Blog Book Tour | “Keeping Kate” (a re-telling of #JaneEyre) by Lauren Winder Farnsworth A contemporary spin on a classic novel etched inside a Classical Lit girl’s heart!

Posted Monday, 26 January, 2015 by jorielov , , , , , , 4 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Keeping Kate” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

Originally I had it in mind to finish my readings of the original canon of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronté, as I had begun to read the classical novel during *Septemb-Eyre, 2013*! I even managed to articulate my thoughts on behalf of the first chapter sections as assigned by the hostess of the event itself! However, proceeding forward from there because a bit of a spiraling muddlement of bookish angst — I simply couldn’t put my thoughts back into Jane Eyre! I re-attempted to capture the joy whilst willing to re-read the original portion I had consumed and thus carry forward with the story alongside Maggie @ Macacroons & Paperbacks inasmuch as I wanted to start to make a positive head-way on my *Books of Eyre* reading challenge (also begun in 2013!)

When I found the blog tour for Keeping Kate, Autumn had barely winked into view, and I felt as my tour stop would be far, far ahead into January, surely I’d have enough days, hours, and weeks ahead of that particular day to read Jane Eyre? Sadly, I did not. Therefore, despite my willingness to keep a promise I made to myself about reading original canons ahead of after canons, I am once again reading them out of order! I must admit, when I read Sense & Sensibility during *Austen in August* 2014, I did not regret my choice of ‘when I read it’!

The best we can do is to attempt to read books in the order of preference we ideally have for each story, but sometimes, life has a better plan in store for us! I always felt stories arrive in our lives at the right moments in time where we’re meant to drink in their beauty; perhaps I was meant to read Keeping Kate ahead of Jane Eyre; because one thing I know for sure, I couldn’t get out of my own headspace to continue with the previous undertaking! I kept thinking I’d fall short as I continued to read the story, that I wouldn’t be able to resume where I had left off with my ruminations, etc. Sometimes we just need to ‘break out’ of our thoughts on a particular story and save it for a day that allows it to re-alight in our lives when the joy resumes within the discovery of the text!

I am looking forward to talking about this after canon with both Charlene @ Bookish Whimsy + Maggie, as they both adore Jane Eyre! I, myself came to discover Ms. Eyre through her motion picture adaptation, so you could say my entire history has been bent a bit backwards towards the printed page! Laughs.

 Blog Book Tour | “Keeping Kate” (a re-telling of #JaneEyre) by Lauren Winder Farnsworth A contemporary spin on a classic novel etched inside a Classical Lit girl’s heart!Keeping Kate
by Lauren Winder Farnsworth
Source: Direct from Publisher

"Don't you love me, Kate?" Has everything you ever felt for me really disappeared in less than ten minutes?"

"I do love you," I said woodenly. "I always will. But you'll never hear it from me again."

Kate Evans has never had a real family -- and she's never dreamed of falling in love. But when she gets a job taking care of a little girl on a lonely Utah ranch, Kate's determined to make a life for herself.

Right up until the moment she meets her irritable employer. . .

Sparks fly in this LDS twist on the classic Jane Eyre. Equal parts suspenseful, entertaining, and romantic, it's an addicting read that's sure to capture your heart.

Genres: After Canons, Classical Literature



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Published by Bonneville Books

on 13th January, 2015

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),

an imprint ofCedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #KeepingKate

About Lauren Winder Farnsworth

Lauren Winder Farnsworth was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an avid reader, a chocolate enthusiast, a musicophile and a CPA…who somehow also finds time to indulge in her real obsession—writing. She obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Utah, and the only entity that holds more of her heart than her alma mater is her husband, Bryan. Lauren currently lives in South Jordan, Utah, where she spends entirely too time watching Gilmore Girls and looking for excuses not to clean.

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On the similarities and differences of Jane Eyre:

From the first moment Kate Evans walks across the page, I felt a tightening in my heart towards her, as her spirit of self-awareness and of place within the folds of her life were very true to course! Kate is the kind of character I am oft-times in search of uncovering; not merely in Classical Lit but within the Contemporary realms as well! She has a captivating way of giving you just enough of a pause of thought on what is  happening to her as to ground you within her scope of the story itself. She hasn’t had the easiest of lives but she’s not despondent about it either! No! She’s as bold and direct about her circumstances fate has dealt her as Eyre with the moxie of her predecessor for digging deep into her faith and placing a firm foothold into a future that surely must lead to something not quite as darkening as her childhood!

