Posted Wednesday, 10 January, 2018 by jorielov (Narrator) Moira Quirk, Anna Blanc series, Jennifer Kincheloe, Prometheus Books, Seventh Street Books, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk 0 Comments
Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of “The Woman in the Camphor Trunk” direct from the publisher Seventh Street Books (an imprint of Prometheus Books) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On why I can’t wait to read more about Anna Blanc:
Series Overview: Young socialite turned police matron Anna Blanc bucks society’s mores to solve crime in early 1900s Los Angeles.
The main reason I find myself so very attached to the world in which Anna Blanc lives is because of how she is beautifully brought to life by Ms Kincheloe. She has a way of fusing Anna into our hearts whilst winning us over with her quirkily humourous prose which not only dictates a keen awareness of Anna but of the times in which she is alive. It’s a curious door into the historical past as these were my parting words after having read the first novel of the series:
Sophisticated in her ascertainment of conception behind Anna Blanc, Kincheloe has writ such a lively character, you drink in her words with such a joy of delight! She has a fast paced narrative, where the humour is smitten by the sophisticated edging of her character’s personality, matched equally brilliantly by the grace of a Cosy Historical Mystery backdrop! She’s captured the turn of the century atmosphere aptly, as she tucks in recognisable familiarities to alight in your imagination as you turn the pages; replete with gaslights and other bits which correlate with the era.
I loved the way in which Kincheloe turnt a phrase, using words not oft found in historical fiction as her novel is a good primer of words that are wicked to say aloud and used in descriptive narratives such as this one! The phrases themselves are a delight for readers who love words as much as wordsmiths, which Kincheloe definitely excels at including whilst giving Anna Blanc a crafty choice of words to express her emotional duress! She also found a clever way to include Anna’s religious background by having her talk to the Saints when a mood or a moment fitted the hour; it was quite an interesting way to thread faith inside a mainstream novel and I liked the author’s candor.
The best attribute Anna Blanc has within her is a self-motivating resolve to become self-educated as it was such a joy to watch her expand her mind in a fervent attempt to understand the underpinnings of motives and causes of the crimes that were leeching through her city at such a fast rate of alarm. She did not just want to sleuth for the sake of detection but to fully understand the methodology behind the crimes and I think this is a nod to the writer’s (Kincheloe) curiosity being piqued by true crime stories straight out of the historical archives from whence she draws her inspirations. Kincheloe also under-writ a stunning historical survey of early Forensic techniques which inspired Anna with her investigating – especially in regards to understanding the differences between murder and suicide. This became quite pivotal in the story as Anna Blanc made her transition from socialite to female detective.
The beauty of The Secret Life of Anna Blanc are the little bits of plot your not expecting to find encircle through the evolving story – there were little clues fluttering through it’s context, but the joy was not completely sorting it all out until the very last chapter – wherein, your heart swoons with glee and you champion the success Anna Blanc had in closing her second case! This is a bit of a guilty pleasure for historical fiction readers – Kincheloe has tempted us with her wicked sweet prose where a heroine peppers the scenes with her feisty personality and a penchant for seeking out the truth from a sea of lies!
-quoted from my review of The Secret Life of Anna Blanc
The Woman in the Camphor Trunk
Subtitle: An Anna Blanc Mystery
by Jennifer Kincheloe
Source: Direct from Publisher
In early-1900s Los Angeles—an era of courting, ragtime, suffragettes, and widespread corruption—a socialite turned police matron tracks down the murderer of a white woman in Chinatown, while trying to prevent the outbreak of a bloody tong war.
Los Angeles, 1908. In Chinatown, the most dangerous beat in Los Angeles, police matron Anna Blanc and her former sweetheart, Detective Joe Singer, discover the body of a white missionary woman, stuffed in a trunk in the apartment of her Chinese lover. If news about the murder gets out, there will be a violent backlash against the Chinese. Joe and Anna work to solve the crime quietly and keep the death a secret, reluctantly helped by the good-looking Mr. Jones, a prominent local leader.
