Category: Bits & Bobbles of Jorie

#INSPYSundays | Returning to a series I’ve only discovered in the final installments: “Fancy Meeting You Here” by Christy Hayes

Posted Sunday, 31 October, 2021 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

#INSPYSundays banner made my Jorie in Canva.

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 enquired 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 “Fancy Meeting You Here” direct from author Christy Hayes in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I fell in love with Christy Hayes and her style of Contemporary Romance:

One of the best moments I felt in the storyline is where Kayla is talking to her Mum – their trying to make sense of Kayla’s new reality – sorting out the emotions of her pregnancy and trying to look ahead to the future where Kayla and Ben have to sort out how to forge their own tomorrow together. Whatever they would choose to do for their child, they would choose to do on their own terms – that was something Kayla’s Mum understood. His parents were the opposite variety – the controlling kind, who liked to hug themselves to the law and readjust everyone else to their own will and worldview. For Kayla’s Mum, in that one moment of sincere compassion for her daughter you saw how a true mother’s love could encourage a daughter during a moment of her life where darkness threatened to erase the Light. It was also where Hayes started to insert the INSPY threads of the narrative – where she was trying to point towards how God was at the intersection of their lives and was truly at the head of where their compass was starting to point them into a new path they would be walking together rather than apart.

Hayes kept me anchoured into the story – she didn’t make excuses for her characters, nor did she overtly bring into the forum of their duress the inspirational messages you might have felt could have been added into the fray of their spiralling anxieties. She was allowing them some space – some time to breathe and feel the weight of their choices – good, bad or indifferent, they had lived those hours together and Hayes was presenting the outcome of what happens when you take one reckless romantic night and wake-up with the consequences of that affair. She openly lets her characters choose their own words and to fumble their own way through tomorrow – in that regard she had my respect because it was a very adult way of presenting a New Adult narrative on what happens when co-ed University students suddenly find themselves contemplating Mr Mom and Mrs Baby scenarios.

I needed a story to pull me back into the joy of reading – Hayes gave me a story which rooted me into her characters’ lives, gave me a reason to champion their cause and gave me such an uplift of joy to discover their story to where I felt renewed in the healing grace of finding stories which lift our spirits during moments in our lives where sometimes connecting to stories is one of the hardest obstacles we need to overcome.

I love returning to the world of INSPY and/or heartwarming romances (such as Harlequin Heartwarming) wherein I know I can be greeted by a cast of characters who will give me something to chew on whilst anchouring me into their heart-centred storyline wherein I’ll feel refreshed and rejuvenated for having met against the page. How blessed was I then to have sought out this blog tour and had the proper chance to ‘meet’ my first Hayes novel! It was a wicked brilliant introduction to her writing style and I hope others will pick up a copy to see what I found – adding to their own sought after blisstitude for uplifting fiction during the uncertain tides of everyday life (whilst we’re all surviving through a pandemic we never saw coming!).

Hayes tucks you close to the mindset and emotional state of Kayla – digging into her fears, her emotions and the ways in which her thought processes were trying to make sense of how altered her life was now that she had a confirmed pregnancy test in her hands. It was a moment that defines you and a moment where you have to sort yourself out before you can hope to move forward – something you could tell even Kayla’s roommates understood a bit before Kayla herself. Whilst at the same time, there is a definitive style in this novel – as Formula for a Perfect Life has the beauty of a Rom-Com within its folds – as it is told in a light-handed manner of exploring what a twenty-something college co-ed is going to to after a test is taken to determine her future. It is a novel hinging on Kayla’s actions and reactions to the test itself whilst everyone round her also has to react and adjust along with her – that in of itself was a bit genius as it takes the films I loved previously to a new area of enlightenment. Where the characters are younger, not quite as seasoned on life and still find themselves in a bit of a pickle when it comes to sorting out love, parenthood and the artful imbalance of romance and life!

