Category: #Unboxing BookMail

#TheSundayPost X | After August, a renewed appreciation for Austen and the return of #Mythothon in my life!

Posted Sunday, 5 September, 2021 by jorielov 6 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[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!

A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost:

I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!

It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

I’ve had the honour of writing my 2nd Austen in August Guest Post,…

Once in [2017], I tackled my journey discovering Jane Austen,

whilst four years later, I’ve written about my renewing interest

and appreciation in seeking Austen on Audio!

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AUGUST. It was meant to be the first month wherein I could finally announce my goals for #MyYASummer for 2021 and begin a bit of a hand-selected journey back into reading stories about and centred round Jane Austen’s canon. I have long held a fierce appreciation for her stories – both in the original manner in which they were written and in the visions of those who have stepped forward after her own life to re-tell and re-spin her characters’ lives in such a way which both pays homage to Austen and renews our appreciation for the Regency overall.

On that note, I’ve had a passionate eye on reading Regency & Victorian stories since I first picked up my first Romance story at the age of nine – it wasn’t a full length novel but rather two anthological collections of Christmas Romances: one set in the Regency, one set in the Victorian era. From those early readings, I was definitely on a path towards embracing Austen as well as Historical Romances which tucked me back into both eras of interest. In the ensuing years of being a book blogger I’ve come to love reading about the Edwardian era as well which is a new timescape of interest which blessedly goes hand-in-hand with stories set from the early 1900s into the late 1940s. I consider that the capstone years in my readerly life as its a nice block of time to journey into through Historical Fiction and/or through Historical Romance.

When it comes to Austen directly, as you will see in my guest post this year – I’ve entertained a few different variants of interest now as a Janeite which I might have previously avoided. For instance, to put Austen’s world into a fantastical setting might have felt a bit too far forward for me earlier in my adventure seeking out her collective works and after canons. These days? It seems quite fittingly brilliant and having seen how two different authors are approaching it, I am thankful to see two different lens into the same entreaty of blending Austen and Fantasy (with dragons!) together. The latter of which is a new release this year and one I am hopeful to pick up before @SatBookChat in November, 2021.

However, I’m getting a bit far afield,… before I resume chattering about what I was able to do during the #AustenInAugustRBR event, I wanted to go back over what I was able to do as a book blogger this August, which sadly, was a bit less than I expected to accomplish overall. It was definitely the footnote on Summer being one of the worst of the last eight years and a bit of a disappearing block of hours which led to little reading and less blogging.

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And, now, how I fared in August:

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

August Blog Calendar banner created by Jorie in Canva.

BOOK REVIEWS:

  • The Twin Stars by Bridgette Dutta Portman (see also Review) *my first #MyYASummer read!
  • The Texas SEAL’s Surprise by Cari Lynn Webb (see also Review)

The Twin Stars by Bridgette D. PortmanThe Texas SEAL's Surprise by Cari Lynn Webb

If someone were to tell me how lean of a readerly month I’d have in August, coming off of June and July, I would have felt it would be quite impossible to continue through Summer without the ability to read and blog my bookish life to the same level I’m used to sharing. However, August on a whole was quite a hard month both personally and professionally; whilst it also brought its own share of strife and adverse circumstances to work through. To be honest? I’m wicked grateful the month is OVER and September has now begun! It is best to walk forward than to stay waddling through the quagmire of chaos, eh? I’m also grateful a lot of the stressful bits were worked through and with a new month, comes new possibilities of where perhaps Autumn might become a kinder season than Summer which truly sought to take my ever last nerve.

Therefore, to walk out of a month like August and have two lovely reads behind me – felt like an accomplishment of its own! The first, was meant to launch my showcases and featured stories for a little event I’ve created called #MyYASummer, which this year was meant to be co-hosted by Peyton @ Word Wilderness. I’m not sure if either of us succeeded this Summer. Though I still am hopeful to read at least 4x of the books on my list for #MyYASummer this September before folding the rest into 2022’s event.

When I first found out about The Twin Stars, I was truly overly curious how the author would handle the narrative – from the presumption this world was set a bit like the world inside The Neverending Story wherein the lead character is reading and/or creating the world in which they will one day experience was quite the clever twist on a Fantasy novel. Once I entreated inside this world, I had quite strong reactions to both the world itself and the characters within it. The ending and the last 25% of the novel were the hardest for me to read through – mostly as I hadn’t quite agreed with the direction of the story and series at that junction nor did I feel one of the characters had had a justified conclusion to that part of their own storyline. It was immensely hard to reconcile and I left the book a bit on the fence about how I felt overall because of how hard the end of it was for me. It became a very emotional read in other words and although there are very strong reasons why I loved it, there are a few reasons why I’m worried about the sequel.

