Category: Realistic Fiction

A conversation | with Jaye Elliot and her story “No Chance Meeting”

Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2020 by jorielov Jaye Elliot, Living Sword Publishing, No Chance Meeting 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

In case you were wondering why I’ve been a bit quiet this last half of February – it is because I’ve been fighting a severe Winter cold and had an equally difficult migraine to contend with as well. I’ve been taking a break from reading, blogging and being online whilst I battle my way through both afflictions. Therefore for those of you who have been visiting with me and have been enjoying my latest posts – I thank you for your visits! It was lovely to know despite my poor health at the moment some of my content was resonating with my readers. It was a bit of a struggle to write the previous reviews and I was thankful they were still gaining a bit of traction with my followers – hopefully some of you found some wicked new authors to read.

Today I have the joy of interviewing an Indie Author whose written a Contemporary INSPY Realistic novel which showcases two characters at a bit of a crossroads in their lives – neither of them thinking they would have the chance to embrace a moment of love & romance nor thinking that they might be able to find the ‘one person’ who would not just understand them but would truly have something to bring into a relationship that was absent in others. What I love about finding convincting romances like this one is the power of grace and mercy in the lives of the two lead characters.

In lieu of a print copy being available for review on this lovely blog tour – I opted instead to interview the author who has the joy of moving between different genres of interest and actively publishing from the Indie side of the ledger. I love being a book cheerleader for Indie Publishers & Press as well as authors who are publishing independent from Major Trade – as each New Year, I love seeking out Indies in all varieties and seeing what is currently available to be read and found. This was truly a joy to be able to host Ms Elliot and gain her perspective on what she loves about writing under different genres (a passion I share with her) whilst finding there is a certain level of freedom in being an Indie Author overall (which of course I concur and support).

As you read through our conversation, I hope you ‘ll find a new author to read and a lovely new story to seek out. This one has a beautiful heart inside it whilst it also is giving back to people who deserve not only our recognition for their sacrifaces but for the duty they give our country. It is an uplift of joy to highlight an author who gave proceeds of her book to charity as it is something I think more of us who are seeking publishing via the Indie route should consider as it is one way we can each make a small difference in the lives of others. It is one route of social conscience commerce I love supporting and/or championing once I’ve found it.

Brew yourself a lovely cuppa

and enjoy what is soon revealled about “No Chance Meeting”!

Converse via: #NoChanceMeeting, #INPSYRomance + #Contemporary Romance

add to LibraryThing

Published: 11th February, 2020 | ISBN: 978-0983774099

Alex Jennings is done with life. After losing her brother in Afghanistan, everything has collapsed around her. Getting laid off from her day job and failing in her art career, she has nowhere left to turn. She once had faith to believe that all things would work together for good, but that faith died with her brother. Now she just wants the pain to end.

Riley Conrad served thirteen years in the military until three bullets sent him home. After a year and a half of physical therapy and scraping together a living, all he wants is to live a simple life and perhaps even open the coffee shop he dreams about. However, the weight of failing his parents’ expectations doesn’t make it easy, and working as a bartender isn’t getting him anywhere fast.

Could a “chance” meeting between Alex and Riley
set them both on the path God always intended?

Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2020 by jorielov in Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Prism Book Tours, Reader Submitted Q&A, Realistic Fiction, Sweet Romance

Author Interview | In conversation discussing the #AnnaBlanc series whilst highlighting portions of the third installment “The Body in Griffith Park” with the author Jennifer Kincheloe

Posted Thursday, 20 February, 2020 by jorielov Anna Blanc series, Jennifer Kincheloe, Self Published, Seventh Street Books, Start Publishing, The Body in Griffith Park 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Guess whose had the joy of interviewing one of her favourite Cosy Historical Mystery writers!? Yes, that would be Jorie! I had planned to listen to this third installment of the #AnnaBlanc series on audiobook – as it has become a bit of a tradition now – per each new release, wherein I was able to first read the story in print and then watch how the lovely Moira Quirk retransitioned the story into a beautiful rendition of giving us a stage worthy performance of Anna as we’ve come to know her through the imagination of Ms Kincheloe!

