#TheWriteReads blog tour | “The Half-Life Empire: An Alien Apocalypse Novel” (Half-Life Empire, Book One) by Shami Stovall

Posted Tuesday, 22 April, 2025 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Audiobook Review banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Borrowed Book By: I found out about this novel via The Write Reads who was hosting a blog tour in April, 2025. I decided to check to see if an audiobook copy was available to purchase via Audible as I have a subscription to their Plus Catalogue. I was surprised to find it is included in the Plus Catalogue, thereby, I was able to ‘borrow’ or listen to a copy of the audiobook via my subscription without having to purchase the audiobook at this time. 

Thereby, this is a self-listen of mine and I was not obligated to post a review. I am sharing my ruminative thoughts for my own edification and for continuing to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Why I wanted to step outside my zone of comfort for this audiobook:

I have been in such a readerly rut lately – too much on my heart/mind to properly focus on STORIES. Sad yet true. I knew I needed to pull myself out of this FUNK and guess what? The Half-Life Empire is just the kind of STORY I need right now. I discovered the writings of Ms Stovall with the novels Time-Marked Warlock and Chronos Warlock – of which are future reads and reviews of mine. If the last few weeks were different – the first novel of that series would have been happily consumed and reviewed already. However, if you read over the top anchour of my #BestBooksOf2024 post you’ll understand what has been going on IRL for Mum and I.

Try as I might, I’ve been finding myself pulled out of reading and the stories I want to be attached inside of late. I know what caused the detachment but how to restart reading again when you can’t find yourself able to focus? Wells. Sometimes you have to read something radically outside your normal wanderings and reboot your readerly life. For me, that was choosing a story that was within one of the main genres I regularly read but perhaps not a subniche of the genre I’ve previously read. Towards that end – I was grasping at straws as they say to find such a book and to find a writer I who could hold my attention.

Then, quite unexpectedly this lovely blog tour was announced, and I looked up the story and felt it might kick me out of my readerly funk! Especially considering I know NOTHING about Post-Apocalyptic worlds and rarely do I read stories about aliens overtaking worlds. Science Fiction is one of those delightful segues of interest in my regular wanderings and one that I want to delve deeper into exploring this year which is why I have a stack of Sci Fi Reads in queue. This particular story felt wholly new to me, and I felt would offer a new perspective on a genre I still feel like I’m in the early days of discovering.

Sometimes you just have to take a chance – find a story and buckle up for the ride it gives you! And, for me, the story held my interest for a long while until I reached a point where I wasn’t sure I could continue with the story. Although this ended up becoming a DNF for me – I have a lot of notes and thoughts to share about the story, the lead character (Kita) and the performance of the narrator – in case anyone else feels this is a better fit for them and know they can finish the journey I started with The Half-Life Empire.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

#TheWriteReads blog tour | “The Half-Life Empire: An Alien Apocalypse Novel” (Half-Life Empire, Book One) by Shami StovallThe Half-Life Empire
by Shami Stovall
Source: Audible | Subscription
Narrator: Diana Richardson

From the Dragon Award–nominated author of Astra One young woman leads a ragtag band of survivors across a fractured, post-alien-invasion America.

Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.

When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.

Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland?

Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.

Genres: Science Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B0CJ441FPM

Published by Podium Audio

on 17th October, 2023

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 15 hours and 49 minutes (unabridged)

BBNYA Finalist Badge 2024 provided by The Write Reads and is used with permission.

Published by: Podium Audio (@podiumentertainment) via Instagram

About Shami Stovall

Shami Stovall

Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com Read More

Divider

Posted Tuesday, 22 April, 2025 by jorielov in Action & Adventure Fiction, First Contact, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

#TheSundayPost | XXII | Wickedly delighted for this lovely #bookpost from Anna J. Stewart!

Posted Sunday, 13 April, 2025 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books.. share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Happy Spring, dear hearts!

I’m hopeful for a renewal of reading this season,

and lots of wicked good stories on the horizon for me to read!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Jorie’s life behind the blog:

The *best!* moment I was able to share over the past week was celebrating my 12th Blogoversary – which manifested itself through a variety of posts – both on Jorie Loves A Story and on my #bookstagram posts via @joriestory3. The first post on Insta was simply announcing the blogoversary itself and acknowledging the last *12!* years I’ve been book blogging and socially bookish online. Whilst the second post was a BIG reveal of what I purchased as part of the celebration of the milestone 12th Year whilst getting a firm start on my plans to focus on serial fiction throughout 2025! It was one of the goals I revealled on the third post on Insta which was a ‘fond farewell’ to (2024) as well as a nod to my Cuppa Book Love Awards for (2024).

