Category: Superstitions & Old World Beliefs

#SpooktasticReads Audiobook Review | “The #Supernatural Pet Sitter” by Diane Moat (narrated by Barbara Goldie) A #MiddleGrade #paranormal tale of friendship between a gnome & a witch!

Posted Wednesday, 25 October, 2017 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Audiobook Review Badge made by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “The Supernatural Pet Sitter” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why this particular audiobook interested me:

I happen to have an affirmative appreciation for stories of the Paranormal & of characters who have a whimsical attachment to the supernatural realms! This is hinted at by how much I loved the first story within the Tipsy Fairy Tales (and each story to follow in the series!) inasmuch as how keen I was on the first Halfway Witchy novel! Reading these kinds of stories in the *Autumn!* is a great joy of mine – as I used to pick up a different novel of the Ghost Harrison series by Heather Graham – something I need to return back to doing in the forthcoming years, as her series has taken on a life of it’s own since I first discovered it eight years ago! Ha! 

Though seriously – whether it’s for adults or children, I like seeking out wicked good stories which encourage the fantastical elements of story-telling – where we can disappear inside a magically spun world where characters and creatures populate a story with elements of the paranormal!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Notation on Cover Art: The creepiest part of the ‘cover art’ is how I missed something quite critical about the design of it – which is why I’m sharing the larger scale version of the cover for my readers so they can see what I accidentally ‘missed’ when viewing this in a smaller edition! However, it is the cover art for the second novel in the series ‘The Supernatural Pet Sitter: The Curse’ where I think the illustrator truly tapped into the essence & likeness of the lead character, Pepper! I liked her definition in the second cover a bit more than this first rendition – however, the close affection she has for her familiar charges is shining through as is the sinister danger lurking around them!

#SpooktasticReads Audiobook Review | “The #Supernatural Pet Sitter” by Diane Moat (narrated by Barbara Goldie) A #MiddleGrade #paranormal tale of friendship between a gnome & a witch!The Supernatural Pet Sitter
Subtitle: The Magic Thief

Every animal can talk to you. You just have to know how to listen.
Pepper Neely is better at this than most, especially because she is in charge of pet sitting all the familiars in her neighborhood.

A familiar is a pet magically linked to a witch or warlock. As a gnome, Pepper is no stranger to spells and sorcery. She also knows that, despite their special name, familiars aren’t all that different from regular animals. They get anxious when separated from their people, so Pepper uses her special gnome powers to calm them down. She watches Cranky the high-strung ferret, Frank the laid-back parrot, King Arthur the elderly tortoise, and many others.
Then, something terrible begins happening to the familiars.

Someone is stealing their magic! It not only prevents Pepper from communicating with them but breaks their magical connection with their people. When King Arthur’s magic is stolen, his owner’s powers stop working too. Pepper can sense that the tortoise is very scared.

In order to protect the animal's magic, Pepper decides to track down the culprit. With the help of her best friend, Luna, and her brother, Jax, Pepper fights to protect all of the special pets.


Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B074G2QDKT

on 3rd August, 2017

Length: 4 hours, 3 minutes (Unabridged)

Self Published Audiobook

The Magic Thief series:

The Supernatural Pet Sitter: The Magic Thief (Book One)

The Supernatural Pet Sitter: The Curse (Book Two) (Synopsis)

Formats Available: Paperback and Audiobook

About Diane Moat

Diane Moat

Diane Moat lives in Tennessee and works as a nurse and legal professional. When not at work, she fosters Chihuahuas. Her six rescues inspired her to write The Supernatural Pet Sitter children’s series, which features a gnome who can communicate with animals.

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Posted Wednesday, 25 October, 2017 by jorielov in Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Brothers and Sisters, Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Content Note, Earthen Magic, Familiars, Family Drama, Family Life, Fantasy Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Good vs. Evil, Gothic Literature, Gothic Mystery, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, Life Shift, Middle Grade Novel, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Parapsychological Gifts, Premonition-Precognitive Visions, Self-Published Author, Siblings, Small Towne Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Telepaths & Telepathy, Witches and Warlocks

Book Review | “SCARECROW: an #anthology of shorts” [edited by] Rhonda Parrish published by #IndiePub World Weaver Press

Posted Sunday, 30 October, 2016 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book by: Did you ever grow curious about a new publisher who produces science fiction, fantasy, and horror genre selections in both novel length and short stories? Did you ever decide to enquire with the publisher you’ve found to see if they were open to book blogger requests to read and review their selections!? This is the situation I found myself in as I was quite mystified by the offerings of World Weaver Press! Such a delightful discovery on my behalf [in 2015] with a website full of inspiring reads across SFF!

