follow the convo: #wyrdandwonder

[via Instagram & Twitter]

If I had to speculate how I would feel on the 1st of June after co-hosting my first blogosphere event #WyrdAndWonder with the lovely bookish spirits who’ve become dear friends: Lisa & Imyril – I am unsure if I could have envisioned it. There is something about finding a niche of joy in being able to celebrate the STORIES which enrich your life with such enlightened JOY. The worlds within the Speculative world have been a dear part of my readerly life for so very long, it’s hard to know when they weren’t co-companions of my everyday adventures!

I have pitched hit for #RRSciFiMonth (@SciFiMonth) and hosted Twitter chats for the Sci-Fi November event as much as helping Lisa & Imyril as they co-hosted the event whilst helping out Rinn when she wasn’t able to host herself. #WyrdAndWonder is the first time I’ve become a partner in charge of an event from the ground-up – as I originally had an idea myself about hosting a #FantasyMonth – but I knew back then (by a few years) I would need some back-up! Hosting and coordinating an event like this across social channels and the book blogosphere takes a lot of organisation and planning.

I can truly say, I am humbled and honoured to be part of a team of three – each of us connected to #WyrdAndWonder had equal say in everything we’ve been assembling for those participants who took up the challenge this inaugural year to make #wyrdandwonder an actual bonefide event rather than a mere figment of a dream of bringing all of us Fantasy enthusiasts together! We had each others’ back – we helped each other and the best bit of all was our sisterhood friendship – where I knew I could turn to them (behind-the-scenes) and find a hug of support. They not only encouraged me, they helped me push through a rather adverse May and re-seek the JOY I had in wanting to be the third partner in this lovely event! (smiles) My gratitude to Lisa & Imyril is limitless – they are truly the best huckleberry mates a girl could hope to have found!

The beauty of #wyrdandwonder has been having the ability to reach out through the twitterverse* and the book blogosphere – seeking fellow like-minded souls who have an equal admiration for the fantastical – where we like to dip inside the vision of where #SpecLit authors are taking us! From the depths of their world-building to the incredibly layered and realistic grounding of their characters – these are the stories which give us something Science Fiction cannot (and vice versa!) whilst keeping our hearts & imaginations aflame with WONDER.

*Admittedly, I was unable to join everyone on Instagram, as it’s a platform I attempted to use and decided to withdraw before I ever made my first post. Sadly, even the commentary I once shared was deleted but for a short spell, I knew why everyone loves adding to the #bookstagram community for I saw it as a ‘visitor’. I still seek out pages on Instagram to follow from the outside looking in and was wicked delighted by the creativity & the dedication of our #wyrdandwonder posters who were championing our event to the rest of the #bookstagram community!

I’ll be the first to admit – this past May was a cluttered disaster of sorts – having come out of a seriously intense bout of health woes plaguing me (March & April), just to be in a position where my head didn’t feel crushed in pain (ie. seriously high frequency of migraines this year) and my overall wellness (extreme pollen allergies notwithstanding!) felt like it was finally re-stablising to where I could a) read again and b) feel I could communicate through blogging & tweeting again – a blessing in of itself! As I get the kind of debilitating migraines where you can’t push through them OR distract yourself through them – if the meds I take are not working, your reduced to taking extra rests in a darkened room, devoid of light and noise. Re-emerging out of these ‘supernova’ migraines are tricky beasts as sometimes I can ‘shift forward’ to where I can read again without an discomfort – this Spring?! I wasn’t so fortunate – hence why the most I was able to ‘read’ previously had been through ‘audiobooks’ by way of the Kay Hunter series by Rachel Amphlett – you’ll find me gushing about this Crime Drama over the serial reviews I shared for books one through five!

I had a lot of ‘down-time’ after my migraines – I even had approx. a week where my connectivity was chaotically out of control – yet, I kept believing I could output more for #wyrdandwonder, even if as the days started to erase off the calendar, I became less convinced I’d have time enough to read or blog or even tweet enough to feel I had pulled my weight with my partners and helped shape #wyrdandwonder into a collaboratively communicative event where everyone felt heard and a co-pilot of guiding this event forward through their own participation.

Lest, I mention what changed on the ’25th of May, 2018′ as those changes were a stress unto themselves and why I lost another *five days* of restlessness in an attempt to research and overhaul what was necessary before the deadline arrived.

Around the middle of the month, something *clicked!* in my head – I started offering to monitor the twitterverse convos overnight – meaning, I started to invert my days, keeping later hours and resting whilst I would normally be awake. I’ve been a night owl most of my life but this new schedule was starting to show my fatigue, which is why try as I might to reduce the TBR I had set out to accomplish for #wyrdandwonder, I had to resolve, only a handful would finally make it to my blog and into my bookish heart this year [during the event!]. The guilt we carry with us is at times ridiculous – but guilty I felt, for I had all these lovely plans and ideas I had wanted to execute!

I had a list of prep work I wanted to get completed *ahead!* of the event itself, but those plans flew themselves out the proverbial window – I wasn’t physically up to doing anything I had planned to do – including getting the first week of our #wyrdandwonder #photochallenge underway! Speaking of this sub-theme focus – did you wonder where Jorie’s photos were? Hmm… yes, wells, I was meant to have a pre-birthday surprise from my parents – a lovely new camera – however, a) my parents & I hadn’t realised how difficult this would be to source whilst b) who knew cameras were now coming with serious precautions of use! – ergo, no new camera and my beloved camera is too old to gather new memory cards, hence the angst of realising most of my #bookphoto plans evaporated into the ether along with my blog post prep work plans!

on finding joy as a tweeter & conversationalist during #wyrdandwonder:

Whilst I tried to cobble together a reading list I could enjoy at the ending hours of May, I started to realise how much I was appreciating my time in the twitterverse – being an encourager of support, tweeting out the #randomjoys which were being shared for #wyrdandwonder and reminding myself – sometimes, despite how many curve balls life likes to place in our path – if we give up, we lose – if we continuously adapt & attempt to find the joys, we win. Life is about attitude and perseverance – not that it’s easy to remember those two virtues, but somehow, I grabbed a hold of what I could do and slowly ‘let go’ of what was no longer possible.

Those convos and interchanges of thought in the early morning hours on the #wyrdandwonder feeds were some of my *favourite!* memories for the event this year! Just getting to connect with you guys in real-time, talk about Speculative Lit topics of interest and finding how we all love mutual sub-threads within Fantasy realms was quite a lot of happiness! I was both humbled by your responses and encouraged to carry forward each day, popping in at random hours and trying to keep myself motivated to read what I could even if it was altered from what I wanted to do initially.

Through those exchanges, I also popped over into your #bookstagram feeds – in awe of how you were answering your #wyrdandwonder prompts – as well as finding those who were participating on Twitter, were responding the way I had wanted to myself – with thoughtfulness and at times, a cheeky reply to the prompt which gave me a heap of lovely smiles & chuckles of glee!

A *big!* THANK YOU is extended to all the lovelies who interacted with me as (*J) on the #wyrdandwonder feeds! Thanks for giving this girl such a lot of #randomJOY!

