Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 17th November Guest Author | “Stay” by Jennifer Silverwood part of my #Mythothon readings!

Posted Saturday, 17 November, 2018 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

#SaturdaysAreBookish created by Jorie in Canva.

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In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By:

I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

This particular review is slightly different from my regular blog tours and hosting features for Prism Book Tours – as an opportunity came along this Autumn to secure a spot on a ‘review tour’ rather than a ‘blog tour’ for the debut novel by Jennifer Silverwood entitled: Stay. Although she’s published different series and stories after this publication from 2013, I welcomed the chance to get to know her writing style from the moment it began being published. This differs as each of the reviewers and book bloggers who are committing to this review tour are posting at different intervals before the final deadline for the review tour concludes. In my case, this also included being able to anchour this review with my @SatBookChat showcase for the novel and the book discussion which came out of it.

I received a complimentary copy of “Stay” by the author Jennifer Silverwood in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I originally was keen on the writing styling of Ms Silverwood:

When I first discovered Silver Hollow, it was the genre-bending styling of the author which implored me the most to read the story. At the time, Silver Hollow was being re-released and the only version currently available back then in print was the older version. Sadly, despite my efforts to secure that copy by inter-library loan had failed. It still remains a story I want to read one day, however, what was interesting about moving inside Stay was finding the natural nuanced styling of a writer who takes cues straight out of the Mythological past!

As I hinted at during @SatBookChat today, there are moments within reading Stay where I could almost feel the presence of Poseidon and Zeus; except, I wasn’t naming them in my mind. There are enough elements of connection within the story itself to draw you closer towards naming them outright but it was the illusion of connection to these two which I appreciated even more because it deepened the suspense and the mythological proportions! If it could be them, what if it wasn’t? What if there are others out there who can behave and manipulate the elements just as cheekily and get away with it?

This bridge between the fantastical and the mythological is what made me keenly curious about Silverwood’s writing style. I wanted to see how she used the bridge itself, as generally speaking I do have a penchant for Urban Fantasy nowadays but each writer I read within that branch of literature has their own unique spin on how to make ‘modern’ settings warmly conducive to Fantasy realms.

Finding myself dearly enchanted by how she brokered a story out of the roots of Greek Mythos is only the tip of the iceberg I feel I shall be finding within her collective works! The joy of reading Stay and discussing it was finding out the sequel is arriving in 2019!

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On my connection to Jennifer Silverwood:

When our paths first crossed, Ms Silverwood and I shared a mutual interest and connection; however, our friendship did not form for awhile afterwards. It was truly after the interview went live and after I noticed I was reading her blog as much as she was reading mine – where I realised we shared a lot of commonalities in our reading lives as well as our writely lives! We decided to stay in touch and it is an honour to find someone who understands the bridge between reader, blogger and writer.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Silverwood through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse whilst I hosted her Silver Hollow blog tour and privately as well. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time or continuing to read their releases as they are available. This also applies to hosting a guest feature by the author I share a connection.

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#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 17th November Guest Author | “Stay” by Jennifer Silverwood part of my #Mythothon readings!Stay
by Jennifer Silverwood
Source: Direct from Author

Rona believes love is nothing more than a myth, a tale for little girls.

Until the immortal ruler of the seas appears from thin air and she is swept into a dark and dangerous affair, turning myth into a grave reality. Commanded to work as the savior of true love, Rona realises that love is just an illusion as grandoise as magic and after two thousand years, she is ready to give up. Until the night a human, deep in the underbelly f the city that never sleeps sees her. She recognises him instantly, a lost love. Trouble is, he has no memory of her. Tasked with mending a relationship between the love she lost thousands of years ago and another woman, Rona will have to learn what it means to be human all over agai when past and present collide.

Can love transcend time or will Rona be forced to roam earth alone, forever?

