Month: November 2017

#SpooktasticReads | Book Review “The Secret Kiss of Darkness” (Book No. 2 of the Shadows of the Past series) by Christina Courtenay #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 25 November, 2017 by jorielov #SpooktasticReads, ChocLitUK, Christina Courtenay, Shadows of the Past series, The Secret Kiss of Darkness 0 Comments

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. 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.

However, a few years ago, I won a bookaway for one of Ms Courtenay’s novels – happily surprised to have found a few extra titles tucked into the parcel, this was one of the stories I received. I believe this is the title I ‘won’, although I am forgetting which title I received was the bookaway book! I received a complimentary copy of “The Secret Kiss of Darkness” from the author Christina Courtenay without obligation to post a review. I have loved reading her stories in the past and this review is being shared for my own edification as much as I wanted to share my joys of reading it with my readers. Therefore, it’s an ‘addition’ to my regular reviews during #ChocLitSaturdays. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am enjoying reading this series:

I can assure you dear hearts, you get so attached to the 15th Century, between walking the vast estate and being caught up in the particulars of that century’s sociopolitical drama that by the time you ‘pull yourself’ forward back into the Manor to see how the research Melissa is doing into the ancestral records for her family & Jake’s family lineage, you nearly do not know which era you’d prefer to stay in a bit longer! I especially loved one scene where Melissa is being given the access to an ancient copy of the original will penned on behalf of Sibell; as she starts to read the words in Latin, her mind takes her physically back to Sibell’s time. She can sense and feel everything happening to Sibell at the time the will is being written. The visceral imagery and sensory connectedness was conveyed in such a convincing way that you could ascertain exactly what was happening in that ‘one single second’ of Sibell’s young life.

The heart of the story is etched inside the beguiling truths which separated lost loves through such a violent ending of their lives. In some ways, parts of Sibell & Roger’s story reminded me of Romeo & Juliet, fated in such a way as to not find happiness within their own lifetime; at least not one that would be forever lasting. An element of the backdrop is quite close to my own heart, is the pursuit of genealogical research! I loved watching Melissa find the tethering ties out of the records of the archivists and how the pursuit of research truly started to reveal much more than she could ever have hoped to find! The manner in which Sibell and Roger insert themselves into her reality is a bittersweet haunting any reader of psychological suspense will enjoy! Especially considering the way in which things end and resolve!

-quoted from my review of The Silent Touch of Shadows

On my Connection to Ms. Courtenay:

Three 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. Courtenay started to become a regular fixture, and her encouraging conversations & ability to inspire others to converse freely throughout the chats put me at ease in my new role as a ‘Hostess’. She always seemed to know how to either start a topic or how to best suggest something to break the ice! I was always so very grateful to her and I am thinking I might have forgotten to tell her directly how much gratitude I had for her in those earlier chats! Over the weeks that have followed, I have found myself attached to each of my ‘regular’ chatters during the hour, and I consider Ms. Courtenay a bookish like-minded soul, as we tend to appreciate the same types of stories!

During [2017] #ChocLitSaturday started to meet bi-monthly (if possible) rather than the usual weekly meet-ups which the chat had engaged in originally. During the course of the year, Ms Courtenay was not oft able to attend and her presence was dearly missed.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Courtenay through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I host #ChocLitSaturday the chat and having previously read her time slip novels and series set in Japan (Kumashiro). 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.

The Secret Kiss of Darkness
by Christina Courtenay
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher

Must forbidden love end in heartbreak?

Kayla Sinclair knows she’s in big trouble when she almost bankrupts herself to buy a life-size portrait of a mysterious eighteenth century man at an auction.

Jago Kerswell, innkeeper and smuggler, knows there is danger in those stolen moments with Lady Eliza Marcombe, but he’ll take any risk to be with her.

Over two centuries separate Kayla and Jago, but, when Kayla’s jealous fiancé presents her with an ultimatum, and Jago and Eliza’s affair is tragically discovered, their lives become inextricably linked thanks to a gypsy’s spell.

