#SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | “We Shall See The Sky Sparkling” by Susana Aikin

Posted Saturday, 16 February, 2019 by jorielov , , , , 1 Comment

#SaturdaysAreBookish created by Jorie in Canva.

After launching this lovely new feature of mine during [Autumn, 2018] it is a pleasure of joy to continue to bring #SaturdaysAreBookish as a compliment focus of my Twitter chat @SatBookChat. If you see the chat icon at the top of my blog (header bar) you can click over to visit with us. The complimentary showcases on my blog will reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of the chat are the stories I am reading which compliment the conversations.

#SaturdaysAreBookish throughout [2019] will be featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read across genre and point of interest. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – the stories I am reading might simply inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

I am excited about where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction. Here’s a lovely New Year full of new authors and their stories to celebrate!

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Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary ARC copy of “We Shall See The Sky Sparkling” direct from the publisher Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why this novel appealled to me:

A good portion of the story is hinged on ancestral sleuthing and of keeping the living histories of our families alive for each new generation who has the chance to hear them told. Being one half of the Ancestry Sleuth team in my own family, I can attest to how the preservation and the exploration of one’s family line can become quite a wicked adventure! Especially if you only have subtle clues towards researching past your maternal and paternal great-grandparents or know the names of at least a few of your great-greats going back from there – genealogy is a pursuit of joy for both my Mum and I.

I keep missing the #HistFicChat’s on Thursdays as my hours during the chat are unfortunately taken elsewhere now to where I can’t chat with fellow enthused readers and the writers of Historical Fiction as I had been free to do the previous year. It was only this Friday where I realised this past Thursday the featured guest was Ms Aikin and as I read a part of the feeds for the chat, I soon unearthed that part of this story was inspired by her own ancestral lineage! In fact, she had an actress in her family (see this tweet) whilst she also was heavily read in pre-revolutionary Russian Lit which also inspired the story itself (see also this tweet).

I’m hopeful I can start to return to the chat – as Rachel Brimble is returning to speak about a sequel to her Pennington novel – of which I enjoyed discussing when it first published and Soraya Lane is going to be featured the following week for her latest release The Spitfire Girls which I enjoyed talking to her a bit about on Twitter previously during the last year. I purchased one of Soraya Lane’s past novels on audiobook via Audible and I placed a request for The Mistress of Pennington’s which was accepted by my local library. The paperback is on hand to be read and the audiobook is one I have slated to be listened to this Spring whilst I endeavour to read, listen and focus on Historical Fiction selections during my #HistoricalMondays showcases.

I decided to feature this during my #SaturdaysAreBookish feature as to me it spoke to me as being a Historical Women’s Fiction narrative – whereby, the main threads of the author’s muse were interconnected to her grandaunt and the legacy of the life she had lived. It is a particular lens into how one woman dared to live a different life – go to different places in the world and to curate her own path from her era’s conventions. To me that is at the heart of why Women’s Fiction is relevant today as it doesn’t matter if the stories are Contemporary or Historical in nature if they are focused on telling a woman’s journey – towards her own destiny on terms she determined herself or how she overcame adversity or tragedy and still found a way to move forward in the aftermath. These kinds of stories always interest me and are part of the inspiration behind both the feature and the the redirection of my chat @SatBookChat.

Thereby, you can see – I predominately focus on reading the historic past and attempt to find new voices in Historical Fiction every year, such as Ms Aikin!

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Notation on Cover Art: I could honestly envision Lily is on the cover – letter-writing was dearly important to her as it was a method of keeping in touch with her brother and sister. Her letters are a featured pause in the narrative arc and I, personally, loved how they were included in the chapters. Therefore, whomever designed this cover truly tapped into the heart of Lily and gave her a cover where you could almost see her coming in from a hectic day where she simply wanted to ink out her thoughts and draft a new letter to post! Even the outfit here reminds me of Lily from Ms Aikin’s pen!

#SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | “We Shall See The Sky Sparkling” by Susana AikinWe Shall See The Sky Sparkling
by Susana Aikin
Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Narrator: Rosalyn Landor

Set in London and Russia at the turn of the century, Susana Aikin’s debut introduces a vibrant young woman determined to defy convention and shape an extraordinary future.