I’ve had the pleasure of hosting her during my chat @SatBookChat (in 2019) whilst keeping in step with her series ever since I first spied it as a book I could request from Seventh Street Books – it was my first choice and I still stand behind what drew me into Anna Blanc’s life & world! There was something immediately connective about how the vision for this series was fusing to the idea of what I felt the series would become – as soon as I dug my heels into “The Secret Life of Anna Blanc” – I was a goner!

I was wickedly excited about this independent & spirited young woman who was determined to live her life on her own accords and never let into the pressures of her society. Anna has become a heroine for all women who are striving to raise their voice, stand their ground and be the unique light they are free to be in a world who might not be ready for their individualism. And, for me – that is what carries through the series itself.

Whenever I re-engage with the series through Ms Quirk’s narrations – I find myself noticing subtle things I might have either a) overlooked or b) not have noticed the first go-round of reading this series in print. Her performance has instincts about how to draw out the characters in a truthful way of representing each of their unique personalties whilst bridging the world of Anna Blanc and the pacing of her life into our own readerly lives in the manner of performance only audiobooks can grant a reader.

I still fully intend to listen to this installment – I am awaiting renewing my #Scribd subscription in *March!* as I had a small bit of downtime whilst focusing on my health & wellness these past several months. I was grateful to see it was available on the streaming audiobook site because of how I had originally attempted to get it placed inside my regional library via a purchase request for OverDrive. I will never quite understand the issues facing libraries with how some audiobooks are just not available to be purchased or added to their collections. This is a continual issue as I even learnt the new Clare Chase novel isn’t able to be acquired either which has left me pensively museful about the situation overall.

For the audiobook blog tour – rather than removing myself from the line-up – I decided to host an Author Interview as I never tire of learning more “behind-the-book!” secrets of Anna Blanc nor would I ever tire of talking about a series I truly LOVE to read! I am hoping through this conversation – you might walkaway with a few more keen insights of your own and perhaps, if you haven’t given Anna a chance to entertain you – perhaps this interview might convince you – its high time to start @ the beginning and properly “meet” Anna Blanc!

Without further adieu : brew your favourite cuppa & enjoy the convo!

why i enjoyed reading “The Body in Griffith park”

You have to love Anna’s spunk – if she’s typing nonsensically at her typewriter or asking the most off the chart curious enquiries from Joe (such as every notation of insight she has on flowers!) – she finds the balance between being completely devoid of the requirements of her job and the spontaneity of fiercely believing she has what it takes to succeed as a detective who breaks the rules but maintains a high success rate of closed cases. In a nutshell, what isn’t to love about Anna Blanc? Stepping back into her shoes is like going home – you know your going to be on this wicked adventurous ride where only her compass knows the route you’ll traverse but ooh, the memories once you return from the experience is worth the anxieties of knowing you’ll get into the fire alongside Anna!

Betwixt the joy of finding her own case to investigate and the dalliance she’d love to have with Joe, Anna once again finds herself pulled into two different directions. Happily self-taught and well read on criminological topics of insight, Anna has the tendency to be a few steps ahead of both Joe and the other detectives in how she pieces together not just the scenes of the crimes she wants to solve but the methodology of how those crimes were left behind to be found. This is where the series is a joy to be reading because you get to see inside her process for sleuthing inasmuch as seeing her disdain at being re-directed by Matron Clemens into more ‘matronly duties’ she was hired to achieve.

Although emboldened by her choices for independence from her father (and family) – her choices do have after effects on her heart, if you take into consideration how much Anna still worries about the conditions of her father’s business affairs and what the choices she made in her own life might have reverberated into his own trials of tribulation. I was firmly against the antics of her father, as he had such a controlling interest in pushing Anna into a life which would have rendered her miserable but at the same time, the empathy, compassion and love she still has for him shows her own humanity in a light that I am not sure would reflect through his own eyes. And, that shows again the stark contrast how Anna Blanc is different from the rest of the Blanc family.

Never let it be said Anna Blanc is short on ingenuity when it comes to sorting out resolutions to problems which fall outside the normal realms of conventional society! When you reach the section on how she needs to start influencing the lives of streetwalkers who might be open to reformation, the interesting bit is how her original idea is now blooming towards fruition but how the ladies society who was attempting to step forward into this niche of charity outreach found they understand very little when it comes to the needs of working ladies! In true Anna Blanc spunkified fashion, Anna herself has to step forward into the hurdles of balancing the influence of a better path in which the women could hope to embark against and the truthfulness of their station, situation and financial needs. In essence, her answer to that particular problem was wickedly inventive and creatively appropriate!

