Jill's Book Blog

Review: The A and A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair

Title: The A & A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair
Author: K.H. Saxton
Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 19, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Follow clues, solve puzzles, crack the code… find the missing millionaire.

The celebrated museums of the Fairfleet Institute are known for curating the mysteries of humanity. But they don’t solve mysteries. Luckily, twelve-year-old friends Alex Foster and Asha Singh of the A&A Detective Agency do. Or they will . . . once they get a real case to test their skills as sleuths.

When Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the institute’s eccentric chairman, disappears on the first day of Alex and Asha’s summer vacation, they receive a letter written by the missing millionaire himself inviting them to a game involving complicated clues and puzzles. It is just the sort of case they’ve been waiting to tackle. But nothing in the Fairfleet case has a simple solution. As the kids track down clues, they uncover art forgeries, archaeological crimes, and Fairfleet family secrets. All of this tests their partnership and forces them to confront the complicated legacies of the people and places they admire most.

Review:

Alex and Asha are twelve-year-old detectives in Northbrook who haven’t had a real case yet. When Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the chairman of the Fairfleet Institute, goes missing, Alex and Asha get their first case. Dr. Fairfleet sent letters to his four directors of the Institute, as well as Alex and Asha, which were to be delivered if he ever went missing. They are on a countdown to find Dr. Fairfleet by July 15th. The two friends follow a series of clues to discover art forgeries, archaeological crimes, and secrets of the Fairfleet family.

This was a fun middle grade mystery filled with puzzles! I loved this kind of puzzle story as a kid and now as an adult. It felt like a combination of The Da Vinci Code, The Westing Game, and The Inheritance Games. The puzzles were intricate but fun to solve along with the characters. I had figured out most of the ending before I reached it, but I’m sure most middle grade readers would be pleasantly surprised at the twists!

The Fairfleet Affair is a fun mystery! I hope there will be more books in this series!

Thank you Union Square and Co for sending me a copy!

Have you read The A & A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair? What did you think of it?

Review: The Prince and the Apocalypse (The Prince and the Apocalypse #1)

Title: The Prince and the Apocalypse (The Prince and the Apocalypse #1)
Author: Kara McDowell
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 11, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

An American teen stranded in London is forced to team up with the British crown prince if she wants to make it back home before the end of the world in this delightfully rompy high-stakes rom-com.

Wren Wheeler has flown five thousand miles across the ocean to discover she’s the worst kind of traveler: the kind who just wants to go home. Her senior-year trip to London was supposed to be life-changing, but by the last day, Wren’s perfectly-planned itinerary is in tatters. There’s only one item left to check off: breakfast at The World’s End restaurant. The one thing she can still get right.

The restaurant is closed for renovations—of course—but there’s a boy there, too. A very cute boy with a posh British accent who looks remarkably like the errant Prince Theo, on the run from the palace and his controlling mother. When Wren helps him escape a pack of tourists, the Prince scribbles down his number and offers her one favor in return. She doesn’t plan to take him up on it—until she gets to the airport and sees cancelled flights and chaos. A comet is approaching Earth, and the world is ending in eight days. Suddenly, that favor could be her only chance to get home to her family before the end of the world.

Wren strikes a bargain with the runaway prince: if she’ll be his bodyguard from London to his family’s compound in Santorini, he can charter her a private jet home in time to say goodbye. Traveling through Europe by boat, train, and accidentally stolen automobile, Wren finds herself drawn to the dryly sarcastic, surprisingly vulnerable Theo. But the Prince has his own agenda, one that could derail both their plans. When life as they know it will be over in days, is it possible to find a happy ending?