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Posted Sunday, 5 September, 2021 by jorielov in #Unboxing BookMail, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Photography of Jorie, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#TheSundayPost IX | The first two quarters of 2021 : a #bookblogger retrospective! Plus, the return of #AustenInAugustRBR!

Posted Sunday, 8 August, 2021 by jorielov 4 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[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!

A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost:

I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!

It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The first quarter of 2021 has been a rollercoaster of angst & fatigue,…

IF I were to be completely HONEST.

Loads of LIFE shifts & transitions.

A HEAP of health afflictions.

And a sombering END to WINTER and a predicted return of MIGRAINE(S).

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JANUARIES… some years, like 2020 + 2021, January is a difficult transitional month for me as a reader. I find myself vacillating between wanting to read + blog with feeling a bit indifferent about it all – either due to the international crises of 2020 (ie. wildfires of Australia first & foremost, the earthquake of Puerto Rico second & a few other things as well) OR the personal woes of 2021 wherein our holiday season was spliced into a new variant of the holidays due to Mum’s insane work schedule of Christmas & New Year’s – which frankly left all of us more stressed than JOLLY. Both Januaries were hard-won months for reading – yet, despite the upheavals of 2020, I was in a better position to read + blog than I was in 2021.

Ironic or not? I felt like 2020 was a year I happily survived and came out of a lot of personal crises and emergencies (ie. my parents rotated in and out of the ER more times than I care to remember) with the added worries over low yield supplies of necessities (ie. #toiletpaper you all!) which prompted rising as early as roosters to secure a PACK of toilet paper (oy!) by mid-March; and yet, overall, my 2020 wasn’t affected by the pandemic. If anything, as Mum was an essential worker throughout the year, our lives progressed forward in and round the new guidelines but overall? It was just another adversely challenging year but not one without its own rays of sunshine and joy.

This year? JANUARY just felt oppressively exhausting and I think that’s partially why I’ve been stumbling a bit this first quarter of the New Year with my readings. I have always tended to hug close to deadlines – sometimes even smashing straight into them (if I were to be truly transparent!) but eh. This year? I admit, I’ve lost my readerly inclinations more than 10x due to ‘life behind the blog’ and health afflictions which have set my heart and mind elsewhere than this blogosphere space I love to engage with the bookish community. Ergo, my post stats for JANUARY are decidedly at my lowest over a stretch of eight years!! *le sigh* Though nothing prepared me for the lightning storms of Summer wherein July truly tested my own patience as I only could share 3x posts!

Whilst at the same time, I returnt to work full-time in February which proved to be challenging in of itself and a new work/life balance ensued. I admit, I didn’t quite balance work and downtime very well in those last fleeting months of Winter nor has the weather & climatic patterns of Summer allowed me to pick up the renewing energy I felt during #WyrdAndWonder (in May) — but I’ve never been a person to throw in the towel when things get difficult! I just find a way to persevere even if a way forward isn’t always optional or within sight of a bout of adverse circumstances. One thing I can say, despite all the ups/downs I’ve experienced within this first quarter of the year, I still found INCREDIBLE storytellers, memorable characters and stories which LIFTED MY HEART in times where I needed a lovely distraction from the chaos of my life. Plus, of course I was quite exhausted and fatigued whilst working double shifts (which I continue to do) which was an adjustment of its own during the first quarter of the year as well.

Also it should be noted: despite what seemed to be a return to normal with my migraines by mid-Summer, I had reflected on the fact that my migraines have truly taken an absence in my life in comparison to last year and especially the more difficult years of 2018/19 where I felt their wrath the most. For that bit of relief, I have been truly blessed and I am hopeful it is my new ‘normal’ where I am not blighted and burdened with migraines to the extent I used to be every season.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Before moving FORWARD – one must LOOK BACK:

cue the monthly calendar cards I created for my blog!

: all of which are customised & personalised :

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January Blog Calendar banner created by Jorie in Canva.

