Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):
I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by characters written honestly whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read!
I am always seeking relationship-based romance which strikes a chord within my mind’s eye as well as my heart! I’m a romantic optimist, and I love curling into a romance where I can be swept inside the past, as history becomes lit alive in the fullness of the narrative and I can wander amongst the supporting cast observing the principal characters fall in love and sort out if they are a proper match for each other!
I love how an Indie Publisher like ChocLitUK is such a positive alternative for those of us who do not identify ourselves as girls and women who read ‘chick-lit’. I appreciate the stories which alight in my hands from ChocLit as much as I appreciate the inspirational romances I gravitate towards because there is a certain level of depth to both outlets in romance which encourage my spirits and gives me a beautiful story to absorb! Whilst sorting out how promote my book reviews on behalf of ChocLit, I coined the phrase “ChocLitSaturdays”, which is a nod to the fact my ChocLit reviews & features debut on ‘a Saturday’ but further to the point that on the ‘weekend’ we want to dip into a world wholly ideal and romantic during our hours off from the work week!
Acquired Book By: I am a regular reviewer for ChocLitUK, where I hand select which books in either their backlist and/or current releases I would like to read next for my #ChocLitSaturdays blog feature. I received a complimentary copy of “You Think You Know Me” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
How Jorie almost made a blunderment in regards to #DeathByChocLit + the London & Cambridge Mysteries:
I am the reader who loves to do her due diligence and research – the kind of book blogger who reads a heap of data about authors before she composes one question for an interview – and like most bubbly happy bookish souls, she makes mistakes! Somewhere in the pursuit of reading more serial ChocLit this year, and keeping a keen eye on everything connected to #DeathByChocLit — I, unfortunately connected a dot that simply is not there to be seen! I mistook You Think You Know Me as the first part of #DeathByChocLit’s signature debut which is A Stranger’s House! I hadn’t noticed something quite telling until I started to sit down with this novel, noting at long last You Think You Know Me is the start of the London and Cambridge Mysteries *however!* A Stranger’s House is the start of the Ruby Fawcett & Nate Bastable Mysteries! (read this blog post on Ms Chase’s blog!)
*Except to say* what I mistook as a separate series is actually quite the ingenious second half if you will of the London & Cambridge series itself! Let me explain a bit further – my original understanding was actually the one I should have trusted: both You Think You Know Me and A Stranger’s House are part of #DeathByChocLit as they are equal halves of the London and Cambridge Mysteries series! You see, Ruby Fawcett & Nate Bastable are characters on the ‘Cambridge’ side of the ledger not a wholly new series altogether! It’s simply how you approach looking at this that may or may not alter your perception! Ergo if you read it literally ‘London and Cambridge Mysteries’ you might not recognise the fact it’s a compound series title – half the stories are set in London whereas the other half are set in Cambridge! All of which can be celebrated as stand-alones and/or read in serial sequence! Isn’t that fab?
*There is another post by Ms Chase which explains it quite well!
This is a lesson in trusting your first instincts and realising sometimes a book series is separated by locale but has an internal threading of complementary sequencing! In this case, Ms Chase has written a clever series whose components (of how the stories are styled & shaped) intertwine but whose characters and settings are separated a bit at the same time!
This in no way disappointed my zeal of joy to read You Think You Know Me because I have longed to read this since it debuted in [2015] as I love spine-curling romantic suspense novels that keep you on the very edge of your seat as you attempt to survive the events right alongside the lead character(s)! I love #RomSusp but as I had recently blogged about on another review, finding Romantic Suspense authors I can curl up inside and take a lovely respite in their world is a work-in-progress.
What attracted me to read Clare Chase’s novels actually stems from our friendship which has developed through our conversations threading through #ChocLitSaturday! I started to notice patterns of conjoined interest in our reading habits but also, what attracts us to characters, depth of heart centred in stories and the brilliance being caught up inside a brilliantly conceived mystery or suspense novel that has all the components your dearly seeking to find! I felt if our tastes ran so parallel together as readers who loved sharing our reading lives in my weekend Rom chats, I had a sneaking feeling she’d be the writer behind Romantic Suspense novels I’d find unputdownable!
Therefore, despite what I feared might have been misguided cross-promotions between You Think You Know Me and A Stranger’s House my intentions were not only well-placed but *on point!*, as I had it right all along! I decided to be up front about this confusion as I noodled out the series in case my readers were equally confused trying to sort out #DeathByChocLit! I think I was primed to be overly excited to read a #DeathByChocLit novel inasmuch as I am to read my first #DarkChocLit novel every since I posted the *big reveal!* double-interview showcase on their behalf!
