Blog Book Tour | “Love Blooms” (Book One: Bluestar Island series) by Jennifer Faye

Posted Friday, 2 July, 2021 by jorielov , , , 5 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I’ve been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. 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 when I’m not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.

I received a complimentary copy of “Love Blooms” direct from the author Jennifer Faye in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why I’ve been enjoying reading this author:

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’.

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Whilst at the same time, I hadn’t realise the Fairytale Romances she created has a new addition – Fairytale Christmas with the Millionaire as I originally was led to believe this was a duology rather than a series or trilogy. I hadn’t wanted the journey of that series to end where it had and I was most excited now, in June 2021 realising a 3rd novel was released last December! As it gives me something wicked to look forward to gathering to read.

Likewise, as you’ll note from my review for Love Blooms – when it comes to this type of Contemporary, I am most definitely an avid reader of a Romance being situated and set in a ‘small towne’. It is nice to find such wonderful writers who are giving all of us who love Contemporaries stories to chew on and absorb; Faye, alongside my Harlequin Heartwarming novelists are my top favourites when it comes to this niche of genre as well as quite a few of the ChocLitUK authors I used to regularly review who focused on Contemporary Romance.

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Blog Book Tour | “Love Blooms” (Book One: Bluestar Island series) by Jennifer FayeLove Blooms
Subtitle: A Bluestar Island novel
by Jennifer Faye
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

“With the bloom of springtime flowers…

comes the opportunity for new beginnings.”

He's an injured firefighter. She bakes the most delightful treats. When their worlds collide will the baker help heal the firefighter with a mix of blueberry muffins and her caring way?

The elegant baker, Hannah Bell, has always lived on Bluestar Island with her family. While still grieving for her father, who died in a fire, she focuses all of her energy on making her dream come true--opening her very own bakery. But when a broken water pipe washes away her carefully laid plans, she's on the verge of losing everything.

New York firefighter Ethan Walker's life is in a tailspin after he's injured on-the-job. When an urgent call detours him to Bluestar Island, he agrees to help his lovable but meddlesome great-aunt. But organizing the island's Spring Fling proves a lot harder than he originally imagined. He needs help...and fast.

Under the magic of Bluestar Island's sea breeze and warm sunshine, Hannah and Ethan must not only face their immediate obstacles but also their own turning points in life. Will they have to do that alone? With a leap of faith and a dash of romance, they might just find the perfect mix to make their dreams come true.

Includes a delicious recipe for The Elegant Baker's Blueberry Crumble Muffin!

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



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781942680130

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 (Spotlight), Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring , Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise, The Prince and the Wedding Planner, Christmas in Bayberry

Published by Lazy Dazy Press

on 3rd April, 2021

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 285

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Bluestar Island series:

Love Blooms by Jennifer FayeHarvest Dance by Jennifer Faye

Love Blooms (book one)

Harvest Dance (book two) ← forthcoming release, 2021!
(this will be a Digital First sequel)

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Formats Available: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance and #Romance

About Jennifer Faye

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.

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my review of love blooms:

When we first meet Ethan, he’s at the firehouse unsure about his position on his crew and a bit unsure about his own confidence as a firefighter. He’s sustained an injury which would have set another person back several weeks if not months, and his Captain was surprised he was released back for duty as quickly as he had been. At the same time, a call from his Mum redirected his attention to an emergency medical crisis with his Great-Aunt, which had his focus shifting from work to Bluestar Island; where his Great-Aunt lives.

The interesting bit is of course, as I’m the kind of girl who used to watch loads of medical dramas, one of my top favourites I found with my Mum in my twenties and thirties – which was Emergency! which took place at a firehouse whilst attached to scenes at the local hospital. You’d shift between the two main firefighters and the doctors on the front lines of the ER – wherein you had dual perspectives. The series was ahead of its time as it was rooted in IRL cases which are then re-adapted for television via the show. IRL one of the main actors also became a spokesperson for firefighters and fire rescue which I felt was quite wicked incredible. Secondly, one of my favourite Hallmark Channel films stars Alison Sweeny (you’ve might have seen me mention her previously for my fond appreciation for Murder, She Baked) wherein she falls in love with an injured firefighter and has him rent a room in her house whilst he recovers; she was an EMS dispatcher. Those memories of the film and the series swirled back to mind as I started to get introduced to Ethan. On top of which I spent most of my teens watching ER and just about any forensic medical drama – my top favourites being Quincy, M.E., whilst in my twenties and thirties I consumed Crossing Jordan and NCIS.