You never know what kind of folly of joy you’ll find within an Anna Blanc Cosy Historical Mystery – one thing is wickedly certain though – Kincheloe is going to give you a hilarious romp of delight in how she carves out the dramatic crime narrative alongside smitten sleuthers Anna Blanc and Joe Singer! Keeping me fast on me feet and in the delightful joy of her seriously #awesomeauce sense of humour – Kincheloe made an early-on reference to “Bosom Buddies” wherein Anna cloyingly encourages Joe to get his groove together and switch how he presents himself in order to sneak into visit Anna at her flat!

When it comes to serial fiction, there is always a need for newfound adversity, ripples of angst and a dash of the unexpected – scenes and sequences to keep you on your toes, itching to dive into new chapters and to see how things will wick out in the end. For this installment of the series, Ms Kincheloe has expertly given us a heap of strife in regards to the relationship between Joe and Anna! She’s inserted quite a heap of drama into their young lives – given them reason to trust and mistrust each other and to confound each other as well – they move between absolute admiration and devotion to bouts of uncertainty and disillusionment. Their each struggling to find the rhythm of what makes their relationship work and how to fuse their connection stronger when they both like to butt heads like those fierce mountain sheep who lose their hooves!

-quoted from my review of The Body in Griffith Park

The Body in Griffith Park
Subtitle: An Anna Blanc Mystery
by Jennifer Kincheloe
Source: Direct from Publisher

Los Angeles, 1908. Anna Blanc is a former so-so socialite, a flailing police matron, and a killer detective.

Ex- heiress, Anna Blanc, is precariously employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, reforming delinquent children and minding lady jailbirds. What she really wants is to hunt criminals and be alone with Detective Joe Singer--both no-nos that could get her fired. On a lover's tryst in Griffith Park, Anna and Joe discover the body of a young gambler. Anna can't resist. She's on the case. With a murder to solve and her police matron duties piling up, a young girl shows up at Central Station claiming to have been raped by a man from Mars. The men at the station scoff, but Anna is willing to investigate. Meanwhile, Anna begins getting strange floral arrangements from an unknown admirer. Following the petals leads her to another crime--one close to home. Suddenly pitted against Joe, Anna must examine her loyalties and solve the crimes, even if it means losing the man she loves.

Genres: Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1633885400

ASIN: B0823YYS51

Also by this author: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook]

Series: Anna Blanc

Also in this series: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook], The Body in Griffith Park

Published by Jennifer R. Kincheloe Ltd

on 2nd December, 2019

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 11 hours and 42 minutes (unabridged)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook

Converse via: #AnnaBlanc + #HistoricalMystery or #HistMyst

Posted Thursday, 20 February, 2020 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, History, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Prometheus Books, Realistic Fiction, the Nineteen Hundreds

Author Interview | in conversation with Mary Gibson about “The Bermondsey Bookshop”!

Posted Friday, 14 February, 2020 by jorielov Head of Zeus, Mary Gibson, The Bermondsey Bookshop 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

We all love to read & we all find stories in different ways – some of us only purchase new books, others hound away at sleuthing out second hand shops, library sales &/or used book searches online; still others opt for the bargain bins or choose to listen to audiobooks (or ebooks) whilst some of us do a mixture of those things but also attempt to purchase books from Indies moreso than big box stores and we love supporting our local & regional libraries!

This brings me to my featured guest today – Mary Gibson – who is hear to talk about her latest release “The Bermondsey Bookshop” wherein this towne in the UK had a bookstore for awhile but then found itself without it. It is not just a store about a shop and the townespeople who live there but an echoing chamber of today’s commercial climate for publishing & the readers who are striving to take back their ability to choose how they want to purchase the books which interest them to read.

Why I wanted to host a Q&A for “The Bermondsey Bookshop”:

Stories which involve bookshoppes have the tendency of tipping the scales of my curiosity because there is something to be said about having grown up in a city where one large Indie bookshopped reigned supreme despite the insurgence of big box stores trying to steal their thunder and their sales. I have been an advocate for Indies and Libraries since before I was taller than the stack of books I used to carry out of public libraries! When it comes to Indie bookshoppes – the quirkier the better, I say! Those rambling stores where you need a bit of a map to gather the proper sense of order and alignment with their categories of shelves – where you can not only get lost finding stories but you get overwhelmed by all the plausible stories you can be reading just by spending time there!