Kayla finds herself on a quest that could heal the past, but what she cannot foresee is the danger in her own future.

Will Kayla find heartache or happiness?

Genres: Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Time Slip and/or Time Shift, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Ghost Story, Reincarnation Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on ChocLitUK

ISBN: 9781781890677

Also by this author: Guest Post about Time Slips, The Silent Touch of Shadows, The Scarlet Kimono, The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight Cover Reveal, The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight Cover Reveal, Marry for Love, The Gilded Fan, The Jade Lioness

Published by ChocLitUK

on 15th March, 2014

Format: UK Edition Paperback

Pages: 299

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)

Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, Large Print & E-Book

Celebrating the Paranormal Romances of Christina Courtenay
& her “Shadows of the Past” series

Read the author’s thoughts on writing Time Slips via her Guest Post
(which focuses on this series)

The Silent Touch of Shadows began the series

The Soft Whisper of Dreams is the sequel to The Secret Kiss of Darkness

& The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight is the fourth in the series to release!

Converse via: #HistRom + #TimeSlip + #GhostStory + #PNR + #ChocLit

About Christina Courtenay

Christina lives near Hereford and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, the family moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East.

Christina’s debut Trade Winds was short listed for the 2011 Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Pure Passion Award for Best Historical Fiction. The Scarlet Kimono won the 2011 Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award. Highland Storms (in 2012) and The Gilded Fan (in 2014) won the Historical Romantic Novel of the Year Award and The Silent Touch of Shadows won the 2012 Best Historical Read Award from the Festival of Romance. Christina is Chairman of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Novels: Trade Winds, Highland Storms, Monsoon Mists, The Scarlet Kimono, The Gilded Fan, The Silent Touch of Shadows, The Secret Kiss of Darkness, The Soft Whisper of Dreams, The Jade Lioness, Marry in Haste, Once Bitten Twice Shy, Desperate Remedies and Never Too Late.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Secondary Blog

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Saturday, 25 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 18th Century, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bootleggers & Smugglers, Britian, British Literature, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, England, Green-Minded Publishers, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Modern Day, Paranormal Romance, Rebels and Rogues, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Siblings, Suspense, Taboo Relationships & Romance, Vulgarity in Literature

Blog Book Tour | “The Darkest Summer” by Rebecca J. Greenwood

Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov Cedar Fort Inc, Rebecca J. Greenwood, Sweetwater Books, The Darkest Summer 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past three years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Darkest Summer” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an 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 wanted to read this re-telling:

I’ve come to love the lovely niche of literary re-tellings – over the past four years, I’ve found quite a lovely array of re-inspired tales to where I must say, it is with apt curiosity I continue to seek them out! Each writer I come across has a different approach and of course, as they are each re-telling a different niche of literature – the stories themselves tend to be wholly unique and individually well-conceived for giving us new insight into a story we might already feel we understand. In this, what moved my interest to read ‘The Darkest Summer’ is how it was approaching Greek Mythos from a different port of entrance: from the story of Hades and Persephone.

I, readily admit, I am not well-versed in Greek Mythos, but I do try to seek out a new vision of the Greeks legacies whenever I can, if only to draw a step closer to understanding the Gods & Goddesses as well as the origin of the stories the Greeks left behind for us to contemplate. I have oft found the Greeks to be dearly confusing to understand – but there are some enroads being taken to bridge the gap between what I find muddling about the Greek Mythos and what I find intriguing.

Hence, why as soon as I read the premise behind this novel, I sensed I might have found not only a compelling story set in the Regency, an era I already have a passion for reading – but perhaps, in a small way, might start to understand some of the connections which were inspired by the Greeks themselves. I wasn’t sure on that score – as I wasn’t sure if this was a direct re-telling – where you can see the parallels between the two narrative arcs (ie. within the relationships themselves or in the descriptive bits of the characters) or if, the novel was more nuanced and you had to have more than a cursory knowledge of ‘who’ these lovelies were in Greek Mythos to be able to fully understand the route in which Ms Greenwood took to tell her tale. Either way, I knew I was going to appreciate re-visiting her writings as I knew she’d make a wicked good novelist ever since I first crossed paths with her whilst she was writing Non-Fiction.

