Posted Friday, 27 March, 2015 by jorielov iUniverse, Letters to Kezia, Peni Jo Renner, The Puritan Chronicles 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Letters to Kezia” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary paperback copy of “Letters to Kezia” direct from the author Peni Jo Renner, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I had attempted to borrow the first novel in this series via ILL’ing it from my local library, however, as there was only one copy available through the inter-library loan catalogue it was unable to be borrowed. Therefore, in order to help myself become acquainted with the series, I followed the original blog tour which I have linked at the bottom of this post. I shared the links which I found pivotal to understanding how the Puritan Witch Chronicles began and hope it will help my readers and visitors proceed forward into “Letters to Kezia”.
Sadly my copy of “Letters to Kezia” was impended from reading on schedule (as my review posted late) not just due to personal reasons but because my copy was glued together! As in the pages themselves were glued and stuck onto each other, and as I carefully pulled them apart, pieces of ink and words caught together, erasing bits of the text yet enough staid to where I could read enough to gather the gist. The only time this has happened previously was when I read “Vintage”. I thankfully had a better reading experience with Renner than Gloss.
A curious moment: where the second novel sparks your interest in a series:
I remember a bit vaguely when Puritan Witch hit the book blogosphere last Spring (2014) whilst touring with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours; one of the book touring companies I had started to work with the previous Autumn (2013). It is hard to believe I am nearly about to welcome in my second full year of book blogging, as when I reflect back upon the stories, writers, and memories I’ve experienced through Historical Fiction solely based on the books alighting in my life through the outreach Ms Bruno conducts through her touring company, I am quite literally a bookish heart full of joy and wonder!
Most of the stories are by independently and self-published authors, of whom I might not have met as quickly or at all, if it hadn’t been for their blog tours; on this one level of gratitude, my heart is overflowing with positive recollections of their stories who have left an etching on my imagination. Even the books where I might not have soaked inside quite as readily or felt as moved as others, each story had it’s own merit of discovery and time inside my hands, as I attempted to read outside my comfort zones and dig deeper into the historical past, through generations of insight and numerous eras of timescape.
Letters to Kezia
by Peni Jo Renner
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
It is 1693 in Hereford, Connecticut, when Mary Case, the spinster daughter of a Puritan minister, finds herself hopelessly smitten by the roguish thief, Daniel Eames. Betrothed to a man she does not like or love, she is soon compelled to help Daniel escape from jail. Suddenly, she finds herself on the run, not only accused of being Daniel’s accomplice, but also of murder.
The fugitive pair soon finds solace-and a mutual attraction-among the escapee’s Algonquin friends until two men from Daniel’s dark past hunt them down. After Mary is captured and returned home to await trial, a tragedy takes the life of her younger sister, revealing a dark secret Mary’s father has kept for months. But just as Mary learns she is pregnant, she makes a horrifying discovery about Daniel that changes everything and prompts her to develop an unlikely bond with his mother, Rebecca, who soon saves Mary from a shocking fate. It is not until years later that her daughter, Kezia, finally learns the truth about her biological father and family.
Letters to Kezia shares a courageous woman’s journey through a Puritan life and beyond as she struggles with adversity and betrayal, and discovers that loyalty can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.
Genres: Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Series: The Puritan Chronicles,
Published by iUniverse
on 14th January, 2015
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Published By: iUniverse (@iUniverse)
Book One: Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca Eames (Book Synopsis on Riffle)
Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
Converse via: #LettersToKezia, #LetterstoKeziaBlogTour and #PeniJoRenner
About Peni Jo Renner
PENI JO RENNER is the author of the IPPY award-winning novel, Puritan Witch: the Redemption of Rebecca Eames. Originally from North Dakota, Peni now lives with her husband in Maryland where she is currently researching for the third book in the Puritan Chronicles series.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Posted Friday, 27 March, 2015 by jorielov in 17th Century, 18th Century, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Apothecary, Based on an Actual Event &/or Court Case, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Colonial America, Death of a Sibling, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Diary Accountment of Life, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Life, Feminine Heroism, Herbalist, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, History, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Medical Fiction, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Native American Fiction, Naturopathic Medicine, Realistic Fiction
Posted Monday, 16 March, 2015 by jorielov Kathleen C. Perrin, Langon House, The Keys of the Watchmen, The Watchmen Saga 2 Comments
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “The Keys of the Watchmen” virtual book tour through France Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Kathleen C. Perrin, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
New Adult is a new genre of interest of mine:
It all began truly when I crossed paths with Amy Durham whilst I highlighted her new release Asher’s Mark and had her write an author’s guest post about what defines ‘New Adult’ to a reading audience. I learnt quite a heap in this meeting of the minds, and I do have Asher’s Mark on my short list of ‘next reads’ as the novel arrived to me over the Winter holidays. I became a bit more curious about this section of literature because it is a full-stop forward before navigating the breadth of adult lit for an audience who is trying to step outside of YA. This interested me the most, because I have remarked openly about where I stand on YA and NA, stemming out of different books I’ve met along the way which did not digest as well as I had hoped they would before I met them. Durham clued me into a new definitive lens for New Adult, in a way I had not come across previously.