Indies help communities as much as libraries and it is a rare honour to find stories in fiction which celebrate the beauty of why we need more advocacy and reader action to help #saveourlibraries and #KeepOurIndiesOPEN! ← randomly just created that tag!

When I read the description for this novel, I immediately felt pulled into the context of the story the author wanted us to feel swept inside. There is something to be said to have an anchouring in a community with a library and/or with an Indie book seller. Both equally deserve full respect and patrons because they each contribute to the greater whole of a community in general. I have loved wandering the stacks at libraries even before I knew what I wanted to research in the Non-Fiction sections whilst at Indies, there is this walkabout vibe about them, where you can simply feel absorbed into the background of the book shoppe and become part of the inertia of bookish joy which happily resides in its atmosphere. At least this was true of my own experiences.

Therefore when I was able to join the blog tour for this release and hear directly from the author how important Indie bookshoppes are and why they are viable assets which need not only protecting but the security of knowing that people are not going to abandon them – I knew this was going to be one of the blog tours I would love hosting!

On listening to the audiobook sampler:

A bit of good news! This audiobook is available via #Scribd!

It was hard to reconcile that the voice who is criticising Kate to the degree of cruelty is her own Aunt! She doesn’t give Kate enough credit nor does she seem motivated to encourage Kate’s own dreams for herself. If anything, I took it that this Aunt has a distinct path she thinks Kate must follow and any diversion therein is not going to sit well with her at all. Or even be approved – she seems that type – where she’d veto your plans before you can even break free of her rule!

You can tell Kate hasn’t had it easy in her life – her Aunt still holds over the choices of her Mum and makes direct accusations about Kate’s life through a vindictive assumption that ‘daughters will follow their Mums’ even if that doesn’t make any logical sense to anyone else – her Aunt wants to punish Kate for what Kate’s Mum choose to do with her own life.

She has to bolster herself against the tides of her life – of the routes her footsteps must take before she can brace for her truer independence. This felt immediately like a dramatic look into how one woman found a way to beat the odds and give back to a community in the process of finding her own freedom.

I very much look forward to listening to the rest of the story – as finding it was available on Scribd is a lifesaver! I try to request as many audiobooks as I can at the library but lately I am finding a lot are not available to be purchased – blessedly, Scribd has some of them and when I re-join in March I have a lovely listening list now to move through! If anyone wants to know more about Scribd kindly leave me a comment or DM me.

In regards to the narrator Anne Dover:

I recognised the accent and tone of the voice coming through my headphones but I singularly could not directly place whom the narrator was making me thing of as soon as I heard her narrating the story? It was one of those moments where you get your attention hooked from the first second you hear the narrator speak – and then, happily, its off to listening to the arc of the story the author’s left behind for you to find.

She switches between different ages very seamlessly – you could hear the innocence still in Kate’s voice whilst there is an older voiced character making her feel uneasy because they’d rather chide her than encourage her in her goals. Dover has the capacity to dimensionally resonate with the story as Gibson intended it to be absorbed because of how she’s articulating the story aloud. I love when narrators can do this – make the bridge into the author’s vision without any gaps for the reader to question. You are simply ‘removed into the story’ and it there you wish to reside until the end.

Did I grab your eye and attention?

Sound like the kind of bookish read you’ve been needing?

Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this delightful convo we shared!

The Bermondsey Bookshop
by Mary Gibson

Set in 1920s London, this is the inspiring story of Kate Goss's struggle against poverty, hunger and cruel family secrets. Her mother died in a fall, her father has vanished without trace, and now her aunt and cousins treat her viciously. In a freezing, vermin-infested garret, factory girl Kate has only her own brave spirit and dreams of finding her father to keep her going.

