Category: Love Books Tours

An #INSPY Christmas Novella Spotlight with Notes | featuring “An Ivy Hill Christmas” (Tales from Ivy Hill series, Book 3.5) by Julie Klassen

Posted Friday, 18 December, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , , , 0 Comments

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I am unsure if I’ve blogged about my curiosity over Julie Klassen’s novels – I know I might have winked a bit about them during this year’s Christian Fiction Reading Safari in August – as I was seriously attempting to read my first Klassen novel *then!* – however, something has always distracted me and/or left me questioning which of her novels I need to be reading ‘first’ to where I have not made any progress at all in reading her collective works!! I wanted to change this sad fate of mine as she’s an author I’ve been following in the book blogosphere since a year before I became a book blogger (ie. 2012) as much as I have appreciated her guest posts, interviews and other interactions she gives to her readers whilst being a follower of hers on Twitter, too!

When I first learnt about “An Ivy Hill Christmas” – it was when this particular blog tour had been originally announced. I thought, hmm. This might be a good time to dive back into a Klassen novel and/or series – I especially love *Christmas stories* and at the time, I couldn’t discern if this was a novella which ‘fit into the series’ already established in the trilogy of stories released and/or if it was an extension of the series itself wherein new/old characters would be populating the storyline. It took some digging – both on Ms Klassen’s website, her group author’s blog (?) and a random search which led me onto a short Q&A (courtesy of Family Fiction) which revealled the truth! This is a novella within the series and it recaptures the series as it has already become established and thus, moves it forward – thereby, I anchoured this as Book 3.5 as it is a continuation of what was already established and follows suit after the third novel.

I originally borrowed a print copy of The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill thinking it would be an easier way for me to read the story – best laid plans, eh? – however, I quickly amended those plans and borrowed it via audiobook digitally via my local library’s CloudLibrary instead! Whilst I also borrowed An Ivy Hill Christmas – I wasn’t in enough time to provide a proper review today, though if you’re familiar with my #25PagePreview posts time after time on Jorie Loves A Story, I think you might get a hoot of a kick out of how I’ve assembled this spotlighted feature for the blog tour with Love Books Tours!

I must confess, this spotlight is arriving late in the night on my day of the blog tour because I misplaced the tour materials and the ‘date’ my spotlight was meant to run! After a seriously long week, I settled into sorting out my blog with some Christmas Coffeehouse songs via #Spotify and tucked into how I could ring out a post about Ivy Hill even if I had to forego the schedule for the tour as I honestly couldn’t sort out where my materials had gone off too! Then, right at the point I thought all was lost – I found everything I needed in two key places – Baker Publishing and a short scribbled note which revealled the 18th was my day! *whew!*

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An #INSPY Christmas Novella Spotlight with Notes | featuring “An Ivy Hill Christmas” (Tales from Ivy Hill series, Book 3.5) by Julie KlassenAn Ivy Hill Christmas
Subtitle: A Tales from Ivy Hill Novella
by Julie Klassen
Source: Borrowed from local library's CloudLibrary

Spend a festive Christmas in the English village of Ivy Hill, as divine hope, friendship, and unexpected romance work their magic. . . .

Richard Brockwell, the younger son of Ivy Hill's most prominent family, hasn't been home for Christmas in years. He prefers to live in the London townhouse, far away from Brockwell Court, the old family secret that haunts him, and the shadows of his past mistakes. But then his mother threatens to stop funding his carefree life--unless he comes home for Christmas. Out of options, he sets out for Ivy Hill, planning to be back on a coach bound for London and his unencumbered bachelor life as soon as the festivities are over.

But Christmas in the country presents many surprises, including encounters with an orphaned apprentice, the first love he disappointed years ago, and Arabella Awdry, a young lady who is far more appealing than he recalled--and determined to have nothing to do with him.

Will Christmastime in Ivy Hill, with its village charm, kissing boughs, and joyous songs, change his heart . . . and hers as well?

