Tag: siblings

REVIEW: A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon

REVIEW: A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington/Dafina in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Jesse Pleasant is thrilled that his brothers have found love. But his anger and resentment at being the dependable one – the rock – the family caretaker – is starting to feel like too much. In fact, he completely loses his cool when he walks in on his grandmother and her new boyfriend. He knows his response was way over the top.

Lily-Grace is furious that her father got hurt because Jesse had a temper tantrum. And she’s prepared to make him suffer her wrath over it for awhile. But when he takes her chiding to heart and gets a therapist, she wonders if the sweet kid she met in elementary school is still there in the heart of this angry, brooding man.

While things start to thaw  – and then heat up – between Jesse and Lily-Grace, both are at a crossroads in life. Will their choices push them closer in the end or lead them on separate paths?

Review

When I first picked this up, I meant to just start it – a chapter or two before bed. Next thing I knew, I was up way past my bedtime and halfway through the novel. It was worth the loss of sleep to spend time with the Pleasant family again. The therapy-positive focus of this book was awesome. I enjoyed the exploration of Jesse’s anger and his journey through the whole book.

I loved Jesse and Lily-Grace together. There are some great one-liners here to balance out the more serious moments. Fans of re-imagined fairytales should enjoy this take on Beauty and the Beast. I have really enjoyed how the author has taken these well-known stories and made them her own. The connections are clear if you are looking for them, but they are also super subtle and nuanced so that it’s possible you won’t even notice the parallels. Series fans should NOT miss this latest installment of the Cowboys of California series. I don’t believe these have to be read in order to be enjoyed, but it does help establish the relationships in the family. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

BLOG TOUR: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

BLOG TOUR: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book releases August 31, 2021.]

Summary

Called to her brother’s home by Dr. Watson, Enola finds him in a debilitating melancholy. He won’t acknowledge her efforts to rile him, and he essentially ignores a young woman who comes to him for help.  Enola draws out the details of her case, and eventually Sherlock is intrigued enough to join in the preliminaries.

Miss Glover has been told her twin sister has died, but she refuses to believe it. And there is some evidence that the claim is false. Besides, Miss Glover’s brother-in-law lost his first wife, too, from another “sudden fever” which raises suspicions. So the Holmes take on the case. Enola works her angle, even gaining help from her friend, the Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether, while Sherlock works his own leads.

Review

The book opens with a prologue, penned by Sherlock, outlining Enola’s earlier adventures as well as a description of his transformed feelings for her and about her – annoyance to begrudging respect to fondness. It’s a GREAT opening. I could hear it in my mind in Henry Cavill’s voice (from the delightful Netflix Enola Holmes movie). And it was only the first of many things I loved about this book!

I love Enola! She is an exceptional sleuth, challenging all of her famous brother’s garbage assumptions about women by just being herself. I thoroughly enjoyed how she and Sherlock worked their own aspects of the case while always managing to return to one another. I enjoy them so much as partners.

It’s been ages since I first read the early books in this series (this is technically Enola’s 7th adventure), so I’m not sure if the Netflix movie did an exceptional job of capturing the tone of the characters from those earlier books or if *this* book does an exceptional job of capturing the tone of the movie. Either way, I had the movie characters firmly in my mind as I read, and I found this story just as enjoyable as I did the movie.

The sleuthing was satisfying, and the resolution of the case was, too. Frankly, I thought the book was perfect! (Don’t be alarmed by the low reviews on Amazon. Apparently a lot of folks didn’t realize they were reading a TEASER and not the whole book. And then they wondered why it was so short. Ugh.) Mystery fans, Sherlock fans, and Enola fans should run right out and pick this one up when it releases next week. It’s an absolute treat!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: Better Together by Christine Riccio

REVIEW: Better Together by Christine Riccio

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Siri was certain her back injury would heal up and she’d be back to dancing by now. So when the doctor tells her she can’t dance ever again, she’s devastated. Her mom ships her off to a “Rediscover Yourself” retreat in Colorado where she’s supposed to somehow “find her way.” Like that could happen after everything has fallen apart.