Having the door re-open, I must confess, when I first heard of the story The Keys of the Watchmen I was quite intrigued, but not due to which section on a bookshelf it would be sorted but due to the enticement of what the story involves directly! I have a soft spot for time slip and time travel narratives as much as I do Magical Realism. I love when writers find new ways to bend the realities of time and yield to a new way of setting story inside hours which either defy our own understandings now in the 21st Century or push us forward to a new dimension of where time and the barriers therein are no longer a hindrance but a way to set time straight or allow travel across the eons.
I had previously started to read a novel brokering on this thematic, The Skin Map during Sci Fi November 2013. Unfortunately for me, I was not able to re-queue it to read during SFN 2014 (as it’s an ILL novel), but the elements I had read have never left me. They have left me seeking out new authors whose stories are seeking the same truths I was finding Lawhead exploring himself. How much do we understand about time and the portals of where each hidden veil between the worlds in which time purports itself to being temporal vs static reality?
Part of me is delighted someone took the idea and deposited into the world of historical fiction. I love genre-bending ideas, they evoke such a crystalisation of creative impulses which can lead us forward in literature and towards new heights to explore as a reader. The other half of me is curious how much science will be included as much seeing how the science can melt from view and the story can stand strong without too much explanation. This is why I am never certain if I’m more of a hard sci-fi girl or a soft sci-fi girl because I do not always need a bone-to-bone precision of ‘how’ and ‘why’ to allow myself to become inserted into the story’s heart.
The Keys of the Watchmen
by Kathleen C. Perrin
Source: Author via France Book Tours
Katelyn Michaels plans on hating every moment of her visit to Mont Saint Michel with her father’s new French wife. Once there, she is confused when she experiences sensations of déjà vu as she and her younger brother explore the medieval village and abbey. She is even more disturbed when she is confronted by two unusual young men, one who insists she has a sacred mission, and the other who will stop at nothing, even murder, to stop her from fulfilling her destiny.
When the oddly-dressed but alluring Nicolas slips Katelyn a strange medallion, she is whisked back through time where her Watchmen hosts tell her she is the only hope to save Mont Saint Michel. Even worse, she learns that those trying to destroy the mount are led by a fallen angel intent on learning the mount’s closely-guarded secret.
Katelyn is torn by feelings of anger at being taken back in time, inadequacy at finding a modern solution for a medieval problem, and responsibility for the mount’s starving inhabitants. She is also perturbed by her surprising attraction to the ill-tempered Nicolas. Will she stay to learn why she was chosen by the Archangel Michael and find a way to save his mount?
Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, New Adult Fiction Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
Series: The Watchmen Saga,
Published by Langon House
on 28th November, 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 394
Published by: Langon House
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse via: #KeysOftheWatchmen, #WatchmenSaga, & #FranceBT
About Kathleen C. Perrin
Kathleen C. Perrin holds Bachelor’s degrees from Brigham Young University in French and Humanities, and graduated summa cum laude.
She is a certified French-to-English translator. While completing her education, Kathleen met and married a dashing young Frenchman. They have spent years investigating the mysteries and beauties of his native country, and have a cottage in Brittany.
For a ten-year period they took tourists to Mont Saint Michel, where she served as tour guide. Kathleen has lived in Utah, New York City, France, and for eight years in French Polynesia. She has worked professionally as a language and music teacher, translator, interpreter and writer.
