#TheSundayPost | XIX | The STORIES are calling to me!

[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!

Um, where did Jorie go?

I am sure you must be W O N D E R I N G

where did Jorie go and why has she been radio silent for most of Summer when she was off to such a wicked good start back in July?

Oy vie. Where to begin?

The long story short is Summer took a few left turns and twists when I least expected anything to happen at all. And, that is where life keeps you humble. I endured two work-related injuries between late June and early July; exactly a fortnight and a day apart from each other. Mind you, I never missed a day of work – except for the days in which I was injured as I had to leave early. I’m not one of those persons who believes their okay even if they feel their okay – I’d rather get that confirmed medically speaking than to risk something worse to afflict me lateron. Trust me if you would have asked me “Do you think you’ll ever have to use workman’s comp?” My ready answer a year ago in June would have been, “I don’t think I will.” Famous last words. I’ve used it three times – the first was in December, 2023. Oyy. Sometimes you get more lemons than lemonade in life, but it is how you adjust to those circumstances that determines how you get through them.

Shortly after I sustained my injuries I started to fill in for other coworkers – some were out on sick leave and others had things come up in life none of us can foresee or plan for ahead of time. I didn’t mind the OT or the extra hours – as I enjoy my work but of course, the downside was I had less time away from work and I had to ‘let go’ of my regular days off and return to having halves and quarters again. Something I changed after ten months of that kind of routine whilst balancing two jobs (one day, one night) and realising I was slowing burning out. You can’t always burn the candle at both ends and expect not to feel overly fatigued. Thus, despite the fact my injuries were on the more minor side of the ledger, they had their quirks in respect to healing. It took a long time to ‘feel’ like myself after both of them and even then, I treaded lightly at both jobs and took extra care to be mindful of my limitations.

Whilst that was happening, if I had any spare time off, I will be honest – I was asleep. I simply didn’t have the extra energy to read or blog or even sort out a quick update post for Insta. I was mentally exhausted as much as I was physically. Some weeks are just harder than others. This is why I’m blessed my hours are becoming my own again. I have my days ‘off’ restored and it feels good all round. I hadn’t realised the positive change it had in my life until I went back to the ‘old way’ of not having full days off. Oy. How I lasted those 10 months is anyone’s guess!

Ergo, my readerly queue of stories sort of stalled out. I was on such a positive road back into reading – I had three Christmas stories I wanted to read in July, too. I still intend to read them, but I’ve set them aside for now. I’ll eventually wind back round to them, though, don’t worry. I love a wicked good holiday read. This is why this particular Sunday I’m focusing on the two stories which have smitten me with curiosity and are being READ RIGHT NOW. Whilst adding a book to the queue to be read next, too.

I happily celebrated my blog’s 11th birthday on Insta sharing THIS POST on the 6th of August. It is hard to believe it has been 11 years this August since I first launched Jorie Loves A Story LIVE into the world. I recapped all the feels of this milestone on that post, too. Finding messages awaiting me to read throughout the day was beautiful and humbling, too. I am so dearly grateful for this journey I first undertook in 2013 and I am wicked happy to be continuing it now. The best way I know how to celebrate all my lovely milestones of this blog and of being socially bookish is to relate to you the gratitude and the JOY I’ve felt over the years – engaging with readers, book bloggers, authors and everyone else who chooses to be socially bookish. It is a wicked lovely community, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

What Jorie is currently reading:

The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan

The Phoenix and the Firebird by Alexis Kossiakoff and Scott Forbes Crawford

You might be curious what inspired the graphics I included on my collage graphic? Cats are cheekily one of the best mood lifters you can have in your life, and I have been blessed with cats my entire life. I currently have two lovely cats in my life, but I used to have a trio of cats who were once a quartet. Thereby the graphic was celebrating ALL the cats I’ve had as companions in fur at one point or another in my life. Whilst the coffee was a nudge and a nod to the fact over the score of Summer one of the comfort of joys, I’ve had lately was finding a coffeehouse who knows how to brew a wicked lovely Carmel Macchiato which is both soothing as it is uplifting. Whilst dragonflies for me are like butterflies – they represent Hope, New Beginnings and a turning of tides.

I have been reading The Legendary Mo Seto for a solid two months now! I first began reading the story when it arrived by post, and I shared a lovely snapshot of that JOY I felt when it arrived on Insta via THIS POST. Whilst it also popped up in my last #WWWednesday Post and on Insta as well. Yesterday, on my 11th blog’s birthday I made the most progress yet – aside from a few days of convalescing after my injuries as although I didn’t miss work, I had a blessed day off after both injuries and before I was starting to fill in for others. I didn’t want to rush reading the story – Mo is such a wicked new heroine in Middle Grade Fiction – you want to experience her life as she’s living it. Chan has such a refreshing voice too as a writer – her style of story is entertaining as it is imaginative. She has a way of merging the Mythological with the Martial Art Histories of China which leaves you wanting more and more of her vision of the story.