Jamie’s launch to independence didn’t quite go as planned. So she’s back home with her dad and Grams. One of her dad’s conditions to her moving home is that she either go to therapy or go to a “Rediscover Yourself” yoga retreat her grandmother mentioned.

While Siri sees Jamie as an annoyance at the retreat where she doesn’t want to be anyway, Jamie is stunned to see her little sister there. It’s been 14 years. And apparently Siri has no memory of Jamie. Siri thought “Jamie” was an imaginary friend and has spent those years apart trying to not feel crazy because she was so attached to this imaginary friend. A real-life, in-her-face Jamie is unfathomable at first.

As the two try to make sense of their past as well as their present reality, they decide they want to switch places after the retreat so they can get some closure on the mess their parents have made of things. They figure they will pretend to be one another – they look enough alike to be twins – and then bamboozle their parents into a big meet up. What could go wrong?

How about a magic glitter bomb that somehow causes the girls to switch bodies?

Review

So, I wanted to like this. I stuck with this one FAR longer than I usually do for a book I’m just not feeling. I was intrigued by the whole “How could Siri’s mom lie to her so egregiously like that?” plot line. But in the end, I gave up at about 65%. I didn’t like Siri or Jamie, although Siri was more tolerable once she got to California. The girls were both abrasive and hard to like. Siri’s weird not-swearing thing got old really fast. (Instead of “S***” she says “Excrement,” for example – you can imagine what she does with the f-word.) The most likeable character, Dawn, is a side character who doesn’t get much development because she is not the focus. But I would have liked either more of her, or a more direct story about the imaginary friend lie. The fact that both girls have grandparents who went along with this ridiculous thing is, I guess, something that should have bothered me more in the original Parent Trap. But the “twins” were so endearing in those movies, I didn’t stop to ask. The magical switching complicated this rather than making it more fun. (I’ve read complaints online not unlike the ones for Wonder Woman 1984 about what right a person has to use someone else’s body/face for their own purposes.)

If you are super into the whole premise, or you have a higher tolerance for abrasive characters than I do, or if you like the author’s other work, you might give this a try. But it was a bad fit for me.

Rating: ♥

*♥ = Problematic, did not finish.

REVIEW: Truly Tyler by Terri Libenson

REVIEW: Truly Tyler by Terri Libenson

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Balzer and Bray in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book releases next week on May 4th.]

Summary

Tyler has recently rediscovered how much he enjoys art. And it’s helped him overcome the awkwardness with Emmie over that note. Now they’re friends – and they’re working together on a graphic novel project for class.

But Tyler is getting caught up in the art project, and basketball is suffering – and right before the big game, too. To make things worse, the guys are hassling him about spending time with Emmie. Maybe he should just do his own project and try to get back in the zone, with both his more popular friends and with basketball.

Tyler and Emmie take turns telling this story, as well as telling the story within the story.

Review

This is book 5 in the Emmie & Friends series after Invisible Emmie, Positively Izzy, Just Jaime (♥♥♥♥), and Becoming Brianna (♥♥♥♥). I was surprised this wasn’t told completely by Tyler. Emmie is also dealing with a friendship situation while she negotiates her ongoing crush on Tyler. I think some readers will enjoy watching Tyler and Emmie figure out their friendship from different angles.

I think Tyler’s story, though, could have been enough on its own. He’s noticing how shallow his relationship is with his dad. And when Tyler makes an effort to seek out his older brother about it, it strengthens their relationship and opens communication. Tyler is also dealing with peer pressure about basketball vs art as well as his friendship with Emmie. AND he’s also wrestling with his identity and his own feelings about art and basketball aside from the pressure he is getting from others. This is some great, meaty stuff, and I really enjoyed it. Personally, Emmie’s story felt more like an interruption than an enhancement of that story. Her friendship issue felt forced, like it was there to give her story more depth than just her crush. And I agree, she needed more depth than that. But I think Tyler’s story alone would have made this a better fit for me.

Fans of the series will definitely want to pick this one up. The art work is stellar as always. And the author has a terrific grasp on middle school interactions and struggles!