Rather than being taken to a Gothic estate set far away from active society, Kate is led to a small mountain towne in Utah, where the community she felt she would uncover would be quite ordinary turnt into an extraordinary settled development where estates were more regular than cabins! Tucked away from most conveniences, her new dwelling was a far cry of being the center of modern life and had a more natural bent towards embracing the natural world of which surrounded the ranch where she was accepting employment.

Thornfield Hall is turnt into ‘Thorne Field Ranch’, where Adele becomes Addie, and Mrs. Fairfaxes name receives a change of ‘firsts’. The ambiance of the place remains intact, to where opulence and finery outweigh sensible style and pleasure. Rochester has surely met his match in Mr. Thorne! I never thought you could quite elicit out a duality of whom Rochester was in both origin and spirit, but Tyler Thorne has nailed him in such a justifiable way as to honour him through reincarnation!

The main difference of course, is that instead of a dark secret in the attic that causes the most angst in the climax of Jane Eyre, in Keeping Kate Tyler Thorne is betwixt knowing how to shift forward in life after his wife abandoned him, claimed infidelity, and straddled him with a child of whom she insisted was not his own. Yet dealing with the reality of this situation and the layers in which are knitted into the in-between moments where Kate and Tyler find themselves quite bemuseful of each other’s company, therein lies the best choices Farnsworth gave the novel!

She doesn’t allow this to be a ‘quick fix’ nor does she make the situation feel ‘contrite or predictable’. She took the harder road — to show realistic choices, raw human emotion, and levelled it with honesty about the depth of the human heart. The pace of the story is the most beautiful aspect of Keeping Kate because it allows you to let the tides of the narrative wash over you, lull you into the shoes of the main characters, and take a reprieve from  your own affairs.

My Review of Keeping Kate:

I was happily lost inside the narrative as Keeping Kate opens to reveal a couple wholly in love whilst celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary! Camille and Tyler come together on the page in such a fashion that you can become a bit lost in their inner world! I love writers who draw out a breath between descriptive narrative and dialogue — to extend the moment and to stitch in-between the context, a bit of insight into their relationship.

By the time Kate Evans stepped onto the scene, I was truly entranced because Farnsworth has knitted into the heart of her novel, a character whose soul is one that you can become quite attached to reading! Kate’s life’s story is slowly told through a retrospective telling of how her life circumvented with ill begotten fate the moment her parents died and left her behind as an orphan with relatives who were a bit less than enthused to be entrusted with her care. In this way, she was instantly akin to the idea of becoming the Governess for Addie as she could identify with the young girl’s disattachment from a parental figure inasmuch as the isolation that such distance can create within a young child.

Despite the hand she was dealt, Kate focused her attitude on what was positive, and at times, this was a bit difficult to do, but she fortified herself with schooling and an attention to opportunities (however slim) that might yield to a better life outside the prospects she had in childhood. Her cheeky humour is interlaced with her philosophical intuitiveness; a rare quality that was a delight to see! Up to this point, echoes of my readings on behalf of Jane Eyre surprised me by coming back to mind — including when Ms. Fairview entered the picture, who was quite reminiscent of the housekeeper! Little awakenings of semblance within a story that was rooting itself to be an original with it’s own voice and tone of where the elements of the original could become diverted and explored in a new direction.

Oh, dear my! I felt the anguish of Kate — I, too wanted to wander round a bit inside that lovely garden which besought her eyes the moment she stepped out-of-doors!

Such consternation! Such blatant disregard for civility whilst commenting upon her character! Why Mr. Thorne is as much as a rake as Rochester! To dig a spurn of a wedge into her heart’s memory of her parents and insisting upon her reflection of her countenance against the innocence of her recollections! Why I never! It has been quite awhile since my feathers were ruffled by such a bloke within a story as to draw out a passionate response that lends itself close to the reaction of the character the projected words were barbing!

