Month: October 2022

#SpooktasticReads | Year V : A 13-day celebration of the spookier side of Fantasy!

Posted Wednesday, 19 October, 2022 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

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Welcome, Welcome to #SpooktasticReads Year V

Happily visit my lovely co-hosts:

Lisa @ Dear Geek Place

+ Imyril @ There’s Always Room for One More

+ Annemieke @ A Dance With Books

+ Ariana @ The Book Nook

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A bit of back-history on SPOOKTASTIC READS:

In Autumn [2017], I conceived of this idea to re-start my readings into the spooktacular worlds of chilling Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries and the Paranormal (with just a dash of love for Cosy Horror!) – wherein I conceived of spending a fortnight reading such lovelies and enjoying a personal readathon leading into Halloween! I fell a bit short of my goals in [2017], even though I took it as a success – as not only did I read some rather spookified tales but I found myself wholly intrigued by the stories I was selecting to read!

By [2018] whilst helping develop and co-host @WyrdAndWonder, I put forth the idea to name our first mini-event for #WyrdAndWonder – wherein I was hoping to let this small idea I had in [2017] take flight, reach a bigger audience and find readers who might find their own definition of #SpooktasticReads befitting their own readerly life! Which of course meant – re-defining it to include what it celebrates now as a mainstay: Cosy Horror, Paranormal Fantasy, Witchy Reads, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and even Gothic Romance or other such tales. I still have the tendency to read Cosy Crime, Suspense and Thrillers throughout Autumn and into Winter as well.

Some of the stories of course play the theme up quite a bit for the spookier side of the genres, some of which may or may not directly (or indirectly) relate to Fantasy per se but this is one of those readathons which is open to both interpretation and the joy of having free reign to enjoy the readathon in a way each reader wants to approach it. The truer beauty of Wyrd And Wonder and SpooktasticReads is the ability for each participant to find their own readerly path and find what gives them JOY to celebrate the events we’re hosting through social and the book blogosphere.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #SpooktasticReads 2022
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Posted Wednesday, 19 October, 2022 by jorielov in Bookish Discussions, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Gothic Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Parapsychological Gifts, Supernatural Fiction, Suspense

Blog Book Tour | “The Myrtle Wand” (A re-telling of the classical ballet “Giselle”) by Margaret Porter

Posted Monday, 17 October, 2022 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

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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! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring. Whether I am reading selections from Indie Authors & publishers to Major Trade and either from mainstream or INSPY markets – I am finding myself happily residing in the Historical past each year I am a blogger.

What I have been thankful for all these years since 2013 is the beautiful blessing of discovering new areas of Historical History to explore through realistically compelling Historical narratives which put me on the front-lines of where History and human interest stories interconnect. It has also allowed me to dive deeper into the historic past and root out new decades, centuries and millenniums to explore. For this and the stories themselves which are part of the memories I cherish most as a book blogger I am grateful to be a part of the #HFVBTBlogTours blogger team.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Myrtle Wand” by the author Margaret Porter 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 review is a more condensed version of a regular one I usually feature:

For those who follow my blog, if you’ve been following me throughout the last nine years, you’ve known I lost two cats within the first two years of book blogging. I’ve just recently lost my third – as my beloved tabby of 18 years lost his health battle and is free of pain and suffering now. It has been a very emotionally difficult week for me and my family; whilst our fourth cat whose survived all three of the tabbys who were her siblings – is struggling herself with anxiety, panic attacks and her own sorrow. We’re doing our best to help guide her through this difficult season of mourning but as you will find on #TheSundayPost which I released ahead of this spotlighted post for the blog tour – it hasn’t been a good couple of months for me or my family.

When I saw this story was being offered on a blog tour, I was truly excited, and I was looking forward to reading a story which was rooted in an adaptation of a classical ballet! I personally love reading adaptive literature and retellings of classical stories across all works of interest. This would be my second re-envisioning of a ballet as my first was for Swan Lake as seen through the vision Kaki Olsen had for it.

