Month: May 2024

A #WitchyWednesdays Discussion | Jorie has a slight addiction to #WitchyReads!

Posted Wednesday, 8 May, 2024 by jorielov 0 Comments

#WitchyWednesdays banner created by Jorie in Canva.

#WitchyWednesdays is a curated collection of #WitchyReads this Wyrd And Wonder on Jorie Loves A Story. I have long held a fascination with Paranormally inclined stories involving witches and wizards as well as magic schools. I read either Contemporary or Historical releases as well as completely fantastical worlds featuring a Witchy premise and storyline. This year for Wyrd And Wonder, I’m focusing on specific stories I’ve been wanting to share and discuss either during our annual event in May OR our sister event #SpooktasticReads in October. Every Wednesday there will be a new Witchy story to discover as I share my readerly adventures into Witchy Fiction this month. I am considering keeping this a mainstay of focus both during May & October for our events for Wyrd And Wonder.

In regard to the name I chose for this showcase of reviews, I sort of stumbled onto the name when I was deciding which day of the week I wanted to feature Witchy Reads this year. I thought it was original until I ran a search online, I saw others use the #WitchyWednesdays tag however, I did not source an origin of the tag – only a collective recognition for it attributed to different creative projects or venues whilst I didn’t find an actual meme origin for it on a blog or website. If someone knows who started it – kindly let me know so I can add attribution.

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I am choosing to expand on my curiosity for #WitchyReads this seventh year of Wyrd And Wonder and use my first #WitchyWednesdays to showcase the Witchy stories which encompass my #stackofdoom! Meaning, I have a rather LARGE stack of books which befit this category of Fantasy – and despite my earnest attempts to whittle it down every year, it seems to continue to grow into a much larger list of #mustread stories and/or series!

For me though, I don’t oft look at things in a negative way – so although the prompt does stipulate a ‘stack of doom’ for me it’s more of an encouraging list of #nextreads that just happens to be a bit of a mile long and involves multiple series and authors! Laughs. Sometimes our stack of reads can become quite all-compassing and consuming but this particular list for me has been one that has become a bit self-motivating and self-directing to seek out a particular styling of Witchy Fiction.

I thought it might be a good segue into the month, as this day marks the beginning of Wyrd And Wonder – to not only show the selection of stories on my mountain of Witchy fiction yet to be consumed but to discuss a bit about what drew me into these particular stories, series and the world-building allure of their authors. It would be brilliant if throughout the month visitors and readers alike could offer a few selections of their own musings and wanderings – as I could use those as a footpath and guide into future reads of my own.

 

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Posted Wednesday, 8 May, 2024 by jorielov in #WitchyWednesdays, #WyrdAndWonder, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features

The #WyrdAndWonder Challenge | Lean into Jorie’s Swept Away Straits!

Posted Friday, 3 May, 2024 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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We LOVE challenging each other during #WyrdAndWonder with prompts which inspire responses which can be taken literally by the words of the prompt itself or become explored more creatively by what sparks a response from the reader, blogger or social Fantasy lover to share with us during the month of May. This year, I’ve decided to post complimentary discussions featuring the prompts I am responding to via Instagram on our @WyrdAndWonder feeds. As it was a goal of mine last year but not one that I could fulfil properly.

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

By the third day’s prompt, there was ONLY one series in particular which I felt best befit the category of choice – as it was meant to be focused on a narrative and/or characters’ arc you simply did not want to remove yourself from and thereby, make either an immediate return or revisit it as oft as you dare shortly after having concluded your stay within the story or stories. For me, the bar was set especially high by the writerly wisdom and clarity of serial arc within this narrative by Nightingale herself. There are other series out there where I have felt an equally strong affection for and oft return inside multiple times to carry-on with the rhythm of their tales and the adventures of their characters – but for me, in particular, this series is quite the special experience and I felt was celebrating the theme of being ‘swept away’ into the straits of Nightingale’s imagination and not quite knowing if I knew the way back into our own world by the end.

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Posted Friday, 3 May, 2024 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Jorie Loves A Story

#WWWednesday No. XIX | Jorie’s Short Stack #WyrdAndWonder TBR and why she selected these stories to be read this May!

Posted Wednesday, 1 May, 2024 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

#WWWednesdays graphic created by Jorie in Canva.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

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the annual event which makes me wicked happy has returnt,
join me as I dive back into reading via #WyrdAndWonder!

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About: *Wyrd & Wonder*

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This year, we’re all celebrating the Comforts of Reading Fantasy – whether the routes you take within Fantasy are your regular comforting zones of readerly blissitude or if you’re a wanderer of paths unknown and unlock your own fantastical adventure one story at a time without limiting where your path will take you. I’m still sorting out how I want to respond to our prompts which are meant to run on Sundays on our respective blogs – however, most of this month of May will be aligning a bit topsy turvy on Jorie Loves A Story – just consider me bending time and posting out of sequence with the rest of the book blogosphere! Laughs. Having said that – one of the beauties I decided to grant myself this seventh year is a bit of peace of mind!

Reason being?