Albeit lost in the pages between the forementioned scene of the gardens and the arrival of Mr. Thorne, I must say, reading Keeping Kate is positively delightful! You do not want to step back outside this world, you want to go further into it’s folds, unwrapping it with a delicacy to savour what is about to be found and giving you a reading that satisfies your thirst for a story that livens up your mind’s eye!

Tyler Thorne is a brute by default of a spurned love gone astray, yet the coldness of his heart is magnified by an inability to separate his situation with the guardianship of a child who is completely free of his angst as she is too young to even understand her birthright, much less understand the contempt a man would have towards her! You ache for Thorne in many ways, because his heart and soul were dully crushed to splinters by his wife; a wife you felt a kinship towards in the Prologue and by Chapter Four wondered how she could have turnt her heel on such a caring man who gave her nothing but admiration and love.

The fervent energy of an emergency crisis on page 64 held my breath and my heart in my throat! By the time I  had recovered I was quite a bit vexed at Mr Tyler Thorne for his stubbornness as much as his about-face turnabout on the progress he had been making towards accepting Addie in a way he never had previously. The chapters extending out of this sequence were whet with folly, adversity, and tribulations. They became my favourite chapters because both Kate and Tyler had quite a heap of growing to do within their own hearts and spirits. Neither of them was completely free of fault — inasmuch as Elizabeth Bennett and FitzWilliam Darcy are equally free of guilt from pride and prejudice behaviour quirks.

Kate’s own heart is softening towards Tyler, but a deeper part of her conscience is struggling to find a way to reconcile his indifference towards Addie. Her own fortitude was etched out of an individual courage of survival, forged out of overcoming all the odds stacked against her to where she doesn’t want to accept that another young girl has to face what she did; nor feel the pain of being unloved, unwanted, and unacceptable.

Kate’s deepest anguish was feeling a bit off-center in regards to Tyler; for as many times as he extended a kindness towards her he would never fully express his innermost emotions nor his intentions towards her overall. He’d hold back the most important bits whilst giving her a bit more insight into his views on life and on living; strangely he kept mute on relationships and spirituality, which would lead to her discomfort when he openly announced his engagement to someone else. Kate’s mind at that moment was conflicted by what she had remembered of their conversations and of the little moments they had shared; equally to more on her end than his. Yet she was not in the position to question his logic nor his choices, as after all she was employed by him to educate Addie.

The long walks in the gardens and the grounds soon became some of my favourites within Keeping Kate, as walking has the grace of allowing your emotional fevers to quell thereto a place of repose towards calm. She turnt to the outside world to allow her spirit to seek solace and her guidance within her faith yield to a resolute strength that despite the worriments on her mind, she would sort out a path that would give her a measure of happiness. Walking has a trait of quality of giving you exactly what you need without anything audible needing to be said. A bit of a mediation if you will as your thoughts and prayers reach heavenward giving flight and release to what concerns you the most.

Pages 114-118 will be Jane Eyre readers most favourite passages, I’d should think! I’m hedging my bet on this as I already mentioned I’ve not yet finished my readings of Jane Eyre but I’d have to think that these are the pages that lend the most hopeful ending between the two! Oh! How I could nearly hear Darcy talking to Elizabeth! Until this moment of reading an after canon of Eyre, I hadn’t realised the overlap between the two voices of Austen & Bronté? Either that — or Farnsworth pulled this story out of both classical author’s canonical works? I wonder if she’s a Janeite as well? Of course there are a few instances between Kate and Tyler that remind me of my beloved Lady Darby mysteries (by Anna Lee Huber) too! Clearly, I appreciate stories where the relationships have a certain level of ‘tension’ inside them and where a clear-cut path towards reconciliation isn’t necessarily a given!

