Category: Ancestry & Genealogy

A #SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | The Rancher’s Wyoming Twins (Book One: Back to Adelaide Creek) by Virginia McCullough

Posted Saturday, 30 April, 2022 by jorielov Back to Adelaide Creek, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming, The Rancher's Wyoming Twins, Virginia McCullough 2 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. This is how I came to love discovering the Harlequin Heartwarming authors & series as much as it has been an honour to regularly request INSPY stories and authors. Whenever I host for Prism, I know I am in for an uplifting read and a journey into the stories which give me a lot of joy to find in my readerly queue of #nextreads. It is an honour to be a part of their team of book bloggers.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Rancher’s Wyoming Twins” direct from the author Virginia McCullough in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I enjoy reading a Virginia McCullough
Harlequin Heartwarming novel:

In this installment of Back to Bluestone River, I was happy to see an intergenerational plotting – wherein Amy is with her grandmother and there is a history of grandparents raising children in the storyline. Lately, I’ve been enjoying finding intergenerational stories – where different role models and guardians are being explored in the context of Contemporary stories. It is a refreshing twist and one I think should be celebrated more often as there are a lot of children who live in non-conventional families and those families should be represented more as I am loving how Ms McCullough presented Amy’s presence in her grandmother’s life.

Bluestone River is one of those communities which is thinking about how it wants to make positive progress into their own towne’s future. There is something to be said for that kind of thinking – of where a towne considers all angles of new proposals but also takes stock into consideration how they want to grow rather than just growing without a firm plan in mind to execute. Too often I think smaller townes grow too fast and they all start to look like a commercial zone of big box stores and differing styles of architecture without any cohesive way of bridging the towne and their aesthetic together. It was nice to see this discussion taking place and having a community question what is motivating their future endeavours as the towne continues to grow.

Ms McCullough brought the continuity together beautifully between installments – as Eric is the mutual friend of our first Bluestone River sweethearts, Ruby and Mike. It wasn’t lost on me the connection between the title’s metaphor and the symbolism of the bridge being in jeopardy throughout the storyline – not to mention that this story took place during my favourite season of Winter! Everything was percolating so well in this installment – from how the community was rallying together to discuss their future plans for development and to how Amy needed to find her footing in her choices to return to Bluestone River. Even Eric was at a crossroads in his life wherein he needed to sort through what was motivating him and the choices he needed to be making for himself as he looked towards where he wanted to be in the next chapter of his life. This is a story about choices and owning them once they are made as everyone needs a boost of confidence at different junctions of their lives.

I felt this installment brought me back to centre – back to where I originally felt hugged close into the series within the pages of A Family for Jason. Bluestone River has a way of settling into your heart because its the kind of towne where you can either return home after a long absence or it is a towne where you can move to redefine your life and have your own new beginning. What keeps you rooted in the series is the familiar way in which McCullough makes you feel like you’ve gone home yourself – Back to Bluestone River!

-quoted from my review of A Bridge Home

I need to preface this with a note about why I am posting my ruminative thoughts several days after my previously scheduled tour stop for this lovely blog tour. On Monday, I had one of the worst ocular migraines of my life – so much so, I had to call in sick from my night job and had to take straight to sleep as it was one of those supernova ones where you have to just rest and obliterate all light from reaching your eyes. Over five hours of sleep and I was feeling a bit more like ‘me’ but not quite to the point I’d say I was back to ‘normal’ either Monday night. By Tuesday, as much as I wanted to resume my life where I had left it the night before it wasn’t until Wednesday morning I felt I had turnt the corner and things were starting to feel like I had reached a healthier patch of road again. Despite that, I asked for an extension to read this novel as I didn’t want to push my eyes past the point they could go with reading and blogging; as sometimes even with traditional migraines it takes me hours/days to recover to the point I can read or blog again.

Ergo, I asked to post this on Saturday giving me more time to read and allowing my eyes not to feel too overwhelmed by reading too fast, too soon. Unfortunately, I had some other health issues arise this weekend which delayed me from sharing my thoughts until late morning rather than earlier as I had planned. It also pushed forward other reviews I was meant to feature this week as well. I was grateful to be on the tour, as Prism is winding down for the Summer and might be on an extended hiatus thereafter. As my regular readers know, I am full of gratitude to Prism (especially to Tressa) for encouraging me to first pick up Heartwarming novels and the journey as a book blogger hosting these authors and series has been a true joy of mine these past six years.