The Darkest Summer
Subtitle: Pure Romance

In this riveting retelling of the classic myth of Hades and Persephone, Lady Cora Winfield is captivated when she first meets Adam Douglas, Duke of Blackdale. Despite their attraction, Cora’s mother refuses to allow the duke to marry her. Taking matters into his own hands, the duke abducts his bride-to-be, and Cora is swept into the adventure of her lifetime. Amidst danger and thrilling uncertainty, Cora must face the reality that she is falling in love with her captor.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781462120949

on 14th November, 2017

Pages: 294

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

A Novella & Novel entwined:

When dutiful Lady Hester Douglas, over thirty and long on the shelf, receives word that her brother Adam, the Duke of Blackdale, has survived the Battle of Waterloo, she abandons propriety and heads to Brussels to be by his side. Her widowed minister, Mr. Alasdair Gilchrist, escorts her on the journey from Scotland into a Europe recovering from years of war.

Once she reaches her injured brother, Hester must fight to keep Adam alive and tightly guard her heart’s deepest secret—she’s been in love with Mr. Gilchrist for years.

Will the pain of being with the minister, the man she loves and can never have, distract her from her purpose? Or will she overcome the barriers of age, rank, and station, and seize the love she’s dreamt of?

The Darkest Hour is a standalone inspirational Regency romance novella, and is also a prequel to The Darkest Summer.

Converse via: #Regency + #Romance, #GreekMyths + #Retelling as well as #Persephone

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood studied visual art with a music minor at Brigham Young University. She is a multimedia artist, illustrator, comic creator, and designer with a love of stories. She has worked in publishing for the last six years. Rebecca lives in Utah with her husband, where she listens to audiobooks, cooks experimentally, has an interest in alternative health, and constantly has a new project in mind.

Website | Pinterest

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, After the Canon, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Debut Novel, England, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Inspired by Stories, Life Shift, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, PTSD, Re-Told Tales, Realistic Fiction, Scotland, Sisterhood friendships, Story in Diary-Style Format, Sweet Romance, The London Season, the Regency era

#ChocLitSaturdays | Book Review “Emma: There’s No Turning Back” (Book No. 2 of Emma series) by Linda Mitchelmore

Posted Saturday, 18 November, 2017 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Emma series, Emma: There's No Turning Back, Linda Mitchelmore 0 Comments

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!

I received a complimentary copy of “Emma: There’s No Turning Back” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am enjoying reading this series:

I was so happily caught up in the tides of this novel; of how it’s told and of how it explored so many different layers of sociological behaviour. You have a lot of joy greeting you in this novel – the setting is lush and happily resplendent of living against the salt of the sea whilst the characters are fully alive and fleshed out to walk straight off the inked pages. You feel the emotional depths of Emma’s pain and the well of uncertainty rising inside Seth intermixed with the duties Matthew is entrusted to hide from public view. It’s a dramatic suspense – full of heart and the choices everyone must make to live a life of honour or deceit.

I simply hope as I progress through the series, I shall be greeted by more of what I found inside ‘To Turn Full Circle’ where the hope of tomorrow lingers on the unspoken prayers of today. Where people can find ways to turn their life around even if their circumstances become shattered overnight and where second chances are not too hard fought to be acquired. I look forward to seeing where Ms Mitchelmore takes the Emma series and of seeing how Emma continues to mature into her skin to be the Emma we all can see in the teenage version of herself. This was such a lovely novel to devour because it’s of a tender romance and of a crossroads of one young woman’s life which will determine the rest of her days.

