Jill's Book Blog

Review: How to Dream: A Motivational Guide to a Life of Hope, Success, and Freedom

Title: How to Dream: A Motivational Guide to a Life of Hope, Success, and Freedom
Author: Deedee Cummings
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Cummings Consulting
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

How do you dream in a world that actively crushes dreams?

Everything you’ve been told about dreams is wrong. Our dreams have been hijacked. Dreams aren’t just fanciful thoughts; dreams are the very reason we’re here. Yet, we’re constantly told they’re impractical, a waste of time. How to Dream, by best-selling author, therapist, and entrepreneur Deedee Cummings, is your guide to reclaiming the power of your dreams.

In this inspiring and practical book, Deedee uses her expertise and the art of storytelling to help you turn your dreams into reality. Whether you’re just getting started or are well on your way, How to Dream offers doable steps and momentous mindset shifts that will make you unstoppable.

Drawing from her own journey and years of experience helping others achieve their goals, you will

Practical strategies to overcome self-doubt in a world filled with rampant negativityPowerful affirmations to fuel your successActionable steps to put your dreams in motionTechniques to develop a growth mindset and become unstoppablePacked with affirmations, strategies, and practical advice, How to Dream is the essential toolkit for anyone ready to take their life to the next level. If you’re struggling to find direction, seeking to reignite your ambition, or need encouragement to stay the course, this book will inspire you to dream bigger, push harder, find freedom, and create the life you’ve always imagined.

Don’t let another day pass without pursuing your true potential. It’s time to make your dreams a reality-starting now.

Review:

When we’re children, we’re encouraged to dream and told we can become whoever we want to be. However, when we get older, we’re told that we shouldn’t be dreaming and to find practical careers. This book gives great advice on how to find and follow your dream, even if it’s difficult.

I’m a writer, and it’s not easy. My dream is to make a living as a published author, but I’m not there yet. However, I’m not giving up. This book made me feel motivated to keep going, even though it’s difficult most of the time. This is a guide for how to find your dream, if you’ve lost your way, and how to set aside time to make it come true.

How to Dream is a great, motivational book!

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

Favourite Quotes:

“When you find your purpose, you will feel connected to your life, this planet, and to your journey in a way that nothing will be able to replace.”

“Break the cycle of thinking of life as something that happens to you and make it something you actively create. Every day.”

Giveaway:

Author signed copy of How to Dream: A Motivational Guide to a Life of Hope Success and Freedom
one winner
USA only
ends Nov 29

https://gleam.io/Y0qGe/how-to-dream-book-tour-giveaway

Have you read How to Dream? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – November 5

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle

Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell, Vol. 1 by Unfins

Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada, Wattpad Books, and Firefly Books Distributed Lines for sending me copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Squirrel-ish

Title: Squirrel-ish
Author: Bambi Edlund
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Owlkids
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 17, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

At the park, people give squirrels free peanuts. And nobody screams when a squirrel crosses their path. But for Rat, it’s all screams and no nuts … until he comes up with a plan: be more like a squirrel—squirrel-ish!

When his attempts at adopting a squirrel-ish posture and pinning his ears down don’t make a difference, Rat considers his tail. And after a few crafty but failed squirrel-ish tail prototypes made from cotton balls, feathers, and spaghetti, he lands on a winning material: straw from a broom!

Finally, Rat can walk through the park without getting shooed. Free peanut in hand, he daydreams about building a re-tail empire … until the dogs in the park spot him and give chase. All of a sudden, Rat understands why squirrels do so much scampering! Maybe his rat tail isn’t so bad after all …

Brightly illustrated and packed with hilarious details and hidden gags, this laugh-out-loud ode to self-love reminds readers that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Review:

This rat wants to be liked as much as the squirrels in the park. People scream and run away when they see him, but when they see squirrels, they’re given peanuts. The rat figures out that it’s the squirrel’s fluffy tail that makes them more likeable so he tries to give himself a bigger tail. However, he will find out that not everyone loves the squirrels.

