Contemporary – Page 7 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe (Dream Harbor #1)

Title: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe (Dream Harbor #1)
Author: Laurie Gilmore
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: One More Chapter
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 30, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Jeanie’s aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.

Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor’s gossip at all costs. But Jeanie’s arrival disrupts Logan’s routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.

Will Jeanie’s happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won’t fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes…

Review:

After losing her job after her boss’s death, Jeanie takes over her aunt’s cafe in the small town of Dream Harbor. Logan is a local farmer in Dream Harbor, who has been the subject of town gossip since his last girlfriend rejected his public proposal. Jeanie enlists Logan’s help when things start going wrong in the cafe. Logan is drawn to her, but he’s hesitant to get too attached because he doesn’t want to have his heart broken again.

This was such a cute fall read. The town of Dream Harbor was so much like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. I especially loved their town hall meetings and their quirky mayor who used his dreams to make decisions about the town. I would have loved to see more of these funny aspects of the town, so I hope there will be more of them in the next books in the series.

The Pumpkin Spice is a cute cozy fall romance!

Thank you Frenzy Books for providing a copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore (Dream Harbor #2)

Have you read The Pumpkin Spice Cafe? What did you think of it?

Review: Draw Down the Moon (Moonstruck #1)

Title: Draw Down the Moon (Moonstruck #1)
Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 2, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

New York Times bestsellers P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast return with a new duology set in a dark and magickal world filled with incredible danger and irresistible romance.

Wren Nightingale isn’t supposed to have any powers. Born of magickal parents but not under a moon sign, she was destined for life as a Mundane—right up until she starts glowing on her eighteenth birthday. In a heartbeat, Wren’s life is turned upside down, and she’s suddenly leaving her home for the mystical Academia de la Luna—a secret magickal school on a hidden island off the Seattle coast.

Lee Young has always known about his future at the Academia. He has one goal: pass the trials, impress the Moon Council, and uphold his family’s reputation. But he wasn’t expecting to be attending alongside the girl he’s been secretly in love with for as long as he can remember.

As Wren and Lee are thrown into the Academie’s gruelling trials, they quickly learn there’s something different–and dangerous–about the school this year. Wren will have to navigate a web of secrets, prophecies–and murder. And Lee will have to decide who to protect–his family’s legacy, or the girl he loves.

Review:

Even though eighteen-year-old Wren Nightingale was born to magical parents, she has never shown signs of magic powers. However, on the night of her eighteenth birthday she starts glowing and is whisked away to Academia de la Luna with her best friend, Lee Young. Lee has always known he was going to the academy and he has big ambitions to join the Moon Council. He’s reminded of the death of his sister years before at the academy while he’s there. He wants to restore his family’s reputation since he’s the only child left. However, the school is more dangerous than it ever has been before. Wren and Lee must learn how to control their magic while also fighting to survive the summer.

This is such a thrilling magical story! Though Wren had magical parents, she thought she was a Mundane without powers, like her uncle who has raised her since her parents died. There was a lot about the magical world that she learned through the story, since she didn’t think she needed to learn it before she gained powers. There were some intense scenes involving tragic deaths, which I wasn’t expecting. I enjoyed the twists that were unpredictable!

Draw Down the Moon is a great YA fantasy!

Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parents (off page), death of sibling (off page), drowning, death

Have you read Draw Down the Moon? What did you think of it?

Review: The Mistletoe Mystery (Molly the Maid #2.5)

Title: The Mistletoe Mystery (Molly the Maid #2.5)
Author: Nita Prose
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Molly the Maid has a whole new mystery to solve in this heartwarming novella from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest.

Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet.

But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?

A heartwarming, magical story about the true spirit of the season, The Mistletoe Mysteryreminds us that love is the greatest mystery of all.