The best thing to takeaway from this is knowing I am dearly passionate about the books I am discovering! Including a heap of awesomesauce joy in being able to read new stories by #newtomeauthors who are penning stories I am thrilled to be reading!
On my Connection to Ms Chase:
Two years ago, on the 26th of April, 2014, I created #ChocLitSaturday a weekly Rom chat to celebrate the novelists of ChocLitUK but also, to expand to include book bloggers, readers and writers of Romance who have a penchant for the genre as a whole. Ms Chase and I started to notice our reading habits were aligning with each other, and her conversations were happy editions to my week as I liked finding someone else who liked the same types of stories I was gravitating towards myself. We continued to ‘chat’ about our reading habits even outside of #ChocLitSaturday, which was a blessed joy for me.
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Chase through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I host #ChocLitSaturday the chat and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available.
You Think You Know Me
Sometimes, it's not easy to tell the good guys from the bad...
Freelance journalist, Anna Morris, is struggling to make a name for herself, so she's delighted to attend a launch event for a hip young artist at her friend Seb's gallery.
But an exclusive interview isn't all Anna comes away with. After an encounter with the enigmatic Darrick Farron, she is flung into the shady underground of the art scene - a world of underhand dealings, missing paintings and mysterious deaths...
Seb is intent on convincing Anna that Darrick is up to no good but, try as she might, she can't seem to keep away from him. And as she becomes further embroiled, Anna begins to wonder - can Seb's behaviour be explained away as the well-intentioned concern of an old friend, or does he have something to hide?
Places to find the book:
Book Page on World Weaver Press
ISBN: 9781781892541
Series: London and Cambridge mysteries
on 19 March 2016
Pages: 320
Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)
Available Formats: Paperback & E-Book
Converse via: #LondonAndCambridgeMysteries, #RomSusp, #RomSuspense + #ChocLit
About Clare Chase
Clare writes fast-paced romantic mysteries, using London and Cambridge as settings. Her influences include JD Robb, Janet Evanovich, Mary Stewart and Sue Grafton.
Brought up in the Midlands, she went on to read English at London University, then worked in book and author promotion in venues as diverse as schools, pubs and prisons. More recently she’s exercised her creative writing muscles in the world of PR, and also worked for the University of Cambridge. Her current day job is at the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Her writing is inspired by what makes people tick, and how strong emotions can occasionally turn everyday incidents into the stuff of crime novels. It would be impossible not to mix these topics with romance and relationships; they’re central to life and drive all forms of drama.
When she’s not reading or writing, Clare enjoys drawing, cooking and trips to the Lake District. Closer to home, she loves wandering round the pubs, restaurants and galleries of Cambridge, where she lives with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Original Title: Anna in the Works suited well:
The original title ‘Anna in the Works’ suited well for this novel because we are caught in the coattails of a woman on the verge of becoming comfortable in her own skin. She’s had a non-traditional trajectory towards sorting out her life’s path whilst keeping up with her generation by taking on a career many might envy at the same time – she’s followed her heart and tried to seek out what she felt would give her happiness, but underneath it all, you start to wonder if her choices were made out of expectation of what others might criticise her about rather than her truer feelings on any of it.
I like when writers find an old world art or craft to inject into a character’s life – in this case, the art of sewing and a fascination with wicked quality patterns of cloth. Being a knitter, might be one reason I appreciate seeing this but on the other hand – it’s simply nice to see characters as wholly whole and dimensional as those of us who live out here in the composite world of their own. Characters have a depth of life outside the main ruts of their journey to walk, and seeing them appreciate an art form most might take for granted is a lovely realistic nod towards keeping characters original and unexpected from the rest of the pack.
Most of Anna’s struggles are when she’s shoulder-to-shoulder with her peers and living with her cousin Alicia isn’t helping matters either! Such a strong vexation percolating under the same roof – I did not (initially) warm to Alicia as she’s a bit full-on to such a degree of assertion she doesn’t let a person breathe! Anna’s transitions through the story are a marked measure of how much growth she was embracing as time shifted forward. She truly had to think long and hard about her choices but it’s more than that – as she relied on her close mates to help aide her thought-process and give her advice on how to choose her mind as well. She liked the sounding board effect but to truly ascertain where her heart lied personally and professionally, she had to walk through a bit of adverse circumstances to find her path towards a tomorrow she could confidently declare as one she was favourable in exploring further.