Meanwhile, the kidnapping of two slave girls fuels existing tensions, leaving Chinatown poised on the verge of a bloody tong war. Joe orders Anna to stay away, but Anna is determined to solve the crime before news of the murder is leaked and Chinatown explodes.
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 9781633883635
Also by this author: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook]
Series: Anna Blanc
Also in this series: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Body in Griffith Park, The Body in Griffith Park
on 14th November, 2017
Pages: 304
Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook
About Jennifer Kincheloe
Jennifer has been a block layer, a nurse's aid, a fragrance model, and on the research faculty at UCLA, where she spent 11 years conducting studies to inform health policy. A native of Southern California, she now lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two teenagers. She's currently writing book three in the Anna Blanc Mystery series. Book two, THE WOMAN IN THE CAMPHOR TRUNK, is coming out in Fall of 2017 from Seventh Street Books.
Photo Credit: Fola Akinyemi
Biography updated: March 2017
Links updated: August 2019
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | Pinterest | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction
Converse via: #AnnaBlanc + #HistoricalMystery or #HistMyst
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Posted Wednesday, 10 January, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Civil Rights, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Cosy Historical Mystery, Cosy Horror, Crime Fiction, Equality In Literature, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, History, Indie Author, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Prometheus Books, Realistic Fiction, Religious Orders, Self-Published Author, Taboo Relationships & Romance, the Nineteen Hundreds
Posted Wednesday, 6 December, 2017 by jorielov (Narrator) Lauri Jo Daniels, Colourless, Rita Stradling, Self Published 0 Comments
Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Colourless” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to listen to this story:
When I first saw this blog tour coming up on the calendar, I thought the premise was quite uniquely different – especially, as I was starting to get into the mood for reading Speculative Fiction per my annual participation in #RRSciFiMonth (Sci Fi November) wherein I have a steady focus on Science Fiction. The aspects of the story-line which intrigued me most were how there is a Speculative angle within it – the condition of losing one’s colour – not just in the context of your skin tone but in the objects and world round you – where everything truly is disappearing into the shadows of being colourless.
The only thing I worried about going into this novel is if I would be able to connect to the world-building as there are certain things set in the world of this novel which felt a bit confusing at first glance. Being Speculative at it’s core, I knew there was a layer of fantastical etched into it but there was a part of me which worried about the elements of how this world functions and how it’s put into order. Nevertheless, what truly intrigued me was the main aspect of what gave it’s most chilling Suspense – how does a person become devoid of colour and how does the world they live in suddenly feel erased?
Colourless
In Domengrad, there are rules all must live by: Fear the Gods. Worship the Magicians. Forsake the Iconoclasts.
To Annabelle Klein, the rules laid down by the Magicians are the mere ramblings of stuffy old men. As far as she’s concerned, the historic Iconoclasts, heretics who nearly destroyed the Magicians so long ago, are nothing but myth. She has much more important matters to worry about.
Heiress to a manor mortgaged down to its candlesticks and betrothed to her loathsome cousin, sixteen-year-old Annabelle doubts the gods could forsake her more.
Then Annabelle is informed of her parents’ sudden and simultaneous deaths, and all of the pigment drips out of her skin and hair, leaving her colourless. Within moments, Annabelle is invisible and forgotten by all who know her.
Living like a wraith in her own home, Annabelle discovers that to regain her color she must solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders and her strange transformation.
Meanwhile, hundreds of the Magicians’ monks, with their all-black eyes and conjoined minds, have usurped control of Annabelle’s family manor. An Iconoclast is rumored to be about—a person who they claim goes unseen, unheard, and lost to memory, yet is the greatest threat to all of Domengrad. For the first time in a hundred years, the monks plan to unleash the dire wolves of old.
Their only target: Annabelle.
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ASIN: B075ZZZV23
on 2nd October, 2017
Length: 9 hours, 22 minutes (Unabridged)
Self Published Audiobook
This is the first book of the Colourless series
Formats Available: Paperback and Audiobook
About Rita Stradling
Rita Stradling is the author of Ensnared, Making Bad Choices, The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.
Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California. She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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Posted Wednesday, 6 December, 2017 by jorielov in Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Indie Author, Self-Published Author
Posted Tuesday, 14 November, 2017 by jorielov (Narrator) Rita Page, Patrice Wilton, Self Published, Someone to Love 2 Comments
Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Someone to Love” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
I especially enjoy reading series in order:
When I first signed on for this particular blog tour, I was thankful I could listen to two of the novels in the series – which at this time has three novels. I am unsure if this series will continue or if it will remain a trilogy – the joy for me was being able to start at the beginning. Even in series which are not necessarily inter-connected by characters, there is a lot to be said for going back to the beginning to better understand how the author began the series – you have a better foundation for what is yet to come in next installments. This is why I don’t agree about series having ‘stand-alone’ titles as through my readings of series, each installment builds on the last – even if it is to see the transitions and nuanced changes the writer is making in their style as the series moves forward.
Thereby, this is what my main takeaway was by listening to A Heavenly Christmas:
Despite the few things which wrinkled my brow as I listened to the story, one thing I liked about how Ms Wilton writes her Contemporaries is how she writes gentle stories of where her characters need to come to a personal awakening or fork in the road where they can sort through the things they are allowing to prevent themselves from moving ‘forward’ in their lives. She has a particular style I generally enjoy reading – even if there were a few things which I felt took my joy away here or there, I found myself rooted into the story-line. She’s taken a small towne atmosphere (which I love!) and populated it with a small cast of characters who make this towne called: Heaven come to life! It’s similar to how those tv movies set in small townes give you the impression you’ve spent time there yourself by the time the story ends. In this, the best part is getting caught up in how Jennie and her daughters (along with her parents) find that sometimes the things your thinking your seeking out of life might not be exactly what you need – sometimes, life has a way of switching up your plans in order to give you something to consider you hadn’t thought was necessary.
This is a light-hearted story despite the dramatic obstacles facing Nick and Jennie – even though I had my brow wrinkling here or there, one thing that was lovely was seeing how layered the story had been written – how there were realistic reasons why Jennie and Nick were having trouble sorting out their futures. The story ambled through their transitions – of allowing the reader time and space to understand why they couldn’t see the future they wanted as readily as you might have hoped they could have realised sooner – there was a lot of growth stitched into this novel and the author gives you plenty of insight into why Nick and Jennie needed the ‘extra time’ to resolve what conflicted them.
-quoted from my review of A Heavenly Christmas
A Heavenly Christmas
Subtitle: Book Two in the Heavenly Christmas series
First came A Heavenly Christmas and now we have the riveting sequel, Someone to Love. This book is light on suspense and heavy on romance, and a perfect listen any time of the year!
Allison Cornwall was forced to leave her hometown in Connecticut and live life on the run from an ex-boyfriend turned stalker. She changed her name and hunkered down in Heaven, PA.
The small, idyllic town was a safe haven where no one could find her. And yet, after a year and a half of peace, he did. Police Chief Ian Brown is determined to keep crime out of Heaven. When Ally fears for her life, he's there to protect. Recently divorced, he's not looking for love, but this innocent young woman touches his heart. Can they put their pasts behind them and open themselves to the miracle of Christmas, learning once again to trust and to love?
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ASIN: B01M5FBGFC
on 26th October, 2016
Length: 6 hours, 41 minutes (Unabridged)
Self Published Audiobook
A Heavenly Christmas series:
A Heavenly Christmas (Book One)
Someone to Love (Book Two) (Synopsis)
Christmas Wish (Book Three) (Synopsis)
Formats Available: Paperback and Audiobook
About Patrice Wilton
Patrice Wilton knew from the age of twelve that she wanted to write books that would take the reader to faraway places. She was born in Vancouver, Canada, and had a great need to see the world that she had read about.
Patrice became a flight attendant for seventeen years and traveled the world. At the age of forty she sat down to write her first book—in longhand! Her interests include tennis, golf, and writing stories for women of all ages.