Genres: Greek Mythos | Legacies, Nautical Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Romance (PNR), Urban Fantasy



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1484116890

Also by this author: Author Interview: Jennifer Silverwood (Silver Hollow), Book Spotlight: Borderlands Saga, Silver Hollow, Book Spotlight: Blackbriar Cove

Published by Self Published

on 3rd June, 2013

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 214

Converse via: #PNR, #ParanormalRomance + #Mythos, #Mythology & #UrbanFantasy

as well as #WomensFic  or #WomensFiction

About Jennifer Silverwood

Jennifer Silverwood

Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of two series—Heaven's Edge and Wylder Tales—and the stand-alone titles Stay and Silver Hollow.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #Mythothon 2018
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Posted Saturday, 17 November, 2018 by jorielov in #Mythothon, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, After the Canon, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Dark Fantasy, Debut Novel, Earthen Magic, Equality In Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Folklore and Mythology, Gods & Goddesses, Greek Mythology, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Indie Author, Modern Day, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Mythological Societies, Nautical Fiction, Parapsychological Suspense, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Self-Published Author, Spin-Off Authors, Supernatural Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Urban Fantasy

Blog Book Tour | “A Small Town Christmas” (Book One: Four Irish Brothers Winery series) by Nan Reinhardt Another early spin on #blogmas where Christmas is happily on my radar as we start to shift into the holiday season!

Posted Friday, 2 November, 2018 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

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

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

I received a complimentary copy of “A Small Town Christmas” direct from the author Nan Reinhardt in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why Jorie loves Christmas Romances:

Last year, I had a better start on showcasing my love of Christmas Romances & holiday stories – where I was featuring interviews and spotlights throughout the holiday season – leading up to the Christmastide directly! This year, I was focusing on seeking new holiday reads to enjoy this year as well as seeing if any of the previous years’ finds were finally available to be borrowed through my local library! Thereby, I am thankful I was able to find a few blog tours to join this year, which continue the festive celebrations on Jorie Loves A Story!

I personally love being caught up in a Christmas Romance due to the holidays themselves but also, how forgiving this season can be! It is a time of renewal and of peace – it is interesting how the season itself lends well to telling Romance. Showcasing how relationships can become built even if (characters) first feel this is the wrong time for them personally or professionally. Christmas Romances tuck me into different celebrations & traditions; uniquely arrive at different moments in time (between Contemporary & Historical settings) and give you a happiness of an afterglow for reading them the same way I feel whenever I watch the Christmas films on tv or dvd.

My favourite channel for the holidays is Hallmark, due to how light-hearted the Christmas Romances are and how they give you a drama on their sister channel Movies & Mysteries. Similarly, you could say what I read and watch during the holiday season (strictly from either late October til Twelfth Night in January) are fuelled by unexpected circumstances, arcs of forgiveness or redemption whilst the better bit is how a relationship can find traction at one of the most beautiful times we can experience in-season! The weather isn’t as harsh (wells unless your in a place that regularly gets hard-hitting blizzards!) and there is something sweet in the air.

I find these kinds of stories purely uplifting and that is why I continuously seek them out!

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Blog Book Tour | “A Small Town Christmas” (Book One: Four Irish Brothers Winery series) by Nan Reinhardt Another early spin on #blogmas where Christmas is happily on my radar as we start to shift into the holiday season!A Small Town Christmas
Subtitle: Four Irish Brothers Winery
by Nan Reinhardt
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Winemaker and single father Conor Flaherty is determined to make this Christmas holiday special for his daughter even though his family’s winery, Four Irish Brothers, is facing some challenges.

High-octane Chicago attorney Samantha Hayes is looking forward to some delicious food, fine wine, small town charm, and a break from her hectic big city life when she agrees to do a favor for her boss and help his younger brother with a lawsuit that’s been slapped on his family’s historic winery in River’s Edge. She’s not expecting that her sexy new client will have a smile that will melt her heart and remind her that there’s more to life than work.

Sam falls hard for Conor, his daughter and the small, friendly town, but can she trust her instincts and risk her heart? Sam hasn’t seen a lot of happy-ever-afters in her life, but Conor and the magic of Christmas make her want to believe.