Like other well-bred young women in Edwardian England, Lily Throop is expected to think of little beyond marriage and motherhood. Passionate about the stage, Lily has very different ambitions. To her father’s dismay, she secures an apprenticeship at London’s famous Imperial Theatre. Soon, her talent and beauty bring coveted roles and devoted admirers. Yet to most of society, the line between actress and harlot is whisper-thin. With her reputation threatened by her mentor’s vicious betrayal, Lily flees to St. Petersburg with an acting troupe–leaving her first love behind.

Life in Russia is as exhilarating as it is difficult. The streets rumble with talk of revolution, and Lily is drawn into an affair with Sergei, a Count with fervent revolutionary ideals. Following Sergei when he is banished to Vladivostok, Lily struggles to find her role in an increasingly dangerous world. And as Russian tensions with Japan erupt into war, only fortitude and single-mindedness can steer her to freedom and safety at last.

With its sweeping backdrop and evocative details, We Shall See the Sky Sparkling explores a fascinating period in history through the eyes of a strong-willed, singular heroine, in a moving story of love and resilience.

Genres: Epistolary | Letters & Correspondences, Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781496717658

ASIN: B07MQ3FCHR

Published by Kensington Books

on 29th January, 2019

Format: Paperback ARC

Length: 14 hours and 53 minutes (unabridged)

Pages: 416

Published by: Kensington Books (@KensingtonBooks)

Converse via: #Epistolary #HistFic or #HistNov

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

About Susana Aikin

Susana Aikin

Born in Spain of an English father and a Spanish mother, Susana Aikin is a writer and a filmmaker who has lived and worked in New York City since 1982. She was educated in both England and Spain; studied law at the University of Madrid, and later Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

In 1986 she started her own independent film production company, Starfish Productions, producing and directing documentary films that won her multiple awards, including an American Film Institute grant, a Rockefeller Fellowship, and an Emmy Award in 1997. She started writing fiction full time in 2010. She has two sons and now lives between Brooklyn and the mountains north of Madrid.

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my review of we shall see the sky sparkling:

I was so dearly enchanted by the Prologue – I wasn’t sure as this is the ARC if this was a portion of truth in how Ms Aikin came to realise the fuller story of her grandaunt or if this entire section was purely fictional yet inspired by her ancestor’s life. Either way you slice it – the Prologue sets the stage for how we are about to enter into Lily’s life within the chapters of We Shall See The Sky Sparkling. A part of me felt this could have served as a Foreword by the author rather than a Prologue due to the cross-comparisons between the two women and how Lily was affecting the contemporary woman’s trajectory in her own life.

On those gentle footsteps, we are told about how Lily was marginalised and judged within her own family and circle of friends; by people who did not understand her wanderlust nor in the choices she made for the industry in which she worked. Lily was paving the road with her own sense of self, her own hard-won dreams and a chance to light up the world with her presence in a place and position few others had had the chance to endeavour. In that regard, she was her own person – writing her story one adventure at a time and curating more experiences in her short four and twenty years than most women of her generation. And, perhaps, dear hearts, that is why the legacy behind this woman is living on even now in this novel – because the women who were fierce enough to live independently outside of the conventions of their eras are the women who help all of us shine outside the boundaries of our own lives.

Lily had to bolster herself into steel just to exit her home – with the encouragement of her brother, Harry, she found she could will herself to walk out. By contrast, Harry was not as strong in health but they shared a passion for theatre and creative thought – they would have both gone off to the world of theatre and drama had his health not have prevented his own foray into the world. You are struck by that final scene at her house – how her father refuses to acknowledge her, how spiteful her step-mother continues to cast stones and how her brother was the sole person who understood her plight and pushed her towards her future. It was the kind of scene that sticks with you, haunts you even – as you try to move forward. I would imagine Lily would have a bit of after effects from how she left home but with the presence of mind to realise it was the only way she could have left.

As we soon find her installed in London with her dearest of mates, Ruby – we get to see how in earnest she was finding her path into theatre had a few hiccups in regards to getting into a position where she could be one of the supporting cast of actresses before she moved into a leading role. It was here we saw how hard she was willing to work towards her goals – how Ruby encouraged them both and how even their landlady wasn’t going to discredit their efforts, even if they felt guilty about what caused them to have friction with her on a daily basis!

