Posted Sunday, 31 July, 2016 by jorielov A Lesson in Hope, A Place Called Hope, CenterStreet, Hachette Book Group Inc., Hope series, Philip Gulley 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a new reviewer for Hachette Books and their imprints, I started by reviewing two releases by FaithWords, their INSPY (Inspirational 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 blessed to start reviewing for them.
I received a complimentary copy of “A Place Called Hope” direct from the publisher Center Street (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.
Why I wanted to read a Gulley novel:
I cannot recollect exactly when I discovered the Harmony series by Mr Gulley, but it was during my wanderings at my local library, a book or two from the series kept winking at me to read! Similar to the novels by Ms Whitson, I simply never had the pleasure of soaking inside his novels!
I can honestly say, the most enjoyment I have had in recent years is being caught up inside ‘small townes’ in the fictional worlds authors are treating me to visit! Townes like Cedar Cove (Debbie Macomber), Serenity (Sherryl Woods), Lambert’s Corner (Rosina Lippi), Skye (Jessica Brockmole), Soda Springs (Carolyn Steele), Coorah Creek (Janet Gover), Butternut Lake (Mary McNear), Henry Adams (Beverly Jenkins), Dickinson (Larry D. Sweazy) and serial mysteries that feel like small townes for how much interplay there is with repetitive characters by such authors as: Susan McDuffie, Anna Castle, Susan Spann, Catherine Lloyd, Susanna Calkins, Charles Todd, Tessa Arlen and Anna Lee Huber!
The reason I love small townes has been expressed many times over, but at the heart of what draws me inside small towne fiction is the quirkiness of how the stories are told and the eclectic harmony of how the lead characters are attempting to find their footing or be ever present to the needs of their neighbours and community. Small towne fiction stories are a slice of life that is a step outside the harried pace of our normal lives (unless we’re blessed to live in a small towne where everyone champions each other in unconditional support) where life is a bit easier to take in and where not everything has to be done at the speed of a clock ticking off moments as if they need to be registered somewhere!
I also like the different interpretations of small towne life and how for each community I visit in fiction, I am hoping there are at least ten composite communities out there somewhere that are reflective of the community togetherness that is inside the novel at hand! I find you can dig yourself happily inside a small towne novel (as I mentioned a few one-offs above) or a series (a treasure of a find!) with the glowing joy of knowing your respite inside it’s chapters is going to make you feel light with euphoric happiness for your journey! I suppose in many ways, reading #smalltown #fiction is one of my guilty pleasures as a reader, because I simply find myself put in such wonderful moods after reading them!
Who wouldn’t want an uplift of joy on their bookshelf?!
And, so dear hearts, this is why I wanted to finally read my first Gulley novel! The chance to laugh, the chance to smile and the chance to see what everyone had previously found inside the Harmony novels, as I had a sense that his wit and charm would continue to enthrall us in the Hope series! There is simply something quite keen about finding authors who are writing such realistic stories set in townes that we can all identify with and find readerly happiness in reading!
A Place Called Hope
When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment.
Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife has found a new job at the library, his elder son is off to college, and the younger has decided to join the military once he graduates high school. Sam is contemplating a future selling used cars when he receives a call from a woman in the suburban town of Hope, Indiana.
It seems Hope Friends Meeting is in desperate need of a pastor. Though they only have twelve members, they also have a beautiful meetinghouse and a pie committee (Sam is fond of pie). But can he really leave his beloved hometown of Harmony?
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 9781455586882
on 19th March, 2015
Pages: 256
Published by: CenterStreet (@centerstreet)
an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. (@HachetteBooks) via Hachette Nashville
Formats Available: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook
Hope series:
Readers are mentioning Gulley’s writing style in relation to Karon’s Mitford series; although I never read about Mitford, my grandmother loved reading the series before she died. We shared a mutual love of small towne fiction, and I believe our shared joy in finding small towne fiction to curl up inside is partially why I continue to seek out more from this lovely section of literature. She might not be able to travel with me as I visit each ‘towne’ but I know she’s smiling at me from heaven, happy I continued my adventures seeking writers who know how to write about the nuances of ordinary life!