Ms McCullough is beginning a new series now with The Rancher’s Wyoming Twins and I was grateful to be part of the reviewers on the tour as most of the Western Romances I read are either inclusive of Colorado or Montana; it isn’t too often I get to travel into Wyoming and it was a special treat of joy to find this series settled there. Of course, when the Blackwells return this Summer, I’ll be travelling into Wyoming as well (ie. Blackwell Brothers series) but for now, it felt fitting to be in Wyoming and following the adventures therein.

NOTE: The Blackwell series is by fellow Heartwarming authors: Anna J. Stewart, Carol Ross, Melinda Curtis, Amy Vastine and Cari Lynn Webb. It started with Return of the Blackwell Brothers, followed by the Blackwell Sisters and I believe its the Blackwell Cousins this Summer but I haven’t confirmed that yet but the stories are set in Wyoming not Montana.

The Rancher's Wyoming Twins
Subtitle: Back to Adelaide Creek
by Virginia McCullough
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Her worst enemy...

Could bring her heart home

Heather Stanhope wants to despise the man who now owns the ranch her family lost. But Matt Burton is raising his late sister’s adorable twins, loves horses, and is known for his loyalty and honesty. Sneaking into Adelaide Creek for her friend’s wedding, Heather hopes to avoid Matt, but fate and family have them crossing paths. Heather knows falling for Matt means risking her heart, but it’s a risk she can’t resist.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Romance Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Western Romance

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 78-1335426680

Also by this author: A Family for Jason, The Christmas Kiss, A Bridge Home

Published by Harlequin Heartwarming

on 29th March, 2022

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)

Pages: 384

Back to Adelaide Creek series:

The Rancher’s Wyoming Twins (book one)

The Doc’s Holiday Homecoming (book two) *forthcoming November, 2022!

→ Keep up with this series via FantasticFiction!

Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance, #WesternRomance and #HarlequinHeartwarming

About Virginia McCullough

Born and raised in Chicago, Virginia McCullough has been lucky enough to develop her writing career in many locations, including the coast of Maine, the mountains of North Carolina, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and currently, Northeast Wisconsin. She started her career in nonfiction, first writing articles and then books as a ghostwriter and coauthor. She’s written more than 100 books for physicians, business owners, professional speakers and many others with information to share or a story to tell.

Virginia’s books feature characters who could be your neighbors and friends. They come in all ages and struggle with everyday life issues in small-town environments that almost always include water—oceans, lakes, or rivers. The mother of two grown children, you’ll find Virginia with her nose a book, walking on trails or her neighborhood street, or she may be packing her bag to take off for her next adventure. And she’s always working on another story about hope, healing, and second chances.

Posted Saturday, 30 April, 2022 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Adoption, Ancestry & Genealogy, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Brothers and Sisters, Contemporary Romance, Family Drama, Family Life, Life Shift, Modern Day, Nurses & Hospital Life, Orphans & Guardians, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Siblings, Single Fathers, Sisterhood friendships, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA, Twin Siblings, West Coast USA, Western Romance, Wyoming

#SaturdaysAreBookish | “The Moon Sister” (Book No. 5 of the Seven Sisters series) by Lucinda Riley

Posted Saturday, 23 February, 2019 by jorielov Atria Books, Lucinda Riley, Simon & Schuster, The Moon Sister, The Seven Sisters series 2 Comments

After launching this lovely new feature of mine during [Autumn, 2018] it is a pleasure of joy to continue to bring #SaturdaysAreBookish as a compliment focus of my Twitter chat @SatBookChat. If you see the chat icon at the top of my blog (header bar) you can click over to visit with us. The complimentary showcases on my blog will reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of the chat are the stories I am reading which compliment the conversations.

#SaturdaysAreBookish throughout [2019] will be featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read across genre and point of interest. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – the stories I am reading might simply inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

I am excited about where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction. Here’s a lovely New Year full of new authors and their stories to celebrate!