BOOK REVIEWS:

There is a clear winner from this grouping of stories – aside from my rapt enjoyment of discovering the cosiness of McGovern’s Cosy Mysteries (which I’ll address in a moment) there was another author who truly charmed me by her fantastical storytelling and of whom, I intend to re-read this #WyrdAndWonder year and perhaps offer a few more insights into why FLY FREE truly stole my heart in January!! However, until that moment arrives, I can definitely offer a snippet of insight into why this novel affected me so much as a reader and why I hope it might entice you to pick up a copy yourself to see the beauty of what Ms Rose gave us all to read!

Fly Free blog tour banner provided by Storytellers on Tour and is used with permission.

I positively love character centric stories and within the opening chapters of Allison Rose’s Fly Free we are treated to a beautiful overlay of seeing the fey and understanding where we are entering their lives in regards to the issues they are currently facing with an illness sweeping through their ranks. The ways in which Rose identified her fey and how their markings told a bit about them as an individual was wickedly classic as it opened the door into the fey by showcasing how individualistic they are and how they each respond differently to moments of crisis and drama.

Rose entreats us to explore this world of the fey of the Day Court through a growing discourse of unease as this particular group of fey are succumbing to a disease and an affliction which could overtake their race. Rose doesn’t wait long to showcase how far reaching the effects are of this condition either – as the fey are connected to the earth and the earth to the fey – proving the symbiotic connection they equally share is also part of their destruction. The fey have to feel the lifeblood of the earth in order to survive and by all accounts thrive – yet when this is placed in jeopardy it puts their lives in a vice against time.

Similar to the reasons why I loved reading To Court A QueenFly Free is an eclipse of life behind the veil of where the fey live and how they find balance out of their court of rule. You get to see glimpses of how they set themselves to high standards, how they suffer no fools and to deceive when your a fey is a straight ticket into the kind of trouble no one would broker for themselves. And yet, this is exactly what Rose is exploring as both Jae and Sevelle are putting themselves on the frontlines of where danger and deception co-mingle together.

-quoted from my review of Fly Free

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Posted Sunday, 8 August, 2021 by jorielov in #Unboxing BookMail, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Photography of Jorie, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

A #WyrdAndWonder #MGFantasy Book Review | “The Princess and the Pirate” (Rahana Trilogy: Book Two) by Felicity Banks

Posted Wednesday, 26 May, 2021 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

#WyrdAndWonder Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Gifted Book By: This novel “The Princess and the Pirate” was part of a gifted #bookhaul of mine from my Mum and Dad for #WyrdAndWonder, Year 4! They happily surprised me with a lovely bundle of books I featured last Wyrd And Wonder celebrating the Indie Publisher Odyssey Books! This kicks-off my readings of those novels as I was overjoyed I can read all the lovely stories I had either showcased and/or featured but wasn’t able to read during our Year 3 Wyrd And Wonder.

Thereby, I was gifted a copy of “The Princess and the Pirate” by my parents and I was not obligated to post an honest review on its behalf. I am sharing my thoughts on behalf of this novel for my own edification and a continued journey of sharing my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Note: I received the Press Materials last year from the publisher and had asked if I could re-use them if and when I was able to read and/or review the stories I was featuring during Wyrd And Wonder Year 3 (2020); and thankfully was given permission to do so which is why I am using them during my readings this 4th Year of Wyrd And Wonder.

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Why I am in love with this series & couldn’t wait to read the next story:

I immediately took an interest in Dance – she was a brave young girl who understood the history of her island but also the growing tension of why her father worried about her safety and the safety of their community here. Even in the opening paragraphs there is a bit of urgency in the tone of how Banks started her story – where Dance can sense the heightened fear in the caller’s voice – the person intending to speak with her father and the voice which was drawing her to catch her breath.

I loved how art was introduced straight-away – a small bit of insight into the heart of her people – of how on this island (Luar) art was as sacred as the trees. And, trees apparently were quite revered because you can sense this yourself as Dance speaks about the art which comes from the raw materials of the trees. Trees for me have held such a high impression on my person since I first started staring after trees along highways and byways; whilst pausing whenever I was close to them in person and happily feeling museful about their lives. Especially the cycle of how other species laid claim to their boughs and branches; how connected they were to our source of life (ie. oxygen) and how throughout the ages of time, trees are resolute, proud and awe-inspiring just to be nearby. I could then imagine – any bit of art carved from a tree has a life spirit of its own etched out of the raw wood and drawing a new energy from the carver’s tools, hands and vision for what the art being created would represent.

