#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 17th November Guest Author | “Stay” by Jennifer Silverwood part of my #Mythothon readings!

Posted Saturday, 17 November, 2018 by jorielov Jennifer Silverwood, Self Published, Stay 2 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 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.

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. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

This particular review is slightly different from my regular blog tours and hosting features for Prism Book Tours – as an opportunity came along this Autumn to secure a spot on a ‘review tour’ rather than a ‘blog tour’ for the debut novel by Jennifer Silverwood entitled: Stay. Although she’s published different series and stories after this publication from 2013, I welcomed the chance to get to know her writing style from the moment it began being published. This differs as each of the reviewers and book bloggers who are committing to this review tour are posting at different intervals before the final deadline for the review tour concludes. In my case, this also included being able to anchour this review with my @SatBookChat showcase for the novel and the book discussion which came out of it.

I received a complimentary copy of “Stay” by the author Jennifer Silverwood in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I originally was keen on the writing styling of Ms Silverwood:

When I first discovered Silver Hollow, it was the genre-bending styling of the author which implored me the most to read the story. At the time, Silver Hollow was being re-released and the only version currently available back then in print was the older version. Sadly, despite my efforts to secure that copy by inter-library loan had failed. It still remains a story I want to read one day, however, what was interesting about moving inside Stay was finding the natural nuanced styling of a writer who takes cues straight out of the Mythological past!

As I hinted at during @SatBookChat today, there are moments within reading Stay where I could almost feel the presence of Poseidon and Zeus; except, I wasn’t naming them in my mind. There are enough elements of connection within the story itself to draw you closer towards naming them outright but it was the illusion of connection to these two which I appreciated even more because it deepened the suspense and the mythological proportions! If it could be them, what if it wasn’t? What if there are others out there who can behave and manipulate the elements just as cheekily and get away with it?

This bridge between the fantastical and the mythological is what made me keenly curious about Silverwood’s writing style. I wanted to see how she used the bridge itself, as generally speaking I do have a penchant for Urban Fantasy nowadays but each writer I read within that branch of literature has their own unique spin on how to make ‘modern’ settings warmly conducive to Fantasy realms.

Finding myself dearly enchanted by how she brokered a story out of the roots of Greek Mythos is only the tip of the iceberg I feel I shall be finding within her collective works! The joy of reading Stay and discussing it was finding out the sequel is arriving in 2019!

On my connection to Jennifer Silverwood:

When our paths first crossed, Ms Silverwood and I shared a mutual interest and connection; however, our friendship did not form for awhile afterwards. It was truly after the interview went live and after I noticed I was reading her blog as much as she was reading mine – where I realised we shared a lot of commonalities in our reading lives as well as our writely lives! We decided to stay in touch and it is an honour to find someone who understands the bridge between reader, blogger and writer.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Silverwood through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I hosted her Silver Hollow blog tour and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.

Stay
by Jennifer Silverwood
Source: Direct from Author

Rona believes love is nothing more than a myth, a tale for little girls.

Until the immortal ruler of the seas appears from thin air and she is swept into a dark and dangerous affair, turning myth into a grave reality. Commanded to work as the savior of true love, Rona realises that love is just an illusion as grandoise as magic and after two thousand years, she is ready to give up. Until the night a human, deep in the underbelly f the city that never sleeps sees her. She recognises him instantly, a lost love. Trouble is, he has no memory of her. Tasked with mending a relationship between the love she lost thousands of years ago and another woman, Rona will have to learn what it means to be human all over agai when past and present collide.

Can love transcend time or will Rona be forced to roam earth alone, forever?

Genres: Greek Mythos | Legacies, Nautical Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Romance (PNR), Urban Fantasy

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1484116890

Also by this author: Author Interview: Jennifer Silverwood (Silver Hollow), Book Spotlight: Borderlands Saga, Silver Hollow, Book Spotlight: Blackbriar Cove

Published by Self Published

on 3rd June, 2013

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 214

Converse via: #PNR, #ParanormalRomance + #Mythos, #Mythology & #UrbanFantasy

as well as #WomensFic or #WomensFiction

About Jennifer Silverwood

Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of two series—Heaven's Edge and Wylder Tales—and the stand-alone titles Stay and Silver Hollow.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#Mythothon 2018

Posted Saturday, 17 November, 2018 by jorielov in #Mythothon, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, After the Canon, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Dark Fantasy, Debut Novel, Earthen Magic, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Folklore and Mythology, Gods & Goddesses, Greek Mythology, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Indie Author, Modern Day, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Mythological Societies, Nautical Fiction, Parapsychological Suspense, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Self-Published Author, Spin-Off Authors, Supernatural Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Urban Fantasy

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 10th November Guest Author | “Perfect Day” (Part One of a re-telling of #Persuasion by Jane Austen duology) by Sally Malcolm

Posted Saturday, 10 November, 2018 by jorielov Carina Press, Harlequin Books, Jane Austen, Perfect Day, Persuasion, Sally Malcolm 0 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 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.