This setting – the firehouse and the close connections of the crew therein is so dearly familiar to me – it was easy for me as a reader to shift into Ethan’s shoes. Especially on the emotional side of the ledger – he was at a crossroads of his life but without realising it – as what led him to take his vacation days were the concerns for his Great-Aunt, but a part of me questioned if something else was motivating him without Ethan realising how important it was for him to take time away to fully think about his future and what he wanted to do with it. After all, in the short moment we’re introduced to him, he’s already admitted the job didn’t allow much time for a personal life and the ways in which Faye was showing how much family meant to him – it seemed to me, he wanted a bit more out of life than working back to back shifts without any time for himself in his down hours.

This is the type of towne where everyone knows your news before you have a chance to share it yourself – as Bluestar Island is one of those lovely interconnected places to live wherein the community of the island is a tight-knit found family. Everyone looks after each other and everyone truly appreciates being a part of a wider familial community. For Hannah, this turnt out to be a double-bladed sword the day her newly renovated bakery had an emergency of its own. The interesting bit is Faye used this disaster to draw Hannah and Ethan together for the first time and to give them a chance to acknowledge each other’s presence. It was a short meeting but one I felt would lead into something a bit more to be shared. Hannah’s family was there as well and nearly all the characters you’d expect to find in a community like Bluestar stole a bit of Hannah’s time whilst the local firehouse worked on preserving what was leftover from the disaster itself.

For Hannah, it was a turning point – of where her dreams felt as if someone had surrendered them without her consent and where life was drawing out to be a bit more of an uphill climb than she expected it to become – in other words, you felt for her during this time of chaos and angst because all of it was consuming her heart, mind and soul. Faye also opened the door for Ethan to reconsider his options when it came time to reassess his career and that felt like a natural fit for him as he was also on a trajectory of changing his own life as much as Hannah was herself.

The character who stood out to me the most was Birdie – Ethan’s Great Aunt or otherwise, the matron of the island if you will – because she has a personality and a way of inserting herself into the community others might shy against themselves. She has a good heart and a craftiness about herself which gets things done – and in this particular case, what she wanted most was to see her nephew Ethan happier than he attempted to appear whenever she saw him. She was going through PT (ie. physical therapy to rehab her hip) but not even that set-back prevented her from being a part of the Bluestar Island gossip mill and the goings-on of the towne itself. You had to laugh really as the woman was off-island and yet she was still able to effect circumstances on the residents in a way which was beneficial to them even if they didn’t quite see it ahead of time!

It was through the influence of Birdie where the Ethan and Hannah found themselves tethered together and working towards mutual goals in the story. She took on the organisation of the Spring event everyone was excited to see happen and Ethan took over the renovations for her bakery. They each had an endgame which would benefit Bluestar and in the process, perhaps they might find a path towards each other as well. This is overseen by Birdie from afar as she had a reason for wanting to draw Hannah and Ethan together and its such a heartwarming part of their story! For me, it was how Birdie wanted to guide these two lovebirds together and how interconnected the community of Bluestar became which staid with me the most.

Ethan and Hannah were each on their own path towards sorting out their futures – neither of them wanted to concede they wanted more out of their lives in regards to relationships and the prospects of families as each were focused on their careers. Not in a way which left them single-minded in that regard but they each needed to find a partner who would understand their passions and their work life without having to make them feel as if they were sacrificing something. And, of course that’s the trick of it isn’t it? To find an person who understands you without explanation and someone who genuinely wants to walk through life together as just to spend time with you and take on whatever life brings next is part of the journey they most want to experience with you?

Small Fly in the Ointment:

There were a few moments in the story where I felt the pacing was a bit off-centre to the storyline – wherein, some parts dragged a bit for me as a reader and others, I wish had been a bit more fleshed out to where there were a bit more descriptive narrative anchouring the scenes and/or the portions of dialogue. The story does find its feet but I wish in some ways it had had a bit of a tighter grip on how it flowed and how it was paced. Sometimes stories are set a bit too slow for me and this one definitely felt that way for me. I do enjoy slow burn romances but the story itself felt as if it was taking longer to find its momentum and how it wished to be seen by the reader.

on the contemporary romantic styling of jennifer faye:

Faye can’t go wrong with me as a Romance reader by setting me into a small towne and giving me the kind atmosphere I’d expect to find there. I love small towne romances and stories which tuck us into the community life therein. This is why a lot of what I read and/or watch on television involves small townes – currently of course, I’m aching for the second series for Sweet Magnolias and Virgin River via NetFlix (though I’ve only read the first series by Woods; opting for the television adaptation of the other one) and the fifth series of Chesapeake Shores is arriving via Hallmark Channel this August. If its rooted in a small towne or is focused on family or both – I’m the one whose going to find those stories and those series with relished passion!!

