If your a regular reader or frequent visitor of Jorie Loves A Story, you know I’ve been smitten with the novelists who publish their relationship-based Romances with ChocLitUK for a good two years now! I love being on the cusp of learning about a ‘new release’ whilst I remain patient to see if the Digital First new ChocLit novel will make it to a print release further down the road of it’s lifetime. I don’t mind the gaps between the ebooks and the print editions – as it’s always given me the pleasure of balancing my ‘next ChocLit reads’ to include both Front List and Back List offerings. Thus, I am enjoying being a member of the Reveal Team at ChocLit whilst it gives me a chance to introduce my readers to a variety of sub-genres within Romance I appreciate picking up to read!
You may or may not realise how quirky my humour is by what you’ve previously read here on Jorie Loves A Story, as comedy is not something I always focus on nor is it easy for me to find contemporary favourites in the comedic world. For instance, it might surprise you to learn Mum and I sometimes find ourselves caught up in comedies that might be considered ‘outside our comfort zones’ and far to the outside of where we regularly travel in the world of comedy! A prime example of this would be the film ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer’ and our ill-fated attempt to watch ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’.
More recently we have dipped into the Contemporary comedies on television which have garnished a following for those of us who appreciate quirky humour, dashes of romance and a slightly dysfunctional view on family life such as: Schitt’s Creek (from Canada) and Grace and Frankie (from Netflix). Of these two, the first one lost it’s luster in Series 3 where the timing and writing were so far off the mark of the original two series, we stopped laughing + watching outright. Similar to how the first series of Younger had a plausible reason for being watched (especially for anyone who is caught up in the world of books and publishing!) but by the sophomore year, they quashed the joy so distinctively it was hard to remember what was good about it! (similar to why ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ was let go of as well before the end of series two!) Now, the third series mentioned is on that fringe state of losing it’s ‘quirkified style’ and merit of being wicked funny.
Reason being — despite all of these being slightly blunt around the proverbial edge to include vulgarity* in more sprites and frequency than what I would accept in novels — at the core of the series themselves, there was a lifeblood of realistic drama, cunning dialogue and a soulfulness of relating to the human condition whilst life is being evolved in ordinary hours. They might be billed as comedies, but somewhere the lines blurred and were more dramedies than comedies. Yet. They all had their quirks – to understand properly what I’m referencing you’d have to borrow the seasonals like I did or pop over to Netflix for a trial go at membership! lol (if you want to catch the first three seasons of Grace and Frankie)
*I would of course love to see them temper the inclusions but that’s wishful thinking on my behalf! Sometimes I like to see what others’ are watching in order to ‘keep in step’ with my contemporaries but also choosing what works for me at the same time. I’d rather not have a blind eye but an informed eye. Sometimes I make exceptions to understand my peers and sometimes what I ‘try’ for awhile fades into the background of a ‘miss’ but something that was briefly appreciated.
Now, why do I like quirky humour!? To say life is far too serious and jarring IRL is too obvious to state; but to clarify that I’ve always had a quirky funnybone is more readily the point! You see, I was in middle school when I met ‘Beetlejuice’ as much as I was entralled with the Addams Family; not to mention the Munsters! There are classics in comedy and there are ground-breakers like Carol Burnett who redefined how sophisticated you can make comedy even if it’s fully on the level of ‘quirk’. I might dip inside well-known shows for a spell, but my personal favourites tend to be more traditionally writ and/or have something inside them that proves timeless (such as Carol Burnett or Dick Van Dyke).
On the flipside, the drama ‘Monarch of the Glen’ falls inside a lovingly brilliant dramedy where Highland life in Scotland with a cleverly writ dysfunctional family is fully engaging round a story-line of where one son endeavours to bail out a failing Scottish Castle and mindfully embrace the quirky family he’s a part of in the process! I loved every inch of that zany comedic series – even when it turnt quite emotionally jarring!
When it comes to the comedy of Ms Lovering, I am a bit in the ‘dark’ so to speak. I do not know how she flavours her stories (by language choices) or how she adds layers of quirky situation comedy to her characters’ lives, but one thing is for sure – I think I have an inside glimpse at what could be involved as I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with her during #ChocLitSaturday! (see also @ChocLitSaturday for chat updates) During the chats she was able to duck inside were the ones I laughed so hard I nearly split a kidney as they say! Her cheeky and insightful humour never fails to leave me in stitches of joy, and I have a feeling I’ll feel the same about her fiction!
Of course, mind you, one of the joys of featuring this ‘cover reveal’ today is not only my participation as a ChocLit Star but as a second entry of blogging about Ms Lovering’s fiction! I’ve been wanting to duck into her comedies – but as the Yorkshire series is full-on established, I never knew which book to begin with or when to enter it properly! I know her stories are one-offs as much as they are part of a threading of a series, but I sometimes am shy about how to start series. My general intent is to start at the beginnings, but I’ve broken that tradition several times for different reasons, so it’s not a strict hard fast rule if series like this are not traditionally anchoured round each story continuing the previous installment.
