Just Right Jillian by Nicole D. Collier REVIEW

 Just Right Jillian

by Nicole D. Collier

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Synopsis

Fifth-grader Jillian will do just about anything to blend in, including staying quiet even when she has the right answer. After she loses a classroom competition because she won't speak up, she sets her mind on winning her school's biggest competition. But breaking out of her shell is easier said than done, and Jillian has only a month to keep her promise to her grandmother and prove to herself that she can speak up and show everyone her true self.

A warm and relatable middle-grade debut novel about family, friendship, and finding the confidence to break free from the crowd and be who you truly are.

Publication Day: Feb 1, 2022

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Jillian promised her grandmother she would try to be a little less shy. When the perfect opportunity arises at school Jillian decides to do her absolute very best to come out of her shell and show everyone how smart she really is.

This book is one of the sweetest middle grade books I've read. The story just warms you from the inside out. What I really liked about this book is the issues the characters face (and no I'm not just talking about being shy) are addressed in a way that is suitable for the middle grade child while still being enjoyable and relatable for a slightly older audience. With an adorable cast and heartwarming relationships Just Right Jillian belongs on every middle graders bookshelf.

Observations Through Yellow Glasses: A Memoir Through Poems by Yong Takahashi REVIEW

 Observations Through Yellow Glasses: A Memoir Through Poems

by Yong Takahashi

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Synopsis

Yong Takahashi moved to The United States with her parents when she was three years old. She grew up in a traditional household where her Korean and American worlds pulled her in opposite directions. Shortlisted for The Sexton Prize for Poetry, OBSERVATIONS THROUGH YELLOW GLASSES invites you to follow her journey as she learns life’s bitter lessons, longs for love, and attempts to heal the wounds she collects along the way.

Review

Thank you to the author for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In Yong Takahashi's new book Observations Through Yellow Glasses: A Memoir Through Poems we are taken on a journey through Yong's life growing up in America.

I loved being able to experience this journey through Yong's perspective. Her writing is so entrancing and expressive. This beautiful poetry collection will tangle your emotions as it satisfies your mind. This is one of those books I think many people will be able to relate to. If you're a poetry lover you need this book in your collection.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz REVIEW

Anatomy: A Love Story

by Dana Schwartz

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Synopsis

Edinburgh, 1817.

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, the university will allow her to enroll. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books – she’ll need bodies to study, corpses to dissect.

Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living, then.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets. Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I am not a fan of romance at all, however every now and again a romance comes along with a little something special and makes me question myself. This is one of those books. I was actually ready to DNF this pretty early on. I ended up giving it one more chapter and that chapter was a complete game changer.

I don't really have a lot to say about this one. The story is really interesting and the main character is awesome. The story that's advertised is the story we get. It's a dark medical romance that takes you to a place and time all its own. It's got everything you could want all wrapped up in a pretty little package.

If you're looking for mystery, romance, with a badass female character who has a passion for Anatomy then pick this one up.

Such A Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester REVIEW

Such a Pretty Smile

by Kristi DeMeester

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Synopsis

A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, Such a Pretty Smile is a heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them.

There’s something out there that’s killing. Known only as The Cur, he leaves no traces, save for the torn bodies of girls, on the verge of becoming women, who are known as trouble-makers; those who refuse to conform, to know their place. Girls who don’t know when to shut up.

2019: Thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer has secrets she can’t share with anyone. Not the school psychologist she’s seeing. Not her father, who has a new wife, and a new baby. And not her mother—the infamous Caroline Sawyer, a unique artist whose eerie sculptures, made from bent twigs and crimped leaves, have made her a local celebrity. But soon Lila feels haunted from within, terrorized by a delicious evil that shows her how to find her voice—until she is punished for using it.

2004: Caroline Sawyer hears dogs everywhere. Snarling, barking, teeth snapping that no one else seems to notice. At first, she blames the phantom sounds on her insomnia and her acute stress in caring for her ailing father. But then the delusions begin to take shape—both in her waking hours, and in the violent, visceral sculptures she creates while in a trance-like state. Her fiancé is convinced she needs help. Her new psychiatrist waves her “problem” away with pills. But Caroline’s past is a dark cellar, filled with repressed memories and a lurking horror that the men around her can’t understand.