She has published several non-fiction articles, academic papers, and a religious history about Tahiti. Traveling and learning about new countries and cultures is a passion for Kathleen, but her latest passion is sharing France through her fiction. The Perrins have three children, and currently reside in Utah.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Posted Monday, 16 March, 2015 by jorielov in Angels, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brothers and Sisters, Debut Author, Debut Novel, France, France Book Tours, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, New Adult Fiction, Siblings
Posted Monday, 9 March, 2015 by jorielov Haunted, Kensington Publishing Corp., Lynn Carthage, The Arnaud Legacy series 10 Comments
Originally, when I first caught sight of the Haunted blog tour being adverted as an upcoming event this Spring 2015, there was a strong draw for me to want to participate on it! After all, I have shared my first review on reading ghost stories (The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton), joined my first Horror October, expressed why I’m a Cosy Horror Girl, shared my top favourite Classic Horror Motion Pictures, and compiled a list of book series which are definitely bent towards the paranormal! As you will see from those previous blog posts I’ve written, there are aspects of the Horror genre I never quite realised I was enthralled with myself, as I always felt I was living outside the genre completely! Sometimes it takes an event like Horror October hosted by the girls @ Oh, the Books! to set your mind straight! Laughs.
Instinctively, I hopped on Twitter to see if Ms Carthage was online (not that instant, but in general!), as I have come to appreciate finding authors I am keen on reading are participating in reader to author connections via Twitter; as it allows the readers (such as I) to ask pertinent questions which might arise out of reading a book synopsis or an excerpt (if one is available). What followed was a happenstance conversation, where a reader enjoyed getting to know an author outside the scope of being able to read the novel! I asked a few direct questions, as I was a bit on the fence as whether or not I could read this novel as it might take me too far outside my comfort zones along the lines of what is seen or unseen in the novel itself.
I’m definitely *the Cosy Horror Girl* at heart, as I have to weigh what I want to read with what I can handle as I have a sensitive heart. Always feeling being honest about this upfront is best, I did share my concerns, and as we talked a bit more about Haunted and our personal likes in books, I decided I truly felt I would love to interview Ms Carthage in lieu of reading the book for her blog tour! The elements of the paranormal within the series is still keenly intriguing to me, and there was a heap about the setting and atmosphere she stitched into it which lit my imagination aflame with curiosity!
The book cover art alone has all the lovely bits I appreciate about what can be considered an epic Gothic suspense, as you have the house barely seen through the misty fog, the young protagonist’s field of vision not focused on what is in front of her but what is unseen to the side, and the colour dimensions give it a purely haunting feel, encouraging your will to want to read this in order to see where the layers enfold and retreat from what is visually representative in the art itself!
Therefore, I am quite happy to bring to you, dear hearts, the conversation I pulled together out of inspiration from our original twitterverse convo intermixed with bits and bobbles I discovered about her book series whilst composing my thoughts on this interview! I hope you enjoy the conversation!
Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Irving has traded life in San Francisco for her stepfather’s ancestral mansion in rural England. It’s supposed to be the new start her family needs. But from the moment she crosses the threshold into the ancient estate, Phoebe senses something ominous. Then again, she’s a little sensitive lately—not surprising when her parents are oblivious to her, her old life is six thousand miles away, and the only guy around is completely gorgeous but giving her mixed messages.
But at least Miles doesn’t laugh at Phoebe’s growing fears. And she can trust him…maybe. The locals whisper about the manor’s infamous original owner, Madame Arnaud, and tell grim stories of missing children and vengeful spirits. Phoebe is determined to protect her loved ones—especially her little sister, Tabby. But even amidst the manor’s dark shadows, the deepest mysteries may involve Phoebe herself…
Public Library | Add to Riffle
Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. (), 24.Feb.2015
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book | Page Count: 288
Converse on Twitter via: #HauntedBlogTour & #arnaudlegacy
What originally drew you into the world of *Haunted*, where reality and the unseen co-reside together!?
Carthage responds: I actually had a nightmare! The book began as my trying to craft a coherent storyline around a few scary details from the dream.
