Book Review | “The Girl in the Painting” (Book No.2 of the Rossetti Mysteries) by Kirsty Ferry #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 4 March, 2017 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

ChocLitSaturdays Banner Created by Jorie in Canva.

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!

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

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. As of June 2016, I became a member of the ChocLit Stars Team in tandem with being on the Cover Reveal Team which I joined in May 2016. I reference the Stars as this is a lovely new reader contribution team of sending feedback to the publisher ahead of new book releases. As always, even if I’m involved with a publisher in this sort of fashion, each review is never influenced by that participation and will always be my honest impression as I read the story. Whether the author is one I have previously read or never had the pleasure to read until the book greets my shelf.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Girl in the Painting” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

On re-reading the ending of ‘Some Veil Did Fall’:

The interesting bit about this particular Rom Suspense is how capturing it was to watch the lead character ‘travel’ back intuitively through the corridors of the past; whispers of windowing moments of another person’s lived life if you will. Becky becomes so attached to the mirroring connective tissues of the past, she has trouble recognising it’s not a life she once lived but the life of another woman: of Ella’s. The two women are fused together – through circumstances Becky has to unravell in order to understand and of whose paths slowly knit together in a chase towards tomorrow! What is underwrit into the narrative is this sense of urgency and purpose; of fine tuning the details to pull together the secrets but also, to understand what is lost and hidden through time itself. The ‘veil’ which falls is the curtain separating the present from the past; where all truths let out and bubble back to the surface – to be examined and understood.

There is a strong case presented for reincarnated lovers – where two souls who were entwined in the past are thus now re-acquainted with in the present; drawing to each other like magnets and finding each other unable to resist being together as a couple. The interesting bit is how the pieces fit together and how Ms Ferry presented her thesis on how this could happen with a strong viable cause for plausibility rather than mere fanciful thought towards that end. Ms Ferry also wrote about how losing trust and confidence in the partnership of relationships is something that is hard to re-build and re-affirm in the relationship which rebounds off a sour one. Coincidentally, this was part of the topic thread we discussed during our last #ChocLitSaturday held on 25th of February. When you lose the ability to trust the men your dating and the capacity you have as a woman to trust your instincts in how to balance the relationship bits with your own independence is a mark for trouble. Part of what held back Becky is recognising not every bloke she’d meet past Seb would be an ill-fated relationship; she had to take a leap of faith but part of her wasn’t quite ready to dive into the unknown; even if her heart was pulling her in that direction.

And of course, one thing that made this story so brilliantly effective of co-merging the past with the present is how Ella whispered into Becky’s mind the voice of reason; for Ella was connected to Becky on a heart-level of insight. It was almost like a form of telepathy except to say, Ella was long since dead and Becky was very much alive! The two shared a symbiotic connection all the same; where their feelings could be felt between them and where Ella was stronger about voicing her feelings than Becky felt she could herself. At the same time, Jon felt Adam moving round his person and attempting to connect with him as well. This was something that stood out to me originally and which I appreciated re-visiting; how Ms Ferry weaved the time threads into her story-line by making unconventional choices of how the ‘past’ and ‘present’ could cross-sect together.

In my re-visit, I was caught up in the emotions of Ella & Adam whilst walking alongside Jon and Becky; there is so much inside this first installment, where the pace is set, the ebbing of the past into the present is well-placed and the duality of the time-lines is well played by Ms Ferry! I felt exactly as I had originally – torn between Ella & Adam and Jon with Becky; as they each had so much to gain and so much to lose; their romance(s) were bittersweet at times and so very tender as well. Both men understood the women they loved in such a startling deep way, it nearly cut off their chances to be with them; as both Ella and Becky were at times very private individuals who did not always champion the men who understood them inside and out!

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

Book Review | “The Girl in the Painting” (Book No.2 of the Rossetti Mysteries) by Kirsty Ferry #ChocLitSaturdaysThe Girl in the Painting
Subtitle: Rossetti Mysteries
by Kirsty Ferry
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher

What if you thought you knew a secret that could change history?