One of the interesting bits of the story is that Bluestar is one of those non-vehicle islands wherein you have to use golf carts, bikes or foot power to move about the island itself. Some communities are like this in the states and it is a lovely way of seeing how a towne can function without all the fossil fuels clogging the air and causing health issues to its residents. I personally wish we could have more neutralised emissions for cities and townes alike (of all sizes) as most cars run with a lot pollution coming out of their tailpipes still even today. The ground ozone can be impressively oppressive and its lovely to see that even though some might consider Bluestar’s boycott on cars extreme, at least they attempted to raise the livability of its residents by taking a stance on how to environmentally improve their island.

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This book review is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours

Prism Book Tours

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Love Blooms blog tour banner provided by Prism Book Tours and is used with permission.

By clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn’t host the giveaway as I’m a review stop, however,
you’ll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!

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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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{SOURCES: Covers art of “Love Blooms” and “Harvest Dance”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Jennifer Faye and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2021.

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

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)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Friday, 2 July, 2021 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Family Life, Fly in the Ointment, Life Shift, Modern Day, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction




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5 responses to “Blog Book Tour | “Love Blooms” (Book One: Bluestar Island series) by Jennifer Faye

  1. I really struggle with books that have a slow or weird pace! It sounds like you enjoyed it overall, though. :) Also, new follower! I found you on Twitter and added you on Library Thing! You’re the first person I’ve stumbled across that also uses that site.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ?

    • Hallo, Hallo Lindsi!

      *waves!* Thanks for giving me a lot of good cheer when I found your lovely note waiting for me!! I’ve been struggling to get online with any kind of regularity since June began as this is our stormy season wherein we can get severe lightning storms nearly daily and connectivity is nearly zero! My blog has slugged along for a bit since #WyrdAndWonder concluded and my final week of posts for that wicked sweet event are still in drafted formats! I’m striving to make the final week of July my “final” Wyrd And Wonder focused week before we shift forward into our #SpooktasticReads at the end of October as that is our sister event – follow @WyrdAndWonder for updates — however, if you love reading Fantasy esp Indie Fantasy, backtrack through my May archives (left sidebar, drop down links per month).

      I did struggle with Love Blooms, moreso than I originally felt I might?! I had trouble aligning with the main characters and the pacing was definitely off for me – as I’ve previously have read this author and I was a bit surprised that happened. Of course, I also recognise not every story will suit us as readers but I tried to discuss the positives along with how I was ‘taken out’ of the sequencing of the story as it evolved. Birdie of course left a stronger impression on me!! Laughs.

      Bless you for finding me – when I went to follow you back on Twitter and LT, I saw I was following you on Twitter – something tells me our paths crossed and I followed you whilst intending to connect lateron and sadly, with all this Summer weather angst, I just never connected. Thankful you found me and now we’ve become introduced properly!! Yes, I never knew why no one has love for LibraryThing – I love the whole format and love taking those trivia challenges as I’ve collected quite a few of those badges now. I’m glad to find another fellow reader who loves LT as much as I do, too! Whilst when I pulled open the books we share in common, it was lovely to see someone who gravitates towards the stories I do as well. I originally joined LT in defiance of not joining GR but LT has become a second niche of love for me. I eventually want to organise it better and get more out of it but since I started working after a long absence at the start of 2021 — I honestly have had a bit less time to blog and read than origianlly speculated! (ie. not a lot of free time, as I work a lot of double shifts)

      I look forward to diving into your blog and taking a look at your latest reads. I have two blog tours this week and more content planned — plus, I want to properly announce a co-hosted event I’m doing this Summer with Peyton which is called #MyYASummer. It was meant to go live on my blog in early June but you can blame the lightning, the fierce weather patterns and of course being offline for 10 days whilst my service provider had their own woes and issues trying to get me reconnected. Aye. Hopefully your Summer is calmer than mine has gone!

      Thanks for dropping by!!

      And, no, I don’t dog-ear books!! I don’t have the heart to do that and forever blessed by authors who sneak in a bookmark whenever they mail me their stories to read as I’m always in desparate need of them!!

        • It is seriously the best bonus of the site!! I like to push myself to sleuth out the answers, too. Actually when we still had to pay for our membership, I solved one of the events and won a membership. I cannot tell you how proud I was I made it through all the clues, too!

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