Month: April 2014

Jorie’s Box of Joy No.2 : Endeavouring to expand my literary wings with stories of enchanting themes!

Posted Monday, 28 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Jorie's Box of Joy | A Feature of Jorie Loves A Story

One of the happiest moments for a book blogger is eagerly going to their postbox & seeing what delightfully wicked print books have arrived for their reading pleasure! I have always held a keen interest in postal mail, being a long-term postal letter correspondent which has given me such a heart of joy seeing envelopes & bundles of love arrive from dear friends around the world. Imagine my new excitement in seeing the books I am reviewing arriving by publisher, author, publicist, or literary agent! Such an exciting new chapter in postal splendor!

I have been wanting to blog about my excitement about being placed on certain blog tours and/or in receiving books for review direct from authors, publishers, or publicists. I originally came across a weekly meme on Mondays entitled Mailbox Monday and you could say, that my new feature on Jorie Loves A Story is an extended idea from the original! Except to say, with one minor switch-up! Although I attempt to write down when books arrive by Post, I am never quite as certain when the books arrive as I am always reading the next book in hand! Therefore, please join me as I get excited about the books on my shelf which are next in line to read!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comSeeing Green by Annabel HertzI am always attempting to keep myself open to reading books which push me outside the comforts of what I regularly read in order to keep my reading life an evolving journey towards exploring every facet of literature that I can as I shift from one author to another. When I first saw this particular book being offered on tour with JKS Communications, part of me was excited in seeing a book step forward that was not the traditional story to empathsis our need to be more environmentally conscience in our livelihoods as much as in how we approach living day to day. This book I felt would not only challenge me as a reader but it would challenge a few precepts of where I thought we had broached to head next on an environmental level and where we still have a heap of work to undergo towards reaching a pinnacle of progress as a society with a green-mindset in place to help future generations make better choices than the ones who came before them. I find the topic of environmental conservation and preservation as stimulating as discussing green-minded practices in business, commerce, and trade. To uncover green sources of energy, materials, and supplies which take the burden off the Earth and allow us to live a healthier life overall is quite enticing.

My review will post Thursday, 1st May.

Flight to Coorah Creek by Janet Gover

Happily in the wake of my first #ChocLitSaturdays Chat on Twitter {Backstory of the Chat & Info prior to Launch} I am going to be reading a new-to-me ChocLitUK author: Janet Gover! Her book stood out to me for several reasons, but one is my love & appreciation for small townes combined with the Australian Outback! I wanted to take a step outside my natural tendency to read historical fiction and enter into the realm of a Contemporary Romance set in a remote location where true to a small towne flair of sensibility everyone knows the affairs of your life and truly looks out for you at the same time. I wanted to try out stories from ChocLit which could introduce me to not only more new authors but new styles of writing as well. I do not often read Contemporary Romances, although I simply adore Sherryl Wood’s Serenity series (wait, I think that is my endearing name for it! oh, yes, “The Sweet Magnolias”!) as much as books by Debbie Macomber! I have settled inside the Victorian & Regency eras so readily the past several years, that I have forgotten that I do indeed appreciate a lovely story set in the modern world with contemporary characters! I also felt this one might have a heap of intriguing scenery to boot, as the name simply implied to me a part of the country that would be an interesting place to set the story!

My review will post 3rd May, 16th of August 2014 ahead of #ChocLitSaturdays Chat which begins at 11am EST | 8am PST | 4pm UK | 1am Australia! I am thankful that my #ChocLitSaturdays blog feature not only encompasses book reviews, Guest Posts, & Author Interviews but the ability for Romance readers to converse about romantic themes inside the novels we gravitate towards as much as a healthy appreciation of tea and chocolate! I previously mentioned this title in Jorie’s Box of Joy No.1.

