10 Bookish (& Not-Bookish Thoughts) No.10: A #SciFiMonth Book Tag and Note of Participation in our 7th Sci Fi November!

Posted Thursday, 7 November, 2019 by jorielov 1 Comment

10 Bookish Not Bookish Thoughts banner created by Jorie in Canva.

I’ve honestly wanted to start participating in this weekly meme in 2014, however, I would always seem to get distracted during the hours leading up to Thursdays OR completely forget to compose my thoughts for this meme until into the weekend; at which point, the time had come and gone. I like the fact we can exchange thoughts percolating in our minds that run the gambit of the bookish world, creative outlets, or thoughts we want to share that might show a bit more about who we are behind the bookish blog we maintain. I am going to attempt to thread the journal of my 10 Bookish / Not Bookish Thoughts by order of the entries arrival into my life rather than a preference of 1-10.

BE SURE to visit my FIRST ENTRY: Bookish Not Bookish No.1

BE SURE to visit my 2nd ENTRY: Bookish Not Bookish No.6

No, your eyes did not lie to you, this is No. 9,

No. 2-5 will release before end of year 2018.

Even if technically, No. 8 was scheduled to run in June 2017.

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A list of 10 Thoughts on being a Sci Fi Geek during #SciFiMonth | Hostess List

Sci Fi Month 2019 banner created by Imyril and is used with permission. Image Credit: Photo by Sebastien Decoret from 123RF.com.
Image Credit: Photo by Sebastien Decoret from 123RF.com.

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*waves!* to my fellow Sci Fi Geeks who are embarking on their own literary and cross-media journey this Sci Fi November! I decided to break the mould of how I am announcing my #SciFiMonth adventures here on Jorie Loves A Story by creating my *first!* book tag!

I have a slew of these saved in a folder somewhere to pull out at some point in the life of this blog and actually participate in the lovelies I’ve spied on fellow blogger’s blogs – however, the hosts of both Sci Fi November (Lisa & Imyril) are also my co-hosts for #WyrdAndWonder; each event they bring us new inspirations to create these tags and this is the first time I’ve had the moment to sit and compose an entry!

This also grants me the chance to revive a meme I’ve been struggling to become active inside again since *cough* more years than there are light-years to explain my absence! Let’s just say it was a technical malfunction and its been resolved.

Let’s dive straight into it, shall we?

If you’ve noticed a time shift within this post,
your eyes are NOT deceiving you!

It should go without saying – this list was provided by #SciFiMonth!

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No. 1 | A glimpse into Jorie’s Sci Fi Month TBR stack of loveliness

During this week’s #WWWeds, if you looked hard enough, you would have spied out some beautiful lovely Science Fiction novels amongst my #currentreads! This was a cheeky clever way to announce to my followers I’ve transitioned through the wreck of my afflictions in October and have set my sights on #SciFiMonth properly now that I am well enough to re-focus my readerly efforts on the stories which are calling to me to be READ. Thereby, each week I’ll be releasing more of my TBR than the prior week whilst doing my own mini-Mission Status updates about which stories resonated with me, which ones I’ve reviewed outright and which ones sadly were simply not my cuppa (whilst explaining the whys and hows).

For those of you whom would prefer I disclose my current week’s literary curiosities, I shall re-visit the selections and explain a bit about why they are the first reads for Sci Fi November!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Sci Fi November 2019
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Posted Thursday, 7 November, 2019 by jorielov in 10 Bookish (& Not-So-Bookish Thoughts), Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Sci-Fi November

Audiobook Series Spotlight and Mini-Review | “Cradle to Grave” (Book Eight: the Kay Hunter Detective series) by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison Campbell

Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Audiobook Spotlight banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.

