Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov Cedar Pocket Publishing, Seldom Come By, Sherryl Caulfield, the Iceberg Trilogy 1 Comment
Seldom Come By by Sherryl Caulfield
Published By: Cedar Pocket Publishing
Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #SeldomComeby & #SeldomComeByBlogTour
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Seldom Come By” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Sherryl Caulfield, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
I remember catching a glimpse of this novel, whilst checking my feeds on Twitter, and thinking to myself how incredible visceral this novel sounded! I immediately tweeted the author & Ms. Bruno concurrently; I had the happiness of finding there was a spot on the blog tour and I was tucked inside the list of book bloggers! My visit to the author’s website for the first time revealed such a bevy of delight: from the behind-the-scenes extras to the depth of layers the author knitted into her author’s site to give any reader a heap of joy on their returning visits! I love websites you cannot simply devour in seconds, but rather have to linger over and absorb one page at a time! Caulfield has given us all something hearty to read whilst engaging our hearts into the stories flowing out of her pen!
Icebergs and glaciers have captured my attention from a young age — the Goliath of marvel within the natural world has a splendidness about it which is truly unique! I’d love to visit certain regions of North America where you can see icebergs as much as you can kiss the cold breath of their gracefulness! Awe-inspiring yet a ticking reminder of how fragile the balance is within the natural environment for which they are residing. Everything has a natural rhythm and balance — although I also grew up with the realisation of how destructive an iceberg can be to a ship (Titanic always drew my eye, my heart, and part of my soul) there is a measure of acceptance of tinkerature of chaos of which none of us can control.
What truly drew me into this enchanting premise of a novel is simply how it was sparked an experience in a Eastern Canadian Maritime Province I was already curious about (Newfoundland) and how the author herself, drew you into this slice of time breathing in an awareness of known truths out of the tanglements of war, life, and love.
(originally shared on my interview with Ms. Caulfield)
Seldom Come By
Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, fifteen year-old Rebecca Crowe’s fascination with icebergs leads her to save a shipwrecked survivor, Samuel Dalton, the nineteen-year old son of a Toronto medical family.
Love sparks in the crystal cave of an iceberg but is thwarted by an unreasonable father and the Great War that drags Samuel and his brother, Matthew, to the Western Front as medical officers. Knowing Rebecca is home and safe in Newfoundland brings Samuel great comfort. But as the war moves towards its final harrowing days, they both discover that tragedy and terror can strike anywhere, setting their love on an unforeseen path.
Only when Samuel and Rebecca can fully come to terms with such devastating loss and their impossible choices can their love soar. With an emotional intensity reminiscent of The Bronze Horseman, Seldom Come By, named after an actual place in Newfoundland, is an unforgettable journey across waves and time and the full spectrum of human emotions.
Places to find the book:
Series: The Iceberg Trilogy, No.1
Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters
on 10th October, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 490
About Sherryl Caulfield
Australian-born Sherryl Caulfield is a marketer, writer and traveller. After twenty years working for some of the world’s leading technology brands and a stint with Outward Bound, she longed to write about the human experience and the redemptive qualities of nature.
In 2006, haunted by an encounter with a woman she met in Canada, Sherryl started what has now become known as The Iceberg Trilogy. From her home in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, she distilled the lives of three generations of women – Rebecca, Evangeline and Lindsay – over the course of a century. In the telling of their stories she crafted a series rich in landscapes – of sea, land and the human soul.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Newfoundland | frozen beauty:
I originally came to find Newfoundland by a Newfie who is an actor in television movies and series; my interest was further perked when I had learnt of the story behind Gander’s influence on the travellers who landed at their airport on 11th of September, 2001. Previously I had stumbled across the non-fiction book at my local library, but during the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, the special documentary which went back to Gander was soul-inspiring. This was the Newfoundland I had uncovered whilst researching the Province, the people, and the land which encompasses it as a whole. I even sent for travel pamphlets wherein I received so much more from the tourism bureau, including a bookmark! The bookmark was one small clue to the fact Newfies love the art of story-telling and the craft behind how the stories evolve over the time they are first told aloud. The stories they tell are natural bourne, fused directly into their veins as the common celebration of alighting together in a pub or a friend’s house over supper; the stories linger onward into the night as conversation cascade the joy through the moment.