A Place Called Hope | No.1
A Lesson in Hope | No.2 | Book Synopsis
Converse via: #INSPYbooks, #QuakerFiction & #INSPYfiction
+ use these two in combo: #SmallTown #Fiction
About Philip Gulley
PHILIP GULLEY, a Quaker pastor, has become the voice of small-town American life. Along with writing Front Porch Tales, Hometown Tales, and For Everything a Season, he is the author of the Harmony series of novels. Gulley lives in Indiana with his wife, Joan, and their sons.
Photo Credit: Matt Griffith
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads
Posted Sunday, 31 July, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), CenterStreet, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Equality In Literature, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Modern Day, Quaker Fiction, Quakers, Small Towne USA
Posted Saturday, 30 July, 2016 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Kirsty Ferry, Rossetti Mysteries, Some Veil Did Fall 0 Comments
Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):
I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by characters written honestly whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read!
I am always seeking relationship-based romance which strikes a chord within my mind’s eye as well as my heart! I’m a romantic optimist, and I love curling into a romance where I can be swept inside the past, as history becomes lit alive in the fullness of the narrative and I can wander amongst the supporting cast observing the principal characters fall in love and sort out if they are a proper match for each other!
I love how an Indie Publisher like ChocLitUK is such a positive alternative for those of us who do not identify ourselves as girls and women who read ‘chick-lit’. I appreciate the stories which alight in my hands from ChocLit as much as I appreciate the inspirational romances I gravitate towards because there is a certain level of depth to both outlets in romance which encourage my spirits and gives me a beautiful story to absorb! Whilst sorting out how promote my book reviews on behalf of ChocLit, I coined the phrase “ChocLitSaturdays”, which is a nod to the fact my ChocLit reviews & features debut on ‘a Saturday’ but further to the point that on the ‘weekend’ we want to dip into a world wholly ideal and romantic during our hours off from the work week!
Acquired Book By: I am a regular reviewer for ChocLitUK, where I hand select which books in either their backlist and/or current releases I would like to read next for my #ChocLitSaturdays blog feature. As of June 2016, I became a member of the ChocLit Stars Team in tandem with being on the Cover Reveal Team which I joined in May 2016. I reference the Stars as this is a lovely new reader contribution team of sending feedback to the publisher ahead of new book releases. As always, even if I’m involved with a publisher in this sort of fashion, each review is never influenced by that participation and will always be my honest impression as I read the story. Whether the author is one I have previously read or never had the pleasure to read until the book greets my shelf.
I received a complimentary copy of “Some Veil Did Fall” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. It should be noted ‘Some Veil Did Fall’ was requested prior to the two teams I joined on behalf of ChocLitUK. I simply have become more active with the Reveal Team & begun my journey as a ChocLit Star in-between receiving this novel and the day my review posts.
Why Jorie has such a hearty penchant for time slips & ghost stories:
For as long as I can remember, I have entertained a healthy appetite for the paranormal – especially in regards to Southern Gothic Literature, Paranormal Romance and Ghost Stories most definitely being at the top of the list of ‘must reads’ for my literary wanderings! It has taken quite a long while to sort out which authors truly whet a thirst of interest for me to read, as when I found the Ghost Harrison series by Heather Graham, I was truly thankful for the respite I found inside my ‘first!’ Graham novel: Ghost Walk set in New Orleans! Imagine my good fortune!? A ghost story and a romance all in one!
When I came to find out that Edith Wharton wrote ghost stories, I must say, I was rather chuffed to have found a copy of her paranormal stories through my local library’s ILL catalogue! As you can tell by the review I composed, I was quite wicked happy for the readings! More recently, I explored why I find the supernatural so very alluring when I reviewed Southern Haunts, an anthology series of Southern Gothic stories set in the realms of the paranormal! There simply is something to be said for that ‘elsewhere’ vibe to stories that bend time, setting, place and living history behind the backdrop of what cannot be seen but can surely be felt as being as real as the breath you see catch in a Wintry sky.
Now, when it comes to time slips, I’m equally motivated to soak inside a story that is hinged between timescapes and/or generational time intervals where characters or circumstances are equally tied together. One of the best impressions I had of how time can slip and affect characters so substantially as to directly affect the reader was within the story A Fall of Marigolds. If you want to read a story by an author whose conquered this genre with equal dexterity for writing convincing paranormal attributes into their back-stories, look no further than Christina Courtenay! My first reading by her was of The Silent Touch of Shadows wherein I was pleasantly taken for a wicked twist of an ending!
