Category: Blogosphere Events & Happenings

#WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Liminal Lights (Book One: of the Liminal series) by J.M. Bogart

Posted Saturday, 26 May, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I am hostess with Writerly Yours PR, wherein I had the joy of hosting Ms Bogart for her blog tour showcasing this series in [2016]. I had hoped to have read this series for one of the #RRSciFiMonth after I shared our conversation within the interview featured on her blog tour, however, due to a variety of reasons, I had to keep postponing my reading of the books. When I realised I was going to be co-hosting #WyrdAndWonder this year, I thought perhaps it would be a better ‘fit’ to read and share my thoughts during an event focused on Fantasy! I was surprised by the kindness of the author to send me these novels after I hosted her blog tour, as I had explained I wouldn’t be able to read them for the tour itself due to my chronic migraines (ie. I never read ebooks) and am a traditional reader of print and audio.

I received a complimentary copy of “Liminal Lights” direct from the author J.M. Bogart in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I felt this series might be a seriously wicked one to be reading:

First off, stories about the fey have slowly become one of my favourites to seek out for Fantasy releases – whether they are caught up inside an Urban Fantasy series, such as this one might be considered classified as it takes place between our Contemporary world and the fey or if we are wholly elsewhere inside a writer’s own imagined world, the fey have started to entice me into their folds! You might remember how well versed I’ve become inside world Ms Chris creates with her Tipsy Fairy Tales or through one of the anthologies I’ve been reading by either Seventh Star Press (with their Seelie Court) or World Weaver Press (of whom curate a series of anthologies I properly addicted to reading!).

When I learnt this was a Middle Grade Fantasy trilogy, I was most intrigued! Part of me worried if some of the scenes and descriptions within the narrative would broach into areas I might not feel should be attributed to a Middle Grade release, however, when I had the joy of interviewing Ms Bogart for her lovely blog tour a few years ago – she put my concerns to rest!

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#WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Liminal Lights (Book One: of the Liminal series) by J.M. BogartLiminal Lights
by J.M. Bogart
Source: Direct from Author

What if magic is real?

Nadia discovers an ancient truth hidden by Liminals, coveted by Shadow Monsters, and protected by humans.

Somewhere, between faerie legends and story books, lies the truth to magic. It grows in children, matures, and is eventually captured by Liminal beings. These small, faeire-like creatures harvest and manipulate it, crafting it into the talents and skills inherent in humans. The rest, they keep for themselves in an effort to sustain their own life forces.

The human race is evolving forcing Bean, Pritt, and Tissa to find new ways of harvesting human magic to save their own kind. Nadia's power, found in her talent as an artist, is the last hope for these Liminal beings who find themselves caught between light and shadow. Liminals aren't the only ones after her magic, so are the creatures who lurk under the bed, hide in the darkness, and go bump in the night.

This is the first book of a trilogy.

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, Stories of the FAE, Urban Fantasy



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 978-1928133070

Also by this author:

Published by Morning Rain Publishing

on 23rd April, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 196

Published By: Morning Rain Publishing (@morningrainpub)

The Shadow shift trilogy:

Liminal Lights by J.M. BogartShadow Shifts by J.M. Bogart

Liminal lights | book one

shadow shifts | Book two | Synopsis

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #LiminalLights and #ShadowShifts or #MGLit #Fantasy and #MiddleGrade #Fantasy

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #WyrdAndWonder
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Posted Saturday, 26 May, 2018 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Children's Literature, Dark Fantasy, Earthen Magic, Faeries & the Fey, Fairy Tale Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade Novel, School Life & Situations, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Urban Fantasy

#WaitingOnWednesday No.4 | “Ignoring Gravity” (Identity Detectives series, Book One) by Sandra Danby on the eve of the second installment being published: ‘Connectedness’

Posted Wednesday, 9 May, 2018 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: In [2015] I crossed paths with Sandra Danby – as I originally found her debut novel “Ignoring Gravity” as part of a pitched book to be published via the publishing platform BNB or Britian’s Next Bestseller. Shortly thereafter, our paths crossed via Twitter and we connected  as writer and book blogger. I was meant to showcase ‘Ignoring Gravity” closer to the time I received the book, however, I was delayed due to personal and health reasons until this Spring 2018. Therefore, I received a complimentary (original) copy of “Ignoring Gravity” direct from the author Sandra Danby in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. By ‘original’, I refer to the fact my edition has the original cover art for the novel.