Similar to the blog tour for the sixth novel of the #KayHunter series, the blog tour review copies are being provided directly by the author off-site from Audible. The key reason I decided to not accept the review copies from “Gone to Ground”, “Bridge to Burn” and “Cradle to Grave” is because the new format is mostly directed for mobile listeners and I do not listen to audiobooks in that style of format. Eventually as I want to have a full set of all the Kay Hunter installments – I will be purchasing the ones I am missing from Audible to house them all in one place unless I find them available on mp3 CD – until then, I was able to join this lovely blog tour because the audiobooks are readily available via Scribd! For which, I am especially grateful as I can continue to listen to one of my beloved and favourite Crime Drama series!

Thereby my copy of “Cradle to Grave” is self-provided through my subscription to Scribd rather than being provided with a complimentary copy of the story. Thereby, I am choosing to participate on the audiobook tour, sharing my ruminations with my readers for my own edification but also, as a continuation of a reader’s love for a dramatic crime serial. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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What held me in the throes of “Bridge to Burn” and why I was itching for the next novel:

As soon as Kay walked onto the crime scene, I felt like it was old home week again – being treated to seeing another view of her life and to catch-up with the friends I’ve found along the way of peering into her world. In classic Kay Hunter fashion, she quite assessed what was happening with the investigation – whilst her team was close at hand, doing their bit and at the ready to give her the details of what they’d come to understand in the initial analysis of the scene. There were a few changes in their designations – as Kay herself was recently promoted but it was the announcement that Barnes had followed her suit of promoting himself which was quite the lovely news. I still remember how anguished he was over making that choice and why he was hesitating to do it. Seems like between then and now, he’s resolved that this would not only be a good choice for himself but it would allow the close cohesiveness of the team to remain intact. On that level, I was relieved as sometimes if you upset the apple cart, you simply can’t re-establish what you’ve lost.

Harriet never fails to make me smile – then again, I have a soft spot for Medical Examiners and Crime Scene Investigators as that is what originally drew me into NCIS (x3) outside of the fact I simply find Mark Harmon charmingly engaging! She has such a keen sense of self about her and she knows how to keep the scene at hand serious but with a calming bit of levity as well – something I love to see as their lives are stressful enough without having to find some way of alleviating the difficult things they’re having to witness.

Amphlett never fails to knit her continuity tightly anchoured to the previous installments – it is one of the wicked best reasons why I love listening to to this series, as she honestly never lets you forget the moments in her characters’ lives which are intimately important to remember. Herein, when she was having Kay reminisce about her miscarriage you felt immediately drawn back to the installments which discussed this and how it was such an upheaval for Kay and Adam. Of how they drew closer together, how they tried not to let their family try their patience and how putting the pieces together to move forward was one small step at a time. Still, like any tragic loss – her grief lingers, even years on as there are small reminders everywhere about how others can enjoy the blessings of motherhood whilst she cannot. It was a simple inclusion right in the midst of the workday but it was important because it owned the truth of who Kay Hunter is and of how intricately connected this series becomes to her sense of self, her psychological state of mind and how she emotionally processes her job.

It wasn’t until lateron when Adam was brought into scene where we pulled back the layers of Kay’s healing and recovery (as it wasn’t simply a miscarriage which affected her heart, soul and mind) – where we peer into how hard it has been for her to continue to transition beyond what afflicted their lives. They were both emotionally distraught not just to the loss of a child but due to everything during that period of time which not only frayed their nerves but nearly overtook their ability to survive. Adam and Kay have a very strong marriage but even a strong marriage can have a breaking point – Amphlett has never shied away from honing in on the honesty of their marriage and for showing the realistic ways in which a couple comes back from the loss of their child.

If this is the first installment someone wanted to listen to they would be dearly impressed because it held within it a recapture of all the key moments and timeline of the series thus far along. They would find out within one installment why I’ve become so dearly attached to this cast and the drama behind their lives inasmuch as how much they support one another like all families do who work together. I am fond of the ‘family’ knitted together like this – where its a found family story and it speaks to why all the crime dramas I watch on television are of the same kinship of closeness.