Since I started reviewing with World Weaver Press [one year ago in August, 2015] there has been a changing of the guard behind-the-scenes where there is a new owner & publicity team. I am wicked happy to see the legacy and tradition of WWP has been carried forward by this lovely new team! I am honoured to work with them continuing to showcase World Weaver Press through reviewing their titles and hosting future guest features by their authors! The current four reviews I’m posting on their behalf (i.e. The Falling of the Moon, Scarecrow, Frozen Fairy Tales and Far Orbit: Apogee) were selected before the company changed hands. Moving forward after these reviews, I am hoping my next review will be for “Murder in the Generative Kitchen” of which I thoroughly enjoyed highlighting recently! Although I do hope to continue reading the anthologies Ms Parrish is making as SIRENS released recently, too!

I received a complimentary copy of “Scarecrow” direct from the publisher World Weaver Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am wicked excited to read SCARECROW:

You simply know going into reading one of the anthologies by Ms Parrish that your in for a wickedly delightful reading! In this particular case, I was so deeply attached to the stories in CORVIDAE (coming out of reading FAE), I was wicked enthused to begin reading SCARECROW! It’s the type of anthologist whose instincts to pull together writers & their stories that you cannot help but celebrate because her instincts give you such a palette of choices to read! It’s quite incredible, honestly – because each time I step inside the vortex of the Magical Menageries I feel as if I’ve travelled to so many wondrously illuminated places all within the pages of one singular anthology!

I happen to love reading stories of Cosy Horror in the Autumn months – as this time of the year is anchoured to Halloween! I’ve been a long-time appreciator of Halloween as I love celebrating the holiday with all the festivities that pull together it’s light-hearted core of joy whilst embracing all the quirks that go along with it, too! I haven’t had the chance to see a lot of scarecrows in fields but I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz like most children, and therefore, had a strong impression of a fantastical scarecrow!

I like being introduced to new windows of Speculative Fiction – which is one reason I am attracted to the collective works of World Weaver Press! Each time I pick up their anthologies, I find a new world to alight inside, a new writer to champion and an incredible depth of layered story-telling within the framework of a ‘short story’! It’s wicked good fiction but I appreciate the new realms I’m discovering too, which broker into Cosy Horror!

The past two months notwithstanding, as my migraines returned and I had to take a small hiatus from blogging – what motivates me to read SCARECROW is for that experience of the unknown to once again re-align in my imagination & the hauntingly epic feeling that despite reading a scary story every now or then, I truly love embracing this new branch of literature that gives me so much joy to read!

I love to just *dive!* into a Rhonda Parrish anthology
and see what she’s given me to devour!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | “SCARECROW: an #anthology of shorts” [edited by] Rhonda Parrish published by #IndiePub World Weaver PressScarecrow

Hay-men, mommets, tattie bogles, kakashi, tao-tao—whether formed of straw or other materials, the tradition of scarecrows is pervasive in farming cultures around the world. The scarecrow serves as decoy, proxy, and effigy—human but not human. We create them in our image and ask them to protect our crops and by extension our very survival, but we refrain from giving them the things a creation might crave—souls, brains, free-will, love.

In Scarecrow, fifteen authors of speculative fiction explore what such creatures might do to gain the things they need or, more dangerously, think they want.

Within these pages, ancient enemies join together to destroy a mad mommet, a scarecrow who is a crow protects solar fields and stores long-lost family secrets, a woman falls in love with a scarecrow, and another becomes one. Encounter scarecrows made of straw, imagination, memory, and robotics while being spirited to Oz, mythological Japan, other planets, and a neighbor’s back garden. After experiencing this book, you’ll never look at a hay-man the same.

Featuring all new work by Jane Yolen, Andrew Bud Adams, Laura Blackwood, Amanda Block, Scott Burtness, Virginia Carraway Stark, Amanda C. Davis, Megan Fennell, Kim Goldberg, Katherine Marzinsky, Craig Pay, Sara Puls, Holly Schofield, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.


Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on Impress Books (UK)

ISBN: 978-0692430224

Series: Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries No.2


on 4th August 2015

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 206

Published By: World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

Genre(s): Fantasy | Horror | Speculative | Stories of Scarecrows

Mythology | Steampunk | Magic | Metaphysical

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Collection No.1 in this series is FAE | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub | my review

Collection No.3 in this series is Scarecrow | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub

Collection No. 4 in this series is SIRENS | Info on Editor’s Blog | Info on Pub

Collection No. 5 in this series is EQUUS | Read the Announcement on Pub
+ Read the OPEN Submissions note on the Editor’s Blog!