One reason I like to read upcoming voices in Contemporary INSPY Romance is because of the changing ways the voice of the market is able to yield a wide field of narratives giving us a better grounded array of stories, characters and sequencing of stories to read. I sometimes find some of the authors’ have a style which is hit or miss for me personally, but I love the ability to seek them out all the same. With Hayes, I feel a bit vindicated that my openness to seek out new authors of Contemporary INSPY was well-placed because she’s struck the balance I was hoping to find with the ability to carve out a wicked good Contemporary Romance!

-quoted from my review of Formula for a Perfect Life
which also received one of my Cuppa Book Love Awards

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Reading Formula for a Perfect Life changed my perspective about reading Contemporary New Adult which a few authors have been able to give me after finding myself a bit burnt out on the genre overall. It was a hard sell for me initially (the genre, not the story!) as I never could quite grapple with the gap years between Upper YA and Adult, which is where New Adult is aptly suited and placed. I have the tendency of being a traditional YA reader rather than an Upper YA reader (though there are a few exceptions!) whilst I also appreciate Middle Grade; yet, when it comes to Contemporary Romance – for a long while I was starting to consider I was more apt to read an INSPY Contemporary than a mainstream one but that was before the days I read ChocLitUK (in the earlier years of Jorie Loves A Story) and long before I discovered Harlequin Heartwarming and Love Inspired Suspense.

Those Contemporary Romance authors changed my opinion but so have the INSPY Contemporary Romance authors who are switching up the genre itself and giving us wickedly in-depth stories which not only tackle heavier topics and realistic storylines (in a similar vein as the Heartwarming authors) but they are creating a lovely new niche of joy for those of us who grew up as hybrid readers of both INSPY and mainstream stories. This is the INSPY for the new generation – for readers who respect the tradition of INSPY but who also love seeing authors embrace a way to bring in the Contemporary angle to where INSPY can go in the future. This might be a step away from what people are expecting out of their INSPY novels but for me, its a refreshing change and one I continue to celebrate on my blog whenever I make a new discovery such as I had last year when I first read Christy Hayes.

However, that doesn’t mean I can’t get disappointed which I’ll be outlining on this review for Fancy Meeting You Here. As it could be a mixture o reasons why I had a slightly negative reaction to reading this novel right now (which I mention) or it could be, this particular novel in the series came off to me to be less spontaneously cheeky and a heap more darker with a full-on snark effect. I just struggled to connect to this story and the characters but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to read other stories in this series – its just for this go-round, I think my expectations were quite high and I just fell a bit short in stepping in line with the author’s vision of where the story took me.

She’s one of the forerunners in my opinion, along with Bethany Turner (Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish), Janet W. Ferguson (Magnolia Storms), Kellie Coates Gilbert (A Reason to Stay) and Becky Wade (the Bradford Sisters series and Stay With Me) to name a few!

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#INSPYSundays | Returning to a series I’ve only discovered in the final installments: “Fancy Meeting You Here” by Christy HayesFancy Meeting You Here
by Christy Hayes
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and this time there’s no keeping the flames under wraps.

After ending a passionate affair, Shelby Zurlo thinks she has it all—a career built on brains and not beauty and the independence she craves. But her graphic design business is struggling, and her solo status in a world made for couples leaves her lonely. When a client asks a favor—a favor she can’t refuse—Shelby runs headfirst into her biggest mistake and her biggest regret.

Nick Chamberlain is living the dream. He’s got a successful business venture, a strong and supportive family, and a social life most guys would envy. If only he could move on from the woman who shattered his heart and never looked back.