Cats Are Part of HIs Kingdom Too by Cindy Vincent

My second tour to host for Ms. Amber Stokes (Editing Through the Seasons) will be for a lovely devotional which is quite devoted to an animal close to my heart: the cat! I have oft felt blessed to have the cats in my life that I have over the years, as each one would bring a certain level of serenity and calm into my life. As much as give me the gifted blessing of learning things such as cheeky humour in the midst of chaos that are simply too incredible not to acknowledge! Cats are truly my favourite companions next to dogs and hamsters, as they know how to impart unconditional love and pure grace in spirit.

When we expanded to have more than one cat, I started to have the honour of seeing how the inter-dynamics of a family can change simply by not having one cat but a handful. Different litters always have the presumption of not behaving well with each other, but I can attest that even a motley cat family from different litters can not only learn to adapt but they adjust to a comfortable level of ease around each other. I am always amazed and blessed to observe my cats, as they give so much love back to me as I give to them. I cannot wait to dig into this devotional to see where the lessons of living with cats endeared Ms. Vincent to write a devotional about how the lessons of life can alight in our lives at the most unexpected moments on the wings and shoulders of messengers we might not have realised to believe could give us so much truth.

My review will post Sunday, 4th May.

The Boleyn Bride by Brandy Purdy

Whilst following the blog tour for The Boleyn Bride my path crossed with the author Ms. Purdy, which led to an opportunity for me to receive this book to review. What was so incredible about the timing of it, is that it was one book that I felt I could draw myself inside and visit with the characters for quite a spell afterwards! Some stories you read about give you this itch to read the book as soon as your able too, and for me, this is one of those books! The clever bit is that I do not recall knowing too much about the Boleyn’s much less the Tudor era of England, as I have predominately always alighted between the text of Shakespeare straight into the Victorian, Regency, or Edwardian (of late) eras of visitation! The Tudors for some reason escaped my radar until recently. My interest started to pique when I found a bookish blog devoted to the Tudors and the literature which flows out of the pens of historical fiction writers: The Tudor Book Blog. I am hopeful that this will mark my start of selecting Tudor era novels and writers to help me not only learn more about this section of British History, but to help me settle into an era that I know so very little about and am thirsty to learn more!

My review will post Sunday, 14th May.

City of Promises by D. Grant Fitter

When City of Promises came available to tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I must confess, I was teetering on the edge of saying ‘yes’ to accept this book for review. My only hesitation was due to the fact that I have been to Mexico City and therefore, was uncertain if I could return to a fictional account of the city and maintain my memories of her in the ensuing decades since this particular sliver of the city’s history takes place. In the end, I decided that if I can handle reading about the Jazz Age in America as much as Prohibition and the upturnt tides of Chicago & New York City’s histories, can I can surely handle reading what happened in Mexico City! After all, when I was there the city was undergoing a bit of a Renaissance, in an attempt to re-strengthen the city’s identity as much as to re-define the city itself. It was the heart of the story given inside the premise that pulled at me, and for which I am most anxious to see where the corridors of this particular historical fiction will take me! I am always eager to traverse into the passageways of history that might not always lend a happy ending but will lend itself a portal glimpse into a part of history that needs to be told.

My Review will post on Tuesday, 9th of May.

Getting Waisted by Monica ParkerWhilst attending the #LitChat of comedienne Monica Parker, I had the unexpected joy and pleasure of being able to receive her debut book Getting Waisted after an exchange of conversation between Ms. Parker, her literary publicist Ms. Chan, and myself! I had reached out to Ms. Parker after the literary chat and felt quite honoured I was given this opportunity as health & wellness holds fast to my heart! As I have been on a path towards wellness for years, seeking out the best way to maintain wellness and knowing which foods agree with my system over others. Personally, I am the most happiest in my spirit whilst eating a vegetarian and vegan diet enriched by whole foods, natural & ancient grains, as well as local farm fresh vegetables and fruits.