Acquired Book By: Last year, I had the chance to become introduced to the Seven Sisters book series by Lucinda Riley – the experience became one of my *favourite!* reading experiences for the year – happily I was invited to join the blog tour celebrating the fifth release this February, 2019 – for “The Moon Sister”. I was simply overjoyed and humbled I could continue to champion this author and her series which I have found emotionally convicting and soul lifting with a delightfully lush narrative which is wicked brilliant for its continuity.

Ahead of reading the fourth release “The Pearl Sister” last year, I decided to back-read the entire series – which is why I have felt so dearly connected to this series ever since and why I applaud the brilliant continuity running through the series.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of “The Moon Sister” direct from the publisher Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On how I felt after I read the fourth installment of the series:

CeCe had felt Star pulling away from her even before Star knew how to articulate the reasons why she was seeking a life outside of being with CeCe; this made her feel unwanted in such an extreme way, she felt the only way to rectify her emotions was to make a radical change. Boarding a flight for Thailand – the one place she considered her respite in the world before taking the last leg of her journey to Australia (as this is where her clues led her to travel) felt right somehow. What was interesting is that you oft felt CeCe held all the confidence in the world – she never came across as being especially vulnerable, she seemed quite the opposite: like a bear to take-on the world and be the protector of Star. In reality, both sisters were equally vulnerable and had yielded to life being lived side by side rather than separately; until now, of course, when they both felt it was time to simply sort out how to live independently.

One critical thing CeCe shared is how the opinions of others can destroy your well-being and break your spirit. The kind of criticism which doesn’t seek to aide you on your journey towards being a creative artist (as she leans towards industrial art and found art installations; whilst sorting out what kind of paintings she likes to create) but rather to dissuade you from the pursuit itself. No one should have to endure that kind of judgement and for whichever reason, I found CeCe didn’t confide in her Ma or in Star (although, perhaps she felt she wouldn’t have cared) – one thing which helped me the most in life is being able to turn to my parents. Sadly, I think the confidante in her life was Pa Salt and without him nearby, she felt like she’d lost her anchour; and rightly so!

I loved how she felt Buddhism was her most comfortable religion to feel attracted to practicing because of how she felt the inner peace of what it provides to us all. CeCe was quite the deep thinker and spiritualist without realising any of this about herself. She also held back her fears, the nightmares and the questions of sanity from her family; she had a lot moving through her mind, things which you would have thought she’d want to openly discuss if only to disallow them from festering further afield. Yet, CeCe was a very private individual such was a trend of her sisters – each of them thinking they could take-on whatever they needed to face alone.

Some of my favourite moments of watching one of the seasons of The Amazing Race (in the early days) was observing the larger than life Buddha statues found throughout the South Pacific and the Pacific Rim! I was in absolute awe – due to the high definition of the cameras being used, you didn’t need to hop a plane to see them either – they seemed like they had somehow come straight through your television to where you felt as if you were standing right ‘next to them’ yourself! I thought of this as I read about how CeCe felt calm near the Buddha she was mediating near as she went to her favourite spiritual spot for a bit of solitude and causal companionship with others doing the same. Causal here referring to the fact although they were in the same place at the same time everyone was internalising their own thoughts without saying a word aloud. This close proximity to others allowed CeCea respite from feeling she was entirely alone and cast out into the world without knowing how to land on solid ground again.

The beauty of CeCe’s story is how like Star, she started to reach outside her zone of comfort, trusting people, letting them into her internal world. She might not have felt she was a good judge of character due to the fall-out with her relationship with Ace (as throughout her trip in Australia the headlines and newsprint articles were growing worse!) but with Chrissie and others she was trusting, she was finding true friends. Each of them were helping her on her journey towards positive self-growth and a deepening awareness of her roots; where her origins were only the first part of her foundation as Pa Salt helped her find herself since she left her home country. By returning back to Australia she was finding the symmetry necessary to meet her future with a balanced sense of place and self – as so much is tied to how we self-identify ourselves. For CeCe, she didn’t have a positive impression about being dyslexic as it wasn’t something she could compensate for like I could, rather it was her lifetime ‘fly in the ointment’; she couldn’t shake it if she tried. She also didn’t see it as a gift but a slight curse because she only saw how it affected her from doing things others took for granted.