Whilst I was actively tweeting, I was even being bolstered by the happiness I was finding in the stories themselves – of how beautifully inventive the writers were becoming with telling a story which not only affected my imagination but was touching my soul, my heart and giving me such wonderful lovely musings – most of which I shared on my reviews, but some of which I held back – as similar to the advice of #RiverSong, I’d be sharing “spoilers!” something I truly attempt to never do – although, if I ever do, it is only out of a deeply respectful moment of sweet bookish joy wherein I wrote the heart out of a story with full admiration for how it was writ. (yes, I’m thinking about my final #TheClanChronicles review)

I was only able to visit one of the bloggers who was posting content for #wrydandwonder this year during the event itself – I left a comment on a dramatic war novel set in a Fantasy world – elevated in such a thought-provoking expose on the world, the fantastical writing styling of it’s creator and the key bits of information I daresay I am always rather keen to find in a fellow book blogger’s showcase – in essence, I was happily overjoyed reading Jason Aycock (@jasonats) | Off the TBR review of “Gedlund: A Tale Of The Verin Empire” (see also Review) by William Ray (@) whilst introducing me to a new term: #BlackPowderFantasy!

Who knew!? See!? This is why I love being a part of these wicked brill bookish events! We not only get to find an extension of community within the genres we dance through *but!* there are moments where we expand our understanding of them – whilst finding new ones to appreciate as others read the stories which lay down a foundation of curiosity for us to follow after in their wake!

To make amends, I’ll be spending time going through the blog posts & #bookstagram posts whilst peppering our #wyrdandwonder feeds in the twitterverse with new commentary – just in case the #readers who wanted to read our blogs/bookstagram posts OR add to our previous convos didn’t have the chance if their schedules were as harried and busy as ours! Plus, I know a heap of people had the wicked awesome chance of attending #BEA2018 – so for those Book Expo book bloggers, they wouldn’t have had the proper chance to see our #Fantasy feast of #bookjoy even if they wanted too!  Ergo – you’ll be seeing me visit YOUR BLOG this lovely month of JUNE if you’ve been posting #wyrdandwonder content! For those on #bookstagram, you’ll have to wait to see what I tweet and blog, to know if I’ve found YOU!

I am also planning one final [recapture!] of #wyrdandwonder for the last Sunday in JUNE (the 24th) as a way of culminating where I travelled, what I discovered and will offer insight into what everyone else was doing during the event! This will be during #TheSundayPost, which hopefully will arrive a bit earlier than this one as I was slightly delayed getting this edition posted!

IF you want me to bump my visit your blog OR #bookstagram to the head of the list, kindly leave me a comment on this post & guide me to where your posts begin! Otherwise, it will be happily random who I am visiting and when I will be tweeting about what I find! I will also be putting together update posts via #JLASblog! Stay tuned, dear hearts to see what emerges out of those visitations!

I’d like to take a moment to recap what I was sharing on Jorie Loves A Story ahead of discussing my latest #25PagePreview – wherein, I challenge myself to read ONLY *twenty-five pages!* of a book I’m borrowing through my local library (originally conceived in [2016] as an extension of my participation in the meme #LibraryLoot – it is making it’s resurgence back onto my blog during the last half of [2018]!

NOTE: The Magic Cup review was sponsored by the publisher Center Street.

The Magic Cup by Howard Behar (short story)

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As you draw yourself deeper into the story – you start to see the fantastical proportionally expound within the narrative – as Steadfast is both on a quest and a mission – part of his quest is to better understand the current state of affairs at Verity Glassworks, a company by all appearances has taken to rot right in front of him – from the pink slips dismissing the workers littered in the entry hall to the fact the power is barely outputting enough light to see his way through the building. The board mysteriously sequesters themselves to meeting in secret without his audience and the whole time he’s trying to experience his ‘day one’ at this new company, he’s finding nothing is quite what it appears to be – not on the surface and not on the dimensional layers therein!

Steadfast starts to collect an eclectic team of inquisitive minds along his journey into the heart of Verity Glassworks – along the way he also starts to collect a few nemesis’s who would rather see harm come to him than the truth of the company become revealled. Throughout my reading of this story, what I was struck by first and foremost is the art which is inclusively exquisite throughout the chapters! For anyone who loves art installations which take on a more industrial art approach, you will love the artwork found within different chapters of The Magic Cup. There are passages where you are awed and inspired by what is being described – as these are also the pages where the fantastical starts to spring out of the background, too!

– quoted from my review (sponsored by Center Street, the publisher) of The Magic Cup

The Breedling & the Trickster by Kimberlee Ann Bastian (Magical Realism)

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As we move through the different stages of redeeming Stingy Jack’s soul – even though he afears he is long past the time where such a thing could affect him, we are privileged to his back-story unfolding in-line with the current time-line. Each time we are on the verge of gaining traction of understanding about what makes Jack uniquely himself, we retreat into a flashback of a pivotal point in his history. Those flashbacks serve as a road map towards understanding who he encountered and why those encounters matter even today – as the past and the present are walking in tandem with each other rather than remaining separated. The past might be out of sight, but the actions and the moments contained therein still have a way of impacting the present which of course upsets the future all the way round.

Buck is trying to manifest certain events and incidents to take effect in Jack’s life – even if at the moment of action, he is curiously perplexed by how the effects of his efforts are influencing Jack’s responses. There are credible lessons of free will, conscience remorse and the infinity of thought which seeks to draw connections within this series – of how each of these characters are not entirely ‘cast free and alone’ from one another but how they are intrinsically tethered to one another, whether through choice or command.

Counter to Buck’s choices, of course, the opposition is attempting to inflict the same outcome but with a different ending from their angle of interest – thus, what you find is a cat and mouse game of who gets to Jack first and who proves their point more decidedly to where he will either blindly follow them forward or make a conscience choice of his own. That is the rub – of how influence can affect a person’s thoughts and how self-doubt can re-align all acts of reason. There are a lot of undercurrents of choosing a course of action and owning the action taken thereafter – of knowing your own nature and of understanding how that nature can be altered by someone elses’ intentions.

-quoted from my review of The Breedling & the Trickster

Liminal Lights by J.M. Bogart (Middle Grade Fantasy)

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The beauty of how this story is told is how open Bogart is in letting the reader decide for themselves about the purpose behind the telling – of why certain aspects of the Liminals and Shadows are aligning such as they are and why knowing right from wrong is not always easy to decipher. It also points out, when you uncover a hidden truth about your own past, how you choice to reconcile the truth and what you do after you’ve learnt it is a fine line to walk. Do you turn your back on what you now realise is true or do you use it to fuell your actions in the future? How do you best chose to deal with the realities of the alternations which are affecting your own species at the rate of loss you can no longer justify as being passively normal?