Genres: Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9181949707113

Published by Tule Publishing

on 29th October, 2018

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 260

Published by: Tule Publishing (@TulePublishing)
under their imprint American Heart

NOTE: Although in the print edition this imprint isn’t mentioned on the copyright page. I believe this is strictly an in-house classification to help readers direct themselves to the kinds of stories they desire to be reading. Each imprint on Tule’s site explains the imprint’s core empathsis – which is why this particular one focuses on small townes, urban life, American culture and HEA with a sexiness heart.

Read more about Tule Publishing | via author Jane Porter’s blog

I’ve been wanting to begin reading the novels of Ms Porter for the past several years – I have a few of them on hand actually, only regretfully they are not quite accessible! (hard to explain – most of my personal library is not yet unpacked) I’ve been visiting her website off/on since 2013 whilst I also follow her writerly career on Twitter – though somewhere between life and tides, I’ve overlooked quite an important milestone of her life: she’s developed a publishing company for Romance & Women’s Fiction authors! I look forward to browsing their catalogue, sorting out which authors are published into print and seeing if I can start requesting more of their titles via my local library! Either directly (via purchase requests) or through ILL’ing them! (inter-library loaning)

Formats Available: Paperback* and Ebook

Uniquely enough, I couldn’t find links routing to the print copy I have myself via LibraryThing; even after I keyed in the ISBN on the copyright page. I also noticed the print edition is not listed on retail outlets or GoodReads. I am unsure when the print copy will start to show online, however, I know this title did release into paperback and I am thankful it had in order for me to have a chance to read it. Except, I did consider I might have an ARC – hopefully the print release will be easier to track in forthcoming months or after the New Year begins.

This marks the first story in the series which will feature the following characters:
Conor, Sean, Brendan, and Aidan Flaherty. The series begins with Conor’s story!

Converse via: #Contemporary #ChristmasRomance

& #FourIrishBrothersWinery

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About Nan Reinhardt

Nan Reinhardt

Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, Kensington Books, Tule Publishing, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.

Although she loves her life as an editor, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!), and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! Her latest novel, A Small Town Christmas, which is the first book in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series from Tule Publishing, releases on October 29, 2018.

Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly. Nan also blogs every sixth Wednesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with five other romance authors and is a frequent contributor the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and she contributes to the Romance University blog where she writes as Editor Nan.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #blogmas 2018
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Posted Friday, 2 November, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Christmas Romance &/or Holiday Story, Contemporary Romance, Indie Author, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Small Towne Fiction

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 13th October Guest Author | “Indecision” (Part One of a duology) by Brittany Fuller

Posted Saturday, 13 October, 2018 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

#SaturdaysAreBookish created by Jorie in Canva.

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In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By: One thing I love about being active in the bookish side of the twitterverse is being able to interact with authors. This is how my path crossed with Ms Fuller – where in a random encounter led to chattering about her debut Contemporary Romance being a duet, the first installment of a duology; of which I was most excited to learn more about as the format of dulogies interest me greatly since I first started discovering them as a book blogger. Ironically or not, I did not read as many as a reader prior to having my bookish blog! I credit this to the wider net of awareness I have gained as a book blogger and the more routes of interaction I’ve become blessed within the book world to actively be more ‘aware’ of the uniqueness of releases which are not traditional series, limited series, mini-series and/or non-sequential series – or even, series rooted by theme, setting or supporting cast but rather, a duology – one half of a whole spilt into two individual volumes which once read together compliment and complete each other.

Thus, I agreed to accept a complimentary copy of “Indecision” fully aware of the fact it was the first of a duology release by the author Brittany Fuller in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why I was keen on reading ‘Indecision’ knowing it was a duology:

It truly began about a discussion with Ms Fuller about readers and duologies – about the misconceptions about duologies and how sometimes readers feel short-changed by them. For me personally, I wouldn’t feel upset if a novel I was reading turnt out to be a duology – as I’ve read stories I felt were stand-alone novels which ended on ambiguous final chapters without a hint of a whiff of a sequel or anchouring novel to accompany them.