In Australia, she was finding her muse again – of what inspired her to create her art and how her art was an expression of herself in a way which left her raw and vulnerable. She created artwork which spoke to her on a soul level of heightened intuition – her art was not like other people’s and that’s the way it should be for each artist has a new vision of the world around them. She simply had forgotten to trust in the process of creating and to be comfortable as a an artist who didn’t use words to share a portion of herself but she used visual media.

The best message of CeCe’s story is that in order to live free you have to be honest about who you are – in every facet of your life because if you start to hide who you are from everyone, you can literally disappear from your own spirit too. CeCe was encouraged by Pa Salt to be who she was no matter who she realised she was at the core of her being but knowing she was accepted by her father and understanding who she was on those levels of awareness were two very different things. Her sexuality was part of her identity she never addressed, it wasn’t on her radar to even look at it from an angle of enlightenment because she had a lot of fears to overcome in general. She was a woman who was afraid to live by most counts but this journey she was taking towards her past was what truly gave her the inspiration to finally see herself and face herself for the first time in the mirror. The best takeaway for me was watching her blossom into being the artist Pa Salt knew she was destined to become; as he truly saw his daughters true essence and wanted them to see themselves the way in which he did all along.

-quoted from my review of The Pearl Sister

The Moon Sister
by Lucinda Riley
Source: Direct from Publisher, Scribd | Subscription
Narrator: Imogen Wilde

Tiggy D’Aplièse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past.

At the estate, she meets Chilly, an elderly Romani man who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home…

In 1912, in the poor Romani community outside the city walls of Granada, Lucía Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation—and named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dances— Lucía is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, Lucía and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New York—Lucía’s long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores.

THE MOON SISTER follows these two women bound across time and distance on their journey to discover their true futures—but at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.

Genres: Adoption & Foster Care, Biographical Fiction, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Epistolary | Letters & Correspondences, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA Fiction, Time Slip and/or Time Shift, Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781982110611

ASIN: B07GS4SYDB

Also by this author: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl Sister

Also in this series: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl Sister

Published by Atria Books

on 19th February, 2019

Format: Paperback ARC

Length: 19 hours and 53 minutes (unabridged)

Pages: 544

Published By: Atria (@AtriaBooks)
{imprint of} Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster)

I *love!* finding videos by authors who love to engage with readers about the inspiration behind their stories – this truly is a wonderful way to find yourself immersed even further into the settings as by catching small glimpses of the characters your reading about – you start to re-align what you’ve read with what they are seeing with their own eyes whilst feeling thankful the author took a very immersive path into the heart of this book series!

The Seven Sisters Series: of whom are Maia, Ally (Alcyone), Star (Asterope), CeCe (Celeano), Tiggy (Taygete), Electra and Merope – the series is based on the mythology of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades – interestingly enough, this is a constellation in close proximity to Orion*.

The Seven Sisters : Maia’s Story (Book One) | (see also Review)

The Storm Sister : Ally’s Story (Book Two) | (see also Review)

The Shadow Sister : Star’s Story (Book Three) | (see also Review)

The Pearl Sister : CeCe’s Story (Book Four) | (see also Review)

The Moon Sister : Tiggy’s Story (Book Five)

Available Formats: Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #SevenSistersSeries

#whoispasalt ← I advise not visiting the second tag on Twitter as it tends to reveal a few things ahead of reading the stories themselves.

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley is the #1 internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including Hothouse Flower and The Seven Sisters. Her books have sold more than ten million copies in over 30 languages. Lucinda divides her time between West Cork, Ireland, and Norfolk, England with her husband and four children.

Photo Credit: Boris Breuer

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Posted Saturday, 23 February, 2019 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, A Father's Heart, Adoption, Ancestry & Genealogy, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Films, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fathers and Daughters, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, History, Inheritance & Identity, Inspiring Video Related to Content, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Life Shift, Modern Day, Orphans & Guardians, Passionate Researcher, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Simon & Schuster, Single Fathers, Sisterhood friendships, Time Shift, Unexpected Inheritance, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage

Blog Book Tour | “The Pearl Sister” (Book No. 4 of the Seven Sisters series) by Lucinda Riley CeCe is an artist on a journey towards self-identity whilst embracing the truth about her sexuality and her bi-cultural heritage.