She has barely enough money to feed herself, or to pay the rent. The factory where she works begins to lay off people and it isn't long before she has fallen into the hands of the violent local money-lender. That is until an unexpected opportunity comes her way –a job cleaning a most unusual bookshop, where anyone, from factory workers to dockers, can learn to read and then buy books cheaply. A new world opens up, but with it come new dangers, too. Based on the true story of the Bermondsey Bookshop, this is the most inspiring and gripping novel Mary Gibson has yet written.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Women's Fiction, Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1788542654

Published by Head of Zeus

on 1st August, 2020

Published By: Head of Zeus (@HoZ_Books)

Available Formats:

Ebook & Audiobook releases 6th February, 2020!
Hardback and Trade Paperback releases 1st August, 2020!

Converse via: #TheBermondseyBookshop, #HistFic & #WomensFiction Read More

Posted Friday, 14 February, 2020 by jorielov in 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, England, Head of Zeus, Historical Fiction, Reader Submitted Q&A, Realistic Fiction, the Roaring Twenties, Women's Fiction

Blog Book Tour featuring an #INSPY author I used to interact with via Southern Belle View Daily! | “The Fifth Avenue Story Society” by Rachel Hauck

Posted Monday, 10 February, 2020 by jorielov HarperCollins Publishers, Rachel Hauck, The Fifth Avenue Story Society, Thomas Nelson 0 Comments

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

I received a complimentary ARC copy of “The Fifth Avenue Story Society” direct from the publisher Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why this blog tour reminds me of being engaged
with the Southern Belle View Daily community of INSPY authors:

It wasn’t too long ago I was an active commenter on author’s blogs (ie. 2012) wherein I had my first taste of what the book blogosphere involved and how readers were finding ways to interact directly with authors they had either read or were dearly hoping to read ‘next’. This predates when my vocabulary involved the term “TBR” and long before my own blog was as whispered dream which readily became a reality on the 31st of March (in 2013).

Just ahead of developing Jorie Loves A Story, I discovered Southern Belle View Daily (earlier in 2013) and it was happily bookmarked through my browser’s RSS feeds reader (remember that option?). I loved visiting with the authors who were at the helm of the blog: Lisa Wingate, Rachel Hauck, Julie Cantrell, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson and Beth Webb Hart were the original ladies I interacted with whilst Eva Marie Everson, Kellie Coates Gilbert, Amy Hill Hearth, Denise Hildreth Jones, Jolina Petersheim and Nicole Seitz joined them off/on over the years.

They would host interactive forum discussions on their blog and even the occasional bookaway – I won Beth Webb Hart’s Moon Over Edisto whilst during my first month of being a book blogger in 2013 I had the opportunity to review Lisa Wingate’s The Prayer Box which also became my first blog tour! Whilst getting Jorie Loves A Story off the ground and dealing with life as it was being lived whilst juggling my chronic migraines – I found I wasn’t able to maintain the connections I had established prior to being a book blogger on the author blogs I had frequented before launching my own blog. Therefore by the time I had the chance to return to Southern Belle View I learnt it was switching over to Facebook and that in effect knocked me out of joining them as I elected to become active on Twitter instead.

Through the years, I’ve grown attached to the series The Prayer Box began whilst I’ve had my eye on reading through all their stories and finding my favourites. Towards that end, I started by reading Kellie Coates Gilbert’s Texas Star series with A Reason to Stay. I still remember being involved with the now defunct Blogging for Books programme and finding one of Ms Tomlinson’s releases was available to request – however, I waited to long to decide to request it and it went to other readers! I learnt not to contemplate those choices too long afterwards, laughs.

As I never quite ‘let go’ of following their literary careers, I found out about The Fifth Avenue Story Society prior to the announcement of the blog tour via Prism Book Tours. I was going to fetch a copy of it from my local library when the invite came into my Inbox. Talk about a serendipitous day!I was overjoyed I could host one of the authors I knew previously but also, this would mark my first story by Ms Hauck I could finally read and I couldn’t wait! I also always see a hawk when I pronounce her name (big smiles) as it was the only way I could remember how to say it aloud! The fact as a wildlife photographer I’ve been blessed to capture hawks IRL through my lens is an added bit of serendipity.

You could say I feel like as I move closer to entering my seventh year as a book blogger this New Year 2020 – I am coming full circle! To my roots as a reader, to the foundation I set down as a blog commenter and as a writer reclaiming her pen and her inspiration to write her own stories. It is an exciting year and one I already feel has become memorable! How lovely I get to kick-off February’s Romance & Women’s Fiction reads with Ms Hauck’s new book!