Dance lives on an island tucked away from the world – what makes this one dearly unique in my eyes as I haven’t come across a lot of snowbound or ice encased worlds, is the fact this particular island would be right at home in the Arctic Circle! It is beyond cold here – where the frozen ice hides their greatest enemy (ie. Heest monsters) and where if you were brave enough, you wouldn’t consider what their presence unde the ice was foretelling about your own fate and the fate of your community. Banks goes into a bit of detail about how this island was fashioned together – from materials they could repurpose and from purchases they had made long ago giving them a bit of bolster of privacy from prying eyes on the outside. It was their sincere hope to remain hidden which inspired how they lived and how they choose to thrive in one of the coldest locations I’ve had a chance to visit.

I positively LOVE finding illustrative art inside novels – The Monster Apprentice is delightfully inclusive of renderings of the scenes you’re reading about as you walk beside Dance! The very first illustration was featuring the ‘sky cows’ – having spent time on a ranch with breeding stock, I know how stubborn cows can be and how particular they are once they’ve settled on a place they want to roost. Cows are gentle giants and have kind hearts but there are moments where like most animals, they simply want to be left alone and left to their own devices. The imagery provided in this illustration and the depictions of the cows and Dance’s interaction with them in the text was quite a heap of hilarity! It was interesting to see how Dance chooses to interact with her world and how she constantly likes to bend the rules in order to do what she is tasked to accomplish!

Banks does a wonderful job of keeping this first installment beautifully connected on her characters and on the priming of our introduction to their ice and sea world. Things are not quite as you expect them to be here – there are hints of magic, of intrigue and of binding bargains which may in the end be worse than their initial acceptance. Each person here – young or old alike has to find their own individual truth and path; similar to life, everyone is working through their own headspace and has to find the courage to be a bit braver than they feel.

One of my favourite features of this novel are the Heest – mostly because Banks keeps us in the dark for most of the novel about their truer nature and how they operate as a species. There is far more to the Heest than what is presumed and that is the true beauty of their kind for me. I’d love t see how this trilogy continues to develop – especially if we can entreat more into the magical perimeters of the world and the concepts of how those magical extras operate within a place that is a rather harsh physical environment of both ice and sea.

As this first novel is setting up the foundation of the trilogy – we were treated only to a hinting of the magic in this world. The curators of the magic are known as quickensmiths and this was broached at the time when Dance had to face the pirates because of how the ship itself was moving through the water. I found it interesting how the dynamics of the world and of the magic within it were not completely disclosed because this was a very character-centred introduction. You get a few hints towards what is coming in future installments but not overly enough to lose your curiosity because this novel does lend itself to being curious about what will become disclosed!

-quoted from my review of The Monster Apprentice

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The Princess and the Pirate collage created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: jorielovesastory.com

The Princess and the Pirate
by Felicity Banks
Source: Gifted

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, Fantasy Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Mythological Fantasy, Pirate Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1925652680

Also by this author: The Monster Apprentice

Published by Odyssey Books

on 1st June, 2019

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 126

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The Rahana Trilogy:

Felicity Banks invented the fantasy world of Rahana while living in Indonesia. She grew up reading stories set in Narnia and Middle Earth, and she wanted to invent a fantasy world that was just as beautiful but didn’t feel British, or white, or male.

In Rahana the weather is tropical and the people are visually similar to Indonesians. Magic is common, and makes physical strength irrelevant. There are millions of islands both small and large, and sailing technology is more advanced that the other sciences. Rahana is a thriving tropical world where people are born with a love of the high seas.

Naturally, the world is full of pirates.

The Monster Apprentice (book one)

The Princess & the Pirate (book two)

Waking Dead Mountain (book three)

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Published by: Odyssey Books (@OdysseyBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #ThePrincessAndThePirate, #MGLit, #MGFantasy
as well as #pirates and #MiddleGrade; #IndieAuthor, #IndieFantasy

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About Felicity Banks

Felicity Banks

Felicity Banks is a Canberra author specialising in fantasy and interactive fiction, including her Antipodean Queen fantasy steampunk series, which is also published by Odyssey Books. All her interactive fiction is listed under “Felicity Banks” (visit site) and most of her interactive fiction can be read via an app.

She writes about all her various pirates tales (some appropriate for children, some definitely not) on her Facebook page as well as sharing stories and images that appeal to the not-so-secret pirate within all of us.

