[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!
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Jorie’s life behind the blog:
As some of you might already be aware of – I attempted to ‘return’ to blogging and engaging in socially bookish ways with everyone this past May, during #WyrdAndWonder. I made an attempt to hold the course on those goals – and yet, most of those ideas melted in the sweltering weather and never fully took grip onto my blog or social channels of interest. I did a bit on Insta and less on BlueSky and only managed to ink out a post here on my blog – at the very start of the event. What has been holding me back for a long time was a lot of emotional grieving after my father passed last July (2025).
I’ve never lost a parent and thereby, it was a wholly new experience for me. My emotions would strike out of the blue at work and the anguish of that happening was worse than what prompted it as I wasn’t always sure I could get a hold of my emotions whilst working. I had some hard-hitting days needless to say and not everyone at work sympathised with what I was going through. We had a lot of changing staff and so, the persons who knew me the years leading up to my father’s death were all gone and the newer hires didn’t have history with me or know the story either. I respected that of course, but at the same time, I think if I saw someone emotionally fragile and they said they were still coping with the death of their father, I think I would do more in that moment than my co-workers did for me. I found that a lot of people – especially over the last year who were in my life in one way or another, felt that you should reach a point where your ‘over it’ and that you don’t even bring it up anymore. That’s fair to a point but most of us need at least a year to fully grieve and to reconcile our emotions, our hearts and the memories of the person we’ve lost.
Once we hit the one-year mark, Mum and I both noticed that we were fairing far better than we had in the past seasons. It was almost as if we had transitioned through a veil of time where grief and light co-merge and the light overtakes the grief to where you’re not emotionally stuck in a vacuum of memories and anguish. At least that is what it felt like for us – a cloud had lifted and we felt lighter somehow. And that all happened around the anniversary of my father’s passing.
As I shift forward, I have found that time has a wonderful way of healing the past. Time is truly what we all need to heal, to recover and to find the kinder ways of living during the harder seasons of our lives. I am still sorting out how to make changes which would effectively reduce my workload and give me back a better balance of living as the schedules I keep every week are getting to the point where I’m either going to burn out or worse. I’d rather do less than more and do what is of a better balance for my health and wellness than to continue the pace I’ve been keeping for the greater part of a year and three months. Of course, those changes cannot happen overnight but one day, sooner than later I am hopeful I can announce I’ve made changes which will open a new chapter in my life and bless me with a different kind of work life. Until then, I continue to carry on and stay hopeful of the future.
Similarly, to my Mum’s health diagnosis last year-round this time, there isn’t anything new to report and we’ve been taking it one day, one month and one moment at a time. It is all you can do with the news she received like that and blessedly, her health is staple at the moment without any new complications or revelations to share which suits us both just fine as we feel we’ve had enough medical news to last us for awhile.
I’ve been experiencing burn out at my jobs as well – battling through working seven days a week since my Dad died has taken a toll on me. We’ve also have gone through a lot of difficult months and have faced different kinds of adversities along the way. My hours at my jobs are not as stable as I would prefer either – as I know most people face cut hours and uncertain work weeks – but it just adds extra layers of stress on top of regular stresses you already have to shoulder. I do take time to rest and recover but most of the time, I’m working consistently all seven days a week to a certain extent. I do miss my down days – where I could be more carefree and restful – where if I wanted to just tuck in at home and have a lazy day of reading and rest, I could do that. Nowadays that feels more like luxury than an option I can explore each week. I’m striving towards making changes that will give me back actual days off but I’m just not certain of the timeline of when those changes will happen. Which is why I’ve started to carve out smaller bits of time – to read, to blog, to socially engage with the bookish community online and hopefully those small steps will lead to bigger changes down the road. Truthfully, getting back into reading – just that by itself – is helping my stress levels as I have a lot of anxiety at my jobs which hasn’t had a lot of room to breathe in a long time. Sometimes just to relieve a bit of weight off yourself is better than always having to carry it.
I am very appreciative of those who have reached out to me over the score of the last year and for those of you of whom have also lent me the space and time I needed to come back and present again. I’ve missed this space I’ve carved out for myself, and I’ve missed the conversations and the engagements with all of you who have enjoyed the journeys of my life and my readerly adventures alike.