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt

REVIEW: The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Della heads home to Michigan after her summer with her dad and older siblings in Florida, she feels torn. It was a hard summer after the death of Nan Sunny. And now Dell is about to start high school alone, with her older siblings in Florida and her younger sisters still at Trinity. But Dell’s mother misunderstands the struggle and suggests she stop going to Florida. So Dell decides she just has to be extra awesome at compartmentalizing her life. In Michigan, she’s AJ, the uber-responsible daughter, perfect sister, and top notch student leader. In the summers, she can relax and be Della, the baby of the family who is free to cut loose.

Three years later, AJ has become a pro at her double life. But she doesn’t love how it feels. As she approaches her senior year of high school, the pressure is mounting. Her parents in Michigan are pushing internships and extracurriculars that threaten her time in Florida. Her father’s business in Florida is struggling, and Della keeps butting heads with his teen employee. But as life starts to crumble for one of Della’s younger sisters and she is sent to Florida, Della’s two worlds are about to collide.

Review

This had a slow, slow start for me. It made the book feel twice as long as it really was. I was maybe 1/3 or more into it before things started to click. I needed AJ to get to a place where she was honestly appraising her dual life – and the reasons for it – while also digging into what it was costing her. Once that happened, I was hooked. And once her younger sister arrived in Florida and pushed AJ’s self-evaluation that much deeper, I couldn’t put the book down.

I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this early on. I ended up adoring this book. The characters are a delight – even the one who annoyed me early on. There are fantastic messages woven in about emotional health and maturity, communication, therapy, and identity. The core pieces about family and siblings are lovely. Really, there are almost too many terrific pieces to list them all – romance, humor, self-discovery. So satisfying in the end.

Pick this one up! If it feels slow at first, stick with it. This was so good, I would read it again! (Language, LGBTQ+, sexual references, underage drinking, teen pregnancy)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Thornwood by Leah Cypess

REVIEW: Thornwood by Leah Cypess

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Delacorte Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

If you went by the standard fairy tales, you might think Sleeping Beauty was an only child. After all, she’s the focus of the story and all you hear about. But Rosalin – Sleeping Beauty – has a younger sister, Briony.

On Rosalin’s 16th birthday, she’s supposed to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and sleep for 100 years along with the rest of the castle. And Briony remembers the start of that day. But when she wakes up in the tower with a spinning wheel and a fairy, she has no memory of the birthday or what happened to Rosalin or the kingdom.

While the prince is there when Briony wakes up, and he wakes Rosalin with a kiss, the Thornwood surrounding the castle is as robust as ever, even trying to grab Briony and pull her in. But when she starts to work on a plan to get out of the castle, Briony discovers that nothing is what she expected – not the curse or the castle or the prince.

Review

This was so fun! I’ve read other “fractured” or re-imagined fairy tales (I love them!), and this one felt fresh and had some nice twists to it.

I liked Briony and her friend Edwin. I found the repeated dismissals of Briony by her family and others in the castle to be frustrating. It fits with the kids fiction emphasis on protagonists who save themselves, which I love. But this felt cruel, and I didn’t like it for Briony.

The reaction of the other folks in the castle to their plight was a clever piece of this story. I don’t want to give anything away, but it was probably my favorite feature. It’s a great example of what makes this story feel fresh and different.

Fans of The Wide Awake Princess series, The Hamster Princess series, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, and other fractured fairy tales should not miss this one! This is the first book in a new series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Con Quest by Sam Maggs

REVIEW: Con Quest by Sam Maggs

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Cat – 12 years old. Daughter of 2 famous comics writers. Geekicon pro. And this year at Geekicon, she is determined to win the Quest – an unsanctioned scavenger hunt set at the con. Winners get to do charity work for a week with a major movie star.

Alex – Cat’s twin brother. Artist. Gamer. On the autism spectrum. Megafan of Epic, the comic. Alex would be happy to spend the day in Artist’s Alley talking to other creators. But at Geekicon, he can get the autograph of his favorite artist. The fact that he can use that opportunity to help his sister in the Quest is icing on the cake.

Fi – 14 years old. The twins’ older sister. Charged with watching them at the con. If she can show her responsibility here, her parents might let her go on a camping trip with the cool kids from school. But first she has to survive the wall-to-wall people at the smelly nerdfest – and not lose track of the twins.