It is also rooted in a coming-of-age tale of a young girl who is just starting to find her own wings to fly into the world with confidence and moxie. To tackle the challenges of life and of growing up whilst remaining humble and kind along the journey, too. She has a fierce sidekick in her best friend Nacho and an interesting family dynamic and history – as a lot of her family is shrouded in secrets and her more immediate family isn’t oft involved in the storyline as it is focused on her choices and her journey rather than showcasing her parents and sibling. I know there is a reason for that as well but NO SPOILERS.

I have loved becoming lost in this story and travelling alongside Mo as we adventure after the unknown and try to root out the truths along the way, too. Expect to read my thoughts and reactions to this novel SOON. I am devouring it bit by bit and cannot wait to finally share my full thoughts on its behalf. I will especially be forever grateful the author found my book blog and gave me a chance to experience her story and become a cheerleader for Mo.

I haven’t even had a chance to properly discuss The Phoenix and the Firebird because it arrived in the Post betwixt and between my injuries and the last time I was able blog properly. This is another story which came to via my blog with an invite from the authors directly to consider it for review. I was overjoyed finding out what kind of story this was because I love discovering Children’s Lit of this nature. It was not lost on me that this was the second Middle Grade novel that found me during the same Summer, too. This one is meant to be at the intersection Middle Grade and Young Adult – as it could appeal to both readers of those kinds of stories. What perked my interest the most was the premise itself – combined with the research the authors did on the story’s behalf and how they lived in China, too. Their a unique writing team and there was just something wicked special about this story that felt like a story I could really sink my teeth into and become entranced by it.

It is considered Historical Fantasy rooted in the authors’ own family’s journey during the Russian Revolution. Described as a merger of Chinese and Slavic myths – we entreat into the 1920s and follow in the footsteps of Lucy whose father has been kidnapped. I love stories which feature brave children facing incredible circumstances and how their journey is both external and internal, too. This one feels like the kind of story the Wyrd And Wonder community would appreciate, too, based on the fact it parallels both the fantastic and the reality in which we all know.

The story begins with a letter, from a father to his daughter – about how he is attempting to reach her as he has already sent her ahead to China. To get away from the terrors back home and to be somewhere else that is safe. His letter explains how he is looking forward to their reunion. There is a lot of emotion in the letter, and you can feel his urgency to reunite with his daughter. I felt this was a brilliant start to the story – as I am a HUGE appreciator of Epistolatory Fiction. Whether it is the main driving force of a story (as it had been in Letters to Skye or in smaller inclusions of other stories). There is something wicked about how a story can be elevated by the premise of letters and/or diary entries – as both are treasured discoveries for me as a reader. I have oft come across both styles in the stories I’ve read throughout the last eleven years I’ve been sharing my readerly life here on Jorie Loves A Story.

From the moment you begin reading The Phoenix and the Firebird – you become entranced by Lucy and her best friend Su. Set in Peking, China – the co-authors immediately place you there with descriptive narrative and a friendship between the girls’ which is felt as soon as you see them on the pages. Lucy is a very independent young girl as much as Su is herself. Both were given extra courage to tackle things in life most children at their ages might not have to endure due to circumstances which changed the direction of their lives and of their families. I felt they were bonded due to that kind of shared history even though they were from two different countries. I loved how readily we felt as if we could step through time and history and walk alongside them. For me that is what pulls me into these kinds of stories – the ways in which the writers can illuminate the story and set the tone of what will follow next.

As soon as I complete my journey with Mo, I’ll be eagerly catching up with Lucy and Su!

You can see why these STORIES ARE CALLING TO ME – as they are wickedly written by writers who know how to pen strong stories by young readers. I am forever blessed these writers discovered my blog and gave me the chance to become acquainted with their characters. I have a feeling I shall not soon recover from both reading experiences as I have loved my time with their stories. It is wicked to have a Summer enriched by two Children’s Lit novels as I have waited a long time to dive back into Young Adult and Middle Grade stories – they give me such an uplift of joy to read, and I hope perhaps my experiences as a reader might inspire another reader to pick them up as well. 

What Jorie read last:

The Beekeeper Next Door by Danielle Thorne
(see also Review) (see also my post via Insta)

Death Washes Ashore (Book Two: The Myrtle Beach Mysteries) by Caleb Wygal
(see also Review) (see also my post via Insta)

I was able to finish two novels recently which were great reads for me. Both authors I’ve read previously and one of these lovelies was the sequel to a series I am definitely invested in continuing to read. The first one was another lovely Love Inspired Contemporary Romance by Ms Thorne, of whom I am on her street team as a reviewer. The second one is the second novel in the Myrtle Beach Mysteries series which I received for review consideration directly by the author himself.

I have been reading each of the Love Inspired novels by Ms Thorne as they have become published and each one, has shown her style of narrative for telling Inspirational and Faith-based stories whilst growing her voice as a writer in this particular genre of interest. I have loved being able to watch her develop her writing style as well – as each time I’ve read a novel of hers, I gain new insight into how she wants to tell a story whilst allowing us to see the journey of her characters for ourselves, too.

Let me share a part of my review to better showcase my reactions:

I truly loved how she developed the character of Ali – a woman who was self-determined to make it on her own terms and to develop a small farm that not only could sustain itself but have enough profit for its owner. I love that about having land where the land itself can produce what you need and even more which can be shared with your community. Farming in all varieties on the local level is where the future is because they have the tendency to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly with lower impacts on the natural environs around them. It was refreshing to see all of this explored and celebrated throughout my readings of The Beekeeper Next Door.

My eyes were a bit misty at different moments of the story as The Beekeeper Next Door touched on a lot of heartwarming truths about life, relationships and sorting out our lives when circumstances attempt to derail us. I was especially pleased with the inclusion of bee culture and the light touches of highlighting why bees are important in our local environments. I am definitely a supporter of bees, and it was a touching story from that aspect of it, too. Charlie was a true gem of a character – his youthful innocence and adventurous spirit was a delight of joy. Heath and Ali anchoured the story – both individually and together as Thorne gave us ample time to get to know them. You felt privy to their inner thoughts and that made the story emotionally convicting and compelling until the very last chapter which was the Epilogue. I didn’t want this one to end to be honest – I definitely wanted to know ‘what comes next’ – do they merge their properties as much as their hearts? I can’t wait to read the next story set in Legrasse if only to gain a glimpse into where we find Ali, Heath and Charlie as their lives moved forward. The Beekeeper Next Door is a heart-lift of a slow-burning romance which inspires as much as it gives you joy to read.

In this novel, I saw the growth of Thorne’s writing style as she interwove more of the faith-based antidotes and references into the storyline. She also found a better balance in how she told the story – by letting the characters take us on a fuller journey without resolving some aspects of that journey for us as readers. She wasn’t telling us but allowing us to see those moments of growth as her characters started to expand their hearts and minds in front of us. I even appreciated how she showed how they each had to process the passage of the past with the newer truths they uncovered in the present. Life is hard enough but overcoming loss (ie. death of a parent or a spouse, as this story focuses on both) is a personal journey of its own and not one that is easily navigable. It takes time and it takes patience, and it takes a lot of faith and prayer to overcome to where living doesn’t feel oppressively hard. Lose is part of all our lives but it is one of the harder moments to reconcile especially when it comes to our emotions and memories – and Thorne did a great job of showing that side of it too, as she focused on Ali and Heath’s path towards self-healing.

-quoted from my book review of The Beekeeper Next Door

The second novel I completed was Death Washes Ashore – the continuing story about Clark, a rather unassuming bookstore owner who develops the knack for amateur sleuthing in his local community. In this sequel, the backdrop is similar to those live dinner theatre shows set during Medieval Times? Wygal did a brilliant job of anchouring the story into that vivid setting as much as the inter-dynamics of the people who worked there. I loved sleuthing alongside Clark and of course, unravelling more details about his wife’s death which was more complex than originally thought!

By the by, the seventh novel releases this October and I have books three and four on hand to read whilst I’ll need to gather copies of books five, six and seven! It is definitely one of those kinds of series that keeps you interested in the next installments as I always find myself on pins to devour them as soon as I start them.

Let me share a few of my takeaways from this riveting sequel:

I found this sequel to be wicked fast paced and entertainingly cunning. There were a lot of different ways this could have gone and there were quite a few suspects who could have had motive, but I felt Wygal selected the best villain so to speak of them all. Except for myself, it felt more like a victim than a villain – not all deaths are motivated by what you think is causing the person to act in such a violent way towards another person. Sometimes, emotion and anger can swirl together and cause a reaction that leads to death and that is what happened in this story. The fallout of course had a lot of hidden tragedies because more than a few lives were affected by the end result. In true fashion of the series, Wygal handled all of those scenes with compassion and empathy and planted the seeds of how the series would shift forward and continue to showcase Clark’s knack for amateur sleuthing.