ALSO: in case you are wondering where my widgets are from the left sidebar – its a work in progress to get them to stablise and return. They keep *disappearing!* and I cannot solve the ‘why’ as of yet but one day, hopefully soon, they will remateralise and just ‘stay’!
In regard to my blog and readerly life:
In respects to reading, blogging and being socially bookish – I’ve made several attempts to get back into the groove with everything again. I even, tried an attempt at going back to #bookstagram in February of this year (2026) but it took a bit longer to arrive in my feeds properly. I also, have made a few posts and/or reviews or features this year on my blog – but nothing fully has taken root for me. A lot of it has to do with the stress of working three jobs spilt over seven days with limited time off and not having a healthy amount of downtime. Somewhere in the mists of grief and loss, reading took a backseat for me. My interest in stories etched away from me – not that I didn’t want to read the stories, but it was the level of focus I needed to give them. I just didn’t have it in me to pursue them as I had even months ahead of my father’s death.
I was starting to get a rhythm again – from reading to blogging and to engaging in social channels that interested me. In particular Insta, BlueSky and potentially either LItsy or Threads. Then, of course, I walked through the grief of loss and had to wrangle how to walk forward without Dad. Mum and I had a lot of difficult months and over the last twelvemonths we’ve had our fair share of hurdles to overcome and adversities to work through as a family. Throughout it all – there were whispers of stories that were nudging at me to read and a few snuck into my life. Some authors had either already planned to send me their books or surprised me with their books – some of which I read (not in full, but partially) and some I had to hold off reading until my mind could focus.
Those stories will be revisited and read in the last quarter of this year – as I ache to re-settle into them and also, to bridge the time between before my Dad died and after he died. It is a healing season for me as a book blogger, as I find my words are returning to me and my will to read again has resumed. I just need to connect all the pieces of it together again and re-thread my own path back into being socially bookish and engaging as a book blogger to boot!
Towards that end, I am selecting the few stories I’d like to read during #SpooktasticReads – which is my favourite time of the year, truly, as we settle into the spookier side of Autumn. A few are carry-overs from #WyrdAndWonder and a few are stories I was reading last year but never had the chance to finish. Between Wyrd and Wonder and Spooktastic Reads, I’ve found myself able to re-attach into stories and my blog and for that I am especially grateful. If I can read the forementioned ‘other’ stories which were already in progress to be both read and reviewed and shared on my blog and #bookstagram feeds – before the year comes to a close – I will truly feel blessed. As it will signal a return to embracing the bookish joys which alight in my life inasmuch as a return to being creative and socially bookish.
ANNOUNCING #SpooktasticReads 2026:
As you may or may not be aware, #SpooktasticReads is a delight of JOY for me as a book blogger and reader – as much as it is the event which sparked a genuine love and interest in #bookstagram for me! It is why I am on Insta now myself! Laughs. You never know where inspiration will arise, do you? I’ve picked out some prompts this year as a way to challenge myself during the event but also, to seek out stories which align with the spookier side of literature which befit our lovely fortnight of bookish joys, too!
Jorie’s Spooktastic Reads Prompts:
19th October – Spooktastic TBR – the stories I’m hoping to read, finish and share thoughts upon!
As shared via bookstagram: via @WyrdAndWonder | via @joriestory3
20th October – Paranormal Palette – admittedly, I took this to mean something ENTIRELY different than the description for it as I wasn’t able to get onto Discord at the time and just took it as it was stated. Thereby, my selections might be outside the preverbal box for this prompt!
As shared via bookstagram: via @WyrdAndWonder | via @joriestory3
24th October – #StackSaturday – mum’s the word on what I’m planning for this one!
As shared via bookstagram: via @WyrdAndWonder | via @joriestory3
25th October – Mystery Sunday – hmm, what will Jorie feature?
As shared via bookstagram: via @WyrdAndWonder | via @joriestory3
28th October – Afterlife Express – books about the afterlife
31st October OR 1st November – Favourite Spooktastic Read (additional prompt of my choosing!)
All of these lovelies were borrowed at my local library, and I am so grateful it remains a resource of finding stories to read during our #WyrdAndWonder events.
Originally, when this little wicked event was hosted on my blog outside of Wyrd And Wonder, it did encompass stories of Mystery, Suspense and Thriller. I try to still keep those stories within my own readings during our event every October, but I sometimes fall short of their inclusion!
This year, I decided to seek out a few stories which dipped their toes into the ‘Mystery’ aisle and still befit our event. Two of the novels I discovered “The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall” and “Tempest at Annabel’s Lighthouse” are Gothic as much as their ghostly and suspenseful. They’re both time shift Historical narratives too as their anchoured in the past and the present.
With “Keeper of Enchanted Rooms”, I went a bit lighter, a bit more whimsical and one which involves sentient houses! There is mystery afoot within this story in a different way that the other two I selected whilst it is definitely a Fantasy novel.
Somehow, whilst browsing authors, stories and book blogger culture on #bookstagram, I stumbled across the feeds for the author Jamie Jo Wright. This is how I came to find her novels and it was a delight of JOY for me to find that my local library already had copies of her books! It felt wicked brilliant to be able to read them so close to discovering them – as that isn’t always the case for me. Whilst at the same time, I was hoping I’d find a book about a sentient house and by a stroke of luck and a search through the card catalogue – I found Keeper of Enchanted Rooms without realising it was part of a five-book series! Ohh, my!
“The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall” by Jaime Jo Wright
Wright delivers straight into Waverly’s life – almost as though we had crossed paths with her previously and were just now re-aligning back into her life, rather than this being our first meeting. Waverly for her part, is speaking from memory and the memories she’s sharing are not fond ones nor are they pleasant to recite. She had one of those Uncles who saw her as an annoyance rather than a blessing and of whom dictated what could be thought, said or done in one’s life. To say he was overbearing would-be kind and not quite accurate at the same time. She was earnest and frank in her descriptions of her lot in life – of living at Traeger Hall and the goings on of life therein. She even was quite certain that her Uncle had fallen into madness which speaks to the state of environs in which she was subjected to reside. All in, you had empathy for her and her situation without knowing very else about her other than her current residence was quite dreadful!
A chilling discovery was made in present time – as this is a time shift novel, as we first spent time with Waverly back in the 1800s and then, swing forward to spend time with Jennie. It was Jennie who was walking on the estate left behind after everyone in Waverly’s time had long since died. And, yet, part of their history was left buried to be found by someone in Jennie’s timeline. It wasn’t untoward in a horrific way that brokered it beyond what I could handle – no, it was more of a horrific discovery where you had immediate concern for the person who had died and the condition in which they were now found. I give Jennie credit for her composure and her ability to think in the moment rather than just react emotionally to what she was observing!
My goodness! What an entrance into a story! And, the rain and muck and the overflowing creek also paint quite the scene as well – as heavy rains can reveal more than you could believe from the past. I knew this was going to get a bit frightful too – as it appeared by what I was reading about it prior to reading that it was going to be Gothic but also Psychological Suspense – with some Cosy Crime Thriller thrown in for good measure! Laughs. Wright delivered on that promise!
Verdict? Continue or Discontinue reading? Considering I was well past the twenty-fifth page when I started to write-up this section – you could say, I’ll stay the course! I am completely taken with the plight Waverly was facing and I felt for her dearly – especially as she was cast into circumstances which in the late 1800s were not easily to navigate as a single woman and one without family. I was most curious what would come next for her and of course, how all of this reconnects back to the present wherein we met Jennie, too! It is a wicked good read and one that I am most happy to have discovered!
“Tempest at Annabel’s Lighthouse” by Jaime Jo Wright
This is also a time shift novel, and I am enjoying Wright’s ability to transition us from the late 1800s into the present eras – as she has a wicked styling for historical narrative as much as contemporary nuance which resets us betwixt and between her characters. This was true of The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall and equally true for Tempest at Annabel’s Lighthouse.
Annabel herself had a difficult exit from her life and Rebecca had an equally arduous revelation in hers – as we enter through a port hold of insight into Annabel’s whilst embracing the situations in which Rebecca found herself. Having begun this novel shortly after my preview reading of The Bell Tolls,… it was interesting to read in both novels how great of a role water and mud play a part in the background. You’re immediately concerned for Rebecca – as she has clearly gone through heck and then some – only to be left on a grave (Annabel’s of course!) and not a whisper of a shadow of memory to save her either!
I like Shea – she’s gutsy and bold and takes life on her own terms. She travelled all the way to the Upper regions of Michigan to stay at a lighthouse and to try to reset her life. Coming off a separation from her husband and the deadness of not recognising herself anymore – Shea knew she needed a change and this particular lighthouse had drawn her towards it. You can respect that – how sometimes you have to do something radically different and unique in order to reset your mind and snap yourself out of your funk? It seemed like Shea needed a project to focus on and something that would take time to process and finish – giving her ample time to rediscover herself and heal from the inside out.
This story is building a bit slower than The Bell Tolls,.. but I am enjoying it. I was surprised by the contrast between the two – as with the previous novel, I was instantly rooted into the story – within both timelines of the characters and felt dearly attached therein. With this one, I felt like I needed more time with all three women – to better understand them and also, the story as it was being told to me.
Verdict? Continue or Discontinue reading? Hmm. this is a bit of a toss-up as I cannot say I was as aligned within the storyline as I was with the readings I had of the other novel. In fact, I was quite surprised how fast I was pulled into the other narrative and how slightly detached I felt from this one? It is early-on yet but my heart leans towards finishing the other book and leaving this one for another day.
“Keeper of Enchanted Rooms” by Charlie N. Holmberg
It is interesting – because what I read about this story online felt like a different story altogether than the one I started to read. So much so, I didn’t even get to the twenty-fifth page as I exited the novel on the fifth – though in truth, I could have left on the second or third! I just wasn’t prepared for what was happening and as it fully revealled itself in the context of the opening sequence to set the stage for what would come next – I found myself retreating rather than yearning to continue.
I tend to shy away from stories that involve abuse and battery – as much as stories that are underlit with a seething of darkness that just chills your bones rather than intrigues you forward. Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers can intrigue you into their tomes but this one, felt decidedly different and just not my cuppa of tea as far as what I want to be reading right now. I am thankful it found its audience as this is a five-book series – so for those who love it, I am glad you have such a long-standing series.
Verdict? Continue or Discontinue reading? This is definitely one I shall be discontinuing and not pursuing further! :( I was most disappointed to be truthful as I thought it was going to be such a different kind of story! It wasn’t that it was all that terrible but for me, I just wasn’t down with reading about abuse and murder and the intricate issues between father and son as it was playing out in the opening chapter(s). It also felt so much darker than I first perceived it to be that I knew I wouldn’t have a sustained connection within the story either.
If you’ve read through this post, I appreciate your visit and for reading my musings about these new books and authors I’ve been discovering during #SpooktasticReads! Likewise, I appreciate the time you took to read my life update and where I’ve been and what I’m looking forward to doing next – as a book blogger, as a reader and as someone who misses being socially bookish and chatty! I hope life has been kind to you and that this Autumn is a lovely gateway into Winter. For me, the cooler weather also has a calming influence on me as it is a kind respite from the humidity and the heat – giving me more to smile about and a spring to my step.
I‘d love to hear from you in the comments if you have an extra moment to stay a bit and share what you’ve been reading or add a link for me to click over and read on your blog – I look forward to visiting with you in return!
Kindly read through my archives for #TheSundayPost
{Sources: SpooktasticReads blog banner and SpooktasticReads Prompt Challenge graphic created by Imyril and is used with permission. Art credit: Photograph by Jørgen Clausen (https://www.123rf.com/profile_jcphoto2023). Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #TheSundayPost banner, #SpooktasticReads #25PagePreview graphic, Mystery Sunday Prompt Challenge collage graphic and the Comment Box banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2026.
I’m a social reader | I share my readerly life on #bookstagram!
I shared this post via #bookstagram and BlueSky.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #SpooktasticReads 2026
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