Acquired Book By: One thing I love about being active in the bookish side of the twitterverse is being able to interact with authors. Not only do I get to readily engage with authors I am just discovering ‘now’ but I have the chance to re-connect to the authors I’ve known in the past – Sally Malcolm is one of those authors! I first learnt of her style for Romance within her debut novel for ChocLitUK – in fact, it was featured during my original Saturday’s event called #ChocLitSaturdays. The novel was about pirates and life on the high seas – in essence, my affinity for Captain Jack Sparrow and my interest in these kinds of epics at sea is what led me to become curiously curious about “The Legend of the Gypsy Hawk”. I was oft curious if there would be a next chapter after this debut and due to life evolving forward, simply had forgotten to chase up the recent goings on in Ms Malcolm’s literary career.

Until I caught sight of her tweets giving a s/o about a m/m Romance re-telling of a Jane Austen novel I personally found quite arduous to get into and opted not to read it for a long while now! I was re-inspired to see ‘Persuasion’ from Ms Malcolm’s perspective and see how this would work through a re-telling and re-spun as an m/m romance duology. The first in the sequence is ‘Perfect Day’ and it is followed closely by ‘Between the Lines’.

Thus, I agreed to accept a complimentary copy of “Perfect Day” by the author Sally Malcolm in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I originally was keen on the writing styling of Ms Malcolm:

Malcolm has found a way to ignite your imagination inside a pirate tale by the smallest of details, tricking your mind into believing exactly what your heart is willing to acknowledge – she’s found clever ways of tucking in certain descriptive details that level themselves believable for the era but also, for the setting of a pirate’s locale! I loved the little touches she granted the opening of her trilogy – to root you where you were taken and to give an assurance that you could settle inside this pirate’s tale with the atmospheric touches you’d expect to find! It was in the manner of speech inasmuch as the necessity for firelight illuminating great niches of space where the pirates resided whilst eluding to the expanse of their reign over the region they controlled.

Even the manner of how the salt air mingled with long hair, and how bare feet graced Amelia’s feet as she causally walked about both ship and land – it gave you a proper glimpse of where the Gypsy Hawk had taken anchour! I could nearly have smelt it for myself, as Malcolm kept encouraging your imagination whilst building the back-stories of Captain Hazard and Amelia (a Captain in her own right of her father’s fleet) to where each would intersect and collide paths into one another. Fitting really, as they each had such a spark of defiance intermixed with a challenging will to seek adventure at all costs.

I liked Malcolm’s ease of manner in telling her tale – she purports you so completely inside the story, it’s nearly not known if you stepped through a portal or were simply ‘elsewhere’ the moment you picked up her story – this feeling I had whilst I was reading about the Gypsy Hawk was most welcome indeed – as it was a lovely reprieve and a quicker read than most historicals will grant you! I liked how right from the turning of the beginning chapters, your so settled inside the thickening plot as to beg the pages to turn faster to learn more of how any of the growing tension and conflict can resolve! I like a well-told story but what is keen is to have a quicker read told equally as well – sometimes it’s nice to take-on lighter faire in historicals – reads where you can let your mind play a bit round the edges of a story and not lie heavily on plots that tug at your heart or still your soul due to the dramatic revelations.

Malcolm has written a delicious historical for readers who want to take an adventure on the high seas and combine their love of pirates from motion pictures with their love of story-tellers who can capture their heart on the written pages of a novels!

-quoted from my review of The Legend of the Gypsy Hawk

I read about the Gypsy Hawk two years ago and now have had the lovely chance of reading Ms Malcolm’s newly revealled styling where she exchanged m/f romances for m/m romances! I am not a stranger to the m/m or f/m romance or fiction genres as I’m an open-minded reader who believes in #EqualityInLit. Something I’ve tried to promote via my feeds on Twitter inasmuch as my diverse selections on Jorie Loves A Story where I opt to either read to review, listen to review or showcase stories across all spectrum’s of literature including LGBTQ+ inclusive story-lines.

