A #SpooktasticReads audiobook review | “Jorvik Calling” (Soul Riders: Book One) by Helena Dahlgren, narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya; courtesy of #NetGalley

Posted Monday, 19 October, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: Earlier this year, in late Winter (February) I joined NetGalley for the first time as they finally announced they were going to be offering full-length audiobooks for reviewers. I was never able to join NetGalley due to having chronic migraines and being unable to read ebooks. I started requesting audiobooks to review as soon as they opened their audiobook catalogue in July, 2020. I am an eclectic reader and thereby, you will see all genres in Fiction explored from both markets of interest: mainstream and INSPY as well as from Major Trade, Indie Publishers & Press and other routes of publication, too. There might be the occasional Non-Fiction title appearing in my NetGalley queue of reviews as well. This marks a new adventure for me seeking stories for review consideration and I look forward to seeing where the stories lead me to venture.

I received a complimentary digital and temporary audiobook copy of “Soul Riders” direct from the publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All audiobooks via NetGalley are able to be heard via the NetGalley Shelf which is why I was thankful to be gifted an android tablet by my parents to celebrate my 7th Blog Birthday on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: As a new reviewer on NetGalley, I’m sorting out how to get the Press Materials for each of the audiobooks I’m reviewing when I share them on my blog Jorie Loves A Story. When I contacted NetGalley Support they informed me that if a separate Press Kit is not included on the audiobook’s book page we’re allowed as reviewers to use the book cover and synopsis provided when we go to share our review of that audiobook on our blogs; as long as we give attribution as I have done at the bottom of this review in “Sources”. Those materials are provided with permission of the publishers to be used by reviewers via NetGalley.

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Why I wanted to read &/or listen to “Soul Riders”:

I was attracted to a few elements about this story when I first found it on NetGalley – the horses, the sisterhood friendships of the girls’ and the fact this is all set in a fantastical world. I originally thought this was a story that was ‘set elsewhere’ without any tangible connection to our own living reality however as I shifted into the audiobook itself, I realised this is an Urban Fantasy wherein there are elements of modern life (our world) within the sphere of the series but there are elements of the fantastical in the background running concurrent to the girls’ school and life experiences.

I have a personal attachment to horse dramas & Westerns – whenever I can find one or the other which suits my interests, I love to soak inside the stories! Having had a close connection to horses when I was a child I believe plays a strong part in why I continue to seek out stories which features horses and/or the world of horses – from Contemporary &/or Historical Westerns to Contemporary Western Romances or Cowboy Romances (such as my Harlequin Heartwarming readings).

Finding a story set in a blended Middle Grade & Young Adult world for Fantasy which brings into focus my love of horses with the added advantage of hidden talents and special gifts given to the girls who ride star horses – honestly, what could be a better bookish find!?

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A #SpooktasticReads audiobook review | “Jorvik Calling” (Soul Riders: Book One) by Helena Dahlgren, narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya; courtesy of #NetGalleyJorvik Calling
Subtitle: Soul Riders (series), Video Game Tie-In (Star Stable)
by Helena Dahlgren
Source: Audiobook Direct from Publisher via NetGalley

Step into the universe of the massively popular adventure game Star Stable, and follow four friends who discover their magic powers and learn that every girl can be a hero in this fantasy trilogy.

Soul Riders tells the heroic tale of four young girls who have been chosen by destiny to save the world from the ancient demon: Garnok and his band of dangerous Dark Riders. Lisa is a teenage girl who is still coming to terms with the tragic loss of her mother in a riding accident and has sworn never to go near a horse again until she met Starshine, a mysterious blue-maned steed who comes to her in dreams. New on the island of Jorvik, Lisa befriends Alex, Linda, and Anne. Under the guidance of mystical druids, they discover they each have a special bond to their horses that gives them magical powers. While trying to balance school, family, and friendships they have to figure out what it means to be a Soul Rider. They are attacked by the Dark Riders and the mysterious Mr. Sands discover that their horses are in danger. Instead of relying on their combined strength, they decide to split up on their quest to find answers and learn to fight back against their enemies. However, will it be too late before they realize their mistake?