Review:

Molly Gray always loved celebrating Christmas with her Gran. Now that she lives with her boyfriend, Juan Manuel, he is trying to continue her traditions and start new ones. Even though he is being very thoughtful with gifts and traditions, Juan is acting strangely. He is speaking to other women and sneaking around at work. At the same time, Molly is a little apprehensive about the Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Hotel, since she was teased at the last one. Molly must figure out what is going on with Juan, so they can have a happy holiday together.

It was so fun to revisit Molly Gray in this holiday novella! There was a little mystery with what Juan was doing, but I guessed what he was planning early in the story. I loved reading about the traditions Molly had with her Gran and the new ones she was starting with Juan.

The Mistletoe Mystery is a fun holiday novella for fans of The Maid!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

Have you read The Mistletoe Mystery? What did you think of it?

Review: Running From Roswell

Title: Running From Roswell
Author: D.A. Busby
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Contemporary
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 25, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Twenty years to the day after insisting aliens abducted his girlfriend, the number one suspect in her disappearance vanishes in the same spot outside Roswell, New Mexico. It’s up to an unlikely duo – Oliver, a disgraced and jaded FBI agent, and Amity, a rookie on the Roswell Police Department and the missing man’s niece – to follow the clues left behind in his journals and solve both missing persons cases. The closer Oliver and Amity get to the truth, a much more earthbound question arises: where do you turn when the love of your life does the unthinkable?

Review:

Twenty years after his girlfriend disappeared without a trace in Roswell, New Mexico, David Van Horn vanishes too. He disappeared on a military base, which made FBI agent Oliver Reagan travel there to investigate. He’s partnered with local officer Amity Rogers, who is the daughter of the chief of police. Amity has a personal connection to the case because Van was her uncle, the brother to her father who left her when she was a baby. Oliver and Amity must figure out what happened to Van, while also grappling with the trauma from their pasts.

This was such a great crime story! There was the question of what happened to Van and his girlfriend Jolene since they vanished from a town that is known for suspected alien abductions. Even though they were investigating for the police, there was always a question of the paranormal hanging over their heads. I was hooked on this story from the beginning, and I couldn’t put it down. There were a few heartbreaking scenes towards the end that did bring tears to my eyes.

I highly recommend checking out Running From Roswell!

Thank you D.A. Busby and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book for a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death, missing person, death of parent, parental abandonment

Have you read Running From Roswell? What did you think of it?

Review: Ghosted

Title: Ghosted
Author: Amanda Quain
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 25, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Never Have I Ever meets The X-Files in Amanda Quain’s Ghosted, a gender-bent contemporary retelling of the Jane Austen classic, Northanger Abbey.

Hattie Tilney isn’t a believer. Yes, she’s a senior at America’s most (allegedly) haunted high school, Northanger Abbey. But ever since her paranormal-loving dad passed away, she’s hung up her Ghostbusters suit, put away the EMF detectors and thermal cameras, and moved on. She has enough to worry about in the land of the living–like taking care of her younger brother, Liam, while their older sister spirals out and their mother, Northanger’s formidable headmistress, buries herself in her work. If Hattie just works hard enough and keeps that overachiever mask on tight through graduation, maybe her mom will finally notice her.

But the mask starts slipping when Hattie’s assigned to be an ambassador to Kit Morland, a golden retriever of a boy who’s transferred to Northanger on—what else—a ghost-hunting scholarship. The two are partnered up for an investigative project on the school’s paranormal activity, and Hattie quickly strikes a deal: Kit will present whatever ghostly evidence he can find to prove that campus is haunted, and Hattie will prove that it’s not. But as they explore the abandoned tunnels and foggy graveyards of Northanger, Hattie starts to realize that Kit might be the kind of person that makes her want to believe in something—and someone—for the first time.

With her signature wit and slow burn romance, Amanda Quain turns another Austen classic on its head in this sparkling retelling that proves sometimes the ghosts are just a metaphor after all.