She met her husband at a pirate ball, and has two little pirates at home.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #WyrdAndWonder
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Posted Wednesday, 26 May, 2021 by jorielov in #Unboxing BookMail, #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Book Review (non-blog tour), Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Death of a Sibling, Fantasy Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Juvenile Fiction, Life Shift, Middle Grade Novel, Mother-Daughter Relationships, School Life & Situations, Siblings, Twin Siblings

Influencer #partner with #CrimeFictionBox | This #CrimeFicFriday is revealling what I received for the April Box!

Posted Friday, 12 June, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Stories of Jorie Banner created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography. (Creative Commons Zero)

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

In keeping in step with my announcements about being a new influencer for #bookboxes & book subscription services, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the #unboxing photographs I took for my 2nd Crime Fiction Subscription Box as well as talk about my *excitement!* over which books were enclosed and why I think these are going to become wicked good reads for me as a reader who loves her journey into Cosy Crime & Crime Fiction narratives!

[ be sure to read my ANNOUNCEMENT to find out which niches of this genre
I prefer to read & which ones I am hoping to continue discovering! ]

I’ve had to sit on this news and this reveal ever since I first received the lovely #bookbox in the mail! I was able to release a vlog #unboxing video which I happily tweeted closer to the time the box arrived – however, life and tides, health afflictions and an inability to find the words to blog these past few months left this lovely post in my drafts queue to be published. I decided to create a new sub-feature of Jorie Loves A Story – to inspire me into diving back into Crime Fiction whilst at the same time, finding traction with how to blog, read and discuss the lovely #newtomeauthors the #CrimeFictionBox has delivered to my postbox!!

In case you’ve missed my first announcement –
here is what you can expect from receiving your very own #CrimeFictionBox:

Crime Fiction Subscription Box logo badge provided by Crime Fiction Subscription Box and is used with permission.

One small switch from my first announcement: The #CrimeFictionBox NOW ships within a week of being ordered! No time delays for receiving your book box!

Remember: if a customer emails and asks for specific authors and/or types of stories not to be included they will do their best to fulfill those requests. They’re a small outfit so it’s not an issue.

If someone has a bad experience with the books, we just add an additional book the following month. No returns on books received.

→ They offer monthly, yearly and a bookcase option on their Boxes Page! You can choose from receiving 2x books per month (ie. Main Box) OR 3x books per month (ie. Big Box). Those subscriptions are also calculated for yearly subscriptions vs monthly installments. There is also a Large Print #bookbox option for both!

→ One aspect of this subscription service I *loved!* most is that they champion #CanLit Authors! You can request to receive Canadian Authors in your boxes and for me that is the best component of the box itself because I’ve been wanting to source and read more #CanLit Authors for such a long time!

→ In regards to the Crime Fiction novelists being featured in the #CrimeFictionBox: I had a curious itch to know the answer to this question as I read and follow so many who write these kinds of stories – I know some might visit my post out of curiosity… the answer was a sweet one: #CrimeFictionBox is OPEN to featuring world-wide authors of Crime!! Isn’t that beyond fab!?!

Shipping is FREE for North America. Seriously. I think that’s a game changer for most considering how steep shipping and handling fees are these days!

→ Before you ask – there aren’t ‘extras’ or swag or other inclusions right now currently in the boxes. There are plans being developed towards that end – however, wait til you read my REVEAL post and realise how *fab!* these boxes are even without some of the ‘extras’ you might be familiar with in other subscription boxes. REMEMBER these are tailored to your readerly interests and thereby not the traditional subscription box service.

Father’s Day Special: 3x month subscription, 2x books per month!

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(*) Due Note: I am a promotional #partner and/or Influencer with Crime Fiction Subscription Box but similar to how I receive books from publishers, authors & publicists or early review programs – I am not being monetarily compensated for sharing my experiences, impressions, reviews or the links to their website on my blog Jorie Loves A Story nor on my feeds on Twitter (@joriestory). Nor for the coupon code which is a discount for new subscribers to the Crime Fiction Subscription Box service.