When a chance meeting forces Shelby and Nick to interact, sparks fly and tempers flare. Nick is determined to win Shelby back; Shelby is just as committed to keeping Nick in the friend zone. In a battle of wits, will stubborn hearts bend and sway, or snap in the headwinds of love?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Sweet Romance, New Adult Fiction, Romance Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy (Rom Com), Motherhood | Parenthood



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1625720245

Also by this author: Formula for a Perfect Life

Published by CAH LLC

on 11th October, 2021

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 295

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The Stories in the Kiss & Tell series I’ve read:

Formula for a Perfect Life by Christy HayesFancy Meeting You Here by Christy Hayes

Formula for a Perfect Life (book five): Kayla’s story : (see also Review)

Fancy Meeting You Here (book six) : Shelby’s story

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& the stories I need to gather to read next:

Stalling for Time (book one) : Emily’s Story

The End Run (book two) : Zach’s story

Kiss & Make Up (book three) : Emily & Dylan and Zach & Jenna’s stories

Maybe Its You (book four) : Reagan’s story

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This is a self-published novel by CAH LLC

Converse via: #FancyMeetingYouHere, #ContemporaryRomance & #INSPYRomance
as well as #ChristianRomance, #IndieAuthor/s and #ChristyHayes

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About Christy Hayes

Christy Hayes lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and dogs. Christy writes Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance, Christian Romance, and Women's Fiction. When not writing, she’s reading, walking dogs, or stalking her college-aged kids on social media.

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Posted Sunday, 31 October, 2021 by jorielov in 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Modern Day, New Adult Fiction, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Women's Fiction

A #SpooktasticReads Book Review | “The Devil’s Bride” by Emma S. Jackson

Posted Friday, 22 October, 2021 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

#SpooktasticReads Book Review banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I happily crossed paths with Ms Jackson via Twitter which is kindly one of the best ways I’ve been meeting authors who are being featured during @SatBookChat! This has remained true the past six years I’ve been hosting the chat and I am thankful authors continue to reach out to me socially as it makes hosting the chat such a pleasure of joy for me. I also reach out to authors I know as I read their stories but it is nice when authors who find the chat are inspired to talk to me about their books, ask to be added to the #SatBookChat schedule and kindly give me the chance to ‘meet’ their story ahead of the chat itself if it is possible to have the print or audio sent to me before their chat date arrives. Thus, this is how I met Ms Jackson and became introduced to her PNR (ie. Paranormal Romance) and Paranormal Suspense style of writing.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Devil’s Bride” direct from the author Emma S. Jackson in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why I wanted to read “The Devil’s Bride”:

I have had a bit of a hankering for ghost stories over the years and of course one of my top favourites was House on the Forgotten Coast, mostly because you don’t even realise its a ghost story! This particular narrative felt uniquely different in of its own and one that I felt would keep me up at night surely because its a bit of a Darker Paranormal Suspense novel and that would give way for me as a reader to see how dark I can handle my PNR stories!

When it comes to Historical Fantasy co-merging with the paranormal, authors tend to have different approaches to how they want to address that merger. I still remember the creative vision found within To Live Forever. Whilst that particular story was a clever one as it was also connected to the authors own walk and journey on the Natchez Trace. Sometimes I find stories go a bit too far for me when it comes to the paranormal which was true of my readings of Haunted. Yet, I still try to reach past my own comfortable zones of the genres and seek out stories which might push me a bit as a reader to see which writers are curating stories I can enjoy during the Autumnal months when I prefer to read these kind of spookier reads!

This story was given to me to be read in the Spring of 2020 and it wasn’t until Autumn 2021 I found I was able to re-attach inside it. During our annual #SpooktasticReads, I found the inspiration to re-begin several stories I was reading at different marks of progress and realised I was quite determined to finish them now rather than to put them off for later. This particular story was one I wasn’t sure if I could finish as I found myself curiously wondering what the next page and chapter would reveal to me – as it reads a bit darker than other stories and of course, I am always a bit on pins to find out how dark a story will become by its conclusion. It was a good way to kick-off my #SpooktasticReads, that is for sure!

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A #SpooktasticReads Book Review | “The Devil’s Bride” by Emma S. JacksonThe Devil's Bride
by Emma S. Jackson
Source: Direct from Author

England, 1670

No one goes near Edburton Manor – not since the night in 1668, when demons rose from the ground to drag Lord Bookham’s new bride to a fiery death. Or so the locals say.