A few of the stand-outs for me was the discovery of the Edith Lewis and Willa Cather mysteries by Sue Hallgarth wherein we’re entreated to a purview of their lives on the road as they visit different locations important to them whilst they were alive and solve a bit of crime on the side! They are intuitive novels writ in the Cosier side of the ledger for mysteries but crafted with a sophisticated eloquence you don’t wish to put down at all!

One of my favourite champions of f/f Women’s Fiction which ties in a lovely relationship novel centred around non-traditional families, foster care and adoption is the delightfully poignant The Language of Hoofbeats by Catherine Ryan Hyde. This story echoes a realistic impression about at-risk youth, emotional anguish and angst of growing up without a foundation of ‘home’ and the people who risk their heart to nurture the children who have felt they were abandoned or forgotten. If you loved the relationship between Steff and Lena on The Fosters, the two characters within this novel will warm your heart!

In a new entry of cross-genre interest for Steampunk and altered time shifting stories, I happily discovered Tara Sim’s Timekeeper novel in audiobook! It was a wondrous world full of dramatic emotions and an intriguing plot set in a universe you truly want to re-visit and get to know even better than your first visitation! She also included a unique m/m romance between two very unique characters and I felt she honoured her cross-genre approach and the relationship very well. One of these days I need to listen to the next stories in sequence as this was only the beginning!

Being a Janeite, as much as the author herself, I was keen on seeing how she approached the original canon (even though technically I have not read Persuasion) and re-imagined it in a very modern and contemporary world setting. I wasn’t sure if I would pick up on the usual nuances re-tellings have within them due to my lack of knowledge of the original story however, as it was one story of Austen’s I never felt I could warm too I was excited about the prospect of finding a re-telling which might give me the aesthetic of Austen without it being of Austen.

Perfect Day
by Ms Sally Malcolm
Source: Direct from Author

When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense.

With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love. Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.

Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach, and the last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.

But as Finn and Joshua circle each other, drawn together yet kept apart by their painful history, old feelings begin to stir. Is it possible for love to bloom again in hearts so scarred by regret, resentment, and hurt?

Genres: After Canons, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA Fiction, Men's Fiction, Re-telling &/or Sequel, Romance Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978148803187

Published by Carina Press

on 13th August, 2018

Format: Portable (Pocket) Paperback Edition

Pages: 266

Published by: Carina Press (@CarinaPress)
an imprint of Harlequin Books

I’ve been adding flames to those stories of Romance which have extra heat inside them and are more intensively written than others. This one definitely qualifies as there is a certain flashback sequence between Finn and Joshua which explores how they fused their passion together and re-defined their own sense of sexuality amongst themselves.

This is a Digital First release and will be released into more formats.

Uniquely I do have a paperback copy of this novel – similar to the title I recently reviewed by Tule Publishing “A Small Town Christmas”, I cannot find a listing for the print copy I reviewed. I listed the ISBN for the print copy I have but used the publication date for the ebook as I couldn’t trace when the print copy dropped. What I love most about the book itself is how charmingly ‘portable’ this copy is – it reminds me of the vintage hardbacks my grandfather gave me – uniquely small, compact & brilliantly able to be taken with you as you travel!

Sally Malcolm’s re-telling of Persuasion duology:

Perfect Day (part one)

Between the Lines (part two) | Synopsis

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance, #LGBT and/or #LGBTRomance

and #Persuasion OR retell of #JaneAusten

About Ms Sally Malcolm

Sally Malcolm was bitten by the male/male romance bug in 2016 and hasn’t looked back.

Perfect Day is her first published male/male romance, with the follow-up (Between the Lines) out later in 2018 and a dozen other ideas bubbling away on the back burner. Her stories are emotional, sweetly angsty, and always have happy endings.

Sally also writes tie-in novels for the hit TV shows Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. To date she’s penned nine novels and novellas, and four audio dramas.

She lives in South West London with her American husband, two lovely children, and two lazy cats.