Review:

Wren Wheeler traveled from Chicago to London for one last class trip before starting college in the fall, but she was plagued with homesickness and didn’t do anything she wanted to. While looking for one last breakfast to make the trip worth it, she runs into a boy who looks a lot like the missing Prince Theo. She protects Theo from photographers, and he gives her a phone number to call if she needs help. Wren rushes to the airport to catch her flight home, but when all the flights are cancelled, she learns that a comet is heading towards Earth, which will kill everyone in eight days. With no other way home, Wren calls Theo to ask him to help her get home. The two of them embark on a journey across Europe to the Royal Family’s private jet in Santorini so that Wren can get home to see her family one last time. However, Theo has his own plan and reason for running away from his family, which could derail Wren’s goal if she finds out.

This was such an exciting story! It would be a fun adventure to travel across Europe with a Royal Prince. Some of the things they did seemed unbelievable, and were things I definitely wouldn’t do (like jump off a ferry in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea), but they were fun to read about. A sequel was just announced a few weeks ago, so I had a feeling I knew how the story was going to end, but I still loved reading the twists at the end!

The Prince and the Apocalypse is a fun road trip story!

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

Have you read The Prince and the Apocalypse? What did you think of it?

Review: Goddess Crown

Title: Goddess Crown
Author: Shade Lapite
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Walker Books US
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 12, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this thrilling Afro-fantasy, the first set in the lush, opulent kingdom of Galla, a girl raised in secret must leave her sheltered rural home for the subtle dangers of the royal court, where she becomes caught up in deadly power struggles and romantic intrigue.

Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the forested East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. Raised in a woodland idyll by a few kindly adult caretakers, Kalothia can hunt and fish and fend for herself but knows little of the outside world. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king’s court in the West—a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots, and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy. Guided by the Goddess herself, can Kalothia navigate this most worldly of places to find her own role? What if she must choose between her country and her heart? Excitement, romance, and a charismatic heroine shine in this first book set in the unforgettable kingdom of Galla.

Review:

Kalothia has grown up for sixteen years in a secluded forest with Aunty and Teacher. Her parents were enemies of the King, so when Kalothia was born, she couldn’t stay with them for her own protection. When assassins attack her home and kill her guardians, Kalothia heads to the palace with her guard to find safety. However, Kalothia finds she has a new role at the palace, leaving her to decide between her heart, her country, and avenging the deaths of her loved ones.

This was a great fantasy debut! Though it’s a fairly short fantasy, at under 300 pages, the world-building was really well done. The story started out with just a couple of characters, and added characters as the story went on. This made it easier to get to know the world slowly from the beginning. The last 70 pages were really thrilling and intense. There were twists that I didn’t see coming. This was an enjoyable read!

Goddess Crown is a thrilling fantasy debut!

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

Content warnings: death of parent, abandonment, poisoning, stabbing

Have you read Goddess Crown? What did you think of it?

Review: Cone Dog

Title: Cone Dog
Author: Sarah Howden, Carmen Mok
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Owlkids Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 12, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A pesky cone becomes a doggie dream come true in this canine companion to Cone Cat One day, Emma the dog leaves the vet with a giant plastic lampshade on her head. It cuts off her corners, dulls her digging, and makes Garson the greyhound gawk. One thing is clear―the cone is not good, and the only thing left to do is sulk. When Emma’s human tries to cheer her up with a game of fetch, Emma discovers that the cone miraculously catches every ball she fumbles! Emma realizes the cone has other surprising advantages too, from serving as a helmet during her hallway hurtles to helping her dig at triple-speed. Best of all, the cone plays a pivotal role in Emma’s master plan to scare off the sneaky neighborhood squirrel, Keith. Eventually, the cone comes off and Emma is free, but the important lesson she learned from her cone days cone or no cone, it’s Emma’s inventive spirit that make her the Best. Dog. Ever. This fresh and funny follow-up to Cone Cat is a charming ode to ingenuity and making the best out of a ruff situation.

Review:

When Emma the dog leaves the vet’s office with a giant plastic lampshade around her neck, all she wants to do is sulk. She can’t run around freely, or dig, and other dogs stare at her. However, after playing fetch with her owner one day, Emma realizes she can use the cone to her advantage to play and pull a prank on a sneaky squirrel.