I can relate directly to finding inner harmony, balance, and confidence to be who you are and accept yourself at where you are on your lifepath because everyone can struggle with self-image and self-confidence no matter what age they are or where they are on their journey! I was ever so thrilled to bits seeing her book had arrived by Post, as I cannot wait to settle inside the pages as I know not only will I have the pleasure of reviewing this book but in hosting an interview with Ms. Parker at the conclusion of my reading! I had even further excited by having found a video interview of Ms. Parker’s which I will share with you now as a preview of what is yet to come:

Shannon Skinner Interviews Monica Parker on Extraordinary Women

via Extraordinary Women TV

My forthcoming review of Getting Waisted and my Author Interview with Ms. Parker will occur during the #ArmChairBEA week in which I am participating as a #bookcheerleader (the tag I created to help celebrate the fact I love cheering for books & authors!)! I am getting underway to begin reading the memoir now as I will have a lot to talk about with Ms. Parker once I reach the last page! She has already inspired me to create the sinful chocolate cake in a mug which was a curious surprise in the opening bits of the memoir!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comI am curious then, if any of the newly arrived books for review which are upcoming on Jorie Loves A Story, would entice a visiting reader to pick them up for themselves!? OR, if they perchance had the opportunity already to read them, what were their impressions?! What drew you to the author or the narrative within!? And, if you are a fellow book blogger how do you feel your literary wanderings have increased since you started blogging about your reading life? Do you find the twitterverse an exciting portal towards extending friendship and conversation? And, what do you feel is the best gift you’ve received since you started your book blog!?

Cross-posted with Mailbox Monday (a weekly meme) on Monday, 28th of April where book bloggers & readers alike share their inbound books for review, newly purchased books, or otherwise added to their shelves to read. Conversing via: #MailboxMonday My feature was inspired by Mailbox Monday, however as I am always in throes of reading books for review and/or borrowing books from my library, I am never quite as certain which week the books have arrived!

{SOURCES: Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits in Fotoflexer by Jorie. Book cover for “Seeing Green” was provided by JKS Communications for both review and promotion; used with permission.  The Book Cover for “Flight to Coorah Creek” was provided by ChocLitUK for both review and promotion; used with permission. Book Cover for Cats Are Part of His Kingdom Too provided by Editing Through the Seasons for both review and promotion; used with permission. Book Cover for The Boleyn Bride provided by Brandy Purdy for both review and promotion; used with permission. Book Cover for City of Promises provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for both review and promotion; used with permission. Book cover for “Getting Waisted” provided by Darlene Chan (Publicist) for both review and promotion; used with permission. The interview for Monica Parker by Extraordinary Women TV had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Monday, 28 April, 2014 by jorielov in Author Interview, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Books for Review Arrived by Post, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Debut Novel, Editing Through The Seasons, Elizabeth Howard Boleyn, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Jorie's Box of Joy, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Romance Fiction, Small Towne Fiction, Tudor Era

+Blog Book Tour+ The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland

Posted Friday, 25 April, 2014 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland

The Shadow Queen Virtual Book Tour with France Book Tours

Published By: DoubleDay (), 8 April, 2014
Official Author Websites: Site | Twitter | Facebook | Pin(terest Boards | GoodReads
Available Formats: Hardback & Ebook
Page Count: 336

Converse on Twitter: #TheShadowQueen & #FranceBT

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comAcquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “The Shadow Queen” virtual book tour through France Book Tours. I received a complimentary ARC copy of the book direct from the publisher Doubleday, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

First Impression of the Novel:

What appeals to me about this novel is the intense study of history during a time in France I do know anything about! I love well researched historical fiction stories and this one, appears to be one that I will have trouble putting down!

The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland

From the author of the beloved Josephine B. Trilogy, comes a spellbinding novel inspired by the true story of a young woman who rises from poverty to become confidante to the most powerful, provocative and dangerous woman in the 17th century French court: the mistress of the charismatic Sun King.

1660, Paris

Claudette’s life is like an ever-revolving stage set. From an impoverished childhood wandering the French countryside with her family’s acting troupe, Claudette finally witnesses her mother’s astonishing rise to stardom in Parisian theaters. Working with playwrights Corneille, Molière and Racine, Claudette’s life is culturally rich, but like all in the theatrical world at the time, she’s socially scorned.