FYI: I have a secret of my own right now about how I’ve resolved this curiosity of mine but today, we are celebrating her latest release! You might remember me hosting her Reveal for ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ last May!? (see also this post!)
*It should be noted a few short weeks after this originally posted, I quit watching Grace and Frankie as I personally felt the writing was not in-tune with the previous season. In the end, I felt the relationship between the two leads was tainted and the comedic timing was dissolved. Also, I leaned towards appreciating the character growth between Sol and Robert far more than between Grace and Frankie; of whom once were the series anchours and then, felt as if they were being re-written right in the height of their popularity. Coincidentally, the second series I watched on NetFlix is the one which endured the most: Heartland a CBC (Canadian) series which is currently filming it’s 11 season in 2017. Thirdly, I was quite surprised by how The Carrie Diaries had empathy, heart and a humanistic side to the title lead character of whom I never could follow in the ‘sequel’ original series. My fourth selection was Father Brown a BBC series which I was wickedly gobsmacked to learn is featuring Mr Weasley (from Harry Potter) as I hadn’t recognised him as being part of my favourite ‘family’ in the Potter world. Ergo, I am finding my way on NetFlix, it just took a bit of time!
On my connection to the author:
I happily have had the pleasure of interacting with Ms Lovering through #ChocLitSaturday the chat off/on for the past three years; up until when she had to take a hiatus from joining us Autumn 2015 or thereabouts. I am always thankful when the ChocLit authors can find a niche where they feel comfortable chattering with fellow ChocLit authors, Romance novelists, book bloggers, readers, and other bookishly chatty spirits who alight on Saturdays! Ms Lovering always knows how best to give us a heap of laughter, a wicked good smile and happily make #ChocLitSaturday a lovely place to be!
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her ahead of reading her novels. 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. This is also true when I follow-up with them on future releases and celebrate the book birthdays that come after their initial publication.
Notation on Cover Art: Is this not truly magnificente!? I love this wicked sweet cover! To me it spoke to me as soon as I saw it and I have been itching to reveal my JOY over it’s art direction ever since I first laid eyes upon it! I love how it’s wicked brilliant at capturing the setting but also how it has this old fashioned cover art design attached to it; where it’s simplicity in motion of expressing the heart of it’s narrative and an unexpected joy in meeting it’s characters! I love covers like these that entice you forward; to enter their chapters but also, to feel as if you’ve already visited their setting by how the cover art conveys their ‘place’ of atmosphere!
Little Teashop of Horrors Cover Reveal
Secrets, lies, carrot cake – and an owl called Skrillex!
Amy Knowles has always been the plain sidekick to her pretty best friend Jules. And whilst the tearoom they both work in on the Monkpark Hall estate in Yorkshire is not exactly awash with eligible bachelors, it’s obvious where the male attention is concentrated – and it’s not just on the cakes!
There is one man who notices Amy. Joshua Wilson also works at Monkpark, where he flies his birds of prey for visitor entertainment. He lives a lonely existence but he has reasons for choosing isolation – and, in Amy, he may have found somebody who understands.
Then a management change brings slick and well-spoken Edmund Evershott to Monkpark. He’s interested in Amy too, but for what reason? Josh suspects the new manager is up to no good – but will Amy? Because Edmund could leave her with much worse than a broken heart…
Places to find the book:
Book Page on World Weaver Press
Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLitUK)
RELEASE DATE: 28th March, 2017 – ebook version
Formats Available: this is a Digital First release! print and audio should follow next!
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance | Romantic Comedy
The Yorkshire Romances in sequence:
- Please Don’t Stop the Music (Synopsis)
- Hubble Bubble (Synopsis)
- Star Struck (Synopsis)
- How I Wonder What You Are (Synopsis)
- I Don’t Want to Talk About It (Synopsis)
- You Can’t Buy Me Love (Synopsis)
Converse via: #ChocLit & #RomCom OR #LittleTeaShop + #YorkshireRomances
About Jane Lovering
Jane was born in Devon and now lives in Yorkshire. She has five children, four cats and two dogs! She works in a local school and also teaches creative writing.
Jane is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and has a first class honours degree in creative writing. Jane writes romantic comedies which are often described as ‘quirky’.
Her debut Please Don’t Stop the Music won the 2012 Romantic Novel of the Year and the Best Romantic Comedy Novel Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
Novels: Please Don’t Stop the Music, Star Struck, Vampire State of Mind, Hubble Bubble, Falling Apart, How I Wonder What You Are and I Don’t Want to Talk About It.
Initial reaction to Cover Art:
My first instinct was to select this cover – it had this innocent cafe setting which could elude to something darker lurking without your general notice. The title reminded me of a spin of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.And, by placing the ‘owl’ quite cheekily on a branch felt kismet to me to illustrate the quirky side of Ms Lovering’s style of story-telling.