This is such a cute picture book! I’m scared of rats, but not squirrels, and I do think it has to do with their tails. The fluffy squirrel tails make them more appealing and friendly looking. However, this story teaches that even though squirrels are more well liked by people, other animals don’t like them. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Squirrel-ish is a cute picture book!

Thank you Owlkids for providing a digital copy of this book!

Have you read Squirrel-ish? What did you think of it?

Review: The Bad Luck Nickel

Title: The Bad Luck Nickel
Author: Matthew Leslie
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Ausable Books
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 13, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Blair Matthews, teen celeb and son of rock legend, The Blade, shows up at a high school in Montreal amidst rumors of a drug-fueled sex scandal, it’s the most excitement the students at Trudeau High have seen in years.

And when Marco and his twin sister Julianna become fast friends with Blair, it seems like a dream. For Marco, Blair lifts him out of his post-breakup funk, and joins his band, The Bad Luck Nickel, instantly making it one of the hottest groups in town. And for Jules, Blair is her celebrity crush come to life in her living room.

But can Blair leave his past behind and start fresh at Trudeau High? Or will his infamy follow him from LA to MTL?

Review:

Blair Matthews causes a lot of excitement when he moves to Montreal. He’s a teen heartthrob and the son of a famous rock star. He joins Marco’s band, The Bad Luck Nickel, and they finally start booking shows. Blair also starts dating Marco’s twin sister Julianna. However, the scandal that sent Blair to Montreal threatens to come back and ruin his life, bringing his new friends down with him.

This was such a fast paced story. I couldn’t put it down. It started with a bang, with the boys finding a man passed out in the snow and having to give him CPR. The story was so intense. The characters were drinking, doing drugs, and getting into dangerous situations. It was such a page turner.

The Bad Luck Nickel is a fast paced story about teenage drama!

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

Content warnings: drugs, alcohol use, addiction, rape (off page), abortion (mentions), overdose, heart attack

Have you read The Bad Luck Nickel? What did you think of it?

Review: Trick or Treat on Scary Street

Title: Trick or Treat on Scary Street
Author: Lance Bass, Roland Garrigue (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Source: Manda Group
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From musical superstar Lance Bass, this quirky and surprising Halloween story is perfect for trick-or-treaters who love extra tricks and treats.

Come one.

Come all.

Come follow thirteen trick-or-treaters down Scary Street. Dare to stop at the vampire’s lair? Tempted to take a bite of the witch’s delight? How about a peek inside a ghostly haunt? Who will make it to the end. . . and what last trick (or treat) awaits?

Celebrate the thrills and chills of the season with this unforgettable trip down Scary Street!

This engaging Halloween tale appeals to young readers who love scary books and anyone looking for Halloween books for kids. Parents and kids alike will be drawn to this Lance Bass book, as the *NSYNC star brings his creative flair and love of Halloween to the world of scary stories for kids ages 4 to 6.

Trick or Treat on Scary Street, is a must-have for families who eagerly anticipate the Halloween season and enjoy sharing in its playful frights together.

Review:

Go trick-or-treating on Scary Street in this picture book! You can visit many different houses, like a gingerbread house or Dracula’s house. There’s a special trick waiting at the end of the street!

This is such a cute picture book! I loved the rhyming lines. The illustrations were beautiful and detailed. I know I would have loved this book as a kid!

Trick or Treat on Scary Street is a great Halloween picture book!

Thank you Manda Group for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read Trick or Treat on Scary Street? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review and Q&A: The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon

Title: The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon
Author: Svetlana Chmakova
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: JY
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the Night Realm, shifters, vampires, weirns (a particular kind of witch), and other night things passing for human may prowl the streets, but school is still in session—and you still have to do your homework!

In The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods (released June 2020), Ailis and Na’ya are pretty average students, but when a shadow starts looming and a classmate gets all weird, they’re the first to notice. It gets personal, though, when Na’ya’s little brother D’esh disappears. To get him back, she has no choice but to confront the secrets of the forbidden mansion in the Silent Woods!

Just in time for Halloween, The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon (released October 15, 2024) takes readers back to Chmakova’s supernatural world full of magic, adventure, and… dragons! After her terrible adventures in the Silent Woods, Na’ya’s world seems to have returned to normal… that is, except for the nightmares that keep haunting her. What she needs is the power to protect everyone, and she has the perfect solution—she’ll turn into a dragon, once and for all! With help from Ailis and Jasper, everything seems to be going according to plan. But what’s that dark shadow slithering around the spell-casting range?

Review:

Ailis and Na’ya think their lives have returned to normal after defeating The Headmistress in the woods. Na’ya is going to focus on her goal of becoming a dragon. When a spell she casts goes horribly wrong, she accidentally summons a dragon to their town instead. Then, they discover a dark shadow sneaking around their school, so the evil Headmistress may not be gone after all.

This was a great sequel! The story was fast paced and action packed. There was more danger and intensity throughout the story than in the first book. It ended with such a good cliffhanger! I can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the series.

The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Publicity Prose and Yen Press for sending me a copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods

Author Q&A:

Q: What draws you to your signature manga- and anime-influenced art style?

A: It’s just what I love and where I feel most comfortable as a creative, where I can express the widest range with my art—the silly, the profound, the funny, the dramatic, the beautiful, the ridiculous, the horrifying, etc. That whole branch of comics is an incredibly versatile approach to cartooning. Manga was a bedrock formative artistic experience for me, those random issues and volumes I managed to get my hands on were the first comics that made me go ‘this is so cool, I want to do something like that!’ The other formative artistic influence was ElfQuest by Richard and Wendy Pini, reading the first issue of that and then furiously creating something resembling a comics narrative for 4 pages/3 solid hours was the first memorable step in my comics-making journey.

Q: What is your creative process like? Which comes to you first — the story or the visuals?

A: My creative process is pretty messy and it starts with both writing and images—I’ll write down and sketch scenes or character interactions, locations, try to flesh out events with both words and drawings. Once I have enough notes I would start crafting a written script with many visual notes, followed by roughly sketched storyboards/page layouts for the entire narrative. My editor is a very big part of that process—she is my first line of defense against bad story and pacing choices; when I am writing without a proper break it is very difficult to maintain perspective and see what I wrote instead of what I wanted to write, so it’s invaluable to have a fresh set of eyes with the knowledge to recognize the rough spots that need fixing. Once both my editor and I agree that the storyboarded book reads well, I start finishing the designs for places/characters and final page art production starts.

Blog Tour Schedule:

October 28 — Book-Keeping Blog
October 29 — Shooting Stars Mag
October 30 — Jill’s Book Blog
October 31 — Twirling Book Princess
November 1 — Dana Loves Books

Giveaway:

Five (5) winners will receive a paperback set of The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods and The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon!
US only
Ends November 10, 2024 at 11:59pm ET

Enter to Win via Rafflecopter

Have you read The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – October 29

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga

The Debutantes by Olivia Worley

Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore

Let It Glow by Marissa Meyer, Joanne Levy

Third Shift Society, Vol. 2 by Meredith Moriarty

Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James, David Wyatt (illustrator)

Thank you Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Children’s Publishing, Wattpad Books, and Frenzy Books for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Sunny Gale

Title: Sunny Gale
Author: Jamie Lisa Forbes
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Pronghorn Press
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 15, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s 1895 and fourteen year old Hannah Brandt is struggling with the hard life on a new Nebraska homestead. When her imagination is captured by a wild filly she becomes obsessed with horses, which opens the door to her destiny. Just three years later she enters the first Cheyenne Frontier Day rodeo where she wins the relay race, the following year she wins the bronc riding and her fate is sealed. She gives herself a new name, Sunny Gale, and pursues a rodeo career, much to the disgust of her young husband and her very proper mother. Sunny defies convention with every move as the drive to compete takes over her life, leaving everything else behind, including husbands and children. It is a rough life she has chosen, but she craves the glory of the spotlight and refuses to bow to the expectations for a woman in her time.

