Jill's Book Blog

Review: Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1)

Title: Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1)
Author: Elizabeth Lim
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh.

Review:

This book is a great introduction to this new series.

This story started out as a type of Mulan story. Maia’s father is selected as a master tailor to go to the emperor, but he is unwell. Only him or his sons could go because women can’t be tailors. Maia dresses up as her brother and goes to the palace to compete in a competition to become a royal tailor. I thought this was going to be the whole story, so I was surprised when the competition ended so quickly. The rest of the story followed Maia on a journey to get special materials to create mythical dresses.

The only thing I didn’t really like about this book was the romance. It felt a little forced to me, because it seems like it can’t work out. I hope it works out better in the next book.

I’m curious to see what happens in the next book, because this story felt complete to me. I’m not sure where the plot is heading, but I’m excited for it to continue.

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

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – January 22

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 Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1) by Sandhya Menon. The expected publication date is February 18, 2020.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi comes the first novel in a brand-new series set at an elite international boarding school, that’s a contemporary spin on Beauty and the Beast.

Will the princess save the beast?

For Princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn her in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending…right?

His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse by a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed once he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s lived an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck…

As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Teddy Bear of the Year

Title: Teddy Bear of the Year
Author: Vikki VanSickle, Sydney Hanson
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The teddy bears’ picnic gets a modern twist in this warm and fuzzy picture book about a young teddy bear who learns that small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
Ollie is a regular bear with a regular job. He listens to his girl’s stories about her days, he snuggles her to sleep and he is there waiting when she gets home from school. Just your typical teddy bear stuff. So when he is whisked away to the annual teddy bears’ picnic, he feels insignificant compared to the other bears who do daring and daunting things: sleepovers, hospital stays–even a night in the lost and found!
After small talk with a regional stuffing manager, a department of cuddling official and a stitchery inspector; a stop at the snack table; and even some team building activities, it’s time for the teddy bear service awards . . . and Ollie feels even more small and unimportant. But he soon learns that it’s not just the big things that matter, it’s the little things too.
While parents will love the tongue-in-cheek office-party details, kids and parents alike will fall in love with Ollie: a sweet bear who discovers that his love for his girl makes him very special indeed.

Review:

In this story, Ollie is Amena’s teddy bear. One night, he is invited to a teddy bear picnic by the Teddy Bear Association. Various awards were handed out to the teddy bears for accomplishments they had done throughout the year.

This was an adorable story. It’s so cute to imagine all the teddy bears of the world gathering to have a picnic together. The teddy bears also have the rule of ABCs: Always Be Cuddling.

This story made me smile throughout it. It is such a sweet story. I loved it!

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

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

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 Recent Additions to My Bookshelf. Here’s my list:

1. The Egyptian Mirror by Michael Dedard

2. Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow

3. Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell, Katie Cotugno

4. Thorn by Intisar Khanani

5. Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

6. To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

7. Influence by Sara Shepard, Lilia Buckingham

8. Half Life by Lillian Clark

9. Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim

10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1) by Holly Jackson

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Blog Tour Review: Tweet Cute

Title: Tweet Cute
Author: Emma Lord
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

Review:

This book is a great twist on a Romeo and Juliet style of story.

Pepper and Jack are the children of rival sandwich company owners, though they don’t know it at first. They go to the same school and they tweet from their family’s company’s Twitter accounts. They start a Twitter war, that their families encourage rather than stop. At the same time, Pepper and Jack are also communicating on a secret app which hides their identities. There were many layers to their relationship, from Twitter to their chatting app, and even to their relationship in real life.

This story was a lot of fun. It kept making me hungry because of all the food that was described. There were lots of sandwiches, but there were also desserts because Pepper and her sister have a baking blog. They made delicious sounding desserts, such as Monster Cake, which is made of every sweet food you can imagine.

I really enjoyed this story! I recommend having some sweet treats nearby when you read it!

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

About the Author:

Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, grilled cheese, and a whole lot of love. Her sun sign is Hufflepuff, but she is a Gryffindor rising. TWEET CUTE is her debut novel. You can find her geeking out online at @dilemmalord on Twitter.

Have you read Tweet Cute? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – January 20

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Tweet Cute by Emma Lord.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) by Elizabeth Lim.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Author Event: Lisa Jewell in Kitchener, Ontario

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to see Lisa Jewell at the Kitchener Public Library. It was a great event!

She talked about her writing style. She doesn’t plan out the books before she writes them, which is amazing considering how great her thrillers are. She keeps the information in her head, and references it from her memory. As a writer, I can’t imagine how difficult that must be, but she is so good at writing!

After the interview, we had our books signed by Lisa. She was so kind. She knew my mom and I were related as soon as she saw us. We are both fans of her novels!

This was a great event in the 85 Queen series by Kitchener Public Library!

You can find my review to Lisa Jewell’s latest book The Family Upstairs here.

Thanks so much to everyone who put on this event!

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – January 19

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying #2) ★★★★★
Every Other Weekend ★★★★★
Gudetama: Love for the Lazy ★★★★
The Tenant ★★★
Jinxed (Jinxed #1) ★★★★★
Echoes Between Us ★★★★★

I did 8 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Tweet Cute

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading Tweet Cute by Emma Lord.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

What book are you in bed with today?