That’s what makes it the perfect hideout for the gang of highwaymen Jamie Lorde runs with.

Ghost stories have never frightened her. The living are a far more dangerous prospect, particularly to a woman in disguise as a man. A woman who can see spirits in a time when witches are hanged and who is working hard to gain the trust of the most ruthless, vicious man she has ever known because she intends to ruin and kill him.

But when the gang discovers Matthew, Lord Bookham’s illegitimate brother, who has been trapped by a curse at the Manor ever since the doomed wedding, all Jamie’s carefully laid plans are sent spiralling out of control.

Genres: Gothic Literature, Ghost Story, Paranormal Romance (PNR), Paranormal Suspense, Historical-Fantasy



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978171168498

Also by this author: #FriFantasyReads (new Fantasy chat!)

Published by Dark Stroke Books

on 2nd January, 2020

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 205

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Published by: Dark Stroke Books (@darkstrokedark)
an imprint of Crooked Cat Books (@crookedcatbooks)

Converse via: #SpooktasticReads + #PNR, #ParanormalSuspense
#HistFic or #HistoricalFiction, #HistoricalFantasy, #ghoststory / #ghoststories and #17thC England

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

About Emma S. Jackson

Emma S. Jackson

Emma Jackson is the best-selling author of A MISTLETOE MIRACLE, published by Orion Dash. A devoted bookworm and secret-story-scribbler since she was 6 years old, she joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association on their New Writers’ Scheme at the beginning of 2019, determined to focus on her writing. Her debut novel was published in November 2019.

When she’s not running around after her two daughters and trying to complete her current work-in-progress, Emma loves to read, bake, catch up on binge-watching TV programmes with her partner and plan lots of craft projects that will inevitably end up unfinished.

THE DEVIL’S BRIDE is her second novel, published by DarkStroke as Emma S Jackson. She hopes to continue working across sub-genres of romance, as she believes variety is the spice of life.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 22 October, 2021 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 17th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Content Note, England, Fantasy Romance, Fly in the Ointment, Ghost Story, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Good vs. Evil, Gothic Literature, Gothic Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Mediums & Clairvoyants, Parapsychological Gifts, Parapsychological Suspense, Romance Fiction, Supernatural Fiction, Vulgarity in Literature

#WWWednesday No. XIV | Celebrating #SpooktasticReads 2021

Posted Wednesday, 20 October, 2021 by jorielov 0 Comments

#WWWednesdays graphic created by Jorie in Canva.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

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October has dawned,

and the witchingly spooky fortnight has finally arrived;

which means your #WyrdAndWonder team is happily hosting:

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#SpooktasticReads 2021 banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Wyrd & Wonder is a celebration of the fantastic, but it’s a long time from one May to the next to wait for an adventure and not all fantasy reads are best enjoyed with birdsong and spring sunshine. Spooktastic Reads is Wyrd and Wonder’s autumnal ghost, 13 days to share the thrills of dark fantasy, paranormal romance, ghost stories, urban legends, all things Gothic and even a side of horror for those who dare. Lisa, Jorie and I will be curling up under blankets by candlelight with hot chocolate and the spookiest things on our fantasy TBRs (and watchlists!) as we celebrate the creepier end of the fantasy genre.

-as brilliantly described by Imyril

Whereas I made a bit of an attempt to explain it myself in 2019

  • follow the official social feeds via @WyrdAndWonder
  • tag us socially via #SpooktasticReads
  • visit Imyril & lisa to see what they are doing!

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For those of you who are NEW to #SpooktasticReads, this is the secondary annual event Imyril, Lisa and I co-host every year. We knew we needed a jolt of fantastical love between #WyrdAndWonder every year and it just happens we each fell in love with the concept for #SpooktasticReads – wherein we get to explore the more spookified niches of Fantasy! This is a quite a broad stroke of genres and sub-niches of Fantasy – it is definitely open to interpretation (as all our events are!) and if you’re like me – you might find yourself hankering everything from a wicked good ghost story, to a paranormal suspense novel or a PNR (Paranormal Romance) or perhaps you’d rather dive into the Cosier side of Horror? I know I have the penchant for those kinds of stories myself every blue moon (ie. FAE, Scarecrow, Corvidae to highlight a few). There are more in that collection by World Weaver Press I need to gather for my personal library, too!