Bogart is developing a larger scope of the story by enticing the reader to dig into the back-story of Bean – as she is the gateway character for the Liminal series. It is through Bean’s eyes and experiences we best start to see the battle the Liminals are in to fight for their existence and their survival yet similar to the Clan (from The Clan Chronicles) even their own history has been short-sighted and edited from their own knowledge as a method of self-protection and self-preservation. Bean is individualistically unique, in a similar vein of growth as Sira was for the Clan – they each have gone through a process of evolution which will set the future tides of their kind, wherein they each had to chose how they would embrace their destinies.

-quoted from my review of Liminal Lights

Frozen Fairy Tales (anthology) by World Weaver Press (Fantasy)

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One of the beauties of reading a frozen collection of fairy tales is how cleverly ingenious the writers herein are tackling the theme of ‘cold, Winter’ – most thread the environment of a cold Winter into the background of their stories, but others, have thought harder about how the theme could be applied – by personality, by attribute and by a distinction of what sets their individual worlds or characters apart from ‘others’. Whether they are writing a world similar to our own, a world uniquely nothing like ours or somewhere in-between the two ideals – these stories have a way of warming your imagination!

There are a lot of stories evoking the idea of family: how their parents and children are trying to make the best of difficult situations or how the children themselves are being cast into a quest to either effect the family’s circumstances  or endeavour to be the rite of passage the children need to undertake. In some instances, the parents are the ones who have the most to learn and seek out the growth they would readily gain through a quest. The interesting bit is how family, hearth and home are stitched within a lot of the stories from Frozen Fairy Tales – as this generally isn’t always the case to have a primary focus on ‘family’ in fiction. I appreciate finding it (always) but it sometimes is harder and more rarer to find where there are pro-positive instances of where family not just bands together in adversity but they are shown to having different kinds of experiences all the way round.

The short which nearly left me shattered emotionally was The Heart of Yuki-Onna whilst a close second would be Death in Winter. Both of these shorts deal with ‘death’ in a transformative way – of how the lives of the children are affecting the souls of their parents, casting the parents into a situation where they may or may not survive the quest they are undertaking. The spiritual under-threads within these two shorts was also comforting but not overly done. The stories are seeking to gather your imagination to reconsider how it views life and death and the purpose of our lives. Whilst giving a full nod of strength towards the fact, there are moments in our lives which seek to define how we elect to #fightback when an injustice is done against us or where we feel #wronged by circumstances outside of our control.

-quoted from my review of Frozen Fairy Tales (anthology)

Hero’s Best Friend (anthology) by Seventh Star Press

| “Brothers” by Essel Pratt |

This one was especially emotional after having found out recently the protections for wolves are being removed after a period of years where they were a protected class of wildlife. My heart has a soft spot for wolves, including their brothers who are hybrids – they have been misunderstood for so very long, it’s hard to believe there are those who would seek to destroy them now. Tabling my emotions on that particular issue – what drew me inside this short, is how lovingly it is told from the perspective of the ‘wolf’ rather than the ‘human’.

The fantastical elements of this world are lightly drawn, etched only so far to encompass a knowing glance of it from a distance as the heart of the matter is the connection between wolf and man. The two shared a bond which was strengthened in battle, solidified in friendship and the companionship they both felt til one passed on before the other was heart-warming!

You truly get caught inside this lovely short, as love and death are part of all of our lives, including those of us who have companions in fur who give our lives extra purpose and who give our hours extra happiness. The reason this one stood out to me is how the story is told – even the small details about how the wolf was physically affected upon his return to the cemetery and how the graveyard itself was projected as being observed felt authentic to not just this story but to anyone’s story who can relate to the situations being explored.

I definitely appreciated finding a wolf to human companion story which struck the heart with how we each can find a layer of truth in how we care deeply for our companions as much as they care about us in return!

Fantastical elements:

→ Magical aura – the magic of this world is visual in different ways, but one of the ways in which it manifests itself is through energy which can be seen stemming away from those who can conjure it. Magic plays a critical role in this story as it is anchoured to how there is a constant battle between good vs evil.

→ Inter-species partnerships – as this story is about the companionship of a wolf and a human, it also briefly explores how this is made possible from the angle of how sometimes a wolf is not merely a ‘wolf’ and how a connection between two partners is not limited to life but is plausible to be reunited in death.

-quoted from my review of Hero’s Best Friend (anthology)

Unspun: Anthology (focus on) Kaki Olsen (Re-told Fairy Tales)

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The secondary heroine of this story is Lena’s Aunt – talk about someone who comes out from behind and becomes your champion! Whilst I also immediately found myself enjoying being around the Great-Great Grand-mother of whom was more readily known in our fables as ‘the sugar plum fairy’ – she wasn’t quite what I was expecting and it was her openness about protecting Lena from the Mouse King which felt so very sincere. I also liked how in their world – there were aspects of our world mirrored there – from the landscapes to the animals – dimensionally we might differ but in other ways, the discrepancies were minor.

When I reached the conclusion of Ethical Will it resolved in a way which I knew it had too but altogether wished it hadn’t. The title of the short story eludes to it’s fuller message – about how our ethics, morality and the very will we have to live and make choices against how we approach our living hours must be upheld in the highest degree of sanctity. Yet, there are forces seeking to work against us all the same – who can influence and try to alter our own minds and hearts, to where hard choices need to be considered. It is only the courageous and the strong of spirit who can survive (or hope to survive) and this short parlays itself across those lines of philosophical study.

In keeping in step with the history of the original canon, what makes this a twisted tale of old is how well fused this new spin-off is with the traditional evocation of it’s theme. This is a nod to Ms Olsen’s passion for the ballet and for the stories therein but also, for finding an entrance into a tale a vast majority of readers will instantly recognise and yet – find themselves in a wholly new dimension within the world they love! This is a great feat – as it allows us to re-examine what we felt we know previously against the new events which are now taking place!

-quote from my review of Ethical Will (short story) within UNSPUN (anthology)

Woven by Bree Moore (audiobook) (Fantasy)

Unfortunately, this was one of those rare instances where I found an audiobook to be a DNF for me – you can visit my review to find out what ‘took me out’ of the story and why I just couldn’t find myself attached to this story as much as I had hoped I might have become. It is are for me to find an audiobook narrated in such a way as to feel distant from both the heart of it’s story and the characters of whom are meant to be in the ‘lead’. Blessedly, I have more stories of Fantasy to listen to upcoming this JUNE – which I shall be referencing in a moment! This simply wasn’t my cuppa.

I welcome your thoughts & comments – especially if I’ve had the chance to highlight an author or publisher you’ve not yet discovered – whilst if your not a regular reader of anthologies, short stories or novellas – if something I’ve posted might have encouraged you to take a chance on a collection – even if your not regularly into audiobooks – I fully respect that – I was meant to have more audios highlighted this month (which I will explain momentarily) – those are now part of my participation in #AudiobookMonth!