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a word about ‘waiting on Wednesday’:

#WaitingOnWednesday badge created in Canva by Jorie using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

I have decided to start participating in this book blogsphere meme with a few small changes of how it’s regularly blogged about by my fellow book bloggers. I will either be introducing my current reads of upcoming releases as I am in the process of reading them and/or I might be releasing a book review about a forthcoming title by which I had been blessed to read ahead of publication. The main purpose behind the meme is to encourage readers and your fellow book bloggers to become aware of new books being released which caught your eye and which held your interest to read. Sometimes if your still in the process of reading the books, its the titles which encouraged your bookish heart. I look forward to spending the next seasons of the year, talking about the books I have on hand to read, the books I’ve been reading and the books I might not even have a copy to read but which are of wicked sweet interest to become a #nextread of mine.

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In celebration for the second installment of the Identity Detectives series releasing on Thursday, I wanted to take a moment to share my musings about the first novel: Ignoring Gravity. As most of my readers are aware of – I’m a Prospective Adoptive Mum – who will be adopting out of foster care in the future, which is why there is a focus on adoptive and foster care stories both in Fiction and Non-Fiction throughout Jorie Loves A Story. I have garnished an appreciation from seeing all viewpoints and lifestyles within the parameters of this focus whilst finding the stories themselves are wicked uplifting for their honesty to portray characters with real-world composites in both circumstances and believable outcomes.

In this vein of interest, one thing I am aware of going into Adoption is there is going to come a time in the future of my own adoptive children’s lives where they are going to ask about their past, the family they had to leave and their birth origins. I want to be supportive throughout this process but also, honest about the realities of what they are facing when they try to ‘go back’ to their families. It can honestly go either way – positive or negative, where either the return is reciprocated or it is found unwanted. I’ve kept an eye on these kinds of stories for most of my life – I grew up in a family who was interested in Adoption years ago (in the 80s/90s) however the availability of legally free children is not what it is today (as the laws were changed) – to where I’ve seen both outcomes come alive in documentaries, Unsolved Mysteries (a tv series) and other outlets of exploration – such as the film Philomena.

What I appreciated about finding the Identity Detective series by Ms Danby is how she has dedicated her series to exploring the harder stories – the stories which evoke a longing of finding oneself and the family you’ve never known but with mixed outcomes during the search itself. In essence, she is carving out a footprint of the ‘other side’ of Adoption and placement – where some children as adults are finding their way ‘back to family’ is not quite the path they felt it might be – whether due to lost connections (ie. missing records, or unknown information blockages) or a disinterest on the side of the family (as an example) – there are hidden stories out there which speak to the ‘other side’ of where Adoption stories do not oft tread.

As this series is still underway, I thought it would be a wonderful selection for #WaitingOnWednesday – as this is my first reading of the novel and it has been a pleasure to assemble a few showcases on behalf of the series overall. Aside from this review, please take note of the following dates:

10th May | Connectedness Spotlight with Author Interview

17th May | Author Guest Post and Series Spotlight

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Before you read my ruminative thoughts this #WaitingOnWednesday, kindly take a moment to play this lovely book trailer for Ignoring Gravity and gather a proper sense about what this novel explores through it’s dramatic story re-linking lives together and sorting personal identity.

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This is my 4th #WaitingOnWednesday showcase, be sure to visit my 1st, my 2nd and 3rd!