Moreso than even the depth of their connection to each other, is the connection they share with the land and sea. Like their American North Atlantic neighbours (in Northern New England; especially in regards to Maine), they rely on a living by what the sea and the land can yield as much as the dependency on what the weather will bring. There was always an undercurrent of Newfoundlanders as a whole, as a particular type of person you’d meet if you were to visit in everything I listened to or read. What I found amazing when I started to tuck inside Seldom Come By is how inherently precise Caulfield curated this awareness inside her story! It is something you have to feel as your senses gather an instinct of insight through your intuition as it is not tangible nor is it able to be seen outright. A bit more of a thread of how life can be lived whilst united with the people who stand behind you and of a place both untamed and preserved. Read More
Posted Thursday, 11 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 20th Century, Australian Literature, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, During WWI, Family Drama, Family Life, Geographically Specific, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Life Shift, Light vs Dark, Military Fiction, Newfoundland, the Edwardian era, War Drama, War-time Romance, Warfare & Power Realignment
Posted Tuesday, 9 December, 2014 by jorielov Cedar Pocket Publishing, Seldom Come By, Sherryl Caulfield, the Iceberg Trilogy 3 Comments
I remember catching a glimpse of this novel, whilst checking my feeds on Twitter, and thinking to myself how incredible visceral this novel sounded! I immediately tweeted the author & Ms. Bruno concurrently; I had the happiness of finding there was a spot on the blog tour and I was tucked inside the list of book bloggers! My visit to the author’s website for the first time revealed such a bevy of delight: from the behind-the-scenes extras to the depth of layers the author knitted into her author’s site to give any reader a heap of joy on their returning visits! I love websites you cannot simply devour in seconds, but rather have to linger over and absorb one page at a time! Caulfield has given us all something hearty to read whilst engaging our hearts into the stories flowing out of her pen!
Icebergs and glaciers have captured my attention from a young age — the Goliath of marvel within the natural world has a splendidness about it which is truly unique! I’d love to visit certain regions of North America where you can see icebergs as much as you can kiss the cold breath of their gracefulness! Awe-inspiring yet a ticking reminder of how fragile the balance is within the natural environment for which they are residing. Everything has a natural rhythm and balance — although I also grew up with the realisation of how destructive an iceberg can be to a ship (Titanic always drew my eye, my heart, and part of my soul) there is a measure of acceptance of tinkerature of chaos of which none of us can control.
What truly drew me into this enchanting premise of a novel is simply how it was sparked an experience in a Eastern Canadian Maritime Province I was already curious about (Newfoundland) and how the author herself, drew you into this slice of time breathing in an awareness of known truths out of the tanglements of war, life, and love.
It was such an honour for me to interview Ms. Caulfield for the blog tour and I welcome you to leave your comments for her in the threads below our conversation!
Book Synopsis:
Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, fifteen year-old Rebecca Crowe’s fascination with icebergs leads her to save a shipwrecked survivor, Samuel Dalton, the nineteen-year old son of a Toronto medical family.
Love sparks in the crystal cave of an iceberg but is thwarted by an unreasonable father and the Great War that drags Samuel and his brother, Matthew, to the Western Front as medical officers. Knowing Rebecca is home and safe in Newfoundland brings Samuel great comfort. But as the war moves towards its final harrowing days, they both discover that tragedy and terror can strike anywhere, setting their love on an unforeseen path.
Only when Samuel and Rebecca can fully come to terms with such devastating loss and their impossible choices can their love soar. With an emotional intensity reminiscent of The Bronze Horseman, Seldom Come By, named after an actual place in Newfoundland, is an unforgettable journey across waves and time and the full spectrum of human emotions.
Read More
Posted Tuesday, 9 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 20th Century, Australian Literature, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, During WWI, Family Drama, Family Life, Geographically Specific, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Life Shift, Light vs Dark, Military Fiction, Newfoundland, Reader Submitted Author Interview, the Edwardian era, War Drama, War-time Romance, Warfare & Power Realignment
Posted Monday, 8 December, 2014 by jorielov Catherine Lloyd, Death Comes to London, Death Comes to the Village, Kensington Publishing Corp., Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, Lady Darby Mysteries 0 Comments
Death Comes to London by Catherine Lloyd
Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. ()
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book
Converse on Twitter via:#KurlandStMaryMysteries, #DeathComesToLondonBlogTour
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Death Comes to London” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I requested the first novel in the series to better understand the flow of continuity and the origins of the Kurland St. Mary mysteries series of which Kensington sent me a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to the Village”. I read both novels back to back for the blog tour and was not obligated to post a review for the first novel. I received a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to London” direct from the publisher Kensington Books, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I sometimes find curious extra bits tucked inside my review book parcels, and this time around Kensington surprised me with a few things: a bookmark for “Death of a Dog Whisperer” by Laurien Berenson replete with the ENTIRE series listing on the opposite side of the bookmark! How lovely! I am going to be seeking this series out via my local library! My grandmother was keen on the series (at least I am thinking she was! I only remember there was a cookery mystery series she loved to read and I felt it was this one?) but it was the Double Fudge Brownie recipe bookmark which whet an interest to see when in 2015 I can borrow “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder” to sort it out for myself! And, ooh yes! I am going to bake these brownies too! Which girl do you know wouldn’t savour a ‘free’ chocolate maddeningly rich brownie recipe!? The third surprise was a postie (postcard) annoucement for Kat Martin’s “Against the Sky” February release — on the flipside, it reflects her Alaskan series! However a rather buff agent of the law is on the cover of “Against the Sky” also set in Alaska (perhaps their the same series?) and I happily read “first time in print”! Ooh how lovely – perhaps it was an e-book previously!? (as an aside I found a tweet which answers my questions! see below this review!) Thank you, Kensington for whetting the whistle of my curiosity with these lovelies!
Inspired to Read:
As I have expressed recently, my love and passion for reading cosy mysteries are twofold: I appreciate the ones which take-on a particular historical setting and thereby become a part of the emerging sub-genre “Cosy Historical Mysteries” of which I defined a bit underneath this tour’s author’s guest post; all the while I appreciate the traditional cosy mysteries which harken back to the grandmother of the genre itself Agatha Christie! (read my thoughts on Dame Christie via my tour stop for The Monogram Murders) The Regency is a era of folly and mirth of joyful readings for me — I positively adore reading romances set during the Regency era and the fact this particular mystery series is set within a tranquil and quaint village outside of London; well, you can well imagine how wicked happy I was to request to be on the blog tour! I believe as you read my review of the first novel Death Comes to the Village prior to reading this review of the sequel you shall understand fully why I am drawn into reading cosies!
I read this installment with my newly given reading marker with the cutest hound dog and a stack of books seen on the front side of the Death of a Dog Whisperer bookmark! I had forgotten to mention there is a wicked lovely puzzle you can play with the cover art for “Death Comes to London” on the author’s website! Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Monday, 8 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Cosy Historical Mystery, England, Equality In Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Regency Era
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov Jennifer Coburn, Sourcebooks, We'll Always Have Paris 1 Comment
We’ll Always Have Paris by Jennifer Coburn
Published By: Sourcebooks (@SourceBooks)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “We’ll Always Have Paris” virtual book tour through France Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
Being a lifelong traveller who appreciated visiting different areas throughout her home state as much as the states nearby and further away, I can attest my best travels were always in companion with my family. I have travelled numerous times independently, but there was always something missing — the key component for me is the person who was not there to ‘share’ the randomness of the joy and the unexpected (oft-times humourous!) moments which knitted together to prove to be the best stories told long after I had returned! I love sharing the adventures of life but sometimes what I enjoy more is discovering someplace new with someone beside me to see their perspective and to re-define my own at the same time.
Some of my fondest memories are travelling with my Mum on a road trip which criss-crossed through the Southeast, Midwest, and Eastern starboard side of the United States. We spent nearly four years on the road and travelled over 15,000 miles in total. The stories of life on the road are some of my favourites of the recent past, but it was the way in which we spent our hours and delighted in our discoveries whilst on the road that have kept with me the most! Including all those silly moments, like trying to sort out the right number to ring a radio DJ about the crazy stunt they were attempting to pull off for the holidays or ducking into the Grand Ole Opry just to see the festive decorations!
When I originally saw this memoir become available for review, I was quite eager to see how other Mums and daughters recollect their travels together! Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Bookish Films, Fly in the Ointment, France, France Book Tours, French Literature, Indie Author, Memoir, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Non-Fiction, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Travel Narrative | Memoir, Vignettes of Real Life, Vulgarity in Literature
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov Catherine Lloyd, Death Comes to London, Death Comes to the Village, Kensington Publishing Corp., Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, Lady Darby Mysteries 0 Comments
Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd
Published By: Kensington Publishing Corp. ()
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, E-book
Converse on Twitter via:#KurlandStMaryMysteries
Acquired Book By:
I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Death Comes to London” virtual book tour through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I requested the first novel in the series to better understand the flow of continuity and the origins of the Kurland St. Mary mysteries series of which Kensington sent me a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to the Village”. I read both novels back to back for the blog tour and was not obligated to post a review for the first novel. I received a complimentary copy of “Death Comes to London” direct from the publisher Kensington Books, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Death Comes to the Village
Regency-set historical mystery, first in new series.
A wounded soldier and a rector's daughter discover strange goings-on in the sleepy village of Kurland St. Mary in Catherine Lloyd's charming Regency-set mystery debut.
Major Robert Kurland has returned to the quiet vistas of his village home to recuperate from the horrors of Waterloo. However injured his body may be, his mind is as active as ever. Too active, perhaps. When he glimpses a shadowy figure from his bedroom window struggling with a heavy load, the tranquil façade of the village begins to loom sinister. . .
Unable to forget the incident, Robert confides in his childhood friend, Miss Lucy Harrington. As the dutiful daughter of the widowed rector, following up on the major's suspicions offers a welcome diversion--but soon presents real danger. Someone is intent on stopping their investigation. And in a place where no one locks their doors, a series of thefts and the disappearance of two young serving girls demands explanation. . .
As Robert grapples with his difficult recovery, he and Lucy try to unearth the dark truth lurking within the village shadows, and stop a killer waiting to strike again...
Places to find the book:
Series: Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, No.1
Also in this series: Death Comes to London, Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters
on 31st November, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
About Catherine Lloyd
Catherine Lloyd grew up in London, England in the middle of a large family of girls. She quickly decided her imagination was a wonderful thing and was often in trouble for making stuff up. She finally worked out she could make a career out of this when she moved to the USA with her husband and four children and began writing fiction. With a background in historical research and a love of old-fashioned mysteries, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to wonder what a young Regency Miss Marple might be like, and how she would deal with a far from pleasant hero of the Napoleonic wars.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
My introduction of the key characters:
The charm of the cosy within is the cantankerous bloke who warms your heart whilst saying the most wild and unsettling of declarations! He’s at his honest wit’s end, and thereby, all the wildlife in his particular section of the world must be within his field of sight of being ousted out of their natural environment because they are interferring with his tranquility of slumberment! If it weren’t so dire of a picture to envision this war hero walking angst ridden through wood and thistle, it would be laughable because whom would suggest such a crazy thing? Owls surely hoot for good reasons, but on the upturnt it was his nature of voicing his vexations at these natural occurring consternations that endeared me on the upstart of the novel!
My very first impression (of which will not surprise most who know me) of Major Robert Kurland mirrored a direct twin of L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stuart’s fated voyeur photographer who catches a murderer red-handed in Rear Window!) The Major has returnt from the front of war with an ill-begotten injured leg, laid up (pent up most likely!), and finding every wince of a vice he can lay his mind upon! He charmed me with his crustacean countenance!
Lucy is a spitfire in her own right, but with less confidence in voicing her confluence of opinions, and relegates her resolve of still being under her father’s roof; thereby his rules of life. A rector’s daughter who replaced her dear Mum who died in childbirth, Lucy’s path in life is laid out like paving stones leading out of a garden. Everything expected of her without a want or will of her own regard, yet a slow burn of freedom knits into her bosom! Her age of youth is on her side, which gives the impression she’s a heap of a step towards endeavouring her own mind and heart like Jo March!
The one character who will irk your ire quite a heap isn’t the Major, for he is by far the best companion detective to Lucy, and thereby brings out the joy in reading this series, no by all accounts it is the rector! Lucy’s father has a tongue of thorns and an indifference of gratitude for his daughter’s selfless and tireless work to maintain a home rather than a house. She took charge of everything yet has gained nothing but discontempt back from the one person you’d have felt would sing her praises. I applaud the differences being rapt apparent between her father and the Major; as the Major appears to be to have become not necessarily a full-on surrogate father but he is in her stead of confidence for an advisor on life’s affairs. She trusts the Major and even that surprises her a bit, but it is the level of honesty between them which I believe has endeared them to each other. Read More
Posted Sunday, 7 December, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Cosy Historical Mystery, England, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Regency Era