book review – Jill's Book Blog

Review: The Purpose of Getting Lost

Title: The Purpose of Getting Lost
Author: Tracy Smith
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Compass Story Press
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 11, 2026
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Purpose of Getting Lost isn’t a story about travel—it’s a story about what happens when a woman finally stops living on autopilot and starts choosing herself.

As Tracy Smith approached fifty and her kids grew up, she realized she’d spent years taking care of everyone but herself. So she booked a trip. Then another. And another. Thirty countries and five continents later, the miles she collected turned into something she didn’t clarity.

In airports, alleys, homestays, temples, and the quiet moments in between, Tracy found pieces of the woman she used to be—and the one she wanted to become. Written in a candid, heartfelt voice that explores what it means to be a woman at midlife—independent, curious, a little scared, and completely alive—this memoir traces how getting lost taught her to build a life that feels like her own.

For readers who

Honest, emotionally rich memoirsStories of reinvention and midlife transformationSolo female travel and self-discoveryBooks that blend adventure with heartThe Purpose of Getting Lost is a testament to the courage it takes to step into the unknown—and the joy of finding yourself there.

Review:

This is an entertaining memoir about how the author found herself through travel. I enjoyed reading about her world travels. The trips that she went on were more adventurous than the trips I go on, so I enjoyed reading about this different perspective. Tracy had the courage to step outside of her comfort zone and discover herself along the way!

The Purpose of Getting Lost is a great memoir!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Have you read The Purpose of Getting Lost? What did you think of it?

Review: Beth Is Dead

Title: Beth Is Dead
Author: Katie Bernet
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beth March’s sisters will stop at nothing to track down her killer—until they begin to suspect each other—in this debut thriller that’s also a bold, contemporary reimagining of the beloved classic Little Women.

When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.

Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.

Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.

Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.

Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.

Review:

This is a fantastic reimagining of Little Women. In this story, the March sisters’ father wrote the book Little Women about his daughters. Beth died at the end of that novel, but she was alive in real life, until New Year’s Eve when she’s found dead. This story was thrilling and suspenseful. It kept me guessing until the end. I loved this story!

Beth Is Dead is a great retelling of Little Women!

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

Content warnings: death, murder, sexual assault (off page), grooming

Have you read Beth Is Dead? What did you think of it?

Review: Lovely Recipe

Title: Lovely Recipe
Author: Mira Rose Nino
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this savory and sweet sapphic YA Romance graphic novel, a klutzy high schooler strives to learn her grandma’s recipes and ends up falling for a no-nonsense classmate whose family owns a restaurant.

What does cooking have in common with falling in love? They’re both matters of chemistry!

It’s Sofia’s last year in high school. All her friends are getting ready to go to far away colleges, but she doesn’t know if that path is right for her. What Sofia does understand is that, ever since her grandma died, her mom has been distant. But maybe, if Sofia can learn how to make one of grandma’s most cherished recipes, she and her mom’s relationship can go back to the way it used to be. The only problem with that idea? Sofia is terrible at cooking.

Enter Anna Marie, Sofia’s super cute classmate who’s everything Sofia isn’t– driven, disciplined, and a gifted chef. Despite getting on each other’s nerves, Anna Marie starts teaching Sofia how to cook in exchange for her help around Anna Marie’s family’s restaurant. And soon enough, they discover that the sparks between them are more than just stovetop flames.

But can love blossom when Sofia’s and Anna Marie’s lives are changing so much? Or will the impending pressures that come with graduation break them apart?

Review:

This is such a cute graphic novel. Sofia wants to connect with her Italian heritage and learn how to cook her grandmother’s recipes. However, she can’t cook. She’s also dealing with her final year of high school and her friends moving on to different places. The romance in this story was sweet and slow. Sofia and Anna Marie were opposites in personality, but they had great chemistry.

Lovely Recipe is a cute YA graphic novel!

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

Have you read Lovely Recipe? What did you think of it?

Review: Move It or Bruise It (Blood City Rollers #2)

Title: Move It or Bruise It (Blood City Rollers #2)
Author: V.P. Anderson, Tatiana Hill
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Paranormal
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

BCRD lives on!

Mina is ready to roll…but her new team is nowhere to be found. After a summer skating around town looking in every dark corner for the Blood City Rollers, Mina and her other human teammate Swan are finally reunited with their squad at an abandoned asylum. It’s old, creepy, and has a basement full of zombies…perfect.

But if the asylum is going to be the new freaky forever home for the Vamps, they’ll have to fight for it. A new team of outcast monsters are also looking for a new home, and the only solution to a turf war this bloodthirsty is a Sudden Death Scrimmage.

Mina just wants to help her team win, but she can’t help but feel like she still has to prove she belongs. And when the competition with Swan heats up, she’ll have to learn that being a teammate isn’t about being the best player…it’s about being the best friend.

Review:

This sequel is about a 13-year-old girl who left her ice skating hobby and started roller skating with a vampire team. I love paranormal stories so this one was so fun. I know I would have loved it when I was a kid too. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I look forward to the next book in the series!

Move It or Bruise It is a fun middle grade graphic novel!

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

Other books in the series:

Blood City Rollers

Have you read Move It or Bruise It? What did you think of it?

Review: Sparking Fire Out of Fate (Forging Silver Into Stars #3)

Title: Sparking Fire Out of Fate (Forging Silver Into Stars #3)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books US
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Broken loyalties. Uncertain fates. Two kingdoms hanging in the balance. . . The exhilarating finale in bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Forging Silver series will leave readers breathless!

Callyn has grown closer to Queen Lia Mara in Syhl Shallow, bonded by the secret magic they share. But their magic can stay hidden only so long, especially when a dangerous plot on the Queen’s life forces Callyn to work with the man who betrayed her.

In Emberfall, Tycho and Jax are struggling to rebuild their connection after months apart, complicated when they learn of Truthbringers causing trouble at the borders. Sent to investigate together, Jax and Tycho soon discover that the rebellious faction has formed a devil’s bargain with the magical scravers to destroy human magic once and for all.

When their missions bring them together, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn find themselves facing threats from all sides. With one last chance to save their magic and their kingdoms, they must work together, or lose everything.

War has erupted. Love is tested. And without sacrifice, magic could destroy everyone . . .

Review:

This book is a fantastic conclusion to the Forging Silver Into Stars trilogy. I didn’t want this series to end. I wasn’t sure if there was enough space in the book for everything to be wrapped up, but I loved the ending. It was a little open ended, so there could be more books in this world. I hope there will be another series because I love the characters and their world.

Sparking Fire Out of Fate is a great ending to the trilogy!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com and Bloomsbury Books US for providing a copy of this book!

Other books in the series:

Forging Silver Into Stars
Carving Shadows Into Gold

Have you read Sparking Fire Out of Fate? What did you think of it?

Review: The Compassionate Writer

Title: The Compassionate Writer
Author: Anne E. Beall
Genre: Nonfiction
Publisher: Beall Research
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 24, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Write with courage. Edit with kindness. Share your story with the world.
Every writer struggles with self-doubt, fear of rejection, and the pressure to get it just right. But what if the secret to powerful writing isn’t striving for perfection—it’s embracing compassion?

In The Compassionate Writer, you’ll discover how your inner critic and trust your creative voice.Write with vulnerability, emotional depth, and authenticity.Craft complex characters and conflicts through empathy.Overcome writer’s block and rejection with resilience.Edit your work without losing confidence in your vision.Build a supportive writing community that nurtures your growth.Through psychological insights, practical exercises, guided visualizations, and writing prompts, this book will help you cultivate self-kindness, write with emotional honesty, and create stories that resonate deeply.

Your words matter. Your voice deserves to be heard. Whether you’re writing fiction, memoir, or personal essays, this book will guide you toward a writing practice that is both fulfilling and transformative.

Are you ready to write with compassion—and change the way you tell your story?

Review:

This is a great book for writers! It teaches how to be compassionate to your readers as well as yourself while you write. This is an important skill for every writer. Each chapter had some exercises to learn how to put the ideas to use. I liked that this book discussed both fiction and nonfiction writing. They’re different types of writing, but they can use the same compassionate approach.

The Compassionate Writer is a great writing book!

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

Have you read Doctor Who: Origins? What did you think of it?

Review: The Wandering Inn (The Wandering Inn #1)

Title: The Wandering Inn
Author: Pirateaba
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 2, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

“No killing Goblins.”

So reads the sign outside of The Wandering Inn, a small building run by a young woman named Erin Solstice. She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours.

It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a Dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of life, and where Humans are one species among many. But she must adapt to her new life. Or die.

In a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn.

She’s an [Innkeeper].

Review:

In this story, a human named Erin Solstice discovers an inn in a fantasy world. There are dangerous creatures all over this world and she has to figure out how to navigate around them. She can also level up and learn new skills. I really enjoyed the video game aspects of this epic fantasy novel. The characters could “level up” in their jobs and activities. Though there were some differences between our world and that fantasy world, one thing they had in common is the game of chess.

The Wandering Inn is a fun fantasy novel!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com and The Wandering Inn for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!

Content warnings: knife violence, death

Have you read The Wandering Inn? What did you think of it?

Review: Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3

Title: Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3
Author: Miyuli
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this stunning debut series by Miyuli, perfect for fans of fantasy and romance, a struggling witch crosses paths with an angsty vampire, setting the stage for either love or war.

Morgana Winterberry belongs to a long line of witches, while Oz belongs to the rival vampire clan. After lifting a magical curse on the vampires, Morgana makes an uneasy truce with them, very much against her family’s warnings.

Morgana and Oz plan to work together to investigate who cursed the vampires in the first place, and who summoned the ghouls that are stalking the forest. Much to Morgana’s worry, signs point to someone in her family using her powerful ancestor Neil Winterberry’s grimoire.

As Morgana tries to understand her stronger but more volatile magic, and learn more about her mysterious great-great-grandfather, she starts hearing a chilling and all too familiar voice in her head.

It will take a witch and a vampire, growing closer every day, to get to the bottom of things.

This volume collects episodes 40 to 58 of the hit fantasy WEBTOON series with over 76 million reads, Morgana and Oz

Review:

This third book in the Morgana and Oz series was so fun! I love the dynamic between Morgana, a witch, and Oz, a vampire. They’re from rival groups but they have realized that they can actually help each other. This is a fun series with beautiful illustrations!

Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3 is a great graphic novel!

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

Other books in the series:

Have you read Morgana and Oz, Vol. 3? What did you think of it?

Review: A Heart for Christmas

Title: A Heart for Christmas
Author: Sophie Jomain
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A teen reclaims her independence and opens her heart to Christmas with the help of a handsome ski instructor in this swoon-worthy young adult holiday romance told in a groundbreaking advent calendar format, with chapter-a-day reading making it a true slow-burn!

When eighteen-year-old April heads to the foothills of Mont Blanc in the Alps to spend her first Christmas at her father’s chalet, she’s hoping for a change. Ever since her heart operation two years ago, she’s lived as carefully as possible. Supervised exercise, green tea, rice cakes, focusing only on her studies. But now, she’s healthy and there’s a world out there that she’s missing.

When April’s ski instructor turns out to be her best friend’s older brother, Augustin, it feels like a sign. As Augustin encourages April to build up her strength, April feels drawn to him in ways she wasn’t expecting. Augustin is daring and gorgeous, and April doesn’t want to let her life pass her by any longer. But is her just-healed heart ready for a Christmas miracle?

With this book’s unique advent calendar format, each of the twenty-four chapters is sealed by its own perforated enclosure that readers can gently tear open—by hand or with the help of a ruler—to read a chapter a day in the weeks leading to Christmas!

Review:

This is an advent story, with 24 chapters. Each chapter is sealed so they can be opened and read in the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Each chapter ended in a way that made me want to keep reading. April had a heart transplant 3 years earlier so she had to protect her heart both literally and figuratively. This YA romance had a heartwarming holiday romance.

This is a great advent YA romance!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book.

Content warnings: heart transplant, hospital scenes, attempted suicide (mention), bullying (mentions)

Have you read A Heart for Christmas? What did you think of it?

Review: Deception (A Hollywood Mystery #1)

Title: Deception (A Hollywood Mystery #1)
Author: Britt Lind
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Bublish
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Blood and dreams run red through the magical land of Hollywood, and rarely do kind souls win the spoils of war…

Singer/songwriter Josh Sibley is handsome, talented, and smart, but he tries to appease his demons with alcohol in an effort to break free of his complicated past. When he gets the opportunity to write songs for a multi-million dollar feature film, he throws himself in head first, determined to shake his bad luck streak. Then he meets Lila Levy, the sexy singer/actress who is married to the producer of the movie. She attempts to use her sexuality to hook Josh into a secret love affair—but Josh surprises himself by keeping his feelings under wraps while trying to teach Lila to sing his songs.

But this is Hollywood, and dark souls are clothed in glamour and secrets. When Lila’s husband Stan is murdered, Lila disappears, leaving Josh to deal with the woman determined to track her down—Sergeant Rosemaria Baker of the Beverly Hills Police Department. Beautiful yet disenchanted with the glitz of Hollywood, Rosemaria considers Josh a delusional loser but he’s her best lead. Too bad Josh doesn’t know Lila in the way he thought he did. When the cops finally bring Lila in, she declares herself innocent and builds her case around disturbing childhood trauma that will twist Josh’s soul.

Review:

This was an intense thriller. I liked the Hollywood setting. Many of the characters were in show business. I liked that this story showed every part of the crime from before it happened to the trial afterwards. I’m curious to see how this series continues!

Deception is a suspenseful thriller.

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

Content warnings: death, gun violence, incest, adultery

Have you read Deception? What did you think of it?