Jorvik Calling is the first installment in the epic, fantasy trilogy, Soul Riders, about magic, friendship, and horses bound to thrill all young equestrian fans.

Genres: Dark Fantasy, Equestrian Fiction, Horse Drama, Upper YA Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Video Game Tie-In Series, YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal Suspense, YA Urban Fantasy



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781524855338

ASIN: B087D8F3SW

Published by Andrews McMeel Audio, Andrews McMeel Publishing

Format: Audiobook | Digital Review Copy (NetGalley)

Length: 5 hours and 40 minutes (unabridged)

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Published By: Andrews McMeel Audio
an imprint of Andrews McMeel Publishing (@AndrewsMcMeel)

NOTE: When I first started listening to this title I thought for sure it would be considered Middle Grade Fantasy – however, as it progressed forward, I started to see it leans into YA Fantasy. It might be on the fence of merging Upper YA into Adult Fantasy within an Urban Fantasy world-building and setting. Ergo, if your considering this for younger readers rather than adult, know that this has the innocence of a Middle Grade Fantasy intermixed with the darker villains of an Upper YA/Adult Fantasy wherein if you are seeking lighter readers for Middle Grade readers I would advise against this one.

Converse via: #UrbanFantasy as well as #DarkFantasy and Upper #YAFantasy
+ #SoulRiders, #audiobook or #audioreads as well as #JorikRising and #StarStable

Available Formats: Trade paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

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a few extra notations about this world:

I admit, I’ve been sitting on this review for weeks now – as I originally listened to this in September and although I was invested into the suspense ‘behind’ the characters’ lives, I struggled with some issues with the overall telling of the story itself. I also felt it was a bit more bone chilling for the age group it was being directed towards as the suspense doesn’t suspend itself like most Middle Grade novels will eventually as they generally seek to give a slight fright but not become a more Upper YA or Adult Suspense novel wrapped inside the cover of Middle Grade. For me, that was one of the sticking points of why I felt removed from continuing this story and yet, before I found myself unable to continue listening to it despite the flaws in the narration (as there were quite a few of those as well) it still warranted being reviewed.

This is an Urban Fantasy story set within a very dark undertone of a world that has a nefarious group operating in the background of the ‘soul riders’. The opening describes the need for soul riders and how important and imperative they are to the stability of the world herein. I was hoping this was going to be less intensive and dark than it ultimately became – which is why as I’ve sat on my review to contemplate my final thoughts and assessment of the portions of the audiobook I’ve heard, I felt it was best to share my review during #SpooktasticReads on the off chance one of the readers following the event might feel this is a better fit for them than it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

my review of jorik calling:

I love immersion stories in Fantasy – where you can truly feel as if you’ve entered through a portal into a wholly new world with its own rules and structures of society but have a bit of familiarity to our own world as well. This is why I read and/or listen to a healthy amount of Urban Fantasy whilst on the other side of the spectrum I love finding stories that are the truer essence of Portal Fantasy wherein once you step through the threshold into a new world, you cannot recognise anything of the modern world in which you live – having said that, I felt the opening Prologue into Jorvik Calling gave us just enough of a tasting of this world to feel motivated to continue listening to the story.

For someone who has an eclectically European heritage, I loved the blended ancestral and cultural history being explored in Soul Riders as we’re told Jorik is located somewhere within the scope of land and sea between Norway, Iceland and the British Isles. It is there on Jorvik where the Equestrian culture has become renown and where there are Druids who are quite active in this world. The soul riders are the girls who share a symbiotic connection to the horses they ride whilst championing the work of the Druids themselves. By this point, I was already hooked because I was listening to this during #Mythothon and for the past three years I’ve been smitten with folklore and mythologies from different backgrounds of enquiry (ie. Greek, Norse and this year, Celtic) which seek to present stories in an after canon styling of narrative which discuss the legends and yore of old into a new tangible narrative for today’s readers. Finding out this story had a Druid connection made me quite giddy indeed, you see! Plus, ever since I first saw Avatar and How to Train Your Dragon on the silver screen I have had an affinity for stories which talk about soul/heart connections to animals – from horses to dragons and all other connections betwixt and between.