A new meme inspired by Waiting on Wednesday is Can’t Wait Wednesday for which this marks my first #WaitingOnWednesday post I’ve been able to share with the bloggers following this version of the meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings! (Tressa introduces her meme) Here is the post by which I shared my link. Be sure to find out which book bloggers I visited who helped ADD to my #TBRList by finding my blog hop route below this showcase!!

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#WaitingOnWednesday No.4 | “Ignoring Gravity” (Identity Detectives series, Book One) by Sandra Danby on the eve of the second installment being published: ‘Connectedness’Ignoring Gravity
Subtitle: Two pairs of sisters, separated by a generation of secrets
by Sandra Danby
Source: Direct from Author

Rose Haldane is confident about her identity. She pulls the same face as her grandfather when she has to do something she doesn't want to do, she knows her DNA is the same as his Except it isn't: because Rose is adopted and doesn't know it. Ignoring Gravity connects two pairs of sisters separated by a generation of secrets. Finding her mother's lost diaries, Rose begins to understand why she has always seemed the outsider in her family, why she feels so different from her sister Lily. Then just when she thinks there can't be any more secrets...

Genres: Adoption & Foster Care, Amateur Detective, Motherhood | Parenthood, Realistic Fiction, Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780993113413

Also by this author: Connectedness

Also in this series: Connectedness


Published by Beulah Press

on 4th December, 2014

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 433

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the Identity Detective series:

Ignoring Gravity by Sandra DanbyConnectedness by Sandra DanbySweet Joy by Sandra Danby

Series Overview:

Rose Haldane, journalist and identity detective, reunites the people lost through adoption. The stories you don’t see on television shows. The difficult cases. The people who cannot be found, who are thought lost forever. And each new challenge makes Rose re-live her own adoption story, each birth mother and father, adopted child, and adoptive parent she talks to, reminds her of her own birth mother Kate. Each book in the ‘Identity Detective’ series considers the viewpoint of one person trapped in this horrible dilemma. In the first book of the series, Ignoring Gravity, it is Rose’s experience we follow as an adult discovering she was adopted as a baby. Connectedness is the story of a birth mother, her hopes and anxieties, her guilt and fear, and her longing to see her baby again. Sweet Joy, the third novel, will tell the story of a baby abandoned, and how the now elderly woman is desperate to know her story before it is too late.

Ignoring Gravity | No.1

Connectedness | No. 2 | Synopsis → Happy Pub Day, 10th of May, 2018!

Sweet Joy | No. 3 → forthcoming third installment!

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Published By: Beulah Press (2014)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #IdentityDetective

About Sandra Danby

Photo Credit: Ion Paciu

Sandra Danby is a proud Yorkshire woman, tennis nut and tea drinker. She believes a walk on the beach will cure most ills. Unlike Rose Haldane, the identity detective in her two novels, Ignoring Gravity and Connectedness, Sandra is not adopted.

Photo Credit: Ion Paciu

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Posted Wednesday, 9 May, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Memes, Equality In Literature, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Modern Day, Publishing Industry & Trade, Vulgarity in Literature, Waiting on Wednesday

#TopTenTuesday No.6 | Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward to In 2018

Posted Tuesday, 16 January, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday blog banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme created by The Broke & the Bookish. The meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke & the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your Top 10 Lists! In January, 2018 this meme is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

[Topic #370 originally shared on 26th December, 2017] *elected to rewind, rather than stay OT

I shared this post for today’s topic linky – as I wasn’t sure if the original blogger who hosted this was going to archive their blog now that they have stepped down from blogging. (see List)

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Today’s entry was inspiring to me for the following reasons:

I’ve wanted to sort out which stories I want to read per each new year for *decades!* However, despite all the bookish feeds I read, consume and try to digest per annum, I am the girl who is constantly and consistently *surprise!* by which stories are published per year! Try as I might, I either get wholly consumed by #currentreads to notice #newreleases and/or I’m distracted by life itself – as all of us live full lives outside our reading queues!