I love how Wygal keeps us firmly rooted in the Boardwalk community of downtown Myrtle Beach as it is a very attentive and active community within the larger scope of the city itself. He has a penchant for describing the setting to where you feel as if you’ve visited the area yourself and gives you a fuller scope of what you might find there if you were to return. Plus, of course, the setting itself is also quirky because of the different kinds of businesses that are present and the close proximity to the beaches. It is a different kind of lifestyle and one I appreciate getting to know a bit more each time I read one of the installments of this series.

The beauty of reading this series is how well-paced the story becomes and how fully engrossed you are with Clark’s journey into sleuthing out the truth. The moment I picked up this novel, even over a year since I read the first two stories in the series, I was fully invested in the dialogue and the plot. I couldn’t put it down in other words because I simply wanted to absorb the new details and the progression of time within Clark’s life. This story was less about the bookstore and more about the evolving ways in which Clark is connected to the community. We have a fuller scope of his life as well – from family to old flames to where he spends his time away from the store. It gives a good overview of what happens during the hours he’s living his life and I felt it was a good fit for this part of the series as it allowed us to see the expansion of his presence in this setting.

-quoted from my book review of Death Washes Ashore

What Jorie is reading next:

Prison Break Hostage by Anna J. Stewart
(Honour Bound, Book Five) (see also Review of how I entered the series)

The Auctioneer by D.J. Williams
(Chase Hardeman series, Book One)

In Every Life by Rea Frey

Columbine’s Tale by Rachel Nightingale
(Tales of Tarya, Book Two) (see also Review of Book One)

As I have previously spoken about the other stories on this list during my last #WWWednesday update, I am going to instead focus on the one novel I am adding to this queue of stories to be read next which is “In Every Life” by Rea Frey. I shared THIS POST on Insta where I announced receiving the novel at long last in the Post. If you saw what I wrote on that post, you’ll already know that this isn’t my typical kind of novel I’d generally read. As I even have it declared on my Review Policy that if a story involves terminal illness that is something that I have the tendency to shy away from reading altogether. And, yet. There was something different about this one. There was entirely different layer of story alongside the illness and sudden death sequences. This was the journey of a woman who needs to answer her own ‘what ifs’ in life and to see if her life’s trajectory on a different career path and within a different marriage would have yielded a different outcome than the one, she originally chose to undertake – and for me, that was a compelling story to read. I have a feeling this is going to be a very emotional read for me, too. 

And, a beautifully lovely surprise PREORDER audiobook:

For those of you who have been following my bookish life ever since I first started blogging my readerly adventures into ChocLitUK’s Romance novels – you’ll remember my love and affection for the stirringly dramatic Romantic Suspense novels by Clare Chase. In particular, You Think You Know Me (see also Book Review) before I moved into listening to her Tara Thorpe novels on audiobook (see also Review One and Two). We’ve kept in touch over the years – especially when I was able to host my Twitter chat #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) as well as privately, too. I have known about her new series the Eve Mallow Mysteries for years now – but only, this year was I finally able to purchase the first novel in audiobook Mystery on Hidden Lane. It is on my TBR as it has been half an age since I’ve focused on reading Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers. You’ll see my return to those lovelies before the close of Summer, too.

However, I also caught wind of her new series the Bella Winter Mysteries (which begins with The Antique Store Detective) – usually I am a bit late to the party when it comes to book releases as sadly with my work schedules, I am generally lagging a bit more behind everyone else whereas I used to be ‘on top of it all’ not so long ago. Thereby, whilst seeing if I had any credits available right now via Audible, I noticed this particular release was live for pre-orders! And, so I grabbed a copy immediately and had fully intended to listen to it the night of release after work – but instead, I found myself so knackered and exhausted, I had to push it off. I’m still working on sitting down with it actually, but the narrator has a lovely tone to her voice, and I cannot wait to start listening to this one in tandem with the first Eve Mallow Mystery and the 3rd Tara Thorpe Mystery. As I now have four wicked lovely #mustlistens by Ms Chase to lose myself inside this year!

What have you recently read yourself?

And, what are you reading next? 

{Sources: Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #TheSundayPost banner, The Legendary Mo Seto and The Phoenix and the Firebird collage graphic (photo credit: jorielovesastory.com) and the Comment Box banner. }

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2024.

I’m a social reader | I share my readerly life on #bookstagram!

I shared this post via #bookstagram