All was not equal for Lily, as she would soon find out for herself. Despite observing a tryst between cast mates, it was how she was being given an opportunity to learn the craft of acting when her small world was shrinking from the onset of a threat by a woman you wouldn’t think would dare harm Lily for she had her own concerns to attend. Yet, that is what happened – no idle threat either and it make you question what the actress was truly afraid of in Lily for she was the one whose career was already secured. Lily for her part went through the emotional highs and lows in such short order as to half stall her heart. It was too much to experience all of a sudden and to think all of it could have been seen in a blink as that is how fast it felt it had dissolved.

My most treasured parts of the story were the letters – Lily was constantly trying to attempt to write her brother (Harry) and sister* (Alice) to update them on everything she was doing in London. An impossible feat she soon discovered but through her correspondences, we get to see what happened betwixt and between walking beside her in the narrative itself. The letters acted as a bit of an arc between the scenes so to speak, to where time might have moved forward a bit and we were getting the news at the same time as Harry and Alice. It was inside these letters we see Lily as she had been to her family, she still had a raw innocence about her but with the humbling confidence that comes with having been out on your own for quite a bit, too.

It was quite unique I felt, that the person who was at the forefront of causing Lily a dash of angst with her fellow actress was the very bloke who had given her a bit of an apprenticeship into the acting guild. He (Mr Wade) wanted her to succeed and to rise in the ranks of the theatre company – something which was quite unheard of as generally most actors had to work-off their naivete and perhaps, far, far down the road could work off enough respect to be put in the background as a supporting character. For Mr Wade, he decided to cut Lily’s quest short and gave her a bit of a gift in doing that – as she was able to take to the stage far sooner than her peers.

If only success didn’t have to be marred by men who were predators and of whom felt they were entitled to their every whim. There is a very appropone scene exchanged between Mr Wade and Lily; but it is the scene and sequence thereafter I was more interested in as it showed the kindness of someone you might not expect to notice you. It is here where Chut, a minor character is given the honour of being Lily’s hero, if only for a day; he gave her something to contemplate and because he took her out of her head for a spell, chatting over tea, I felt it was a more fitting way to allow Lily a moment to reflect and choose how she wished to proceed. The incident is not lost on modern actresses of whom are part of a movement to highlight the inappropriate behaviour of their male peers even if sadly, this is not strictly limited to their industry. Honestly, you are rallying behind Chut yourself and wishing there were more of him in the world!

Chut turnt out to being the best influence on Lily and Ruby; as he had introduced to his circle of friends, who like him liked going out on towne together to see the sights. It was through those excursions where Lily was given the chance to see a part of London she might not have otherwise seen. In the background though, Mr Wade was scheming and had an anger which was not ready to simmer; he held a ready grudge and if he could make her life a bit more miserable, he would find a way towards that end. You can see the foundation of it being built – of how Wade couldn’t let go of Lily for he had an unhealthy obsession with her which was borderline as criminal as the fierce hold Mrs Bennett had on her for reasons which made as much sense as Wade’s. Bennett was the older actress who whose jealousy of Lily’s talent was rife from the beginning – both of them were the worst enemies for all who hoped to make headway in the theatre scene as they both had inflated egos and a notoriously nasty personality.

There was a particular incident I had a feeling might happen – though in truth, I was hoping against it. A part of me wondered if it was necessary for that particular thing to befall Lily as she was already clued into the evilness of a certain person; after all, predators do not mask their true intentions but rather prey on the innocent. Knowing that – I guess a part of me had hoped she would have fled or had hugged closer to Chut and Ruby. Ruby was her best friend and knew of her secrets but what I had trouble reconciling is the whole incident itself. This is the second time in a Historical novel I’ve felt this way – where the incident didn’t track well with me because I felt it wasn’t necessary for the growth of the character. In fact, it made moving forward in the story quite difficult because I kept turning over the scenes and the dialogue in my mind leading up til this moment where everything became altered and shattered for Lily. I just couldn’t reconcile what happened against what I had learnt of Lily leading up til that moment in her life.