One quite infamous read of mine where I was honestly in such bereavement and ached for a sequel was when I had borrowed a novel called The Golem and the Jinni by new author (that particular year) Helene Wecker! I was emotionally distraught as I had taken this arduous journey, emotionally gutted and the ending,.. ohh, dear how to even describe it? It felt like a new beginning or a regeneration of what could be plausible or possible, but an ending? No, it didn’t feel quite like that to me,… if you visit that particular review you’ll see how I learnt about the (forthcoming) sequel and how happy I was to interact with Ms Wecker in the twitterverse, as it truly became a ‘journal’ of a passionate reader,…

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, where you are unsure of a connective sequel wherein either writer anchours the first story to a limited series, a mini-saga or series, or a non-sequential series where your reading stories linked by setting, theme or characters – you have the option of soaking inside a duology. I, personally would never feel disappointed if I read a story and it turnt out to be a duology – even if I wasn’t previously attuned to this being the case, as I have had the unlucky habit of finding myself in the midst of full-on serials wherein I have to back-track to find the originating stories and/or find which stories are still available in print (for purchase or borrowing) in order to re-adjust the continuity, gather the thoughts of how the author set the tone for the series overall and generally feel in confluence with the stability of the evolving story (or saga).

Speaking on behalf of the previous duologies I’ve read, I have a high level of respect for how writers write them. Mostly as you are being given half of the evolving arc of narrative, half the journey of the characters both major and minor and have to have felt you’ve resolved or have come to a conclusionary ending by the time you put down the second half of the duology. For those writers who have continued to inspire me and give me a ready story for which I love reading anchoured in this unique fashion, I am forever humbled and blessed to have had their stories cross my bookshelf.

Thereby, when it came time to decide if I wanted to dive into the world in which Indecision lies in the midst of a ‘duet’ – I daresay, dear hearts, I dove right in!

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Notation about the Cover Design: There are a few moments where I stumble across cover art and design which speaks directly to the heart of the story – most cover art designs today strike to find a balance between what is marketable and what is relevant even if sometimes I think they (ie. publishing & PR) err on one side of the ledger vs the other – in this particular case, what was so very striking about the cover is how it truly represents both characters: Evelyn and Noah. Specifically as to why the pier would be of ‘importance’ and what that important ‘revelation’ on behalf of a character would mean in regards to being ‘clued in’ to understanding ‘them’. In essence, I love when a cover of a novel is a glimpse of a portrait of the story the author has written – I much prefer these kinds of covers than a marketable gamble on aesthetics!

#SaturdaysAreBookish | Book Review featuring @SatBookChat’s 13th October Guest Author | “Indecision” (Part One of a duology) by Brittany FullerIndecision
Subtitle: He gave up everything to be with her but is she willing to do the same.
by Brittany Fuller
Source: Direct from Author

Noah knew one thing in life, he would never let a woman rearrange his world ever again. After giving up his future once for what he thought was true love, only to end up alone with what little pride he had left, he headed out towards the West Coast and sunny California in hopes of putting his past behind him. After one year trying to fit into the fast-paced lifestyle, he’s ready to pack up and head back to the south, and his old Kentucky home, even if it means crossing paths again with the demons he left behind. That is, until he meets her. The one girl he can’t help but be drawn to no matter how hard he tries. As he finds himself ready to surrender everything once again for a future with the one woman he knows he will never be able to live without, he’s suddenly forced to realize she just might not be willing to do the same.

Evelyn has had the same dream since she can remember. After her parents moved her to northern California as a pre-teen, she is determined she won’t rest until she can move back home to Orange County and somehow land a job at the LA Times. Vowing to never let anything stop her, and so far succeeding in making her goals come almost within reach, she will not compromise and will let nothing stand in her way. Although, the night a tall handsome stranger comes to her rescue in a dark corner of a downtown bar, her life is suddenly changed and forever rearranged. Noah soon has her questioning everything she thought she wanted in life. Suddenly, she finds herself torn between the life she always wanted, and the one man she’s afraid to live without. Although, when she’s offered her dream and the chance of a lifetime, does she take it, or does she choose him?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0692153468

Published by Self Published

on 7th July, 2018

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 272

Self-Published Author

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance, #Romance #Duology & #SecondChanceRomance

About Brittany Fuller

Brittany Fuller

Brittany Fuller has known one thing since as far back as she can remember, she wanted to be a writer!