As adoption is knitted into my own heart and my lifepath, I do appreciate seeing how writers will address the considerations towards adopting children and how the choices to adopt affect them. In this particular case, it is Kate who can love Addie unconditionally whereas Tyler feels it is love out of obligation rather than out of the purity of love for an innocent child. This has been a thread of disagreement throughout the story, but I felt that it was nearly the tipping of the scale towards where Kate might steer away from Tyler if she truly felt he could not accept Addie as a daughter; irregardless of how and why she came into his life. I sided with Kate instantly because I shared her thoughts and beliefs on the subject. She was quite right — the best way to move forward is to forgive the past and forgive those who attempt to do ill will towards you. There is an open thread of dialogue within this part of Keeping Kate where readers can weigh in their own minds where they stand on adoption. I would suspect this would become part of a book discussion group on the novel.

Oyy my dear sweet stars! What a shockingly horrific twist to a story that I wouldn’t have suspected would yield such an extraordinary cliffhanging moment of gobsmacked revelation! (page 135!) And, just wait til you get to page 139! The plot surely thickens at that junction! By page 141 your heart is breaking for Kate,..

When Danielle and Mariah come onto the page, it is a invigorating breath of air that not only renewed Kate, but gave me a way to segue out of the pages I had read last! Such warmth and friendship erupting inside Kate’s life, whilst the weather of a New England November made me think about everyone in the path of the current blizzard! How wickedly lovely Winter can be and most dangerously ominous at the same time! I loved the change of pace, the switch of locale, and the way in which Kate naturally took to her new surroundings. She’s part chameleon due to her survivalist instincts, but there is something quite true of her character underneath it too. She strives to better her life and station, even if life keeps affording her paths that do not yield to a route where her days are full of more joy than sorrows.

Keeping Kate keeps you on your toes, as nothing is quite as it appears to be and everything becomes a bit upturnt against everything that Kate had felt was solid ground beneath her. She’s reached a point in her life where she has to make hard choices and stand firm for what her heart and spirit are dictating as her own living truth. It’s an encouraging story on many levels, but as your heart starts to live through the life of Kate on the page, you start to hitch a ride inside her shoes the closer she comes to understanding the full circle of where she was meant to belong.

On the writing style of Lauren Winder Farnsworth:

Every so often I find myself wonderfully intrigued by a debut novelist, to the brink that I know I will be following their writerly pursuits for as long as they continue to pen stories I can read in print and/or listen to via audiobook! Farnsworth is the newest author who simply had this book blogger’s heart at ‘hallo!’ as she breathes such an honesty into her writings to give you a bubble of a space of creative joy to explore! Her words expand the scope of the story in a similar vein to the original author’s voice, to where you do not feel this contemporary re-telling distracts from the original; you want to dig deeper into Keeping Kate because of the way in which the story is revealing itself to you!

Farnsworth is definitely a writer who has either a Classical Lit heart or she has managed to capture the spirit of the Classical Authors we’ve all come to belove! She takes her time with giving readers a chance to get to know the thoughts of her character’s inner lives as much as carving out a beauty within the scenes of where the story is set. This is a novel that you can feel consumed inside, because it is written for a proper break from everything else your own life might distract you by; carting you off into this world where Governesses still exist and heroines do not always have the confidence to recognise their gifts!

Farnsworth was quite keenly apt in knowing the best place to deposit the reader already passionate about Eyre was at the very moment Kate would arrive at the ranch! The bits of Kate’s own childhood and upbringing are fleshed out, but it was quite wickedly brilliant to see an author of an after canon focusing where the classical original and the contemporary divide a bit to become their own creation!

I was wickedly delighted by her wordsmith choices — it isn’t everyday I stumble across a writer who gets as giddy as including words such as “tenfold” or “bone-deep”! She even had a compelling way of eluding to the modern world with a few pop cultural references that worked well in-line with the story, not overtly attempting to draw out a farthering of modern life to interject into Keeping Kate but rather an element or two that winks a smile onto your lips as you read! My dear sweet stars — this is a novel I am over the moon delighted in having discovered! How blessed we are that Farnsworth chose to write it?!

