Month: September 2019

Blog Tour Spotlight | Excited to conclude this trilogy by Harlequin Romance feat. Jennifer Faye’s Greek Island Bride’s

Posted Saturday, 7 September, 2019 by jorielov Greek Island Brides, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Romance, Jennifer Faye, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring 2 Comments

On why I’ve been enjoying reading this series:

When I first started seeking out authors via the imprints of Harlequin, one of the authors who stood out to me initially from the Harlequin Romance line (as at the time, I was sampling stories from Romance, Super Romance & Heartwarming – sorting out which of the three imprints suited me best as a reader; as I had already realised how much the LI: Suspense line fit me!) was Jennifer Faye.

In a large part due to her consistency, her continuity when she wrote duologies, specialised focused serials and the ways in which she drew you into her Contemporary Romance worlds within this curious imprint which features pink covers in handle portable sized paperback editions! I liked the convenience of the size, the realistic characters she pulled into her world(s) and the ways in which our contemporary modern lives were explored elsewhere from where we generally live our own lives. It gave a sense of place but also, of how uniquely you can find a Contemporary placed in a setting you are itching to visit such as her Greek Isles Brides series which took me back to Greece.

I’ve enjoyed re-visiting Greece through Faye’s eyes due to how many fond memories I have of corresponding with a friend who lived on the Isles themselves. She truly captured a bit of that kind of lifestyle I had remembered reading through letters & correspondences but also, she brought a convicting narrative together which interlocked three different women in their pursuit at their own ‘happily ever after’.

As you make your way through the stories, you want to cheer on the girls’ – hoping that their true love’s match is worthy of their love and that the partnership they are building with their husband’s to be will not just be a lasting romantic connection but a truly well-rounded union for everyone involved. Faye brings realism to these Contemporary Romances by inserting dramatic adversities and different key issues each of the couples must face, overcome and sort out how to transition through before they can resolve if their romantic connection is one that will surely last. In a way, you get caught up in the hopefulness of the series long before you realise how and why each of their dreams is being fulfilled.

I am truly looking forward to concluding my readings of this series with “Wearing the Greek Millionaire’s Ring” – a novel I was eager to begin reading and if life hadn’t sidetracked me this Labour Day weekend with a bit of unexpected strife, high anxiety and a potential life shift – I would have happily settled my mind into focusing on Stasia’s story! My weekend conclude with needing to battle through a migraine this week and therefore, my reading focus was truly postponed.

Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring (Spotlight)
Subtitle: Greek Island Brides
by Jennifer Faye
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

A convenient engagement…
An inconvenient attraction!

In this Greek Island Brides story, widow Stasia Marinakos is learning to enjoy life again aboard a Mediterranean cruise. Her chemistry with gorgeous Greek tycoon Roberto Carrass is a pleasant surprise—until she’s mistaken for his fiancée! Nevertheless, the guarded bachelor asks Stasia to continue the charade to stop his family from matchmaking. As their attraction grows, their fake romance feels ever more real…but what will happen when the vacation ends?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780263272598

Also by this author: Beauty and Her Boss, Miss White and the Seventh Heir, Heiress's Royal Baby Bombshell, Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby, Claiming the Drakos Heir, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring , Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise, The Prince and the Wedding Planner, Christmas in Bayberry, Love Blooms

Also in this series: Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby, Claiming the Drakos Heir, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring

Published by Harlequin Books

on 3rd September, 2019

Format: Large Print Edition

Published by: Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

Greek Island Brides series:

Greek Island Brides | Finding love that lasts to infinity!

All marriages that take place on renowned wedding destination Infinity Island are guaranteed to last forever!

And the picturesque Greek island is about to weave its magic for friends Lea, Popi and Stasia. They dream of finding their own happy-ever-afters… And they’re about to meet three billionaires who will sweep them off their feet—and down the aisle!

Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby (book one) – (see also review)

Claiming the Drakos Heir (book two) – (see also review)

Wearing the Greek Millionaire’s Ring (book three) – (review forthcoming!)

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin

About Jennifer Faye

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.

Posted Saturday, 7 September, 2019 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Contemporary Romance, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “Sweet Melody” (A Seabrook Romance, Book One) by Heidi McCahan

Posted Friday, 6 September, 2019 by jorielov A Seabrook Romance, Heidi McCahan, Snug Corner Cove Press, Sweet Melody 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

I received a complimentary copy of “Sweet Melody” direct from the author Heidi McCahan in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I was excited about reading my first novel by this author:

As mentioned recently, before I was a book blogger myself, I was actively following the lives of INSPY Authors I had come across through their respective blogs and/or group author blogs they were featured guests; it was somewhere in this journey of mine prior to blogging where I first crossed paths with Ms McCahan. I know it was also round the time I was first starting to read and develop a keen interest in the Coming Home series by Brenda S. Anderson as they once shared the same publisher before they each had to embark on new routes in their publishing lives as the former publisher folded quite unexpectedly. I lost track of Ms McCahan’s career for a bit of time until last year, I believe it was when I was starting to actively grow more invested in reading Harlequin Heartwarming stories?

