationship with Jo.
Gentle, unassuming Beth grew up as the good girl of the family. A talented singer-songwriter, she’s overcome her painful anxiety to tour with country superstar Colt Henderson. But life on the road has taken its toll on her health and their relationship. Maybe a break to attend her sister’s wedding will get her out of her funk. But Beth realizes that what she’s looking for and what she needs are two very different things….
With the March women reunited, this time with growing careers and families, they must once again learn to lean on one another as they juggle the changes coming their way.

Review:

In this sequel to Meg and Jo, Beth and Amy March are called back to their hometown in North Carolina for their sister Jo’s wedding. They appear to be leading exciting lives, but there is a lot hidden beneath the surface. Beth is on tour with her country singer boyfriend, but she’s suffering in secret with her health. Amy has designed a successful line of purses, but she really wants to find love with the one man who doesn’t love her back. All of the March women are reunited again as they find their places in the world and their family.

I haven’t read Little Men, the sequel to Little Men, so I was surprised at what happened in this novel. I won’t give any spoilers, but Amy’s love interest was quite surprising to me. I didn’t like that relationship at the beginning, but by the end of the book I was rooting for them to be together. These characters were so well developed that I changed my mind about them and I loved them at the end.

I like the way this retelling has been adapted to a modern setting. For example, Beth’s illness of scarlet fever in Little Women was turned into an eating disorder in this story. Beth having an eating disorder and anxiety makes it more relatable to a modern audience, rather than having scarlet fever like she had in the original book. The personalities of the characters were the same as in the original book and they fulfilled the same character roles, but in a modern setting.

Beth and Amy is a great retelling of Little Women.

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

Other books in the series:

Meg and Jo

Have you read Beth and Amy? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: Talk Bookish to Me

Title: Talk Bookish to Me
Author: Kate Bromley
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: VIZ Media
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook, Paperback arc
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources.
Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential Bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.
But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver.
With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?

Review:

Kara Sullivan is a romance writer on a deadline. Her best friend is getting married, so she has that stress on top of her work. Before the wedding, Kara meets the groom’s best friend, who happens to be Kara’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan. Ryan was Kara’s first love and they had a devastating break up ten years ago. Now, Kara and Ryan are thrown together in the wedding planning. Spending time with Ryan actually gives Kara inspiration for her novel. Since Kara is finally making progress on her book, she decides to give Ryan a second chance to make their own happily every after.

This was such a sweet and emotional romance. I could relate to Kara as a writer. She had written books in the past but she was struggling with her current idea. Sometimes, you just need the right inspiration to keep moving forward. Ryan was the key to finishing her novel. She used the formula of a romance plot to guide her relationship with Ryan, to hopefully make it last this time.

Since this was a romance novel, I knew something would happen to divide Kara and Ryan before they could show their strength and become a real couple. Ryan seemed like a dream guy to me, especially since he could discuss romance novels with Kara, which made what he did almost unforgivable. I was so heartbroken for Kara, and I don’t know if I would have forgiven Ryan. I was glad that the story picked up and had a happier, romantic ending.

Talk Bookish to Me is a fun bookish rom com!

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

About the author:

KATE BROMLEY lives in New York City with her husband, son, and her somewhat excessive collection of romance novels (It’s not hoarding if it’s books, right?). She was a preschool teacher for seven years and is now focusing full-time on combining her two great passions – writing swoon-worthy love stories and making people laugh. Talk Bookish to Me is her first novel.

Where to buy:

Have you read Talk Bookish to Me? What did you think of it?

Review: Strong Like the Sea

Title: Strong Like the Sea
Author: Wendy S. Swore
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Featuring a secret ocean code with a hidden message for YOU to decipher!
Even though twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii, she won’t surf or swim with her friends—not since the ocean and its hidden creatures swept her out to sea. Instead, she grabs her best detective hat and decodes her mom’s latest challenge
Alex’s mom works in counterintelligence and leaves codes, ciphers, and puzzles behind for Alex to solve, always with a “treasure” at the end. It’s a brilliant game between them, and Alex loves figuring out her mom’s puzzles—especially the tricky ones—but when an emergency at sea puts her mom in possible danger, solving the next one suddenly feels far more urgent.
Friends help as Alex races to decipher each clue before time runs out, but when the trail leads to grumpy old Uncle, his enormous dog Sarge, and a sea turtle unlike any other, the challenge changes into something bigger than any before. With storms on the horizon and lives on the line, Alex must face her fears to solve Mom’s challenge and save those she loves. With her ohana to help, she must be strong like the sea.