Perhaps you might like to dive into #WitchyReads like I do? Or are magical schools your cuppa tea? When it comes to darker stories of Fantasy, I occasionally find myself haunted by those stories and dare to dip my toes into those realms too. I have a trilogy and a first novel of a series leftover from Wyrd And Wonder this year I’m going to begin reading this fortnight and see how far I can progress. The thematics of both series are quite the darker shade of Fantasy but with Light permeating through the storylines – which is why I was hooked and intrigued to read them!

And, then of course, there is the merger of Historical Fiction with Historical Fantasy – sometimes this cross-sects into Cosy Horror depending on the themes explored. This year, I knew I wanted to finish one of my selections I’ve had on my shelf leftover from a @SatBookChat conversation whilst I also wanted to dive into a Historical narrative about witches and the persecution of women who were the natural healers of their communities. They were misunderstood and mistreated by those who afeared the unknowns of their trade and that is a story in of its own.

There are a small handful of audiobooks I’ve been striving towards finishing the past few years as well and I am hopeful I can snatch away enough hours during #SpooktasticReads to finally release long awaited reviews for those stories. Especially as one of them in particular I LOVED listening too but never could re-attach myself into the story in such a way to pay proper homage to the character and the story I had heard with such affectionate joy. This kind happen at times – as there is another such audiobook I am re-exploring this year during #SciFiMonth which is in the same category of this one – wherein, I heard it, I loved it and yet, my review never was able to be completed in the way I had hoped it could be shared.

I might post small snapshots of what I’m reading these next few weeks – rather than focus on longer reviews – as you might have noticed my reviews have taken a bit of a backseat lately as my work life has sort of taken over my blogging hours. I’ve missed the hours I used to be able to spend reading and blogging whilst engaging with the bookish communities I enjoy online – however, I’ve been going through a new season of my life this year – and for whichever reason, I have found 2021 a far harder year than 2020. If you pull down the sidebar menus for both years, you’ll see the keen differences and how much less I’ve been active on my blog in regards to monthly averages for posts. The fact you’ve stuck by me and continue to visit my blog means a lot this year and I am hoping as Autumn and Winter start to take hold –  perhaps, I can carve out a few more hours to read as my schedule starts to find its own rhythm and offer a bit of graceful respite to soak into stories.

Mostly — my goal is to read and listen a bit to the stories each day/night and blog my progresses whilst remaining museful of what awaits me as I progress forward! Maybe I’ll entice you into seeking out one of the stories yourself, too. Wouldn’t that be grand?!

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So, what exactly is on my #SpooktasticReads TBR?

Let’s just say I took the 13x days
AND spun it into a 13x story readathon!

I won’t be revealling ALL 13x titles at once,
but you’ll find them being featured throughout the fortnight!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #SpooktasticReads 2021
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Posted Wednesday, 20 October, 2021 by jorielov in #SpooktasticReads, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, WWW Wednesdays

#WWWednesday No. XIII | #Mythothon Reading List for Round V – a wicked lovely readathon hosted by Louise @foxesfairytale

Posted Wednesday, 8 September, 2021 by jorielov 2 Comments

#WWWednesdays graphic created by Jorie in Canva.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

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Guess who hasn’t revisited THE ODYSSEY since seventh grade!?

Any guesses!? Anyone!? Laughs.

Wait to you find out what changed my mind about a book I refused to ever re-read!

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#Mythothon banner created by Jorie in Canva.

During Round One in [2018], I had the joy of discovering this lovely & beautiful readathon #Mythothon hosted by a bookish mate of mine, Louise @ Foxes Fairy Tale – wherein she encouraged all of us to seek out re-inspired tales straight out of Greek Mythology and to take ourselves visually to a hidden sub-niche of Speculative Fiction – across genres and stories of interest, as there are many Gods & Goddess within Greek Mythos to be explored. You can re-visit the Reading List I composed for #Mythothon Year One – whilst you might want to re-visit the reading list I compiled for the second year.

Remember why I wanted to dig into #Mythothon originally in [2018]?

In truth, I’ve been toying with the idea of adding Classical Mythos & Mythos retellings to my Classics Club List – as much as the fact, there are rare moments where I have ventured into Mythos whilst reading as a book blogger. Some were misses for me – one rather became an #epicfail of EPIC proportions whilst the other one let me down for the potential I saw inside it.

And, now I shall reveal – what motivated me to revisit a book I had such a strong aversion towards reading. It was all due to the extra offerings & free audiobooks via Audible which swayed the scales in favour of re-visiting THE ODYSSEY this September for me! You see, there was an adverted new release wherein *Claire Danes* narrated a new adaptation of the Classic text and story; it took on a more direct impression of the story itself *and!* took out a lot of what I never liked about it, too! In fact, this particular version of the story felt more authentic to me even before the interview vlogs with Ms Danes mentioned the same observation!

THE ODYSSEY originally entered my life as a 7th Grader whose English Lit teacher was so enthused by the original story and the original translations of it, he couldn’t understand why ANY of us could not get just as excited as he was  about it and for the same reasons. I tried to explain it to him, about what turnt me off the text, what wasn’t working for me as a reader and why the whole project of going into Greek Mythology at that junction in my life just wasn’t the right time to pursue it. Somehow I made it through that class with a passing grade but I was at odds with him the entire year and it was exhausting. Sadly, I was the only one in my class who refuted his lesson plans and tried to get us to change course.

I knew then it would be a very hard sell for me to find my way back into reading or listening to any variant of THE ODYSSEY as he just spoilt any chance of me liking it at all. Blessedly, all these years forward now into my fourth decade, I do not remember the specifics of what I disliked and can re-attach myself back into this story with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. However, I do believe it has a lot to do with Claire Danes and the new translator of the piece itself. Sometimes you can get a bad vibe off a book without delving too far afield into it and that’s okay. Not every book is going to be a huggable book and its okay to admit sometimes the best loved books are just not the ones for us personally. In this regard, I’m hoping I can overcome that 7th Grade reaction and find both peace and resolution in re-discovering this version of THE ODYSSEY.

And, for that – I am in full gratitude to Lou. As without #Mythothon, I might never had even chanced listening to those vlog interviews by Danes or considered purchasing a copy of the audiobook. Lou planted the seed of interest and allowed me to gain such a fierce curiosity about Mythology that I must admit, its been one heck of a journey these past few years!

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Now without further delay,
let’s dig into what #JorieReads during the fifth cycle of #Mythothon!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #Mythothon 2021
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Posted Wednesday, 8 September, 2021 by jorielov in #Mythothon, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, WWW Wednesdays

#TheSundayPost X | After August, a renewed appreciation for Austen and the return of #Mythothon in my life!

Posted Sunday, 5 September, 2021 by jorielov 6 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost:

I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!

It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember!

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I’ve had the honour of writing my 2nd Austen in August Guest Post,…

Once in [2017], I tackled my journey discovering Jane Austen,

whilst four years later, I’ve written about my renewing interest

and appreciation in seeking Austen on Audio!

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AUGUST. It was meant to be the first month wherein I could finally announce my goals for #MyYASummer for 2021 and begin a bit of a hand-selected journey back into reading stories about and centred round Jane Austen’s canon. I have long held a fierce appreciation for her stories – both in the original manner in which they were written and in the visions of those who have stepped forward after her own life to re-tell and re-spin her characters’ lives in such a way which both pays homage to Austen and renews our appreciation for the Regency overall.

On that note, I’ve had a passionate eye on reading Regency & Victorian stories since I first picked up my first Romance story at the age of nine – it wasn’t a full length novel but rather two anthological collections of Christmas Romances: one set in the Regency, one set in the Victorian era. From those early readings, I was definitely on a path towards embracing Austen as well as Historical Romances which tucked me back into both eras of interest. In the ensuing years of being a book blogger I’ve come to love reading about the Edwardian era as well which is a new timescape of interest which blessedly goes hand-in-hand with stories set from the early 1900s into the late 1940s. I consider that the capstone years in my readerly life as its a nice block of time to journey into through Historical Fiction and/or through Historical Romance.

When it comes to Austen directly, as you will see in my guest post this year – I’ve entertained a few different variants of interest now as a Janeite which I might have previously avoided. For instance, to put Austen’s world into a fantastical setting might have felt a bit too far forward for me earlier in my adventure seeking out her collective works and after canons. These days? It seems quite fittingly brilliant and having seen how two different authors are approaching it, I am thankful to see two different lens into the same entreaty of blending Austen and Fantasy (with dragons!) together. The latter of which is a new release this year and one I am hopeful to pick up before @SatBookChat in November, 2021.

However, I’m getting a bit far afield,… before I resume chattering about what I was able to do during the #AustenInAugustRBR event, I wanted to go back over what I was able to do as a book blogger this August, which sadly, was a bit less than I expected to accomplish overall. It was definitely the footnote on Summer being one of the worst of the last eight years and a bit of a disappearing block of hours which led to little reading and less blogging.

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And, now, how I fared in August:

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August Blog Calendar banner created by Jorie in Canva.

BOOK REVIEWS:

  • The Twin Stars by Bridgette Dutta Portman (see also Review) *my first #MyYASummer read!
  • The Texas SEAL’s Surprise by Cari Lynn Webb (see also Review)

The Twin Stars by Bridgette D. PortmanThe Texas SEAL's Surprise by Cari Lynn Webb

If someone were to tell me how lean of a readerly month I’d have in August, coming off of June and July, I would have felt it would be quite impossible to continue through Summer without the ability to read and blog my bookish life to the same level I’m used to sharing. However, August on a whole was quite a hard month both personally and professionally; whilst it also brought its own share of strife and adverse circumstances to work through. To be honest? I’m wicked grateful the month is OVER and September has now begun! It is best to walk forward than to stay waddling through the quagmire of chaos, eh? I’m also grateful a lot of the stressful bits were worked through and with a new month, comes new possibilities of where perhaps Autumn might become a kinder season than Summer which truly sought to take my ever last nerve.

Therefore, to walk out of a month like August and have two lovely reads behind me – felt like an accomplishment of its own! The first, was meant to launch my showcases and featured stories for a little event I’ve created called #MyYASummer, which this year was meant to be co-hosted by Peyton @ Word Wilderness. I’m not sure if either of us succeeded this Summer. Though I still am hopeful to read at least 4x of the books on my list for #MyYASummer this September before folding the rest into 2022’s event.

When I first found out about The Twin Stars, I was truly overly curious how the author would handle the narrative – from the presumption this world was set a bit like the world inside The Neverending Story wherein the lead character is reading and/or creating the world in which they will one day experience was quite the clever twist on a Fantasy novel. Once I entreated inside this world, I had quite strong reactions to both the world itself and the characters within it. The ending and the last 25% of the novel were the hardest for me to read through – mostly as I hadn’t quite agreed with the direction of the story and series at that junction nor did I feel one of the characters had had a justified conclusion to that part of their own storyline. It was immensely hard to reconcile and I left the book a bit on the fence about how I felt overall because of how hard the end of it was for me. It became a very emotional read in other words and although there are very strong reasons why I loved it, there are a few reasons why I’m worried about the sequel.

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Posted Sunday, 5 September, 2021 by jorielov in #Unboxing BookMail, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Photography of Jorie, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post