This year, however, I was a bit ahead of the curve! I knew about several releases I was wicked itching to read! What fun, eh!? I also found a few new ones before January – somehow, the one thread of literature I source every year the easiest are the stories within the realms of *Historical Fiction* as let’s be honest – Jorie loves travelling through the historic past! (smiles) If there were a story out there set during a timeline of History I haven’t yet visited, there is a strong variable of interest for me to dig inside it and take the journey!

The two veins of interest I am most under-read are Science Fiction & Fantasy as well as INSPY Fiction (see my 70 Authors Challenge, which resumes this 2018!). Slowly but surely I shall re-inspire myself to bring these stories back into my life with the same gusto I have for #HistFic! It’s just when it comes to the past, of stories which are set elsewhere in time – I’m as giddy a girl watching a hot air balloon ascend into the heavens to see what the world looks like from above! #HistoricalFiction allows us to re-align our world-view, of re-examining History and of setting ourselves into the footsteps of characters who re-theorise the lives of those who lived prior to us. This is why it’s addictive to consume and why my heart flutters it’s joy every year I find myself happily alighted ‘somewhere’ in the timelines of History!

In regards to #MGLit (Middle Grade) and #YALit (Young Adult) – truthfully, I get so distracted throughout the year, I forget to *read them!* as they come into the library! I quite literally always put these novels on ‘hold’ to be in queue or I am one of the ones happily queuing them into a purchase request status – either way you slice it, when it comes to Children’s Lit, I’m falling dearly behind on my mission to #readDEEPER into these realms!

Ergo, this List is mostly aligned for releases within the first months of the year – with some extensions into Summer; though, I haven’t taken a critical eye to notice ALL the stories which will publish this year,… generally speaking, this is one reason I made my presence on Twitter my sole haunt online outside of my blog. I love being caught up in the netherspheres of conversations wherein the bookish and readerly spirits alight – everyone is happily chattering about ‘this or that and why this has to be seen to be believed or why this one touched their bookish soul in such a wicked sweet way, etc, etc’. To be in the timeline of #readers and #bookbloggers whilst interacting with #writers who are #amwriting our #nextreads whilst celebrating their #currentlypublished tomes of joy – this is where I like to spend my hours whilst I’m not #amreading my own #currentreads or #amblogging my readerly life here on Jorie Loves A Story!

In other words,… you’ll see me gush like the chattastically joyful tweeter I am throughout the year when I spy a #mustread I simply MUST find a copy of in which to disappear! Generally this means I will be sourcing through my local #Library though on occasion, I do purchase hardbacks and paperbacks which are a few years out of Pub (on discount) or I find backlist lovelies at local bookshelves (think: Little Free Libraries movement) or I am gifted a book from my Mum and Dad which grants me invaluable joy for their knowledge of how bookishly inclined I am!

I do wonder – how do you approach a NEW YEAR of STORIES?

I love to JUMP and DIVE into a New Year — with some stories in my mind to seek out, leaving the vast majority to be the unexpectedly blissful journey which unfolds before me,..

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Posted Tuesday, 16 January, 2018 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday No.5 | Top Ten #NewToMeAuthors I loved #amreading in 2017!

Posted Wednesday, 3 January, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

"Top Ten Tuesday" hosted by The Broke & the Bookish

[Official Blurb] Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme created by The Broke & the Bookish. The meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke & the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your Top 10 Lists!

[Topic of 2nd January, 2018: Top Ten #newtomeauthors of 2017]

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Today’s entry was inspired by Trisha Jenn & Imyril respectively

I’ve been a bit reclusive from participating in the lovely bookish memes I’ve discovered these past four years as a book blogger; mostly due to lack of time and/or inspiration whilst the topics were making their rounds in the book blogosphere. Likewise, my visiting days have been equally remissive, as despite finding wicked #awesomesauce bloggers who share my passion for reading and blogging their readerly lives, my visits have been fleeting at best to make my rounds through the blogs I’ve come to love and appreciate.