I noticed Ms McCahan was now writing for the Love Inspired imprint on the Contemporary side of the ledger, whereas I regularly devour their Suspense imprint and previously loved their Historical. There are some authors on their Contemporary line I do appreciate reading as well but I sort of became so smitten by the Suspense stories, that I haven’t actively sought out the non-Suspense Contemporaries! Laughs.

When I saw she was one of the authors going on tour this September, I felt it was good timing to revisit a #newtomeauthor and finally get the chance to become introduced to her writerly style. I was delighted in the finding out the premise of this story as her debut novel Unravelled is still awaiting me on my mountainous TBR!

When it comes to *food trucks!* in particular, you could say I have a hidden history with them – as I definitely was the girl who devoured all the new Food Network series which aired during a particular period of time – wherein, I still remember the first seasons of the race to find the best new food truck! Since then, they are more commonplace and have such a diverse range of menus of interest, you can truly find something for every palette and option of diet which is brilliant!

What was quite the lovely surprise for me when I opened the bookmail with this novel is finding not only was the novel enscribed but it held a bookmark! I was truly thankful for both and used the marker as I read Sweet Melody. I find it a special treat whenever an author tucks in a bookmark and takes the time to write us a note in their book. Truly grateful when they do this as it adds a personal touch and a kind note of gratitude is always in my bookish heart when I open my bookmail to find these kind gestures of joy.

Sweet Melody
Subtitle: A Seabrook Romance
by Heidi McCahan
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

When a struggling bakery owner is rescued by a wannabe songwriter with hidden culinary talents, they discover they can make sweet harmony … if they can only learn to work together.

Rhett Foster longs to change the world with his music, yet he can’t even finish writing one song. Battered by a string of failures and disillusioned, he returns home to Portland, Oregon. While he desperately wants to create a chart-topping hit, his dad mandates a new mission: move to coastal vacation hotspot Seabrook, Washington and expand the family’s successful restaurant chain.

In danger of destroying her late parents’ legacy if she doesn’t diversify her menu, Lindsay Carmichael will try anything to save her bakery. But with a tiny budget and an injured employee who can’t work, she has no choice but to sink the last of her savings into buying a dilapidated food truck and hiring Rhett as a part-time barista. What she doesn’t know is that the handsome songwriter has a secret … one that could destroy her business and her heart.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Sweet Romance

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1076432094

Published by Snug Corner Cove Press

on 1st August, 2019

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 242

Published by: Snug Corner Cove Press

Converse via: #Contemporary + #Romance and #INSPYbooks

About Heidi McCahan

Heidi secretly dreamed of writing a book for most of her childhood, but a particularly painful rejection letter in middle school convinced her to tuck that dream away. Instead, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband Steve, then she dusted off her big dream of becoming a published author and launched her first contemporary romance into the world in 2014. A huge fan of coffee, dark chocolate, and happily ever after, Heidi currently lives in North Carolina with Steve, three active boys and one amazing Goldendoodle.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#2019NewReleaseChallenge

Posted Friday, 6 September, 2019 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Contemporary Romance, Cookery, Family Drama, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA, Sweet Romance

#Mythothon Author Interview | How Shakespeare and Camelot merge together in the duology [ Merlin’s Shakespeare ] by Carol Anne Douglas

Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2019 by jorielov Carol Anne Douglas, Merlin's Shakespeare, Merlin's Shakespeare (series), Self Published, The Mercutio Problem 0 Comments

Good morning, dear hearts!

September marks my second year participating in #Mythothon – wherein, a group of us who are book bloggers, bookish tweeters and readers love to gather together to celebrate the mutual love & affection we have in discovering the Mythologically Fantastical about the artfulness of re-tellings and after canons as they parlay through origins in Mythology and/or Mythological Myths which can be from a wide net of origins.

When I signed on for this blog tour, I thought it would be interesting to host an author whose merged together two of my personal favourite canons which is Shakespeare and Camelot. Of the two, over the past several years, I’ve read the most extensively through Camelot and I will be re-visiting it again this September, as part of my #Mythothon readings this year is a Non-Fiction account of Guinevere’s life called “The Once and Future Queen”. A bit lateron today, I’ll be revealling what I am reading for Mythothon Year 2 and I look forward to seeing what everyone else has selected to entreat into this lovely new niche of interest we are celebrating!