-quoted from my review of To Turn Full Circle

When I first read the first installment of this series, I was captured by how Michelmore set the pacing of the novel to progress forward through Emma’s journey. It is hard to believe nearly a year has transpired since I first read To Turn Full Circle – I still feel close to where I left Emma. I was dearly curious how Emma would make her transitions and how in the end, Emma might find a bit more happiness in her life than she had previously felt untouched by. It’s a captivating drama – with a strong heroine and a beautiful backdrop of scenery.

Initially, I had intended to confine my readings of this over a weekend, as I started reading this a week ago (11th November) – however, I’ve had a recent bout of illness – stemming out of my last migraine (during the week of Halloween), which has not allowed me the regular focus I enjoy whilst reading. Sometimes, I find, I just need a bit more time to recover after feeling unwell – thereby, my readings a week ago were a bit hit or miss – I was focusing on three stories (which I had tweeted) trying to find my feet again in literature. Thereby, I am stretching what I began on one weekend into a second week which blessedly I am hopeful will resolve the angst’s of the past few weeks where my health has been a bit on a downturn. I know there are others who are struggling with illnesses right now, too, as it’s that particular time of the year where illness can grab a hold of you quite firmly. I’ve also noticed I’ve been trying to fend off a second migraine – sometimes, health-wise you have a few more woes than you feel you can muddle through!

I will be focusing on quite a few ChocLit novels after my readings of Emma: There’s No Turning Back – as I am finally able to read the trifecta of Spooktastic Reads I had originally planned to read the last week of October when my migraine first arrived: The Secret Kiss of Darkness (Friday), The Highwayman’s Daughter (#ChocLitSaturdays) and The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight (Sunday). This week, is surely going to be a wicked sweet one as I curl up inside ChocLit novels which always have a way of giving me a lot of joy to consume!

Emma
Subtitle: There's No Turning Back

It isn’t easy to look forward when the past is so close behind you

Life hasn’t always been kind to Emma Le Goff. She has had her fair share of hardship and now finally, her life appears to be looking up. She and her childhood sweetheart, Seth Jago, are set to marry and both believe that an idyllic existence, free from heartache, awaits them.

However, when they discover that the past is more difficult to forget than they could have ever imagined, Emma continues to be haunted by the mysterious circumstances surrounding her family, and Seth is hounded by a jealous ex-lover set on revenge.

Seth plans for their escape to Canada, but when the charismatic Matthew Caunter returns to Devon, Emma finds herself uncertain of whether a move to Canada is really what she wants…

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

Book Page on World Weaver Press

ISBN: 978-1781890936

on 1st March, 2014

Pages: 356

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)

Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, Large Print & E-Book

The Emma Series:

Book One: To Turn Full Circle (see also Review)

Book Two: Emma: There’s No Turning Back

Book Three: Emma and her Daughter (Synopsis)

Converse via: #HistRom + #ChocLit

About Linda Mitchelmore

Linda has had over two hundred short stories published worldwide. She has also won many short story writing competitions – Woman’s Own, Woman & Home and Writespace to name but three. In 2004, Linda was awarded The Katie Fforde Bursary by the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and has a story in their 50th Anniversary Anthology. Linda also won Short Story Radio Romance Prize 2010. Having started her writing career doing a short story course with Writing Magazine, she has now come full circle and is a preliminary judge for their short story competitions. Linda lives in Devon and is married with two grown-up children.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Saturday, 18 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bootleggers & Smugglers, Britian, British Literature, Brothers and Sisters, Chefs and Sous Chefs, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Cookery, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Domestic Violence, England, Green-Minded Publishers, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Siblings, Singletons & Commitment, Small Towne Fiction, Suspense, the Nineteen Hundreds

Author Interview | Jorie happily welcomes Ms Linn B. Halton to #JLASblog to converse about her lovely new #HolidayRomance: “Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage”!