NOTE: (*) I was confused on that particular part – if Alice was her sister or if Alice was related to Harry in a different way. I wrote it was her sister but when I went looking for an Author’s Note in the Appendix of the ARC (as sometimes they are included) I found the Discussion Questions instead and learnt that this was in fact Harry’s wife, Alice.

Fly in the Ointment: Note on Content:

As you pull back the layers, you see how she was choosing to go down a different path – one that would lead her away from those who wished to harm her and to control her for their own ends. I think that is the sticking point that made wanting to continue reading this story difficult – when you see how much Lily had to put up with just to get her freedom and to take her chance at a career she believed in, it felt rather awkward to have this happen when I felt there were steps in place to avoid it or to curb it from happening.

I had to re-read a few passages to sort out what went wrong and how this happened – as initially it was written that all was well but in a flashback sequence all was not right at all if anything it was terribly wrong. Aikin does well to show the spiralling of Lily’s emotions and how psychologically she was affected by what happened as it leeched out her confidence and it destroyed her sense of self. This is back in an era where women didn’t have the right to stand up for themselves – by law or by peerage, where they had to deal with everything behind closed doors, thus enlarging their distress and their discomfort from having to survive something like this.

I truly struggled with this — as I’ve read other narratives that involve this and didn’t take issue with them as the story unfolded in a way that felt it should; including where the characters were redeemed or had redemption afterwards. This time however, similar to the other story I read – it seemed like there was something else motivating this to happen. Something was cluing me in at this moment in the novel that Lily was not going to have a life without further duress as I just didn’t see how her life was going to move towards something positive from the day she lost more than she could recover. I didn’t like Mr Wade’s character from the start as he was written with such a nefarious personality and with such a heavy vileness – I could read his number from the start. What is hard to move past for me is how it left me as a reader – it was such a heinous act and to me, felt like it was changing the entire trajectory of the story.

I suppose in many regards I was hoping this was about an actress who worked in theatre in two different countries – England and Russia, learnt how to act and rose through the ranks of the theatre as she learnt more about her craft. I knew her life would end tragically because it was predestined from the Prologue but somewhere along the route from the beginning to this junction, there was a tone exchange – meaning, it went from following in her footsteps as she matured into a leading actress to something altogether darker and more sinister. In short, it became a story I had trouble finding motivation to finish reading.

on the historical writing styling of susana aikin:

I was overjoyed finding out there are letters inclusive to the plotting of We Shall See The Sky Sparkling as it harkens back to my love of Letters from Skye and Last Christmas in Paris; as well as a few others which struck my heart with the mirth of joy in finding them! Epistolary Lit is one of my favourites to unearth as I truly love soaking into those treasured words hugged inside a letter and then sent off into the world via the Post. Being a letter writer myself, I can attest to the joys in which sending and receiving postal mail can provide you. Thereby, whenever I find a story have rooted in correspondences, I get a bit giddy as it brings back many fond memories of the days where I sent the most of my letters to friends who lived world-wide and far-off away from where I did here in the States.

The world in which Ms Aikin has illuminated for us throughout the novel is charmingly realistic – meaning, you don’t have to suspect which timescape we’ve disappeared inside as she has given the nuances to help us align inside the Edwardian era in England quite well. Not just those descriptive details that are so keenly important to feel transported and immersed but also, the mindset of the era and the ways in which society was most unkind to the creatives who felt compelled to seek out their art and live artistically driven lives. Although, in that last regard – I don’t believe we’ve fully achieved that moment in time where creatives are fully embraced for their choices.

Aikin uses beautiful metaphors to tuck you closer to her characters, especially when it comes to how Lily views the world round her and how she perceives the people in her life. I was charmed by how these metaphors spoke volumes towards understanding Lily’s depth of empathy but also, how she felt cast into a role she felt belonged to her brother – as this was another metaphor I felt worked well towards describing her mental state at the time she was endearing herself to the stage. As we took this journey with her – walking beside her as she navigated the theatre world, we see her in different moods of self-enlightenment; the most readily is of a willing heart to learn as much as she could by doing whatever she could countered against the humbled guilt of a girl who was trying to live older than her years. Lily wasn’t given much of a choice about when to strike out on her own but she was still left with the musings of a sister who regretted the absence of her brother; especially a brother who shared her passion for acting, production and the world of theatre.