Ahead of the conversation, I have with Ms Douglas is an extract from the first story in the duology for Merlin’s Shakespeare. The author revealled in our conversation that this is a duology at this point in time rather than a continuing series where there are more installments. I hope you’ll enjoy this introduction to the first novel and gleam a bit more insight into how it was written as you read the responses by the author herself in our conversation.

Extract from ‘Merlin’s Shakespeare’ by Carol Anne Douglas

the first novel in the Merlin’s Shakespeare series; used with permission of the author

“If you are Merlin, why would you come to our school?” she asked.

“I have my reasons. Can you imagine that Merlin would explain himself to you? Or to anyone?” He frowned. “Can you prove that you are Beth Owens?” he asked scornfully.

“I have lots of papers that say so, and my teacher will agree that I am,” Beth said, though it was clear that he already knew the answer.

“But may I ask why you honor us with a visit?” Ms. Capulet’s voice was reverent. She gazed at him as if he were the combination of a movie star and a religious leader.

Apparently the teacher’s manner was humble enough to mollify Merlin. “I came to teach Beth how to channel her magic,” the wizard said. He turned to Beth. “You have magical powers, and you love Shakespeare. Th at is a combination I need. I could use you as a researcher on Shakespeare’s plays.”

If he needed something from her, Beth wasn’t going to be speechless. “Was Shakespeare really Shakespeare?” she asked. She had heard that some people believed he wasn’t the one who had written the plays.

“Did William Shakespeare really write all those plays?”

“Of course Shakespeare was Shakespeare.” Merlin looked at her as if she had said a pig was a chimpanzee.

“Some people say an actor couldn’t have known enough about kings or court life to have written the plays.”

“Of course he didn’t know enough. That was why I helped him,” Merlin said. “I saw that he had great ability as a poet, and I helped him travel to worlds where he would get the experience he needed. His plays are magic. He provided the art; I provided the magic.”

“Oh.” Beth paused to take in this information. A genius and a wizard working together. Th at made sense to her. “But how can you still be on this earth?” Merlin didn’t look like a ghost. “Are you dead or alive?”

“I am immortal,” Merlin said, looking down at her though he wasn’t much taller than Beth. “But I allow only a few people to see me.”

“Why do you think I could help you?” Beth asked.

Merlin rubbed his beard. Th ere was a gleam in his eye. “Not just because you have a talent for wizardry,” he said. “It is better to call you a wizard than a witch, I think. Safer for you.”

“Even today it is,” Ms. Capulet agreed. “Men who can do magic are seen as potentially great, but people too often think that women who can do the same thing are evil.”

“I have a task for you, Beth,” Merlin told her. He sat down on one of the auditorium seats near hers. “There is one great lack in Shakespeare’s writings. I helped him for a reason. I wanted him to write a play about King Arthur.” He paused.

“But there isn’t any Shakespeare play about King Arthur,” Beth said.

“There is not. Or there does not seem to be.” Merlin frowned. “I gave Will all he needed. Knowledge of kings, knowledge of battles. But he used bits and pieces in other plays, and never wrote the one I most desired. Or he did not appear to. There may be such a play, but it may be hidden.”

“A lost Shakespeare play!” Ms. Capulet gasped. “That would be incredibly valuable.”

“Beyond measure,” Merlin said, “especially to me. Not just any play, but the one that was to be his crowning glory.”

Beth wanted to giggle, because “crowning glory” in this instance sounded like a pun, but she refrained because Merlin intimidated her.

“If you, who are so powerful, can’t find it, why do you think I could? I’m just a teenager.”

“People might tell you things that they would not tell me,” Merlin said. “You have some magical powers—untried and unschooled, it is true—and you love Shakespeare and learn the lines quickly. You also have some talent for acting.”

“Thank you.” Beth felt proud. If she had impressed Merlin, she must be good. “But what people would know anything about this play, if it exists?”

The Merlin’s Shakespeare duology:

Merlin’s Shakespeare | book one

Beth loves Shakespeare’s plays, but does she want risk her life for them?

The immortal wizard Merlin transports high school actor Beth Owens to Shakespeare’s London and the worlds of Shakespeare’s characters in search of a missing play about King Arthur. Mercutio guides her and flirts with her, but Richard III threatens her sanity, her friends’ lives, and the integrity of Shakespeare’s plays.

The Mercutio Problem | Book Two

High school actor Beth Owens faces a new challenge: She needs to bring a Shakespearean character she loves back from the dead. But she has to become a man and risk her life to do it. Richard III still menaces her.

Genres: Shakespeare | Camelot | Mythological Re-tellings / After Canons

Young Adult | Fantasy Adventure | Time Travel or Shift

Posted Thursday, 5 September, 2019 by jorielov in #Mythothon, Blog Tour Host, Fantasy Fiction, Indie Author, Literature for Boys, Lola's Blog Tours, Self-Published Author, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, YA Fantasy

Blog Book Tour for #LoveINSPIRED Suspense | “Fatal Memories” by Tanya Stowe the imprint #JorieReads with her Mum!

Posted Tuesday, 3 September, 2019 by jorielov Fatal Memories, Love Inspired (imprint) Harlequin, Love Inspired Suspense (imprint) Harlequin, Tanya Stowe 4 Comments

Acquired Book By: I have been hosting blog tours with Cedar Fort Publishing and Media for several years now, wherein their new blog tour publicist (Ms Sydney Anderson) also runs her own publicity touring company: Singing Librarian Book Tours (or SLB Tours for short!). I happily joined her team of book bloggers as a hostess in late Spring, 2018 wherein my first tours with her as a hostess began Summer, 2018. I appreciate reading INSPY literature and was happy to find these are most of the stories she is showcasing through SLB Tours! Most of her authors are published through Cedar Fort, though she does work with authors who are either Self-Published or Indie published through different publishers as well.

I received a complimentary copy of “Fatal Memories” direct from the author Tanya Stowe in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I share a love of Love Inspired Suspense with my Mum:

In 2018, in July I had a delightful time participating in my first readathon which not only ENCOURAGED you to read more INSPY novels but it was a bit of a competition as well. It was a lovely concept created by Singing Librarian Books and you can read a bit about why I loved joining the readaathon whilst I also posted a small recap of my adventures. This was building on the fact earlier in [2018] I had encouraged my Mum to start reading the Love Inspired Suspense novels as she needed some down-time from her 12 hour shifts. The stories were portable and just long enough to give her a wicked good read but without the worry of not being able to finish them. In July, you see, it was my turn to sink my teeth into the imprint’s offerings and I started to quickly find #mustread authors! Readathons are brilliant for that – their this concentrated period of time to read select stories of interest to the reader & they give you hours of #bookJOY afterwards!!

This past July, 2019 – I carried on the tradition of reading #LoveINSPIRED Suspense novels – which you can find talked about in a *thread I maintained on my feeds for Twitter. I wasn’t able to blog or share my readerly adventures in the traditional sense this year, however, I did write a few short reviews via my LibraryThing archives in order to remember the stories I had read and which ones had staid with me after the readathon had concluded.

We have a shared passion for INSPY stories – short or long in length as we used to belong to the subscription service *Heartsong Presents*. Eventually we’d love to join the subscription service for these lovely novels as the beauty of reading them is having a high octane Suspense driven plot with realistic characters, back-stories & a jarring sense of Contemporary life – all caught inside the folds of an Inspirational (ie. Christian) vein of thought.

I read a wide variety of INSPY Lit, but my favourites are the ones which gently are layered with arcs of faith and the character’s spirituality as I love reading the stories where their faith is shown through their example, life’s choices and the personal growth they undertake through their character’s journey. I had a delightful time in July reading my first batch of #LoveINSPIRED Suspense novels and it is a joy for me to participate on a blog tour which celebrates this wicked sweet line of books my Mum & I love devouring!

It is a true pleasure to be on this blog tour – discovering a #newtomeauthor for this imprint but also, to have the chance to read a Contemporary Suspense whilst reminding myself I need to put more of these in my readerly path this year! Even without the readathon to encourage me forward – which gave me the chance to win some books along the way, I just love reading these kinds of stories! I have been blessed by hosting my second blog tour for this lovely imprint and I couldn’t be happier to continue to talk about why I love these stories & the authors who pen them!

Fatal Memories
by Tanya Stowe
Source: Direct from Author via SLB Tours

She was framed! Or was she?

If only she could remember…

Border patrol agent Jocelyn Walker has no memory of how she turned up unconscious with a cache of drugs—or why a gang is dead set on killing her. With evidence stacking up against her, Joss takes refuge with driven DEA agent Dylan Murphy, who guards—and suspects— her. But will finally trusting each other lead them into a trap they’ll never escape?

Genres: Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romantic Suspense

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335679222

Published by Love INSPIRED

on 3rd September, 2019

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 288

Published by: Love Inspired (@LoveInspiredBks)
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks), a subsidiary of HarperCollins

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

More Love Inspired Suspense by this author:

Mojave Rescue (2018)

Fatal Memories (2019)

Converse via: #INSPY #LoveINSPIRED #Suspense

About Tanya Stowe

Tanya Stowe is an author of Christian Fiction with an unexpected edge. She fills her stories with the unusual…mysteries and exotic adventures, even a murder or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a trip to foreign lands or a suspenseful journey filled with danger…be prepared for the extraordinary.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#2019NewReleaseChallenge

Posted Tuesday, 3 September, 2019 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Modern Day, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Singing Librarian Book Tours, Sweet Romance