December 2021 – Jenjenreviews

The Europe Traveller Book Tag

December 17, 2021December 17, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)10 Comments

Hello all and welcome to my blog! I’m attempting to post more frequently because I stopped posting a lot in the past year. Today I’m bringing you a book tag that I was tagged in by the wonderful And On She Reads! Thank you for the tag!

France – Your favourite love story

I don’t have a favorite love story, so I’m just going to name some of the couples that I’ve enjoyed from my 5-star reads.

Henry and Alex from Red, White & Royal Blue
Lucy and Joshua from The Hating Game
Chloe and Red from Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Luc and Oliver from Boyfriend Material
Percival and Abigail from A Dash of Romance
Jess and Sam from The Spark

Spain – A colourful cover

The End of October by Lawrence Wright is a book that is on my partner’s TBR and it has a colorful spine so I decided to look up the cover and indeed it is also colorful!

I also have the OwlCrate version of This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron which is more colorful (in my opinion) than the original cover. I can’t find a good picture of it online though, and I’m too lazy to take a picture myself right now, so I’ll just go with The End of October.

Italy – A book taking place in summer

In the last tag, I talked about how I don’t pay attention to what season books take place in, so I’m finding this to be more difficult than it probably should be. I’m pretty sure, however, that Wayward Son occurs during the summer.

Greece – A book with mythology

The first book I can think of is The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. I read that book a while ago and then realized that I should probably read the Percy Jackson series first so I didn’t continue. I do own the full Percy series and it’s on my TBR shelf. I just haven’t gotten around to starting it yet (story of my life).

I did post a review if The Lost Hero on my blog. You can read that here.

Belgium – A book with politics

I recently read a book called We Are 100 by comedian Nathan Timmel and it was surprising political. I don’t know what I was expecting from it, but through the plot, the author brought up a lot of moral/political issues that occur throughout the world.

If you’re interested in checking that book out, you can find my review here.

Ireland – A book with a strong friendship group

The Raven Cycle is one of the best found family stories that I’ve ever read. I’m currently in the middle of the spin-off series called The Dreamer Trilogy and I’m hoping that one goes just as well.

Another book that I recently read and loved the friendship was One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. The relationships in there were as hilarious as they were heartfelt. I’d definitely recommend all of these books that I’ve mentioned.

The Netherlands – Flowers on the cover

Five Feet Apart was the first book I thought of because I am in love with this cover. Not only is is GORGEOUS but it also is an upside down tree with flowers that is in the shape of lungs. Is that not the coolest and cleverest thing you’ve ever seen???

I haven’t watched the film version of this and I have no idea if it is an accurate representation of MS, so I’ll have to leave that up to those who are more qualified than me. I did post a review of this novel which you can read here.

Germany – A book taking place at Christmas

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to read random love stories. The more festive, the better! It’s hard for me to name just one, so I’ll go ahead and just list a bunch.

My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring (review)
Christmas at Snowflake Lodge by CP Ward (review)
Twelve Dates ‘Till Christmas by Jennifer C. Wilson (review)
Christmas at Marshmallow Cafe by CP Ward (review)
Christmas at Moonshine Hollow by Angela Britnell (review)
The 12 Christmases of You & Me by Jennifer Joyce (review)

I Tag

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Autumn Book Tag

December 16, 2021December 16, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)1 Comment

Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today is another tag that I was tagged in by Erika from And On She Reads! Thank you for the tag and I’m sorry it always takes me so long to get to these! We’ve still got a few days left in autumn though so I’m not too late!

1. What book always reminds you of fall/autumn?

I don’t really pay attention to which books occur in what season unless they’re holiday books, but for some reason the first book that came to my mind was A Study In Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro because of its colorful cover.

I wrote a review for this book way back in the day—in fact, I don’t even remember what I wrote about it—and you can find that review here.

2. What is your favorite autumnal book cover?

OOPS I just answered this in the previous question so let me take a look at my shelves to find another option.

I’m going to just go with Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power because it has an autumn-feel to the cover due to how orange it is.

I actually wasn’t a fan of this book which was a shame because I was a huge fan of Rory Power’s Wilder Girls. You can read my review of Wilder Girls here.

