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 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 Monday, 9 February, 2015 by jorielov Charles Todd, HarperCollins Publishers, Haunting Shadows, Inspector Ian Rutledge series, William Morrow 1 Comment
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Hunting Shadows” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I borrowed the first book in this series from my local library’s ILL (inter-library loan) services for my own edification and was not obligated to post my reflections and/or review on the story’s behalf. I wanted to understand a bit of the back-story on the principle character of Inspector Ian Rutledge prior to reading the 16th book in the series. I originally perceived the idea to read this book and the 15th book in the series prior to my tour stop, however, the hours disappeared before I could. I appreciate the chance to get to know new mystery and suspense authors I haven’t yet stumbled across myself.
Hunting Shadows
by Charles Todd
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours
In the latest mystery from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd, Inspector Ian Rutledge is summoned to the quiet, isolated Fen country to solve a series of seemingly unconnected murders before the killer strikes again
August 1920. A society wedding at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire becomes a crime scene when a guest is shot just as the bride arrives. Two weeks later, after a fruitless search for clues, the local police are forced to call in Scotland Yard. But not before there is another shooting in a village close by. This second murder has a witness; the only problem is that her description of the killer is so horrific it’s unbelievable. Badgered by the police, she quickly recants her story.
Despite his experience, Inspector Ian Rutledge can find no connection between the two deaths. One victim was an Army officer, the other a solicitor standing for Parliament; their paths have never crossed. What links these two murders? Is it something from the past? Or is it only in the mind of a clever killer?
Then the case reminds Rutledge of a legendary assassin whispered about during the war. His own dark memories come back to haunt him as he hunts for the missing connection—and yet, when he finds it, it isn’t as simple as he’d expected. He must put his trust in the devil in order to find the elusive and shocking answer.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Also by this author: An Unwilling Accomplice, A Duty to the Dead
Published by William Morrow
on 21st January, 2014
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Published By: William Morrow (@WmMorrowBks),
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse via: #HuntingShadows, #InspectorIanRutledge
About Charles Todd
Charles Todd is the author of the Bess Crawford mysteries, the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother and son writing team, they live in Delaware and North Carolina, respectively.
Website | Facebook
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Posted Monday, 9 February, 2015 by jorielov in 20th Century, Blog Tour Host, Blogs I Regularly Read, British Literature, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Crime Fiction, England, Equality In Literature, Good vs. Evil, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Military Fiction, PTSD, Readerly Musings, Realistic Fiction, Suspense, the Roaring Twenties, The World Wars, TLC Book Tours
Posted Sunday, 1 February, 2015 by jorielov A Woman of Fortune, Amy Durham, Asher's Mark, Becca Stevens, Berni Stevens, Brenda S. Anderson, C.A. Gray, Camille Eide, Chandice Probst & Tana Besendorfer, Dance Until Dawn, First Frost, Gluten-Free On A Budget, Henriette Gyland, Impossible, Katy Haye, Kellie Coates Gilbert, Letters to my Future Husband, Like There's No Tomorrow, Lisa McKendrick, Marilee Jackson, Midnight Runner, Pieces of Granite, S.C. Barrus, Sarah Addison Allen, Stephen J. Valentine, The Gin Thief, The Last Gatekeeper, The Lazarus Game, The Way of Tea and Justice, Up Close 2 Comments
One of the happiest moments for a book blogger is eagerly going to their postbox & seeing what delightfully wicked print books have arrived for their reading pleasure! I have always held a keen interest in postal mail, being a long-term postal letter correspondent which has given me such a heart of joy seeing envelopes & bundles of love arrive from dear friends around the world. Imagine my new excitement in seeing the books I am reviewing arriving by publisher, author, publicist, or literary agent! Such an exciting new chapter in postal splendor!
I have been wanting to blog about my excitement about being placed on certain blog tours and/or in receiving books for review direct from authors, publishers, or publicists. I originally came across a weekly meme on Mondays entitled Mailbox Monday and you could say, that my new feature on Jorie Loves A Story is an extended idea from the original! Except to say, with one minor switch-up! Although I attempt to write down when books arrive by Post, I am never quite as certain when the books arrive as I am always reading the next book in hand! Therefore, please join me as I get excited about the books on my shelf which are next in line to read!