Posted Thursday, 16 November, 2017 by jorielov Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage, Harper Impulse, HarperCollinsUK, Linn B. Halton 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Christmas is nearly upon us and for once, I’m a bit ahead of the curve in regards to my annual tradition of ‘Holiday Reading’ queues! I’ve already begun to share my experiences reading Holiday Romances – curled up inside the Regency through Ms Carla Kelly’s visions of Sweet Romance whilst tucking into a small towne for a short spell in Contemporary times! I have other stories planned as November leans into December and before Twelfth Night arrives in January! This is the time of the year of garland and Yule; of heaps of snow & loads of family being round a tree lit and outfitted nicely with all the accompaniments of Christmastide! Where stockings are hung over hearths and a ready fire helps keep your favourite brewed in your cuppa of choice!

I’ve known about Ms Halton’s fiction for a short bit of time, as I am a reviewer of ChocLitUK – she’s written two stories with them: “A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love” & “A Little Luck, A Lot of Fate”. The latter is still Digital First, however, the first novel is also released into print – I’ve had my eye on her stories to read, as I liked the premise of the first one. Therefore, when I spied this new release of her’s with a Christmas premise, I couldn’t wait to host her on Jorie Loves A Story! I am thankful I’ve been reviewing for ChocLit, as it’s the first way in which my path crossed with her writings!

As I was setting up my conversation with Ms Halton, I wanted to talk about the story & characters but being it’s set at Christmastime, I also wanted to include a few extra bits which happily would encompass my *favourite!* time of the year! There is something quite extraordinary about Christmas – the season of mirth & joy, where most spirits are lifted & joyous during this particular time of the year! It’s also the time I *love!* to binge watch all the lovelies on television (when I have cable, that is!) – especially the light-hearted Christmas Roms on Hallmark Channel and others stations which air the lovelies I’ve loved seeing from the 80s through the 21st Century! Blessedly, I have quite a few on dvd – which makes retreating back into my fond memories of those movies a dash of merriment ahead of my own celebrations!

I have the tendency to go between watching Christmas films and/or holiday seasonal films (ie. dramas, comedies, romances or mini-series) to reading them! I love curling up inside the stories which celebrate how Autumn folds into Winter – of how the Earth cycles through it’s new chapter where frost and snow overtake the natural world. It’s a refreshing time of the year where the wrath of Summer is a faded memory and where you feel alive in your bones simply for the reprieve of humidity! Each year, I try to find a few new authors & their stories to knit inside – of making my own route of festive cheer through literary worlds!

Hopefully, as you alight into our conversation, you’ll be able to get a better feel for the story itself whilst finding out a bit more about Ms Halton and myself in the process! Remember, to leave your commentary & questions for the author in the threads below this post! Here’s wishing you & yours a very merrily festive holiday season!

Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage
by Linn B. Halton, Ms Linn B. Halton

The countdown to Christmas is usually a magical time, but Elena James is fed up with living on a building site! The renovations on her beautiful cottage – like her heart – have been frozen in limbo ever since she was unexpectedly widowed.

Elana calls in a professional, Luke Stevenson, to help finish the cottage, so her little girl can send letters to Santa up the newly-repaired chimney. Luke’s kind, capable and sexy – but he’s also ten years younger than Elana. So why has her heart decided it’s finally time for a thaw?

Genres: Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0008261290

Also by this author: Coming Home to Penvennan Cove

Published by Harper Impulse

on 3rd November, 2017

Published By: Harper Impulse (@HarperImpulse)

an imprint of HarperCollinsUK

Christmas in the Country Series

A Cottage in the Country | Book One | (Synopsis)

Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage | Book Two

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

Converse via: #HolidayRomance, #ChristmasRomance + #HolidayReads or #ChristmasReads

Extract from ‘Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage’
provided by the author Linn B. Halton and is being used with permission.

‘Mum, can we light the log fire tonight?’ Maya looks up at me with eager eyes.

‘I think we should wait until the weekend, darling. There isn’t really time to appreciate it on a school night, is there? Besides, I’m not even sure whether there are any logs left in the store. I promise to get it sorted as soon as I can.’

