Author: Rebecca J. Greenwood

Blog Book Tour | “The Darkest Summer” by Rebecca J. Greenwood

Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past three years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Darkest Summer” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read this re-telling:

I’ve come to love the lovely niche of literary re-tellings – over the past four years, I’ve found quite a lovely array of re-inspired tales to where I must say, it is with apt curiosity I continue to seek them out! Each writer I come across has a different approach and of course, as they are each re-telling a different niche of literature – the stories themselves tend to be wholly unique and individually well-conceived for giving us new insight into a story we might already feel we understand. In this, what moved my interest to read ‘The Darkest Summer’ is how it was approaching Greek Mythos from a different port of entrance: from the story of Hades and Persephone.

I, readily admit, I am not well-versed in Greek Mythos, but I do try to seek out a new vision of the Greeks legacies whenever I can, if only to draw a step closer to understanding the Gods & Goddesses as well as the origin of the stories the Greeks left behind for us to contemplate. I have oft found the Greeks to be dearly confusing to understand – but there are some enroads being taken to bridge the gap between what I find muddling about the Greek Mythos and what I find intriguing.

Hence, why as soon as I read the premise behind this novel, I sensed I might have found not only a compelling story set in the Regency, an era I already have a passion for reading – but perhaps, in a small way, might start to understand some of the connections which were inspired by the Greeks themselves. I wasn’t sure on that score – as I wasn’t sure if this was a direct re-telling – where you can see the parallels between the two narrative arcs (ie. within the relationships themselves or in the descriptive bits of the characters) or if, the novel was more nuanced and you had to have more than a cursory knowledge of ‘who’ these lovelies were in Greek Mythos to be able to fully understand the route in which Ms Greenwood took to tell her tale. Either way, I knew I was going to appreciate re-visiting her writings as I knew she’d make a wicked good novelist ever since I first crossed paths with her whilst she was writing Non-Fiction.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Blog Book Tour | “The Darkest Summer” by Rebecca J. GreenwoodThe Darkest Summer
Subtitle: Pure Romance

In this riveting retelling of the classic myth of Hades and Persephone, Lady Cora Winfield is captivated when she first meets Adam Douglas, Duke of Blackdale. Despite their attraction, Cora’s mother refuses to allow the duke to marry her. Taking matters into his own hands, the duke abducts his bride-to-be, and Cora is swept into the adventure of her lifetime. Amidst danger and thrilling uncertainty, Cora must face the reality that she is falling in love with her captor.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781462120949

on 14th November, 2017

Pages: 294

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

A Novella & Novel entwined:

The Darkest Hour by Rebecca J. GreenwoodThe Darkest Summer by Rebecca J. Greenwood

When dutiful Lady Hester Douglas, over thirty and long on the shelf, receives word that her brother Adam, the Duke of Blackdale, has survived the Battle of Waterloo, she abandons propriety and heads to Brussels to be by his side. Her widowed minister, Mr. Alasdair Gilchrist, escorts her on the journey from Scotland into a Europe recovering from years of war.

Once she reaches her injured brother, Hester must fight to keep Adam alive and tightly guard her heart’s deepest secret—she’s been in love with Mr. Gilchrist for years.

Will the pain of being with the minister, the man she loves and can never have, distract her from her purpose? Or will she overcome the barriers of age, rank, and station, and seize the love she’s dreamt of?

The Darkest Hour is a standalone inspirational Regency romance novella, and is also a prequel to The Darkest Summer.

Converse via: #Regency + #Romance, #GreekMyths + #Retelling as well as #Persephone

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood studied visual art with a music minor at Brigham Young University. She is a multimedia artist, illustrator, comic creator, and designer with a love of stories. She has worked in publishing for the last six years. Rebecca lives in Utah with her husband, where she listens to audiobooks, cooks experimentally, has an interest in alternative health, and constantly has a new project in mind.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, After the Canon, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Debut Novel, England, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Inspired by Stories, Life Shift, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, PTSD, Re-Told Tales, Realistic Fiction, Scotland, Sisterhood friendships, Story in Diary-Style Format, Sweet Romance, The London Season, the Regency era