On my connection to Rachel Hauck:

I discovered Southern Belle View Daily in early 2013 during the times I engaged with the lovely ladies who were ‘behind’ SBV I came to appreciate conversing with all the Belles, including Rachel Hauck. I was a regular visitor and commenter – up til a certain point as once my blog Jorie Loves A Story launched live in August, 2013 I was not able to visit as regularly as I had previously. In the years since 2013 I have been more at a distance from directly engaging with Ms Hauck (though a few times via Twitter as I recall?) and have followed her releases from afar always hoping to start reading them. One thing which prevented me from starting to read the Belles works of Fiction is that they were not always readily available via my local libraries.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her through Southern Belle View Daily and/or Twitter; as 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.

The Fifth Avenue Story Society
by Rachel Hauck
Source: Publisher via Prism Book Tours

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Literary Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780310350927

Published by Thomas Nelson

on 4th February, 2020

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 400

Published by: Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson)
an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing (@HCChristianPub)

Converse via: #FifthAvenueStorySociety, #RachelHauck & #TNZFiction
as well as #INSPYFiction and #WomensFiction

About Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Posted Monday, 10 February, 2020 by jorielov in 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Introspective Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Modern Day, Multiple POV, New York City, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Prism Book Tours, Realistic Fiction, Southern Belle View Daily

A New Year’s Interview | in conversation with J.S. Monroe, the Thriller novelist who gave her a wicked good chilling read and has become her #mustread author of 2020!

Posted Thursday, 9 January, 2020 by jorielov Head of Zeus, J.S. Monroe, The Other You 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I am delighted to bring to you an author Q&A featuring my favourite new Thriller novelist J.S. Monroe! He’s published by the lovely Indie Publisher from the UK Head of Zeus – of whom, gave me a happy surprise bit of #bookmail last year when I realised I was receiving “Forget My Name” by post! The novel came with a postcard and a keychain – what awaited inside was a curiously spun Thriller which at times I felt might be too shocking to finish and which ended up being one of my favourite new discovers of 2019!

I have a rather short-list of Thriller novelists I enjoy reading – Mr Monroe has joined their ranks because he gives you a wicked good chilling read *but!* in a style & rhythm you can handle without feeling *pushed!* too far afield from your general zone of comfort for these kinds of suspenseful driven plots! He knows how to take you to the brink of where a Psychological Thriller can go & then happily bring you back – through a cunningly brilliant plotting, a character centric story-line and leaves you with just enough breath you haven’t withheld to turn the very last pages to see how it all concludes! This is what I love seeking out in Thrillers and I am thankful to say Head of Zeus has happily published an author I can truly embrace and appreciate reading!

It was a pleasure of joy when I received the news I could host his new release whilst it was on a blog tour this January, 2020! The audiobook and print releases are forthcoming – my regional library has his audiobooks and I cannot wait to submit a purchase request for this novel!! Eek. I honestly haven’t been this itchy to read a Thriller in a long, long time!

However, as a tie-in to the conversation I am about to share – have you noticed how the topic of Dopplegangers is catching on in media & other outlets? There is even a cleverly spun documentary about how TikTok users are taking their celebrity-look-alike status to a new stratosphere whilst at the same time there is a group of individuals who are scouring the internet (using I believe it was reverse photo searches) to find out if people who approach them to do this kind of deep dive search have a potential ‘twin’ somewhere out in the world.

All of which brings me to the topic of the hour! Mr Monroe’s next Thriller discusses the topic of auto-identifers and the unique modern twist on realising the old saying “You remind me of…” has new meaning in a world where there really ‘are people who can look, talk and utitlise your mannerisms’ in a way which can trick others into believing they are actually ‘you’. A bit of a reverse of the plot in the Cyper / Techno Thriller film I always loved “The Net” (starring Sandra Bullock) – where she was the victim of mistaken identity but wasn’t the exact match to the other person – they just erased her files and inserted new ones. So, similar but different!

Except before we dive straight into what I asked and what he revealled – let me refer back to why I heart reading Thrillers as a genre and what it is about Mr Monroe’s signature style which held me anchoured to his pages!

Why I love Thrillers & “Forget My Name”:

Contemporary Thrillers are ones I love to find new voices in fiction as it is a niche of literature I am most curious about reading. Even if this particular niche of Lit has the tendency to push me outside my zones of comfort as a reader!