I had intended to read more this past week – however, the last few weeks have been emotionally over the top for Mum and I. As we’re navigating the current medical issues of my father’s whilst sorting out what the next steps are in his care plan. I had a lot of days where I was just too exhausted (mentally, physically and emotionally) to do much past eat a bit of dinner and watch some tv just to ‘relax’ and ‘unwind’ after a long day of working two separate shifts. The stories I knew would wait for me to return to them as I just didn’t have the capacity to soak into their worlds at that point in time.

I am hopeful as I can rest today and on Tuesday, I will be a bit more rejuvenated overall. There are still a lot of uncertainties about my Dad, but we knew that one day our lives were going to grow more complicated because of his medical issues eventually. Blessedly, my Dad is in good spirits despite what is going on and he still retains his humour which is something that gave us a good laugh when we were with him. Humour is the best medicine in life. As we navigate this new path in our lives, we’re simply taking it one day at a time and one week at a time. It is hard to look too far ahead right now and we’re simply thankful for the times we have with him. If it turns out this is our final season with Dad we’ll be there for each other and walk through the grief of his loss together. So far, we haven’t heard the results of the doctor’s enquiries into his health and medical issues – as for whichever reason we’ve been told that could take longer than we’d expect it too. *le sigh*

For now, we have a reprieve and we’re taking it day to day. It is all we can do.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

In regard to my blog and readerly life:

I also missed a lot of the announcements being revealled for #WyrdAndWonder’s 7th Year – which is something I will be rectifying this week. My lovely co-hosts have been featuring their announcements in my absence whilst we’ve been happily planning out our theme: Nautical Fantasy which will be celebrated in a variety of ways this May.

I’ve been preplanning what I want to do this year and although, Nautical Fantasy interests me greatly – I only picked a handful of selections to read per the theme this year, as other stories of Fantasy are calling to me a bit more which I’ll be focusing on throughout the month. I look forward to sharing what those choices are and which stories I started last year (either during May or October, for #SpooktasticReads) which have made the cut to be finished this May, too.

Aside from the JOYS of Wyrd And Wonder, I’ve been having some wicked good #bookpost of late and I am happy to share the latest stories I’ve received from Ms Anna J. Stewart. She writes the Harlequin Heartwarming series Hawaiian Reunions and the Harlequin Romantic Suspense series Honour Bound – both of which I am in the process of reading. Some of those stories have already been featured on Jorie Loves A Story, too! Whilst she has a new series which picks up after Honour Bound, too. 

Read More

Divider

Posted Sunday, 13 April, 2025 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, The Sunday Post

#BestBooksOf2024 Retrospective | The stories behind #JLASblog’s 11th Year whilst celebrating my 12th Blogoversary!

Posted Tuesday, 8 April, 2025 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

End of the Year [2024] badge created by Jorie in Canva. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Jorie in Canva as well.

The Questions for the 2020 End of the Year Survey are posted by Jaime @ the Perpetual Page Turner, who created this survey as a personal reflection of her year of bookish wanderings and readings, and never thought it would turn into a book blogosphere yearly event! I am thankful she encourages us all to participate even though over the past five years I haven’t had the best track record of joining in on the community in which she’s curated to share a summation of our readerly lives.

NOTE: I participated in this Survey in (2015) and (2020). I seemed to have skipped over the years betwixt and between then and now. I have plans to fill in those gaps but that is for another day. I also couldn’t find any updates from Jaime on her blog past (2021) which is why I kept the questions I had from (2020). She continued to blog but apparently did not continue with the survey itself.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

*Please be Advised:*

This past year I read a heap less books than in years past where I would read upwards of over 150 to 200+ books. I read far less than most who focus on reading 50 books every year too. And, yet this year I was quite proud of the stories I did read and the joys they gave me as a reader. If you count all the stories I partially read – the year-end total would be *40*.

For a girl balancing two jobs – one of which is 40+ hours a week and trying to find the hours outside of work to focus on something less stressful – I consider (2024) a success! Especially as by Summer, 2024 I finally wrangled my own style of joining #bookstagram despite trying to join the community there in Autumn of (2023).

All things considered; it was a wonderfully wicked bookish year!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Be sure to brew yourself a cuppa joy as you sit, read and ponder which of my #BestOf2024Reads need to seriously become added to your own #TBR!

If you’ve filled something out like this survey (OR this actual one!) or a different kind of post altogether to summerise your readerly life in (2024) – be sure to share your link to your post(s) in the *threads below this post so I can take a gander at which stories | authors | series | genres joyfully intrigued, you throughout 2024! As I would like to expand my own TBR with the stories you’ve read yourself which could be a wicked good fit for me.

I have severely edited this survey to better reflect my last year as a book blogger and as a reader. Thereby, this survey is far shorter than in the years I originally filled it out and has a special section to celebrate my 12th Year as a Book Blogger as that truly was a milestone moment for me as a book blogger who’s struggled over the last few years to maintain her readerly life and bookish life online.