More recently I explored this theory in practice by my reading of The Memory Painter, where I was only slightly disappointed for the direction of the story’s core of heart, as it was the predictable route to go rather than the route less taken where I had hoped I’d venture instead. What gets me invested in both styles is the curious ‘unknowns’ that occupy the spaces between understanding what is physically happening to the character and how the mind can entreat inside an experience far outside the scope of where physical reality or science can explain it. This is one reason why I love watching episodes of The Ghost Whisperer as it’s a whole series in full pursuit of what walks between the veils of what is seen and unseen.
Notation on Cover Art: I shrank this image down for my readers – as the copy of the cover art to use on my review is such a blaring bright pink, it hurts your eyes in the larger format! The interesting bit is that IRL the book is lovely to hold & to look at as it’s not glaring! I even loved how it’s a combination of hot pink with blocked black imagery – I know it’s a particular style of art but for the life of me it’s eluding me right now to remember what it’s called! Laughs. I’m not a pink girl either – so hats off to Ms Stevens for creating a cover that made me smile!
Some Veil Did Fall
by Kirsty Ferry
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher
What if you recalled memories from a life that wasn’t yours, from a life before…?
When Becky steps into Jonathon Nelson’s atmospheric photography studio in Whitby, she is simply a freelance journalist in search of a story. But as soon as she puts on the beautiful Victorian dress and poses for a photograph, she becomes somebody quite different…
From that moment on, Becky is overcome with visions and flashbacks from a life that isn’t her own – some disturbing and filled with fear.
As she and Jon begin to unravel the tragic mystery behind her strange experiences, the natural affinity they have for each other continues to grow and leads them to question … have they met somewhere before? Perhaps not just in this life but in another?
Genres: Gothic Literature, Ghost Story, Romantic Suspense, Thriller Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
Book Page on ChocLitUK
ISBN: 9781781891612
Also by this author: The Girl in the Painting
Published by ChocLitUK
on 1st November, 2014
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 288
Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)
Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, Large Print & E-Book
Order of Sequence of Rossetti Mysteries:
Some Veil Did Fall | Book One | Read more on Author’s blog
The Girl in the Painting | Book Two (Synopsis) | Read more on Author’s blog
Converse via: #RossettiMysteries + #ChocLit
About Kirsty Ferry
Kirsty lives in the North East of England with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition in 2009 and has had articles and short stories published in Peoples Friend, The Weekly News, It’s Fate, Vintage Script, Ghost Voices and First Edition.
Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.
Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.
Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Read More
Posted Saturday, 30 July, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, 21st Century, Art, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Britian, British Literature, Castles & Estates, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Deaf Culture in Fiction, England, Equality In Literature, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Ghost Story, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Gothic Literature, Gothic Mystery, Gothic Romance, Green-Minded Publishers, Haunting & Ethereal, Indie Author, Modern British Author, Modern Day, Paranormal Romance, Parapsychological Suspense, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, the Victorian era, Time Slip
Posted Friday, 29 July, 2016 by jorielov Conquest trilogy, Daughter of the Last King, Impress Books, Tracey Warr 0 Comments
If your a regular reader or frequent visitor of Jorie Loves A Story, you might have seen my review for my first EPIC Historical novel published by Impress Books (UK) this week entitled: Almodis: The Peaceweaver! This novel marked my introduction to the historical crafting style of Impress Books authors and the impressive layer of breadth Ms Warr knits inside her historical fiction! I originally crossed paths with the publisher on Twitter in late 2015, whilst finding the novels of Ms Warr, as I quite seriously have a penchant for well-conceived historical stories set during eras of time I am keenly interested in visiting through literature!
Originally this reveal was scheduled for August, however, as we all know time schedules in publishing are fluid and I was thankful I was online this morning to catch the missive the publicist sent me in order to help spread the news now rather than await my tour stop to share my ruminations!
I love going back to the author’s origins, especially to read their debut release as a good foundation to understand their approach to writing their collective works. I was most impressed by the layered realism and intricate attention to detail whilst building a strong level of grounding for the back-story of Almodis as well. Thus, I am thrilled to announce I am a part of the upcoming blog tour for the #Conquest series featuring this novel which sets off the pace for the trilogy!