Posted Saturday, 10 November, 2018 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Vulgarity in Literature

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Celebrating the first Police Procedural Thriller of this series & my second Autumnal guest author via #SatBookChat: “Murder on the Marshes” (Book One: Tara Thorpe Mysteries) by Clare Chase #SpooktasticReads

Posted Saturday, 27 October, 2018 by jorielov (Narrator) Lucy Brownhill, Bookouture, Clare Chase, Hachette UK, Murder on the Marshes, Tara Thorpe Mysteries 3 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 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.

Acquired Audiobook By: This particular audiobook (‘Murder on the Marshes’) marked the first pre-order I placed on Audible.com when I had my membership with Audible. In the months since August, I decided to switch memberships to Scribd for the time being due to the reduction in cost for a subscription based service for audiobooks – however, I still have an active account on Audible and still use it to listen to audiobooks – either those I’ve purchased (past/ present), the complimentary ones I receive for review and/or the ones I’m either gifted or have won in giveaways. As this was an author I had previously read and loved – I happily awaited the publication date to arrive to where I could start listening to ‘Murder on the Marshes’. I am posting my review of this novel for my own edification and for continuing to want to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I was not obligated to post an honest review nor did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Previously, I did host an interview with the author, Clare Chase and she provided the Press Materials for this series to use on both the interview and on my review if I elected to share one. She is also a guest via my chat on Twitter showcasing Romance & Women’s Fiction (inclusive of all sub-genres) @SatBookChat on the 27th of October to discuss this series and her character Tara Thrope.

Why I was excited about listening to ‘Murder on the Marshes’ and why it took me until October to begin listening to the story during #FraterfestRAT!

A lot of times I have the pleasure of joy of #amlistening to a sampler of the audiobook I want to purchase – however, in rare instances, there is an embargo on having those available publication. Ergo, I was wickedly itching to ‘hear’ the narrator, as listening to audiobooks for me is a brilliantly lovely visceral experience to where I feel pulled into the world a writer creates through the fusion of not just their written words which are eloquently interpreted & brought to life by the narrator – but the actual way in which the narrator voices the characters, sets the tone of the story and the ‘experience’ of hearing the story articulated through spoken dialogue – it’s a lovely immersion of bookish delight – so imagine, trying to ascertain ‘how’ this would sound without a guide? My curiosity nearly killed me,…

.@bookouture I've been so dearly EAGER to hear your #narrator, I can't help myself but read until the clock strikes twelve; pop into my #Audible library, see if I can🧐the #audiobook & sit here listening to the first bits whilst in full anticipation of what will start to unfold😁

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) July 31, 2018

I’ve disclosed this before – a narrator can quite literally de-motivate me from listening to an author’s collective works even though I technically try to keep the door ajar to re-try another of their stories (similar of course, if I read a story in print, find it wasn’t my cuppa & try to find a different title of theirs to give a whirl of a chance of fitting my bookish wanderings). For me, the narrator makes/breaks the whole experience – I can give narrators a bone if say, the delivery isn’t quite posh or if it feels like their still gaining traction on their narration style – but overall, if their voice grates in my ears, if their approach is less than reasonable or even plausible – I can feel myself ‘pull out’.

Here’s how I reacted to hearing ‘Murder on the Marshes’
for the very first moment I found it available to ‘hear’:

A wicked good choice for #narrator – listened to a few minutes of the chapter, as I’m working on cooking dinner, but couldn’t not play the book!?She’s approaching #MurderOnTheMarshes in a similar vein as @EsmieMatthews approached #KayHunter I surmise I’ll be properly enthralled!

— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) August 1, 2018

Having become so dearly transfixed by Alison Campbell’s style of embracing Kay Hunter, I was primed for ‘meeting’ Lucy Brownhill! Even though I’ve heard only a smidge of the first Chapter, I already could *feel!* this was the right narrator – her approach into embracing Tara Thrope echoes Campbell’s Hunter. In finding this realisation, I knew my time spent within ‘Murder on the Marshes’ was going to be epic, brilliant & chilling!

If you had told me back in *August!* my father would have had a health scare wherein we thought he might have a second stroke (due to issues with his hypertension) – I might not have believed you! I was emotionally taxed and stressed for over three weeks within August awaiting to see if everything would right itself again. Somewhere in those weeks, as I felt numb to reading and completely lost in my reading life as a result – I avoided stories like the plague! I couldn’t get focused on hearing audiobooks nor could I focus on reading them either – the whole month is a bit of a blur except for the emotions I felt as a result of the health crisis my Dad went through.

