Blog Book Tour | “To Suit a Suitor” by Paula Kremser by the author who wrote “Sophia”! #JorieLovesRegencies

Posted Thursday, 24 November, 2016 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

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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 “To Suit a Suitor” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am drawn into Sweet Romances & Historical Roms:

I’ll admit – I love being swirled into a Historical Rom and the tenderness of a Sweet Romance! If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be able to say with pure joy how much I *adore!* watching the Hallmark Channel + their secondary channel for Movies & Mysteries! There is something quite magical about how infusing your heart and mind into a light-hearted (sometimes a bit more dramatic) Romance that can set your heart afire for positivity! I think this is why most of us love to return into these worlds – where innocence is not shameful and where propriety and honour reign. It’s the world of where gentleman are mindful of their manners, act accordingly and women can be strongly fierce as we are today but get to wear such interestingly intricate clothes!

Sometimes there is more historical fact inside a Hist Rom, where the structures of society inflict certain disadvantages towards personal freedom or the right to marry whomever you choose – such as history would reflect, but within the tome of this special niche of Romance, I find my heart simply loves to reach into the pages of where writers are writing a story that is wicked delightful to read – set in a world that is how we’d hope the past would be presented to us if we travelled backwards and full of the delights or woes of being single ahead of marriage.

In contrast to most Historical Roms, the Sweet Romance side of the ledger falls primarily under the INSPY heading – where faith-based story-lines offer an additional layer of sweetness and where the characters are open about their walk in faith during the narrative. I love reading both variants – either mainstream or INSPY – as who wouldn’t want to soak inside a Romance set in the historical past? And, of course, I’m one to openly lament quite often – if it’s a Regency, a Victorian or an Edwardian there is a super strong chance I’m going to find it! Laughs.

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Notation on the size of this novel: As what you cannot see from the digital book cover is that this wicked lovely Historical Rom is in portable pocket size edition! You can easily grab a copy to take with you whilst seeking a Romance you can travel with but without the angst of having a bulky paperback weighing you down! I personally love portable pocket size editions – something I shall be talking more about in December! They make you smile by their quaint size but it’s the possibilities of where and when you can read them that are wicked!

Blog Book Tour | “To Suit a Suitor” by Paula Kremser by the author who wrote “Sophia”! #JorieLovesRegenciesTo Suit a Suitor
Subtitle: Pure Romace

Don't set your sights on him,
It will only lead to heartache."

Much to her mother's annoyance, Julia North can't catch a husband. After what seems like the hundredth suitor, Julia leaves London to visit a distant cousin, hoping to forget about husband hunting for a time. She inadvertently finds herself in the society of Henry Chamberlain, the most desirable gentleman in Somersetshire. With every young lady in town competing for his attention, Julia assumes she doesn't have a chance. What she doesn't know is that her desire to avoid Henry's attention may be the very thing that catches it. . .


Places to find the book:

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ISBN: 9781462119332

on 1st November, 2016

Pages: 256

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),

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

Converse on Twitter via: #INSPYRom, #SweetRomance, #HistRom + #Regency

About Paula Kremser

Paula Kremser

Paula Kremser focused on a career in science for a few years after graduating from Brigham Young University. Several years later when she moved with her young family to England, Paula seized the opportunity to focus on her love of the Regency Era. The enchantment of the aristocracy and the fascinating stories from every stately home she visits have been both research and inspiration for her first novel. Paula lives with her husband and four children in a charming village nestled in the Chiltern hills in Buckinghamshire.

For a hilarious look-see behind-the-scenes of how this photograph was captured read her Outtakes post! I believe that the photograph that was chosen captures her 'in the moment' with a spark of joy. Sometimes the best photographs are the ones we do not overly plan but rather happen spontaneously!

my review of to suit a suitor:

People marry for such different reasons – half the time of course, love does not quite enter into the picture as often as you’d think it would – such is the case within this Historical Romance; Ms Kremser’s second set in the Regency era. Lord Montague has the most outlandish proposal for Mrs North if I ever were to have heard of one! Her two daughters must marry themselves off prior to any hope of a chance he’d even consider marrying their mother! His reason, dear reader? He’s tired of having to provide for daughters or relations of his wives; he’s had two previously, both of which he is widowed. On one hand you find it quite calculating and callus and on the other – forthright and at least honourable in his intentions by ironing out his stipulations ahead of marriage; but what happiness could come forth?