Review

This was SO FUN! I am a huge fan of comic and fan conventions. And a huge fan of books set at conventions. This is a great addition to that book niche. The convention here is clearly a SDCC-ish event, although the description easily fit my smaller con experience, too.  Con fans will recognize the cosplay, con food, the thrill of discovering a new artist, and meeting a celebrity experiences. There’s tons to love here!

Alex, Cat and Fi take turns telling the story, which is great. There’s a lot of sibling stuff going on here. Alex wants Cat to treat him as an equal partner. Cat is so used to behavioral hiccups with Alex that she bulldozes over him a lot of the time. This dynamic between Cat and Alex was one of my favorite parts of the book. And Fi is so desperate to fit in with the popular kids, it makes her a tyrant with her younger siblings at this convention. Fi changes the most over the course of the story, but Alex and Cat get to grow as well.

At times, the Quest feels like it’s taking the fun out of the con. Cat gets so driven that she rushes Alex away from things he enjoys but aren’t achieving anything for her. Thankfully, the scavenger hunt is only during one day of the event, so there’s always hope that they will get to just enjoy themselves after it’s over. There’s a lot of push and pull here about the goals of the characters for this event.

I’m not used to middle grade books having romantic plot lines beyond crushes. I read another one this year where there was a romance between the main characters, and for me it felt like it pushed the audience up into the 10-14 range rather than the typical 8-12 for middle grade. I tend to fall on the more conservative side, though, when it comes to dating and boyfriends/girlfriends in elementary school. That said, there is a romantic element here between Fi and a girl she knows from school who is at the convention. The fact that Fi is a point of view character draws the romance a little closer to the reader. But the fact that Fi is older might also give it some distance for the typical middle grade reader. It’s something to keep in mind. Third graders reading middle grade might have a different reaction to the romantic plot than 6th graders. Personally, I would set this for the older 10-14 crowd.

Convention fans should be sure to check this one out. I enjoyed the journey with Alex, Cat and Fi, especially in 2020 when the only cons we are attending are virtual! (LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = Loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

REVIEW: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Carter Kane and his dad are in London for Christmas to visit Carter’s sister, Sadie, who lives with their mom’s parents. After their mom died, the grandparents sued for custody, taking Sadie in. This left Carter to travel the world with his archaeologist father and only see his younger sister twice a year.

Going to the museum on Christmas Eve wasn’t Sadie’s idea of a great visitation plan. The whole evening had been weird. Carter and her dad had been late. There was that Amos guy who talked to their dad and then disappeared.

But all of that weird was nothing compared to the Rosetta Stone exploding in a bit of magical combat. Now their father is gone, the police are threatening to arrest them, and their uncle has magically whisked them away to Brooklyn.

Turns out, the Egyptian gods are real. And two of them are working with Carter and Sadie to help take down the evil god, Set. But the Egyptian magicians of the day don’t trust anything to do with the gods. So they, too, are trying to stop Carter and Sadie.

Review

This book is 10 years old this year, and it’s been close to that long since I read it. At my first reading, I liked the story and the characters, but I preferred Percy Jackson’s world of Greek mythology. This is written for older middle grade readers – 10 and up.

My son assigned this to me as part of our Summer Reading Challenge, and I loved getting to read it after also reading the first five Percy books this summer.

The world building here is extensive. I don’t know if the magic system in Percy Jackson is just easier, or if Greek mythology is just more familiar. But grasping the details of the Egyptian gods as well as the magic system here felt like more work than with Percy.

I did like the other differences in this book. Carter and Sadie take turns telling the story, and there’s an interesting framework for readers that is more extensive than in the first Percy books. I also liked that Carter and Sadie have two fronts for battle – the magicians who don’t trust them and then the gods. I’d like to re-read the rest of this series – The Kane Chronicles – soon. I have enjoyed the return to this world.

I had forgotten the references to racism that are sprinkled throughout the book. (Carter’s parents were an interracial couple. Carter presents as Black, and Sadie presents as white.) Considering the discussions of race and racial justice from this summer, this book felt like a timely read. Sadly, little has changed in the last 10 years.