What I loved about this installment were the interactions between Kay, Barnes, Sharpe, Gaven and the rest of the team – they keep drawing closer together, re-forming the bonds they share as a ‘found family’ and prove that despite the high risks associated with their job, they truly care about one another. There are lovely details towards exploring this bond they have – such as the pizza party, the breakfast food runs and the ways in which they look out for Kay, understanding her emotional traumas and how as a family unit they never leave anyone behind.

Bridge to Burn also focused more intuitively on Kay’s Mum, Dad and sister – there was a family emergency which took Adam and Kay outside their routines over a weekend to where they had to travel over six hours to reach the family. During this sequence, Amphlett re-highlights the strain Kay has with her mother, the closeness she shares with her sister and how her father gives her unconditional support. A lot of what was fracturing the relationship with Kay and her mother are explored more in-depth as well – a lot of which surprised me, as I never thought Kay’s Mum would be open to meditation but you find out why she came to that new stage of reconciliation as something pushed her towards that goal with Kay. They’re not entirely on solid footing – as they have a chasm as wide as the Grand Canyon between them but ooh! You don’t want to miss their exchanges of dialogue — listening to how Ms Campbell approached their scenes nearly makes you want to reach for the tissues!

-quoted from my review of Bridge to Burn

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Audiobook Series Spotlight and Mini-Review | “Cradle to Grave” (Book Eight: the Kay Hunter Detective series) by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison CampbellCradle to Grave
Subtitle: A Detective Kay Hunter novel
by Rachel Amphlett
Source: Scribd | Subscription
Narrator: Alison Campbell

When a faceless body is found floating in the river on a summer's morning, Detective Kay Hunter and her team are tasked with finding out the man's identity and where he came from.

The investigation takes a sinister turn when an abandoned boat is found, covered in blood stains and containing a child's belongings. Under mounting pressure from a distraught family and an unforgiving media, the police are in a race against time - but they have no leads and no motive for the events that have taken place.

Will Kay be able to find a ruthless killer and a missing child before it's too late?

Genres: Crime Fiction, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Police Procedural, Thriller



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781916098817

ASIN: B07YZ63BBV

Also by this author: Scared to Death, Will to Live, One to Watch, Hell to Pay, Call to Arms, Author Inteview: Rachel Amphlett (Gone to Ground), Gone to Ground, Bridge to Burn, Turn To Dust

Also in this series: Scared to Death, Will to Live, One to Watch, Hell to Pay, Call to Arms, Gone to Ground, Bridge to Burn, Turn To Dust


Published by Saxon Publishing

on 15th October, 2019

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 7 hours, 56 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Saxon Publishing

Audiobooks by: Audiobook Factory (@audiofactoryuk)

Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:
Scared to Death | Book One (see also Review)
Will to Live | Book Two (see also Review)
One to Watch | Book Three (see also Review)
Hell to Pay | Book Four (see also Review)
Call to Arms | Book Five (see also Review)
Gone to Ground | Book Six (see also Review)
Bridge to Burn | Book Seven (see also Review)
Cradle to Grave | Book Eight

About Rachel Amphlett

Rachel Amphlettt

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, England, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Mental Health, Modern Day, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Sociological Behavior, True Crime

#WWWWednesday No.11: A Diary of an Afflicted Reader [between #FraterfestRAT and #SpooktasticReads] whilst shifting into #SciFiMonth!

Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov 0 Comments

WWWWednesday a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

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Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

What are you currently reading!?

(Wednesday 6 November to Wednesday 13 November)

And, the books I am reading for review:

  • Cycles of Norse Mythology by Glenn Searfoss
  • Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise by Jennifer Faye (Harlequin Romance)
  • Keeping Her Close by Carol Ross (Harlequin Heartwarming)
  • Spinster and I (Spinster Chronicles, Book Two) by Rebecca Connolly
  • The Duke’s Second Chance (Lords for the Sisters of Sussex, Book One) by Jen Geigle Johnson
  • The Girls of Pearl Harbour by Soraya M. Lane, narrated by Teri Clark Linden

#SciFiMonth TBR:

→ Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers series, Book Three) by Becky Chambers, narrated by Rachel Dulude (audiobook) – this is the book I am co-hosting a RAL for #SciFiMonth with Lisa @deargeekplace whilst happily borrowing the audio version from my local library’s OverDrive!