As past demons become a present threat, both Caroline and Lila must chase the source of this unrelenting, oppressive power to its malignant core. Brilliantly paced, unsettling to the bone, and unapologetically fierce, Such a Pretty Smile is a powerful allegory for what it can mean to be a woman, and an untamed rallying cry for anyone ever told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty.

Expected Publication Date: January 18, 2022

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What I love about this novel is the way it takes the issues women face and turns them into a physical monster. The monster inside these pages is created from the issues of the patriarchy. It brings physical life to the detrimental effects of the internal struggle of being expected to shut up and behave and the "punishment" a lot of women face when they don't.

Such a pretty smile is told in dual timeline perspectives. It flips back and forth from 2019 Lila Sawyer and 2004 Caroline Sawyer. While I enjoyed Lila's sections from the beginning, it wasn't until just halfway through that Caroline's perspective caught my attention. The ending of the book was good enough that everything balanced out. While it wasn't the best feminist horror out there it's definitely still worth the read.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long REVIEW

 Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves

by Meg Long

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Synopsis

After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with her prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option.

But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she's strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was such an exciting story. It's a fast paced page turner that takes you on an exciting journey of survival. I ended up finishing it in two sittings. Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves keeps you on the edge of seat with your heart racing. It was simply spectacular!

I really liked Sensa as a main character. I thought she was fleshed out nicely and had good character growth. She is a well written, likeable character. Her relationship with Iska was just the sweetest thing. Watching them learn to trust each other and bond was so beautiful. They made a great pair of characters to follow and for me their relationship made the story what it was.

If you're looking for a survival story with a touch of fantasy and an animal sidekick you need to check this out.

Expected Publication: January 11, 2022

Lemon Drop Falls by Heather Clark REVIEW

 Lemon Drop Falls

Heather Clark

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Synopsis

Brave the sour to taste the sweet.

Morgan is devastated by her mother’s sudden death. Before, Mom’s amazing organizational skills kept the family on track, and her bowl of lemon drops was always on hand to make difficult conversations easy, turning life’s sour into sweet. After, there’s no one to help Morgan navigate her new role caring for her younger siblings, her worries about starting junior high, and her increasingly confusing friendships. All she can do is try to fulfill her mother’s final request: Keep them safe, Morgan. Be brave for them. Help them be happy.

When Dad insists on taking the family on their regular summer camping trip, and Morgan’s efforts to keep her promise to Mom seem doomed to fail, Morgan’s anxiety spirals into a panic attack, and Dad treats her like she’s impossibly broken. Unable to share her fears and needs with Dad, and desperate to prove she’s got the strength to hold the family together, Morgan sets off alone to hike a flooding canyon trail. But somewhere on that lonely and dangerous journey, Morgan will encounter the truth about the final words her mother left her, the power in finding her own voice, and the possibility of new beginnings.

Expected Publication: February 15, 2022

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Lemon Drop Falls is such a wonderful read. With dual timelines we flash back and forth between before and after the death of Morgan's mom. We experience the days leading up to her death which really give us a sense of who Mama Bell, as she is called in the story, was. We get to know her just enough to love her. Then simultaneously she is gone and we are watching Morgan deal with her grief and pain which is another heartache all on its own. Morgan really struggles with her mom's death as her and her family learn to cope without Mama Bell.

Ya'll this book had me up sobbing at 1 AM. My heart was broke, I just wanted some healing for the main character. Clark did an awesome job at making you feel the characters pain. My heart was totally shattered for her.

There are a few messages in here about grief and healing from grief.

If you have a middle grade or even a bit older child who is dealing with grief I feel like this could be something they could connect with. I feel like this book addresses loss and grief in a way that could really help a child who has lost a loved one.

2021 Wrap-Up & 2022 Reading Goals

2021 Wrap-Up & 2022 Reading Goals

Hi everyone! Today I want to do a quick recap of my goals for 2021 and how well I did with them as well as go over some of my reading goals for 2022. Let's just jump on in shall we?

 Books

Under The Dome & The Long Walk & Misery by Stephen King - Under The Dome I did read and loved. The Long Walk & Misery are still on my TBR.