A series of chance encounters pull Claudette into the alluring orbit of Athénaïs de Montespan, mistress to Louis XIV and reigning “Shadow Queen.” Needing someone to safeguard her secrets, Athénaïs offers to hire Claudette as her personal attendant.

Enticed by the promise of riches and respectability, Claudette leaves the world of the theater only to find that court is very much like a stage, with outward shows of loyalty masking more devious intentions. This parallel is not lost on Athénaïs, who fears political enemies are plotting her ruin as young courtesans angle to take the coveted spot in the king’s bed.

Indeed, Claudette’s “reputable” new position is marked by spying, illicit trysts and titanic power struggles. As Athénaïs, becomes ever more desperate to hold onto the King’s favor, innocent love charms move into the realm of deadly Black Magic, and Claudette is forced to consider a move that will put her own life—and the family she loves so dearly—at risk.

Set against the gilded opulence of a newly-constructed Versailles and the blood-stained fields of the Franco-Dutch war, THE SHADOW QUEEN is a seductive, gripping novel about the lure of wealth, the illusion of power, and the increasingly uneasy relationship between two strong-willed women whose actions could shape the future of France.

Sandra Gulland
Photo Credit: James Brylowski http://www.jamesbrylowski.com/

{: Author Biography :}

Sandra Gulland is the author of the Josephine B. Trilogy, internationally best-selling novels about Josephine Bonaparte which have been published in over seventeen countries. Her forth novel, Mistress of the Sun , set in the 17th-century court of the Sun King, was also a bestseller and published internationally. Her most recent novel is The Shadow Queen, also set in the era of the Sun King, published in April of 2014 by HarperCollins in Canada and Doubleday in the U.S.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comGetting to Know Author Sandra Gulland

via Simon & Schuster

A novel befit a bookish soul:

The little extra inclusions within the scope of a novel is what set my mind aflame with gratitude for the author who gave us such a lovely little extra glimpse into their creative process. This comes to the reader in all different ways and mannerisms, but inside The Shadow Queen there are the delights of finding a Dedication to Ms. Gulland’s father who inspired character quirks to nestle inside the cast of characters; a lovely disclosure of contents set to the tone and pitch of a play on the stage; and a Historical Note to elude to the greater circle of knowledge we ought to realise about 17th Century France on the expeditious hour of our arrival in the story. A bemuseful quotation taunts us with a fevering of expectation of where we might be led.

In the back of the novel, one discovers An Author’s Note of which I hesitated to read ahead of the story and thus kept my curiosity at bay ever justly muted; a Glossary of Terminology & an index blueprint of currencies. A full list of the Cast of Characters replete with a biographical sketch on each of their behalf (I had to wink a smile seeing this section!) turnt out the Appendixes as my copy is a bound galley remiss of the Author’s Acknowledgement Notes and Author Biography.

And, here is what I happily discovered after the story absorbed into my mind’s eye and found a cosy place to occupy my wonton thoughts on its behalf. Each time young Gaston is portrayed, I  could not help but notice he was either Down Syndrome or had a variation of autism. By all counts, Gaston teaches humility, pure joy, and an appreciation for kindness. He is written well for the era in which the story lives, but I wish I had found a bit more about him in the Cast of Characters Appendix. Gulland goes a step further to explain the differences between fictional accounts and the real-life histories of the main protagonists which I was thankful to see were included in the ARC!

My Review of The Shadow Queen:

We enter Claudette’s life at the turbulent hour of her family arriving on the larkspur hope of gaining a performance for the King as he is sequestered away from Paris. Her young heart is not only full of pride on behalf of her family’s innovative spirit of self-sufficiency but in her abilities to walk a line of honour as she has entered into a time of shifting away from her girlhood and into womanhood. Her maternal affection towards her dear brother Gaston is as honest as her approach to her theatrical craft of living. A girl her age is not oft full of grace towards a sibling nor one who has a bit of a disadvantage in how he observes and learns about the world. She draws out his innocent love of others and of life itself.