3. What is your favorite autumnal drink to read with?

I basically always drink chai lattes no matter what season it is, so I would have to say a chai latte. I know pumpkin spice is the flavor of the fall, but I really don’t like the taste. I tried pumpkin spice lattes several times before and I’ve thought all of them were disgusting lol. I have recently, however, discovered that I’m a fan of hazelnut flavors in my coffee drinks; does that count?

4. Do you prefer to read late at night or early in the morning?

Late at night because I’m basically never awake early in the morning. I have a really hard time waking up at reasonable times no matter what time I went to sleep the night prior, so I’m naturally a night owl.

5. Halloween is coming! What is your favorite spooky read?

Oops, I guess I took too long to do this tag 😂.

I don’t have a favorite spooky read because I’m a huge scaredy cat and like to avoid scary reads as much as I can. The most recent horror book (non-thriller) that I read was The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh.

As usual, this one scared the pants off of me despite being a YA novel. Usually what ends up happening is that I don’t find books scary while I’m reading them, but then I’m terrified of being alone immediately after.

You can find my review for it here.

6. What is the ultimate comfort read for you?

This is one of the only questions that I always have an answer for! My ultimate comfort read is 100% The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. It might seem strange that I’ve labelled it a comfort since it’s a thriller/mystery novel, but I’ve read this book far more than any other book. I think I’m at 6 or 7 reads for this one.

You can read my review of the audiobook here.

7. What is your favorite autumnal reading snack?

I thought this said reading stack and I was very confused. Now that I know it says “snack” I’m still really confused. What the heck is an autumnal reading snack??? In general, though, I don’t like eating while I read anything because I’m bad at putting things in my mouth while keeping my eyes on the page.

8. What is your favorite autumnal candle to burn whilst reading?

I have a lot of bookish candles from book boxes that I subscribe to, but I don’t pay attention to what the scents are aside from whether or not I like them. I burn any candle that smells good and then when that one runs low, I start sniffing the other ones I have to find the next option.

9. When you’re not reading, what is your favorite autumnal activity?

I was born and raised in Hawaii where we don’t have autumn, so I don’t really have a favorite autumnal activity. I do really enjoy stealing leaves from random trees that I walk past in the fall though, because they have such lovely colors that I’m not used to seeing. I’ve also recently learned how to dry plants, so I have a few colorful leaves in a drying rack thing that OwlCrate sent in one of their boxes.

10. What is on your autumn/fall reading list?

Autumn is SUPER close to coming to an end, so I don’t have an autumn/fall reading list anymore. I did have a TBR for the months of October and November, and I succeeded in reading all of the books on that stack except for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I guess that would be the only thing on my list then?

I’m not going to tag anyone this round because I delayed on doing this tag to the point where it doesn’t make sense to tag anymore people. However, if this suits your fancy, feel free to do it!

Blog Tour Review: My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring

December 12, 2021December 16, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)5 Comments

A short cozy Christmas romance; perfect for the holiday season

Foreword

Thank you so much to Rachel at https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com/ and Olivia Spring for allowing me to be part of this experience and also providing me with a complimentary eBook and blog tour media kit!

Purchase Links: Amazon UK, Amazon US

About the Author

Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women’s fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel The Middle-Aged Virgin, which was released in 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.
In addition to The Middle-Aged Virgin, Olivia has published The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy, Love Offline, Losing My Inhibitions, Only When It’s Love and the sequel When’s The Wedding?
Olivia’s seventh novel, My Ten-Year Crush, was published in September 2021 and book two in the series, My Lucky Night followed in November 2021.

When she’s not writing, Olivia can be found enjoying cupcakes and cocktails and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

Review

Book CWs: For a list of content/trigger warnings, tropes, and representation for this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com.

Premise

She hates Christmas. He’s about to change her mind…

Cassie isn’t a fan of Christmas. After a string of unlucky incidents during the festive season—including getting dumped—this year she decides to spend the day at home. Alone. No men. No complications.

But then her nightmare boss demands she track down this year’s most coveted Christmas gift—and the only person who can help is an annoyingly sexy Frenchman she’s just met.