Not knowing what was worse – her mother’s own nuptials on hold until her own were taken or the fact her younger sister Harriet swooped out an engagement ahead of her – thus was the flutterings of Julia’s heart and mind. Julia herself was a strong woman who was full of the hope and promise of her future, but was becoming disillusioned by the pursuit of an eligible bachelor. Despite her earnest attempts at securing a winning match, she was left with empty reasons of why she was ill-suited (in their eyes) for her hand in marriage. Even the last bloke whom she was tempted to corner and question did not give her a lessening of anxiety in this regard but more vexation! She was completely baffled how something so ordinary could disrupt a chance towards finding a husband; even if, had she thought about it a bit more, not having interests in common could seek to divide any foundation of marriage.

When all else fails, I do agree with Julia – best to remove yourself from the fray and re-align your affairs elsewhere! When she chooses to take her mother’s place to help a cousin who needs caretaking, I felt the change of scenery would bode well for Julia! Sometimes irregardless of the reasons ‘why’ your finding suitors are not finding yourself agreeable (for whichever reason) it is best to simply ‘move forward’ and get on with your own life. After all, you can hope and wait for tides to turn but wouldn’t it be far more enjoyable to simply shift your focus and re-align your mind on something more positive than all the infernal ‘what ifs’? No, I felt Julia’s impulsive choice to leave was the best idea ever! It would also give her a good break from her mother – of whom was not necessarily unkind, but because her own suitor had such a strict pre-marriage verbal contract, even Mrs North couldn’t quite relax until all was settled between her daughters and their beaus.

Whilst Julia has found solace alongside her Cousin Martha an unexpected suitor arrives who catches her unawares – not the particular kind of bloke she fancied herself being charmed into considering either – as her first impression of (Lord) Henry Chamberlain is anything but positive! His arrogance is most distressing and his cavalier attitude was what I think truly set her against him on the onset. He was just a bit too full of himself to tempt further enquiry and yet, even her Cousin Martha saw how bewitched she was by him. Sometimes the heart flutters in the opposite direction of our desires and if that could be proved, it would surely be evident as observed by Julia’s initial reactions of Henry! It was quite funny really! Julia escaped London and the throes of the Season to do something wildly unrelated to courtship and husband hunting whilst landing a bloke on her path who might be the only one who may win her heart in the end! I say this early-on as oft-times it’s quite curious how when your not thinking about love nor expecting to meet anyone in particular, that’s when the window opens!

One thing that differed in Julia’s interactions with Henry is how despite her interest to be around him although being a bit cloy and not admitting it completely; she tried to appease the neighbourhood girls of whom had dropped less than subtle hints he was theirs and theirs alone. This inspired him to enquiry with her directly towards that regard as it came out during a Ball, however what was further interesting is how much Julia kept to her guns to be bold enough to say “I’m simply not interested” whenever he would ask after her or try to entice her hand to do something with him. She was finding her own voice, whilst walking her own path – quite literally not just figuratively – as she had taken an intense liking to walking! She was a woman on the verge of understanding herself even moreso than before, as that was one gift a previous suitor left her with to contemplate – he sparked the idea about her disinterest in walking and it reminded me of the film Runaway Bride where the bride in question never knew how she liked her eggs. It’s the simple questions that sometimes spark a moment of personal transformation to better understand your own choices or at least make your mind up about certain things that come up in everyday conversations.