Born in Orange County, California, she grew up scribbling notes and drawing stick figures on blank pages, stapling them together and calling them her latest book.

Her family moved to northern California when she was five, and throughout the years her writing has evolved to poems, songs and short stories.

Returning to college at the age of 28, after getting married and starting a family, she received a degree in journalism and recently took a leap of faith uprooting her life and moving to Kentucky where she works as an editor of a community newspaper.

Although, before leaving the West Coast, she took a chance and started to write her first novel in the hopes of fulfilling a dream she’s had since she was a little girl. To become an author.

With no plans to stop writing anytime soon, she is excited to embark on what she hopes will be a long career.

Busy planning, drafting, writing and reading any chance she gets, she loves to hear feedback and connect with not only readers, but potential clients as well.

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Posted Saturday, 13 October, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Near-Death Experience, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Vulgarity in Literature

Blog Book Tour | “The Lady of the Tower” by Elizabeth St. John

Posted Saturday, 13 August, 2016 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “The Lady of the Tower” direct from the author Elizabeth St. John in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I wanted to read a story writ out of the author’s historical past:

Hallo, dear hearted readers – I was especially keen on the idea of a historical fiction novel inspired by the ancestral history of the author’s past because I am an Ancestry Sleuth myself! I have had a penchant of following in the footsteps of my Mum and grandfather who originally started to ferret out the remnants of our ancestry past through the groundwork they started in the 1970s to not only unearth hidden threads of our ancestors but to start the quest to work towards understanding where we all originated once you enter into the historical data on immigration from the UK and Europe respectively.

It’s an interesting process, as an Ancestry Sleuth as your digging through records and following leads – where some days you come up empty and other days, you might get a lucky break – where finding one ancestor could lead you to find a whole lot of ancestors you never even heard about previously! Thus, knowing this about how much I love researching where the living histories of my family could lead to new ancestors in the historic past, imagine then, my joy in reading the synopsis and back-story attached to The Lady of the Tower, wherein Ms St. John used one of her ancestors as the cornerstone of enquiry into how her story was both set and told.

I could be mistaken, but I believe the Stuart period of England is one that I haven’t yet had the joy of exploring? I love when I get to dig into another chapter of British history, seeing a whole generation pop alive against the pages of a historical novel and give me a cardinal viewing of that generation’s untold insights & stories. I remember when I first read a novel set during the era of the Tudors & the Georgian era, too. Of the two, I leaned more towards the Tudors – however, I have the tendency to fall back on my regular haunts of the Regency & Victorian eras whilst traversing a bit into the Edwardian. It would be quite lovely to feel an equal attachment for another era – perhaps, the Stuart will appeal? I do appreciate certain stories set during Elizabethan England, too. It’s just my heart flutters such joy in the other three eras it’s hard to pull myself out of them! Laughs.

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Blog Book Tour | “The Lady of the Tower” by Elizabeth St. JohnThe Lady of the Tower

Orphaned Lucy St.John, described as “the most beautiful of all,” defies English society by carving her own path through the decadent Stuart court. In 1609, the early days of the rule of James I are a time of glittering pageantry and cutthroat ambition, when the most dangerous thing one can do is fall in love . . . or make an enemy of Frances Howard, the reigning court beauty.

Lucy catches the eye of the Earl of Suffolk, but her envious sister Barbara is determined to ruin her happiness. Exiling herself from the court, Lucy has to find her own path through life, becoming mistress of the Tower of London. Riding the coattails of the king’s favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, the fortunes of the St.Johns rise to dizzying heights. But with great wealth comes betrayal, leaving Lucy to fight for her survival—and her honor—in a world of deceit and debauchery.

Elizabeth St.John tells this dramatic story of love, betrayal, family bonds and loyalty through the eyes of her ancestor Lucy and her family’s surviving diaries, letters and court papers.