Week 1: Friday 8th November, discussing Prologue & Part 1
Week 2: Friday 15th November, discussing Parts 2, 3 & 4
Week 3: Friday 22nd November, discussing Parts 5, 6 & 7

Lisa is posting the Discussion on GoodReads whilst I host the Twitter chats on Fridays.

→ Previously, we co-hosted the RAL for #smallangryplanet (see posts 1 + 2) This year, I borrowed a copy of the novel in audiobook to conclude my original thoughts on behalf of the third half of the RAL’s discussion whilst finally releasing those notes about the RAL itself. I am also going to be archiving the chats we hosted on Twitter this year to coincide with our discussions for #SpacebornFew.

  • Far Orbit: Apogee (anthology) (edited by) Bascomb James
  • The Why-entist and the Wild Weather by Jane Lowry
  • Unclaimed Legacy (History Mysteries, Book Two) by Deborah Heal
  • Prophecy by Paul Mark Tag
  • Trans-Continental Girl: Girl in the Gears by E. Chris Garrison (audiobook)
  • Blue Spirit (Tipsy Fairy Tales, Book One) by E. Chris Garrison (audiobook)
  • Heroes of the Space Age: Incredible Stories of the Famous and Forgotten Men and Women Who Took Humanity to the Stars by Rod Pyle

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Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2019 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, WWW Wednesdays

#SatBookChat #SciFiMonth Spotlight | featured guest Jennifer Silverwood and her Space Opera [set in the Rims!] novella series #HeavensEdge!

Posted Saturday, 2 November, 2019 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

#SatBookChat Jennifer Silverwood badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

You might feel like you’ve jumped through a time portal when you read this recap on behalf of the lovely conversation I had with Jennifer Silverwood on the 2nd of November during the kick-off weekend for #SciFiMonth (@SciFiMonth) – however, I assure you, you did not slip through an unseen black hole! I simply wasn’t able to post this until the following Saturday due to health reasons.

What transpired a week ago today is a beautifully lovely conversation between two bookish friends who just happen to be a book blogger and a Speculative Fiction / multi-genre story-teller who like to chatter about bookish topics they are mutually passionate about whilst Jorie has yet to discover a story by the pen of Ms Silverwood she hasn’t developed a heap of ruminative thoughts over!

This was a special cross-promoted chat for both #SatBookChat & #SciFiMonth as nearly the full convo was using both tags in order to engage the audiences from both groups of chatters. Sadly, during the chat itself, there was nominal engagement but it is my hope with this proper signal boost I can give the chat a second chance at finding its target audience of readers who are seeking a special something ‘extra’ in their readerly journey into Space Opera and Science Fiction!

The Heaven’s Edge series is told through a series of novellas before it will address a full length novel (at least two equal parts in novella form are slated to be published) whilst the novelist is an Indie Author who is cross-releasing her series into all formats readers might love to discover her stories inside! This was an ebook and now a print release series but it is (hopefully) soon going to be transitioning into an audiobook series as well. I was overjoyed truly hearing this news during #SatBookChat #SciFiMonth as audiobooks are simply my jam at the moment and finding NEW stories on the horizon to be released just makes me feel giddy!

Let me introduce you now to Heavens Edge and be sure to tuck into the archived transcript of the chat itself – where you can submit new replies (remember to use both hashtags!), share the convo as it aired live (via RT / favouring) and find out where the topics and the discussion took Ms Silverwood and Jorie overall! You will find she was openly responsive to enquiries about her writerly process, the intricacies of creating a world set in the Rims and what motivates her to write Space Opera in a YA illuminated world.

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Without further adieu,
I give you my second “#SatBookChat spotlight”
wherein you can learn a bit more about the author & her series;
as well as where to find the archived chat we shared!