Gulland has stitched into the subtext a tone of 17th Century living, striving to give the modern reader a point-of-reference whenceforth to deposit them into the time and setting of where The Shadow Queen evolves into being. A bittersweet image of a dichotomy of difference between the caste sets of class and how the struggles of the commoners were out of alignment with the aristocrats who true to their nature did not feel empathy of their misfortunes. A barring of diffidence set against the rippling tides of mistrust from the Crown downward. Theatre in the 17th Century was such a curious period of ingenuity, in how troupes brought stories to life and kept the audience animated by their efforts. Even the holiday celebrations of Mardis Gras were an elaborate display of theatrical masking of character performance! The only downside is how horridly misunderstood and mistreated the players of the stage were often attacked by those of the upper classes. Curiously to me, was the belief in their falsehood performance was a direct influence against faith and how being an actor was in some reference a defiance of God. Historical stories such as The Shadow Queen bring into light the superstitious ways of the past and how perception can alter a person’s ability to thrive or besotted by poverty.

Caught in a world of varying influences and consequences, Claudette finds that her best method of advancing is keeping herself hugged to the shadows of those of whom she’d envision walking alongside in full equality. It is in the shadows she starts to see how she can alter her stars and re-align her position to lead a comfortable life compared to her poverty stricken childhood, yet in order to do so, she has to shake off the disillusioned reality of not always being in agreement with the practiced actions of the aristocracy.

Gulland split her novel into separate acts as though we were attending a large production set to stage rather than walking through a portal leading to the court in 17th Century Paris!  Her deft hand to illuminate the delicacy needed to make bold choices and daring a glimpse at the consequences, her story propels you forward into a world glinted by masquerade.The masks are both illusionary and tangibly real, as they belie the front of which the heart attempts to dis-sway.

The agility of theatre to be an elixir of reincarnated joy out of the sorrow acts of grief, and the metamorphosis of personality entertain the notion of not allowing our past to ever be a vindication of our future. The theatre heals the soul by igniting the spirit back into the caress of emotion and of humanity dignity. I found Claudette to be a woman who always tried to listen to her heart and to honour her family by standing by them at all costs. Her own life and dreams were put on hold in order to keep the balance. The position Athénaïs puts her in is not one that can be condoned because she was only thinking of her own selfish desires and not the welfare of her confidante. I applauded her small successes and moments of feeling truly free as herself, as she never could quite break out of the pattern her life had taken. The most happiness she always protected and yielded to were wrapped inside the cosy confines of family. As true freedom is always hinged to love and is set free on the wings of hope.

 

Claudette’s self-confidence was her best gift:

And, yet it was one of her virtues that nearly overtook her ability to perform, not merely on the stage, but whilst she was out with others. She faltered a bit when she was presented with a situation outside her comfort zone, but she rebounded by adhering to the lessons of her father and in the notion that even if your cast out from what is familiar, you can find common ground. I appreciated seeing how she was keen to find an anchoring with her father’s whispered truths and how these truths guided her throughout her life after he had long since passed.

Claudette has given me a pause and urge to speak the expression “mon dieu!” As it is quite a fitting expression for a variety of situations! Most especially a blessed way of showing exasperation! Gulland is most surely a wordsmith in arms, as she has given such wonderful forgotten words and phrases a shining light of candescence! Words you must allow soak into for a bit of measure and absorb back to a time when the spoken language was slightly more curling of eloquence than our modern dialect has befallen!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The Shadow Queen Book Trailer via KnopfDoubleDay

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Virtual Road Map for “The Shadow Queen” Blog Tour:

The Shadow Queen Virtual Book Tour with France Book Tours

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Please take note of the Related Articles as they were hand selected due to being of cross-reference importance in relation to this book review. This applies to each post on my blog where you see Related Articles underneath the post. Be sure to take a moment to acknowledge the further readings which are offered.