I am so wicked EXCITED to see which stories everyone else was reading + devouring – which ones are their beloved finds & which if any were slightly disappointing – in essence, whilst I was reading these lovelies, what was everyone else reading themselves!? Eek.

my two lovely [guest features]

during #wyrdandwonder

At the very beginning of the month, I had the JOY of sharing with you the IRL adventures of Ms Bastian meeting with her readers on her multi-city book tour – wherein she supplied me with ‘scrapbook journalling’ pages of where she was visiting, as well as the people & places she was finding herself warmly received! It was a unique showcase, as unlike a traditional guest feature (either interview or guest post) this was wholly different in both how Ms Bastian revealled bits of her IRL experiences but also, shared with all of us what it would have been like hitchhiking on her book tour! → catch the train and view her adventures!

Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms Silverwood on the [2018] republication of her Urban Fantasy debut novel: Silver Hollow! I had attempted to borrow the older version of this novel through my local library, however, due to the limited number of libraries who have a copy to lend out via ILL’ing (inter-library loan) I had to realise it would take me a bit longer to delve into her fantastical worlds! Mostly as I have reason to suspect I ought to go through the portal of her other series the Wlyder Tales – even if they might be a wee bit more on the ‘darker’ side. I need to contact Ms Silverwood and ask a few questions before I sort out whether or not I read this the way I intend or if I keep focused on Silver Hollow! We shall see! Sometimes I find exceptions to the rule about ‘Dark Fantasy’ as there have been instances where I have found traction within those kinds of tales – other times, I admit, I’ve made the wrong choice! Just depends! → find out how she built the Borderlands Saga!

Which of these did you ENJOY reading & experiencing?

What do you find wicked fascinating about their individualistic approach to curating their own custom niche of focus within realms of Fantasy by establishing themselves through their own variant and genre-bent portals of interest!?

My #25PagePreview Notes:

[ I stopped reading on Page 25! ]

Borrowed Books via my Local Library: All thoughts and initial impressions on behalf of the books I’ve borrowed via my local library are for my own personal edification. I was not obliged to post my reflections on behalf of these novels, as I sought them out for my literary curiosity. Likewise, I was not compensated for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

It should be noted two of the books were borrowed through ILL’ing (interlibrary loaning) services: ‘An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors’ by Curtis Craddock and ‘Spymaster’ by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes. I am thankful we have these services to read stories which are outside our local card catalogue and collections.

NOTE: #25PagePreview is a tag and a feature on behalf of jorielovesastory.com shared via Twitter.

This second edition of #25PagePreview is specifically focused on the stories I was borrowing to enjoy during #wyrdandwonder – which blessedly are now going to be re-queued for [Summer] reading during my newly conceived #EnterTheFantastic feature! Wherein I shall be highlighting all the lovely fantastical reads between #wyrdandwonder events using this lovely tag!

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors : (book one) The Risen Kingdoms

by Curtis Craddock (@Artfulskeptic) | Site | Pub’d by TOR

→ forthcoming paperback release: 19th JUNE, 2018

NOTE: This has an impressively lovely MAP inside → VIEW the map

We find Jean-Claude in a massively intensive gale of wind – as the turbulence is wrecking havoc on his ability to walk to stern! There is a place high in the clouds where man is tempted by the ill-fate of allowing themselves to descend – into the nothingness which only the clouds know the depth of as he contemplates letting himself ‘free fall’ into a sweet oblivion where no time exists; only the rushed adrenaline of knowing your descending without any hope of survival. This space calls to him like a tempest of ill-wrought will – entertaining his thoughts whenever he stumbles too close to rails of the skyship!

After gathering his wits by losing his balance – only then do we see Jean-Claude recount his life’s choices and curiously boggled by why a man of the land has turnt to a man living in the passageways of the sky. As he converses with the Captain, he was caught off-guard to find the skyship appeared to be moving towards land – apparently, in this world, a ship of this kind does not routinely evoke such a route unless a Captain such as Jerome knows how to manipulate the destination of arrival for the ship. The words being used to describe the quickness of action on behalf of the crew and the fevering thoughts of Jean-Claude are a step back into yesterday, of a world slightly out of sequence with our own – where words were lamented about and used with great pause of thought.

What a curious mission this Jean-Claude has undertaken! Apparently in his realm, a certain person must be in attendance at time of birth or the rite of birth (as well as the babe’s namesake, blood relations and origins) would be forsaken and not observed! Talk about a social injustice against women – this is why we find him hurtling himself in a carriage if only to forestall time itself to reach the lady in labour ahead of the babe’s arrival! Further curious is how this world has both skyships and carriages – it would appear to be a wonderful smash-up of swashbucklers and the Victorian age, re-pleat with swords and unforeseen heroes (as I speculate what shall follow).

Hmm… this is far darker than I previously felt it would be – I was blinded by the aesthetics of the world rather than honing in on the particulars – there are aspects of this world which remind me of two previous stories I read which were at the upper end of what I could handle – as when it comes to Dark Fantasy stories, I fear, I have a limited tolerance for what I can stomach to read. In this particular story, however, it was the cruel and unnecessary punishment of innocents and the criminal class which disturbed me – as it was an inflicted punishment which benefited the inflictor but which was quite intolerable if you think about the harder ramifications of the act being executed. In other words, similar to The Highlander – there is a trade in power source but this time round it is a cruel fate indeed to be caught in the snare of someone’s shadow-line!

Verdict!? Not exactly my cuppa tea, unfortunately!

Keenly disappointed in this one – as I had such high hopes it might be a #nextread of mine to re-borrow this Summer; sadly it was simply not to be! I will say though, the bits which I found fascinating is how the sky cities are built and how they rise into the cloud belts – of how they have inverted rock and land – where the pillars of the rock are on the bottom and the land rises to the top – similar to other variations seen in other fantastical stories and/or films – but this had a beauty of it’s own to be had.

Spymaster : (book one) The Dragon Corsairs

by Margaret Weis (@WeisMargaret) | Site & Robert Krammes

Pub’d by TOR

I am a cautiously hopeful #dragonfiction reader – meaning, despite the fact I have the tendency to curate lists of stories I wish to seek out which involve DRAGONS, I have become a bit spoilt on what I want Dragon Fiction to look like both in the textural dimensions of the world in which the dragons live but also of the relationships they have inside their world – is the undertone set to Light or Dark? Are the dragons constantly at war or in harm’s way? How are the dragons viewed and treated by others in their world? In essence, ever since I read the #LelandDragons series by Jackie Gamber I’ve been spoilt on the vision of where #dragonfiction can take me – with a heart still partially left within Ms Gamber’s world, I still attempt to re-alight into a new portal of insight through another writer’s variant of the genre but I must admit, I have yet to find a story or series which tempts my heart as much as Gamber’s. I oft wonder: shall this be the one?

At first entry, this reminded me of dipping back into the world of Captain Jack Sparrow – with all the gaiety of wayward pirates who never fancied themselves social outcasts but rather attempting to do honest trade against the tides and sails of their ships! Kate is a girl who grew up amongst the men of her father’s trade – aboard ship – well in-tune with the world at large and nimble enough to be of service to her father, coming to his aide if ever he were to need her – yet, it is her father who has a struggle of conscience in keeping her on the ship, away from the ship and the propriety of society. In her defence, this isn’t an adversity Kate sees in her predicament – as she has grown-up in a trade she sees as second nature not of a rebellious occupation against the laws of man.