My Review of You Think You Know Me:
Owning to the title, ‘you think you know me’ Chase prompts the question ‘do you truly know who your meeting for the first time?’ as we duck inside a gallery showing a young artist whose artwork would disturb most and appeal to the limited few who would consider him a talent to keep watch over. As we enter into Anna’s shoes at this junction point, she’s at a proper loss as to how she’s going to assemble her thoughts on behalf of the artist directly and opts to take a reprieve from the showing – only to find herself further confused by meeting someone who isn’t quite as he appears. A prompt encounter with security overseers at the gallery lead her to believe something is amiss but whether or not she believes she’s in danger is quite another feather entirely!
Anna gets on smashingly with her roommate Sally, mostly because of how relatable the girl is in relation to her cousin; Sally lives in the moment whereas her cousins is continuously sizing up her choices. They have the pleasure of sharing a lovely historic home with the cousin whilst getting to come and go; except neither of them understand the need for roomates as Anna’s cousin Alicia is financially stable. I was a bit piqued by this myself, as it did not seem like she was a natural to share space with anyone much less two carefree spirits who appreciated the lighter side of life. Alicia had the tendency to come off a bit too strongly focused without recognising the benefit of ‘down time’.
The coin toss for me was sorting out why Anna would take a chance on a bloke she was forewarned to being up to no good. The dasher might have qualities most women would swoon to find but he had this temptation about him; as if you felt compelled to be cast under his spell you’d be tempted to step outside your conscientious aptitude to size people up! Sometimes good people can be fooled to trust the wrong person but I nearly felt it might be the opposite; Anna wanting to be a bit more daring and take a few risks without the fear of following where the path led.
When Anna was chattering on about a dear friend who took her life far too early and of whom still shattered her emotionally when thinking about her loss, something pricked at my mind. I felt like there was something I needed to sit up and take stock of as this might have a connective threading lateron in the story; for one thing, I was almost certain Darrick (er, Max by first greeting) knew this story already. There was something winking at me during this exchange as they walked seemingly innocently, chatting to get to know each other a bit better and letting the evening pull them together by the Thames. It bothered me a bit because I felt there was something quite obvious about Darrick I should have seen and it was hanging on the fringes of my awareness even at this point!
Alicia surprised me – as I think she would everyone when a piece of her past comes out about what strengthened her passion for cooking and why this part of her life is overshadowed by emotional angst. It was a good turning on her character’s colder personality and of course, explained why she’s so very guarded. Even Anna softened a bit realising there was more to her cousin than at first meeting, including how sometimes the people you think you know best will continue to surprise you! Almost a bit of a forewarning on that score – if someone you think you’ve sorted out so completely can surprise you in a good way, wouldn’t the reverse be equally as true?!
Chase spilts the narrative between Anna’s pursuit of finding herself (professionally) with her personal life; she’s half torn between taking a sure-deal (attached to a gallery; for Publicity & Communications) or bracing herself to continue to piece together her freelance work (freelancing I fully respect is a hard road to pull together). On the personal ledger, she’s smitten by Darrick, unconcerned to listen to solid advice to avoid him (by all fronts: her flatmates and lifelong friend Seb; owner of the gallery) and tries to make peace with her girls Sally and Alicia as best she can given their so different from each other. Sally warms to Anna as a sisterhood friend but Alicia vacillates between mothering cousin and throwing a wench in the wheel of her happiness.
I was happily caught up in the world of art – visiting galleries is a lifelong passion of mine, as I love moving from piece to piece, seeing what each individual artist has left for us to drink in as their art is seen for the first time. My favourite galleries are mixed media collections – where you have watercolours next to fine art acrylics and sculptures next to blown glass vases! There is such diversity in art, not just for paintings and sketches of portraits, but the usage of colours and the mediums of supplies – you can never surely grow bored at a gallery! The underworld bits to the art world are quite nefarious and I’ve been on the outside of digging into that darker shade of art – as aside of The Thomas Crown Affair (starring Pierce Brosnan) I’ve only earmarked to read art theft works of fiction for a handful of years; never quite getting round to reading them!
The bit I was so itching to understand earlier in the book? That small bit of recognition ‘something’ was important to take notice of? When everything clicked into place, I was most delighted with myself for picking up on this threading so early-on! I am generally the last to sort out a mystery plot – always keen to watch how things knit up in the end, but to have a strong glimmering of what might be amiss early? Ooh now that’s wicked fun and it’s such a rare moment for me! Eek. Happy Jorie!