Be sure to scope out upcoming tours I will be hosting with:

France Book Tours

on my Bookish Events page!
Be sure to drop back on 30 April for my Author Interview with Ms. Gulland!
Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com
On Beginning to Write my Next Novel by Sandra Gulland via Sandra Gulland
{ of which I presume was the jump-start of “The Shadow Queen” }

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Shadow Queen”, book synopsis, author photograph of Ms. Gulland, author biography, and the tour host badge were all provided by France Book Tours and used with permission. The book trailer by KnopfDoubleDay & personal video by Sandra Gulland had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. France Book Tours badge created by Jorie in Canva.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Related Articles:

Claude de Vin des Oeillets – (en.wikipedia.org)

Claude de Vin des Oeillets – (thisisversaillesmadame.blogspot.com)

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Posted Friday, 25 April, 2014 by jorielov in 17th Century, ARC | Galley Copy, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Claude de Vin des Oeillets, Clever Turns of Phrase, France, France Book Tours, French Literature, Geographically Specific, Historical Fiction, Interviews Related to Content of Novel, Passionate Researcher, Sociological Behavior, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage

#ChocLitSaturdays | A Twitter Chat focused on #Romance & #Booklovers; inspired by #ChocLit book reviews!

Posted Thursday, 24 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

#ChocLitSaturdays | a feature exclusive to Jorie Loves A Story

I truly would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has dropped by over the past week to *vote!* on the hour in which #ChocLitSaturdays the weekly Twitter chat will meet! I have appreciated your feedback and have had the difficult choice in sorting out what to trust more: the top vote cast in the Poll itself OR knowing the reality of the time zones! Therefore, let me break everything down and let you know how I came to my conclusion!

The final results of the Poll:

ChocLitSaturdays Poll Results bby Screen Capture
Screen Capture of Poll Results to determine #ChocLitSaturdays Twitter Chat Hour

And, therein lies the dilemma for me!

California | New York | London | Europe | Australia

8a | 11a | 4p | 5p | 1a = 30%

9a | Noon | 5p | 6p | 2a

10a | 1p | 6p | 7p | 3a = 15%

11a | 2p | 7p | 8p | 4a

1p | 4p | 9p | 10p | 6a

Noon | 3p | 8p | 9p | 5a

3p | 6p | 11p | Midnight | 8a

5p | 8p | 1a | 2a | 10a = 15%

Of the majority votes, my own personal inclination is to host #ChocLitSaturdays at either 11a OR 1p as it is more agreeable for my own time zone. Of the two choices, I cannot in my heart host the chat at 1p because asking someone in Australia or New Zealand to pop online after 3a in the morning is beyond inconsiderate! Moreso, I could theoretically yield to 11a as being a night owl (and many writers will agree with me!) 1a is not too late for a chat if you are regularly up past midnight!

On the flipside, as a lot of ChocLit authors are located in England, the reverse is equally plausible if the chat is held at 8p, as it would be 1a for them! My heart tells me that a more convenient hour for everyone concerned is actually going to be:

#ChocLitSaturdays Twitter Chat & Blog Feature of Jorie Loves A Story
#ChocLitSaturdays Twitter Chat & Blog Feature of Jorie Loves A Story

My Inspiration for #ChocLitSaturdays Twitter Chat:

By uniting readers & writers alike in a conversation where we can talk about why we love Romance and the kind of stories which encourage our spirits & hearts, as much as give us a calming balm when we sit down to read. I know the chat will expand and grow as time shifts forward however, I’d love to invite ChocLit authors to drop in if they were available to do so, as much as welcome other writers to join in on the fun too! I see it as a celebration of Romance for all that Romance offers but at the same time have it a bit hinged to the book I am reviewing that particular Saturday and use the themes inside the novel as a jumping off point of what to talk about in the Romance field in general.

I have been wanting to incorporate what the tagline on my #ChocLitSaturdays badge declares: romance, chocolate, and a cuppa tea is simply divine on the weekends! I’d love to talk and share about our favourite bits of chocolate, romance reads, and which cuppa tea or tea latte works brilliantly with the book in our hands! I’d like to start off the chat with the focus on the recent ChocLit novel I read and then, segue from there to talk about the themes inside it before going into the Romance genre as a broad stroke of conversation. Again, I’d like to offer the authors of ChocLit a chance to drop in and converse with us as well.