Whilst standing engrossed in her favourite Pre-Raphaelite painting – Millais’s Ophelia – Cori catches the eye of Tate gallery worker, Simon, who is immediately struck by her resemblance to the red-haired beauty in the famous artwork.

The attraction is mutual, but Cori has other things on her mind. She has recently acquired the diary of Daisy, a Victorian woman with a shocking secret. As Cori reads, it soon becomes apparent that Daisy will stop at nothing to be heard, even outside of the pages of her diary …

Will Simon stick around when life becomes increasingly spooky for Cori, as she moves ever closer to uncovering the truth about Daisy’s connection to the girl in her favourite painting?

Genres: Art & Art History, Ghost Story, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, Time Slip and/or Time Shift



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on ChocLitUK

ISBN: 9781781893609

Also by this author: Some Veil Did Fall

Published by ChocLitUK

on 7th March, 2017

Format: UK Edition Paperback

Pages: 301

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Order of Sequence of Rossetti Mysteries:

Some Veil Did Fall by Kirsty FerryThe Girl in the Painting by Kirsty FerryThe Girl in the Photograph by Kirsty Ferry

Some Veil Did Fall | Book One | Read more on Author’s blog

The Girl in the Painting | Book Two (Synopsis) | Read more on Author’s blog

#PubDay for the third novel is *7th of March, 2017* which shares the release of the 2nd in print!

The Girl in the Photograph | Book Three | Read the Author’s Convo (via Ms Morton Gray’s blog)

whilst being sure to | Read more on the Author’s blog

Converse via: #RossettiMysteries + #ChocLit

About Kirsty Ferry

Kirsty Ferry

Kirsty lives in the North East of England with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition in 2009 and has had articles and short stories published in Peoples Friend, The Weekly News, It’s Fate, Vintage Script, Ghost Voices and First Edition.

Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.
Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.
Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

On bridging in the philosophical insight of Rossetti, his artwork and the legacy of his life into a Contemporary-Historical time slip series:

In the first installment, Rossetti’s poetic lines held pieces of the mystery – especially in how the lines he conveyed could be construed to hint towards a particular person or a particular feeling he was trying to express about love and those he loved. In this second installment, Ms Ferry took inspiration more from Rossetti’s life and the style of his paintings into account as she etched out the back-story of what inspired Cori and Simon’s characters to mould into the Rossetti Mysteries. Of course, technically speaking – it was Rossetti’s love life which fuelled most of the suspense inside this installment as well. Rossetti is always at the cornerstone of where a Rossetti Mystery begins and shifts into an incarnation of insight of how his presence or life is interconnected through others to create the back-story. It’s interesting how Ms Ferry layers in Rossetti whilst still fuelling her own intent to tell the story from multiple points of view which are separate from Rossetti’s influence as well.

In each of her mysteries, the baseline is Rossetti, especially how he continues to influence the start of the stories and how his influence in his life paved the way for others to be connected as well. The art world is not as large as one thinks it might be – which is similar to the world of books – there are connecting junctions everywhere. I appreciated how Rossetti began as the centering piece of focus but by extending out of his direct connection, Ferry found a way to orchestrate a complex narrative with multiple principal characters whose story-lines are of equal importance to follow.

My Review of the girl in the painting:

Quite champion of an opener – Cori is in the midst of a proper retrofit of a house long past it’s due whilst caught in the aftermath of a less than stellar break-up. It is this mix of emotion which leads her out of the muck of the reno process and into the Rossetti & Millais galleries at the Tate (Museum; London). Therein she crosses paths with Simon – a bloke who had a genuine interest and stake in Pre-Raphaelite art at the museum. Theirs was a fleeting meeting – he noticed her far more than she noticed him in other words. She was a swirl of red curls and small takeaway observations which referred his mind to think about the impression Lizzie Siddal had on Rossetti himself. And, there begins how the ‘past’ and ‘present’ once again play foil against an installment of the Rossetti Mysteries! In each story-line, Ferry finds a way to earmark the passageway she wants to explore by yielding to a plausible connection and a startling revelation of where people of the present collide with the people of the past.