Genres: Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780764233807

Published by Bethany House Publishers

on 1st September, 2020

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 7 hours and 35 minutes (unabridged)

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Tales of Ivy Hill series:

The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie KlassenThe Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie KlassenThe Bride of Ivy Green by Julie Klassen

The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (book one)

Welcome to the English village of Ivy Hill,
where friendships thrive, romance blossoms, and mysteries await. . . .

The lifeblood of the village of Ivy Hill is its coaching inn, The Bell. When the innkeeper dies suddenly, his genteel wife, Jane Bell, becomes the reluctant landlady. Jane has no idea how to manage a business, but with the town’s livelihood at stake and a large loan due, she must quickly find a way to save the inn.

Despite their strained relationship, Jane turns to her resentful mother-in-law, Thora, for help. Formerly mistress of The Bell, Thora is struggling to overcome her losses and find purpose for the future. As she works with Jane, two men from her past vie for her attention, but Thora has promised herself never to marry again. Will one of them convince her to embrace a second chance at love?

As pressure mounts from the bank, Jane employs new methods, and puzzles over the intentions of several men who seem to have a vested interest in the place, including a mysterious newcomer with secret plans of his own. With the help of friends old and new, can Jane restore life to the inn, and to her empty heart as well?

The Ladies of Ivy Hill (book two)

Return to Ivy Hill as friendships deepen, romances blossom, and mysteries unfold . . .

A gentlewoman in reduced circumstances, Miss Rachel Ashford lives as a guest in Ivy Cottage. With her meager funds rapidly depleting, she is determined to earn her own livelihood . . . somehow. Her friend Jane Bell and the other village women encourage her to open a circulating library with the many books she’s inherited from her father. As villagers donate additional books and Rachel begins sorting through the volumes, she discovers mysteries hidden among them. A man who once broke her heart helps her search for clues, but both find more than they bargained for.

Rachel’s hostess, Mercy Grove, has given up thoughts of suitors and finds fulfillment in managing her girls school. So when several men take an interest in Ivy Cottage, she assumes pretty Miss Ashford is the cause. Exactly what–or whom–has captured each man’s attention? The truth may surprise them all.

The Bride of Ivy Green (book three)

Come home to Ivy Hill, where friendship endures, romance triumphs,
and mysteries are revealed in this eagerly anticipated conclusion. . . .

Spring is in the air . . . and change is too. Mercy Grove has lost her girls’ school and is resigned to life as a spinster, especially as the man she admires is out of reach. She contemplates leaving Ivy Cottage to become a governess–a decision with consequences she never imagined.

Meanwhile, her friend Jane Bell is facing a difficult decision of her own. Should she accept Gabriel Locke even if it means giving up her inn and destining another man to a childless marriage?

When a secretive new dressmaker arrives in the village, Mercy, Jane, and the other ladies of Ivy Hill attempt to befriend her, but they soon suspect she isn’t who she claims to be.

Together, the women of Ivy Hill look forward to one wedding, but surprises lie in store and dearly held dreams may yet come true.

An Ivy Hill Christmas (book 3.5)

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Published by: Bethany House Publishers (@bethany_house)
an imprint of Baker Publishing Group

Available Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

Converse via: #INSPY #HistoricalFiction or #HistFic as well as #ChristmasRomance
as well as #JulieKlassen, #HolidayReads or #ChristmasReads and #INSPYRomance

About Julie Klassen

Julie Klassen Photo Credit: © Farrow Media

Julie Klassen (www.julieklassen.com) loves all things Jane--Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold over a million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing's BEST Award and has been a finalist in the RITA and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 18 December, 2020 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Christmas Romance &/or Holiday Story, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Love Books Tours, Sampler Chapters &/or Excerpt of Novel, the Regency era

Book Spotlight with Notes | featuring “An Accidental Royal Kidnap” (Royally Funny, Book One) by Paul Mathews

Posted Tuesday, 8 December, 2020 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

Stories in the Spotlight banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Every so often I start to wonder if I need to switch things up a bit in my readerly life – seeking out different branches of literature and/or different perspectives within the genres I read the most regularly. I tend to vacillate if I focus too much on drama rather than adding in doses of comedy as well. With comedy it is always a very fine line for me to find the ‘right’ story which suits my readerly interests as I am just as particular when it comes to which comedies in film or television I’ll watch as well.