REMEMBER: if a story wasn’t my cuppa it could be one better suited for you and vice versa if you had a story which you felt fell short of your own expectations and might resonate with me better. Reading is subjective to our individual experiences within the stories themselves, and all our reactions are valid and important as they are markers of our readerly lives.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Let’s break this down a bit, shall we?

You can use this as a ‘preview guide’ of how to use my Story Vault. <— fully updated!

Jorie Loves A Story 11th Year note of Gratitude graphic created by Jorie in Canva.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com Read More

Divider

Posted Tuesday, 8 April, 2025 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, End of the Year Survey, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story

#WWWednesday No. XXII | Finding JOY in reading whilst betwixt and between Cosy Crime and Speculative Fiction!

Posted Wednesday, 12 March, 2025 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

#WWWednesdays graphic created by Jorie in Canva.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of its concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday on all socials

Follow the host via Bookstagram!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Is it Spring? Or has Winter given us a few more days?

I am happy to have cooler weather lingering a bit before Spring grabs hold of us because Spring tends to be the jumpstart to Summer round here and Summer is a wrath of humidity & heat I daresay I could permanently take a vacation from seeing arrive!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

At the end of MARCH, I will be ringing in my 12th blogoversary on the 31st! Can you imagine? I can barely fathom how a decade and two years have come and gone already! I still feel like I am still in the throes of my bookish and readerly goals – still seeking to explore more on my blog in regards to how and what I discuss in book world and wickedly delighted for the next stories I’ll be reading! I suppose that’s a healthy way to look at it too – knowing that you still have things to explore in literature whilst still happy to engage in the bookish community of book bloggers, too!

I know I’ve fallen a bit short on the engagement levels the last several years, but this year, I have a new organisational system I’m using to sort out where I’ve visited and to whom I want to visit with next and then, continue to make my rounds accordingly thereafter. It is helping me remember where I’ve been as with my work life – I find myself sometimes forgetting those details! I also want to be better engaged this year overall and this is my way of reaffirming those connections and happily getting back into communicating more with those who are blogging about the stories and topics I love to read about too.

I gave myself an *extra special* 12th Year Blogoversary gift, too, but mum’s the word until lateron in the month, okay!? It will be a lovely *big!* reveal – both on my blog and on my #bookstagram too!

For now, I’m *celebrating!* where I am with my readerly goals this month – I had a hard-won start to (2025) in respect to reading and finishing the stories I had started last year. I’ve been wanting to write so many WWWs and Sunday Posts since November it’s not even funny! I decided to return to WWW as a way to keep myself on target and also as a self-check of where I am currently with my readings. Again, I’m striving towards better work/life balance and when your work life is as chaotic as mine has become – you’d like to find what works for you and run with it! Laughs.

I was proud of myself of reading three books which took me far longer to read than I felt were possible between January and February. Whilst it was also a moment where I took a lark of a chance on a #newtomeauthor and came away with such a dramatically riveting read! She’s also become a wicked new favourite author for Cosy Crime! I’m still on the fence if I’d consider her series Cosy Historical Mysteries or Historical Cosy Crime – the difference being there are elements in her stories which breach traditionally ‘Cosy’ frameworks and are better suited to Cosy Crime which aren’t fully of those constraints. At least by my experiences as a reader. For me Cosy Crime is a slightly past traditional Cosy but not full-on Hard-Boiled either! It is like a step betwixt and between the two!

I’m also so EXCITED about the books on my shelf right now OVERALL. I have some seriously awesomesauce reads happening and more #bookpost news to share as the days move forward, too!

Yesterday, I was able to share my JOYFUL receival of the Chronos Chronicles series by Shami Stovall – as viewed here on my #bookstagram post about it! You’ll spy Time-Marked Warlock on this post!

And, without further ado, let’s dive into what I’m reading and which stories I’ve recently read!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Photo Collage of Books #JorieReads created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: jorielovesastory.com

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

What Jorie is currently reading:

My Heart is Hurting by S.E. Reed* (see also Review)

A Guardian Till Christmas by Danielle Thorne

Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall

And, two wildcard selections not pictured:

Death on the Golden Mile by Caleb Wygal
(Myrtle Beach Mysteries, Book Three)

In Every Life by Rea Frey

*this review went live ahead of this post

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Originally, I was planning to feature this WWW last week rather than this week – but last week everything went to heck and a handbasket work wise and my heart just wasn’t into writing this post to be honest! Frowns. Therefore, my review for My Heart is Hurting went live on Friday, the 7th – even though technically it was meant to be featured on Thursday, the 6th. I was juggling everything and was overwhelmed greatly by ALL that was happening to the brink having it arrive on Friday was better suited for me personally and I hoped didn’t affect the overall blog tour by having it featured a day late. I had a lot of mixed emotions and reactions to this story, too. So much so, I am hopeful what I tried to convey about my own personal journey with the story resonates with those who read the review, and they understand the heartache I had with it.
Read More

Divider

Posted Wednesday, 12 March, 2025 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, WWW Wednesdays