Converse via: #DiverseSFF, #SFF, #scifi, #Fantasy & #anthology

+ #MagicalMenageries (the series tag!)

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Posted Sunday, 30 October, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Anthology Collection of Stories, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cosy Horror, Earthen Magic, Earthen Spirituality, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Folklore and Mythology, Good vs. Evil, Haunting & Ethereal, Historical Fiction, Horror-Lite, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Parapsychological Suspense, Short Stories or Essays, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Urban Fantasy, Vulgarity in Literature, World Weaver Press

Book Spotlight w/ Excerpt | Avelynn’s sequel is here! The Vikings #HistRom from last October I loved devouring has a new adventure to be read!

Posted Friday, 21 October, 2016 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Stories Sailing into View Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Last October, I made a rather brilliant discovery in Historical Fiction – I met Avelynn for the very first time! This was also my very first historical involving the Vikings – a group of people of whom have held my curiosity for most of my life, yet for some strange reason I never quite took the time I should have to ‘meet them’ properly – either through historicals or non-fiction accountments of their lives! They were such a fascinating group of adventurers, explorers and of course, have such an anchoured past to turbulence and upheaval across power struggles for land & prosperity.

As you can see from this quote from my review last year, I was quite keen on how they were portrayed by Ms Campbell:

On the Vikings themselves:

Alrik isn’t quite the Viking warrior I was expecting to find, though to be honest anyone outside the precept of who Vikings are known for being outright would have been a pleasant surprise, truly! Alrik leads with his heart but with a mind that is truly rapt for battle. He understands loyalty but his trust in both his men and the cardinals of war is where his confidence lies. He isn’t one to tempt a woman past her own senses nor does he find himself able to do anything that is not proper or honourable. He’s an interesting bloke by half, considering he’s at an impasse in regards to his kin who are seeking wrath more than peace.

In some mannerisms he showed Avelynn at their first meeting, I was reminded of stories I’ve read about the Highlander Scots – both are fiercely proud and grit wit a determined air to battle any sort who try to cause them ill-harm or take back a stronghold they’ve already won.

quoted from my review of Avelynn

Avelynn took me by complete surprise – turnt out to be one of my most beloved reads of 2015, and never quite left my mind! I was quite curious what would happen ‘next’ and how the characters within the world of Avelynn would continue to move forward with their lives. It’s compelling drama, but it’s also a brilliantly written arc of Historical Romance set during a difficult time in history where everything is a bit uncertain and strife with war or changes in  power. It’s not the easiest of generations to make your mark on the world but there was so much heart and hope stitched inside this HistRom that I truly felt hugged closet to Avelynn herself and the emotional journey she was undertaking!

This is why I am so wicked excited to be a part of the blog team whose announcing the sequel’s arrival & why this #bookbirthday has me so wicked happy to have a sequel to read this Winter! There is a bit more to the story behind how I’m reading “Avelynn: The Edge of Faith” but right now I want to share the information on the book itself, the beautiful cover art & the lovely Excerpt Ms Campbell provided for me to share with my readers! A bit of a tradition – I shared an Excerpt last October for her debut and now again for her sophomore release!

Enjoy reading this wicked glimpse into Avelynn and Alrik!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Spotlight w/ Excerpt | Avelynn’s sequel is here! The Vikings #HistRom from last October I loved devouring has a new adventure to be read!Avelynn
Subtitle: The Edge of Faith
by Marissa Campbell

It’s the year 871. Charges of treason, murder, and witchcraft follow Avelynn into exile as she flees England with Alrik. Arriving in Wales, they find refuge among Alrik’s friends in the Welsh nobility. Cast out by his half-brothers, Alrik seeks to regain his honor and earn favor with the gods. When war threatens, Alrik embraces gold and the opportunity for his crew to become mercenaries, aiding the Southern Welsh kings in their fight against Rhodri the Great.

Desperate to return home, Avelynn seeks to find a way to prove her innocence, but she is pitted against Alrik as their desires for the future clash. With battle looming, Avelynn’s faith in their relationship is further tested through a bitter struggle with Marared, a jealous lover from Alrik’s past. Marared’s threats turn deadly, and Avelynn runs afoul of magic and sorcery, causing her to question her beliefs and role as priestess.