I tend to go for the comedies which have a lot of heart threading into the backbone of the storyline and a lot of character growth for the lead and supporting cast. I like to stories which evolve through the journey we’re spending with the characters – good or bad, the journey has to showcase a portion of their lives we feel is worth immersing ourselves into to find the ending satisfying. When I first learnt of this story, I had intended to interview the author – however, as those plans fell away, I decided to host an extract and spotlight instead.

One of the benefits of interviewing or hosting an extract for a novel you’re considering to read yourself is giving your readers a chance to see if the story fits their readerly interests, too. Conversations help see inside the writer’s process whilst extracts or even fuller chapter samplers (most of which can easily be found online) give us a chance to see a snippet of an author’s style and note how their style might progress if we were to read the full version of the novel. I felt this beneficial as a reader and I hope you do as well. Especially if like me you’re sometimes on the ‘fence’ of knowing which author you’ll love reading and which author might not be your cuppa tea.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this extract and if you regularly seek out either blog tours to read extracts and/or if you read chapter samplers online for the same reasons I do myself? Likewise, if you read Contemporary Humour & Satire or Dark Humour novels set in Contemporary settings – I’d love to hear your thoughts on behalf of these kinds of stories as well. Which writers are your top favourites and which novels would you recommend for me to check out?

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Book Spotlight with Notes | featuring “An Accidental Royal Kidnap” (Royally Funny, Book One) by Paul MathewsAn Accidental Royal Kidnap
by Paul Mathews

When London schoolteacher George Nearly wakes up one Sunday morning to find a dishevelled young woman sprawled on his living-room rug, claiming to be a princess, his plans for a peaceful day at home recovering from his 39th birthday party disappear faster than a French monarch’s head during a revolution. And when the feisty royal accuses George of kidnapping her, his very ordinary life is turned completely upside down, as the party princess takes root in his apartment, causes royal waves among his friends and family, and demands to go walkabout on the streets of London. It’s blue-blooded British comedy by unofficial royal appointment in this hilarious, and often surreal, regal romp that’s guaranteed to raise a laugh from Balmoral to Buckingham Palace!

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945)



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 979-8697647615

Published by Self Published

on 24th November, 2020

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This is a self-published novel

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #Contemporary Humour, Dark Humour

About Paul Mathews

Paul Mathews is a quite funny guy who ditched the London rat race to follow his dream of becoming a comedy novelist and never again having to be told what to do by anyone who isn't a blood relative. His sharp, satirical - often surreal - sense of humour was honed after twenty glorious years in the UK Civil Service: long-lunching, cracking jokes & trying his best to look busy. He gains inspiration from his love of pubs, good food, Earl Grey tea, four-legged animals & the quirks and quibbles of British life.

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Posted Tuesday, 8 December, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Love Books Tours, Sampler Chapters &/or Excerpt of Novel

Top Ten Secrets Behind the Tobacconist’s Wife this #TopTenTuesday | a clever list of #behindthebook insight by AnneMarie Brear!

Posted Tuesday, 17 November, 2020 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday blog banner created by Jorie in Canva.

#TopTenTuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Topic of the Week: Pet Names based on Books/Tv/Films

It would not surprise anyone I’ve found a heap of inspiration in naming my pets after favourite stories across the mediums I enjoy the most – especially of course from tv series and films! However, I wanted to focus on a different topic of interest today and get into the secrets #behindthebook of a Historical Fiction novelist I enjoy reading and hope to read more of in the future!