Review:

Hattie Tilney is a senior at Northanger Abbey. She used to love her dad’s ghost stories and ghost hunting, but since he died, she no longer believes in ghosts. When her mom, headmaster of Northanger Abbey, asks Hattie to guide the new student, Kit Morland, around the school, Hattie agrees to get her mom’s approval. However, Kit is attending the school on a scholarship from a ghost hunting association. Hattie and Kit must work together on an assignment about the ghosts that haunt Northanger Abbey, but while Kit is eager to share their stories, Hattie wants to prove that they don’t exist.

This was a great gender-swapped retelling of Northanger Abbey. Northanger Abbey is told by the perspective of Catherine Morland, who believes in ghosts. I liked that this story is told from the perspective of Hattie, who’s skeptical about ghosts. It gave the story more tension, as she was surrounded by ghost stories and she used to believe in them as a kid.

Ghosted is a great YA ghost story!

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: cancer, death of parent

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

Review: The Unfinished

Title: The Unfinished
Author: Cheryl Isaacs
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Contemporary
Publisher: Heartdrum
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 3, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this debut YA horror novel by Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk), small-town athlete Avery is haunted by the black water and Unfinished beings of Kanyen’kehá:ka stories and must turn to the culture she hasn’t felt connected to in order to save her town.

The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive.

When small-town athlete Avery’s morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook’s Falls have long forgotten.

Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she’s losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery—taking a new form each time—people in town begin to go missing.

Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) relatives, she’s never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.

When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanyen’kehá:ka and save the town but lose her friend forever…or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.

In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs pulls the reader down into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.

Review:

One morning when teenage Avery is on her morning run in the forest, she goes off the trail, gets lost, and finds the legendary black water. She’s always been told to stay on the trails, and now she has awoken the horrors that were lurking in the black water. Avery starts seeing faceless people following her in town, and then people start disappearing. When Avery’s best friend, Key, goes missing, she becomes more determined to find out what is causing these horrors and put an end to it for good.

This was such a creepy thriller. There was so much unknown about the black water that Avery encountered. She had to learn from some elders that were familiar with it, but her family was just her, her mom, and her great-aunt who had dementia, so her resources were limited. As the disappearances got closer to Avery, the story became more suspenseful and scary. Read this one with the lights on!

The Unfinished is a great horror!

Thank you Frenzy Books for providing a copy of this book!

Have you read The Unfinished? What did you think of it?

Review: Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1)

Title: Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1)
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar – and maybe snag him as a prom date – even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love – and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.

Review:

Liz Buxbaum loves rom coms because it connects her to her mom who passed away when she was a child. She dreams of having her own romance her childhood crush, Michael, who moved away when they were kids. Now, Michael has moved back to town. Liz wants to have her rom com moment with Michael and go to prom with him. She convinces her next-door neighbour and frenemy Wes to help her get Michael to notice her. However, the more time Liz spends with Wes, she wonders if he’s meant to be the romantic lead in her love story.

This was such a cute romance! I loved all the references to rom com movies and books. Liz was living her own rom com. At first, Wes convinced her to change things about herself to attract Michael. Liz eventually had to learn the hard lesson that it’s important to find someone who loves you for who you are, not to turn yourself into someone different to please someone else.

Better Than the Movies is a cute YA rom com!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent (off page), car accident, vomiting, blood

Other books in the series:

Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2)

Have you read Better Than the Movies? What did you think of it?

Review: Icebreaker (UCMH #1)

Title: Icebreaker (UCMH #1)
Author: Hannah Grace
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills, and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?

Review:

Anastasia Allen is a competitive figure skater at University of California, Maple Hills, who is trying to get to the Olympics in two years. Nate Hawkins is the captain of the UCMH hockey team. When one of their rink facilities is destroyed by their rivals, the figure skaters and hockey players must use the same rink for months. Nate likes Anastasia when they meet at a hockey house party, but her skating partner, Aaron, gets jealous and makes life hard for Anastasia. Despite not liking hockey, Anastasia realizes she’s starting to fall for a hockey player.