The curious tentacle linking Cori to Rossetti personally was interesting – as you could imagine how a love affair could be elicited with an artist of his age – interesting how her namesake was continued to be passed down and how she in turn, found a compelling attraction to the works of Rossetti whilst mindful of other artists which drew her eye to their collective works. I agreed with her observation about how the Pre-Raphaelites had a penchant attachment to drawing out Shakespeare’s muse in their artwork – not limited to Ophelia but yes, quite popular of a subject for them to explore. I think it’s the allure of unknowns – of never quite understanding who inspired Shakespeare to pen his stories and of whom were his direct inspirations for his characters. I think the artists were trying to tap into his mind and in some ways, express a sense of his characters’ and their motivations for their behaviours; to explore the psychology of who they were by attempting to capture them in a painting where their soul would stand naked to the audience. Art is interpretative and art is exploratory of seeking answers to questions which are not always known to those who find the artwork; art moves the mind and lifts the spirit. If art does anything it captures a conversation and pushes the observer towards stimulating a dialogue of reflective analysis.

As Cori walked through the gallery seeking the paintings which intrigued her heart and her focus, it reminded me of myself, of how I enjoy approaching seeing the exhibitions whilst moving through the collections seeking what draws my eye most towards ‘sensing something’ quite curiously important. Art speaks to us in different moments of clarity which is why I was not a bit surprised Cori was drawn into Ophelia’s portrait; as it was the painting of the moment she was meant to stand in front of to draw out something she had not previously observed. Counter to her efforts to tap into ‘something’ she could not articulate in that moment of discovery was Simon’s museful hope of interacting with her a bit more than the causal conversation they had about where the Pre-Raphaelites were located. Simon was a painter whose muse was re-missive to the point where his artwork did not reflect his passion nor conveyed a style separate from commercial appeal; in essence he was treading water with his muse hanging in the balance. His co-worker Lissy had the best of intentions of playing match-maker but his heart was stirred by Cori; of a woman who represented his image of Millais’s own muse and perhaps on a hidden level of insight, perhaps he felt Cori could re-ignite his own passion to paint!? That is of course, if he could find her?

Millais’s take on Ophelia was to capture her death in the moment of realisation whereas Waterhouse captured her still with breath to spare; Millais wanted to entreat into that space between life, death and the afterlife; of how the parting of life can yield to a realisation of how fragile humanity truly is and how thin the line is between the veils. His Ophelia isn’t seen as raging against the inevitable but rather of complacent will to greet the next life as if the person had reached a point of no return; not to yield but to succumb. She is captured in such a way as to speak to her mental state and of how she met her fate. He took his artwork into her state of mind at point of death rather than to focus on her whilst she was alive; a turn of departure for where his contemporaries had focused their own artistic enquiries into her person. The irony herein is how there is a thread of connection between Rossetti, Ophelia and Lizzie Siddal; where art and tragedy interweave until they co-merge together.

The danger of a passionate creative is tempting the will of the creative mind past what is healthy to dissolve inside – artists have the habit of being so intricately connected to their passionate will to create art, they do not always acknowledge the people around them nor do they draw themselves out of ‘themselves’ long enough to see the world around them. They can become singularly focused past the point of reason and this dissolution of self, world and existential stimuli can sometimes become their downfall; they lose sight of what is important and become too focused on the purity of their art. And, yet, artists like writers tap into a vernal eclipse of the human condition – they paint stories whereas writers convey the same through a palette of words. Each of them striking the balance of intrapersonal explorations of a lived life captured in a moment of stilled interlude.

Tying this story-line into ‘Some Veil Did Fall’ is the curiously explosively passionate Lissy; who loves researching Art History and finding connecting dots not only within the world of art but of relationships. She quite exasperates Simon and she’s tolerated by Cori; but she’s adored by Becky and Jon of whom found her invaluable to uncover the truth about Adam and Ella. Her personality is caustic only because she has issues staying focused on topic and being involved in the moment without finding her attention fluttering elsewhere. Ferry re-aligns her characters into the texture of this story quite organically as this is the setting Lissy would thrive and you could well imagine her finding traction at the Tate due to how dedicated she is to her work.

I personally loved how Cori and Becky started to talk about how sometimes in life you’re attracted to riddling out a historical mystery behind an object (in Becky’s case it was a writing slope; a portable desk) and in Cori’s it’s the plausible connection to paintings which illuminate her likeness by a model who had the same features of her own. Lissy brought everyone together in Whitby one weekend, and there we had the pleasure of seeing how Lissy could unite souls in a similar fashion as Lydia who was smitten with foresight to match souls; even if sometimes it did not always work out as she had hoped.

By the time Cori’s mind is overtaken by the murmurings of Daisy (supposedly the stand-in model for Lizzie for Ophelia) – she feels quite undone. There are small nudges towards this end – the door slamming itself open and shut; the way in which she felt drawn inside Daisy’s life (via her diary; which Becky gave her to read) and of course, the startling coincidental way in which Cori resembled the models of whom were in high demand during the Pre-Raphaelite period. Instead of encouraging her to work through the riddle from the past (as Ella had with Becky), Daisy wants to cause physical discomfort in Cori to prove her points and to get Cori to listen to her at all costs. Why Daisy had nefarious intentions towards Cori is hard to wonder, but her personality was not as graceful to be around as Ella’s. If anything, she came off too strong and way too forceful to be a ‘friend from the past’.

The backstory of Daisy is quite turbulent and tragic; it takes a bit to get Daisy to share her part of the story – of how she was connected to Lizzie and of her obsession with Rossetti and Millais. She had an unhealthy affection for the artists and the life Lizzie lived as their model, their muse. She wanted to live the life Lizzie had but was not in position to take-over the girl’s life be as it were. Her story is as sad to observe as Zelda (Fitzgerald) where the truer poison in their lives was the chemical of choice: for Zelda it was Absinthe, for Lizzie it was the drug laudanum. Daisy’s mind blended fantasy and reality in an unrelenting vision of trans-positioning her into Ophelia in one of the darker chapters of the novel where mental illness is highlighted by how damaging hallucinations can play havoc on the mind. Daisy’s successive influence over Cori is self-destructing in of itself; as she wanted another person to feel what she felt, know what she knew and remember the pain she experienced. In essence, Daisy could not handle being written out of history and left unspoken about in the annals of Art History.

As the Rossetti Mysteries continue, you see how the tragedies of the past have an influence on the present. Where hidden secrets do not remain closed off from notice and where everyday people must find the strength to re-set history by acknowledging what happened. The intricate passageways of where history bends through time to reveal unknown connections & tragic circumstances are well thought-out by Ms Ferry. In each of her installments, she gives you a hearty historical mystery complimented by a Contemporary Romance!

On the Contemporary-Historical Thrilling Suspense style of Ms Ferry:

It’s smashingly keen to find a hybrid style of Contemporary-Historical settings interspersed in such a way as to play equal importance to the telling a story in such a fashion as Ms Ferry has continued to present this series. She firmly grounds her series in the Contemporary Modern world before carting us off into the historical past; where the foundation is well-set and the plausible reason for extending backwards in time befits the tale at large. You get so wrapped up in her mysteries – as they are thought-provoking as much as they are heart-centred on lost loves or second chance romances; she fully encases you in the search for not only true love but the reasons behind why some secrets are ferreted out of view and knowledge from time or history or both in equal measure. This is what captures my attention in Historical Suspense or Thrillers but also with the added bonus of focusing on relationships – which in-part could be of reincarnated connections, gives an added bonus to the mysterious threads of her narratives.

You barely notice this is a hybrid of context from the Contemporary Modern world and the Historical Past, due to how the stitchings of the dual timelines overlay and interconnect into the background of the novel(s). Ms Ferry has a way of inserting historical characters into the organic flow of her Contemporary setting to where they are almost ‘intruding’ on the present and unbeknownst to them, are not entirely welcome to entreat without warning! These intrusions mark the distinctive measures of where time bends on it’s own will and method of disclosure – of where the past pierces through the veil into the present and where truth has a funny way of wanting to be shouted rather than whispered into the foreground.