Easily disguised as a boy rather than outed as a girl, Kate can walk anonymously amongst those who interact with her father; save the crew, who know her as well as him. And, then of course – I reached a paragraph where I dishearteningly realised “ohh, it’s one of those” in regards to which type of #dragonfiction this is vs the kind I had hoped it could be.

You see, the dragons are being used for acts of war which in of itself might not be as bad as it sounds but there was a particular tone I detected which made me think if I were to delve further afield into this story, the more I would dislike or rather distrust at what I might uncover – *le sigh* – the search shall continue, I see! I simply would like to be caught up inside a story of dragons where respect is given on both sides and where the dragons are not living against their own natures – of where the dragons have freedom(s). Even if there is adversity or a war to be had – or evil to dispel – so be it – but sighs, I just haven’t found the story which grabs me as the ‘one which would get me excited to read’ and that’s the truth in the pudding if there ever were a way to state it!

Verdict!? Not exactly my cuppa tea, unfortunately!

I am at a loss as to what to say further,… clearly I am on a long road of discovery!

I should mention, I’ve been on pins to start #amreading the choices which were rec’d to me via my #Dragon + #Gryphon TBR List – do you spy one of those I ought to start seeking out straightaway to find the #dragonfiction I am seeking?!

The Unicorn Rescue Society : The Creature of the Pines

by Adam Gidwitz (@AdamGidwitz) with illustrations by Hatem Aly (@metahatem)

Pub’d by Dutton Children’s Books (part of Penguin’s Young Reader Group)

*This was a purchase request of Jorie’s which her library accepted

& added to the collection for which she is full of gratitude.

Reason why I wanted my local library to consider this title:

I spied this upcoming release for MGLit in the twitterverse – it was the first time I’ve seen a very proactively positive story about *unicorns!* as I grew up with the legend & lore – but not every writer treats the topic/subject with a positive message. It killed my heart enough how Voldermort in Harry Potter viewed them! :( When I read more about this on the author’s site, the more I wanted to read it. This is going to be an ongoing series – as there is already a book number two slated to be released.

I love Fantasy novels – irregardless if they are Children’s Lit or Adult; as we’re never too old to read stories – sometimes reading Children’s Lit is a celebration of keeping the innocence in our lives. You might like visiting the author’s site just to see how he’s presenting it… you feel wrapped up in the adventure!

A small back-story of why I enjoy reading about unicorns – for those who are fellow #GenX’ers, you might recall a beautiful photographic book about #unicorns which was pub’d at some point in the 1980s? It showed unicorns in the wild – as free as the mustangs? Maybe only a few of us remember – the book was done in such a cleverly way as to not only encourage your imagination and heart towards the wondrous beauty of unicorns but it allowed you to take the lore, the legend and the unknowns about unicorns and place your heart inside a ‘moment’ captured amongst them. It was a leaping stone of creative thought and a deep well of appreciation for fantastical animals we know so very little about but keep within our hearts with an openness of acceptance which is sometimes lost in this high tech world of ours.

Thus, with this kind of back-history – I have appreciated finding stories which are pro-positive towards unicorns rather than stories which inflict harm or injustice towards them – sometimes, we truly cannot overcome how we first discover our magically lovely fantastical animals – or to put it another way, I truly understood how protective Newt is about his fantastically magical beasts!

Now, then,… this story starts off with a letter from Professor Mito Fauna,… you can truly see why young readers are excited about this series – as there is a humbled and passionate request for brave souls to join the leagues of the Unicorn Rescue Society, if only to help save more of the mythological and mystical beasts who might be in recent danger from mankind. It’s the kind of animal rescue where those beasts and animals of our imaginations are authentically real – they only need to be found, protected and guarded by those who respect them! What a kind premise!

There is an interesting opening scene where Elliott is attempting to get the lay of the land on the bus – where he notes the kids who are in their own worlds, doing the kinds of things which would be awkward for me to sit near – whilst at the back, one girl stood out for grooving to music only she could hear – this he felt, held potential!

A lot of truth in those statements he was making – it’s hard to find people you can relate to at a new school, whilst the illustrations make this Middle Grade Fantasy pop to life as you get to ‘see’ the scene as it’s being ‘lived’ by Elliott.

Here’s where the story gets interesting – Professor Fauna is the special *guest!* at the school, where teachers look like their animal composites – I think this was in a similar vein of how sometimes dog owners take on characteristics of their dogs – there have been whole photograph studies about this – rather than of a seriously critical critique about a woman’s appearance. As the illustration shows a side by side of the teacher and the animal who shares her name – they have a similar personality and expressive face, however, given the way the world is right now – this could be misunderstood by the writer’s intentions.

Sadly, just as I was starting to get my groove with the story-line – as the writer took the approach Lemony Snickett took with “A Series of Unfortunate Events” where there are double-explanations about certain things – you know, like explaining what ‘dire’ means even though the children knew what was considered dire? Things like that – the reason I had to quit reading this book is not because of the content – I barely reached the third chapter! (oy!) – but because of the toxicity of how it was printed!

I am unsure if others know this but sometimes books don’t smell friendly, the chemicals used in producing the books can affect me and it triggers my allergies – not all books (bless!) but a good amount which are heavy on illustrations or are being mass produced in productions where I can only assume they are not using green practices or inks which do more harm than good to the readers who try to read the stories.

Verdict!? I’ll leave this for the children – I am thankful I picked a selection they might enjoy reading esp as it appears to be a lot like my previously loved ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’!

I am thankful for the purchase request coming through – as I like to make purchase requests for a wide variety of books – both Fiction & Non-Fiction which help develop the collection for the library but also, give a lot of different readers from various ages, the same kind of joy I am having discovering the books and the authors who write them! I hope this is readily checked out now that I’ve had the chance to ‘preview it’! Generally, that is the case! I might be able to re-request this one in say, six months or next year – once it off-gases to the point where the papers and ink are no longer triggering my allergies – maybe I can sort out if they ever found a unicorn to rescue!? Ideally, I wish all books were printed with materials which wouldn’t cause allergies for any of us – perhaps, one day?!

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

Pub’d by Del Rey (in the USA) | you should see the MAP!

This was a random #libraryfind which held a lot of hope in its premise not to mention the [cover art] for this book bespeaks of what your hoping to find inside! Ironically, this is one of those FEW times where I side with the US cover vs the UK! Generally it is the other way round – yet, this time, ours is a lovely mosaic & lushly illustrated!

Verdict!? *le sigh* I’m striking out, apparently!

One of the good things about borrowing books from my library, is when I’m attempting to take a chance in genres I am under-read inside – it softens the blow when I find myself recoiling from what I am finding inside the stories. This now fits in my category of ‘the cover art is brilliant’ but the story itself isn’t my cuppa! I was so dearly disappointed, I didn’t even know what to say other than I gave it a go! I will say, you must brace yourself for a brutal attack on a young household – where a very young girl bears witness to a horrible crime and of whom is pulled immediately away from her family. I, think, this in of itself was partially why I lost favour reading this one – as the descriptive narrative was too stark and unsettling to the point where I just did not feel compelled to continue reading.