When Avelynn and Alrik are betrayed, Avelynn is captured and Alrik is charged with regicide. The two become separated, a chasm of greed, deceit, and ambition driving them apart. In an act of harrowing faith, Avelynn will stop at nothing to find her way back to Alrik and break them both free from Wales’s bloodthirsty grasp.

AVELYNN: THE EDGE OF FAITH is a stand-alone novel and #2 in the Avelynn series.


Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0986627217

Also by this author: Avelynn

Series: Avelynn


Also in this series: Avelynn


on 26th September, 2016

Published By: Self Published Author
Available Formats: Paperback & Ebook

Converse via: #Avelynn

About Marissa Campbell

Marissa Campbell

Marissa Campbell is a published freelance author, and co-author of the award-winning, spiritual self-help book Life: Living in Fulfillment Every Day.

Her debut historical fiction AVELYNN, was published through St. Martin’s Press, September 2015. She self-published her sophmore release Avelynn: The Edge of Faith. She is a proud member of the Historical Novel Society, Romance Writers of America, Writer’s Community of Durham Region, and local critique group B7.

When she is not writing, she is busy looking after her wonderful children, spending time with her fantastic husband, hanging out with her awesome friends, teaching yoga, dancing, laughing, and having fun!

Author's biography updated October 2016.

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Posted Friday, 21 October, 2016 by jorielov in 9th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Arthurian Legend, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Canadian Literature, Crime Fiction, Earthen Magic, Earthen Spirituality, England, Fantasy Fiction, Folklore and Mythology, Gods & Goddesses, Heroic Bloodshed, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Saxon | Viking History, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Warfare & Power Realignment

Blog Book Tour | “Madame Presidentess” (Historical Biographical Sketch of Victoria Woodhull) by Nicole Evelina

Posted Friday, 26 August, 2016 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “Madame Presidentess” direct from the author Nicole Evelina in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Why I appreciate reading Nicole Evelina’s Historicals:

I appreciate the extra care and attention Evelina goes too in being openly transparent with her readers – not only about the inclusions of what she is writing into the backbone of her sequel for Camelot but for why she’s finding the choices she’s made are backed up by the research and the lore left behind for her to find to inspire her writing as a whole. It helps not only understand the time-line but how the time-line affects the events and how through digging deeper into the lore and legends of Camelot you can root out strongly wrought conflict and afflictions that can affect any woman of any age. Evelina isn’t an author who shies away from harder subjects and topics, but rather meets them head-on and tries to assert her feelings on the events in a manner that is welcoming to her readers. She puts her heart on the line and owns the truth of her words as her pen inks out her stories.

It’s this attention to both detail and sensitivities of readers, wherein I felt I might appreciate reading her next historical release Madame Presidentess (read about the book on her author’s site) after having first met her title character Victoria Woodhull through my readings of The Renegade Queen (see my review); where I first began my journey into a new vein of interest for #HistFic – the Feminist driven side of Historical Fiction! I was quite grateful for the introduction (as it was soon followed by Emmy Nation (see my review) and my first introduction into Evelina’s writing via Daughter of Destiny.

The reason I felt I might find myself a bit more smitten to read Evelina’s version of Woodhull’s story is because I was very much challenged by how Flynn portrayed those harder scenes and the way in which Woodhull’s earlier life was fused to the novel. I survived the text and I was genuinely curious about the sequel by Flynn, but part of me wondered if the story could have found a softer edging – thus, imagine my joy in finding Evelina has penned a different take on the same tale! I bring up Victoria Woodhull because she shares a thread of connection with the Guinevere your meeting inside Camelot’s Queen; both women are brutally attacked and suffer aftereffects of how men treated them. Sometimes tempering the hardest and most challenging of scenes or memories of a character fit better with my own sensitive heart than the ones that breach my own level of tolerance.

quoted from my review of Camelot’s Queen

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Blog Book Tour | “Madame Presidentess” (Historical Biographical Sketch of Victoria Woodhull) by Nicole EvelinaMadame Presidentess
by Nicole Evelina
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Jenny Quinlan (JennyQ)
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

*Winner: U.S. Women’s History category – 2015 Chaucer Awards for Historical Fiction

Forty-eight years before women were granted the right to vote, one woman dared to run for President of the United States, yet her name has been virtually written out of the history books.

Rising from the shame of an abusive childhood, Victoria Woodhull, the daughter of a con-man and a religious zealot, vows to follow her destiny, one the spirits say will lead her out of poverty to “become ruler of her people.”