She is a mother of two, has four lovely grand-daughters and one grandson, and a wonderful man at her side. They live in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he teaches her golf, and she teaches him patience.
She has twenty-five books published on Amazon, and is a NY Times and USA Today best selling author.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest
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Posted Tuesday, 14 November, 2017 by jorielov in 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Content Note, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Modern Day, Self-Published Author, Small Towne Fiction
Posted Tuesday, 7 November, 2017 by jorielov (Narrator) Cassandra Richardson, L.A. Kelley, Rimrider, Rimrider Adventures, Self Published 4 Comments
Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Rimrider” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why this particular audiobook interested me:
Each Sci Fi November, I like to take stock of #newtomeauthors, Classic stories within the realms of SF I love to read and overall, have this plethora of bookish and geekery fun throughout the month – where I not only read the stories, but I seek out the tv series or movies which also interest me as well. When it came to choosing to listen to ‘Rimrider’ – I nearly came to the party a bit late – I was happiy surprised I could jump on the blog tour, as at the time I was sorting out how to re-listen to the first novel in a series of Cosy Mysteries whilst finishing two other reviews I had to re-schedule as well for audiobooks. Those were for ‘The Supernatural Pet Sitter’ (see also review) and the Non-Fiction Memoir which truly touched my heart: ‘Life as a Spectrum Mom’ (see also review) which showcases being a Mum to special needs children who live on the Autism spectrum. Truly a captivating read!
I personally LOVE Space Operas – I grew up on ‘Star Wars’ (still only watch the films Lucas created!), ‘Star Trek’ (only watching Roddenberry’s vision of the franchise) whilst having an appreciation for ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (the original series) and several other impressionable ‘Classics’ which set the standard for the genre being explored in motion pictures and television. Space Opera held an equal interest for me in written form – which is why I like to explore new story-tellers who are carving out their own niche within this wicked sweet genre we all have a mutual passion for exploring.
I had a good feeling about ‘Rimrider’ – I wasn’t sure if I liked the tagline – as I never liked the expression ‘fight like a girl’ – but in regards to the potential for the setting and the layered narrative scope – I had a sixth sense about this one – almost as if it was the one title which might happily take me by surprise and wouldn’t have expected to have found otherwise; had I not been on the blog tour! This also ‘fit’ well with being the ‘first’ featured story during my showcases for #RRSciFiMonth – wherein, I’ll be happily surprising both the participants and visitors of the event throughout November by the stories I am reading but not disclosing in advance! I think it makes it more enjoyable, really – to just happily duck into whichever story interests you in the moment to read and then, talk about how it impressed you. For me, it’s a new approach — I had always pre-planned a tight schedule for Sci Fi November – this year? I’m going to be a vagabond travelling through Science Fiction!
Rimrider
Subtitle: A real space pirate fights like a girl
by L.A. Kelley
Source: Audiobook via Audiobookworm Promotions
Narrator: Cassandra Richardson
Awakened by her father, teenager Jane Benedict is ordered to memorize a mysterious code. Hours later, Mathias Benedict is dead and Jane and her brother, Will, are wards of United Earth Corporation.
To evade the company's murderous clutches and uncover the meaning of her father's last message, Jane leads Will on a desperate escape across the galaxy aboard the Freetrader smuggler ship, Solar Vortex.
Tangled in the crew's fight for freedom, Jane saves the life of young smuggler, Mac Sawyer, and learns her father's code identifies a secret cargo shipment. The trail leads to the planet Rimrock and the massive prison complex of Golgotha.
Undercover as a spy, Jane stumbles into a conspiracy that can spell doom for the entire Freetrader cause and the extinction of an alien race. Can she escape the prison confines and deliver a warning before it's too late?
Piracy, intrigue, romance, space battles, and a daring rebellion from Earth wait on the galactic rim. Will Jane answer the call to adventure and find new purpose, or is death for high treason her fate?