Award winning author Jamie Lisa Forbes has once again days when rodeo was wide open for them to become stars. It is a
story of the social mores of the times and of a woman determined to defy them no matter how high the personal cost or where that choice might take her.

Review:

1895: Hannah Brandt was struggling with her family’s new life in Nebraska, until she decided to try riding a horse. She entered the world of rodeos and horse competitions, and changed her name to Sunny Gale when she started winning. However, her husband and mother weren’t happy with her new career. To have a successful career as a woman in the early 1900s means she must give up a lot, including her family.

This was a fascinating story. It was inspired by real women who competed in rodeos in the early 1900s, but they disappeared from history after they weren’t allowed to compete anymore. There was a lot of heartbreak in this story. There were numerous animal deaths, and Sunny tragically leaves her family to pursue her dreams. She was also treated horribly by most of the men in her life. Though many things that Sunny experienced are better for women today, things aren’t perfect, and women often have to give up other parts of their lives for success in their career.

Sunny Gale is a fascinating story about a woman who became a trailblazer in a male-dominated industry.

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

Content warnings: death, death of animals, rape, child abuse

Have you read Sunny Gale? What did you think of it?

Review: The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1)

Title: The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1)
Author: Erin Sterling
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publisher: Avon
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

Review:

Nine years ago, while drinking vodka one night, Vivienne Jones cursed the man who had just broken her heart. Now, that man, Rhys Penhallow, has come back to her town of Graves Glen to recharge the ley lines. However, when things start going wrong with Rhys, Vivi realizes her curse on Rhys must have worked and is going to ruin her town. Vivi must own up to cursing Rhys and help him find a way to break the curse.

This was such a fun witchy rom com! It was hilarious from beginning to end. They got into funny and strange situations, such as plastic souvenir skulls coming to life, sneaking into a haunted house where one of Vivi’s students is trying to hook up with someone, and magical ley lines that turn them on. I’m so excited to read the rest of this series!

The Ex Hex is a fun rom com!

Content warnings: death, parental death (off page)

Other books in the series:

The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex #2)
The Wedding Witch (The Ex Hex #3)

Have you read The Ex Hex? What did you think of it?

Review: Taxi Ghost

Title: Taxi Ghost
Author: Sophie Escabasse
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Paranormal
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 3, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

At a certain age, every kid expects growth spurts and puberty…but no one mentioned the ability to see ghosts?! This hilarious and heart warming graphic novel about family secrets and the importance of community is great for fans of Witches of Brooklyn and Katie the Catsitter.

Adèle just wants to spend her winter break at the library, cozied up with her favorite books, and completely forgetting abut her friends who are all traveling to warmer climates. Unfortunately life has other plans…not only does Adèle get her first period…but she learns she comes from a long line of mediums!

And if seeing ghosts wasn’t enough of a surprise, Adèle learns that not only can she interact with them, but apparently they’ve been using her sister’s car to get around the city for years! These annoying ghosts won’t leave Adèle alone but maybe they will be exactly what Adèle needs for an exciting winter!

From Sophie Escabasse, the author of the beloved Witches of Brooklyn, comes a brilliant graphic novel that explores growing up and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.

Review:

Preteen Adèle wants to spend her winter break cozy at home with her books, but she gets her first period and discovers that she has inherited her grandmother’s talent of seeing ghosts. Her grandmother hates ghosts and does everything she can to stay away from them, but Adèle embraces her new skill and wants to help the ghosts move on to what’s next.

I love stories with ghosts. This was a great coming of age story. I liked that it started with Adèle getting her first period. Her family treated it as a celebration. There aren’t many middle grade books that talk about that, even though almost all preteen girls experience it. This was a fun read!

Taxi Ghost is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book.

Have you read Taxi Ghost? What did you think of it?