I give you a lot of respect for being able to pull together a series based off of a nightmare! I can foresee being able to shape a dream into a novel, but a nightmare!? Goodness! You remind me of M. Night Shyamalan who was able to take nightmares and fuse them into thought-provoking works of motion pictures! Read More
Posted Monday, 9 March, 2015 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Junkie Promotions, British Literature, Castles & Estates, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, England, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Good vs. Evil, Gothic Literature, Gothic Mystery, Haunting & Ethereal, Indie Author, Parapsychological Gifts, Parapsychological Suspense, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Supernatural Fiction, Suspense, YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal &/or Paranormal Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Posted Thursday, 5 March, 2015 by jorielov Daughters of Hampshire, Howard Books, Lady Darby Mysteries, Mist of Midnight, Sandra Byrd, Simon & Schuster 0 Comments
Acquired Book By:
I was contacted by the author’s (Sandra Byrd) CBA Tour Coordinator (Renee Chaw) back in November, 2014 about the possibility of receiving “Mist of Midnight” in exchange for an honest review which would be included on Ms Byrd’s official blog tour for it’s March release! I was beyond delighted at having been approached by her and readily agreed. As I have a non-giveaway policy for Jorie Loves A Story, this blog tour stop is not hosting the tour giveaway, but rather is solely a book review of the novel which is posted whilst the official tour is going on. I received my complimentary ARC copy of Mist of Midnight direct from Howard Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. In December 2014, I received the press materials from her publicist Ms Chaw. I am thankful for this wonderful opportunity, not only to read my first novel by Ms Byrd but to host my first blog tour book review for Howard Books! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Intrigued to Read:
I unequivocally can declare when it comes to Gothic Lit & the Historical Fiction side of literature, I am unabashedly intrigued by each new story and author I stumble across! Imagine my good cheer in finding an author had found me for her blog tour? I hadn’t realised it at the time, but Ms Byrd has been on my TBR for awhile now, as I had to remind myself I had spied her Ladies in Waiting series previously!
When it comes to Gothic Lit, the reason I am caught instinctively inside the pages of stories which befall this category is because I have a passionate affection for ‘psychological suspense’ and most of what I enjoy reading within this realm of plausibility curates this experience for me! I have a penchant for the Victorian era of which I believe might be deduced by my literary wanderings time after time; however, it’s this wicked joy I have bubbling up inside me when I know I am about to plunder inside an enriched atmospheric novel I find the most inspiring! As well noted by now throughout my blog, I’m a hybrid reader (dancing through genres of literature between mainstream & INSPY markets) and I cannot even properly express how wicked happy I was to discover Mist of Midnight!
I have recently read a re-telling of Jane Eyre, entitled: Keeping Kate on behalf of a blog tour for Cedar Fort Publishing & Media; this on the footheels of having learnt there was a readalong for Jane Eyre! Mind you, my unhealthy time consumption in February solely focused on technical malfunctions and ISP unknown tech issues caused my blogging life to be put on hold for most of the month; notwithstanding, I simply lost too many hours within my personal life outside of this blog to soak inside even one book more than I managed to feature within the month just extinguished from view. I still fully intend to read Jane Eyre and go back through the readalong posts, however, sadly it was ill-fated for me to participate as a whole. Thrice this has happened to me, where I had sought out a RAL for Charlotte Bronté’s classic tale, yet it did not stop me from absorbing myself straight into Keeping Kate!
Bringing me round to what I wanted to share, as I have slated in my mind and gathered a bit of my intentions of what to read next on my tCC List in direct reflection to this curiously addictive focus I have on Gothic Lit! What comes to mind after I muse about Eyre, is how in earnest I attempted to borrow and consume the narrative within the pages of The Distant Hours by Kate Morton or even The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates; two novels continuously whetting my palette with hearty intrigue.
Now when it comes to ‘inheritance stories’ I must confess, I have a particular interest in them because they bring a swirl of excitement to central focus within the heart of where the story leads us to go as the lead character is nearly always at odds in these situations with an interloper! Someone who either has a hardened heart turnt black and whose ill will seeks to cause them extreme duress if not personal harm, has a shadowy allure to soak into your imagination due to the very nature of what pulls this context forward! You start to gather the facts inside your own mind, weigh and counterbalance what is perceived against what is known (as so oft-times the writer holds the reader in the dark and/or gives only ‘just so’ much information to leave the climax plausibly aloof) and hold a firm grasp on your emotional heart as the drama surrounding the entire tale will leave you up late into the night wicking at the flames of a candle!