Ooh, now that’s a dice of a switch in fate isn’t it!? To think you’ve finally getting on in life on an even keel only to realise you might be suffering from the subterfuge of someone else muddling with your life’s affairs!? I love how understated the premise is about highlighting the caretaker of Skrillex! I have a fetching feeling the owl has a lot of lovely secrets to reveal of it’s own but also, perhaps – has a way of creatively interconnecting the heroine and hero of this story!?
I love too, how initially the lead character has less confidence in herself than she ought and how the hero is downplayed a bit to not be quite the traditional hero but simply a bloke who never felt love would kiss his life with joy. There is a lot of drama brewing underneath the covers of this one but also, with just a pinch of ‘quirk’ to make it a read to itch for as you simply want to uncover the ‘horrors’ of the title (which I feel hint towards human nature!) and see how everything ties in together to create a setting and story you will not soon forget visiting!
Although I’m going to link to a #PubDay review, I didn’t read it in full, except to see if it was a lovingly longer review to etch out the details for readers eager to learn a bit more of the story — I’d rather remain in the dark until the print release!
Even though I participated in the selection of the Cover Art, what I based my choice upon was what I felt conveyed the atmosphere of the setting for this story. I felt a bit clued into the psychological backdrop based on the synopsis itself but also, by extension the artistic choices in the covers themselves. If you merge the two together you have a particular directive through art but also by tone, theme and expectation of story. I love when you find everything blending together to give you such a ready sense of joy ‘ahead’ of reading a novel (or short story, etc). For me it’s how it all works together that matters most, as visually the clues help as you soak inside a tale but it’s the story itself that moves my heart to read it’s contents even if the cover helps to anchour me.
I wonder what others must have felt when they saw this cover for the first time!?
What moved through your heart and mind?
If my pre-reading ruminations haven’t whet your thirst for this lovely new release, perhaps this lovely review shall?
#Newrelease #review: Little Teashop of Horrors by @janelovering @ChocLituk #LittleTeashop https://t.co/lGaB3wSwbE pic.twitter.com/t5a4GMVuWx
— Anne Williams (@Williams13Anne) March 28, 2017
This Cover Reveal is courtesy of: ChocLitUK
My current ChocLit readings this Spring:
To Turn Full Circle | No. 1 of the Emma series | by Linda Mitchelmore (see Review)
The Girl in the Painting | No. 2 of the Rossetti Mysteries | by Kirsty Ferry (see Review)
The Penny Bangle | No. 3 of the Charton Minster series | by Margaret James (see Review)
UPCOMING next:
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!*
& The Lost Girl | by Liz Harris
And, visit my ChocLit Next Reads List on Riffle
PS: Remember to set your calendar: #ChocLitSaturday (@ChocLitSaturday)
is meeting up on April Fool’s @ 11a NYC / 4p UK to discuss #RomCom’s!
Everyone is welcome: writer & reader’s alike!
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
Reader Interactive Question:
Have you previously had the pleasure of reading a ChocLitUK Romance novel!? Did you now they regularly release novels with strong female leads and male characters who are a delight to find on the pages? ChocLit truly has found a niche for giving romance readers something hearty to chew on whilst seeking out uplifting relationship-based Rom with just a dash and a hint of intrigue, drama, and suspense! What do you seek out from a romance novel?
The relationship-based drama, comedy, historical, or suspense? OR the strength of the setting, timescape, and dimensional eclipse of the characters therein!?
When it comes to reading Romances, what are your personal favourites!?
{SOURCES: Book cover for “Little Shop of Horrors”, author photograph of Jane Lovering, book synopsis and Choc Lit Star badge were provided by ChocLitUK and used with permission. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Stories Sailing into View banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.
Comments via Twitter:
.@ChocLituk#CoverReveal | #TuesNews
🤔Ever wonder if Jorie's quirky sense of humour matches @janelovering?#RomCom https://t.co/6RVlqJvMDF
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) March 28, 2017
Happy publication day for @janelovering and her #littleteashop. Gorgeous cover! https://t.co/HYDZ5WcdWv
— Kirsty Ferry (@kirsty_ferry) March 28, 2017
.@Williams13Anne Happily included a s/o to your lovely #bookreview on my #CoverReveal for this #newbook! Come find out abt my quirky humour👍
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) March 28, 2017
Can always rely on @joriestory for a lovely enthusiastic post! Thank you for being such a 🌟 #LittleTeashop https://t.co/2KIqJZ5ZQE
— Choc Lit (@ChocLituk) March 28, 2017
@joriestory Thank you Jorie – that's really lovely of you! This book was wonderful – I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did 😊
— Anne Williams (@Williams13Anne) March 28, 2017
Do you love #amreading quirky #RomCom's? Love needling of humour in your #Romance reads? Come visit & chat w/ Jorie https://t.co/6RVlqJebf5
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) March 28, 2017
Thank you lovely people for supporting us in our #LittleTeashop release day! @Williams13Anne @joriestory @bookkaz @suemonte @portybelle
— Choc Lit (@ChocLituk) March 28, 2017
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