I loved the book Cone Cat in 2020, so I was excited to read Cone Dog! Anyone who has had a pet who wore the “cone of shame” knows what a struggle it is for their animal to wear it. It’s for their own good, so they don’t hurt themselves, but they can’t go about their daily lives in the same way. Emma, the dog in this story, figured out how to use the cone to her advantage. This is a great way to teach children that something you think is a bad situation can be turned around into a positive one.

Cone Dog is an adorable picture book!

Thank you Owlkids Publishing for providing a digital copy of this book.

Other books in the series:

Cone Cat

Have you read Cone Dog? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – September 12

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

This Is How We End Things by R.J. Jacobs

Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite

My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans

The Name Drop by Susan Lee

The Unsleeping Witch by Alexandra Overy

Cone Dog by Sarah Howden and Carmen Mok

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark, Walker Books US, Forever, Bloomsbury USA, Inkyard Press, Owlkids Books, and Penguin Teen Canada for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2)

Title: Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2)
Author: Chloe Gong
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 16, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on a mission. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.

Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”

Review:

Shanghai 1927: Juliette Cai sacrificed her relationship with Roma Montagov to save him from the Scarlets. Roma is mourning the death of his friend Marshall, who he thinks Juliette killed, while his cousin Benedikt is also mourning his best friend. However, the monstrous virus they thought they had vanquished has now returned. There are threats of civil war from the Nationalists and Communists who are rising in the city. Roma and Juliette must try to put aside their differences to reunite and protect the city they love, while figuring out if they still love each other.

It’s been three years since I read These Violent Delights, so it was a little difficult to get back into this fantasy world. There are a lot of characters who each had their own point of view, even though some of them were brief. I love the Shakespearean elements of the story. There were many nods to Romeo and Juliet, though the story deviated from most of that play. After finishing this one, I’m so excited to read Foul Lady Fortune, which is a continuation, focusing on different characters.

Our Violent Ends is a great ending to this duology!

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

Content warnings: stabbing, gun violence, fire, murder

Other books in the series:

These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1)

Have you read Our Violent Ends? What did you think of it?

Review: The Umbrella House

Title: The Umbrella House
Author: Colleen Nelson
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Pajama Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 6, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this intimate and inspiring novel about the power of
art and the value of community, award-winning author and former New Yorker Colleen Nelson brings life and liveliness to an eccentric cast of New York City neighbors . Middle-schooler and Manhattanite Ruby Markowski wants to tell the truth fearlessly and powerfully, just like her idols at Veracity News. She and her best friend Scout already make YouTube videos together about East Village life, so when Veracity News announces a Young Voices video competition, Ruby knows it’s the perfect opportunity to make a name for herself, if only she can find a story worth telling. When a real-estate mogul threatens to buy her historic East Village apartment building, Umbrella House, Ruby sets out to create a
video about the people who live in her building, depicting their love for art, community, and family.

With time—and her options for saving Umbrella House running
out, Ruby finds herself caught up in the mystery of the Midnight Muralist, a famous East Village artist whose murals once buildings
famous and valuable. Could finding this enigmatic artist be the key to saving her historic East Village apartment building?

Review:

Twelve-year-old Roxy Markowski has a YouTube channel with her best friend Scout where they talk about their lives in the East Village in New York City. They both live in an apartment building called The Umbrella House, which is a historic building. When a real estate mogul wants to buy The Umbrella House and tear it down, Roxy becomes determined to do anything to save her home. Along with help from Scout and her grandmother, Roxy starts a campaign to save her historic home.

I had never heard of The Umbrella House before reading this story. There was a brief note at the beginning of the book that explained the history of the building. It was an abandoned building that was made uninhabitable, but squatters still moved in. Eventually the squatters improved the building, making it habitable again, and turned it into a co-op building. It was so nice to learn about this through a middle school story. The story showed first hand why it’s important to save historical buildings that embody the personality of a neighbourhood.