Join the Convo on Saturdays: @ChocLitSaturday

Watch the hashtag: #ChocLitSaturdays for weekly updates

OR login to auto-post the tag via: tchat.io/rooms/choclitsaturdays

Full Archives via Storify (*under construction*)

And, I look forward to seeing you on the morrow: 26 April, 2014!  We will be discussing the thematic complexity of “The Maid of Milan” as well as delving into how other romance writers have treated the same elements of psychological suspense & the depth of deceit. Be sure to read my book review ahead of joining in on the conversation as a ‘head’s up’! Thank you for your support!

The following is a guide to know when the book reviews will alight on my blog!

#ChocLitSaturdays Collage of Upcoming ChocLit Book Reviews

{Sources: #ChocLitSaturdays collage was created by Jorie in PicMonkey. Book Covers for ChocLit novels provided by ChocLitUK and used with permission. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven, with edits by Jorie in Fotoflexer. Screen capture of #ChocLitSaturdays Poll results via PollDaddy.com provided by keyboard shortcuts & edited in PicMonkey. #ChocLitSaturdays Twitter Chat Badge created by Jorie in PicMonkey.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Thursday, 24 April, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy Romance, Gothic Romance, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Paranormal Romance, Romance Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, Small Towne Fiction, the Edwardian era, The London Season, the Regency era, the Roaring Twenties, Time Slip, Time Travel Romance, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Victorian Era, War-time Romance

+Blog Book Tour+ Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer

Posted Thursday, 24 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 3 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer

Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer

Published By: Little A / New Harvest, 8 April, 2014
(in conjunction with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt & Amazon Publishing)
Official Author Websites: Twitter | Facebook | Site
Available Formats: Paperback & E-Book
Page Count: 208

Converse on Twitter: #IncendiaryGirls


Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Incendiary Girls” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher Little A / New Harvest, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Intrigued to Read:

I love researching reincarnation and I have a passion for metaphysical theories and phenom! I like the fact the writer is giving the reader a chance to transcend our own perceptional reality to drink through a portal of a reality veiled from our view! Sounds enriching and thought-provoking! These books are such a rare gift to come across! They exist in a literary realm all on their own! I would think they are almost inside “Magicial Realism”? Which is a genre I am focusing on throughout the year as I read through my Classics Club list!

{+ About the Book +}

Inspired by her studies and interest in science and medicine, Kodi Scheer’s début story collection, INCENDIARY GIRLS explores the ineffable power of healing, where the human body becomes strange and unfamiliar terrain, a medium for transformation. Across the eleven stories, Scheer’s characters grapple with life’s medical maladies, often with a twist of the surreal, and emotions of the everyday – love and loss, confusion, and insecurity.

In the opening story, Fundamental Laws of Nature, a mother (recently diagnosed with breast cancer) is convinced her daughter’s horse is her own mother re-incarnated. With each gallop and jump, her mother’s admonitions are expressed, and she is left to confront her own legacy and mortality. The story is full of heartache and beauty, those tender moments of family that are so affecting one can’t help but see the departed in those around them.

With each step, Scheer interrogates our expectations of reality and pushes logic to its breaking point. In Transplant a heart-transplant recipient converts to Islam, and wonders if it is the new organ that has re-written her personality. In No Monsters Here, the wife of an active-duty soldier faces her own fears when she finds her husband’s ear in the hamper. There is dark humour and vivid imagination at play, but also empathy and sadness.