Warr has constructed such an intricate plot around Almodis, as her fate is mirror to Guinevere in some ways, as neither woman could fully believe they were being deceived at every turn. Almodis had a servant working against her and a second marriage optioned to her to increase her brother’s steed of wealth and power. She was being used and taken by men, without any consideration for how this might affect her psychological well-being or her very spirit as a woman who had always believed in the purpose of her role as a wife and mother. She had a sharpened mind which caught her a few breaks along the way, without which she might not have fared as well as she did. Except to say, it was not without it’s hurdles.
The fact Almodis’s story is living history is a testament to the imagination of Tracey Warr who presented her life in such a fashion as to encourage us to draw closer to her journey towards ruling land, home and her mind with such an intricate understanding for order. I agree with Warr, this is definitely a story that played out well in a historical narrative, as there are such far reaching scenarios to understand what happened between her marriages, the births of her children and how everything knitted together in the end where different children took over the original three regions which were always succumbing to war. She wasn’t just the weaver of peace for her generation but for multi-generations down through her descendants as the works she accomplished whilst she was alive remained a living memory of who she was whilst she dared to entrust herself to live authentically towards the honour she felt she was always bestowed to upheld.
-quoted from my review of Almodis: The Peaceweaver
As you can see, I love how Warr is able to write-in the moments of a lost era where we not only can visually conceptionalise that particular part of a living history (as Almodis is Biograhpical Historical Fiction based on the life of a real person) but she etches out the fuller scope of that generations layers of place, time and setting. It’s a fully realised immersion into a hidden corridor of history that is such a pleasure to read as you become wholly absorbed by Warr’s vision and her understanding of her characters’ lives to such a degree, you feel like you’ve lived through their heartaches & the journey it took them to find their own levels of success as they fought against the tides of tradition.
Having been properly introduced to her writing style so wondrously tied to her knack for research, I was beyond elated to be in a position to continue to read her stories, starting with the #Conquest trilogy!
Read More
Posted Friday, 29 July, 2016 by jorielov in 11th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover Reveal, Book Spotlight, British Literature, Early Middle Ages [the Dark Ages] (1001-1300), France, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Impress Books, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Jorie found the Publisher on Twitter, Life Shift, Midwife | Midwifery, Midwives & Childbirth, Passionate Researcher, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Siblings, Spain, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Vulgarity in Literature, Warfare & Power Realignment, Writing Style & Voice
Posted Thursday, 28 July, 2016 by jorielov Center Street, Hachette Book Group Inc., Jane Two, Sean Patrick Flanery 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a new reviewer for Hachette Books and their imprints, I started by reviewing releases by FaithWords (the novels of Stephanie Grace Whitson), their INSPY (Inspirational 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 blessed to start reviewing for them.
I received a complimentary copy of “Jane Two” direct from the publisher Center Street (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.
On Dedications & Acknowledgements and why I wanted to read ‘Jane Two’:
Hallo, hallo dear hearts! I have a habit of reading through a particular series of steps which in the past I may have outlined on another review. As I recognise I’ve spoken about this before, however, the reason I re-draw attention to this habit, is because as I picked up Jane Two, Mr Flanery left me with such a pause of thought to ponder! I am unsure what makes me giddier, the nebulous references to key moments in an author’s life (such as he has done) or the lovely gush of joy and exuberance bursting through the note Cathy Kelly left at the close of Between Sisters (the latter of which is my forthcoming second review on behalf of a novel by Grand Central). I have a keen story to share with you then about serendipity and the beauty of unexpected joys.
Flanery dedicated his debut novel to “her“, which he repeats in full favour by mentioning her again in his closing remarks… it is the kind of quiet sentiment you love to find. Your half privy to his thoughts but withheld from the truer meaning behind why he’s chosen to share what he has left behind.
I appreciated the sentiment that we all grow and develop into our authentic selves through a process of experiences (his word: moments). I was raised by parents who cherished the ability to help me cultivate experiences and adventures; the latter here could be as simple as climbing trees or flying solo (within a touring group) to Mexico. To be observant of the still moments where we understand a piece of ourselves not yet disclosed and to embrace the unknown; as life is never quite predictable.
The only moment where I faltered not to spoilt the context of the story is when I accidentally opened the novel and my eyes caught sight of a curious cluster of words. Mind you, once caught, even for a nanosecond, of course I stopped what I was doing and read the paragraph in full. I read the rest of the page and then the proceeding page and closed the book rather flummoxed by what the short reading yielded into view. Language aside (as I’ll address that later) it was the tone and the choice(s) in dialogue that furrowed my brow in confusion.