Posted Thursday, 1 February, 2018 by jorielov Atria Books, Lucinda Riley, Simon & Schuster, The Pearl Sister, The Seven Sisters series 4 Comments

Acquired Book By: I’ve known about the Seven Sisters book series for quite awhile now, however, I haven’t had the proper chance to dig into the series – therefore, when I was approached by the publisher to considering being on the blog tour this February, I decided it was time to borrow the books via my local library! Although, as a member of the blog tour I was receiving the fourth release “The Pearl Sister” for my honest ruminations, I decided to back-read the entire series ahead of soaking into the newest installment – my personal preference is to read serial fiction in order of sequence; even if sometimes I find myself bungling the order, I love to see how the writer has set the stage for a series which becomes progressively engaging! To start at the beginning is the best way to see how they laid down the foundation for both the series, their writing style and how the characters first make their entrances into our lives.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of “The Pearl Sister” direct from the publisher Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On how I felt after I read the third installment of the series:

I admit, I was thankful this sister’s story led to a happier restitution in regards to her birth story as Maia and Ally had quite a reckoning of truth awaiting each of them as they unravelled theirs. For Star though she had more to learn not just about her origins but about herself – she truly had finally found the time to focus on who she was inside and out. I think this was the main purpose behind why Pa Salt hadn’t let his daughters take these adventures until now; they weren’t ready to seek out the truth of their past because they weren’t yet ready to take a critical look at their lives. Each of them were coming-of age to the brink of where they could honestly understand themselves better and recognise the beauty of why Pa Salt raised them on Atlantis.

Inspired by Flora and encouraged by her own heart to learn the truth of her own blood-line, she forged ahead even without understanding how she could resolve the past. The interweaving layers of this one are emotionally thicker due to the overwhelming angst of what all the women in Star’s family had to endure; straight down to her own Mum! You truly feel for these women – who through each generation had to continue to overcome such intense odds! The beautiful part about having Beatrix Potter in the story is how what I had known about her was lovingly etched into Flora’s back-story; a person who encouraged a woman to live and to seek out love no matter the costs or fears of heartbreak. After all, to love is to risk and without risk we are each only half alive! And, this was truly what allowed Star to be set ‘free’ – by researching her ancestral line, she unexpectedly found herself, found purpose in her life and allowed herself to ‘fall’ for the first time in love with someone she never felt she’d feel attracted too because she never gave herself the freedom to ‘live’ away from CeCe.

Each of these novels is a lift of joy to be reading – especially for those of us who are considering Adoption and for having a family of adopted children in our futures. They are such beautiful tomes of adoptive joy bursting through the past and the present – I can imagine they would be beloved reads for all adoptive families and lovingly would find a place in their family libraries! I know one day I shall have the full set on my own bookshelves awaiting the day to be shared with my own children. As these are stories boys and girls should read who are seeking forever families and find their adoptive parents gave them a home they never knew they could have whilst encouraging them to remember who they are and who their families were prior to their second chapters beginning anew.

-quoted from my review of The Shadow Sister

The Pearl Sister
by Lucinda Riley
Source: Direct from Publisher

Synopsis on the backcover:

CeCe D’ Apliese has always felt like an outcast. But following the death of her father - the reclusive billionaire affectionately called Pa Salt by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe - she finds herself more alone than ever. With nothing left to lose, CeCe delves into the mystery of her familial origins. The only clues she holds are a black and white photograph and the name of a female pioneer who once traversed the globe from Scotland to Australia.

One hundred years earlier, Kitty McBride, a clergyman’s daughter, abandoned her conservative upbringing to serve as the companion to a wealthy woman travelling from Edinburgh to Adelaide. Her ticket to a new land brings the adventure she dreamed of… and a love that she had never imagined.

When CeCe reaches the searing heat and dusty plains of the Red Centre of Australia, something deep within her responds to the energy of the area and the ancient culture of the Aboriginal people, and her soul reawakens. As she comes closer to finding the truth of her ancestry, CeCe begins to believe that this untamed, vast continent could offer her what she’s always yearned for: a sense of belonging.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1501180033

Also by this author: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Moon Sister

Also in this series: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Moon Sister

Published by Atria Books

on 23rd January, 2018

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 528

Published By: Atria (@AtriaBooks)
{imprint of} Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster)

The Seven Sisters : Maia’s Story (Book One) | (see also Review)

The Storm Sister : Ally’s Story (Book Two) | (see also Review)

The Shadow Sister : Star’s Story (Book Three) | (see also Review)

The Pearl Sister : CeCe’s Story (Book Four) | *my stop on the publisher’s blog tour!

Available Formats: Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #SevenSistersSeries

#whoispasalt ← I advise not visiting the second tag on Twitter as it tends to reveal a few things ahead of reading the stories themselves.

About Lucinda Riley

Photo Credit: Boris Breuer

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Thursday, 1 February, 2018 by jorielov in 20th Century, 21st Century, A Father's Heart, Adoption, Ancestry & Genealogy, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Films, Childhood Friendship, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fathers and Daughters, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, History, Immigrant Stories, Inheritance & Identity, Inspiring Video Related to Content, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Library Find, Library Love, Life Shift, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Modern Day, Multi-Generational Saga, Orphans & Guardians, Passionate Researcher, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Simon & Schuster, Single Fathers, Sisterhood friendships, the Nineteen Hundreds, Time Shift, Unexpected Inheritance, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage

Book Review | “The Shadow Sister” (Book No. 3 of the Seven Sisters series) by Lucinda Riley Star takes after my own bookishly geeky soul – she is a late bloomer who finally found her niche of passion and the freedom to live as her authentic self!

Posted Thursday, 1 February, 2018 by jorielov Atria Books, Lucinda Riley, Simon & Schuster, The Seven Sisters series, The Shadow Sister 0 Comments

Borrowed Book By: I’ve known about the Seven Sisters book series for quite awhile now, however, I haven’t had the proper chance to dig into the series – therefore, when I was approached by the publisher to considering being on the blog tour this February, I decided it was time to borrow the books via my local library! Although, as a member of the blog tour I was receiving the fourth release “The Pearl Sister” for my honest ruminations, I decided to back-read the entire series ahead of soaking into the newest installment – my personal preference is to read serial fiction in order of sequence; even if sometimes I find myself bungling the order, I love to see how the writer has set the stage for a series which becomes progressively engaging! To start at the beginning is the best way to see how they laid down the foundation for both the series, their writing style and how the characters first make their entrances into our lives.

I borrowed the third novel in the Seven Sisters series “The Shadow Sister” in hardback edition from my local library via inter-library loan through the consortium of libraries within my state. I was not obligated to post a review as I am doing so for my own edification as a reader who loves to share her readerly life. I was not compensated for my thoughts shared herein.

On how I felt after I read the second installment of the series:

As Star starts to reveal a bit of herself away from CeCe, we see an inverted woman who is introspectively private about herself – even around Ally, she holds back from sharing too much of what is currently on her mind. You feel for Star, truly, because for whichever reason she has chosen to keep mute about things which her sisters’ wish she would be more open about sharing with them. They would like to help her if she would only allow them into her world – I know her story is going to be one of the more interesting ones to read – to see what hides behind the silence but for now, I, chose to take Star at ‘hallo’ just like her sisters Maia and Ally. After all, sometimes you have to wait for people to disclose what they want to say in their own timing of disclosure. I do love seeing how the ‘next’ sister in line of the sequences to be read makes her own ‘entrance’ of sorts within the current time-line.

As Ally intuits more of the back-history of Anna’s life, she starts to realise a part of her own spirit was put on ‘hold’ over the years – the pursuit of her own musical interests, as she shares a passion for the flute just like Jens before her except she opted to take to the open sea instead. There was a reflection by Pa Salt which made quite a bit of sense when he was talking about how to encourage our children and how it is a fine line which route we give a loving nudge for them to take-on as their main thread of interest – especially if the child in question has multiple interests or passions. Ally, up until this point in her life hadn’t really taken a critical look at her personal life – of seeing if the choices she had made in her career of sailing was truly sustaining her happiness or if the absence of a relationship was giving her second thoughts. By the time she had met Theo, it felt like any missing piece of her life was finally found; which of course, made the course she was on to walk that much more despairing to read.

My heart surely was rejoicing watching all the pieces of Ally’s past knit back together in the present; she had a lovely tapestry of ancestral history co-merging into her living reality. The layers in which her past had influenced her present is quite interesting to see intersect, but personally, I loved how the secondary characters of Celia and Thom had such an impactful presence on her current life. Of course, having grown used to the process now well-established in the series, I knew I had to shift my own heart to focus on Star; as she was revealling a portion of what she needed to impart to us about herself in the ending chapter of The Storm Sister. As she did this, I mused to myself some of the clues I was picking up from past chapters were re-alighting to mind – of what Star hadn’t said or wasn’t willing to disclose might now have their day to shine a light on how the one sister no one felt they knew for sure was the one sister who intrigued me the most to become acquainted with next!

-quoted from my review of The Storm Sister

The Shadow Sister
by Lucinda Riley
Source: Borrowed from local library (ILL)

Synopsis on the Inside Flap:

Star D' Apliese is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father - the elusive billionaire affectionately called Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted across the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to her true heritage, and Star's leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a new journey.

A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in England's picturesque Lake District - just a stone's throw from the residence of her childhood idol, Beatrix Potter. But when circumstances carry her into the home of one of Edwardian London's most notorious society hostesses, Alice Keppel, she finds herself a pawn in a larger game, forced to choose between passionate love and duty to her family. That is, until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for...

Star's voyage of discovery takes her deep into Flora's remarkable story, and into her own past. But the more she uncovers, the ore Star begins to question herself and her place in the world. What is her purpose? Where is her home? And will she finally step out of the shadows of her sisters and open herself up to the possibility of love?

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ISBN: 978-1-4767-5994-4

Also by this author: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Pearl Sister, The Moon Sister

Also in this series: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Pearl Sister, The Moon Sister

Published by Atria Books

on 18th April, 2017

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 512

Published By: Atria (@AtriaBooks)
{imprint of} Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster)

The Seven Sisters : Maia’s Story (Book One) | (see also Review)

The Storm Sister : Ally’s Story (Book Two) | (see also Review)

The Shadow Sister : Star’s Story (Book Three)

The Pearl Sister : CeCe’s Story (Book Four) | Synopsis *forthcoming review 1st of February, 2018!

Available Formats: Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #SevenSistersSeries

#whoispasalt ← I advise not visiting the second tag on Twitter as it tends to reveal a few things ahead of reading the stories themselves.

About Lucinda Riley

Photo Credit: Boris Breuer

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Thursday, 1 February, 2018 by jorielov in 20th Century, 21st Century, A Father's Heart, Adoption, Alice Keppel, Ancestry & Genealogy, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Beatrix Potter, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Films, Childhood Friendship, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, England, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fathers and Daughters, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, History, Immigrant Stories, Inheritance & Identity, Inspiring Video Related to Content, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Library Find, Library Love, Life Shift, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Marriage of Convenience, Modern Day, Multi-Generational Saga, Orphans & Guardians, Passionate Researcher, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Simon & Schuster, Single Fathers, Sisterhood friendships, the Nineteen Hundreds, Time Shift, Unexpected Inheritance, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage

Blog Book Tour | “Kiss Carlo” by Adriana Trigiani A story inspired by the author’s family becomes a rivetingly brilliant inter-generational saga in which to entreat inside to discover how this family found the truest joy to celebrate whilst alive!

Posted Wednesday, 31 January, 2018 by jorielov Adriana Trigiani, HarperCollins Publishers, Kiss Carlo 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I happily have been hosting for Italy Book Tours alongside hosting for iRead Book Tours; however, it has been quite a few years since I’ve seen a novel come along for this touring company which I felt as excited about reading as ‘Kiss Carlo’! I will explain momentarily why this was the case, however, I was wicked enthused finding out I had been selected to be part of this lovely blog tour celebrating the title and the author! I received a complimentary copy of the book “Kiss Carlo” direct from the publisher HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

What initially drew my attention to read this novel:

The interesting back-story on this author, is I actually purchased two of the novels in her series focused on Big Stone Gap for my best friend. I never had the joy of giving my friend the novels (long story) nor did I read them, as that felt awkward; but I did watch the film through my local #library — it is such a wicked brilliant film, too! I encourage you to see this if you haven’t already – it has the soul of the author’s narrative voice threading throughout it’s heart. For me personally, the film was a better introduction to the author’s literary style.