Fallout (Book One: Lois Lane Trilogy) by Gwenda Bond

Pub’d by Switch Press | Read more on the Author’s Site

| in April I tweeted this s/o about my appreciation for #SuperheroFiction |

I’ve known about this series for a few years now – I hadn’t realised it was restricted to a ‘trilogy’ as I thought for sure – due to how regularly Ms Bond talks about it on Twitter – this was an on-going series!? Hmm. I’ve appreciated Lois Lane ever since I first saw her in the Superman movies with Christopher Reeve – in fact, Margot Kidder was the first time I remembered where I was as dedicated to know Lois’s back-story as much as I was the superhero!

Lateron, it was Terri Hatcher who charmed me with her version of Lois Lane in ‘The New Adventures of Superman’ starring opposite of Dean Cain. From there, I was looking for a new Lois Lane to pick up where the other stories and adaptations had dropped off – I wasn’t one for ‘Smallville’ and until ‘SuperGirl’ came around (the first two years I’ve seen the most of) I wasn’t even sure if they were going to re-start a series I could gravitate towards – except I did love ‘Agent Carter’ until I found it far, far too late (the series was ending?) and I need to get the seasonals in order to better understand it’s foundation! (oy)

This is why I have taken up a niche of interest in the #superherofiction worlds – finding #AwesomeJones (see also Review) & a new entry of interest – yet, most immediately, I’ve been wanting to dig into Ms Bond’s Lois Lane series!

As soon as I opened to the *very first page!*, it felt like looking back into a mirror of my own past – all new kids in a school NEVER want to make a wrong impression, get off on the wrong footing OR seriously do an infraction (in the other kids’ eyes) to where your the labelled outcast for the rest of the year – aye! This is off to a great start! (smiles) As anyone whose felt like Lois can immediately feel emotionally connected to her walking into this school and wondering how is *this day!* going to pan out!?

Seriously, what is it with the kids who try to make your first day harder than it needs to be!? As she was trying to get to the office and sort out her schedule, she ran into the kids who would rather be an obstacle than a guide with advice! One thing is for sure – I am ALREADY *loving!* the narrative tone, styling and voice Ms Bond has etched into this one!! Eek. I’m feeling insanely happier knowing my thoughts about this series are starting to pan out – I mean, how could this series fail me?!

It’s LOIS LANE, you all! *Lois Lane!* is a superhero in her own right!

I am so seriously attached to how this is being writ, I’d rather hold off saying more until I’ve had a proper chance to read it in full – journalling my notes as I do, and revealling my thoughts about how #awesomesauce FALL OUT truly is to be reading!

I just have one Q: where was Perry White when I was in high school!?

Verdict!? I double-checked my time left with both books & if I can’t finish them both before their due – I’m seriously placing a hold so fast to make sure I’m right in line next to find out the cliffhanger before the third – if there is one – something tells me there ‘should be’? Then, off to make a purchase REQ for the third: ‘Triple Threat’! Eek. Finally!

I'm #currentlyreading the first *twenty-five!* pages of FALL OUT from the #LoisLane trilogy by @Gwenda AND I'm seriously LOVING the tone, styling and voice Ms Bond has stitched into this #SuperheroFiction lovely! I don't believe I'll be stopping @ page 25! lol ☺️#wyrdandwonder

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 4, 2018

the stories now a part of [Summer]

#ENTERthefantastic readathon:

during the months of JUNE – September, 2018!

I knew based on how the hours were evaporating off the clock during #wyrdandwonder – I would need to bolster my disappointments with a new focus of how to keep #FantasyReads on my shelf of #nextreads whilst re-inspiring myself as I moved forward post-event, as I honestly would fall dearly short of what I wanted to accomplish. Sometimes owning the lost hours is the hardest part after an event like this — therefore, my first goal was how to talk about Fantasy afterwards!?

This pre-dates the lively convo via @WyrdAndWonder where as a community and collective of Fantasy readers we’ve decided to *keep!* the BIG event during an annual celebration in MAY but we’ll extend the loveliness to hosting weekenders or other fun mini-events tied into different seasons focusing on different topics of interest (see this tweet).

My idea became #EnterTheFantastic – for reading select stories *betwixt & between* #WyrdAndWonder events! This is my personal segue of raising awareness for the Fantasy stories & writers I’ll be discovering outside of official showcases during our hosted events within our growing community of #WyrdAndWonder! Similar in vein, to how I created my sub-focus of #FuellYourSciFi to reflect the Science Fiction stories & writers I am reading ‘in-between’ the annual Sci Fi November (ie. #RRSciFiMonth). Both are now proudly identified on my Twitter Profile and I couldn’t be (squeakier!) happy about it either!

My first order of business though is to allow myself more time with the authors I pulled during #wyrdandwonder – as well as adding a few more along the way, but these are the MAIN authors, one-offs and serials I’ll be blogging and reading about til the last days of Summer (or a day in September I decide to ‘stop’, as October is generally a month I *love!* for Spookified stories of Suspense [think ghosts, time slips, the paranormal, PNR & the Gothic]) – let’s see what I’ll be reading and if any of us share a mutual interest herein!

The audiobooks befitting #enterthefantastic:

• Sower of Dreams by Debra Holland (audiobook) (Fantasy Romance)
• A Nest of Vipers by Richard Storry (audiobook) (Fantasy Suspense)

I initially wanted to trade-off reading selections of both Fantasy & Suspense – therefore, I am stretching this into JUNE – wherein, I am assembling the audiobooks I haven’t had the proper chance to listen to whilst combining my thrill of reading Fantasy & Suspense into a bit of a personal readathon! (smiles) You might recognise the name ‘Debra Holland’ as I first came to know her writing styling through the Speculative anthology ‘Gifts of the Magi’ (see also Review) wherein I was introduced to the world in which ‘Sower of Dreams’ is set.

Another familiar name for readers of Jorie Loves A Story will be *Richard Storry* as he was the very first author I listened to on audiobook whilst simulaneously I became introduced to the narrating styling of *Jake Urry* – of whom, it shall not surprise a soul who reads my blog is by far my favourite narrator!! I have a short-list of narrators I consider my *most loved!* narrators – who are readily enjoyed and who are able to give me a wicked good listening experience wherein Mr Urry rises to the top a smidge for me, as he gives me such an atmospheric adventure! He truly puts a lot into how he voices his characters! And, let’s face it – his voice is wicked brilliant for audio theatre which is how I feel each time I listen to his stories – I’ve entered a *theatre!* – as wondrous and true as any stage!

You’ll find another title by Mr Urry popping up in my #AudiobookMonth post, as well as several audiobooks – some I have had the joy of winning in #bookaways for audios and others, I purchased myself as well as a handful I’ve been happily borrowing through my local library!

I was in (theory) co-blogging this lovely post with my s/o for #AudiobookMonth – guess which one was published *ahead!* of the other due to getting too excited about the STORIES?

