Review: Third Shift Society, Vol. 2

Title: Third Shift Society, Vol. 2
Author: Meredith Moriarty
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Eisner-nominated WEBTOON Third Shift Society is a story about stumbling head-first into a world of magic and mystery. Financially challenged Ellie discovers she has strong psychic powers and gets a job working for Ichabod, a paranormal detective with the head of a Jack-o-Lantern.

Life’s funny. One minute you’re jobless, deep in debt, and on the verge of eviction; the next you’re in a fight with a monster and getting a job working for a paranormal detective with the head of a Jack-o-Lantern. It’s an age-old story. 

Now the clumsy but determined Ellie (who’s recently discovered she has strong psychic powers) and her pumpkin-headed boss Ichabod have to team up and fight the things that go bump in the night.

Ellie and Ichabod have some supernatural solves under their belts and Ellie has her psychic powers more (or less) under control. All they’re up against now are cryptic witches, sinister demons, and some ancient monsters hellbent on escaping their psychic prison. What could possibly go wrong?

This volume collects Season 2 of the bewitching WEBTOON comic.

Review:

Ellie, who has just discovered her supernatural powers, works with Ichabod, a man with a pumpkin head, to investigate the paranormal. Ellie must confess her dream of Alice, who left her with a real mark on her hand. Ichabod enlists the help of a witch to figure out what Alice’s plan is, while also investigating other paranormal creatures. 

This was a fun second book in the series. There were a lot of fight scenes that made the story go by quickly. I love the mystery around Ichabod. There was some of his origin story in this story, but he is still secretive and a mystery. I’m excited to see where the story goes next!

Third Shift Society, Vol. 2 is a great spooky graphic novel!

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

Other books in the series:

Have you read Third Shift Society, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?

Review: Let It Glow

Title: Let It Glow
Author: Marissa Meyer, Joanne Levy
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior’s center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author like her grandfather.

One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. What better way to discover the magic of the holidays than to experience them firsthand? The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families at the pageant. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditions–what could possibly go wrong?

Review:

When Holly Martin and Aviva Davis sign up to perform at a holiday pageant at a senior’s residence, they discover that they are identical twins. Both the girls know they’re adopted but they didn’t know that they had a twin. Holly’s family celebrates Christmas and Aviva’s family celebrates Hanukkah. They are both curious about each other’s holidays, so they decide to switch places for a few days until they can reveal their identities at the pageant. However, the girls don’t know much about each other, so they have to work hard to hide their identity in their new families.

This was such a fun holiday story! The Parent Trap is one of my favourite movies, and this story was like a holiday version of it. My family celebrates Christmas so I knew the Christmas traditions that Holly’s family did. I liked learning about Hanukkah in this story. Aviva was also learning about her family’s traditions, so her and Holly were both being taught throughout the story.

Let It Glow is a fun middle grade holiday story!

Thank you Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read Let It Glow? What did you think of it?

Review: Where’s Waldo? The Mighty Magical Mix-Up

Title: Where’s Waldo? The Mighty Magical Mix-Up
Author: Martin Handford
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Wizard Whitebeard’s magic staff is missing—and is going wild transforming everything! Join everyone’s favorite wanderer and search through twelve Where’s Waldo? scenes as you’ve never seen them before.

Wizard Whitebeard has lost his magic staff, and it’s stirring up mischief everywhere. Dragons are making a spectacle at the seaside, robots have crash-landed in the Stone Age, dinosaurs are wandering in the Wild West, there’s a sticky situation at a castle made of cake . . . The magical mayhem seems unstoppable! Follow Waldo and his friends on a quest to find the sneaky staff and unravel this mighty mess. With twelve marvelously mixed-up scenes and hundreds more things to look for, Where’s Waldo? The Mighty Magical Mix-Upis a truly mesmerizing search adventure.

Review:

I loved reading this Where’s Waldo book! It brought back memories of searching for Waldo in the detailed illustrations when I was a kid. 

In this book, there are magical settings, including a beach full of dragons, a museum where the artifacts come to life, and a movie set.

Where’s Waldo? The Mighty Magical Mix Up is a fun book for kids and adults!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this book! This book was gifted to me from @penguinrandomca as part of the Holiday Book Magic Campaign! The Holiday Book Magic books are a curated list of books that are perfect for gifting and enjoying all year long!

Have you read Where’s Waldo? The Mighty Magical Mix-Up? What did you think of it?

Review: The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex #2)

Title: The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex #2)
Author: Erin Sterling
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publisher: Avon
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 22, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Spooky Season!! The follow-up to Erin Sterling’s New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.

Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.

When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.

Review:

Gwyn runs the successful witchy shop, Something Wicked, in her hometown of Graves Glen. The grumpy descendent of the town’s founder, Wells Penhallow, arrives in the town for a new start. Wells starts his own shop, Penhallow’s, across from Something Wicked. Gwyn wants to shut it down, but as she spends more time with Wells, she starts to fall for him. When her magic begins to fade, Gwyn and Wells must figure out what’s causing it before it’s completely gone.

Gwyn was one of my favourite characters in The Ex Hex, so I was excited to read her own story. I loved the grumpy/sunshine pair, though Gwyn could be more grumpy than sunshine at times. There were some funny moments, just like in the first book. I listened to the audiobook as well as reading the physical book, and it was really well done!

The Kiss Curse is a cute witchy rom com!

Other books in the series:

Have you read The Kiss Curse? What did you think of it?

Review: Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)

Title: Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2)
Author: Tessa Bailey
Genre: Romance, Novella
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A single mother working in a thrift store. A gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit. When opposites attract, they find themselves making alterations in more ways than one in this smoking-hot short story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.

Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.

Review:

Evie Crowe is starting over in a small town with her newborn baby. She works in a thrift shop, where farmer Luke Ward comes in to look for pants, but he can never find a pair that fits his large frame. Evie decides to make a pair for him, which touches his heart, and starts their whirlwind romance. 

This was a short novella. Luke’s large size was emphasized a lot throughout the story. It almost started to feel like a joke because of how big he seemed to be. I really liked the ending though!

Merry Ever After is a short, fast paced romance.

Other books in the series:

Have you read Merry Ever After? What did you think of it?

Review: An Anishinaabe Christmas

Title: An Anishinaabe Christmas
Author: Wab Kinew, Erin Hill (illustrator)
Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 8, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A festive, joyful Indigenous picture book that explores both Christmas traditions and Anishinaabe culture, for fans of Santa in the City and Go Show the World.

One winter solstice, Mommy says, “Baby, we’re going home to the Rez. We’re going to have an Anishinaabe Christmas.” But this is Baby’s first Christmas away from the city, and they’re worried! They have a lot of will Santa know where to find them?Why do we have presents on Christmas?How come they’re going home to the Rez but don’t live there?On the long trip to Mooshom’s and Kookom’s, Baby learns about animals and plants being part of their family, about the North Star leading them home and even the meanings of some Anishinaabe words. Will this Anishinaabe Christmas be Baby’s best yet?

Review:

One Christmas, Mommy and Daddy decide to take Baby to their home on the Rez. It is Baby’s first Christmas away from the city, and they don’t know what to expect. On the drive to see their grandparents, Mommy and Daddy tell Baby what Christmas will be like and teach them some Anishinaabe words. 

This is a beautiful picture book. I liked that Baby wasn’t given a gender, so any child could see themselves in their place. Though Baby didn’t know what to expect at Christmas on the Rez, it ended up being a wonderful holiday with family. 

An Anishinaabe Christmas is a lovely Christmas picture book!

Thank you Tundra Books for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read An Anishinaabe Christmas? What did you think of it?

Review: The Christmas Countdown

Title: The Christmas Countdown
Author: Holly Cassidy
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of The Christmas Wager comes a charming holiday rom-com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the holidays, and love again.

She’s given up on love and Christmas…but fate has other plans.

All Callie wants for Christmas is to hibernate. She’s still reeling from being dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and under no circumstances will she go home for the holidays considering her ex will be right next door with his new, perfect partner. Callie is officially in grinch mode, but her meddling sister, Anita, won’t let her give up on life, love, and Christmas quite so easily.

Anita stages a Christmas intervention for Callie with a homemade Advent calendar challenge—cheerful tasks to push Callie out of her comfort zone and into the holiday spirit, inspired by a childhood tradition. Callie reluctantly plays along, but when she comes face-to-face with a charming baker who just might be the spoonful of sugar she needs, her strict rules on love and the holidays are tested. 

As they strike a deal to do the activities together, could the twenty four little doors on Callie’s Advent calendar not only open up one, but two closed-off hearts?

Review:

Callie was recently dumped by her childhood sweetheart, and she still has to see him at work everyday. She doesn’t want to go home for the holidays because she’ll have to see him and his family. To cheer her up and remind her how much she loves Christmas, her sister, Anita, creates an advent calendar for Callie filled with childhood memories and activities to get her out of her shell. Callie decides to follow the calendar. She meets a charming baker who eagerly participates in the activities with Callie and makes her believe in love again.

This was such a cute holiday romance. I loved the way Callie’s sister incorporated so many of their childhood memories into the advent calendar to remind her of the joy of Christmas. Callie and Marco, the baker, had a natural romance that developed throughout their Christmas adventures.

The Christmas Countdown is a fun holiday romance!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read The Christmas Countdown? What did you think of it?

Review: The Mentorship Edge: Creating Maximum Impact through Lateral and Hierarchical Mentoring

Title: The Mentorship Edge: Creating Maximum Impact through Lateral and Hierarchical Mentoring
Author: Deborah Heiser
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Wiley
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 13, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Learn how a mentor relationship can make your life more fulfilling

The Mentorship Edge: Unlocking Potential, Nurturing Growth, and Creating Explosive Impact explores how we connect to others, feel valued, get pleasure from life, and believe our lives have meaning through forming mentor relationships with others. This book covers traditional hierarchical mentorship we’re all familiar with, along with lateral mentoring, where you connect with a friend or colleague―someone you can be vulnerable with―whether they work in your department, another department, or outside of your organization entirely.

Insight in this book is drawn from The International Association of Top Professionals 2025 Top CEO and Mentor of the Year Deborah Heiser’s experience running The Mentor Project, a nonprofit mentoring organization with more than 100 mentors at the absolute top of their fields. In this book, readers will learn about:

The proven benefits of mentorship in both work and home life
Mentorship in various fields, including business, research, entrepreneurship, and art
Classic examples of the power of mentorship, like when Steve Jobs asked Steve Wozniak for engineering help when he was at Atari
The Mentorship Edge is an essential guide to demystify the special concept of mentoring and inspire individuals to engage in mentoring naturally, whether hierarchically or laterally, based on their goals and passions.

Review:

This book is about mentoring, what it is and how it’s done. Mentorship is an important part of work and personal life. There is hierarchical mentorship, where the mentor has more knowledge than the mentee, as well as lateral mentorship, where the mentor and mentee are on the same level as colleagues or friends.

This was a fascinating read. I loved the examples of how mentorship has made a difference in the real world. There were examples of familiar people, like Steve Jobs, and how he was mentored before creating Apple. Mentorship can be used in the workplace as well as in everyday life. 

The Mentorship Edge is a great read for any professional who is interested in mentorship. 

Thank you iRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Have you read The Mentorship Edge? What did you think of it?

Review: We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders #1)

Title: We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders #1)
Author: Richard Osman
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Source: Book of the Month box
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 17, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve…

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Review:

Steve Wheeler is a retired investigator who is enjoying his quiet life. His daughter-in-law is a private security officer whose current job is protecting the famous author Rosie D’Antonio. After three influencers and celebrities who share the same management company die mysteriously, Amy is certain Rosie will be next. She enlists the help of Steve to join her on a chase around the world to discover the killer. 

This was my first read from Richard Osman and I really enjoyed it. I liked the unconventional relationship between the main characters. Steve was Amy’s father-in-law, and I don’t think I’ve read a story with two main characters with that relationship before. There were a few times that I laughed out loud. I listened to the audiobook, which was very good. It was a little confusing at times because there were so many characters to keep track of, but I liked the narrator’s voice. 

We Solve Murders is a great new mystery!

Content warnings: death, gun violence

Have you read We Solve Murders? What did you think of it?