When I saw this novel coming along for a blog tour, I didn’t hesitate to request a position on the tour – I *love!* multi-generational sagas which go through one family’s lineage; however, this one is ‘inter-generational’ as it’s the scope of the living relatives who are living through a generation together. Similar to how we all have immediate family whilst we’re alive – I didn’t read too much about this one, as I wanted to go into it a bit blind. I knew the girth of what the author can yield in her stories based on Big Stone Gap, but as soon as the book arrived in the Post, I did sneak glimpses of it’s pages!

I loved reading the additional bits (which I’ll discuss properly on my forthcoming review) however, what I can say now is this is quite literally inspired by the author’s family! Living histories are spoken about more regularly on my blog – of how writers are fusing their own histories into the fiction they are writing? Whether or not they go into the historic past, to centuries outside their living years or whether, like this author have kept the stories closer to the hip (so to speak) they are finding ways to impart the breadth of their own ‘story’ into the fiction their creating. I, for one, find this wicked inspiring and am so very thankful I caught sight of this blog tour because as soon as I first opened the novel, I had sense I’d become dearly attached to this family,… in a similar vein of attachment as I am to the O’ Connor’s by Julie Lessman.

-quoted from the Top Ten Tuesday Ten Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading 2018

Kiss Carlo
by Adriana Trigiani
Source: Publisher via Italy Book Tours

From Adriana Trigiani, the beloved New York Times-bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife, comes an exhilarating epic novel of love, loyalty, and creativity—the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change.

It’s 1949 and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office, owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is flourishing: business is good, they’re surrounded by sympathetic wives and daughters-in-law, with grandchildren on the way. But a decades-long feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close families sets the stage for a re-match.

Amidst the hoopla, the arrival of an urgent telegram from Italy upends the life of Nicky Castone (Dominic and his wife’s orphaned nephew) who lives and works with his Uncle Dom and his family. Nicky decides, at 30, that he wants more—more than just a job driving Car #4 and more than his longtime fiancée Peachy DePino, a bookkeeper, can offer. When he admits to his fiancée that he’s been secretly moonlighting at the local Shakespeare theater company, Nicky finds himself drawn to the stage, its colorful players and to the determined Calla Borelli, who inherited the enterprise from her father, Nicky must choose between the conventional life his family expects of him or chart a new course and risk losing everything he cherishes.

From the dreamy mountaintop village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during the birth of the golden age of television, Kiss Carlo is a powerful, inter-generational story that celebrates the ties that bind, while staying true to oneself when all hope seems lost.

Told against the backdrop of some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, this novel brims with romance as long buried secrets are revealed, mistaken identities are unmasked, scores are settled, broken hearts are mended and true love reigns. Trigiani’s consummate storytelling skill and her trademark wit, along with a dazzling cast of characters will enthrall readers. Once again, the author has returned to her own family garden to create an unforgettable feast. Kiss Carlo is a jubilee, resplendent with hope, love, and the abiding power of la famiglia.

Genres: Biographical Fiction, Emigration & Immigration, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

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ISBN: 9781471136405

Published by Harper Books

on 15th June 2015

Pages: 560

Published by: Harper Books (@harperbooks)
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)
Available Formats: Hardback, Audiobook (Digital & CD), P.S. Edition Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #KissCarlo or #AdrianaTrigiani

About Adriana Trigiani

Adriana Trigiani is the bestselling author of 17 books, which have been published in 36 countries around the world. She is a playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker. She wrote and directed the film version of her novel Big Stone Gap, which was shot entirely on location in her Virginia hometown. She is co-founder of the Origin Project, an in-school writing program that serves more than a thousand students in Appalachia. She lives in Greenwich Village with her family.

Photo Credit: Tim Stephenson

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Wednesday, 31 January, 2018 by jorielov in 20th Century, African-American Literature, Aftermath of World War II, Ancestry & Genealogy, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Brothers and Sisters, Catholicism, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cookery, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Foodie Fiction, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, History, Immigrant Stories, Inheritance & Identity, Intergenerational Saga, Italy, Italy Book Tours, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, New York City, Philadelphia, Siblings, Singletons & Commitment, Sisterhood friendships, Story knitted out of Ancestral Data, the Forties, The World Wars, Vignettes of Real Life, Village Life, Vulgarity in Literature, William Shakespeare, Women's Fiction