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ASIN: B074YYKQSN
Published by Self Published
on 22nd August, 2017
Format: Audiobook | Digital
Length: 9 hours, 57 minutes (Unabridged)
Self Published Audiobook
The Rimrider Adventure series:
Rimrider (Book One)
Outlaw Jane (Book Two) | Synopsis
The Boneyard (Book Three) | Synopsis
Formats Available: Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook
About L.A. Kelley
L. A. Kelley is from Florida and has been writing Fantasy and Science Fiction adventure stories for all ages since she was old enough to chew on a number two pencil. All her books have adventure, humor, and a little romance because life is dull without them. She doesn’t write graphic sex or gore so your mama would approve, but does add a touch of cheeky sass so maybe she wouldn’t. In her spare time she calls in Bigfoot sightings to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife. They are heartily sick of hearing from her.
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon
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Posted Tuesday, 7 November, 2017 by jorielov in Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Brothers and Sisters, Coming-Of Age, Family Drama, Family Life, Hard Science Fiction, Indie Author, Life Shift, School Life & Situations, Science Fiction, Self-Published Author, Siblings, Space Opera, Speculative Fiction, Teacher & Student Relationships, Teenage Relationships & Friendships
Posted Sunday, 5 November, 2017 by jorielov (Narrator) Rita Page, A Heavenly Christmas, Heavenly Christmas series, Patrice Wilton, Self Published 0 Comments
Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. I have been hosting for nearly a year now and I appreciate the diversity of genre selections and styles of stories to choose from whilst I navigate the audiobook realms!
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “A Heavenly Christmas” via Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why this particular audiobook interested me:
I personally love curling up inside Christmas Romances as soon as the chill starts to dip into the air, Thanksgiving starts to approach and the holiday seasons kick-off properly starting with Halloween! This particular period of the year is my favourite – Autumn and Winter, have personal joys wrapped inside nostalgic memories. The reason I like reading Christmas stories is because it helps bring the holiday season into your mind and heart. Each story has its own appeal – I try to find new authors and stories to read each year, thereby expanding the collection of holiday stories I can return too once I find the ones I love the most to re-visit. This was a new tour which alighted into sight right when I was trying to decide ‘what to read’ for the holidays this year – as unlike last year, this Thanksgiving and Christmas felt a bit ‘lighter’ as they approach — yet similar to last year, this was going to be a year of thankfulness and blessings received.
A Heavenly Christmas
Subtitle: Can the magic of Christmas mend a young woman's heart?
Jennie Braxton and her two small children are traveling to Philadelphia for Christmas with her family. Car trouble lands them in a magical town called Heaven, PA. Everything about this sweet place seems too good to be true, especially Nick Ryan, a local chef with a heart as big as her own. His sensual smile tempts her from mourning the loss of her husband, to look into the future. Can her dreams of finding happiness again come true, or will her heart hide safely in the past?
Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing
ASIN: B01LYGP90H
on 15th September, 2016
Length: 6 hours, 11 minutes (Unabridged)
Self Published Audiobook
A Heavenly Christmas series:
A Heavenly Christmas (Book One)
Someone to Love (Book Two) (Synopsis)
Christmas Wish (Book Three) (Synopsis)
Formats Available: Paperback and Audiobook
About Patrice Wilton
Patrice Wilton knew from the age of twelve that she wanted to write books that would take the reader to faraway places. She was born in Vancouver, Canada, and had a great need to see the world that she had read about.
Patrice became a flight attendant for seventeen years and traveled the world. At the age of forty she sat down to write her first book—in longhand! Her interests include tennis, golf, and writing stories for women of all ages.
She is a mother of two, has four lovely grand-daughters and one grandson, and a wonderful man at her side. They live in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he teaches her golf, and she teaches him patience.
She has twenty-five books published on Amazon, and is a NY Times and USA Today best selling author.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest
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Posted Sunday, 5 November, 2017 by jorielov in 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Content Note, Family Drama, Family Life, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Self-Published Author, Siblings, Small Towne Fiction