I love how the 19th Century comes alive in this novel – almost as if no time has passed at all and we can transition very readily inside this vision of that era similar to the film Midnight in Paris. This is  a credit to Aikin who allows this transition to feel organically original and lushly kept illuminated as we move through Lily’s life.

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Post Script banner created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I have a subscription to Scribd for audiobooks which is wonderful as it is helping me augment my reading habits from 100% print to about a 70/40 spilt where audiobooks will eventually be higher in devourment than print copies. This is part of my personal path to help offset my chronic migraines which I’ve been working towards for the past two years. I knew this was a debut novelist and when I saw the audiobook available via Scribd I was excited to hear how it was produced whilst being able to coordinate when to listen to it in time for my tour stop where I would be featuring my ruminations on behalf of the story.

I was not obligated to post my opinions about the audiobook, as I am adding these notes about the performance and sound of the audiobook for my own edification as I personally love listening to them! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

specifically in regards to the audiobook:

As I am relatively new to reviewing audiobooks and listening to them with a greater frequency than of the past, I am appreciative of Ms Jess providing a cursory outline of how best to articulate my listening hours on behalf of this audiobook and the others I shall be blogging about or reviewing in future. I’ve modified the suggestions to what I felt were pertinent to respond too on my own behalf as well as keeping to the questions I felt were relevant to share.

Number of Times I’ve heard the Narrator(s):

Although I have previously listed Rosalyn Landor as the narrator for The Typewriter Girl and An Unwilling Accomplice – I hadn’t realised she was  the voice behind Bess Crawford until I re-looked at my notes on behalf of the blog tour where I shared my review of the story. I know I am going to be re-reading the Bess Crawford Mysteries lateron this year, however, I did a quick search via Scribd and found there are more than a few stories I’d love to listen to by this narrator: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova; Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran; Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James; Romancing Miss Bronte Juliet Gael; The Turn of the Screw by Henry James; as much as I’d like to go through the Mary Balogh and Julia Quinn selections to see if I can root out a story or two I’d enjoy listening too. In combination with listening to her narrate the Bess Crawford series, of course!

Regards to the Narrator’s Individual Character performances:

Lily: In the beginning of the novel, Lily’s voice is rather soft-spoken. As she starts to settle herself into London as she begins her career on stage, her voice grows stronger. At one point it sounded to me to be either an East London accent or partially Irish but I couldn’t discern it entirely as part of the fun for me was simply feeling engrossed in the narrator’s voice and the performance she put into Lily.

Secondary Characters:

Lily’s father: I was most impressed with his characterisation – he had a deepness to his voice and he commanded attention immediately on presenting himself.

Lily’s step-mother Betty: Quick tempered with a clipped way of speaking, I could see why Lily shied away from her step-mother and wanted to seek out a life away from her childhood home.

Mr Wade: He wasn’t a favourite character of mine as he was very much the weasel in the story; carrying on with another’s wife but he did a kindness to Lily to teach her how to act and how to command the stage. His voice would waver a bit from full confidence to a bemoaning indifference depending on his mood and there was never a moment where I felt he wasn’t being true to himself.

Chut: Chut is a soft-spoken bloke but his heart is always seen in the ways in which he acts round Lily. He’s a passionate fellow but one who has a hold of gold. He would do anything for Lily but I feared that theirs might not be a love that could withstand the dangers surrounding Lily as there is quite a bit of foreshadowing about this prior to what is finally revealled.

What impressed me the most is her innate ability to switch-up her accents and tones within the audiobook itself – when she is switching between male to female characters, you never have to second-guess the gender of the voice (this is actually one of the hardest things to accomplish!) nor do you detect the characters are blurring together. Meaning, rather often when narrators are moving between the passages between dialogue and the dialogue of different characters, you can start to hear a blurring of the voices and characterisations to where some attributes will be cross-applied. Not so with Ms Landor!