It was Niall’s job, sorting the fire. He would have booked the chimney sweep in early autumn and had the logs all ready and waiting, stacked neatly against the back wall of the garage. Ironically, last year I was much more organised. I suppose it was one of my coping mechanisms during those raw, early weeks and months. Keep going; keep doing something – anything, so I didn’t have to listen to what was in my head. But I feel bad. Maya will remember that this time last year we spent every evening huddled together on the sofa in front of the fire, reading. Hour upon hour we escaped into alternative worlds inspired by some wonderful authors. Roald Dahl’s Matilda, E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, and Maya’s favourite, Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch, a story of tenderness and triumph.

It was the very worst of times, but I focused on getting us through it one day at a time. My gut instinct, immediately after the accident, had been to sell the cottage just to escape that prevailing sense that something was missing. Niall was no longer here and it would never, ever be the same again. But soon realisation dawned that Maya needed a sense of continuity; the memories trapped within these walls were a lifeline for her, although a cruelly painful reminder for me. In a way she feels her dad is still here and I can’t take that away from her.

What inspires you to set Romances round the Christmastide & holiday season? What draws your eye towards this Season as being one which benefits from uplifting stories of Romance?

Halton responds: For me Christmas is the highlight of the year and it always has been since I was a very young child. I believe there is always a little ‘Christmas’ magic in the air during the holidays because it’s a time of goodwill.

When you have a family so much time goes into the preparation leading up to the big day and the holiday surrounding it, that it is a real labour of love. It isn’t about how much you spend, but about the time spent trimming the house, cooking up a storm in the kitchen and making sure no one is forgotten.

And it’s a time to buy little presents to give to people who touch our lives in some way and deserve a little thank you – like the postman, a teacher or the local delivery guy! But also the neighbour who doesn’t seem to get many visitors – a card and a tin of biscuits delivered by hand is the perfect excuse to stop by and have a little chat.

It’s a season full of love … so you don’t have to look far to find romance and that’s why I always love it when I can fit in a Christmas novel! Read More

Posted Thursday, 16 November, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brook Cottage Book Tours, Reader Submitted Q&A, Women's Fiction

Author Interview | Historical debut novelist, Tanya E. Williams on behalf of her #Epistolary war drama “Becoming Mrs Smith”!

Posted Tuesday, 14 November, 2017 by jorielov Becoming Mrs Smith, Rippling Effects Writing & Photography, Tanya E. Williams 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

This #Epistolary novel captured my attention recently, as I’ve been seeking out more stories evoking ‘letters & correspondences’ for quite a long while now! You might have seen my ruminative thoughts on behalf of Last Christmas in Paris? Whilst previously, you might have seen my happy tweeting and my thoughts on behalf of my beloved Skye? (ie. Letters from Skye!) Or, perhaps – you caught sight of a debut Non-Fiction release this year, entitled: Dennis & Greer: A Love Story? You see, I have a particular penchant for these kinds of stories – not just in Historical Fiction, mind you – nor for the focus to be on war dramas, as my love of ‘3000 Miles to Eternity’ will attest!

What I found so very intriguing about ‘Becoming Mrs Smith’ is how the story is crafted through a succession of novellas! As you might also be aware of – I have a particular interest in reading short stories and novellas – generally, I’ve approached them through one of my two favourite genres: Romance & Speculative Literature (ie. Science Fiction, Fantasy or Cosy Horror) – however, I am finding more authors are releasing novellas and/or shorts – either as accompaniments to their novels directly or as stand-alone arcs for new series and/or an extension of a character’s story from a novel without a series in which to carry the story-line forward. In this case, what is uniquely lovely – the novellas are the series!

I like uncovering new formats for serial fiction – series are a lovely lifeblood of their own – something I cannot pass up the chance to read, as one blessing with a series is how long you get to extend your stay inside the world the writer has knitted together for you! You get to carry the load with the characters, of feeling everything they do as events and memories unfold – whilst feeling as if you, yourself have become drafted into their shoes, fully aware and absorbing their lives.

As I read the premise behind ‘Becoming Mrs Smith’ – my first instinct was to request this story for review purposes – however, realising it was a Digital First release – I opted instead to host the author for a conversation whilst I sought out how to engage in the story-line to help introduce this debut novelist to you, my readers. Perhaps like me, this is an interest of your own – seeking out the stories crafted out of ‘letters & correspondences’ or perhaps, your simply game for a new war drama! Either way, I hope you’ve brewed yourself a cuppa and are ready to settle in for our convo!

Becoming Mrs Smith

Not all of war’s destruction takes place on the battlefield.

Violet’s heart flutters from the scarlet fever she survived as a child, and it beats faster at the sight of John Smith, the man she plans to marry. America is entrenched in WWII, and when John enlists, Violet is certain she won’t ever forgive him for dashing their dreams. As the realities of war slowly overtake her life, Violet’s days are filled with uncertainty and grief. She struggles to maintain her faith in John, as the world as she knows it, crumbles.

Becoming Mrs. Smith is the inspiring, and at times, heartbreaking story of a woman’s struggle to reclaim what she lost. War stole the man she loves, and childhood illness weakened her heart—perhaps beyond repair. While guns rage in Europe, the war Violet faces at home may be even more devastating.

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

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ISBN: 978-1775070603

on 3rd October, 2017

Excerpt from ‘Becoming Mrs Smith’ provided by the author Tanya E. Williams and is being used with permission.

The walls of the old farmhouse quiver. Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound reverberates inside of me with each strike against our solid oak door. My insides shake like a ground tremor. Until now, I couldn’t have believed my body could shake any more brutally. This cruel and ruthless fever has vibrated inside of me since before yesterday’s sunrise. Doc Walton and his hammer, the cause of all the commotion, have traveled from Cedar Springs. He has since confirmed Mother’s fears. Scarlet fever has attacked our home and invaded my slight, now fragile body. The notice nailed to the front door is both a proclamation of quarantine and a warning. Those who enter or leave the Sanderson property will be reported and punished by South Dakota law.

At eleven years old, I’m not keen to lift my nightdress for the doctor. Mother’s stern gaze, which bores through me from the corner of the bedroom I share with Iris, tells me refusing is not an option. My skin, warm to the touch, shivers as air whispers across the tiny red bumps. The doctor listens to my heart with his instrument, the round metal end cold from winter frost, before he lowers my bedclothes and tucks me into bed. He murmurs to himself as he pats my shoulder and smiles sadly, before the latch on his black bag snaps shut.

As two of your characters inspired you to tell their stories in two separate novellas, how do these novellas prepare the reader for reading the novel they are anchoured too? What can you tell us about the novel which is the third half of the total story?

Williams responds: Becoming Mrs. Smith and Stealing Mr. Smith (both novellas) allow the reader a deeper view into what motivates these two important female characters in John Smith’s life. Both Violet and Bernice are center stage in John’s life, at different times, and their actions and decisions have a direct affect on how John’s life unfolds.

The final novel in the series, A Man Called Smith will bring the perspective of the story back to John, allowing the reader a global view of his life, his decisions, what haunts him, and what he learns to accept. Essentially, John is defined by these two strong and unique women and he ends up living his life as a result of those definitions.

A Man Called Smith, was where the story started for me. As a writer, I had a desire to answer the question, “What if it is not the choices we make in life that alter the outcome of our life’s path? What if it is instead, the choices that we do not make, the ones we are afraid of, the ones that torture us, threatening our existence and stealing from us along the way? What if those are the moments that truly define us as an individual?” John is a likable character. He is soft spoken and kind yet his life takes a detour and in the end he must live with those consequences. Read More

Posted Tuesday, 14 November, 2017 by jorielov in 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Debilitating Diagnosis & Illness, Diary Accountment of Life, During WWI, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, History, Medical Fiction, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Story in Diary-Style Format, the Nineteen Hundreds, The World Wars, Women's Fiction

Month: November 2017

About Christina Courtenay

A Novella & Novel entwined:

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

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!

About Linda Mitchelmore

Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):