Thrillers are tricky. Perspective is everything. If your not looking at it the right way, you’ll going to find yourself seeing it through altered eyes and therefore altering how the story is meant to be interpreted. The key is to hold on tight and let the story unfold one trepiderious page turn after another!

Mr Monroe has a unique style of how he begins to taunt you a bit with the suspenseful arc of his novel whilst he gives you just enough to chew on to re-contemplate everything you’ve just read! He pulls you through the narrative as if you only have the information the characters have themselves – meaning, the reader is blind to both the truth of the situation and the set of circumstances that led-in to this story. He even switches it up a bit by having you re-think what you think about when it comes to the foundations of the Psychological Suspense genre itself – for a girl who cut her teeth on Hitchcock and classical horror films which were the founding origins of this genre in motion pictures, I must credit Monroe with a seemingly benign yet altogether sinister approach which leaves you rooted in the pages of his novel!

Even when you realise you are more confused than ever about what actually is going on – Monroe has this way of giving you a wicked good read where you feel motivated to turn the pages! Such as the moment when Tony’s wife Laura has felt she can’t deal with the situation anymore involving the mysterious stranger, she takes off for an unexpected holiday; to be with her parents and take some downtime. Meanwhile, Tony doesn’t waste time to re-enter into Jemma’s life – to insist she is re-invited to stay with him and almost pretend as nothing was kicked up between them. And, that is the moment where I questioned everything all over again! Why was he so insistent? What changed his mind and how does this all lead back into the lost identity of Jemma? As you can see Monroe wants you to think about this plot… but are you ready for when he starts to twist it to where you might not wish to turn the next page? Ah, but that is the question isn’t it! How far can you read before you instinctively are unsure if you want to know the conclusion?

Mr Monroe keeps you on the edge of the book – you want to read this in one sitting but if you find yourself unable to do that like I had myself – take your time with the story. You’ll appreciate it more because this is one riddler of a puzzle to sort through! It has different sides of a mirror if you think about it – how the image in the mirror is reflected depends greatly on your point of view and the perspective of the clues, facts and events which lead you to see what you perceive but is that the way in which Monroe wants you to see it? That’s the question truly.

Sorting out Monroe’s layered psychological Thriller is what keeps you turning the pages and questioning the maddening plot straight through to the very last chapter where you’ll run out of questions and be left with a #SpookyReads kind of a Thriller resting on your shelf. It is only then where you can replay the novel back round – re-seeing what you missed the first go-round and understanding Monroe’s style as you re-think everything over again!

-quoted from my review for Forget My Name

Did I grab your eye and attention?

Sound like the kind of thrilling read you’re seeking?

Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this delightful convo we shared!

The Other You
by J.S. Monroe

Kate used to be good at recognising people. So good, she worked for the police, identifying criminals in crowds of thousands. But six months ago, a devastating car accident led to a brain injury. Now the woman who never forgot a face can barely recognise herself in the mirror.

At least she has Rob. Young, rich, handsome and successful, Rob runs a tech company on the idyllic Cornish coast. Kate met him just after her accident, and he nursed her back to health. When she's with him, in his luxury modernist house, the nightmares of the accident fade, and she feels safe and loved.

Until, one day, she looks at Rob anew. And knows, with absolute certainty, that the man before her has been replaced by an impostor.

Is Rob who he says he is? Or is it all in Kate's damaged mind?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Crime Fiction, Thriller

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1789541670

Also by this author: Forget My Name

Published by Head of Zeus

on 6th February, 2020

Published By: Head of Zeus (@HoZ_Books)

The stories by J.S. Monroe I’ve been intrigued by:

Forget My Name (see also Review)

Available Formats: Hardcover and Ebook

Converse via: #TheOtherYou, #Contemporary #Thriller

About Mr J.S. Monroe

J.S. Monroe read English at Cambridge, worked as a foreign correspondent in Delhi, and was Weekend editor of the Daily Telegraph in London before becoming a full-time writer. Monroe is the author of six novels, including the international bestseller, Find Me.

Posted Thursday, 9 January, 2020 by jorielov in 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Thriller, Crime Fiction, England, Head of Zeus, Modern Day, Reader Submitted Q&A, Realistic Fiction