Nicolas might look hot, but Cassie can tell he’s also arrogant, irritating and in love with himself. Exactly the kind of guy she hates. Plus, he’ll only help her find the gift if she helps him with something in return…
Could Cassie’s festive fortunes finally be about to change? Can she learn to love Christmas again? And will Cassie get lucky in more ways than one?

Set against a gorgeous London backdrop with sparkling lights, Christmas markets and mistletoe, My Lucky Night is a fun, sexy enemies-to-lovers romcom novella that will give you all the feels! Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Mhairi McFarlane.

Read as a standalone novella or as book two in the My Ten-Year Crush series.

Review (No Spoilers)

Hello again everyone! Today I’m talking about a super cute holiday romance novella called My Lucky Night.

My Lucky Night follows the story of a woman named Cassie who hates the Christmas season as the result of several negative memories associated with it. When her ungrateful boss calls her on her day off and tasks her with finding an impossible Christmas present for his mistress, she is forced to accept the help of a handsome, but infuriating, French stranger named Nicolas. Can Nicolas change her feelings about the holiday season?

This book is very short and perfect for anyone looking for a fun Christmas romance to get their minds off the stressful season. The plot flows moves very quickly, so I had no issues with being bored or bothered by drawn out conflicts or storylines. There were also several moral lessons sprinkled throughout the book that I thought were a particularly nice touch, especially during the holiday season where spreading kindness is something many of us want to be doing.

If you’re interested in hearing more about My Lucky Night, you can follow along with the tour below. If you’d like to purchase it, you can find it at the above pre-order links!

Forget Me Not by Anca Antoci: Tour Schedule

December 9, 2021December 9, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)Leave a comment

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

TheWriteReads‘ tour for Forget Me Not by Anca Antoci starts tomorrow! To help you all follow along with the tour, I’ll be listing the tour schedule below (using the reviewer’s Twitter username) along with links to where you should be able to find the posts on that day.

If you’re interested in subscribing to TheWriteReads’ mailing list for information on future tours, click here!

December 10

@ReadtoRamble
@theartsyreader1
@kerrimcbooknerd

December 11

@_forbookssake
@bexbibliophile

December 12

@MonogamistRead
@MyBookishBliss

December 13

@afangirlreviews
@BooksAre42
@cats_herding

December 14

@AVoraciousReadr
@manisbookcorner

December 15

@bookreviewb
@shazzierimmel
@suebavey

I look forward to reading everyone’s thoughts! Forget Me Not is already out on the shelves! Get your copies today!

Blog Tour Review: Snow Falls Over Sunnybrook by Rosie Green

December 7, 2021December 7, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)Leave a comment

A cozy and cute conclusion to the Watkiss-Holmes trilogy.

Foreword

Thank you so much to Rachel at https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com/ and Rosie Green for allowing me to be part of this experience and also providing me with a complimentary eBook and blog tour media kit!

About the Author

Rosie’s series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe. Her latest, ‘The Wedding Cake Wish’, is out now.

Look out for more Little Duck Pond Café tales in 2022, including ‘Chocolate Cake for Breakfast’ and ‘Christmas in June’.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88

Review

Book CWs: For a list of content/trigger warnings, tropes, and representation for this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com.

Premise

The chance to spend a night ghost-hunting alone with Hudson Holmes at Brambleberry Manor seems like a dream come true for Ruby Watkiss. Maybe, she thinks, this is their chance to get closer? But when mysterious goings-on start happening which have nothing to do with the spirit world, the pair are catapulted off on another sleuthing adventure. And as the snow starts to fall and emotions are rising at the Little Duck Pond Cafe, Ruby is faced with a double challenge. Can she be braver than she’s ever been, in order to rescue something very close to her heart? And can she convince Hudson that Christmas really can be the most wonderful time of the year?

Review (No Spoilers)

Hello friends! I’m back with the third, and last (I think), blog tour review this week! I have so many things to do; I don’t know how I accidentally signed up for all of these tours back-to-back.

Snow Falls over Sunnybrook is the eighteenth book in The Little Duck Pond Cafe series, and the third/last book in the Watkiss-Holmes mini trilogy. Though I haven’t read all of The Little Duck Pond Cafe series books, I have read all of the Watkiss-Holmes ones! You can find the review for the first book of that mini-series here, and the second book here.