But the road to glory is far from easy. A nightmarish marriage teaches Victoria that women are stronger and deserve far more credit than society gives. Eschewing the conventions of her day, she strikes out on her own to improve herself and the lot of American women.

Over the next several years, she sets into motion plans that shatter the old boys club of Wall Street and defile even the sanctity of the halls of Congress. But it’s not just her ambition that threatens men of wealth and privilege; when she announces her candidacy for President in the 1872 election, they realize she may well usurp the power they’ve so long fought to protect.

Those who support her laud “Notorious Victoria” as a gifted spiritualist medium and healer, a talented financial mind, a fresh voice in the suffrage movement, and the radical idealist needed to move the nation forward. But those who dislike her see a dangerous force who is too willing to speak out when women are expected to be quiet. Ultimately, “Mrs. Satan’s” radical views on women’s rights, equality of the sexes, free love and the role of politics in private affairs collide with her tumultuous personal life to endanger all she has built and change how she is viewed by future generations.

This is the story of one woman who was ahead of her time – a woman who would make waves even in the 21st century – but who dared to speak out and challenge the conventions of post-Civil War America, setting a precedent that is still followed by female politicians today.

Genres: Biographical Fiction, Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Women's Studies



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780996763196

Also by this author: Daughter of Destiny, Nicole Evelina (Guest Post: Camelot's Queen), Camelot's Queen, Been Searching For You, Mistress of Legend

Published by Lawson Gartner Publishing

on 25th July, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 400

About Nicole Evelina

Nicole Evelina

Nicole Evelina is an award-winning historical fiction and romantic comedy writer. Her current novel, Been Searching for You, a romantic comedy, won the 2015 Romance Writers of America (RWA) Great Expectations and Golden Rose contests.

She also writes historical fiction. Her debut novel, Daughter of Destiny, the first book of an Arthurian legend trilogy that tells Guinevere’s life story from her point of view, took first place in the legend/legacy category of the 2015 Chatelaine Awards for Women’s Fiction/Romance, and was short-listed for the Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction. Later this year (2016), she will release Madame Presidentess (July 25), a historical novel about Victoria Woodhull, America's first female Presidential candidate, which was the first place winner in the Women’s US History category of the 2015 Chaucer Awards for Historical Fiction.

Nicole is one of only six authors who completed a week-long writing intensive taught by #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness. Nicole has traveled to England twice to research the Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, where she consulted with internationally acclaimed author and historian Geoffrey Ashe, as well as Arthurian/Glastonbury expert Jaime George, the man who helped Marion Zimmer Bradley research The Mists of Avalon.

Nicole is a member of and book reviewer for the The Historical Novel Society, and Sirens (a group supporting female fantasy authors), as well as a member of the Historical Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Romance Writers of America, the St. Louis Writer’s Guild, Women Writing the West, Broad Universe (promoting women in fantasy, science fiction and horror), Alliance of Independent Authors and the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Author biography was updated July 2016.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Friday, 26 August, 2016 by jorielov in 19th Century, Based on an Actual Event &/or Court Case, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Disillusionment in Marriage, Domestic Violence, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Kidnapping or Unexplained Disappearances, Loss of an unbourne child, Marriage of Convenience, Midwives & Childbirth, Passionate Researcher, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Psychological Abuse, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Victoria Woodhull, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Women's Health, Women's Rights, Women's Suffrage

Blog Book Tour | “Camelot’s Queen” (Guinevere’s Tale, No. 2) by Nicole Evelina #HistFantasy

Posted Monday, 16 May, 2016 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “Camelot’s Queen” direct from the author Nicole Evelina in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Why I appreciate reading Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere Tale series:

Evelina has taken us into the heart of Guinevere and her girlhood peers, as we walk inside those hours she spent on Avalon honing her talent and learning about the world from a point of view not concurrent to her parents or ancestral home. Evelina re-develops the image of Guinevere and the back-story therein, allowing us the grace to re-examine what we think we know of the characters being brought back to life inside this trilogy. It’s a curious undertaking, because although it’s rooted in a canonical history of literature, mythos and lore; there is a new attempt at re-developing a story whose depths are grounded by the character’s will of heart and spirit of passage through their growing years.

The complexity and the authentic voice inter-combine to bring a scope of realism to Guinevere and to the back-story of her life. It’s a wholly original complex origin story where even if you are as under-read as I am about Camelot and Arthurian Legend, you can curl inside this novel due to how well-told Evelina evoked it’s heart out of the pages she lent us to read!