The Umbrella House is a fun and empowering story!

Thank you Pajama Press for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read The Umbrella House? What did you think of it?

Review: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (Enola Holmes #9)

Title: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (Enola Holmes #9)
Author: Nancy Springer
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 5, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In May of 1890, Enola Holmes is finally fully on her own and, no longer hiding from her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft, attending classes and occasionally pursuing her chosen profession as a scientific perditorian, a finder of lost things and people.

Wolcott Balestier, the representative of an American book publisher, arrived in London on a singular mission – to contract with English authors for their latest works. When Balestier disappears on the streets of London one day, his great friend – Rudyard Kipling – bursts into Enola’s office looking for help in finding him. Brash and unwilling to hire a young woman, instead he turns to Sherlock Holmes. Convinced that evil has befallen Balestier, at the hands of rival American publishers who pirate the works of English authors, he sets the elder Holmes on the trail.

But Enola is not one to accept defeat, especially not to her brother, and sets off on her own – determined to learn the truth behind the disappearance of the young American. Can book publishing truly be so ruthless and deadly or can the missing man be rescued from his apparent fate and returned to his friends and loved ones?

The redoubtable Enola is determined to do just that, even if it means working with her brother Sherlock!

Review:

Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, is a scientific perditorian, which means she finds lost things. The author Rudyard Kipling bursts into her office one day, demanding that she find his friend, Wolcott Balestier. However, when he discovers that the perditorian is a teenage girl, he doesn’t hire her, but hires Sherlock instead. Enola won’t accept being passed over for a man, so she still conducts her own investigation to find the missing man.

I love the character Enola Holmes. She’s dedicated to solving mysteries, and won’t let anyone say she can’t do something because she’s a woman. This story took an unexpected turn into looking at rabies. Through her investigation, Enola met a doctor who studied rabies and was developing a vaccine from the brains and spinal cords of dogs and rabbits who died from rabies. Though animal testing for medication and other things has been done throughout history, it’s not something we promote today. In the author’s note, she says that there was no evidence of a rabid dog in the lives of the real people who are mentioned in the story, so it seems like an unusual topic to include in this story.

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose was a great new Enola Holmes mystery.

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

Content warnings: rabies, animal testing, animal death (mentions), stabbing, kidnapping

Other books in the series:

The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1)
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (Enola Holmes #2)
The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Enola Holmes #3)
The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (Enola Holmes #4)
The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (Enola Holmes #5)
The Case of the Gypsy Good-Bye (Enola Holmes #6)
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes #7)
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade (Enola Holmes #8)

Have you read Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – September 5

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

House of Ash and Bone by Joel A. Sutherland

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

The Long Game by Elena Armas

Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz

Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson

Thank you Tundra Books, Wednesday Books, Atria Books, Fable App, and Penguin Teen Canada.

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Don’t Want to Be Your Monster

Title: Don’t Want to Be Your Monster
Author: Deke Moulton
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 1, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it’s morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They’re vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.

Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in life (well, death) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?

Review:

Adam and Victor are brothers who are also vampires. They live quiet lives with their moms and older siblings, hidden away from everyone else. When a serial killer starts murdering people in their town, they both start to venture away from their home. Ten-year-old Adam wants to help solve the murders, so he befriends two mortals who don’t know he’s a vampire. Fourteen-year-old Victor wants to find his purpose as a vampire but he ends up encountering a vampire hunter instead. When the serial killer begins to target vampires, the brothers must work together to save their family.

This was a fun middle grade vampire story. I really liked the characters. Adam and Victor were trying to learn how to be vampires, while their moms wanted them to stay children. The characters were all diverse, from different cultures, religions, and sexualities. There were twists at the end that kept me guessing what would happen next.

Don’t Want to Be Your Monster is a great middle grade vampire story!

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

Have you read Don’t Want to Be Your Monster? What did you think of it?