I can honestly say I could not even fathom how such an exchange could exist in childhood. I hadn’t thought my growing years were too dissimilar to anyone else, but in light of that singular moment, I drew a breath knowing I was about to read a story that very well could be a challenge to understand. I wasn’t lost on the fact that I am not that far off in age from the author, yet we’ve lived lives so very separate from each other,…
That being said, I still held my original thoughts about why I wanted to read ‘Jane Two’ forefront in mind, as I was quite curious how Flanery would summarise his coming-of age philosophical tale:
I caught sight of #JaneTwo earlier in the year, as Winter was starting to wan – it took me half a moon to sort out where Mr Flanery was on Twitter (*which I did cheekily mention*) – but what caught my eye the most, is the tender coming-of age story written by an actor I quite literally saw grow up on camera and screen. I did not pick this title to read as a book blogger based on the promotional praise it was receiving nor even the fact Flanery wrote it; I picked this title because I wanted to read the story behind the synopsis by a bloke I believed in. I watched the choices in characters he has picked as well as fell out of knowing what he was doing for a spell of time, too. I brought myself up to speed when I saw the release of #JaneTwo and knew I wanted to support this new chapter of his life, too. FYI: The fact he wrote a ‘coming-of age’ story was icing on the cake, as I have a soft spot for those types of stories! – originally disclosed on my #WWWeds No.7
Jane Two
A coming of age debut novel from The Boondock Saints and Young Indiana Jones actor Sean Patrick Flanery.
A young Mickey navigates through the dense Texas humidity of the 70's and out onto the porch every single time his Granddaddy calls him, where he's presented with the heirloom recipe for life, love, and manhood. But all the logic and insight in the world cannot prepare him to operate correctly in the presence of a wonderfully beautiful little girl who moves in just behind his rear fence. How will this magical moment divide Mickey's life into a "before and after" and permanently change his motion and direct it down the unpaved road to which only a lucky few are granted access?
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 9781455539437
on 5th April, 2016
Pages: 304
Published by: Center Street (@centerstreet.com)
an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. (@HachetteBooks) via Hachette Nashville
Formats Available: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook
Converse via: #SeanPatrickFlanery + #JaneTwo & #ContemporaryFiction
About Sean Patrick Flanery
SEAN PATRICK FLANERY is an American actor who was raised in a small town outside Houston, Texas. He has appeared in over 100 movies and television shows, some of which he hopes you've seen and some of which he hopes you haven't. He lives in Los Angeles, California, with his family, where he works in the entertainment industry, writes, and owns and operates a martial arts academy.
Photo Credit: John Schell
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Posted Thursday, 28 July, 2016 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), CenterStreet, Coming-Of Age, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Realistic Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Vulgarity in Literature
Posted Wednesday, 27 July, 2016 by jorielov Almodis, Almodis: The Peaceweaver, Impress Books, Tracey Warr 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a new reviewer for Impress Books (from the UK), as I found Impress Books at the conclusion of [2015] and have been blessed to start reviewing for them. I crossed paths with one of their publicists on Twitter and started a convo about the historical novels of Tracey Warr. This led me to ask if they would consider a book blogger stateside to review her stories and thankfully my enquiry was well-timed as Warr has a new series launching in 2016! I look forward to hosting their authors (either for review or guest features) and finding well-researched stories of convicting historical story-lines in the process.
I received a complimentary copy of “Almodis: The Peaceweaver” direct from the publisher Impress Books in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
What initially drew my eye to read Almodis:
I love EPIC Historical dramas – especially the ones where your being treated to an unknown chapter of history you’ve yet to visit properly! The 11th Century is one of my under-read centuries of interest and when it comes to the locale for this novel (Languedoc) I’ve visited this setting previously in the war drama that crushed my soul: Citadel. I entreated inside the Early Middle Ages previously when I read Illuminations, wherein I was so distraught for Hildegard’s plight, I was thankful her story had a bit of restitution at it’s conclusion. By the time I re-visited this part of the Middle Ages in Camelot’s Queen, I had noted how guttingly difficult the Medieval Ages were overall.
I am drawn to fiercely strong female protagonists in historical fiction narratives – this has been true throughout my wanderings in literature for the past three years I’ve been blogging my bookish life. Inasmuch as it held true as a reader who sought out one wicked good read after another that would bring the gravity of historical perspectives through a living spirit of a character you felt you could emphatically respond too outright.