Contrary to Julia’s self-evolving transformation was Henry’s reaction to her dismissals – he was never quite disfavoured in such a way by a woman he was curious about knowing better, leading him to question what made Julia different or what was it about himself that Julia might not be attracted too? Julia in many ways was returning the kindness given her even if originally the non-matches felt more personal than informative, she was giving Henry a window of opportunity to think about things outside the dance of martial matches and see how men and women interact from a different point of view. I think despite her inclinations to turn Henry down, he was only growing more akin to wanting to spend even more time with her as sometimes opposites truly do attract! (which I was hinting about earlier!) I’m not even sure if their true opposites – I think for whichever reason, they each have had their own strife and misalignments in love and marriage – he lost one of his beloveds too early and she never had a chance to start a marriage. This in turn left them open to have a friendship rather than a relationship – where both were on equal ground without the complications most courtships face during their era.

Kremser turnt out a lovely tale of hearts befit to love but at stages in their lives where love was simply not presenting itself to be in the cards. She carefully drew together a story which presented a different avenue towards a happily ever after, where sometimes what a heart desires most isn’t something to go rushing off after but rather, accept the patience that is needed to allow it to alight on it’s own accord. She also drew breath from previous stories you might recongise hints of inside this novel – where her own voice is strong but there are a few echoes of other Regency heroes and heroines which will leave you with a few winks and smiles. Kremser has a true knack for alighting you inside the whispers of a girl’s internal thoughts against the confusions of a bloke simply trying to sort out his own heart whilst finding himself smitten by someone quite unexpectedly visiting a mutual friend. It’s the kind of tale you can curl up inside and find solace in the words and how the relationship slowly builds til it’s conclusion.

on the historical romance styling of paula kremser:

Ms Kremser has an ease of writing Regencies – almost as if the genre, setting and timescape were hand selected for her to write inside! She has a warmth of grace moving through her narrative, where her characters are fully realised, speak for themselves and assert their own truths into the context. The manner in how her stories evolve are quite the delight, as you can tuck inside the pace you’d find inside a Jane Austen novel whilst having the full joy of a contemporary writer re-envisioning the Regency with her own voice of thought! It’s a treat too to find an author who has such a lot of confidence for a particular time period and of whom translates that era of time quite well to the page!

I hadn’t connected the dots immediately – but somewhere inside this charming tale I started to remember Lizzy and Mr Darcy! It’s not a re-telling of Pride, mind you, but if you like stories that have a bit of a go towards that kind of story, you’ll find yourself warmly attached to To Suit a Suitor!

I do hope Ms Kremser continues to write her Regencies and/or other eras of Hist Rom as I could dearly see myself following her through time whilst collecting books to rest on my Historical shelf! Easily able to re-settle myself inside her worlds and take up the reins of where her characters left me with a heap of smiles and a lot of pensive thought on how best to pursue love, marriage and happiness! Her stories are truly beautiful to read as she fully embraced the sweetness of the lighter side of Romance.

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This Book Review is courtesy of:
Cedar Fort Publishing & Media
on behalf of the blog tour:
(click to follow the route)

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To Suit a Suitor blog tour via Cedar Fort Publishing & MediaThis isn’t my first #PureRomance novel – as I had the delightful pleasure of reading the debut novel by Carolyn Steele entitled Willow Springs (see Review). This tipped my hat to keeping an eye on these releases by the publisher – two years and going strong! For all reviews under this publisher imprint series of Historical Romances, please view this thread! You will find that I am drawn into these stories quite often and they become among my favourite reads! Previously, I had the joy of reading Ms Kremser’s debut under the Pure Romance line with Sophia (see Review).
Return in December (the 27th!), when I review Mischief and Manors by Ashtyn Newbold which is also a wicked new release under the Pure Romance series! This will mark my third *Pure Romance!* read of 2016, as in September I revealled my impressions on behalf of The Second Season! (see Review)
My apologies to the author and those following the blog tour – I had a few technical hiccups which delayed my review into the late afternoon hours on Thanksgiving Day. I was quite thankful when I could finally release my review and share the joy of reading this novel with everyone whose become keenly interested in it!

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Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com{SOURCES: Cover art of “To Suit a Suitor”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Paula Kremser as well as the blog tour badges were all provided by Cedar Fort, Inc. and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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)

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Posted Thursday, 24 November, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, England, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Regency Era, Romance Fiction, Siblings, Sweet Romance, The London Season




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