However, this particular Summer had its fair share of ups and downs for my family and I. I was returning to reading in August and if my migraines hadn’t derailed in September, I think I might have had a chance of reading this story in its entirety. Of course, looking back is easier than how life is lived forward and with those migraines and another bout of stress in the final week of September ahead of my cat’s declining health last week and death; I will honestly say, I lost my footing with this story and another one (ie. The Other Side of Certain) which is reflective of how life can become disrupted by events we cannot foresee happening until they arrive. I regret I had less time to spend within the context of The Myrtle Wand but as I already missed one blog tour, I was refused to miss another one if I could help it.

This abridged review is part of my #25PagePreview posts and at a future date I am hopeful I can share a more expanded rumination of my time spent within the author’s vision of the story.

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Blog Book Tour | “The Myrtle Wand” (A re-telling of the classical ballet “Giselle”) by Margaret PorterThe Myrtle Wand
by Margaret Porter
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

The Myrtle Wand, a retelling and a continuation of the classic ballet Giselle, restores original story elements to transform a tale of blighted romances and betrayals into a quest for redemption and restorative love.

Princess Bathilde de Sevreau, her school friend Myrte, and the peasant girl Giselle have heard the legend of the vilis, ghostly maidens who rise from their graves by night to roam the forest, seeking revenge on faithless lovers. Each will fear being ensnared by that spectral sisterhood…

Bathilde, destined for a marriage of convenience with Albin, Duc de Rozel, leaves her ancestral château for the Sun King’s sophisticated and scandalous court. As participants in royal ceremonies and entertainments, the princess and the soldier gradually recognize their deep feelings for each other, as well as mutual hopes for a happy and satisfying union. But the tragic consequences of Albin’s brief masquerade as a commoner and the amorous Louis XIV’s quest for a mistress divide the betrothed couple. Together and separately, they must overcome conflicting duties and unexpected dangers to determine their fate.

Genres: Classical Literature, After Canons, Re-telling &/or Sequel, Historical Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9798985673494

Published by Gallica Press

on 8th October, 2022

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 374

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Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov and #HistoricalFiction
+ #TheMyrtleWand as well as #HFVBT

Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook

About Margaret Porter

Margaret Porter

MARGARET PORTER is award-winning, bestselling author of The Myrtle Wand (October 2022), The Limits of Limelight (September 2021), Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, and twelve other historical novels. After studying British history in the U.K., she worked professionally in theatre, film, and television. A historian and avid traveler, Margaret returns to Great Britain and Europe for research. She lives in New England with husband and dog, dividing her time between an architecturally unique book-filled house in a small city and a waterfront cottage on one of the region’s largest lakes.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Monday, 17 October, 2022 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, After the Canon, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Classical Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Inspired by Stories, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Re-Told Tales

#TheSundayPost XII | Sometimes sorrow interrupts our lives and disrupts our days

Posted Sunday, 16 October, 2022 by jorielov 2 Comments

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

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

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Are we ever ready to say “goodbye” to someone we love?

Poetry of Sorrow by Jorie banner created in Canva.

I never thought I’d be blogging about the loss of a cat

during the year I felt couldn’t surprise me anymore

with unexpected stress and a multitude of adversities.

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In regards to my life behind the blog:

You might have already noticed my long absences online this Summer — some of which I’ve already addressed, and other notations of those absences were meant to be blogged about during #TheSundayPost but were never fully conceived nor written to be shared officially. I’ve done a lot of thinking this year about what I want to blog about but actually being able to sit down and BLOG those thoughts has been something else entirely. Sometimes our intentions to do something is more powerful than the ability to achieve them. In my defence, this is my second year of working full-time but my first year of working two full-time jobs; one by day, one by night. It has literally taken all the energy and stamina I never thought I could muster to maintain both and unfortunately hasn’t always lent a way for me to have downtime away from work.

Which of course only partially explains my absences this year, but for now, I want to focus on something else — something that has been weighing on my heart and soul for over a week now. As despite the adversely difficult September which presented two migraines and a sea of anxiety towards the end of the month where weather could have affected my life moreso than it did — I was not quite prepared for October to ring in a season of deep sorrow and soul-crushing grief. Read More

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Posted Sunday, 16 October, 2022 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post