It’s here too, where international political events – the Iraq war, the Armenian Genocide – are absorbed into Scheer’s surreal landscape. In the title story a mischievous angel chronicles the remarkable like of a girl just beyond death’s reach. From her complicated birth, to fleeting the Armenian Genocide, to surviving the Spanish Flu on a boat bound for America, the angel watches over the girl as she defies the life that was intended for her. In the haunting fabulist tale, When a Camel Breaks Your Heart, a young woman’s would-be fiancé, Mahir, transforms – quite literarily – into a camel. Mahir, once the object of her affection and muse for her art, now embodies the vast differences between their backgrounds as a white American woman and first generation American Muslim, and she is left to figure out how to feed, care, and love someone so different from her.

In INCENDIARY GIRLS, Kodi Scheer weaves together the mundane and the magical to contemplate  the fragility of relationships and our own humanity. With a dose of wry humour and a twist of the absurd, Scheer gets to the heart of the human struggle in these incisive and effecting stories.

Kodi Scheer

{+ About the Author +}

Kodi Scheer teaches writing at the University of Michigan. For her work as writer-in-residence at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, she was awarded the Dzanc Prize for Excellence in Literary Fiction and Community Service. Her stories have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Iowa Review, and other publications.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

Sunday: 27 April @ 7pm KGB Bar Sunday Literary Series 85 E 4th Street New York, NY

Wednesday: 21 May@ 7pm Book Celler Reading & Signing 4736-38 N Lincoln, Ave Chicago, IL


A Brief Note about the Cover:

I was expecting the story involving the reincarnated Mum as a horse to be a white stallion and was most gobsmacked to learn that it was indeed a black Thoroughbred instead? The off-set colours on the cover-art work well together as it eludes to a stark contrast of themes against the backdrop of humanity on the verge of being relayed through Scheer’s arc of story-telling in short installments of narrative. Yet, despite the colour treatment, I am a bit puzzled by the attempt to draw the reader to alight on the crisp alertness of the horse, if the horse itself is not a representation of a character or element of a story contained within the book itself!? Such a beautiful creature to behold when you first pick up the featherweight collection of stories. All equestrians such as I will be left in fond repose!

My Review of Incendiary Girls:

I honestly had difficulty gaining a lead-in to the stories contained in the book because each time I attempted to settle into the rhythm and pace of one of the stories, I felt myself confronted with either a disturbing image or a diversion of where I had thought the short story was going to take me. The one that sort of left a bad aftertaste in my mind was the very brief Miss Universe, which I suppose at its core was trying to empathsis the difference in layers of the human psyche and how far we are willing to take our path towards glory and fame. However, it’s the way in which the author choose to illuminate and illustrate this particular revelation that simply did not float my boat.

The story with the most promise but failed to keep me steady in its grip was the very first one Fundamental Laws of Nature as I could very well see the paradigm shift inside the mother’s heart betwixt by the complexities of what happens towards the end of your life or rather, at the end of a loved one’s life who has transcended this existence and gone into the next chapter wherever that may lie. Yet, I felt disconnected after reading the first page and a half, as though I had misplaced a step in the pacing of its telling. I skipped to the last page and found the mother had recaptured a bit of harmony whilst living through a difficult period of her own life without the grace and nuturement of her mother now passed.

There are elements of what I appreciate in story form shaping into the collection but for me, I found the stories sharpened a bit too keenly and too raw for me to go into the emotional state a reader needs to walk a line to fully capture the message the writer is etching into their words and context of story. The suspension of reality and the essence of where reality merges with the fantastical were two transitions I could accept and wished I could have settled into the heart of what Scheer left behind.


Virtual Road Map of “Incendiary Girls” Blog Tour:

Incendiary Girls
by Kodi Scheer
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Literary Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

on 8th April, 2014

Pages: 208

TLC Book Tours | Tour HostCheck out my upcoming bookish events to see what I will be hosting next!

{SOURCES: Incendiary Girls Book Cover, Author Photograph, and TLC Tour Host badge provided by TLC Book Tours and used with permission. Book Synopsis / About the Book selection, Author Biography, and Tour Dates provided by Little A / New Harvest press release which was enclosed with the book and therefore used with permission.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Thursday, 24 April, 2014 by jorielov in Anthology Collection of Stories, Blog Tour Host, Short Stories or Essays, TLC Book Tours