When I first read the synopsis for this novel, I was struck by several things all at once: the centreing of the timescape by Warr, the determined grit of her lead character Almodis and the conviction of proving to everyone that you can carve out your own destiny, even if others around you are not as easily convinced your living in an era where a woman can choose her own path to walk. The backdrop of war felt fitting for the era, as most of the early centuries were torn by war and by power re-alignments to such a madding level of frequency, it’s curious how anyone felt any measure of peace to simply ‘live their lives’ without a cloud of fear looming over them; especially to see if war would touch them directly.
Going into my readings, I was wicked happy to be reading a well-researched and well-thought out portion of the historical past, as evidenced by Warr’s approach to conceive this story but also, how she aligned her vision by the way her story is laid out inside the novel itself. I also had in the back of mind the notion that before I could address her newest novels (the Conquest series), I wanted to pull back time and retreat inside the debut novel that set the tone and score of everything that would come lateron.
Almodis
Subtitle: The Peaceweaver
"Some say Almodis was a serpent, a scandal, a whore. They say wrong."
After generations of fighting amongst the ruling families of eleventh-century Occitania, the marriage of Almodis de la Marche to Hugh of Lusignan is intended to bring peace and harmony to the region. But at a time when a noblewoman's purpose is to produce heirs, Almodis resolves to create her own dynasty.
Almodis' path to power and happiness is fraught with drama. Having escaped her marriage blanc to God-fearing Hugh, she weds the lascivious Pons of Toulouse and takes over the administration of the great city. However, his distrust leaves him plotting to imprison her at a nunnery. Fearing for her life, Almodis flees in the dead of night - the young, gallant Count of Barcelona might be her one chance, if only he wasn't betrothed to another...
Intrigue, forbidden love and murder underpin this extraordinary story based upon the life of a real medieval countess, whose children went on to rule southern France and northern Spain.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 9781907605093
on 12th October, 2011
Pages: 345
Published by: Impress Books (@ImpressBooks1)
Formats Available: Hardcover & Ebook
Warr’s second novel was The Viking Hostage (Book Synopsis) | Pub Date: 1st September, 2014
Warr’s upcoming NEW RELEASE is the 1st novel of the Conquest series:
Daughter of the Last King (Book Synopsis) | #PubDay is 1st September, 2016
Converse via: #HistFic or #HistRom
About Tracey Warr
Tracey Warr is a writer based in Wales and France, and has published novels and books on contemporary art. She was Senior Lecturer, teaching and researching on art history and theory of the 20th and 21st centuries, at Oxford Brookes University, Bauhaus University and Dartington College of Arts.
Her first novel, Almodis: The Peaceweaver (Impress, 2011), is set in 11th century France and Spain, and was shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Fiction and the Rome Film Festival Book Initiative and received a Santander Research Award. Her second historical novel, The Viking Hostage (Impress, 2014), is set in 10th century France and Wales.
She received a Literature Wales Writer’s Bursary for work on her new trilogy, Conquest , set in 12th century Wales, England and Normandy. She received an Authors Foundation Award from the Society of Authors for work on a biography of three medieval sisters, entitled Three Female Lords. She is also working on a new historical novel featuring a 12th century female troubadour in Toulouse, and on a future fiction novel set in the debatable territory of a river estuary, between water and land, in the 22nd century.
Her writing on contemporary artists has been published by Phaidon, Merrell, Black Dog, Palgrave, Manchester University Press. Her latest art publication is Remote Performances in Nature and Architecture (Ashgate, 2015). She reviews for Times Higher Education, Historical Novels Review and New Welsh Review.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | LibraryThing
Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Posted Wednesday, 27 July, 2016 by jorielov in 11th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Brothers and Sisters, Bullies and the Bullied, Castles & Estates, Child out of Wedlock, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Disillusionment in Marriage, Early Middle Ages [the Dark Ages] (1001-1300), Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, France, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Impress Books, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Jorie found the Publisher on Twitter, Life Shift, Midwife | Midwifery, Midwives & Childbirth, Monastery, Monk, Passionate Researcher, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Religious Orders, Siblings, Sisterhood friendships, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Spain, Spontaneous Convos Inspired by Book, Twin Siblings, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Vulgarity in Literature, Warfare & Power Realignment, Women's Health, Women's Rights, Writing Style & Voice