On #EqualityInLit and deaf culture:

As previously stated on ‘Some Veil Did Fall’, I appreciated seeing Ms Ferry highlight deaf culture and how a girl who is hearing impaired would want to be seen on equal ground to everyone else. She continued this inclusion in the sequel, where Ella and Becky share the same affliction of losing their hearing but lead independent lives. It goes without saying to re-articulate how Ms Ferry truly treats the subject with respect and compassion, and this is a good step forward for readers who applaud the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement for showcasing authors who are getting it right in regards to bringing characters to life who may not be as frequently seen in today’s literature.

About where I hope this series continues within the pages of ‘The Girl in the Photograph’:

Share this book trailer by RT this tweet by the author!

Even before I found this book trailer via Ms Ferry’s Twitter account – I had already made up my mind I wanted Lissy to be the lead character of the third novel in the Rossetti Mysteries! She was a natural choice – she’s been in the series since the beginning, her role developing a bit more with each installment, but without the luxury of delving into what makes her tick (not completely really!) and what motivates her in a personal way. She has a keen sense about Art History and chasing down hidden unknowns in the artistic past, but sometimes you wonder, what isn’t she sharing or revealling!? I almost felt she had a secret of her own….

For this reason alone: I am wicked delighted inside ‘The Girl in the Photograph’ it’s Lissy’s turn to tell her story!

On my own personal love of art from select periods of enquiry:

Recently, whilst Ms Ferry was celebrating the #PubDay of novel three in the #RossettiMysteries I shared a bit of my artistic inspirations and motivations on a lively convo shared between Ms Ferry & Ms Gray (see this post). Being a mixed media collage artist, my personal style is housed within the eclectic nature of Vintage & Victorian art deviants whilst embracing Classical Art impressions & inspirations. Companies which assemble art discs for collage artists to use in their artwork are invaluable and although the artist behind the discs I originally used passed away quite tragically, there is a secondary option for today’s artists to find newfound inspiration and resources via the website: Lunagirl. There are other resources today, too such as: AlphaStamps Collage Sheets. If your unfamiliar with mixed media collage in miniature such as ATC, 4×4, Moo, Skinny or Gothic Arches you can gain a good overview via the blog hosted by Lunagirl called: Lunagirl Moonbeams.

The irony is that I was a bit more drawn into the images & paintings of John W. Waterhouse moreso than Rossetti – with a few exceptions, as Rossetti had a bold style and a unique voice of his own. I also love Victorian Neo-Classical Art especially the styles of John William Godward and William Bouguereau. You can see how my affinity for the artists is a bit spilt rather than solely limited to one particular style of thought!? If you add in the works by Renaissance artists, I have quite an eclectically diverse appreciation!

Part of this parlays my interest in modern art as well – as I still remember finding a time slip exploration in triptych at a gallery which pulled together a fusion of the historical past with a ‘bleed through’ into a different timescape outside it’s own dimension where ordinary life and hours were on full display. It’s hard to describe and the artist name is eluding me, but it’s how the image was captured to be both ‘historic’ and ‘contemporary’ I applauded. So you see, time slip and time bent stories are not just a love of mine in fiction but in other mediums of exploration!

Reading Habit:

Generally speaking, I listen to Chill : Electronica via Slacker Radio with my headphones as I like to duck inside stories without the intrusion of ‘vocals’ or ‘lyrics’ intersecting with where I am going visually with a novel or story. However, in rare instances, I find certain types of music work well with the flow of the story-lines; such as the Classic Country + Outlaw Country + selections of Contemporary Country which fit well within the sphere of life celebrated within the Marjorie Trumaine series (see also thread). In this particular instance, I started off with my Chill setting except switched into the ‘non-voc’ setting for Electronica instead which is a slightly different atmosphere than my regular haunt before clicking into the ‘Funk’ weekend channel!