Review:

Twelve-year-old Alexis was born in Hawaii but she’s scared of the water. Her mom travels with the navy, and she leaves codes and puzzles for Alexis to solve while she’s gone. Alexis has to solve her most difficult puzzle yet. She needs help to solve it, including from her grumpy Uncle. Before she can finish it, her mom goes missing. This becomes Alexis’s most important challenge, as she races to finish it to make her mom proud.

I would have loved this book when I was a kid. I loved puzzles and mystery stories. Alexis had many different types of puzzles to solve, including treasure hunts and codes. These sounded so fun, and may spark an interest in puzzles for young readers.

I loved the island setting. I haven’t been to Hawaii but I definitely want to go after reading this story. There were many Hawaiian terms used throughout the story, but they were either explained in the context of the sentence or in the glossary at the end. Food was an important part of the story as well. Most of it sounded really delicious, except for the stinky fruit they used to make a healing tea. I loved learning about Hawaiian culture in this story.

Strong Like the Sea is a great middle grade novel!

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

Review: Cool for the Summer

Title: Cool for the Summer
Author: Dahlia Adler
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lara’s had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he’s talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe…flirting, even? No, wait, he’s definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara’s wanted out of life.
Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she’s finally got the guy, why can’t she stop thinking about the girl?
Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

Review:

Lara has had a crush on Chase Harding, the star quarterback at her school, for six years. When she starts her senior year, Chase finally notices her and starts flirting with her immediately. However, Lara isn’t the same girl she used to be. She spent the summer with her mom at her mom’s boss’s summer house where she met Jasmine, the daughter of her mom’s boss. Lara and Jasmine had a summer romance that Lara thought was in the past since Jasmine was going back to her home with her mom. Now that Jasmine has moved to Lara’s school, she is a constant reminder of their summer fling. Lara has to wonder if it was just a fling and she should enjoy the attention from Chase, or if she has deeper feelings for Jasmine.

This was such a fun story. It would be perfect for summer because there were many scenes from Lara and Jasmine’s summer spent at the beach. There were also lots of feelings in this book. Lara was experiencing so many emotions, with her surprise feelings for Jasmine and her dreams of dating Chase coming true. This was a heart pounding story about figuring out your teenage romantic feelings.

This story explored what it means to identify as bisexual. In other novels that I’ve read with bi characters, they have a hard time defining their feelings. Lara had always had a crush on Chase so she assumed she was straight. When those feelings were finally recognized by him, she thought she had to be with him since that was her dream. However, she started to question her sexuality after having a relationship with a girl. For some reason, it’s sometimes difficult for people to accept that people can like both girls and boys, including the person experiencing those feelings themself. It’s possible to identify as bisexual and be in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex or the same sex, without being identified as straight or gay. Lara had to come to terms with her feelings before she could become her true self.

Cool for the Summer is the perfect summer read!

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

Review: The Last Thing He Told Me

Title: The Last Thing He Told Me
Author: Laura Dave
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

We all have stories we never tell.
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her.
Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

Review:

The day that Owen Michaels goes missing, he sends a note to his wife that says “Protect her.” His wife, Hannah Hall, knows that the note is referring to his daughter, Bailey. Hannah has never been close to her stepdaughter, but now she has to protect her. Then, they find out what happened. The company that Owen works for is being charged with fraud, and his boss and closest friend has been arrested. Owen has disappeared without a trace. The more that Hannah searches for him, the more she has to realize that her husband isn’t the man she thought he was.

This was such a suspenseful read. I read some reviews that said this story had a slow pace. I don’t think it was slow, but it wasn’t action packed like a lot of popular thrillers. The chapters were short which always makes me read a book faster. This was more of a psychological suspense story, without a lot of explosive action.

This story kept me guessing until the end. I really had no idea where the story was going to go, so I had to keep reading to find out. The pieces of the puzzle of what happened with Owen unraveled slowly and everything came together at the end. I would have liked a more impactful ending, but I was pleased with where they ended up.

The Last Thing He Told Me is a suspenseful thriller!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Rescue at Lake Wild

Title: Rescue at Lake Wild
Author: Terry Lynn Johnson
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 27, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this funny and moving animals-in-peril adventure, a twelve-year-old girl and her two best friends determine to rescue two orphaned beaver kits—and soon find themselves trying to solve a local environmental crisis.
Everyone knows that twelve-year-old Madison “Madi” Lewis is not allowed to bring home any more animals. After she’s saved hairless mice, two birds, a rabbit, and a stray tom cat that ended up destroying the front porch, Madi’s parents decide that if they find one more stray animal in the house, she won’t be allowed to meet Jane Goodall at an upcoming gala event.
But when Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, rescue beaver kits whose mother was killed, they find themselves at the center of a local conspiracy that’s putting the beavers and their habitats in danger. As Madi and her friends race to uncover the threat targeting the beavers, Madi must put her animal whisperer skills to the test in both raising the orphaned beaver kits and staying out of trouble long enough.