Neverday & I Knocked Up Satan's Daughter by Carlton Mellick III - Yes! I read and enjoyed both of these.

We Were Beautiful by Heather Hepler - I didn't get to this one but it is still on my TBR

All The Stars and Teeth & All The Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace - Yes! Read and enjoyed both of these!

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher - Read and enjoyed!

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning - I just read this in December and unfortunately I did not enjoy it.

Project Nemesis Trilogy by Brendan Reichs - So I didn't end up reading these yet but they are on my TBR for 2022

Elites of Eden & Rebels of Eden by Joey Graceffa - I did read these. Elites of Eden was my favorite book in the trilogy.

Goals

1. Read 100 books: I'd like to try and read at least 100 books again this year. I Smashed this one and ended up reading over 200 books.

2. Prioritize my Physical TBR: I started 2021 with 301 physical books on my TBR, I want to cut that down as much as possible. I don't think I did a horrible job of this, but it could have been a lot better. I'm going into 2022 with 250 books.

3. Classics: I would like to continue to read more classics. I think 6 books is a great goal to reach for. I read more than 6 and actually enjoyed most of the ones I read.

4. Popsugar Reading Challenge: I love a challenge and hopefully I'll finish the Popsugar Reading Challenge for the third year in a row. Did it!

5. Translated Works: This year I'd like to read at least 4 translated books. I'm pretty sure I completed this.

6. Series: I want to finish off as many of the series I have started as possible. I did finish a few series that I started. I still have a few to finish but I'm happy with the ones I did complete.

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And now for my 2022 Goals!!

Books

Project Nemesis Trilogy by Brendan Reichs - I've been excited about this trilogy ever since I got it in 2020. It's time to just read them already!

The Long Walk & Misery by Stephen King - The Long Walk has been on my goals list since 2020, that is one I really want to get done at this point. Misery I want to read so I can watch the movie.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron - I'm so excited for this one!

Kings of Wyld by Nicholas Eames - Over Christmas my fiancé sent me to the bookstore and told me to get a book. I asked the lady who worked there for recommendations on a horror or sci-fi under 300 pages. She wasn't a horror reader so she ended up picking out a 500 page fantasy book for me instead. Side note, she did ask if I was okay with fantasy and had a back up sci-fi recommendation but she recommended this book the most.

China Dolls & The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See - In 2020 I binged 5 books by Lisa See and then never read anything by her after. The 5 books I read were all 4 and 5 stars so I have no explanation for this.

Goals

1. Read 100 books. I read a lot in 2021 and while I like reading a lot I probably will not read that many books this year.

2. Focus on my bookshelves (currently at 250 unread books). I am putting myself on a book buying ban with one exception. I just started a book club where we read backlist titles, if I need a book for that which I can not find at the library I am going to buy it. 

3. This year I created a reading challenge to help me get through the books on my physical TBR. The prompts are not strict, it's literally just a fun way to help me decide what to read next. I tried to make the prompts so they would be easy to fill without much, if any, searching.

4. Something book related I want to do this year is a Cross Stitch Book Journal. I originally got the idea when I saw a post by @bookstitchlong. When I looked more into it, people actually embroider a journal by stitching an icon a day, I won't be doing one daily but instead I'll be doing one per book read. I don't know how to embroider so I'm going to cross stitch mine. Hopefully it'll turn out nice and I won't run out of room.

That's basically all of my challenges for this year. I want to keep it simple and give myself room to just read whatever I feel like at that time. It's going to be a pretty chill reading year for me and I'm looking forward to that.

If you've read this far, thank you so much! I appreciate every read I get on these posts. Please remember to check me out on Instagram and Twitter for updates on my 2022 Reading Challenge and Bookish Stitchalong.

See you on the moon! XO

Helpful Links:

Four Moon Reading Challenge:

Prompts Blog Post: https://fourmoonreviews.blogspot.com/2021/11/four-moon-2022-reading-challenge.html

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1176262-four-moon-reading-challenge

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/838ac83b-ee6f-400e-9e19-06d7c7955fe8

Socials:

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourmoonreviews/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9197859-samantha

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/samanthapearl