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Heaven's Edge by Jennifer Silverwood

Series Introduction from the author Jennifer Silverwood:

Welcome to Heaven’s Edge! Grab your scythe blades, strap on your plasma gauntlets and prepare yourselves for one steampunkish adventure to the far corners of space with Qeya and co.

But before we begin, did you know this series about a group of stranded space teens was among the first stories I ever penned? A long time ago, in the year 1998, my folks had just bought our first computer. I wanted to write stories set in a world like Star Wars, but without adults interfering, of course. I spent my first formative writing years exploring Heaven’s Edge with Qeya and the gang. So it seemed only natural to update the story and make it my first publication twelve years later. My struggle to see Qeya published was what directed me to self-publishing and the rest is history.

We meet a crew of former Royals, the Miners who once served them. In Qeya, the crew was attacked by a mysterious alien force, then crash landed on the primitive world below. Trouble is, none of the adults survived and now a small band of children and teenagers must cross the boundaries their parents imposed on them to survive.

Over the years and between releasing my “big” books, I worked with editor and friend, Jessica Augustsson to breathe back life into this mini-series. It’s been one epic steam-clunking ride, reinventing this world from my childhood.

I hope you’re ready to take a tour of the Rim with me. Enjoy the adventure!

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Posted Saturday, 2 November, 2019 by jorielov in #SatBookChat, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event

#SpooktasticReads Audiobook Review | “A Nest of Vipers” (Ruritanian Rogues series, No.2) by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry [an audiobook I began during #FraterfestRAT]

Posted Thursday, 24 October, 2019 by jorielov , , , , , 2 Comments

#SpooktasticReads Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions.

By hosting for Audiobookworm Promotions, I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks in particular). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library via Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I began to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.

Through hosting with Audiobookworm Promotions, I crossed paths with Mr Urry, as my first audiobook review was for “The Cryptic Lines” – a story I listened to at least four times, as I was simply captivated by both the story and the narrator! This was back in [2016] and in this small frame of time, Mr Urry has remained my favourite narrator of Suspense – although my short-list now includes Moira Quirk (of Anna Blanc series) and Alison Campbell (of Kay Hunter series) – as well as the other lovely narrators I mentioned in this tweet s/o of narrator appreciation!

In early 2018, Mr Urry approached me about considering his titles for review – I was able to select which titles interested me, even though I think he knew I was keen on hearing the next installment of this particular series (Ruritanian Rogues) as I enjoyed the first story and was interested in seeing what the next chapter would reveal. In regards to my second choice, I wanted to try a different kind of Suspense story which was slightly unique in concept and plot direction which is why I selected “The Tesla Gate”. This marks my first review working directly with Mr Urry – as I have three planned to be featured during #SpooktasticReads Year II with a fourth following suit in early November.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “A Nest of Vipers” from the narrator Jake Urry in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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What I loved about ‘A Looming of Vultures’:

aside from my obvious appreciation of: Storry & Urry!

It surprises me not, this story begins with a dash of prose – of poetic insinuation to set the tone of the story yet to be told. Storry has a curiously instinctive way of placing you exactly where you need to be at the beginning of his stories – of enveloping you in the ominously unknown setting you’ve not yet had a proper glimpse of but one you can feel is lurking there – slightly shadowed and held back from your direct observation; lingering a bit to give you a fuller breadth of why this story needs to be one you must hear. He builds the curiosity by slowly shifting your perspective into his world-view – combined with the gentle nudging by Urry, to guide you within these realms, whose voice is as alluring and addictive as your favourite actor whose transformation confirms the role he’s taken on – the stage is magnificently set for your immersion.

There is a metaphoric overlay about vultures – of their creature specific personalities and how they appear in the sky, as their flights are of particular choosing – where only their motivations for going where they go is not as well known to those who observe them. They seek their own way, of choosing to visit certain places for specific reasons – whether to eat what was left behind for them to consume (as they were scavengers; part of the team of the nature’s world band of undertakers) or whether their presence was needed for something else entirely. They had keen minds, nothing escaped their attention, where their olfactory senses were intensively attuned to their environment.