As a result of that – September started off on hard footing as I had my own share of health issues I had to transition through as well. Ergo, August & September were not the best months for me and this is after five months of Spring being especially wrecking for my health & wellness. However, similar to July being the month I reclaimed my reading joy after a hard Spring, so too, has October become a renewing month for me now that Autumn has taken hold!

Even with two low grade migraines these first weeks of October, I am undeterred – as I personally feel better than I had in the previous two months! Thus, my listening of this new story by Ms Chase was placed on ‘hold’ – even knowing the sequel was due out in October, there is only so much you can do when your facing adversity in life and doing the best you can to find your bookish joy again lost inside the stories you love reading. This is why when October started to draw closer, I knew I would want to seek out some readathons and/or reading challenges – fun events to get myself re-inspired into the stories I had to hold off reading or listening whilst life calmed back down again.

This is how I came to find #FraterfestRAT – which celebrates everything under the October moon from ghosts to Thrillers to crime dramas! It truly is an all-encompassing readathon and for me personally, it felt like the best way to get re-charged & re-fuelled to reading the stories I love during this time of year! I might have had a late start (due to the second migraine!) but for me personally, this readathon gave me the little nudge I needed to begin once again inside ‘Murder on the Marshes’!!

A notation about Bookouture & Hachette Books:

In [2016] I created a series of interviews featuring #Bookouture authors: Teresa Driscoll (feat. ‘Last Kiss Goodnight’); Natalie Meg Evans (feat. ‘A Gown of Thorns’); Renita D’ Silva (feat. ‘A Mother’ Secret’); Debbie Rix (feat. ‘Daughters of the Silk Road’); Kerry Fisher (feat. ‘After the Lie’); Helen Pollard (feat. ‘The Little French Guesthouse’) and Tom Bale (feat. ‘See How They Run’). I’ve been striving to collect all of these stories for my personal library whilst intending to share my ruminative thoughts – as I personally love to showcase a guest feature ahead of reading the stories which intrigue my bookish heart! Of this list, as of Thanksgiving 2017 – I have happily acquired the audiobook version of ‘The Little French Guesthouse’ which is a next listen of mine this year! I have more to share about how I acquired this audiobook when I share my ruminations!

Whilst for the past few years I’ve been a book blogger reading INSPY (faith-based) and Motivational stories (of fiction and Non-Fiction) from Hachette Books (USA) imprints: FaithWords and Center Street. At the time of coordinating this interview with Ms Chase, I had missed the fact ‘Bookouture’ was acquired by Hachette UK. This marks my first guest feature and showcased story for Hachette UK : Bookouture! (see also the announcement of the acquisition)

Meanwhile, as per my announcement recently featured on The Sunday Post, No. 6 – I purchased a copy of the digital audiobook version of ‘Murder on the Marshes’ which I am looking forward to listening too. My ruminations are forthcoming on behalf of this first installment of the Tara Thrope series as being this is my own purchase I am not obliged to post my reflections on this novel, I am choosing to showcase my reactions as Ms Chase is an author I personally love reading! (see also my review of ‘You Think You Know Me’)

Previously, you will remember, I crossed paths with Ms Chase through my readings of ChocLitUK (of which I am a reviewer) whilst I have had the pleasure of getting to know her personally through my bi-monthly chat @SatBookChat (previously known as @ChocLitSaturday).

On my connection to Clare Chase: When I started a chat in [2014] my path crossed with Ms Chase as she was a regular chatter of what is now known as @SatBookChat. Ms Chase and I started to notice our reading habits were aligning with each other, and her conversations were happy editions to my week as I liked finding someone else who liked the same types of stories I was gravitating towards myself. We continued to ‘chat’ about our reading habits even outside of #ChocLitSaturday (the previous name of the chat), which was a blessed joy for me.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Chase through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I host #SatBookChat and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.

Murder on the Marshes
Subtitle: A gripping murder mystery thriller that will keep you turning the pages
by Clare Chase
Source: Purchased | Personal Library
Narrator: Lucy Brownhill

As the sun rises, a wealthy young woman – Samantha Seabrook – is found drowned in the ornamental fountain of a deserted Cambridge courtyard, the only clue – an antique silver chain wound tightly around her throat.

It’s Tara Thorpe’s job to discover what happened to Miss Seabrook – but the case becomes personal when she learns that Samantha had been receiving death threats… rather like the one that landed on Tara’s doorstep the night the woman died.

Together with Detective Inspector Garstin Blake, Tara tracks the killer to the dank and dangerous fens on the outskirts of the city. But there’s something Tara can’t quite admit to Blake about her past – and it could make all the difference to whether they live... or die.

Genres: Amateur Detective, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Thriller

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781786814319

ASIN: B07FPNP92B

Also by this author: You Think You Know Me

Also in this series: Death on the River

Published by Bookouture, Hachette UK

on 1st August, 2018

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 10 hours and 45 minutes (unabridged)

The Tara Thrope Mysteries:

Published by: Bookouture (@bookouture)

an imprint of HachetteUK (@HachetteUK)

Murder on the Marshes (book one)

Death on the River (book two)
celebrated its Pub Day → 17th October, 2018*

*this is a digital first release (ebook)

whilst other formats will follow including an audiobook!

Converse via: #TaraThrope, #Thriller and #Bookouture

About Ms Clare Chase

Clare Chase writes mysteries set in her home city of Cambridge and is fascinated by the location’s contrasts and contradictions. She’s worked in diverse settings – from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons – and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies presents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books. She lives with her husband and teenage children, and currently works at the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#FraterfestRAT 2018
#SpooktasticReads 2018

Posted Saturday, 27 October, 2018 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Amateur Detective, Audiobook, Blog Tour Host, Bookouture, Crime Fiction, England, Equality In Literature, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Investigative Reporter | Journalist, Modern Day, Psychological Suspense, Vulgarity in Literature

#Sponsored by FaithWords (Publisher) | #SaturdaysAreBookish Book Review | “Fatal Mistake” (Book One: White Knights series) by Susan Sleeman

Posted Saturday, 20 October, 2018 by jorielov FaithWords, Fatal Mistake, Hachette Book Group Inc., Susan Sleeman, White Knights series 0 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 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.

Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Hachette Books and their imprints, starting with FaithWords which is their INSPY (Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction) imprint of releases focusing on uplifting and spiritual stories which are a delight to read whilst engaging your mind in life affirming and heart-centered stories. I found Hachette via Edelweiss at the conclusion of [2015] and have been wicked happy I can review for their imprints FaithWords & Center Street.

This book review was sponsored by Hachette Books who provided me with a complimentary copy of the book “Fatal Mistake” direct from their imprint FaithWords (an imprint of Hachette Book Group Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: All my posts and/or reviews since May 2018 I am featuring on behalf of Hachette Books now states this is ‘sponsored’ by the publisher. Kindly refer to my Review Policy where I disclosed the reasons why this new language of disclosure is being added to [jorielovesastory.com].

When it comes to Romantic Suspense, I find myself pulled in by the writers who truly know how to knit out a story rooted fully into the Suspenseful arc but hug us close to the romantic overtures which might have to wait til there is a resolution.

This was especially true in July as I read stories by Laura Scott and Lenora Worth – two authors I championed as writers part of the #LoveINSPIRED Suspense imprint of Harlequin. Elizabeth Goddard is a favourite of my Mum’s I still intend to read before the close of the year and with this particular novel by Susan Sleeman I am starting to find out how much I am enjoying her approach to Suspense and Thrillers; even though I have a few of her Love Inspired Suspense novels which are also waiting my eager eyes to be read!

Rom Suspense for me works best when we are fully encased in the thrilling realities of the characters – of what went wrong and what led them to needing support of the law to help them overcome the situation(s) which have placed their lives in danger. I prefer to read the stories which are writ rather clean and despite having a heavy psychological suspenseful edge to them are not the kind of stories which would lead into having nightmares afterwards! I want to read the stories which at some point have an upturnt in how the resolution resolves in such a way as to make you feel uplifted rather than soul crushed!

I was hoping for the same kind of experience as I move through the White Knights series – the only thing which surprised me is when I visited Ms Sleeman’s website, the way it was eluding too about this particular series is that this is strictly a duology – rather than a full-on series?! I’m unsure how the whole series can evolve and resolve through two installments as more than the first half of Fatal Mistake felt like such a well-conceived world to be inclusive of ‘more stories’ than just the two – however, sometimes I know series are either cancelled or are strictly set as duologies. This one just felt ‘larger than’ the space it appears to occupy and I am curious if it really is a two book series or if there could be more installments lateron for the White Knights?