Mythology, fable and lore can feel disconnected at times to an actuary world if the conception of their perimeters are not fully fleshed out and brought to such a high level of vision by their writers. This is where Nicole Evelina excels as her vision of the story is portrayed in such a convicting manner as to etch your heart directly into the lifeblood of her characters; you feel everything they are sensing and appreciate the direct connection in order to best understand their world. Definitely a harbinger of emotionally writ historical fiction centred on known persons who have inspired many but of whom feel more three dimensional inside this story as they are presented with equal fragility as their contemporary peerage.

The research Evelina put into this work of a trilogy is evidenced by how she chose to tell the story, first through direct sight of Guinevere approaching hard choices and managing her emotions in the thick of it and secondly, through enlivening the background with such scope of depth as to embrace the mystical and mythology of how Camelot exists. She even kept the continuity alive by bringing together the origins of those who call Avalon home with their familial heritages and beliefs; such as I celebrated in seeing Guinevere’s Rhiannon and Lugh arriving in time for her ascension to Priestess of Avalon. The fundamentals of religion and ancestry are inter-woven to the core of who Guinevere is and what she stood for thereby granting the reader a more grounded vision of the woman Guinevere became latter in life.

– as disclosed on my review of Daughter of Destiny, Guinevere’s Tale No.1

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Blog Book Tour | “Camelot’s Queen” (Guinevere’s Tale, No. 2) by Nicole Evelina #HistFantasyCamelot's Queen
Subtitle: Guinevere's Tale Book Two
by Nicole Evelina
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Jenny Quinlan (JennyQ)
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

History remembers Guinevere’s sin, but it was Arthur who transgressed first.

Forced into a marriage she neither anticipated nor desired, Guinevere finds herself High Queen, ruling and fighting alongside Arthur as they try to subdue the Saxons, Irish and Picts who threaten Britain from every direction. Though her heart still longs for her lost love, Guinevere slowly grows to care for her husband as they join together to defeat their enemies.

Meanwhile, within the walls of Camelot their closest allies plot against them. One schemes to make Guinevere his own, another seeks revenge for past transgressions, while a third fixes her eyes on the throne. When the unthinkable happens and Guinevere is feared dead, Arthur installs a new woman in her place, one who will poison his affections toward her, threatening Guinevere’s fragile sanity and eventually driving her into the arms of her champion.

Amid this tension a new challenge arises for the king and queen of Camelot: finding the Holy Grail, a sacred relic that promises lasting unity. But peace, as they will soon learn, can be just as dangerous as war. As the court begins to turn on itself, it becomes clear that the quest that was to be Arthur’s lasting legacy may end in the burning fires of condemnation.

This highly anticipated sequel to Daughter of Destiny proves there is much more to Guinevere’s story than her marriage and an affair. See the legend you think you know through her eyes and live the adventure of Camelot’s golden days yourself – but prepared to suffer its downfall as well.

Genres: After Canons, Arthurian Legend, Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical-Fantasy, Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0996763134

Also by this author: Daughter of Destiny, Nicole Evelina (Guest Post: Camelot's Queen), Been Searching For You, Madame Presidentess, Mistress of Legend

Also in this series: Daughter of Destiny, Mistress of Legend


Published by Lawson Gartner Publishing

on 9th April, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 481

Book No. 1 Daughter of Destiny (review)

Book No. 2 Camelot’s Queen

Book No. 3 Mistress of the Legend releases late 2016/early 2017

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Read an Excerpt of the Novel: Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Monday, 16 May, 2016 by jorielov in 6th Century, After the Canon, Apothecary, Arthurian Legend, Avalon, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Britian, British Literature, Disillusionment in Marriage, Domestic Violence, Early Middle Ages [the Dark Ages] (1001-1300), Earthen Magic, Earthen Spirituality, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Folklore and Mythology, Herbalist, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, History, Indie Author, Inspired By Author OR Book, Kidnapping or Unexplained Disappearances, Loss of an unbourne child, Marriage of Convenience, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Midwife | Midwifery, Midwives & Childbirth, Mythological Societies, Parapsychological Gifts, Passionate Researcher, Psychological Abuse, PTSD, Re-Told Tales, Realistic Fiction, Spirituality & Metaphysics, Supernatural Fiction, Superstitions & Old World Beliefs, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Warfare & Power Realignment, Women's Fiction, Women's Health, Women's Rights, Writing Style & Voice