Hence why one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to participate in the #Commenting365 Challenge – except I’m not just doing it the way in which it was intended. I am commenting on the blogs involved in the challenge directly; re-visiting the bloggers I personally follow and/or have befriended since becoming a book blogger whilst adding to the fact, I have found nearly 365 book bloggers to follow on Twitter (even made a List!) – clearly, I need to draw myself out of my cocooned state and get back out there & be my lively chatty self!

In regards to what I was relating to Imyril on her blog tonight: I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this particular meme, as there are been many topics I’ve felt inclined to toss my hat into the fray of the conversation but pinning my particular interests into a ‘top ten list’ has been less than stellar in regards of sorting out how my reading life choices ‘fit’ within the scope of the singular space of each list! Ergo, I had contemplated forgoing participating in this meme altogether, but then, there are moments such as today, where I stumbled into a bookish friend’s List and thought to myself, “This is inspiring me to sort out my own inclinations!” (this was Trisha Jenn’s influence) Thus, this list was bourne as soon as I could carve out a niche of space to blog my responses!

I have decided to make a run at this meme and see where it takes me. I also gave myself the liberty of choosing how I want to answer the prompted topic in a similar fashion as I’ve augmented my own responses to #WWWeds + #10BookishNotBookish memes! Let’s see where this lovely re-entry into the book blogosphere meme entries will lead me to traverse throughout the coming months of 2018!

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You’ll immediately notice there are *11* entries here – with a few honourable mentions below them. As one of my ‘favourite’ new authors is actually a series of authors contained within an anthology – I decided since that is a particularly non-traditional selection to ‘add’ one more novel to round out individual books aside from the one anthology where I found more than one author of whom I am eager to continuing reading more stories of,… all of these stories are listed in the ‘order they were read’ throughout [2017].

*NOTE: all of these stories were sent to me in exchange for honest reviews

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You’re the Cream in My Coffee by Jennifer Lamont Leo

You're the Cream in my Coffee by Jennifer Lamont Leo

You simply get swept away into this novel: from Dot’s flapper lifestyle to Ms Corrigan’s journey back to centre and the emergence of what became of Jack; you’re truly settled into the flowing narrative of how one woman chose to take the reigns of her life and do something rather incredible with her time.

Especially brilliant, is through her dedicated research she was able to bring to light, the incredibly fast-paced life of working at Marshall Field’s. In of itself, those passages were some of my favourite because the author truly tapped into how working in a popular department store is both tiring and endlessly engaging in how to keep up with the customers! There are so many wonderful passages – of where Ms Corrigan is realising who she is for the very first time and of the mistakes that come from daring to live outside your comfort zones.

Ms Lamont Leo has etched out a heroine you want to rally behind and learn more about in successive volumes of a series you can only hope has first sparked to life in You’re the Cream in my Coffee. A most enjoyable reading experience was being curled up inside this beautifully lovely debut novel, of which I hope will become the guiding light towards deepening the appreciation of Ms Corrigan’s adventures in successive installments of the series. Mind, I hope it does readily become a full-on series of novels, because the foundation laid down in the shoes & mind of Ms Corrigan are to be treasured!

Truly, a sweet novel for those who love Inspiring HistFic with a glimmer of a pinch of Romance set in an exciting period of history whilst coming alive with a coming-of age story that is simply not meant to be missed! Definitely my first #unputdownable read of the New Year: 2017! Such a blessing to have been on this blog tour!

As an aside, the truer blessing was having such an inspiring read on hand whilst I fought my way back into the joys of reading once again. This was a beautiful story to get lost inside and feel your spirit renew itself against the pages of drama evolving in and out of Ms Corrigan’s search for individual truth & the path she was meant to walk. -quoted from my review of You’re the Cream in My Coffee

Note: I did receive confirmation the series is alive and well. New installments are forthcoming! Such as the following: ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ – the second novel to be released TBA March, 2018!

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Posted Wednesday, 3 January, 2018 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Top Ten Tuesday