Jorie’s topic for AnneMarie Brear:
Top Ten Secrets Behind the Tobacconist’s Wife

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I have been enjoying creating special guest features for #TopTenTuesday this Autumn wherein different authors get the chance to delight us with their guest posts during the book blogosphere’s faovurite meme every Tuesday! I have been taken a bit of a backseat in composing my own entries for awhile as I haven’t quite felt as inspired as I have previously to respond to the topics at hand and have given authors I want to be reading the chance to showcase their stories instead. I am wicked thankful for the visitors and my readers alike who have been enjoying these sequences as it has inspired to me continue to seek out whys to have more guest authors become featured on Top Ten Tuesday in the future whilst I will also continue to add my own responses as I feel motivated to undertake the topics of the week.

Today’s guest author is Ms Brear – a Historical Fiction novelist I crossed paths with originally through hosting and reviewing for ChocLitUK. When I first read “Where Dragonflies Hover” I must admit, I was truly enraptured by how she wrote the story and how the story resonated with me once I had concluded it. I knew I had found a wicked brilliant new voice in Historical Fiction and I have been following her career over the years, sorting out which of her releases I want to be reading next and trying to find ways to host her again on my blog.

I hadn’t realised her second release by ChocLit I wanted to read went into a print release, so I’ve now added “Where Rainbows End” to my gathering list as it was a story I thought I would enjoy reading at the time I showcased the cover reveal. Today, however, she’s with Lume Books – another Indie Publisher in the UK I haven’t yet had the chance to discover and am delighted I get to feature a new-to-me publisher inasmuch as her latest release which is “The Tobacconist’s Wife”!!

Brew yourself a cuppa and let’s find out more about this story!

And, I hope this will give you a wonderfully keen insight into Ms Brear’s writerly process as she dives into both the story and her process to write it.

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Top Ten Secrets Behind the Tobacconist’s Wife this #TopTenTuesday | a clever list of #behindthebook insight by AnneMarie Brear!The Tobacconist's Wife
Subtitle: Dark Secrets Lurk Behind the Shop Facade
by Ms AnneMarie Brear

Having lost her father, Thea Goodson is alone in the world.

It is true she has a husband, but Ernie is a brutal man, more inclined to use his fists to keep Thea in line than to build on their marriage. And besides, Ernie Goodson has secrets – secrets that even his wife cannot share.

But in Victorian Yorkshire, appearances must be kept up, so Thea goes on powdering her bruises and forcing a smile as she toils in Ernie’s home and tobacco shop. There seems to be no other option.

That is, until a handsome and well-bred stranger arrives to set up shop next door…

Can Thea escape her misery and break from the conventions of society? Or will the clutches of her abusive husband confine her forever?

The Tobacconist’s Wife is the latest book from AnneMarie Brear, the highly acclaimed author of bestselling The Slum Angel. Perfect for fans of Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1839012174

Published by Lume Books

on 12th November, 2020

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The stories by Ms Brear on my radar:

Where Dragonflies Hover by AnneMarie BrearWhere Rainbows End by AnneMarie BrearThe Tobacconist's Wife by AnneMarie Brear

Where Dragonflies Hover (see also Review)

Where Rainbows End (see also Cover Reveal)

The Tobacconist’s Wife *newly released!

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Published by: Lume Books (@lume_books)

Converse via: #TheTobacconistsWife, #AnneMarieBrear, #HistoricalFiction or #HistFic

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Top Ten Secrets Behind the Tobacconist’s Wife

by AnneMarie Brear

Inspiration from Jorie for this Topic: a lovely list of things we might not have realised go on behind the book for a writer to create the setting, characters and ambiance of their Historical Fiction narrative whilst potentially giving us a few secrets about the novel before we read it!

Author’s Response: Thank you for having me.

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Posted Tuesday, 17 November, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Spotlight, Bookish Memes, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Love Books Tours, Top Ten Tuesday

An #EnterTheFantastic Author Interview | feat. “Lost and Waiting” by Amanda Read which has a heart of the natural world set within a Magical Realism world!