#Enterthefantastic

The fantastical stories i am itching to read next:

You will notice my list of TBR #FantasyReads (cue the first book photo I shared on this post!) is nearly equivalent to the EXACT number of stories I had when #wyrdandwonder first began on the 1st of May! This is why I was seriously deliriously happy finding one of my co-hosts had a near-similar TBR List of her own to share with us all! (smiles) Made me feel like sometimes we all find our lives a bit more complicated to circumvent to accomplish the reading goals we wish to accomplish in the time-frame we plan to finish them!

I want to take a moment to explain why each of these lovely titles holds an interest and why I am thankful I can retreat inside these lovelies between now and September! I wanted to read a few titles each month whilst the one series I will be spending at least one full month ruminating over per title is Ms Czerneda’s Epic Fantasy : Night’s Edge – as I had fully intended to begin this wicked brill series the first week of May – now, I am embracing it’s chapters this first week of JUNE!

I’ll be focusing on each batch of lovelies I’ll be reading per month, whilst giving updates through my participation in the #WWWeds meme – I look forward to seeing where the adventures take me and which stories will be read each month til September!

Trans-Continental: Girl in the Gears & Trans-Continental: Mississippi Queen

by E. Chris Garrison (novella) (Steampunk)

→ the first two stories of the series!

On my connection to Ms Chris (aka E. Chris Garrison):

I first discovered the style of Ms Chris’s story-telling when we both appeared on the Star Chamber Show, which is a weekly podcast on BlogTalkRadio sponsored by the publisher Seventh Star Press. Since our first encounter with each other, we’ve developed a friendship I am blessed to have and I appreciate getting to know a bit more about an author whose not only developing a unique style in the world of Fantasy but is receptive to the thoughts readers have as they gain impression by reading the stories themselves.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Chris through our respective blogs, the twitterverse, the podcast world, and privately. 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. For more information, I disclosed a bit more on my first 10 Bookish, Not Bookish Thoughts (read No.7!).

I’ve been attempting to read this lovely novella Steampunky series by Ms Chris for awhile now – one of the reasons I picked a lot of novella and short stories for #wyrdandwonder this year was knowing I might have trouble reading longer works of fiction coming out of my series of migraines in the months ahead of the event (as previously mentioned). This particular one has a soft spot in my heart, as it was penned by a dear friend of mine whose also the author of my beloved Urban Fantasy series: the Tipsy Fairy Tales (see also my 1st Intro into her world).

Trans-Con is also a series writ by an #ownvoices author as this series is about a transgender lead character. I interviewed Ms Chris about this series previously whilst briefly attached to a Streampunk blog (The Steampunk Cavaliers) – kindly read the convo if you’ve been seeking a series like this one!

This is an EXTRA surprise for me – as I hadn’t realised Girl in the Gears was released into AUDIOBOOK! Therefore, is one of my EXTRA #AudioReads for JUNE! I couldn’t be happier either – as soon as I listened to the sampler, I knew the narrator Ms Chris had selected for this story was meant to bring the characters to life! Sometimes you just get a sense the narrator befits the role and the role befits the narrator – it is surely the case in this instance! Look for my listening notes to start arriving soon in my feeds, as this second full week of JUNE is when I start to blog and tweet more about what I’ve been #amlistening too!

Heir to the Lamp & Soloman’s Bell by Michelle Lowry Combs (Young Adult Fantasy)

You might be aware of the fact I fell in love with stories of the Jinn by my readings of Helene Wecker’s EPIC love story The Golem and the Jinni (see also Review) – which happily I found on the shelf of my local library! I’ve been itching for the sequel to release – where I admittedly have lost track of its drop schedule the past year or so, but for awhile, I was quite in-tune with the author’s plans – as you will find my review of this lovely novel has a serious amount of *updates!*

It was also one of the first times as a book blogger wherein I learnt the hard lesson of rec’ing a book to someone who in turn felt I had let them ‘down’ by gushing over my reading experience of a story I truly LOVED reading myself! *le sigh* The sad bit there is – I always knew we all have individual reading preferences, by sharing our bookish lives online we’re merely trying to share a portion of our lives with others who share similar interests – not every story will be our most beloved, but I don’t think we ever should have to feel we need to apologise if a story we loved someone else felt wasn’t their cuppa. I’m sure that happens with quite high frequency but goodness! Why make someone feel bad because your reaction was in such stark difference to someone who loved it?

This is why I am cautiously hopeful whenever the topic comes back into play – so when Imyril said she was about to read Ms Wecker’s novel, I tried to downplay my affection for it, as I’ve been seriously burned so many times trying to talk about this novel, I’ve literally decided to avoid the convo!

When I first heard about this series by the publisher I am seriously THANKFUL for existing (ie. World Weaver Press) – I couldn’t get over the concept by the author – as it felt like the kind of Jinn story I would love to be soaking inside whilst I await Ms Wecker’s sequel. This is why I was blessed to host the Cover Reveal for Solomon’s Bell and had felt at the time I would be reading both of these lovelies close to when the post published! Yet, [2017] was the year I had trouble re-transitioning back into reading – I still regret a bit the stories I had to await to read until this year, but slowly but surely, I am settling inside them – appreciating the wait in a lot of ways, as my mind and heart are properly aligning to where I might have missed key bits had I not waited until I was a year further away from my father’s stroke.

This will be my second novel to read from World Weaver Press, as I have such an ADDICTION to their anthologies, I sometimes forget I can request *novels!* Laughs with mirth. If you’ve been seeking an Indie Pub for #SpecLit, definitely check-out the reviews I’ve been sharing for them, as I’ve been full of blessitudes knowing I had the #randomjoy of finding them myself!

Shifty (anthology) by Marian Allen (Fantasy)

a collection of short stories set within her SAGE universe

I need to share a moment from reading my first short story set in this world, as you will then know why I have wanted to retreat back inside these stories:

What was quite stirring about this short, is how wicked interesting the world was where Ms Allen set her tale! To have food magically appearing in cookpots and having a hen produce eggs which whip up the delights of your foodie senses upon cracking them? Or rather, upon first crack of an egg – what you truly need might not even be food? It could be something dearly necessary (i.e. clothes) by which somehow your thoughts of willing an object or item to be ‘hatched’ is stirred inside the egg and thus, the egg produces what is needed. Who wouldn’t want to live there!? It would be a foodie’s dream or a baker’s delight – imagine if you could cull the magic to help you bake everything ‘right’ the first time you attempted a new recipe!? How fetching the aromas would be in that kitchen! Not to even mention how all the rudimentary necessary items would no longer be a worry because you’d always have exactly what you need!? I am sure there is more to this kind of magic, but on the onset of learning about it, how lovely it would be to know by cracking an egg, at least one immediate worry is dissolved? – quoted from my review of Gifts of the Magi (anthology)

As this is a collection of stories re-alighting me into SAGE, I honestly can’t wait to see what I shall be discovering inside them! The visual beauty of Ms Allen’s words is quite incredible! She has a way with descriptive narrative in Fantasy which makes my heart sing in the joyfulness of reading where her muse takes us! There is a lightness to her writing but also, the unexpected happily alights inside the story-lines, too! It was such a magical delight of joy, I can’t imagine what else awaits me! Especially as I love how these stories are anchoured to a trilogy of novels – the shorts intercede on the universe the trilogy is set and thereby, expounds our understanding of the fuller scope of the series.

I have chosen to take entrance through the shorts rather than the trilogy itself – as sometimes, I do like to visit a larger universe through the stories created within it. Most recently, whilst I was editing this post to be shared, I stumbled across another universe similar to SAGE, where you have several short stories or novellas threading into the continuity of how the universe is revealled – this is the Xuya universe writ by Aliette de Bodard.

A Turn of Light & A Play of Shadows by Julie E. Czerneda (High Fantasy)

The first two novels of the Night’s Edge series by the author who set the bar high for me in Science Fiction. I am confident she is about to do the same with her Fantasy!

I have purposely not read too much about this series ahead of reading it directly – mostly as I have such a high attached passion for the author’s style of crafting stories, I wanted to make sure I enter into this one ‘blind’ and to let the characters and story itself impress me with what I find inside the world of Night’s Edge! Therefore, not too much to say ahead of my musings being writ down for this sequence except to say, I have very high hopes of finding a similar bar of excellence from Ms Czerneda’s pen for Fantasy as I did with her wicked exchanges in the world of dramatic Space Opera!

The Red Sun by Alane Adams (Young Adult Fantasy)

The first novel in the Legends of Orkney trilogy whilst there is a secondary series about ‘witches’ attached to the same Orkney universe. Quite the impressive feat!

You can find out more about this on the Book’s Page via the author’s site

I have stumbled a bit trying to find Young Adult Speculative Literature I can truly appreciate – outside my beloved #LelandDragons that is – to where I feel uplifted by the dramatic story arcs, the battle between Light and Dark and of course, the epic world-building, the different species and their interactions – the whole effect really!

I’ve seen this series adverted as Middle Grade Fantasy – as I know this is how it is described on the author’s website, but whilst I was reading about the scope of the novel – as when I first found this novel available for review considerations, it was not yet a fully released trilogy – it was just starting to garnish it’s readership, I felt at the time it was more suited to Young Adult readers. I might change my mind as I get into the novel itself – but oft-times, I find the designations of where a book falls (either in MG or YA) can be subjective. It isn’t always cut and dry – as not just for how we interpret the story we’re reading (as adult readers who love Children’s Lit) but it could also be said, for younger readers who are (of the age intended) reading the story themselves – they might be reading at a different rate of discovery than the masses who are reading them. For instance, not every story targeted to a certain age is read by that age of child – either below or above the target age – as this was true of myself and most of my peers growing up as well. We were either reading ahead or reading the stories we always loved which were ones we were not yet ready to have ‘depart’ out of our reading lives. I suppose it just depends, really, on interpretation and of where we personally feel ourselves moving in the evolution of our reading wanderings.

There is also a rather impressively detailed Press Kit for Ms Adams which is remarkably insightful as well! Similar to how I am entering into Night’s Edge by Ms Czerneda, I haven’t researched this title to much either, as I wanted to be charmed by what I could find as I read it.

+ #librarybooks I’ll be re-queuing:

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty ← I was seriously gobsmacked this became such a beloved *favourite!* of my fellow #wyrdandwonder readers & bloggers! Apparently we all picked a WINNER! Except to say, I requested my copy (from the #library!) a bit too early, lost it to another patron who was equally happy to receive it to read and had to be put back in queue to read again!

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

remember those #audiobooks for #wyrdandwonder?

Let’s just say they are a work-in-progress – as I have been so dearly addicted at sourcing new #AudioReads during #JIAM / #AudiobookMonth – you could say, my ‘queue’ of #nextlistens has increased tenfold! I am going to be inserting these lovely selections inbetween the rest of what I recently uncovered – as I found a charming selection of INSPY & mainstream (as well as Classical!) Romances – which still my heart – look seriously brill to be listening to as most of the narrators have a lovely British accent! *swoon!*

Definitely, let me know your *favourite!* audiobook narrators for Fantasy!

I welcome all comments & conversations on Jorie Loves A Story – however, today specifically, I am most curious to know which sub-themes & sub-genres interest YOU to be #amreading within the fantastical realms of FANTASY Lit?

Who are your favourite publishers of #SpecLit and who are the writers in your #TopTenList of favourites to recommend!?

Before you head off – did you catch the wickedly #awesomesauce recap of my blog’s #wyrdandwonder showcases from Imyril? Ooh sweet stars – when I read this lovely post of hers, I knew she had an incredible knack for giving everyone a digest version of the event’s highlights! She definitely felt my joy and my angst and eloquently gave insight into both!

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

This was a special edition of #TheSundayPost features on #JLASblog as it was a journalled retrospective of one book blogger’s experience during #wyrdandwonder. There will be a second special edition arriving for #TheSundayPost on the 24th of June, where I conclude my visitations and discoveries of #wyrdandwonder participants and the fantastical stories being talked about therein!

Find out what others are sharing this week!

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.

I’m a social reader | I tweet as I read

Hallo, Hallo #wyrdandwonder – after a lovely respite of rest😴 – I'm back @ the keyboard – typing up a new #25PagePreview, my thoughts about our lovely event & how I'll be con't the JOY of #fantasy reads through my new #EnterTheFantastic showcases via #JLASblog! *Happy JUNE!* 🌞

— Wyrd and Wonder (@wyrdandwonder) June 1, 2018

🎙️#amlistening | #TalkAudiobooks | S3:E19
👩‍💻#amblogging | wrap-up for #wyrdandwonder
📚#amreading | my #25PagePreview #Fantasy #books

👉The Waking Land by #CallieBates
👉Fallout (#LoisLane) by #GwendaBond
👉#UnicornRescueSociety by #AdamGidwitz#weekendreads | #bookblogger

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 2, 2018

I mirror Imyril in how wicked thrilled I am seeing *everyone!* a part of #wyrdandwonder showing their gratitude + support for the #FantasyMonth of loveliness we assembled!☺️Definitely more fantastical joyfulness will be upcoming via @wyrdandwonder! Til then, you keep us humbled

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 2, 2018

How do you summarise an event like #wyrdandwonder which meant so dearly much to you throughout the month of MAY; whilst recapping the JOYS of being cocooned inside stories of #Fantasy where your heart fluttered 🦋s of #bookishjoy for their imagined worlds!? #amblogging #JLASblog

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 2, 2018

.@wyrdandwonder👈I had high hopes of getting into this wicked lovely #LoisLane #bookseries during our lovely #wyrdandwonder – today I'm spending time w/in #FallOut (Bk1) as I #amblogging my #25PagePreview ed. for my Wyrd & Wonder wrap-up post! Follow this #awesomesauce author!😄

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) June 1, 2018

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• #WyrdAndWonder