This was such a spicy romance! I loved Anastasia and Nathan. One part that was really disturbing was the way Anastasia was treated by her skating partner. He was manipulative in a way that wasn’t obvious at first but later became undeniable. A character who I loved was a hockey player named Henry! I’m so glad that the third book in the series is his love story!

Icebreaker is a spicy hockey/skating romance!

Content warnings: disordered eating, death of parent (off page)

Other books in the series:

Wildfire (UCMH #2)
Daydream (CUMH#3)

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

Review: Return to Midnight

Title: Return to Midnight
Author: Emma Dues
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Source: Firefly Books Distributed Lines
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 27, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

On the anniversary of a savage mass murder, a survivor returns to the scene of the crime―and all its buried secrets―in a twisting novel of suspense.

Nearly ten years ago, five Ohio university students were murdered in an off-campus Victorian home. The media dubbed it the Midnight House Massacre. Ever since, survivor and novelist Margot Davis has wanted to forget it, and never again utter the killer’s name. Until she’s compelled to write her side of the story. To do that, she’s returning to Midnight House.

It’ll be a chance for Margot to reconnect with other survivors, heal the trauma, and dispel the ugly conspiracy theories of obsessed true crime fanatics. But when news of Margot’s book gets out, she receives a threatening note that demands she stop lying. Or else. It chills Margot’s blood. Because she hasn’t been telling the whole truth.

As the threats continue, each more sinister than the last, a journalist comes to Margot with new suspicions about that brutal October night. Now, to save her own life, Margot must reveal her well-guarded secrets―ones that, for good reason, she’s been too terrified to share.

Review:

Almost ten years ago, five college students were massacred in their home called Midnight House. Margot Davis was one of the survivors, and she’s still traumatized from the murders of her best friends. Another one of her best friends was convicted for the murders, but he has always maintained his innocence. Margot decides to finally tell her side of the story and write a book about the murders, so she returns to Midnight House, which is now owned by her friends and other survivors, to do research. However, when her book is announced, Margot starts getting threats, telling her to stop lying about the massacre. Margot does have secrets from her college years, but she can’t figure out who would threaten her about them. She must figure out who is sending the threats before she’s the next victim.

This was the scariest thriller I’ve read in a long time. It was creepy and fast paced. I was hooked right from the first page. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. There were some graphic scenes, that were more like a horror story, but the suspense made this a thrilling read!

Return to Midnight is a thrilling debut!

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

Content warnings: death, blood, vomiting, stabbing, overdose, gaslighting

Have you read Return to Midnight? What did you think of it?

Review: I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 3, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop and Red, White & Royal Blue comes a debut YA romantic comedy about chasing down what you want, only to find what you need…

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.

But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.

On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.

Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.

Fierce, funny, and frank, Casey McQuiston’s I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about breaking the rules, getting messy, and finding love in unexpected places.

Review:

Chloe Green is competing with Shara Wheeler to be valedictorian at her conservative Christian school. After prom night, Shara vanishes without a trace. Everyone in school is obsessed with her and wondering where she is, and Chloe can’t help but be curious too. Shara randomly kissed Chloe in school one day, and Chloe thinks that has something to do with her disappearance. While she’s searching for answers, Chloe discovers that Shara left cryptic notes for her boyfriend Smith and her next door neighbour Rory. Though they don’t have anything else in common, Chloe, Smith, and Rory follow the clues that Shara left behind to figure out the secrets Shara has been keeping.

This was a great YA novel. Chloe had two moms and she was bisexual, so she was constantly fighting against the homophobic rules that were in place at her school. Shara seemed like a Regina George-type character at the beginning. She was the most popular girl in school and everyone seemed to be obsessed with her. However, there was more to her, and to most of the students at their school, than there appeared to be on the surface. I really liked the twist that happened once they solved all of Shara’s clues!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a great queer YA romance!

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: homophobia

Have you read I Kissed Shara Wheeler? What did you think of it?