There is a bit of mythology about this world being presented to us as well very early-on which is meant to give us a key insight into the world-building itself. Being I entered this story without pre-knowledge of the video game Star Stable, I found everything quite fascinating as it was revealled. Apparently there was a girl who gave her life to the natural world after first cleansing and healing the brokenness which had arisen and required not just her soul energy but a way of conveying Light itself. A well-known parable about light and darkness is also shared whilst a foreboding message about interlopers into Jorik who only seek to do harm to the world itself is also broached as a way of painting the story forward. As a nature lover and a believer in both conservation and preservation of natural resources as well as ecological habitats, any entity who seeks to exploit natural resources is not a person I could relate too. I felt it was well timed to have a story set round these topics and subjects given the increasing awareness of climatic changes on Earth and the increasingly destructive patterns of natural disasters (ie. from tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis to wildfires).

As we begin our journey towards Jorik, we’re introduced to the four girls who are at the heart of the story: Lisa, Alex, Linda and Anne. It is through Lisa’s tragic loss and her story of relocation to Jorik which acts as the catalyst to enter into this world through her perspective and the reasons why her father was attempting to relocate his family to a whole new setting and way of life. They needed a fresh start after surviving the tragic loss of their wife and mother – yet, as you take the backseat view of their journey, you see a girl whose in need of either friends or a surrogate Mum; she’s trying to make the best of where she is in life but her memories won’t leave her nor will they let her rest. Yet, there is this allure to get to Jorik and it is in these passages as we hug close to Lisa as she on a journey to Jorik that we first start to see the seeds of how the world of Jorik calls to others who are either inbound or hadn’t considered relocating there previously.

The other three girls’ (Linda, Alex and Anne) were already residents of Jorik – Lisa was the first we were told noticed the sky, followed by Linda, Anne and Alex. Linda lived with her Aunt and had the cutest cat – as anyone with a cat knows it is hard to discern why the cat is full of meows but on this day, it seemed it was the sky both girl and cat were mesmorised to have observed. Anne was a competitive Equestrian who noticed the sky as she was making her way to a competition. Alex was already in the saddle on Tincan – enjoying the trails of forest and enjoying the freedom of what that kind of ride would give her and her horse. It was after we saw these glimpses of the girls’ we would get a chance to peer past them and see someone in this world who saw something which drew their curiosity between Lisa and Alex. This is the first glimpse we have of the Fantasy elements rooted behind the lives of the girls’ themselves and of the darker intentions of the nefarious persons involved.

I enjoyed the realism in the story – how we get to tag-along with Lisa and her Dad as they start to rebuild their lives in a new city and place; especially as their journey isn’t rushed. You get to tag-along with them on the journey to Jorik as much see them during the unpacking process to get situated in their new house. Throughout the story, Dahlgren has acknowledged the truer emotions that run through your heart and mind as you’re relocating – mixing the good, the bad and the uncertainty which comes along with being somewhere new. It has a wicked good mix of emotions and dialogue equally shared between the characters whilst giving you a strong feel for how this world is different than it appears.

Being a rider myself when I was younger, I was appreciative of the horse drama within the story itself – how tethered Lisa was to her background as a horsewoman herself and how she had unresolved guilt about horses as those memories were tied to her Mum. Each of the girls’ had a different connection and passion for horses which I celebrated because everyone starts to ride and loves to ride for different reasons in real life, too. Most of this opening bridge in the series is focused on explaining Lisa’s journey towards a path of self-healing – where she could find reconciliation with her guilt and war of conscience. I liked how her journey in this regard was not rushed – as I felt her journey would resonate with other readers who find this story who are progressing on their own journey close to her age.

It felt organic how the girls’ come together – as it hinged on Lisa meeting Alex first and she then served as the mediator who helped Lisa to become acquainted with everyone else. Linda was the second girl Lisa realised was one of the friendlier people on Jorik and that this place might not be as difficult to feel at home as she had afeared it might have been. When they observe a classmate (Sabine) in a way that went against what they knew of her – it acted as a segue into the girls’ realising there was more going on in their lives than what they were first aware of being possible. Again, this was another moment where their lives were starting to interact with the fantastical elements on the fringes of their lives.