Notation about the Cover Design: I personally love the cover art for the trade paperback edition vs the audiobook edition of this novel. As for me, I felt the characters were better captured on the paperback than on the audiobook. I am sure others might differ in their opinions but I felt the audiobook showed Cal Riggins quite a bit too rough and ready – whereas he really is a highly trained agent, there is also a softness to him – where he’s not all brawn! I felt the balance was better on the paperback for showing his likeness and how I found him to be within the print edition.

Fatal Mistake
by Susan Sleeman
Source: Direct from Publisher

An FBI agent must protect the woman who can identify a terrorist bomber in bestselling author Susan Sleeman's riveting romantic suspense novel.

Each day could be her last...but not if he can help it.

Tara Parrish is the only person ever to survive an attack by the Lone Wolf bomber. Scared and emotionally scarred by her near death, she goes into hiding with only one plan--to stay alive for another day. She knows he's coming after her, and if he finds her, he will finish what he started.

Agent Cal Riggins has had only one goal for the past six months--to save lives by ending the Lone Wolf's bombing spree. To succeed, he needs the help of Tara Parrish, the one person who can lead them to the bomber. Cal puts his all into finding Tara, but once he locates her, he realizes if he can find her, the Lone Wolf can, too. He must protect Tara at all costs, and they'll both need to resist the mutual attraction growing between them to focus on hunting down the bomber, because one wrong move could be fatal.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781455596461

Published by FaithWords

on 9th May, 2017

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 400

Published by: FaithWords (@FaithWords)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

Converse via: #RomSusp, #SusanSleeman, #Contemporary #Romance

About Susan Sleeman

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a bestselling and award-winning author of inspirational and clean read romantic suspense books. In addition to writing, Susan also hosts the popular website TheSuspenseZone.com. Susan currently lives in Oregon, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a retired church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#20BooksOfAutumn 2018
#FraterfestRAT 2018
#SpooktasticReads 2018

Posted Saturday, 20 October, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Near-Death Experience, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Vulgarity in Literature

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 13th October Guest Author | “Indecision” (Part One of a duology) by Brittany Fuller

Posted Saturday, 13 October, 2018 by jorielov Brittany Fuller, Indecision, Indecision Duet (duology), Self Published 0 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 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.

Acquired Book By: One thing I love about being active in the bookish side of the twitterverse is being able to interact with authors. This is how my path crossed with Ms Fuller – where in a random encounter led to chattering about her debut Contemporary Romance being a duet, the first installment of a duology; of which I was most excited to learn more about as the format of dulogies interest me greatly since I first started discovering them as a book blogger. Ironically or not, I did not read as many as a reader prior to having my bookish blog! I credit this to the wider net of awareness I have gained as a book blogger and the more routes of interaction I’ve become blessed within the book world to actively be more ‘aware’ of the uniqueness of releases which are not traditional series, limited series, mini-series and/or non-sequential series – or even, series rooted by theme, setting or supporting cast but rather, a duology – one half of a whole spilt into two individual volumes which once read together compliment and complete each other.

Thus, I agreed to accept a complimentary copy of “Indecision” fully aware of the fact it was the first of a duology release by the author Brittany Fuller in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

On why I was keen on reading ‘Indecision’ knowing it was a duology:

It truly began about a discussion with Ms Fuller about readers and duologies – about the misconceptions about duologies and how sometimes readers feel short-changed by them. For me personally, I wouldn’t feel upset if a novel I was reading turnt out to be a duology – as I’ve read stories I felt were stand-alone novels which ended on ambiguous final chapters without a hint of a whiff of a sequel or anchouring novel to accompany them.

One quite infamous read of mine where I was honestly in such bereavement and ached for a sequel was when I had borrowed a novel called The Golem and the Jinni by new author (that particular year) Helene Wecker! I was emotionally distraught as I had taken this arduous journey, emotionally gutted and the ending,.. ohh, dear how to even describe it? It felt like a new beginning or a regeneration of what could be plausible or possible, but an ending? No, it didn’t feel quite like that to me,… if you visit that particular review you’ll see how I learnt about the (forthcoming) sequel and how happy I was to interact with Ms Wecker in the twitterverse, as it truly became a ‘journal’ of a passionate reader,…

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, where you are unsure of a connective sequel wherein either writer anchours the first story to a limited series, a mini-saga or series, or a non-sequential series where your reading stories linked by setting, theme or characters – you have the option of soaking inside a duology. I, personally would never feel disappointed if I read a story and it turnt out to be a duology – even if I wasn’t previously attuned to this being the case, as I have had the unlucky habit of finding myself in the midst of full-on serials wherein I have to back-track to find the originating stories and/or find which stories are still available in print (for purchase or borrowing) in order to re-adjust the continuity, gather the thoughts of how the author set the tone for the series overall and generally feel in confluence with the stability of the evolving story (or saga).