Blog Book Tour | “Scripture Princesses” an #illustrated #chapterbook by Rebecca J. Greenwood

Posted Thursday, 27 August, 2015 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Illustrated Stories Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Scripture Princesses” direct from the publisher CFI (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I believe we need more Early Reader | Chapter Books such as this:

I have held an appreciation and curiosity about the women of the Bible for the full of my life; mostly because the women of Biblical times were not regularly spoken about from a biographical approach. Most of the stories shared when I was growing up in Sunday School were a bit on the boring side of the ledger to be honest – my teachers had limited knowledge, lacked curiosity of their own, and did not visually bring the women of the Bible to life for me.

I was a seeker of stories from a very young age – and the incredible thing for me growing up was how the stories of who lived during Biblical times was not as represented as the facts. Sunday School and regular education outlets held one commonality that frustrated me: the preference of knowledge and learning was about fact remembering rather than developing a knowledge of history through the perspectives of those who lived and held within their lives a well of stories waiting to be told.

I have found as I grew older, there are certain Biblical fiction authors who either take a Contemporary or Historical point-of-view to help guide us as lay readers to better understand the women (and yes, the men too!) who walked before us. They re-envision their stories through the grace of living through a character’s shoes as told through novels, allowing the breadth of their lives to be explored. The reason this particular release tipped my curiosity to engage with it directly right now, is because I was oft-times curious if there were authors of today penning stories for younger readers who like me were struggling to find quality stories about the women nearly forgotten by time.

Ms Greenwood is an encouraging presence for parents who are seeking illustrated stories who illuminate the women who are strong role models for young girls inasmuch as for young men who are wanting to have a proper balance of knowing who came before us all and how their lives are relevant to today’s world. This is a good start to getting a footing on the Biblical fiction which is happily becoming a more popular genre within the world of INSPY for readers seeking stories about the men and women we barely get to know through their entries in the Bible.

A way to seek out a story behind the scriptures, if you will!

Blog Book Tour | “Scripture Princesses” an #illustrated #chapterbook by Rebecca J. GreenwoodScripture Princesses
Subtitle: Stories of Righteous Daughters of God
by Rebecca J. Greenwood
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Rebecca J. Greenwood
Source: Direct from Publisher

Be faithful, like Sarah
Be prayerful, like Hannah
Be brave, like Esther

This easy-to-read chapter book shares beautifully illustrated stories, including those of:

Eve,
Rebekah,
Ruth and Naomi,
Sariah,
Abish and the Queen,
Mary Magdalene,
Lucy Mack Smith,
and Emma Hale Smith

Full of examples of integrity and courage, this book is the perfect way to reinforce lessons learned in Primary and share scripture stories that will become a gospel foundation to last a lifetime.

Genres: Children's Literature, Artistic Adaptations &/or Picture Books



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Also by this author: Author Q&A with Rebecca J. Greenwood, The Darkest Summer

Published by CFI (imprint) Cedar Fort Inc

on 11th August, 2015

Pages: 144

Published By: CFI (imprint) of Cedar Fort Inc (@CedarFortBooks),

an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook, and compliment Colouring Book

Converse via: #illustratednovel, #KidsLit, #EarlyReader OR #ChapterBooks + #WomenOfTheBible

Also: #INSPY (for Inspirational Fiction readers) + #LDSFiction + #LDSKids

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood studied visual art with a music minor at Brigham Young University. She is a multimedia artist, illustrator, comic creator, and designer with a love of stories. She has worked in publishing for the last six years. Rebecca lives in Utah with her husband, where she listens to audiobooks, cooks experimentally, has an interest in alternative health, and constantly has a new project in mind.

Read More

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Posted Thursday, 27 August, 2015 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, After the Canon, Ancient Civilisation, Anthology Collection of Stories, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biblical Fiction, Biblical History, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Children's Literature, Christianity, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Equality In Literature, Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Illustration for Books & Publishing, Illustrations for Stories, Indie Art, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Inspired by Stories, Judiasm, Lessons from Scripture, Re-Told Tales, Religious History, Short Stories or Essays, Spirituality & Metaphysics, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints