Category: Science Fiction

A #SciFiSundays Anthology Spotlight | “Someone in Time” (Tales of Time Crossed Romances) edited by Jonathan Strahan

Posted Sunday, 29 May, 2022 by jorielov (Editor) Jonathan Strahan, Rebellion Publishing, Solaris Books, Someone in Time 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Welcome to my tour stop for “Someone in Time”! I am a reader who appreciates finding Speculative Fiction anthologies – especially when they are curated anthologies which focus on a particular theme or subject inclusive to all the stories in a collection. I have the tendency of reading more Fantasy anthologies than Science Fiction which is why when I saw this collection was going on a blog tour – I was most excited! Especially as the concept behind the theme was the intriguing concept of time travelling or time shifting – one of my favourite subniches in literature to chase after as there are numerous ways in which time can become ‘bent’ into a story.

The trifecta of time which I regularly have featured on Jorie Loves A Story are the following: time slip, time shift and time travel narratives as each of them holds a different key of entrance for the reader. The trickiest ones of course are the time slip stories wherein your generally slipping in time between two distinctive timescapes whilst each of those eras hold their own secrets and their own timeline of the story as you move betwixt and between their parts. When it came to the concept for this collection – I was hoping the stories wouldn’t be as soul-crushing as “The Time Traveller’s Wife” but would instead be a bit more hopeful and inspiring.

I had fully planned to read through the collection this month but as the hours went forward these latter weeks of May, I realised I needed to push my review into June and spotlight the collection for the blog tour. Between work and my health, I was just stretched a bit thin and this past weekend I’ve been working through a low-grade migraine which hasn’t been the easiest either. Therefore enjoy the extract I’ve chosen to share today and return next month as I expand my thoughts into the collection of stories themselves and see where “Someone in Time” takes me as a reader. Meanwhile, if you are a ready reader of time narratives – I encourage you to share your favourite time bending stories with me and see if perhaps I’ve read or heard of some of them, too!

Whilst you might have noticed I’m focusing on Fantasy throughout the month as well – as I’m co-hosting @WyrdAndWonder. There will be loads of new content featuring those stories as well as we move into our final week and a half of the event. Everyone has been gracious providing content for everyone to enjoy this year across socially bookish channels and we’re all delighted to see the event grow into such a larger and expansive community; similar to how Sci Fi Month found its own wings to fly several years ago.

Someone in Time
Subtitle: Tales of Time Crossed Romance
by (Editor) Jonathan Strahan
Source: Publisher via Lola's Blog Tours

Even time travel can’t unravel love

Time-travel is a way for writers to play with history and imagine different futures – for better, or worse.

When romance is thrown into the mix, time-travel becomes a passionate tool, or heart-breaking weapon. A time agent in the 22nd century puts their whole mission at risk when they fall in love with the wrong person. No matter which part of history a man visits, he cannot not escape his ex. A woman is desperately in love with the time-space continuum, but it doesn’t love her back. As time passes and falls apart, a time-traveller must say goodbye to their soulmate.

With stories from best-selling and award-winning authors such as Seanan McGuire, Alix E. Harrow and Nina Allan, this anthology gives a taste for the rich treasure trove of stories we can imagine with love, loss and reunion across time and space.

Edited by Jonathan Strahan and including stories by: Alix E. Harrow, Zen Cho, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, Nina Allan, Elizabeth Hand, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Catherynne M. Valente, Sam J. Miller, Rowan Coleman, Margo Lanagan, Sameem Siddiqui, Theodora Goss, Carrie Vaughn, Ellen Klages

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Short Story or Novella, Science Fiction, Time Travel Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1786185099

Published by Rebellion Publishing

on 10th May, 2022

Format: Paperback Edition

Published by: Solaris Books
an imprint of Rebellion Publishing (@RebellionPub)

Converse on Twitter via: #SciFi, #ScienceFiction & #SomeoneInTime

Posted Sunday, 29 May, 2022 by jorielov in #SciFiSundays, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Lola's Blog Tours, Science Fiction, Space Opera

A #SciFiSundays Book Spotlight | “Under Fortunate Stars” by Ren Hutchings

Posted Sunday, 22 May, 2022 by jorielov (Narrator) Alex Magliaro, (Narrator) Ayesha Antoine, Rebellion Publishing, Ren Hutchings, Solaris Books, Under Fortunate Stars 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Welcome to my tour stop for “Under Fortunate Stars”! I have been toying with the idea of spending Sundays focusing on my love of Science Fiction as whenever November comes round for @SciFiMonth (ie. #SciFiMonth) I have the tendency of being unable to get into all the lovelies I want to read during that singular month. I felt expanding my focuses to be curated year-round whilst doing a concentration of SciFi during November might be the better route to take moving forward! Therefore, I’ll be either sharing reviews, features, interviews (such as this one!) or spotlights – or other such posts during my newly established #SciFiSundays showcases on Jorie Loves A Story.

This weekend, I had hoped to read and focus on the story ‘Under Fortunate Stars’ however, my copy from the publisher hasn’t yet arrived – though, I did recently find out there is an audiobook edition which released ahead of the hardcover this June. I will have to keep you posted on which edition of the story I read which is why I changed my tour stop from a review to a spotlight. I would have loved to have assembled an interview for you all to enjoy today however, my May was wrecked with a lot of difficult work days whilst my health suffered a bit as well. I’m thereby thankful there was an extract I could select and feature instead of being able to absorb myself into this world myself.

The reason I wanted to read or listen to “Under Fortunate Stars” was due to my previous readings of “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet” (see also Post) and the expansively engrossing The Clan Chronicles by Julie E. Czerneda. (see also Reviews) I enjoy becoming invested in a story or series set inside a ship environment whilst also focusing on the characters who either have circumstances they have to overcome or have a unique situation happen to them and you get the joy of taking that journey alongside them.

Under Fortunate Stars
by Ren Hutchings
Source: Publisher via Lola's Blog Tours
Narrator: Ayesha Antoine, Alex Magliaro

Two Ships. One Chance To Save The Future.

Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.

The Gallion’s chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five's legendary ship—and the Five's famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.

But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake...

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B09TCLRST7

on 7th June, 2022

Format: Hardcover Edition

Length: 15 hours and 13 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Solaris Books
an imprint of Rebellion Publishing (@RebellionPub)

Converse on Twitter via: #SciFi, #ScienceFiction & #UnderFortunateStars

Posted Sunday, 22 May, 2022 by jorielov in #SciFiSundays, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Lola's Blog Tours, Science Fiction, Space Opera

#SciFiSundays | An interview with T.S. Beier author of the Burnt Ship series – beginning with “Escaping First Contact”

Posted Sunday, 24 April, 2022 by jorielov Burnt Ship series, Escaping First Contact, Nostromo Publications, T.S. Beier 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

This interview today marks the first showcasing I will be featuring during my newly minted #SciFiSundays – a concentration of reviews, interviews and features celebrating one of my favourite genres which is Science Fiction! As you know, I have a soft spot in my bookish heart for Space Opera – which was definitely seen through my journey of reviews into #TheClanChronicles a few years ago whilst I have a lovely surprise coming this @SciFiMonth which re-anchours me into that beloved series. Until then, I decided I want to read more Sci Fi throughout the year rather than merely concentrate on it during November – as you might have seen, I am also starting to feature Fantasy showcases outside of the months of May & October, where I predominately feature them during an event for @WyrdAndWonder.

My interview today is about a new trilogy I learnt about via Breakeven Books when I was approached to host this blog tour. Through a quick conversation with them, I realised this series is a lot like Becky Chambers novel “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet” which I helped co-host a series of discussions about on Twitter a few years ago as well. Very character centred and driven and there is an intensive challenge for the characters to overcome whilst there is a diverse cast at the centre of it all, too.

I wanted to explore a bit more about this first novel of the trilogy through a conversation with the author as I wasn’t entirely sure if I could read the book right now in time for the blog tour. Also of note, one of my top favourite series for Star Trek isn’t the author’s favourite (ie. Enterprise) but I have very fond memories of watching that in the Spring of 2020 (or thereabouts!). We do agree on Classic Trek and not the new additions; as a bone of contention for me is ‘Picard’ which takes Trek too dark for me to traverse inside.

I am hoping this conversation gives readers on the tour and those of whom follow me something to chew on about this story and the evolving series as I know sometimes it is hard to choose which stories are good fits for us as readers simply through a synopsis! This author kindly lent her time and truly enriched the conversation with insight about how she approached writing the story as much as what you can find inclusive of it.

Escaping First Contact
by T.S. Beier
Source: Author via Breakeven Books Blog Tours

At the far edge of cultivated space, a derelict ship rests. Ten times larger than the biggest Terran dreadnaught, the ship is not recognized by any of the five species tenuously coexisting in the galaxy.

Small crews are sent to investigate. What they find is a trap.

Once in the metal labyrinth’s clutches, it is clear the unlikely allies will not escape unless they can work together as a team. Unfortunately, trust and cooperation are entirely out of the question.

An immersive tale of escape and comradery, Escaping First Contact brings together an unforgettable cast of characters, richly detailed alien cultures, deft humour, and explosive action.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1777129569

Published by Nostromo Publications

on 19th September, 2021

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 352

Published by: Nostromo Publications

Converse via: #BurntShipSeries, #EscapingFirstContact and #BreakevenBooks #blogtour

Available Formats: Trade Paperback or Ebook; available via Kindle Unlimited

Posted Sunday, 24 April, 2022 by jorielov in #SciFiSundays, Blog Tour Host, Breakeven Books, First Contact, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Space Opera, Speculative Fiction

A #25PagePreview | A STEM Fairy-tale re-telling of “Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code” (Book One: STEM Princess series) by Emma Jean

Posted Friday, 18 June, 2021 by jorielov 4Pigs2Fly, Emma Jean, Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code, STEM Princess series 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I had to take a leave of absence hosting for this touring company in [2015] whilst I worked towards finding better balance in my blogging and personal life. I returnt to hosting for Lola’s Book Tours in [2018] before having to take a small hiatus from requesting future blog tours for a second time. By [2020] as my health afflictions from 2018/19 started to recede I realised I could start to host for her authors with better confidence in being able to participate on the tours themselves. I am thankful I can continue to host and feature tours by this touring company from 2020-forward.

I received a complimentary bound manuscript ARC copy of “Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code” direct from the author Emma Jean in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I will admit, I saw this week going differently than it had – who would have suspected that my rescheduled tour date for this lovely blog tour (shifted from Monday to Friday) would have been further stalled out my even more intensive storms than the weekend prior? I also lost ALL internet connectivity and had to have a full system replacement (blessedly, courtesy of my provider – who even wants to contemplate what that would have cost?) but it robbed me of all the hours I have to read and blog. Not to mention, I logged on early this Friday morning to get a jump-start on my post and to see if I could make further headway than I had – only to have my computer slam me into a locked out state of updates itself! (angry smirks)

I decided to keep this as a reduced review – to where I talk about what I’ve found inside the first twenty-five pages of the story, my thoughts on the characters and how the story is being presented thus far along. I work a lot of double shifts and with the compounded angst of weather & storms (which yes is par usual for Summers in my region) it is further difficult as I’m not generally out in them whilst working — however, you could say, this year has been a year of changes and that has been a bit of a challenge in of itself to work through. I miss reading and just having downtime to listen to Spotify and/or queue up an audiobook. This week was exhausting because I didn’t have a way to unwind after work and the long shifts – whilst wondering if any trees would be spared due to the heaviness of the lightning. The kind that makes you jump even as an adult because its such a strong force of natural phenom crackling right outside your windows!

I pray all is well elsewhere where you all are reading yourselves – where weather and climate isn’t putting a wench into your plans and you’ve been able to soak into some wicked good stories! One note of awesomeness is the beautiful LARGE manuscript ARC I received for this blog tour! I always have to get used to double spaced manuscripts – as I personally don’t use that format as a writer, as it messes with my line reads and eyes a bit — however, the font was graciously large and the book itself was such a delight to have to read as I felt it was a kind transition for a work weary reader such as myself!! This is similar to why I enjoy reading Harlequin Heartwarming in large print as well — sometimes a girl needs a gentle way to ease back into her stories!

Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code
by Emma Jean
Source: Author via Lola's Blog Tours

Sleeping Beauty's thirteenth birthday looms on the horizon as she and her friends hole up in the cursed princess lab, determined to prove that science and technology can defeat dark magic and save the kingdom from 100 years of cursed sleep.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 979-8510604207

Published by 4Pigs2Fly

on 26th May, 2021

Format: Bound Manuscript (ARC)

Pages: 285

Published by: 4Pigs2Fly

Converse on Twitter via: #STEM #FairyTale
as well as #SleepingBeauty Retelling and #EmmaJean

About Emma Jean

Sleeping Beauty and the Cursed Code by Emma Jean

Emma Jean writes books for children of all ages.

She lives in Massachusetts, near the Mayflower (the one the Pilgrims sailed on... or at least a pretty good replica), with her husband, two sons and one troublesome Basset Hound.

She studied Creative Writing at Holy Cross then earned her Masters in School Counseling at Assumption College.

She spent years working in adolescent mental health both in academic and therapeutic settings. Like her reporters in the Charles McCheese series, she found time to travel the world, helping with the Katrina clean up effort in New Orleans, studying abroad in Sri Lanka, and working alongside the Peace Corps. in Armenia. She worked with the Red Cross and counseled children in some of the toughest cities in Massachusetts.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | LibraryThing

Posted Friday, 18 June, 2021 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Coming-Of Age, Lola's Blog Tours, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult Fiction