This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Summery Colours, so these are my Summery Covers. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
Did you make a Six for Sunday list?
Title: The Passing Playbook
Author: Isaac Fitzsimons
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Love, Simon meets Friday Night Lights in this feelgood LGBTQ+ romance about a trans teen torn between standing up for his rights and staying stealth.
‘A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story’ – Becky Albertalli
Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a Messi-in-training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio.
At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy’s soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans – he’s passing.
So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him after he discovers the ‘F’ on Spencer’s birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even if it means coming out to everyone – including the guy he’s falling for.
Spencer Harris starts at a new private high school in his sophomore year after being bullied and receiving death threats at his old school for being transgender. Spencer is starting this school with a fresh start as a boy, without coming out. He had played soccer in middle school, and was excited to play on the high school team. It gets more complicated when he starts to like one of his teammates, Justice. Spencer is one of the best players on the team, until the coach learns that Spencer’s birth certificate lists him as a female, which would disqualify the team from playing in the final tournament. Spencer has to figure out how to continue being himself while also fighting for queer and transgender rights.
This story had such a cute romance. Spencer and Justice were perfect together. There was a lot of tension in their relationship because Spencer wasn’t out as transgender and Justice wasn’t out as gay. They had to hide their relationship from a lot of people but I was rooting for them the entire time.
There were some devastating scenes in this story. Spencer was lucky to have such a supportive family. They were learning along the way with Spencer, but they made an effort to figure everything out to make his life the best it could be. Even though he had his family’s support, Spencer still had to change schools because he was in danger. Justice was from an extremely religious family who didn’t hide their homophobia. Their school also wasn’t that open to making the school as accessible to queer students, even though they were considered progressive. Spencer’s story was uplifting, but there was a lot of homophobia and transphobia around him.
The Passing Playbook is a heartwarming transgender love story.
Thank you Penguin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read The Passing Playbook? What did you think of it?
Title: The Betrayed (The Betrothed #2)
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 29, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★
Kiera Cass brings another sparkling romance to a stunning conclusion in this sequel to the instant #1 New York Timesbestseller The Betrothed.
Can you follow your heart when it’s already broken?
After fleeing Coroa and leaving the memory of her beloved Silas behind, Hollis is unsteadily adjusting to life in Isolte. The Eastoffe family’s affection is a balm on her weary spirit, though Etan, a surly cousin with a deep distaste for Coroans, threatens to upset the uneasy peace she’s found.
While tensions at home ratchet up, disquiet in the kingdom of Isolte is reaching a fever pitch. The Eastoffes may have the power to unseat a tyrannical king—but only with Hollis’s help.
Can a girl who’s lost it all put the fate of her adopted homeland over the secret longings of her heart?
In this sequel to The Betrothed, newly widowed Hollis escapes to the neighbouring country of Isolte with her husband’s family. Her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Hollis are accompanied by her husband’s cousin, Etan Eastoffe, to his family’s home. Hollis knows that King Quinten is responsible for the deaths of her husband and her parents, so she is eager for revenge. The Eastoffes are a powerful family who have the ability to fight back against the King. Hollis has to risk everything again to make things right.
I’ve seen a lot of criticism of the first book but I loved it. It was unconventional and didn’t follow the traditional fantasy romance storyline. Hollis didn’t end up with the love interest from the beginning of the story, and the man who she chose ended up dying in the end. This was such a shocking ending that I was excited it’s really where the story was going to go in this book.
Hollis didn’t make as many wild choices in this book as she did in the first one. She had the team of her new family to support her decisions and help her. I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance in this book. It was more predictable than in the first book, but I loved it. I was worried that the ending wasn’t going to be what I hoped, but I was pleased with it.
The Betrayed definitely lived up to my expectations!
Have you read The Betrayed? What did you think of it?
Title: Tell Me When You Feel Something
Author: Vicki Grant
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: VIZ Media
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 15, 2021
Rating: ★★★★
The perfect after-school job turns deadly for teens working as simulated patients at the local med school. Everyone has something to hide and no one is safe in this contemporary YA thriller that exposes the dark reality of #MeToo in the world of medicine, for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.
It seemed like a cool part-time program — being a simulated patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose — but each has a reason why they can’t tell the truth.
Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren’t the only people pretending to be something they’re not . . .
Viv worked with her friends as simulated patients for medical students. It seemed like an innocent job, but after a party, Viv ends up in a coma from an overdose. No one can believe that she would have taken drugs on purpose, but there’s a lot about Viv’s life that no one knew. Through the accounts of her friends Davida and Tim, as well as police interviews and Viv’s own narrative, the story of what really happened to Viv is slowly pieced together.
This was an intense and unpredictable thriller. There were lots of twists throughout the story. Every time the narrative switched to a different character, I wanted to continue the previous narrative. I figured out part of what was going on with Viv pretty early. However I couldn’t figure out the connection with the overdose, so that was a surprise.
I don’t want to give spoilers but there were some potentially triggering parts of this book. There was alcohol abuse, drug abuse, parental abandonment, sexual assault, and rape. These parts made the book quite intense and disturbing at times. They were integral to the plot but also potentially triggering.
Tell Me When You Feel Something is an intense young adult thriller!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Tell Me When You Feel Something? What did you think of it?
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 City of Villains (City of Villains #1) by Estelle Laure.
Disney’s Villains meet Gotham in this gritty fairy tale-inspired crime series.
Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City police department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar—once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.
When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster lurking in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.
This dark and edgy YA series explores the reimagined origins of Maleficent, Ursula, Captain Hook, and other infamous Disney Villains like you’ve never seen before.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: How to Survive in the North
Author: Luke Healy
Genre: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Nobrow Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: November 15, 2016
Rating: ★★★★
With stunning narrative skill, this compelling graphic novel intricately weaves together true-life narratives from 1912, 1926 and a fictional story set in the present day. How To Survive in the North is an unforgettable journey of love and loss, showing the strength it takes to survive in the harshest conditions.
2013: Sully Barnaby is put on leave from the university where he works after having a relationship with a student. He finds comfort in the library, researching the Arctic expeditions of 1912 and 1926. The 1912 expedition follows a grumpy captain, Robert Bartlett, whose ship ends up stranded on a deserted island. In 1926, another group of explorers went on the same expedition. Ada Blackjack told their story of being stranded on the same island.
All of the characters in these three alternating narratives have to deal with some kind of crisis. Sully had a midlife crisis after being placed on a leave of absence. Bartlett and Blackjack had to solve problems to survive in the Arctic. Bartlett was a captain who had to make decisions to save his crew. Blackjack had to learn survival skills, such as how to hunt, so that she could survive until she was rescued. They all faced different forms of crisis and survivals.
Each of these stories were devastating in their own ways. Sully lost all of his life’s work and had to give up his job because of the relationship he had with his student. He learned from reading about the Arctic expeditions how to pick up his life and continue on. The 1912 and 1926 narratives were set in harsh living conditions. Many people died on those expeditions. They also had to hunt and kill animals to survive. Some of these scenes were upsetting to read, but they reflect that period and place in history.
How to Survive in the North is a fascinating graphic novel about the Arctic expeditions.
Thank you Nobrow Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read How to Survive in the North? What did you think of it?
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 Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. The expected publication date is July 27, 2021.
The new domestic suspense novel from the New York Timesbestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Someone We Know who has sold more than 7 million copies of her books worldwide
In this family, everyone is keeping secrets–especially the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there. And they don’t come much richer than Fred and Sheila Mercer. But even all their money can’t protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mercers are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.
Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you’d know.
Wouldn’t you?
What books are you waiting on this week?
Title: Instamom
Author: Chantel Guertin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 29, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★
Fans of Lauren Weisberger and Emily Henry won’t want to miss this funny, sexy, and emotional novel that looks at modern relationships, modern choices, and redefining—not to mention rebranding—your dreams, through the eyes of an Instagram influencer.
A PopSugar Beach Reads Selection
In this #funny, #wise, #emotionally compelling look at modern love and finding your true path, a proudly kid-free influencer meets the ultimate #dealbreaker . . .
It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.
Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?
Kit Kidding is a Toronto influencer who promotes brands and her child-free lifestyle. She’s created a community for women who choose to not have children. When she meets Will MacGregor, a local chef, there’s an instant attraction. They end up working together on a brand promotion. However, when Kit learns that Will has a daughter, she second guesses their relationship. Being seen with a child would ruin Kit’s no-children brand. Even though his daughter, Addie, is smart and lovable, Kit is reluctant to be in a relationship with a man with a child because she doesn’t want to be a mother. Kit must decide if she will choose love or keep up her brand that she’s outgrowing.
Kit Kidding created a community for women who don’t want to have children. I think that it’s crazy that people think they have the right to judge people, particularly women, for their choice not to have children. I’ve heard it so many times, but it’s not anyone’s business if a woman has a child, whether by choice or not. Kit had to create this community so that women had a safe place to go to be with people who also chose not to have children.
Kit was also an Instagram influencer, so this story showed the positives and negatives of influencer lifestyle. Kit got to go to exclusive events and meet lots of people. However, she also had to promote brands that she didn’t want to use. She didn’t cook, but she had a contract to promote a food kit brand. Will solved this problem by cooking the food for her. It can make influencers lose their credibility if they promote brands just for the money and not because they actually like the brand. Kit had to figure out how to adjust her brand so that it suited the person she grew into by the end of the story.
Instamom is a fun contemporary romance!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Instamom? What did you think of it?
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 Most Anticipated Releases of the Last Half of 2021. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Jill's Book Blog 