I grew up listening to Folk, Funk, Disco and the singer-songwriters of the 1970s – when I wasn’t listening to the Bop, Classic Soul and electric sounds emitting out of the 1950s and 1960s. It wasn’t until the early 90s where I started to embrace the Grunge, Alternative, Classic Rock and the 80s sounds during a period where I also enjoyed Ska, British & American Pop, Modern Rock, Bluegrass and the new variants of Folk; as I spent the 80s listening to the three decades preceding the ‘new sounds’ of where 80s Rock was taking listeners. Contemporary artists also caught my ear but somewhere in the smorgasbord the 1970s there was this unique flow of creative expression, spoken thought and a musical arc of captivating songs.

Listening to Funk whilst digging inside ‘The Girl in the Painting’

just felt right and it added to the ambiance of the dual time-lines, too!

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

This book review is courtesy of:

ChocLitUK Reviewer Badge by ChocLitUK.Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

In case you’ve missed my ChocLit readings:

Please follow the threads through #ChocLitSaturdays!

And, visit my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle (recently upated!)

to see which stories I fancy to devour next!

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

My first ChocLit readings of the New Year:

Reading ChocLit is a cuppa comfort & joy. You get to ‘return home’ to the stories penned in the beauty of the Romantic genres you love to devour with characters who inspire you & give you such a lift of joy to meet.

To Turn Full Circle | No. 1 of the Emma series | by Linda Mitchelmore (see Review)

– as my ‘Saturday’ was spent giving joy to someone who did not expect to receive a welcoming visit from people he knew, I wasn’t able to properly finish this lovely novel until Wednesday. Ergo, I decided to back-date this to ‘Saturday’ as that was the original day I had intended to curl inside this novel to coincide with our second #ChocLitSaturday chat of the New Year. I’ve been in a bit of a rut reading wise and ChocLit novels have a way of pulling me back inside the joy of reading which is why I pulled this off my shelf and happily devoured it!

 The Girl in the Painting | No. 2 of the Rossetti Mysteries | by Kirsty Ferry

– as I received such a wicked lovely #bookmail surprise from ChocLit – I decided to insert this review ahead of my selections of continuing through two previous series which have enchanted my heart & mind! I hadn’t realised by doing so I would be reading this novel a few days ‘ahead’ of it’s #PubDay! How smashingly wicked, eh!? I was so overjoyed to receive this ChocLit novel – talk about a sweet bookish surprise, eh!? The chocolate which was sent along with it was #beyondyum, too! This is one of the few times I’ve been able to receive a #newbook ahead or by it’s #PubDay (for ChocLitUK) – which is why I couldn’t help but *devour!* the novel as soon as I rescued it from it’s bubbler!

The Penny Bangle | No. 3 of the Charton Minster series | by Margaret James

The Gilded Fan | No. 2 of the Kumashiro series | by Christina Courtenay

The Jade Lioness | No. 3 of the Kumashiro series | by Christina Courtenay

*Part of my focus on serial ChocLit Fiction!*

What shall Jorie pick next to read?! Hmm.

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

IF you love chatting about Romance novels, #amwriting adventures and being in a wicked good circle of writers and readers joyfully sharing their writerly & bookish lives, I invite you to join us for #ChocLitSaturday which is an extension of my reviews & guest features on behalf of ChocLitUK! All are welcome! Visit @ChocLitSaturday for more details!

Our third chat of 2017 will be on 11th of March, 2017! We are meeting up bi-monthly (on avg) now which equates out to ‘every other’ Saturday where topics in writing Rom are explored & discussed.

Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

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.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: Cover art of  “Some Veil Did Fall”, “The Girl in the Photograph” and “The Girl in the Painting” along with the Author Biography, Book Synopsis and ChocLit Reviewer badge were provided by ChocLitUK and were used by permission. Author photograph of Kirsty Ferry provided by the author Kirsty Ferry and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Book Trailer embedded due to codes provided by YouTube. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: ChocLitSaturdays Banner (Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo) and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.

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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 Saturday, 4 March, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, 21st Century, Art, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Britian, British Literature, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Deaf Culture in Fiction, England, Equality In Literature, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Ghost Story, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Gothic Literature, Gothic Mystery, Gothic Romance, Green-Minded Publishers, Haunting & Ethereal, Indie Author, Modern British Author, Modern Day, Paranormal Romance, Parapsychological Suspense, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, the Victorian era, Time Slip




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