Posted Sunday, 25 October, 2020 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

Conversations with the Bookish badge created by Jorie in Canva. Updated version July 2020.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

As I previously disclosed on my spotlight about “Tree Magic” – I have a soul connection to the natural world. I am a nature and wildlife photographer as well – as being out in nature is soul lifting as much as it is inspiring. You have to stand still in order to see the natural world as it is living in harmony with our world but is slightly removed from our time scales as well. If you’ve ever caught a squirrel eating a nut and realised the trance they were in without ‘seeing’ you until they were finished you see the veil between the natural world’s rhythm and our own synchronicity with nature.

I have regularly spoken about the natural world on Jorie Loves A Story – from the stories I am reading to the context of the stories which seek to bring an ecological mindset and heart for conservation onto my blog because I believe strongly those stories are necessary for today’s world. Not just due to the climatic changes we’re all experiencing but to help re-connect readers with the knowledge about the natural ecosystems they might overlook and not be as familiar with as I have become myself. Knowledge is the first step towards change and to remain connected to the connectivity of how the natural world and our world intersect is one step closer to finding better balance in how to keep Earth a healthier place.

Today, I am wicked thankful I can bring you this conversation I had with the author of “Lost and Waiting” – especially on the fringes of experiencing the loss of trees in my neighbourhood due to the nausating ways in which city planners due not consider the natural world in their plans for progress. I shared a *thread about this on my social feeds on Twitter in case anyone is curious. However, I regularly seek out literature which has a soulful connection to the natural world as I readily love to champion those stories and to help carry a torch for others to seek out similar stories for themselves.

If you love fantastical stories featuring Magical Realism plots and the curious connections between nature and humans, I think this might be a good fit for you as a reader as I feel it is for myself. Likewise, I recently spotlighted “Tree Magic” and am in the process of reading it ahead of sharing an interview with the author on the “Tree Slayer” blog tour. One of my favourite stories I’ve read involving the natural world was when I reviewed The Kinship of Clover. As much as I loved The Walking Fish for Middle Grade readers who are just discovering the natural world round them.

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An #EnterTheFantastic Author Interview | feat. “Lost and Waiting” by Amanda Read which has a heart of the natural world set within a Magical Realism world!Lost and Waiting
by Amanda Read
Source: Chapter Sampler

When Evangeline comes across a Victorian plant hunter’s journal at Kew, it is the sign she’s been waiting for. Its author, Edwin ‘Chile’ Morgan, claims to have discovered a living myth: the World Tree. Morgan’s words share life lessons and reflections on the natural world, offering Evangeline a way to overcome the grief of a stillbirth.

With journal in hand, Evangeline sets off to Chile on a journey in search of the tree at the centre of all: heaven, life and the afterlife. In her way are an unprincipled pharmaceutical multinational, an oil company set on deforestation, and an enigmatic art aficionado whose interest in her takes an unsettling turn.

A genre-bending adventure.

Genres: Biological Diversity, Botany, Ecology, Epistolary | Diaries and Journals, Horticulture, Magical Realism, Sci-Fantasy



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1838534110

on 26th June, 2020

Format: Chapter Sampler | Online

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This is a Self-Published novel.
I love celebrating Self-Pub stories on Jorie Loves A Story!

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #MagicalRealism, #Nature and #Genrebender
as well as #LoveBooksTours & #LostAndWaiting

About Amanda Read

Amanda Read

Amanda Read is a novelist and short story writer. She was awarded the MA in Creative Writing, with distinction, from Bath Spa University.

In an earlier life, she received a Royal Horticultural Society Fellowship through which she trained as a plant taxonomist/systematist at the University of Reading, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum, London.

Amanda lives with her husband in rural Wiltshire, UK, where she can be spotted hot on the heels of Carlos and Carmen, the border terriers. She works as an agricultural research programme manager for international development.

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Posted Sunday, 25 October, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Botany, Conservation, Ecology, Environmental Activism, Environmental Advocacy, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Horticulture, Indie Author, Love Books Tours, Magical Realism, Preservation, Science, Self-Published Author