Review:

Twelve-year-old Madi Lewis is known for rescuing animals. She’s banned from bringing any more home. When her and her friends Jack and Aaron find a mother beaver who was killed, Madi insists on finding her babies and saving them. Madi brings the two baby beavers home and hides them from her family. Madi and her friends look after the baby beavers while also searching for the person who shot the babies’ mother.

This is a great story to introduce children to looking after wildlife. Madi had some experience with helping her grandmother rescue wildlife, so she knew what to do with the baby beavers. She had to use her own knowledge to look after them, including mimicking what their mother would do to keep them warm and make them food. Interacting with wildlife can also be dangerous, so she had to be cautious while handling the babies.

This story reminded me of the Animal Ark series that I read when I was a kid. Those books were about kids rescuing and helping animals. These stories about kids helping animals can get them interested in going outside and learning about nature.

Rescue at Lake Wild is a great middle grade story!

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

Blog Tour Review: Made in Korea

Title: Made in Korea
Author: Sarah Suk
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook, Paperback arc
Release Date: May 18, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Frankly in Love meets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads—and maybe fall in love—while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.
There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.
Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…
What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.
Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.
But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

Review:

Valerie Kwon has a business with her cousin at school where they sell Korean beauty products. Valerie is saving her money to take her grandmother on a trip to Paris in the summer before she starts college. In their senior year, Wes Jung moves to town. His mother works for a company that manages a popular K-Pop band. When Wes’s mother gives him some K-Pop cosmetics to bring to school to give to his friends, he learns what a lucrative business it could be to sell them. Wes wants to save money to pursue music studies in college, which his parents don’t approve of. Wes becomes major competition for Valerie’s business. Their competition gets intense, leading them to make an all or nothing bet. What they don’t count on is falling for each other, but only one business can win in the end.

The idea of student run businesses in high schools has pros and cons. It’s a great way for young people to learn about how to run a business and manage money. There were a couple of other student businesses, other than Valerie’s and Wes’s, but those were the two cosmetic ones so they were direct competitors. There were a few opportunities throughout the years for the businesses to sell their products and earn awards.

There were also consequences to these kinds of businesses that were addressed in the story. The students were earning real money with these businesses. That made the stakes much higher since Valerie and Wes had big plans for their potential earnings. This also made them take chances with their businesses that had moral and legal consequences. Valerie and Wes had to deal with the consequences of breaking the rules with their businesses. This story accurately represented what could go wrong with a student run business.

Made in Korea is a great young adult novel!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Sarah Suk (pronounced like soup with a K) lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes stories and admires mountains. When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the water, taking film photos, or eating a bowl of bingsu. You can visit her on Twitter and Instagram @sarahaelisuk.

Sarah is represented by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency.

Tour Schedule:

May 17th
Nine Bookish Lives – Interview and Review
Emelie’s Books – Review, Favourite Quotes & Mood Board
Read in the Clouds – Review
HerBookishObsession – Review & Mood Board

May 18th
The Book Dutchesses – Review
teatimelit – Review
Midsummer Night’s Read – Review
Jill’s Book Blog – Review

May 19th
The Book View – Review
Sincerely, Manasa – Book Look
The Book Review Crew – Review & Favourite Quotes

May 20th
sunnysidereviews – Interview
Confessions of a YA Reader – Review
iambibliomane – Review
Kait Plus Books – Promo Post

May 21st
Stuck in Fiction – Promo Post
Diary Of A Bookgirl – Review, Playlist & Mood Board
Thindbooks Blog – Review
Rania’s Rambling Reads – Review & Playlist

May 22nd
DJREADSBOOKS – Review & Favourite Quotes
B for Bookslut – Review & Favourite Quotes
Ellie Turns the Page – Review & Favourite Quotes

May 23rd
Living, Loving and Reading – Interview
Thin Bookish Girl – Review, Favourite Quotes & Mood Board
Storme Reads A Lot – Review & Top 5 Reasons to Read Made in Korea
Belle’s Archive – Review

Where to buy:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Made-Korea-Sarah-Suk/dp/1534474374/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Made+in+Korea+by+Sarah+Suk&qid=1615752839&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/made-in-korea-sarah-suk/1137941907

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Made-Korea-Sarah-Suk/9781534474376?ref=grid-view&qid=1615752846689&sr=1-1

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/made-in-korea/9781534474376-item.html?ikwid=Made+in+Korea+by+Sarah+Suk&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=7bde4a04f6ad4431d17461508ad58dd0

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781534474376

Giveaway:

One winner will receive a finished copy of Made in Korea. The giveaway will end on May 24^th.

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fc15a59531/

Have you read Made in Korea? What did you think of it?

Review: Just Pretend

Title: Just Pretend
Author: Tori Sharp
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 18, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A graphic memoir, in which a young girl uses her active imagination to navigate middle school as well as the fallout from her parents’ divorce.
Tori has never lived in just one world.
Since her parents’ divorce, she’s lived in both her mom’s house and her dad’s new apartment. And in both places, no matter how hard she tries, her family still treats her like a little kid. Then there’s school, where friendships old and new are starting to feel more and more out of her hands.
Thankfully, she has books-and writing. And now the stories she makes up in her head just might save her when everything else around her—friendships, school, family—is falling apart.

Review:

Seventh grader Tori lives with her mom and her older twin siblings, and she visits her dad on weekends. Her parents treat her as a little kid, even though she’s growing up. At school, she struggles with making new friends and keeping her old ones. When they begin to bond over their love of writing or their friendships, something comes between them. Tori continues to write her own story while she tries to cope with the rest of her life.

In this graphic novel, Tori has to deal with many issues of growing up. She had problems at home, with juggling the two homes of her parents, as well as older siblings who liked to tease and bully her. She also had problems at school with her friends and her school work. The middle school years are filled with emotional relationships. Between her family and friends, Tori had to figure out many relationship dynamics that come with growing up.

I could relate to Tori in this story. Tori tried to write a story with her best friend, and I did the same thing in middle school. My friends got bored with writing after a while, like Tori’s did, but writing is still my passion. I could relate to the way Tori got lost in her fantasy world. I think other young artists will be able to relate to Tori as well.

Just Pretend is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: From Little Tokyo, with Love

Title: From Little Tokyo, with Love
Author: Sarah Kuhn
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Celebrated author Sarah Kuhn reinvents the modern fairy tale in this intensely personal yet hilarious novel of a girl whose search for a storybook ending takes her to unexpected places in both her beloved LA neighborhood and her own guarded heart.
If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale–being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business–she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn’t quite fit the princess mold.
All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness–searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo’s hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe…finally finding a sense of belonging.
But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn’t so kind. Rika knows she’s setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don’t happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Rika doesn’t believe in fairytales. Her two cousins, who she was raised with, are named after Disney Princesses: Belle and Aurora. Rika has never felt like she fit in anywhere. Her mother died in childbirth, and never knew her father, so she was raised by her aunts. Rika is half Japanese, so she has never fit in with their traditional Japanese community. She’s even too aggressive in her judo classes, with a reputation for biting a boy. Rika’s life changes when she catches the eye of Grace Kimura, the most popular rom-com actress, at a parade. That chance meeting makes Rika question the story behind what happened to her mother. Along with Hank Chen, a hot young actor, Rika goes on a hunt around LA to find her mother.

I loved the fairy tale aspects of this book. Rika’s family was obsessed with fairy tales. Her cousins were named after princesses, and they constantly watched romantic comedies. Since Rika didn’t feel like she belonged in her family or community, she didn’t think she deserved her happily ever after. Once she met her prince, Hank Chen, her life turned into the rom com she never expected.

A big theme of this story was fitting in. Rika didn’t feel like she fit in with her family, since she wasn’t a sibling, and she didn’t fit in with the Japanese community since she was only half Japanese. Rika felt like she was the only one to experience it, but then she learned that everyone feels left out at some point in their lives. Even the people who seem to get along with everyone wherever they go, don’t fit in everywhere. It’s easy to think that a problem is unique to yourself, but once you talk about it, you can learn what you have in common with everyone else.

From Little Tokyo, With Love was such a fun rom com!

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

Blog Tour Review: Lucky Girl

Title: Lucky Girl
Author: Jamie Pacton
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A hilarious and poignant reflection on what money can and cannot fix

58,642,129. That’s how many dollars seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won in the lotto jackpot. It’s also about how many reasons she has for not coming forward to claim her prize.
Problem #1: Jane is still a minor, and if anyone discovers she bought the ticket underage, she’ll either have to forfeit the ticket, or worse . . .
Problem #2: Let her hoarder mother cash it. The last thing Jane’s mom needs is millions of dollars to buy more junk. Then . . .
Problem #3: Jane’s best friend, aspiring journalist Brandon Kim, declares on the news that he’s going to find the lucky winner. It’s one thing to keep her secret from the town — it’s another thing entirely to lie to her best friend. Especially when . . .
Problem #4: Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Holden, is suddenly back in her life, and he has big ideas about what he’d do with the prize money. As suspicion and jealousy turn neighbor against neighbor, and no good options for cashing the ticket come forward, Jane begins to wonder: Could this much money actually be a bad thing

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather buys a lottery ticket on a whim one day and ends up winning the $58 million jackpot. There are a few reason she can’t cash it. First of all, she’s underage. She could wait until she turns eighteen, but she still bought the ticket while underage so she would face a misdemeanor if she claimed it. She could let her mother cash it, but that is another problem. Her mother is a hoarder who has been filling their home with other people’s discarded mementos since Jane’s father died. If Jane’s mother cashed in the lottery ticket, Jane is afraid of what she would spend it on. Jane’s best friend Bran wants to be a journalist, so he investigates the mysterious lottery winner. At the same time, Jane’s ex-boyfriend also wants to find out who the winner is because he has big plans of what he would do with the jackpot. As time goes on, there is more excitement around who won the lottery ticket in their small town, and Jane has to decide what she’s going to do with it.

This is the third novel that I’ve read in the past month about someone winning the lottery. In two of those books, the person couldn’t cash it in because they are or would be in trouble with the law. Everyone dreams of winning the lottery, but it isn’t the dream that is seems. Jane and Bran researched past lottery winners and read about the horrible turns their lives took after winning. Many ended up dead or bankrupt. The lottery seems like it would solve all of life’s problems, but it causes a lot of new problems.

One thing I didn’t really believe was the ending of the story. I won’t give away what Jane’s ultimate decision was in terms of if she cashed in the ticket or not. She talked so much about what the future could be like if she cashed in the ticket, and I don’t think the future she had planned at the end of the story was believable. It went against what he learned throughout the story about past lottery winners. This was a YA story, so it had a positive outcome, but I don’t think it was the most realistic ending.

This is a thought-provoking read!

Thank you Page Street Kids and TBR and Beyond for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Jamie Pacton is a Young Adult and Middle Grade author who grew up minutes away from the National Storytelling Center in the mountains of East Tennessee. She has a BA and MA in English Literature, and currently teaches English at the college level. While pursuing her dream of being an author, she worked as a waitress, pen salesperson, lab assistant, art museum guard, bookseller, pool attendant, nanny, and lots of other weird jobs in between. Her writing has appeared in national and local magazines, and she spent many years blogging for Parents.com. Currently, Jamie lives in Wisconsin with her family and a dog named Lego. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly is her YA debut novel and her sophomore novel, Lucky Girl, is forthcoming in Spring 2021. She has also published a MG novel, Farfetched, under the pen name Finn Colazo.

Tour Schedule:

May 10th
HerBookishObsession – Interview
Rania’s Rambling Reads – Review & Mood Board
Rae’s Reading Lounge – Review & Favourite Quotes
Featherboundbooks – Review

May 11th
Fangirl Pixie Blog – Review
The Mind of a Book Dragon – Review & Journal Spread
Jill’s Book Blog – Review

May 12th
Nine Bookish Lives – Review
Kait Plus Books – Review & Journal Spread
Melancholic Blithe – Review & Playlist

May 13th
Stuck in Fiction – Interview
BookishEnds – Review & Mood Board
Julie Anna’s Books – Review & Journal Spread

May 14th
The Writer’s Alley – Review, Playlist & Mood Board
Pages & Plots – Promo Post
The Clever Reader – Review & Top 5 Reasons to Read Lucky Girl

May 15th
The Book Dutchesses – Review
Confessions of a YA Reader – Review & Favourite Quotes
iambibliomane – Review

May 16th
Shelf Love – Interview
Storme Reads A Lot – Review & Own Experience Post
Midsummer Night’s Read – Review

Where to buy:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44779664-lucky-girl

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Girl-Jamie-Pacton/dp/1645672085/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lucky+girl+by+jamie+pacton&qid=1615045241&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lucky-girl-jamie-pacton/1137455966?ean=9781645672081

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Lucky-Girl-Jamie-Pacton/9781645672081?ref=grid-view&qid=1615045238562&sr=1-1

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/lucky-girl/9781645672081-item.html?ikwid=lucky+girl+by+jamie+pacton&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=b734b7585532adac97e9a92d68f5e745

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781645672081

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