Unlike the past two books in this trilogy, the plot of this one doesn’t actually revolve around one big mystery. Instead, it has around 3 mini-mysteries incorporated to the story. I was a little confused at first when the first mystery was seemingly done in a few chapters, but everything flowed easily despite this. I’ve been a huge fan of the Watkiss-Holmes “will they won’t they” dynamic over the past two books, and knowing that this was the final book in their story, I was cheering them on full-heartedly. The two of them are such a great pair; I can’t imagine who wouldn’t want them to end up together!

If you’re a fan of romance books and cozy mysteries, this series is a must! The books are fairly short and quick–not to mention super cute! This book is also a holiday-themed novel revolving around Christmas, so it’s perfect for this holiday season!

If you’re interested in hearing more about Snow Falls over Sunnybrook, you can follow along with the tour below. If you’d like to purchase it, you can find it here!

#TheWriteReads #BlogTour Review: The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward

December 6, 2021December 6, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)2 Comments

Intriguing, complex, and suspenseful.

Thank you so much to The Write Reads and Kristin Ward for allowing me to be part of this experience and also providing me with a complimentary eARC and media kit!

Purchase this book (affiliate link): Amazon

About the Author

Kristin Ward is an award-winning young adult author living in Connecticut. A science and math teacher for over twenty years, she infuses her geeky passions into stories that meld realism and fantasy. Kristin embraces her inner nerd regularly, often quoting 80s movies while expecting those around her to chime in with appropriate rejoinders. As a nature freak, she can be found wandering the woods – she may be lost, so please stop and ask if you see her – or chilling in her yard with all manner of furry and feathered friends. Often referred to as a unicorn by colleagues who remain in awe of her ability to create or find various and sundry things in mere moments. In reality, the horn was removed years ago, leaving only a mild imprint that can be seen if she tilts her head just right. A lifelong lover of books and writing, she dreamed of becoming an author for thirty years before publishing her award-winning debut in 2018. Her first novel, After the Green Withered, is one of many things you should probably read.

https://www.kristinwardauthor.com/
Social Media & Other links: https://bit.ly/KWardAuthor

Review

Book CWs

For a list of warnings, tropes, and representation for this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com.

Premise

Treacherous. Evil. Dark. Dorcha Wood is all of these. And none of them.

The people of Felmore talk of Dorcha Wood in whispers, if they speak of it at all, fearing the wrath of the Cù-Sìth should their words be carried on the wind. Those murdering beasts still roam the darkness of the forest, the last remnants of the cursed Aos Sí—a race of elves long since vanished from the world.

But to seventeen-year-old Fiadh, it is home. A haven. A forest whose secrets become known only when it chooses to reveal them. Her life is one of balance until the outside world shatters it.

From the moment Fiadh set eyes on Gideon, the peaceful rhythm of her life was lost. As a new path unfolds, Fiadh confronts the reality of old hatreds, the consequences of things hidden, and the truth of who she really is.

Review (No Spoilers)

Welcome back to my blog! I somehow committed to three blog tours in a row, so today is round two of tour reviews.

I read The Girl of Dorcha Wood over the course of a day, partially because it was short and entertaining enough to do so, and partially because I procrastinated (oops!). Dorcha Wood follows the story of a young woman named Fiadh (I honestly how to pronounce this) as she struggles to understand who she is. Forced to flee from her home after tragedy strikes, Fiadh decides to take sanctuary in the home of Gideon, a man she recently saved from the brink of death.

The book itself is less than 300 pages and follows Gideon and Fiadh as they make their journal through Dorcha Wood towards Gideon’s castle. Usually I’m not a fan of books where the entire thing covers a singular journey, but I was actually pretty hooked on this one. Kristin Ward did an excellent job in world-building, using many Irish legends and folklore as inspiration. The writing is detailed and descriptive, giving the readers a good mental image of every scene as it happens. There is a theme of violence that pervades throughout the book, so definitely be warned if things like death (human and animal), gore, and murder bother you.