I apologise I was not able to keep up with my posts for this Feature. Most of the latter half of 2014 was a bit difficult for different reasons, wherein I simply tried to read all the books I could whilst I had captured the hours to give to them. I was too wrapped up in my readings to realise I had forgotten to post about upcoming books of interest! You will happily see a resurgence of this post hitting weekly starting this Winter 2015!
I am working on completing my “End of the Year Survey 2014”:
Spring & Summer might have dissolved into each other and collided straight into Autumn, but I must confess I read a heap of beautiful writ stories! Enchanting my mind, endearing my heart, and enveloping me inside a knitted eclipse of story craft by writers who know how to give readers a pause out of their hours and a settling inside their spirits as they turn page after page of evoking narrative which never fully leaves you once you place the novel on your bookshelf!
By the time it came around for the *End of the Year Survey* to be written, I must admit I was still working on a few reviews whilst resting a bit after New Year’s as I love to watch the ball drop in Times Square! I have been compiling the survey for more than a month now, working on it off/on whenever I have a few free hours to go back over the books I read during the past year, inasmuch as sort out my final thoughts as where they might ‘fit’ into the survey itself. I plan to release my “Top Picks of 2014” and the completed survey quite soon! Stay tuned to see what truly captured my mind from last year!
I have several carry-overs from January,
of which I will be reading whilst tweeting about this week:
- Impossible by C.A. Gray (last book in the Piercing the Veil series: Book 1, Book 2, Interview)
- The Last Gatekeeper by Katy Haye (part of my readings for Sci Fi Experience 2015)
- The Gin Thief: Ep 1 by S.C. Barrus (manuscript I served as a betareader)
- First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (part of Book Browse First Impressions)
- Up Close by Henriette Gyland (romantic suspense by ChocLitUK)
- Dance Until Dawn by Berni Stevens (vampire romance by ChocLitUK)
- A Woman of Fortune by Kellie Coates Gilbert (author contacted me about her books)
- *I will be talking about the library books I’m reading lateron in the week!
Read More
Posted Sunday, 1 February, 2015 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Cookery, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Down Syndrome, Equality In Literature, Gluten-Free Foods, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Jorie's Box of Joy, Life Shift, New Adult Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Royal Social Media, Science Fiction, Special Needs Children, Steampunk, Street Team for Author, Time Travel, Time Travel Adventure, Women's Fiction
Posted Wednesday, 7 January, 2015 by jorielov Laura Joh Rowland, MacMillian Publishers, Minotaur Books, Sano Ichiro Mysteries, St. Martin's Publishing Group, The Iris Fan 0 Comments
It isn’t often when I have the chance to *catch a series* whilst the breadth of the series has been written, released, and on the fringes of bowing out of the public eye! A few of the series I am attempting to read further inside during 2015 dance around this same fact, as I haven’t been able to read the books as quickly as they have been produced! However, it was such an honour to host Ms. Rowland on the curtain call for her series set in 17th Century Japan! There were moments of the story wherein I found myself a bit unsettled but overall, I felt a growing curiosity in seeking out more information surrounding Reiko and Sano — how their lives would continue to knit together and what might befall them in the end!
I had no idea as I was reading the stories I had selected from the Sano Ichiro series, that within The Concubine’s Tattoo would await the fuller back-story on how Reiko and Sano came together! I never would have guessed Rowland might have considered giving Reiko a lesser role of importance in the series — as I must confess, I appreciated the change of broadening her appeal and giving her such a strong presence within the interior structures of where the stories within the series take the reader! To me, Reiko was quite the asset to have alongside Sano!
As I mused about what I wanted to focus my conversation with Ms. Rowland upon, most of my emerging questions were fuelled by wanting to understand her journey with the series, and how the series evolved from Book 1 to Book 18; there were twenty years between the two bookends, and for me, it provided me with an unending muse to draw out the questions I wanted to broach of her! I hope as you read this conversation, you will not only be inspired by her answers, but perhaps, will feel inspired to tackle reading a series of this length and/or of attempting to write an ongoing series if your a writer! Read More
Posted Wednesday, 7 January, 2015 by jorielov in 17th Century, Blog Tour Host, Crime Fiction, Family Drama, Family Life, Ghost Story, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Haunting & Ethereal, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller Suspense, Japan, Japanese Fiction, Japanese History, Library Love, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Martial Art History, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Uncategorized