Chase tackles a hard-hitting central plot thread throughout You Think You Know Me wherein a mutual friend in the circle of friends’ Anna kept during University dies quite unexpectedly. It’s a central thread due to how intricate her death affected the circle and how her loss had leftover consequences of anguish and guilt in the present. Part of what made the story so very compelling is how Julia’s life impacted her friends and relationships; her death was shocking yes, but it’s how her death had a ripple effect on everyone around her; especially in ways that were not as well known to everyone at the time. Such is realistic to life – no one can truly understand the depth of how such a loss is going to affect everyone in turn; it can take a lifetime to understand and even then, how easy is it to resolve fully without speculation and guilt overstepping logic? Chase took this part of Julia’s life and explored how tragedy could wind together all the other characters stepping into view and directly interacting with Anna at a junction in her own coming-age moment of truth.
Chase carved out a taunt suspenseful plot – each turning of a twisting of psychological innuendo gave way to more musing thoughts about how she would stitch it together. I loved rooting out the clues but moreso, seeing how each character in sequence was slowly inching me closer to the conclusion! I love these kinds of suspense stories – you have small notions of what ‘could be’ but until it all concludes, it’s all theory against supposition! You see, you ‘think you know it all’ but do you truly!?
Small Fly in the Ointment:
Quite curiously, the only thing that bothered me inside the story is how there is a ‘chapter break’ between Six and Seven – I felt it shouldn’t have been placed there, as the scene was still being continued. In fact, it felt strange to have one half of a conversation spilt between both chapters – it sort of threw me, as generally chapter breaks either dissolve like a fade out in a film or tv show or they pick up the vein of a new thread of interest (generally speaking). This truly was questionable to me as I thought – wait, was Chapter Six meant to be a cliffhanger about the revelation and/or why is this giving that effect if you turn the page and continue the disclosure of said event? A bit confusing.
On the Romantic Suspense style of Clare Chase:
Such a clever turning on a traditional opening for a Rom Suspense novel – take your reader off-guard by tucking in curious elements of Horror! By way of the artwork of a featured artist whose dedication to the craft is spinning art out of what can only be described as ‘scenes from a morgue’ or a ‘crime scene’! I was quite startled at first, not by the visuals as Chase is brilliant at softening the edgy bits but because when I tuck inside a Rom Suspense novel – my nerves are always a bit rattled on the jump-start of the story! Can I handle what I find inside? Will I survive the quickening pulse of my heart as I turn page after page? You know – the jolting of joy to read a thriller is wicked amazing, but having the courage to actually take yourself fully into the story without blinking and reading til your consumed by the context is quite another! I always go ‘all in’ and simply take the ride – as the best blessing is knowing at the start it’s fiction and you can take a breathier if you need it – unlike real-life which is lived second by nail-biting second! On this level, Chase bolts you to your chair tugging at your rattled nerves and gives you a smirk of a laugh to enjoy as her character Alice sips a curiously strong purple cocktail!
I particularly enjoyed seeing modern London – from a social perspective but also, how contemporary life differs a bit from one side of the Pond to the other. You know, I know more about the nightlife and happenings stateside via the stories I’ve read set in New York City (generally admit, I love reading stories in the Big Apple moreso than other big cities; except for Chicago – equally admired!) – it’s wicked seeing what singletons are up too and also, having more of a clearer picture of how others talk, live and how they go about their hours. I love the sociological aspect to reading – getting into the shoes of characters living lives so opposite of your own or equally as honest as yours; there are so many different mirrors in which to entreat into a character and it’s the luxury of living so many different lives and points of view as a reader that makes reading so deliciously lovely!
Chase has a way of tipping her phrases in new directions – I have noticed each ChocLiteer (never knew til recently they call themselves this!) has their own styling for modern phrases and toss-offs for giving signature clues on how to use expressive narration to guide their stories forward. Chase had a refreshing new edge to her Contemporary style – it’s very up front and keenly insightful, not leading with a strong word, but rather with a moxie of authentic charm! I appreciated this, as I have the tendency of wondering – there is a Contemporary Fiction and Contemporary Rom author who doesn’t use vulgarity as a crutch, right? At least, I find it as a crutch as other words can be inserted to speak the same — sighs, it could just be my own quirk – not wanting heaps of vulgarity in fiction, but evenso! When I find someone like Ms Chase giving me what I’m seeking – a bonefide Contemporary story writ clean with a pulse for the suspenseful – it’s so very subtle at times you have to double-think what Chase is leading you up to uncover – it’s just a brilliantly happy moment for me to celebrate!
ENJOY the Book Trailer:
This book review is courtesy of:
In case you’ve missed my ChocLit readings:
Please follow the threads through #ChocLitSaturdays!