Speaking on behalf of the previous duologies I’ve read, I have a high level of respect for how writers write them. Mostly as you are being given half of the evolving arc of narrative, half the journey of the characters both major and minor and have to have felt you’ve resolved or have come to a conclusionary ending by the time you put down the second half of the duology. For those writers who have continued to inspire me and give me a ready story for which I love reading anchoured in this unique fashion, I am forever humbled and blessed to have had their stories cross my bookshelf.

Thereby, when it came time to decide if I wanted to dive into the world in which Indecision lies in the midst of a ‘duet’ – I daresay, dear hearts, I dove right in!

Notation about the Cover Design: There are a few moments where I stumble across cover art and design which speaks directly to the heart of the story – most cover art designs today strike to find a balance between what is marketable and what is relevant even if sometimes I think they (ie. publishing & PR) err on one side of the ledger vs the other – in this particular case, what was so very striking about the cover is how it truly represents both characters: Evelyn and Noah. Specifically as to why the pier would be of ‘importance’ and what that important ‘revelation’ on behalf of a character would mean in regards to being ‘clued in’ to understanding ‘them’. In essence, I love when a cover of a novel is a glimpse of a portrait of the story the author has written – I much prefer these kinds of covers than a marketable gamble on aesthetics!

Indecision
Subtitle: He gave up everything to be with her but is she willing to do the same.
by Brittany Fuller
Source: Direct from Author

Noah knew one thing in life, he would never let a woman rearrange his world ever again. After giving up his future once for what he thought was true love, only to end up alone with what little pride he had left, he headed out towards the West Coast and sunny California in hopes of putting his past behind him. After one year trying to fit into the fast-paced lifestyle, he’s ready to pack up and head back to the south, and his old Kentucky home, even if it means crossing paths again with the demons he left behind. That is, until he meets her. The one girl he can’t help but be drawn to no matter how hard he tries. As he finds himself ready to surrender everything once again for a future with the one woman he knows he will never be able to live without, he’s suddenly forced to realize she just might not be willing to do the same.

Evelyn has had the same dream since she can remember. After her parents moved her to northern California as a pre-teen, she is determined she won’t rest until she can move back home to Orange County and somehow land a job at the LA Times. Vowing to never let anything stop her, and so far succeeding in making her goals come almost within reach, she will not compromise and will let nothing stand in her way. Although, the night a tall handsome stranger comes to her rescue in a dark corner of a downtown bar, her life is suddenly changed and forever rearranged. Noah soon has her questioning everything she thought she wanted in life. Suddenly, she finds herself torn between the life she always wanted, and the one man she’s afraid to live without. Although, when she’s offered her dream and the chance of a lifetime, does she take it, or does she choose him?

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

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0692153468

Published by Self Published

on 7th July, 2018

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 272

Self-Published Author

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance, #Romance #Duology & #SecondChanceRomance

About Brittany Fuller

Brittany Fuller has known one thing since as far back as she can remember, she wanted to be a writer!

Born in Orange County, California, she grew up scribbling notes and drawing stick figures on blank pages, stapling them together and calling them her latest book.

Her family moved to northern California when she was five, and throughout the years her writing has evolved to poems, songs and short stories.

Returning to college at the age of 28, after getting married and starting a family, she received a degree in journalism and recently took a leap of faith uprooting her life and moving to Kentucky where she works as an editor of a community newspaper.

Although, before leaving the West Coast, she took a chance and started to write her first novel in the hopes of fulfilling a dream she’s had since she was a little girl. To become an author.

With no plans to stop writing anytime soon, she is excited to embark on what she hopes will be a long career.

Busy planning, drafting, writing and reading any chance she gets, she loves to hear feedback and connect with not only readers, but potential clients as well.

Posted Saturday, 13 October, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Near-Death Experience, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Vulgarity in Literature

Category: #SaturdaysAreBookish

About Jennifer Silverwood

About Ms Sally Malcolm

About Ms Clare Chase

About Susan Sleeman

About Brittany Fuller