I gave myself licence to post a short stack TBR and I couldn’t be happier! I don’t even have the goal of consuming ALL the books in their entirety this year – as let’s be frank, my downtime is short and my ability to devour stories as I had in the past isn’t quite working out very well for me over the score of the last year since I undertook a second job that is quite taxing and quite rewarding in other respects all the same. I just can’t lay claim to having a lot of personal time as a result of the hours I’m working week to week between all (three, cough!) of my jobs. Blessedly one is a moonlighting gig and the other two are the mainstays – evenso, a girl needs a bit of space to unwind and just ‘chill’ outside of work. For me, the comfort has always been STORIES and reading – when I’m not akin to following in love with a tv serial or film. Stories whether written, narrated by audio or set in motion (by film or serial) have been quite the affinity and mainstay of my life.

This lovely graphic describes the Sunday Five topics wherein everyone is encouraged to respond on Sundays (or any day which works best for the blogger) to carry-on the discussion of what makes Fantasy our zone of Comfort to read and explore. Those posts of mine are still in the WIP stage but they will be arriving at odd intervals throughout May all the same. I felt I should include them with this post as I’m announcing what I’ll be reading and thereby, also discussing as well.

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What Jorie is currently reading:

Jorie's Short Stack TBR for Wyrd And Wonder photo collage created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: jorielovesastory.com

It wasn’t hard to select my #shortstack of books this Wyrd And Wonder : Year 7 because there were a few stories on my shelves where I knew I might find myself drawn to read quite immediately. I had hoped to dive straight into these lovelies as soon as May began, but now 12 days into the event and still editing my drafted posts to run during our first fortnight, some might say puts me at a disadvantage but for me, this year is more about the journey I’m on that the end results. Most years, reading one story after another was quite fulfilling but when your work life feels overwhelmingly exclusive of your TIME, just to draft and write and blog again feels like a milestone of an accomplishment! Smiles.

The Lemorian Crest is actually the sequel to Uncovering Cobbogoth (see also Review) which I fell in love with years ago now. The author and I were in touch for a short bit, and I had meant to follow up with her afterwards as she was going to writing another installment of this series but then, I noticed as the years progressed forward – a new story didn’t emerge but other projects of hers did. I also noted that she re-released the original first story of Cobbogoth but under a new title and new publishing house which I understood as I knew she was leaving Cedar Fort. This series goes back to my 1st Year as a Book Blogger and so, it holds a special place in my bookish heart. I’ll be re-reading through the first novel – jogging my memory and re-settling into the storyline – as despite the fact there are echoes of memories from having read it the first time – 2014 and 2024 is a decade’s worth of living between readings!

I will be thrilled just to be on the FRINGE of reading the sequel by May’s end and continuing to finish it as Summer takes hold. Though by all the crazy wicked weather we’re having stateside, most would argue Summer is already here and deadly chaotic to which I would heartily agree!

For those who might not know anything about this series – here’s some parting thoughts from my first reading:

Uncovering Cobbogoth is an adventure you know you can handle, but it keeps you suspended between the pages as much as the living story within its chapters is a suspension of time. Science was always a ready interest of mine growing up, as I had half a step inside the worlds of art and science within my childhood hours. I was drawn into the dimensional theories of Quantum Physics as I grew and examined different quantum realms on my own by my early twenties, because of the curiosity they engaged my mind inside. The theory of super-strings, hidden dimensions, black holes, and galaxies hidden within a space of a seed were an exciting read for me! I need to re-take up where I left off as I only just brushed the surface of what I wanted to study, but within that pursuit, I have noticed that the science within science fiction that enlightens my mind the most contains elements and theories woven around the concept of space-time dimensions and/or the continuum. This is not the first foray I have ventured on this year to read a story with time travel or the bending of time (as we see it peripherally) as its core center of scientific thought. The Skin Map uses the theory of ley lines whereas Cobbogoth is using the theory of hoption holes. In each of their own ways, they are breaking down a theory of how humans of any age can travel through ‘portals’ within the space-time vortex of dimensional space. And, I personally find that exciting!

Clark has a deft hand for writing the most scientific principles of the novel in a way that is not only easy to digest, but gets you excited to learn more than what has already been provided! The curious illustrations her sister, Ms. Shakespear contributed to the story’s element of past and present gave a visual reference for the sub-stories that draw out the focus on Cobbogoth itself rather than the story set in and around Cobbogoth on a whole!

I would say that due to the nature of the high-octane adventure and action sequences, as well as the brief passages of violence which take place as Norah’s life is thwarted by more danger than you could blink through, I do believe the classification of this novel as ‘YA Fantasy’ is rather apt. It would be a great story for a teenager to sink their teeth into because it is on the verge of leaving the formative years behind and entering the world on your own merits. Lessons of courage and fortitude of spirit are organically woven into the texture of the story itself. If you watched the motion picture “The Dark is Rising: The Seeker” you will not have any trouble reading this novel! At some point, I’d like to read the novel the forementioned film is based upon!

-quoted from my book review of Uncovering Cobbogoth

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Posted Wednesday, 1 May, 2024 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, WWW Wednesdays