With reasons to avoid human encampments – it was curious to find one such creature was more daringly moving in circles of closeness to where the humans were already gathered. His patience was part of his fortitude, his mannerisms held their own truths but his eyes drank in everything moving in front of him; to be dissected for what it would yield for his own means of enjoyment.

There are a lot of layers to this story – as you peer into each of them, you start to see things differently than what you first hear the first time round. However, having said this – one of the joys is observing the thief – the gull this person has at keeping their promises to carry out their plans, but also, how passionate they are in being able to carry off whatever they deem is worthy of their time. One of my favourite scenes was actually a moment where the thief was nearly found out – because it showed the other side of thieving – of how close one can become to being caught! Mind you, this person is so blinded by their pursuit of what they want – they can’t process any other observation on their actions!

I truly loved how Storry makes this an immersive experience for the reader – you get to feel guided a bit by how he’s setting everything up to be followed in direct pursuit of his characters, but there are moments where even the characters themselves are not as certain about where they are going – as they have to move through their setting as if visiting it for the first time, to navigate themselves out of it. There is a particular moment where you felt most intrigued for how little elements are knitted into the background each step of the way, as there are remnants of the historical era of this story here and there; little touches of grounding you in a time-line which makes sense for the general awareness of ‘when’ we’ve been transported.

And, in regards to Mr Urry’s narration:

This is dearly theatrical because you get caught up in the height of how each character is presented – they are so very well attuned to their distinct personalities, you can listen to how they are dimensionally being portrayed. In this kind of performance it is easier to alight inside the narrative because you can see each of the characters in turn, their voices altering between each other and this never sounds like a novel being voiced by one narrator. The joyful bit is unravelling the plot through what your listening too – as Mr Urry gives such depth to everyone he’s portraying as it automatically thickens the plot because your feeling your way through the story the same way you do as your reading a book in print. This is why I love listening to how he narrates his stories!

-quoted from my review of A Looming of Vultures

I still lament: I’m addictive to listening to Urry’s voice and I am musefully happy to see what Mr Storry is going to write next because his stories are a brilliant match to Urry’s narration.

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#SpooktasticReads Audiobook Review | “A Nest of Vipers” (Ruritanian Rogues series, No.2) by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry [an audiobook I began during #FraterfestRAT]A Nest of Vipers
Subtitle: Ruritanian Rogues, Volume Two
by Richard Storry
Source: Direct from narrator
Narrator: Jake Urry

A string of unexplained, gruesome deaths brings fear and uncertainty to the streets of Ruritania’s capital.

And it could not have happened at a worse time. The planned visit by the Vice Chancellor of Jermania to commence peace talks is thrown into jeopardy. Will all the preparation for the negotiations come to nothing? Will the brutal war between the two nations escalate once again?

Meanwhile, the spate of thefts from wealthy homes continues. Who is responsible? And how can they be stopped?

And who is the mysterious figure who continually gains illegal access to the city apothecary?

With many conflicting and intertwining agendas, this proud and noble city faces the very real danger of becoming a nest of vipers.

Genres: Crime Fiction, Suspense, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B078WXYG4G

Also by this author: The Cryptic Lines, A Looming of Vultures

Published by Self Published

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 5 hours 5 minutes (unabridged)

Published By: Cryptic Publications

Ruritanian Rogues series:

A Looming of Vultures by Richard Storry (audiobook)A Nest of Vipers by Richard Storry (audiobook version)A Shroud of Darkness by Richard Storry, narrated by Jake Urry (audiobook)

A Looming of Vultures | Book One
(see also Review)

A Nest of Vipers | Book Two

A Shroud of Darkness | Book Three

A Betrayal Of Trust | Book Four

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Thursday, 24 October, 2019 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Audiobook, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Self-Published Author