A note on #WeNeedDiverseBooks topics of interest:

As I remember too, I am going to be highlighting the topical inclusions of diverse characters and/or characteristics or conditions that are not atypical to mainstream OR INSPY new releases! In this particular case, I wanted to spotlight the fact that learning difficulties are given a positive ray of light in Keeping Kate, as young Addie is diagnosed as being dyslexic. At first I wasn’t sure how it would fly in the narrative itself as there was one moment where it felt nearly negative when Tyler said something about how she could have inherited from her mother; but the tone didn’t seem to be a blessing but rather a headache. (although this is a stereotypical first reaction)

From there you have the chance to read about how a child is tested for learning difficulties and how they assess if the child has dyslexia. As disclosed under ‘My Bookish Life’ I am a dyslexic reader and writer, as well as book blogger who considers herself a bookcheerleader! I never felt dyslexia was anything except a special gift to learn and perceive the world through a different lens from my peers. How I understand language and how I interpret what I read, see, hear, or comprehend might yield a different perceptional insight from someone else but I felt the beauty in seeing the world differently humbles me to realise that we’re all given a gift that we can share and find individualistically unique. Mine just happens to be dyslexia but someone else might see the world through algorithms and modules of math!

Learning differences were one of the designating attributes I highlighted when I had written my essay on ‘Equality in Literature‘ which is my extension of the ‘Diversity in Lit’ movement #WeNeedDiverseBooks has inspired to set the standard for diversity in our culture and artistic endeavours inasmuch as our story-telling. I continue to applaud Indie Publishers such as Cedar Fort & ChocLitUK for taking a bolder road to shine positivity on harder topics and subjects; paving the way for all publishers to seek out stories that spin a tale around something that nearly everyone can directly or indirectly relate too personally.

As an aside, this upcoming Saturday, I will be focusing my #ChocLitSaturday chat on diversity in literature in regards to how it relates to the genre of Romance and ChocLitUK! If your interested in joining, please leave me a note in the comment threads and/or RSVP @ Nurph! For more information about #ChocLitSaturday please visit this page! We discuss all forms of Romantic Fiction from mainstream to INSPY to historical and classical works of literature!

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This Blog Tour Stop is courtesy of Cedar Fort, Inc.:

Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Virtual Road Map of “Keeping Kate” Blog Tour:

Keeping Kate Virtual Blog Tour via Cedar Fort Publishing & MediaFind out which Cedar Fort new releases I am hosting in 2015!

Visit with me again soon!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Previously I hosted after canons of Classical Lit on behalf of Cedar Fort:

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

UPCOMING NEXT: (a spin-off of “Pride & Prejudice”)

The Jane Austen Journals Blog Tour with Cedar Fort Publishing & Media(My tour stop is 17th May, 2015)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Related Articles:

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.

Jane Eyre – (en.wikipedia.org)

Archive for All Posts related to ‘Jane Eyre’ by Bookish Whimsy – (bookishwhimsy.com)

Archive for All Posts related to ‘Jane Eyre’ by Macaroons & Paperbacks – (magsteronni.wordpress.com)

A Devoted website to Jane Eyre – (eyreguide.awardspace.co.uk)

A Comprehensive List of ‘after canons’ for Jane Eyre – (bookishwhimsy.com)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Reader Interactive Question:

What is your favourite part of the Jane Eyre story? And, what implores you to continue to seek out after canons on behalf of Jane Eyre, whilst exploring a new writer’s take on the characters who have become passionate companions whose friendship you treasure?

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This is part of my contribution for:

Books of Eyre Reading Challenge badge created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Daniel Ruswick (Public Domain : Unsplash){SOURCES: Cover art of “Keeping Kate”, book synopsis, author photograph of Lauren Winder Farnsworth and author biography were all provided by Cedar Fort, Inc. and used with permission. Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin. Books of Eyre Reading Challenge badge created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Daniel Ruswick (Public Domain : Unsplash). Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to the codes provided by Twitter. Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.

I’m a social reader : I tweet as I read

(tweets returning soon)

Comments via Twitter:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Monday, 26 January, 2015 by jorielov in 21st Century, After the Canon, Austen in August, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Blogs I Regularly Read, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Whimsy, Books of Eyre, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Classical Literature, Contemporary Romance, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Jane Eyre Sequel | Re-telling, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Life Shift, Macaroons & Paperbacks, Modern Day, Mormonism, Psychological Abuse, Re-Told Tales, Romance Fiction, Septemb-Eyre, Sweet Romance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints




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4 responses to “Blog Book Tour | “Keeping Kate” (a re-telling of #JaneEyre) by Lauren Winder Farnsworth A contemporary spin on a classic novel etched inside a Classical Lit girl’s heart!