The Girl of Dorcha Wood is the beginning of a new historical fantasy series. My copy of the book even contained a sneak peek of the next book in the series, Blood of the Lost Kingdom. Definitely give this book and series a look if you’re into historical fantasy novels. If you’d like to follow along with the rest of the tour, you can find the tour schedule here!

Blog Tour Review: Killer Content by Kiley Roache

December 5, 2021December 5, 2021Jenny (jenjenreviews)2 Comments

Another entertaining and thrilling YA mystery

Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond and Kiley Roache for allowing me to be part of this experience and also providing me with a complimentary ARC and media kit!

Book Information

**Genre**: YA Mystery Thriller
**Publishing Date:** November 20, 2021

Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying! In this paperback original thriller a group of famous TikTokers find themselves turning on each other when one member of the group turns up dead at their beachfront Malibu mansion.

35 million followers. One dead body.

The six teenagers who make up the Hype House seem to have it all. A beach front Malibu mansion, millions of TikTok followers, model good looks, and sponsorship deals up to $30,000 per post. Everything’s pretty much a Gen-Z paradise. Except that one member of the house has just turned up dead in the infinity pool. And the rest of them are suspects.

When the group TikTok account starts posting cryptic messages about the murder, the police limit their investigation to the members of the house. Now old joke videos are filed as evidence and past rivalries start to look like motives.

As investigators dig into these influencers’ lives beyond their glossy internet personalities, they discover all five had reasons their lives would’ve been easier with Sydney Reynolds dead. But only one of them killed her.

Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Purchase/Information Links:

Content and Trigger Warnings

For a list of warnings, tropes, and representation for this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com.

About the Author

Kiley Roache is the author of young adult novels FRAT GIRL and THE DATING GAME (HarperCollins / Inkyard Press) and the upcoming novel KILLER CONTENT, which will be published by Penguin Random House/ Underlined on Nov. 30, 2021. Kiley grew up in the Chicago-area, and has been writing since the 7th grade. She signed with a literary agent days before graduating high school.

She is a graduate of Stanford University where she studied Political Science and holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Kiley has also worked as a journalist, and her bylines are in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Businessweek among others. She was the 2018 Daniel Pearl Memorial Journalism Intern, reporting for The Wall Street Journal from the London bureau. She wrote an op-ed for The New York Times’s “On Campus” series entitled “The Future of Frats” arguing that fraternities should go co-ed. It was the lead story in the Times’s “The Edit” newsletter that week.

She now lives in Los Angeles in a house with three of her close friends. When she’s not writing she can be found justifying the purchase of cold brew coffee, reading at the beach, or singing karaoke without hitting a single note.

Review (no spoilers)

If you’d like to follow along with the rest of the tour, you can find the tour schedule here.

When I first saw the cover of this book, I was hooked. It is very reminiscent of Karen McManus’ covers, so you know right away what kind of story it’s going to be.

Killer Content was a very unique YA mystery for me, specifically because it is extremely modern. I mean, the main characters are a bunch of famous TikTok stars! This might have literally been the first book that I’ve ever read that even mentions TikTok! The story follows a group of social media influencers who all live in the same house in order to boost their engagement as much as possible. Things are going well for them until one of them shows up dead—now the rest of them are the main, and only, suspects.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book, which was particularly surprising because I honestly hated all of the characters. Most of them are spoiled, privileged, selfish, and often down-right mean. The comparison of this book to the comedy-mystery film Knives Out (a movie that I loved btw) made so much more sense to me after I started reading it. The characters are so thoroughly despicable, but I literally could not put the book down. Roache has a real talent when it comes to engaging writing. I was very impressed by her ability to not only capture my attention immediately, but to keep it throughout.

The biggest, and only, gripe that I had with the novel was that I guessed the big twist almost immediately. On top of that, it literally made no sense. I kept wanting my guess to be wrong, because I sincerely hoped that there was going to be a better and more believable explanation. Once it finally got revealed, I just dropped my hands to the side and basically said, “well, that was super fun to read anyways!”. I couldn’t even really be mad about it.

If you’re interested in reading Killer Content, definitely check it out! This book is perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Diana Urban, and Maureen Johnson! Grab your copy today!