Yes, I must confess, when it comes to seeking stories — the ones of which give me a hitch of wicked joy are the ones shrouded in suspense with the framework of a relationship that may or may not yield in romantic overtures. The mystery itself is well worth the wait to see how everything unfolds! With haste and felicity, I took up the pages of Mist of Midnight! Top cheers to Ms Byrd for allowing us the grace of seeing this is only one installment of a new series yet to bewitch us wholly and true!
Mist of Midnight
In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.
Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her...and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca's name, but her home and incomes.
That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father's investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?
A captivating Gothic love story set against a backdrop of intrigue and danger, Mist of Midnight will leave you breathless.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Series: Daughters of Hampshire,
on 10th March, 2015
Pages: 384
Published By: Howard Books (@Howard_Books)
(an imprint of Simon & Schuster: )
Available Formats: Hardback & E-Book
Converse on Twitter: #MistOFMidnight
About Sandra Byrd
Sandra Byrd is a best-selling author and has earned Library Journal's Best Books of the year pick twice, in 2011 for To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn, and in 2012 for The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr. She's twice been a Christy Award finalist, for To Die For and for Let Them Eat Cake: A Novel. Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I published April 2013
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Posted Thursday, 5 March, 2015 by jorielov in 19th Century, ARC | Galley Copy, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, British Literature, Castles & Estates, Cemeteries & Graveyards, Clever Turns of Phrase, Death of a Sibling, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, England, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Genre-bender, Gothic Literature, Gothic Mystery, Gothic Romance, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Haunting & Ethereal, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, India, Inheritance & Identity, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Life Shift, Literature of India, Lyrical Quotations, Military Fiction, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Orphans & Guardians, Passionate Researcher, Philosophical Intuitiveness, Singletons & Commitment, Suspense, the Victorian era, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, World Religions
Posted Tuesday, 3 March, 2015 by jorielov Georgia McBride Media Group (GMMG), Lucas Mackenzie & the London Midnight Ghost Show, Month9Books, Steve Bryant 0 Comments
Magic and Illusion followed me throughout my childhood, as I was quite entranced by what could not yet be seen within an act and how this particular suspension of what was known was dangerously wicked on the level of curiosity! Dangerous a bit too, I suppose because sometimes I think the magicians and illusionists would push their fate a bit with what they were attempting to conjure in front of us, but for acts like David Copperfield, magic intermixed with illusion had a special aura around it making it quite enjoyable to simply get caught up in ‘the show’!
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming to my blog, the author behind a Middle Grade novel Lucas Mackenzie: And the London Midnight Ghost Show! The name of this novel alone pulled me into it’s orbit, because when you combine three loves of mine: London, Ghosts, and Magic it’s quite hard to think I wouldn’t want to read the novel! I would have opted to read this one straight-off, however, as a host for Month9Books via Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, only the electronic versions are given to reviewers; hence why I’ve decided to feature Month9Books authors through a variety of Guest Posts and Interviews, until the day arrives where I can gather the books themselves in print edition!
Lucas Mackenzie has got the best job of any 10 year old boy. He travels from city-to-city as part of the London Midnight Ghost Show, scaring unsuspecting show-goers year round. Performing comes naturally to Lucas and the rest of the troupe, who’ve been doing it for as long as Lucas can remember.
But there’s something Lucas doesn’t know.
Like the rest of Luca’s friends, he’s dead. And for some reason, Lucas can’t remember his former life, his parents or friends. Did he go to school? Have a dog? Brothers and sisters?
If only he could recall his former life, maybe even reach out to his parents, haunt them.
When a ghost hunter determines to shut the show down, Lucas realizes the life he has might soon be over. And without a connection to his family, he will have nothing. There’s little time and Lucas has much to do. Can he win the love of Columbine, the show’s enchanting fifteen-year-old mystic? Can he outwit the forces of life and death that thwart his efforts to find his family?
Keep the lights on! Lucas Mackenzie’s coming to town.
Lucas Mackenzie and the London Midnight Ghost Show by Steve Bryant
Published By: Month9Books (@Month9Books), on 24th February, 2015
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Public Library | Add to Riffle
Converse on Twitter via: #MGLit, #KidLit, & #Month9Books
Read More
Posted Tuesday, 3 March, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Children's Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Juvenile Fiction, Literature for Boys, Middle Grade Novel, Month9Books, Parapsychological Gifts, Parapsychological Suspense, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Supernatural Fiction, Suspense