I think it’s easy for readers to dive into Percy because it’s more well known. But kids who love mythology stories should not miss this series. In the last 10 years, Riordan has expanded into Roman mythology and Norse mythology as well as launching a publishing imprint which has explored other racial and ethnic groups. There is a beautiful library of mythology stories to choose from these days. Don’t miss the Egyptian ones in this series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½= Loved it! Would re-read

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on October 13, 2020.]

Summary

Leo Ricci drives a New York City cab and also is the super of the building where he lives. He’s raising his eleven-year-old sister, Gabby. His neighbor and cousin-in-law, Dani, is a huge help as he feels out of his league almost all of the time.

Her Royal Highness Marie Joséphine Annagret Elana, Princess of Eldovia, is in New York to speak at the United Nations about the refugee crisis and then to handle some negotiations with American businesses, one in particular. Failing to fix the relationship between Eldovia and the businessman will be devastating to her country. And she’s not sure how much more of her father’s disapproval she can take.

Leo and Maria meet when she gets in his cab. His sister is gaga over meeting a real life princess. And Leo’s always had a thing for rescuing damsels in distress. He agrees to help Maria out by serving as her driver while she is in the city. In return, she invites Leo and Gabby to Eldovia for Christmas, like they are in some sort of Hallmark Christmas movie. But Leo and Maria come from two vastly different worlds. He’s barely making ends meet, and she’s a princess with an obligation to marry “strategically.” What business do they have spending Christmas together?

Review

This was delightful! It definitely has a Hallmark Christmas Movie feel to it (though far steamier than Hallmark Channel would ever allow), which is exactly what the author was going for. In fact, according to the acknowledgements, there are going to be two more books in the series. And if I am reading the signs right in the epilogue about where the sequel is headed, I am absolutely here for book 2!

I adored Leo and Marie. They really “get” each other. And they have great chemistry complete with excellent banter. They connect over their lost family members, care well for Gabby, and Leo helps Marie find her way through several conflicts. He sees her as a person, not just as a princess.

The story here is great. I loved that the conflicts are around the differences in their status and in the expectations of Marie in her role. There’s no secret identity or lying involved which is a nice change of pace.

This is another winner for Christmas 2020. Don’t miss this sexy holiday romance! (Language, sex, CW: grief/loss)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = Loved it! Would read again!

REVIEW: Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

REVIEW: Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Brighton has wanted to be a celestial all his life. Who doesn’t want super powers? He’s had to settle for his YouTube channel – Celestials of New York. But he and his twin brother are about to turn 18. And everyone knows that’s when the powers kick in.

Emil loves his brother, but he does not need the stress and anxiety of celestial life. Public opinion on their status as “heroes” is iffy. And then there are the battles with specters – people who use the blood of magical creatures to get powers. Emil and Brighton were caught in the middle of one of those battles the other night. All so Brighton could get footage for his YouTube channel. Not Emil’s scene. He’s much happier at his job at the Museum of Natural Creatures. While he’s stuck working in the gift shop, his favorite place is the Sunroom – the room that celebrates every kind of phoenix.

Thanks to Brighton’s lack of a sense of self-preservation, and his desperation for YouTube views, Emil finds himself on the run once again from a specter who wants to cause trouble. But when Brighton is in danger, Emil manifests powers. Specter powers. Where did they come from? And what do they mean?

Review

This is the superpowers book you’ve been waiting for. Fascinating world building. Great characters. Stunning ending.

Wow. This was…. wow. When I think of where everything starts and where it all stands in the end, it’s dizzying. At their core, Emil and Brighton don’t change a lot. Emil is timid. He longs for a simple life with the things and people he cares about. Brighton is desperate for significance. They are committed to one another completely, despite all the shake ups in the story. But as their circumstances change, they want what they want. Emil will use his powers for the greater good, but there are lines he won’t cross. Brighton will always have Emil’s back. But he is jealous of Emil’s powers. And he’s determined to show that he is powerful in his own way. It’s a fascinating identity story and friendship story wrapped in a magical fantasy.

I enjoyed the interplay between the various characters. There are TONS of interesting dynamics. Hand this to X-men fans, superhero fans, and fantasy fans. Book 2, Infinity Reaper, is scheduled to release in 2021. (LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