  1. Jorie, my gosh, you write AMAZING blog posts for books! Keeping Kate sounds wonderful and I’m sure your review will reach many, many fans of Jane Eyre. I love how you enhanced your coverage of this book with supplementary material like related articles and a reader interactive question. As a fellow book blogger, I know that took a lot of work.

    I’m so thrilled you linked this blog post to the Hump Day Blog Hop on my book blog. I write a Wednesday column and always finish my month with a blog hop on the final Wednesday. So glad you could join us this month. I hope to see you next month, too! :)

    Cheers!

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms Valarie,

      I felt truly humbled by your compliments and praise on behalf of my reviews – you gave me such a wonderful lift of joy with this comment and I regret closer to the time it alighted on my blog I wasn’t able to give you this note of thankful gratitude! I had some keenly stressful years in the beginning of my blog’s journey and as the years have progressed, I just never had the chance to set and re-read through my archives until now. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving me such a wonderful comment and for letting me know you had visited with me. As I know my blog is happily read rather frequently but not everyone takes a dedicated moment to leave me a note (either back in 2015 or in the present); thus each person who comments makes me smile!

      I hadn’t considered how much work would go on ‘behind’ a book blog when I first launched in [2013] and if I had known then what I know now on the fringes of celebrating my seventh year, I am unsure if I would have started the journey! Yet, at the same time, blogging became a redirected bit of grace for me where I could focus on authors & help connect readers to stories, publishers & authors they might never have discovered. A bit of my own joy recently was revealling my Top Favourite #NewToMeAuthors for 2019 – which shows how each year I am still attempting to reach out into new genres of interest and finding new authors I haven’t yet read. I love adding extras to my posts and even when I participate in a meme or blog feature, I love to added my own spin on the content of what that kind of post can include.

      I apologise I wasn’t able to maintain visiting with you over the years – my chronic migraines played a strong role in why I had to pair down my visitations and focus on keeping my own blog surfacing each week/month whilst as the same time, after my father’s stroke my life changed a bit as I became his caregiver whilst my Mum worked. I am hoping your still blogging and perhaps I can start to revisit with you and see what you are blogging about this New Year, 2020!

      Thank you for giving me a cheerful note during my second year as a book blogger!

  2. This looks like a great read! I’m often a bit wary of LDS retellings of Jane Eyre because they can seem bland, and I also prefer ‘Jane’ to come to her decisions/morality through her own personal convictions and not just on what the Bible says. In the original I feel that though Jane’s morality is influenced by her religious beliefs, she comes to her convictions because she feels them to be right for herself and doesn’t adhere to convention for the sake of it being convention. But I have high hopes for this book! And I hope to get around to reading it! Great review Jorie, and thank you for mentioning/linking to my blog! :)

    • Hallo, Hallo Charlene,

      Somehow this beautiful lovely comment of yours never was properly responded too and I apologise for that! I admit, I wasn’t always able to maintain an active response to my comments but each note left on my blog has been dearly appreciated, received and loved. I liked what you had to say about the differences between LDS retellings of Jane Eyre and the canon of insight by other writes & Ms Bronte herself. I, for one, found this rendition to be one that I felt held true to the original and I hope in the years since you’ve visited with me were able to secure a copy and if perhaps your takeaways might have been a ready match for my own? At least, I hope so! I know how attached you are to Eyre and because of you, I’ve never stopped seeking out after canon selections for Jane Eyre to this day!

      Bless you for crossing my path so many lovely years ago and for instilling in me a love and passion for all things Eyre!

      You’ve set a gold standard in being able to direct readers attention to Eyre and the after canons therein; both for stories and films and all routes in-between where we could hope to find Eyre. For those reasons and the passion you have for the subject, I’ve always shared your blog or your Twitter handle with fellow readers I’ve found who share our mutual interest. The pleasure has always been mine to give.

      PS: I am also hoping 2020 is the year I can finally finish my readings of the original story and bring those final thoughts to my readers!

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