And, visit my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle
to see which stories I fancy to devour next!
I celebrated my 3rd Blogovesrary on 31st of March, 2016 wherein I revealled my Best of the Best Reads for 2015 via my End of the Year Survey. More than one ChocLit novel made the cut and received a special Award from me to acknowledge how lovely it was written!
My ChocLit readings this May & June 2016:
The Legend of the Gypsy Hawk | No.1 of the Ile of Sainte Anne series | by Sally Malcolm (review)
You Think You Know Me | No. 1 of the London & Cambridge Mysteries | by Claire Chase
The Golden Chain | No. 2 of Charton Minster series (see No.1) | by Margaret James
Some Veil Did Fall | No.1 of the Rossetti Mysteries | by Kirsty Ferry
*Part of my focus on serial ChocLit Fiction!*
Topic: “Second Chances, New Beginnings” inspired by ‘Learning to Love” by Sheryl Browne (view my Cover Reveal with Notes) discussed on 7th of May, 2016
Topic: “How to write an emotionally dramatic story but maintain a bit of levity” inspired by “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” by Jane Lovering discussed on 14th of May, 2016 // this chat was EPIC – so many lovely tweets flying round!
Topic: “How to balance life and writing whilst also speaking on Romantic Suspense” as inspired by my readings of “You Think You Know Me” on 21 May, 2016 | discussed on 21st of May, 2016 // second time I think we surpassed our tweet per minute milestone this month!
UPCOMING:
Topic: Vampire Romance, Gothic Culture & Art and the series Berni Stevens
has written which bewitched me! To be chatted about on 28th of May, 2016
RSVP: nurph.com/choclitsaturday/home
I hope we’ll see you chatting with us! Spread the joy of #ChocLitSaturday to your bookish friends! Visit my post on #ChocLitSaturdays vs #ChocLitSaturday for more information! And, the words I expressed about #ChocLitSaturday on my spotlight for The Wild One by Janet Gover. We regularly meet-up directly on Twitter following the tag #ChocLitSaturday. You can use TweetDeck to follow the conversation or tweetchat.com where the app auto-adds the tag for you!
Remember you can also drop in on the conversations are your able too!
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary! Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst bloggers who picked up the same story to read.
Love #reading #RomSusp leaving you on pins as you inch closer to the end? You'll love @ClareChase_ 's Click To Tweet
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{SOURCES: Book Cover for “You Think You Know Me”, Author photograph of Clare Chase, Author Biography, Book Synopsis and ChocLit Reviewer badge were provided by ChocLitUK and were used by permission. ChocLitSaturdays Banner Created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. #ChocLitSaturdays May 2016 badge created by Jorie in Canva. Book Trailer for “You Think You Know Me” was embedded due to codes provided by YouTube.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
I’m a social reader | I tweet as I read
So turnt off by network tv right now I'm disappearing into a #BOOK! #Reading is much more enjoyable ATM than watching beloved shows get axed
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 14, 2016
.@joriestory To recap: Jorie is taking a leave of absence from Twitter; so vexed by recent cancelled series; she’s #reading @ClareChase_! :)
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 14, 2016
In support of #DeathByChocLit's debut by @ClareChase_, I'm #reading her #LondonAndCambridgeMysteries debut You Think You Know Me! #Mysteries
— #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) May 14, 2016
#reading | #RomSusp | #ChocLitSaturdays
You Think You Know Me by @ClareChase_Clever opener to story esp how Chase spun it!
Intrigued me!— #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) May 14, 2016
#reading | #RomSuspense | #ChocLitSaturdays
Orig title 'Anna in the Works' suited well; Anna on verge of being comfortable in her own skin!
— #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) May 15, 2016
#weekendreads | #ChocLitSaturdays | #RomSusp@ClareChase_ bolts you to your chair tugging at rattled nerves & gives you a smirk of a laugh!
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 21, 2016
#reading | #weekendreads#LondonAndCambridgeMysteries@ClareChase_ makes you think double-time;
esp if the twist is subtle & unexpected :)— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 22, 2016
My #weekendreads have spilt into my #MondayReads!#reading You Think You Know Me
Whilst contemplating the whats, hows & whys;
fully on pins— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 23, 2016
Comments on Twitter:
Books to the rescue! https://t.co/MY0ou3Vo6E
— Carol Buchanan (@CarolBuchananMT) May 14, 2016
Thanks so much for the lovely, insightful review, Jorie! It’s been wonderful to read your take on You Think You Know Me, and great to know that you enjoyed it!