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ISBN: 9781523417889

on 30th January, 2016

Pages: 246

Published By: Self-Published Author

Read more about the Stuart period of England via WikiHow

Converse via: #TheLadyOfTheTower & #Ancestry + #HistFic
Available Formats: Softcover paperback and E-Book

About Elizabeth St. John

Elizabeth St. John

Elizabeth St.John was brought up in England and lives in California. To inform her writing, she has tracked down family papers and sites from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, and the British Library to Castle Fonmon and The Tower of London. Although the family sold a few castles and country homes along the way (it’s hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth’s family still occupy them – in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint. And the occasional ghost. But that’s a different story…

Elizabeth is currently writing a sequel to The Lady of the Tower, following the fortunes of the St.John family during the English Civil War. The working title is “By Love Divided”, and it is due to publish in early 2017.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Saturday, 13 August, 2016 by jorielov in 17th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, Lucy St. John, Multi-Generational Saga, Story knitted out of Ancestral Data

Blog Book Tour | “Emmy Nation: Undercover Suffragette” by L. Davis Munro My second reading of Feminist driven Historical Fiction wherein I am championing the spirit of women who fought for our right to have Equality!

Posted Thursday, 25 February, 2016 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a part of the blog tour for “Emmy Nation: Undercover Suffragette” wherein I received a complimentary copy of “Emmy Nation: Undercover Suffragette” direct from the author L. Davis Munro in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

I am appreciating reading Feminist Historical Fiction:

I believe part of me was drawn into this sub-focus of historicals long before I cued the titles into my reading queues as I fondly recall seeking out strong female characters where the arc of the stories were not only focused on their lives but focused on how women could succeed in a highly dominated men’s world. For a girl who arrived on the scene and grew up in the decades where Working Girl and Baby Boom attempted to make a point about how successful a woman could be if she thought outside the proverbial box and/or wrote her own lifepath out of what was generally expected of her – you could say I was growing up in a potboiler of a new generation of Feminism without realising it!

What I find most inspiring by digging through the historical past via authors such as I am finding now, is this whole new plethora of stories wherein the women who rose out of the shadows to “effectively turn the tides of change” are brought so beautifully to life and within their characters journey we see bits of ourselves; where we can ascertain a focal point in history where women started to say ‘No’ and started to voice not only their opinions but their rights – to be wholly whole and true to themselves without having to back down due to socioeconomic pressure, familial protocol or society’s expectations which held them under a drowning sea of expectations.

I definitely am akin to reading more Feminist Historical Fiction and anxiously await where my next read will generate itself – this is to say, I can find a third author who whets my palette of thirst before either Ms Flynn (the Rebellious Times series) or Ms Munro (Emmy Nation series) complete their next books in sequence of their debuts!

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Blog Book Tour | “Emmy Nation: Undercover Suffragette” by L. Davis Munro My second reading of Feminist driven Historical Fiction wherein I am championing the spirit of women who fought for our right to have Equality!Emmy Nation
Subtitle: Undercover Suffragette
by L. Davis Munro
Source: Author via iRead Book Tours

Being an independent woman in 1913 London is certainly empowering, but Emmy Nation is tired of the inescapable damp seeping through her worn shoes and the hopeless grumblings of her stomach.

When she receives an offer from Scotland Yard to boost her typist income by spying on the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), Emmy jumps at the chance. But as she grows closer to the WSPU women the lines begin to blur, and when a painful part of her past resurfaces Emmy begins to question her choices.

How far are you willing to go to secure your equality?

Genres: Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Women's Studies



Places to find the book:

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ISBN: 9781517529673

Also by this author:

Published by Self Published

on 22nd November, 2015

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 336

Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

About L. Davis Munro

L. Davis Munro

L. Davis Munro holds a master’s degree with a focus on women’s suffrage theatre and works in theatre and dance. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and her dog.

Author Links Updated: January, 2018

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Thursday, 25 February, 2016 by jorielov in 20th Century, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Britian, Debut Author, Debut Novel, England, Feminine Heroism, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Self-Published Author, the Nineteen Hundreds, The Writers Life, Vulgarity in Literature, Women's Fiction, Women's Rights, Women's Suffrage