Observing Lisa grooming the horse brought back memories of when I used to groom the horses I would ride as I always felt it was another way to bond with the horse. One of the more curious passages was when Linda talked about the mythological aspects of Jorik’s horses – the star horses and how uniquely different they were from the other horse breeds. From that scene onwards, we were able to leave the relocation side story behind involving Lisa and her father and focus more on the Soul Riders universe. At first I thought this was a wholly new world outside of our own reality but its more of a merger of a universe within a world (our own) which lends itself to Urban Fantasy, as this world is like ours but is uniquely different at the same time.

Starshine is one incredible horse and I was celebrating how the horses of this world play such an integral part of the story. The story also reminded me of the film The Dark is Rising wherein you have to learn whom to trust and how to know which person you can trust vs which person is a villain in disguise. These kinds of stories are brilliant for teaching children different kinds of life lessons and giving them a world that is both kind and nefarious in equal measure – allowing them to see the good, the bad and the murkier gray areas betwixt and between.

I was committed to the story throughout the special ‘light ride’ which is a special event for the girls’ to participate in and it has a lot to do with understanding the horses and how the girls’ are important to the journey they are undertaking towards becoming soul riders. This is more implied than detailed out in a revelation as the light ride itself focused on a point of reckoning for them – as they were each rising into a new chapter of their lives where their particular gifts and talents were starting to become known. In essence it was a rite of passage for them and for the readers who are listening to the story as this was another stepping stone towards seeing what the soul riders were about and understanding the journey they were on.

This is also entering into the section where you first meet Mr Sands (reminded me of the dark side of Star Wars) of whom is the one of the worst characters I have found for villains in a story. He doesn’t have any redeemable qualities and he might even be morally grey which seems to be more commonplace nowadays in Middle Grade and Young Adult stories. For me personally, I felt his character was writ far more sinister than needed to be and he could have been just as horrid even if he was painted a bit lighter round the edges. You don’t have to go full-on dark to be a dark character in a Fantasy world!

The mythology returns by explaining how the symbols of the Sun, Star, Moon and Lightning Bolt interact with the history of soul riders; as each symbol itself represents four riders featured on cave walls representing the soul riders themselves. This is an important part of the story and yet it was barely highlighted – I ached for more details and for there to be a better grounding of the soul riders mythology as well. You really have to start reaching to connect the dots between the girls’, the soul riders and the horses; everything is interconnected but rather than focusing on their story and this back-history of the world itself we’re constantly having to be bombarded by the darker forces which are seeking to destroy their lives. You need that balance of good vs evil to make a compelling story but I felt it was misused more than once in the storyline.

Where I felt myself pulling out of the context of the story is when one of the horses disappears – yet one of my final observations was about Anne. Anne’s journey was relatable as she had trust issues with her friends and she worried that all the friendships she was making was more co-dependent on who she was in the community rather than anything else. She was gaining confidence and comfort from her new alliances with the girls’ and with Starshine but her fears were still holding her back from realising that this time she could trust her instincts and find peace in knowing she was in a safe space.

I just reached the point where I could not listen to the rest of the story – the darker elements for me really pulled me out of the rhythm of what I felt had been established initially as I had described it earlier in my review – how beautiful this story was evolving into focus and how it was truly a lovely Middle Grade Fantasy – before of course it went off the rails and startled me more than once for unexpected content disclosures and a far, far darker undertone of story than I was prepared for listening too. For those reasons, I simply had to quit the audiobook – which was sad because I felt like I had been shortchanged from knowing more about Starshine, the girls’ and the mythological aspects of Jorik which really rocked my readerly world to discover. I was even able to overlook some issues with the narration and delivery of the performance by the narrator but one thing I cannot always shift through is the darker elements which seek to eclipse the light and joy of a story – for me that is what ultimately made this from becoming one of my best loved discoveries this year to a story I could not finish.

on the fantastical styling of Helena Dahlgren:

I appreciated how we get to feel as if we’re with Lisa in the van, hearing her internal war with herself about how to resolve the past, the loss of her Mum and the curious ways we try to shift forward after loss. How do you move past the unmovable and the emotions that will not allow you to enjoy the same things you enjoyed before your life was disrupted? All of this is explored through Lisa’s entrance into the story and I felt Dahlgren did a wonderful job of placing us in Lisa’s shoes and giving us a glimpse into the heartache and the chasm of loss losing a Mum would be for a girl Lisa’s age. It completely disrupts everything within and around Lisa and this is wonderfully shown in the narrative itself.

I loved how technology was being used to be a component of the story – wherein the girls’ would use technology in different ways to aide them in solving the mystery behind what was happening around them. It wasn’t overly used but it was shown how in certain instances technology can be used as an aide and in that I loved how it was used to showcase how beneficial gadgets and tech can be at certain moments of our lives.

Fantastical elements:

→ Energy Healing

→ Star horses

→ Intrinsic gifts and latent talents

Realistic threads of story:

→ Premature parental loss

→ Anxiety and Panic Attacks

→ Loss, sorrow and the guilt of moving forward

Equality in Lit:

→ Multicultural characters

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In regards to the audiobook directly:

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):

This is my first time listening to Jennifer Jill Araya.

Regards to the Narrator’s Individual Character performances:

Lisa’s father: He was one of the few characters who had such a distinctive voice within the narration – there were moments where I was convinced this had two narrators rather than one because his voice didn’t sound like Araya’s main narrative voice. He was the kind of Dad who cared loads for his daughter and was trying to make the best choices for her and him yet still finding himself fall a bit flat when it came to her expectations. I felt Araya did well to portray this in his voice and it allowed you to see how much he cared for Lisa.

Alex: Alex had such a strong voice compared to Lisa and it showed the differences in their personalities. You couldn’t help but notice Alex as she commanded her presence with fierce confidence. I felt Alex was being portrayed several years older than when we first meet her character which was a bit curious as they were all meant to be in the same age bracket. At first I felt this wasn’t distracting to the story but as it progressed forward the more distracting her voice became for me as a listener.

Herman: He is such a kind-hearted man who likes to pair horse and riders together. Sometimes when he was speaking with one of the girls the dialogue felt a bit disjointed and awkward. Almost as if the shifting between characters was not tracking well – as the voices would start off strong and crisp and then shift lower and were harder to hear or understand.

The characters in the background: I enjoyed when the narrator altered her voice for different characters or moments within the background as it helped give this world a fuller presence whilst hearing the story unfold. Yet, despite how those characters were distinctive what bothered me was the depth of how dark this story was evolving the more you listened to it. It was irony as the background characters had more fusion of self and individuality than other characters who were in other roles of the story.

How the story sounded to me as it was being Read: (theatrical or narrative)

This is a spoken narrative audiobook – wherein, the individual characters do not have too much distinction between each other but you can still follow along with the story. Except for when it gets a bit choppy or thin on the details, you can discern which character is being featured in-scene and the gender of the characters a well. As some narrators alter their voice between male and female characters within a story – I found Ms Araya did alter her voice but not to the level I’m used to finding in an audiobook. It felt a bit awkward when she spoke as a male character especially how she voiced Lisa’s Dad.

Her narration style kept changing the more you listened to the story as well – there were stronger sections and weaker moments where everything felt rather blurry as a listener to try and discern either something about the content of the first installment in this series or the character(s) themselves. Overall I felt her performance distorted some of the more alluring aspects of the storyline and made it a bit muddling to feel anchoured into the book.

Regards to Articulation & Performance of the story:

Articulation:

Although I could hear all the words as they were spoken, some of the words sounded a bit rushed which increased pacing in the context of the story where a slower pace was needed instead. There wasn’t anything in the narrative or the dialogue to suggest a hastier delivery of those passages and that is where I felt the narration was a bit choppier rather than smooth. This started early-on in the story.

Further into the story, exchanges in dialogue suffered because when the narrator was shifting between characters (as noted on Herman) sometimes her voice would drop too low to hear what she was saying and it made understanding those passages a bit trickier. There were other instances where her voice was strong and easily understood and other times it shifted down a few pegs to where her voice was less than it had been previously. It is hard to describe as it is the first time I’ve listened to an audiobook which had shifting tones and vocal levels within the story.

Performance:

When it came to Lisa’s flashback to her Mum’s death it felt a bit difficult to transition from Lisa’s current situation with her father as they were in the van relocating to Jorik. It was an okay flashback but I felt Lisa’s own thoughts and swirling emotions was stronger than the flashback itself. This was another point in the narration where I felt the final copy suffered a bit because the jarring way the flashback was inserted it took you out of sequence with the timeline.

There is a short and brief musical interlude wherein Lisa’s song is heard – I wish it could have been a bit longer but it gave us the impression of why music was important to her and that served its purpose to have it included. The song itself almost sounded like it was sung by someone else and I wasn’t sure if this was the work of Araya or someone else who had a cameo.

Notes on the Quality of Sound & the Background Ambiance:

There are musical interludes on some of the chapters which I loved hearing but other than that the sound quality was quite smashing as nothing prevented you from hearing the story. The musical interludes, the song being sung on behalf of Lisa and the other ways music play a strong role within the framework of how this audiobook was arranged was a lovely switch-up for stories which do not use music or soundscapes on their audiobooks. I liked having those interludes as it gave a bit more depth to the world within the story.

The song(s) and the musical overlays continue to increase in frequency the more you listen to the story and it is tied together with Lisa growing in her self-confidence to be more honest with her new friends. It truly added to the enjoyment for me because this was the first audiobook I’ve listened to which has relied a lot on music and song which gave it such a unique listening experience for me.

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

Initially I was going to say I might have preferred reading the print edition until I reached about a quarter of a way into the audiobook and decided I much prefer the audio! Araya needed time to warm into the story and to find her feet with both the characters and the unique ways in which this audiobook was produced. Once she found her pace and rhythm with the delivery of the narration itself, I found myself truly captured by the story and found the audio version very entertaining.

Except to say, my enjoyment of hearing her narration was short-lived as after awhile there were more issues with her performance and one habit she had was having some of the characters sound much more mature than the ages they were meant to be in the story. I also felt her style became a bit too jarring to listen to as there were issues with the sound quality as well. In retrospect, I think a print copy might be warranted to remove the narration completely and just try to soak into the story without any influence of having it narrated.

In closing, would I seek out another Jennifer Jill Araya audiobook?

I originally felt I would seek out more of her stories but once I realised I couldn’t continue listening to this story and felt her style was just not my cuppa, I’ve decided to let this be the first and last audiobook I listen by her as it just didn’t jive well with me as a listener.

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This book review is courtesy of:
Andrews McMeel Audio via NetGalley

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 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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I am grateful for NetGalley
for audiobook readers
who love seeking out the audio stories
which might not be available to them to listen
otherwise whilst increasing their
Literary wanderings with #newtomeauthors!

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Reading this story contributed to my 2020 reading challenges:

2020 Audiobook Challenge badge created by Jorie in Canva.

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This review is part of my #SpooktasticReads readathon, wherein I am going to be selecting stories off my bookshelves which are either spooky & ghoulish or delightfully ghastly in a quirky sort of way which makes you feel a slight chill but won’t leave you wanting to light a lantern at night to keep the darkness away! This #SpooktasticReads I am happily delving back into stories about *ghosts, witches, paranormal suspense & the lighter side of Cosy Horror* as I make my route through #SpooktasticReads one story at a time whilst finding myself on a lovely literary holiday! Join me!?

This lovely event is via @WyrdAndWonder | with my co-hosts @imyril & @deargeekplace

Full details on #SpooktasticReads via Always Room for One More (Imyril’s blog)

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{SOURCES: Book cover for “Soul Riders” and book synopsis were all provided by the publisher via NetGalley and are used with permission of the publisher and NetGalley. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #Audioreads banner, #SpooktasticReads Review badge, #SpooktasticReads banner, 2020 Audiobook Challenge banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.

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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 Monday, 19 October, 2020 by jorielov in Book Review (non-blog tour), Bullies and the Bullied, Childhood Friendship, Coming-Of Age, Dark Arts (Dark Magic), Dark Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore, Folklore and Mythology, NetGalley, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Upper YA Fiction, Urban Fantasy, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction




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