She expertly narrates each piece of this novel with the full realisation of what needs to be spoken and articulated in each second of the audiobook. I was joyfully listening to her performance because it is her dedication which shines through the most and the artistry in which she conveys as she takes-on the characters; individually and as a group. I can’t earmark all the characters – just know once you begin this audiobook part of the joy in hearing it read by her is waiting to be greeted by the supporting and lead cast of characters!

How the Novel sounded to me as it was being Read:

(theatrical or narrative)

Ms Landor has a very distinctive styling of narration – her spoken narrative voice when she is acting as the narrator within the story itself is pitched differently than when she is internalising and speaking on behalf of the characters themselves. She in-tunes so much out of her performance, you simply can’t stray away from your headphones – as she gives all of herself to the performance which is why it was such a treat to hear this story lit alive by her voice.

I truly was immersed into her performance and was appreciating noticing how she approached everything she was narrating – it was a full experience where you can have spoken narrative and a threaterical interpretation walking hand in hand.

I very much felt like this novel was a play come to life – bursting with the enthused grace of the narrator and of endearing each of us to suspend our ears, as it didn’t feel like this was narrated by a  singular person nor a woman – as she etched out such a living authenticity to each character (lead or supporting cast) – you couldn’t help yourself to think this was a fuller cast, where everyone had a part and all those parts equated out to a tremendous symphony of voice, action and performance to give us the illusion of a larger scope of the story at hand.

I was so taken with this presentation – it is hard to put it precisely into words! The enriched way the narrator gave us the details in the background (as that was one voice) to the ways in which she interpreted all the characters (ie. multiple voices and accents) to how she chose to highlight the growth moving through Lily’s voice from intrepid young girl to a maturing young woman was simply wicked brilliant!

How was the sound quality? Any special effects? or other notations?

Crisp and clean is the quality of this recording – you don’t have any distractions within the production and the best part of all is simply feeling swept into the narrator’s voice as you listen intuitively to how she’s telling the story.

My favourite ‘extras’ of course were the letters – each of them were spoken aloud in Lily’s voice as she liked to write home to her brother and sister; her best allies in the face of all the upheaval.

Preference after listening to re-Listen or pick up the book in Print?

Being that I had an ARC of this novel on hand as I was reading it for this review, I happily was able to do something I love to do – listen to an audiobook whilst I’m reading the content of the story in print! I love holding a physical book in my hand with my headphones on and simply disappearing into the story – there are hidden layers I notice in a story when I do this, a few of which I might have overlooked previously if I had only read the print edition and/or listened to the audiobook version.

In closing, would I seek out another Rosalyn Landor audiobook?

Most definitely! It will be a lot of wicked fun exploring her audiobooks via Scribd and sorting out which ones will become my next favourites to listen, too! I suspect I’ll have a pleasure of joy re-visiting the Bess Crawford series – for the ones I’ve previously read whilst moving into the installments I haven’t yet read at all. From there, I simply look forward to the discovery – of which stories and authors entice me to listen to next and of hearing Ms Landor carry me off into their worlds! As this is what she has done with Ms Aikin’s novel!

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This blog tour is courtesy of:

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours - HFVBTFollow the Virtual Road Map

as you visit others participating:

As this particular one has a bookaway along the route:

We Shall See The Sky Sparkling blog tour via HFVBTs
 I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst readers who gravitate towards the same stories to read. Bookish conversations are always welcome!

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Reading this novel contributed to a few of my 2019 reading challenges:

2019 HistFic Reading Challenge banner created by Jorie in Canva.

2019 New Release Challenge created by mylimabeandesigns.com for unconventionalbookworms.com and is used with permission.

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{SOURCES: Book cover for “We Shall See The Sky Sparkling”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Susana Aikin, the tour host badge and HFVBTs badge were all provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. 2019 New Release Challenge badge provided by unconventionalbookworms.com and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna, Post Script banner using Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo; Historical Fiction Reading Challenge banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Saturday, 16 February, 2019 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 19th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Domestic Violence, England, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, London, Mental Health, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Psychological Abuse, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Scribd, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery




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One response to “#SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | “We Shall See The Sky Sparkling” by Susana Aikin

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