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IF you’d like to order your own Crime Fiction Subscription box,

you can use my coupon code → 25%JORIE

→ *This applies to your first order only.
And, reflects ONLY on the Main Box & Big Box Monthly subscriptions.*

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #CrimeFicFridays
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Posted Friday, 12 June, 2020 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, #CrimeFicFridays, #CrimeFictionBox, #Unboxing BookMail, Book Subscription Boxes, Jorie Loves A Story Features

A #WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Esme’s Wish” (Esme’s Series Trilogy: Book One) by Elizabeth Foster

Posted Saturday, 30 May, 2020 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

#WyrdAndWonder Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I first heard from Odyssey Books late last year, however, the timing of accepting their review request for “The Monster Apprentice” wasn’t the best timing for me due to my health and my migraines. As I was setting to mind what I wanted to do for Wyrd And Wonder this year, I decided to reach out to the publisher to see if I could schedule guest author features and perhaps finally accept the chance to read and review “The Monster Apprentice”. I was thankful I could put together a mixture of guest features (guest posts and interviews) as well as two reviews for this Indie publisher in New Zealand. This marks my second book review and I am humbled in joy for the conversations and the stories I’ve discovered this 3rd Year of Wyrd And Wonder through Odyssey Books!

I received a complimentary copy of “Esme’s Wish” direct from the author Elizabeth Foster and the publisher Odyssey Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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What truly attracted me to read “Esme’s Wish”:

I was caught up in the essence of where this novel could take me as a reader – I love poetic stories which seek to give us something wonderful from their stories. I have been enjoying my journey back into Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction – however, most of the stories I enjoy the most from those branches of literature are within the Speculative realms. Writers who are writing #SpecLit for these readers are truly tapping into a beautiful vision of how Science Fiction and/or Fantasy can be imagined – whilst giving us layered stories in which to feel we’ve lived elsewhere for a short spell outside our own living experiences.

I knew this was going to become an emotional read for me – the heart of the story, even before reading it is a daughter’s search for her Mum; in different ways in how a daughter can look for her Mum whilst dealing with the realities of having this chasm of ambiguous loss between what Esme remembers from the past and where she currently finds herself in the future. Esme doesn’t remember exactly what became of her Mum – only that she knows others treat her mother’s absence as if she died and despite the tragedy of that moment, they’ve chosen to move on. Yet for Esme how can you move on when you cannot reconcile the past?

This story I felt would be an entry into how Urban Fantasy can feel wonderfully grounded in a contemporary lifestyle and yet, have small touches of the fantastical slowly take over the scope and depth of where the story can take the reader. This gentle hand in guiding us forward into the Esme’s Series is what I loved more about Foster’s writing style. She gives you such a firm grounding of place and setting – of allowing us to better understand her characters and then, she takes us on this wild adventure we simply are better for having experienced. This is why I wanted to read Esme’s Wish and this is why I am wicked thankful it became a part of my #WyrdAndWonder journey this 3rd Year!

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Two things I was attempting to do differently this year is to participate more in the #WyrdAndWonder Challenge (wherein I could take photos and share them on #bookTwitter) but I also wanted to create posts outside reviews & guest features. As the month wore on I realised the few times I was able to respond to the challenge prompts and the vlog video I had made featuring my #bookmail for #WyrdAndWonder might be all I would be able to contribute this year. I am most proud about how this turnt out as I have only released a handful of these so far overall!

I put together a short teaser of a #booktube #vlog #unboxing video which I shared on Twitter. I had a most delightful time answering one of the #WyrdAndWonder challenge prompts which was “The Best Things Come in Threes”.

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A #WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Esme’s Wish” (Esme’s Series Trilogy: Book One) by Elizabeth FosterEsme's Wish
by Elizabeth Foster
Source: Direct from Author

When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the actions of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?

But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.

After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about Ariane, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.

Genres: Dragon Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Mythological Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1925652246

Published by Odyssey Books

on 30th October, 2017

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 252

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Published by: Odyssey Books (@OdysseyBooks)

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Esme’s Series (trilogy):

Esme’s Wish (book one)

Esme’s Gift (book two)

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Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #EsmesWish, #YALit, #YAFantasy
as well as #YoungAdult; #IndieAuthor, #IndieFantasy and #WyrdAndWonder

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7th Annual Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

This story received my award for Best Middle Grade Fantasy.

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About Elizabeth Foster

Elizabeth Foster

Elizabeth Foster read avidly as a child, but only discovered the joys of writing some years ago, when reading to her own kids reminded her of how much she missed getting lost in other worlds. Once she started writing, she never looked back. She’s at her happiest when immersed in stories, plotting new conflicts and adventures for her characters. Elizabeth lives in Sydney, where she can be found scribbling in cafés, indulging her love of both words and coffee.

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Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #WyrdAndWonder
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Posted Saturday, 30 May, 2020 by jorielov in #Unboxing BookMail, #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Book Review (non-blog tour), Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Content Note, Dragon Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Greek Mythology, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Juvenile Fiction, Life Shift, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Portal Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction