Format: UK Edition Paperback

+Book Review+ A Stitch in Time by Amanda James #ChocLitSaturdays #RRSciFiMonth (time travel)

Posted Saturday, 15 November, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , 2 Comments

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A Stitch in Time by Amanda James

Author Connections: Personal Site | @akjames61Facebook

Illustrated By: Berni Stevens

 @circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Converse via: #ChocLit & #AStitchInTime

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Time Travel

Paranormal Elements | Fantasy Suspense

Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, Large Print, & E-Book

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Acquired Book By:

I am a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “A Stitch in Time” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. 

Inspired to Read:

I have had an attachment to time travelling narratives for awhile now, as my newly passionate admiration for Doctor Who will account for the fact that I am quite giddy to soak inside a story where the art of travelling through time is championed by the traveller who seeks to help humanity out of the curious nature of time itself. Previously, I have enjoyed seeing forays of time travel through Quantum Leap and Star Trek television series (of the creativity of Gene Roddenberry). Time travel in fiction is a new pursuit of mine — and as I am focusing a bit on this sub-genre of Science Fiction during Sci Fi November, I felt it was only fitting to post this review at such a time as to encourage sci-fi readers to know that even the breadth of Romance can entertain a suspense-filled time travel story arc!

I believe what attracts me the most to the art and style of each writer who conveys how time travel occurs is how variant the science is that expresses the plausibility of travelling through time. Everyone has a different approach, yet there is a level of understanding in each new way to duck through time and effectively change a few things as far as how history was written by the people who lived through the hours of time itself.

+Book Review+ A Stitch in Time by Amanda James #ChocLitSaturdays #RRSciFiMonth (time travel)A Stitch in Time
by Amanda James
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher

A stitch in time saves nine… or does it?

Sarah Yates is a thirty-something history teacher, divorced, disillusioned and desperate to have more excitement in her life. Making all her dreams come true seems about as likely as climbing Everest in stilettos.

Then one evening the doorbell rings and the handsome and mysterious John Needler brings more excitement than Sarah could ever have imagined. John wants Sarah to go back in time …

Sarah is whisked from the Sheffield Blitz to the suffragette movement in London to the Old American West, trying to make sure people find their happy endings. The only question is, will she ever be able to find hers?

Read an Excerpt of the Novel
Genres: Romance Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Time Travel Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Also by this author: Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Series: Stitch in Time,


Published by ChocLitUK

on 7th April, 2013

Pages: 301

Author Biography:Amanda James

Amanda James was born in Sheffield and now lives in Cornwall with her husband and two cats. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, singing and spending lots of time with her grandson. She also admits to spending far too much time chatting on Twitter and Facebook! Amanda recently left her teaching role (teaching history to sixth form pupils) to follow her ambition to live her life doing what she most enjoys—writing.

Amanda is a published author of short stories and her first novel with Choc Lit, A Stitch in Time was chosen as a Top Pickin RT Book Reviews magazine in the US in July 2013 and won a 2013 Reviewers’ Choice Award from Single Titles.

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A theory on time, the traveller who knits it back together, & the reality of time travel:

James reveals the basis of her running theory on the full dimension of being a time traveller and one who intends to not only travel along the meridians of time but on fusing time as a broken structure of record back together again; with a propensity of precision generally relegated to knitters or sewers. I, personally, loved what the time traveller’s mentor and guide is called inside the story (as a Time Needle sounds ever so posh) as ‘needling with time’ simply made a heap of sense to me! Time travellers by definition can either muck up an alignment of the continuum itself OR they can create positive contributions by causing a deviant of order as they re-distribute a level of calm within the chaos. I even liked how she parlayed her theory within the title of the novel itself, by using a Stitch in such a clever execution of a person’s job rather than rely solely on prior knowledge the reader may or may not have had as far as vetting information on the subject for themselves.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Saturday, 15 November, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Novel, Divorce & Martial Strife, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern British Literature, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Second Chance Love, Singletons & Commitment, Unexpected Pregnancy, Vulgarity in Literature

+Book Review+ Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Friday, 12 September, 2014 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter

Author Connections: Personal Site | @sarah_tranter | Facebook

Illustrated By: Berni Stevens

 @circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Converse via: #ChocLit & #RomancingTheSoul

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Past Lives

Paranormal Elements | Suspense

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By:

I am a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “Romancing the Soul” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. 

Inspired to Read:

The idea of past life regenerations and regressions is a topic of interest of mine for quite awhile now. I haven’t read a story set against the practice but I oft wondered what the ramifications would be if someone went back to a life they were not yet prepared to accept as their own? The idea of finding the one your truly meant to be with the rest of your life by having a marker set in the past which links the two of you together in the future is an idea I’d like to explore! The suspense alone would be brilliant to engage in, whilst the characters are sorting out where they stand and what they can drink in as plausible!

+Book Review+ Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter #ChocLitSaturdaysRomancing the Soul
by Sarah Tranter
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher

Your Soul Mate is out there!

Let a past life lead the way

Rachael Jones hasn’t exactly chosen an average career path. She’s a ‘past-life regressionist’ and is now hoping to help her clients find their Soul Mates through reconnecting them with their past lives. But despite her best intentions, there are problems. Rachael made the mistake of regressing her best friend, Susie Morris, who has since been haunted by events that occurred in her past life.

When Susie meets Hollywood actor, George Silbury in unlikely circumstances, she is completely unprepared for her reactions. There’s an intense mutual attraction that neither can explain nor ignore.

Can George help Susie to overcome the sense of desolation she feels as the result of her past-life regression or will history’s habit of repeating itself ruin all chances of her finding happiness?

Genres: Romance Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Reincarnation Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Published by ChocLitUK

on 7th January, 2014

Format: UK Edition Paperback

Pages: 370

In regards to the ‘heat’ of sensuality & sexuality explored in this novel, I felt I ought to let my readers know this one was a bit more intense than your regular Romance novel.

four-flames

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Author Biography:

Sarah Tranter

Sarah Tranter lives in Wiltshire, England with her very supportive husband and her two boys. The family includes Rufus the dog, two cats, five chickens, countless pet spiders and an assortment of bugs (courtesy of her youngest). Sarah has been a Constituency Researcher for a Labour Member of Parliament, a Political Lobbyist and a London Publicist, before turning her career to writing.

Sarah’s novels include: No Such Thing as Immortality and Romancing the Soul (January 2014).

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Past Lives & Past Lives Regressionists & the New Age spin of the novel:

The beauty of the linchpin inside the novel is that it is a measure of transference of belief, faith without evidential support, and the instinctive nature of knowing something you know is true without a foundation of how you came to the conclusion originally. The elemental notations on past lives by definition and by personality alter as you read the novel, as the story is an interjectional conversation from various points of view and by a motley crew of believers intermixed with those who are hedging bets to disprove any of it has any bearing on reality. The premise is quite a bit more New Age and paranormally inclined at the jumpstart, but the further you alight inside the pages, you realise Tranter wrote a very intellectually stimulating narrative that is not quite as it appears to be.

On that level I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was nibbling away in the recess of understanding the methodology used to visualise the transitions and the queues from the past to the present, until a lightbulb went off and I started to process this through a knack for science and the scientific cross-analysations that purported the plot into its truest light. Honestly by approaching a bit of this from the arm of science and threading it back through the Contemporary nature of the Romance genre, I found myself wholly entertained!
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Posted Friday, 12 September, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Blog Tour Host, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Novel, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern British Literature, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Second Chance Love, Singletons & Commitment, Vulgarity in Literature

+Blog Book Tour+ The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden

Posted Friday, 20 June, 2014 by jorielov , , , 5 Comments

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The Lost Duchess by Jenny Barden

The Lost Duchess Virtual Book Tour with HFVBT

Published By: Ebury Press (), 5 June, 2014 (paperback)
an imprint of Random House Group, Ltd. UK ()

Official Author Websites: Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Author is Active on: English Historical Fiction Authors Blog

Available Formats:  Hardcover, Paperback, & Ebook
Page Count: 448

Converse on Twitter: #LostDuchessBlogTour & #TheLostDuchess OR

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “The Lost Duchess” virtual book tour through HFVBT: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Jenny Barden, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Curiosity Inspired Me to Read:

I felt plumb delighted to read this novel as it sounded quite exciting if you ask me! I love the appeal of diving into the lost colonies and of course, who wouldn’t like a thriller set at sea and land?!

I am always a reader whose eye bewitches her attention from one period of history to another, and the one section of literature I have not yet rallied my will to venture into is that of the high seas epics! I have already earmarked off the novels of Patrick O’ Brian and others like him, who enhance my curiosity and warm me to the descriptions of life at sea. I am an adventurer in spirit, and as I had relaid to MaryLu Tyndall last year whilst she was touring the blogosphere for Forsaken Dreams, I felt inclined to tell her that if I had had the proposition to set sail for a new world and a new way of living, I’d have embarked on the journey forthwith! My mind furvoured over this recollection as I broached the premise of The Lost Duchess; twirling over in my mind if I was ready to set sail and fully breathe in narrative on the high seas! As you can see, the answer that bubbled to the surface was a resounding yes! And, I think a bit inspired by my fascination and delight in reading a ChocLitUK novel entitled: Close to the Wind!

I am always forever grateful when there are enclosures with the books I receive for review, in this particular case, the paperback copy of The Lost Duchess was signed by the author! She even went so far as to include a business card which features the book cover art and her contact information, as well as a lovely postcard which includes the book synopsis on one side and a framed book cover image on the opposite one! I am always marvelling at the little surprises authors and publishers tuck into books for book bloggers, because it is one step closer to keeping the circle between us an interactive experience. I even adore the Editor’s Notes that come inside ARCs or the extensive Press Releases which publishers generally tuck inside ARCs and finished copies alike! Little bobbles of joy which make me smile as I ease into the narratives at hand! A charming reminder that what we do as we blog is appreciated but more than that, that writers are as bookish as the readers who appreciate the opportunity to read their novels! In that, we all like to have little tangible memories to reflect back on our experiences, and I am always pleasantly delighted to find what is included inside my book parcels!

I cannot express my gratitude enough for the bookmarks, as previously mentioned mine are all packed along with my personal library (for the most part!). The little business card for The Lost Duchess held my place as I shifted through the pages, and it was as fondly used as the curious little business card I wished I had had for To Live Forever by Andra Wakins! I watched so many of Wakins “Natchez Trace videos” I nearly thought it would be a keen keepsake to have a little card as a nodding reminder of my connection to her experience and journey on the Trace! The happy bit for me is using bookmarks from various authors inside new books as they arrive to be read — little fingerprints of reflections drift through my mind and heart, as I nestle into the story at hand, and for that, I am one very blessed and thankful book blogger!

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Book Synopsis:

An epic Elizabethan adventure with a thriller pace and a high tension love story that moves from the palaces of England to the savage wilderness of the New World.

Emme Fifield has fallen about as far as a gentlewoman can.

Once a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, her only hope of surviving the scandal that threatens to engulf her is to escape England for a fresh start in the new America where nobody has ever heard of the Duchess of Somerset.

Emme joins Kit Doonan’s rag-tag band of idealists, desperados and misfits bound for Virginia. But such a voyage will be far from easy and Emme finds her attraction to the mysterious Doonan inconvenient to say the least.

As for Kit, the handsome mariner has spent years imprisoned by the Spanish, and living as an outlaw with a band of escaped slaves; he has his own inner demons to confront, and his own dark secrets to keep…

Ever since Sir Walter Raleigh’s settlement in Virginia was abandoned in 1587 its fate has remained a mystery; ‘The Lost Duchess’ explores what might have happened to the ill-starred ‘Lost Colony’ of Roanoke.

Author Biography:Jenny Barden

I’ve had a love of history and adventure ever since an encounter in infancy with a suit of armour at Tamworth Castle. Training as an artist, followed by a career as a city Jenny (Portrait 2)solicitor, did little to help displace my early dream of becoming a knight. A fascination with the Age of Discovery led to travels in South and Central America, and much of the inspiration for my debut came from retracing the footsteps of Francis Drake in Panama. The sequel centres on the first Elizabethan ‘lost colony’ of early Virginia. I am currently working on an epic adventure during the threat of invasion by the Spanish Armada.

My work has appeared in short story collections and anthologies and I’ve written for non-fiction publications including the Historical Novels Review. I am active in many organisations, having run the ‘Get Writing’ conferences for several years, and undertaken the co-ordination of the Historical Novel Society’s London Conference 2012. I am a member of that organisation as well as the Historical Writers’ Association, the Romantic Nevelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. I’ll be co-ordinating the RNA’s annual conference in 2014.

I have four children and now live on a farm in Dorset with my long suffering husband and an ever increasing assortment of animals.

I love travelling, art, reading and scrambling up hills and mountains (though I’m not so keen on coming down!).

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comA notation on Cover Art:

There are moments of great joy to discover a book cover as captivating as the one on The Lost Duchess. The moment you lock eyes with the woman who graces the page, you instinctively realise that you want to venture into her life and follow where she will lead. Her clothes are quite ornate, but it is the unexpected notice she is giving you that eludes the story will no doubt capture your full attention once it is begun to be consumed. She has a story to tell, and I knew that in combination with the book’s synopsis, this was a story I wanted to walk alongside her and know intimately.

There is a common debate I have noticed recently in the book blogosphere and the twitterverse, about the presumption of selection on the books we elect to read. One side claims it is by the book cover alone and the other side laments that it is on the merits of the story’s premise. I, on the other hand, have claimed to say:

Truly though, about why I am drawn into a book!? It goes directly into the heart of the narrative — I look for book synopsis which etch out a story-line full of heart & soul characters, who either need to go on a journey of discovery or are going to live through a life experience which will either shape them, break them, or transform them. Thinking back on my own young adult years — it was the story which took central focus – I have not changed my spots! My blog is aptly named as you get to know me! I might love a book cover, but I cannot love it fully unless I get a sense of the story within it – the cover is the shell, the heart of the joy in reading lies in the pages between the covers! -quoted from my comment on Ellen Mulholland’s blog

Mistress of the Sea by Jenny BardenFor you see, I may well fancy a book’s cover illustrations and artwork, but for me, if the book itself does not ink out a reason to savvy my interest and eyes to become enthralled with its contents, I am afraid I do not pick the book up irregardless of how much I might admit the cover is quite a remarkable piece of art. For to me, it is art then, and not a story of interest. I am not sure if the debate will ever be settled, but one thing I wanted to mention is how I appreciate book covers in successive order of release from authors have a ‘turning nod’ to each other. Case in point, is the début novel (Mistress of the Sea) by Ms. Barden (seen in this paragraph) whereupon the filigree edges and the atmosphere of colours selected against the backdrop are in tune with the cover for The Lost Duchess.

Previously, I observed the same keen attention given to the books of Stephanie Thornton, as I reviewed her second novel, Daughter of the Gods recently on another Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour. The connectiveness in sequence and choice of design makes me smile inwardly, because the covers then become a bit of a triptych when viewed alongside each other (if there are three in sequence, such as the Daughter of Boston series by Julie Lessman). I like this attention to nuance detail and the methodology of selecting covers which help readers identify the collective work of an author when they go to borrow or purchase their books. I will need to remember to add notations each time I discover this amongst the books I read next, as it is one detail that I appreciate most.

Aside from period specific choices in clothing, as although I do not always realise when I am being duped by period designs and examples, there are moments where I have an inclination to feel that perhaps the clothing or manner of style on a cover is a bit of out time for the story it is attempting to reflect. Barden’s covers are an elegant grace in excellence and her tomes of work will delight all the senses a reader uses to soak into a novel’s heart.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comMy Review of The Lost Duchess:

The Lost Duchess by Jenny BardenThe wide-eyed innocence of a maid-in-waiting to the Queen is ripped out of her bodice and attacked by a most vile individual who did not see Emme Fifield as a woman to respect and honour, but an object to possess. Her most tender courage of youthful spirit encapsulated her from the worst of the attack by muffling her angst ridden heart and the screams she would have belted to heaven if not in fear of the Queen, her liege in finding out the truth. Barden opens The Lost Duchess in such a powerful way as to beg the reader’s notice that what was once felt in locking eyes with Emme on the cover, now turns to an increasingly beguiling sense of knowing.

Her steadfast knowledge of a woman’s place in the Elizabethan age purported her plight, as she knew very well that if any person learnt of her disgrace of being attacked, the brunt of the burden would be solely placed on her shoulders. The rights of women then and the rights of women now are not so very far apart from each other when it comes to domestic violence and the collision of unwanted advances from men. Barden writ inside the passages following the attack a wholesome truth of the inner workings of a woman attempting to balance her reality of the incident against the reality of her place in court. Her life was a fragile balance of obligation, duty, and expected service to her Queen.

As we are gaining insight into her strength of character, we are seeing further into her courage as she decides to carry-on and forge ahead as though nothing sinister had occurred at all; as who is there to confide in when women are always viewed as being the harbingers of their own fate?

Emme is a woman who has vision outside the plight of her own circumstances, and on the confidence of the Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth I, (Sir Francis Walsingham) she endeavours to change her stars by her own conviction and merit of industry by joining the voyage back to the New World. She knows her future is blighted at best if she stays behind to face the uncivilous rumours head-on, but to jump aboard ship and sail to Virginia? To help forge a colony in the Chesapeake that is stronger and sturdier than that of Roanoke?! I must confess, as her mind danced with images of fanciful new dreams and possibilities, I was alongside her rallying hope and encouragement for what this new beginning would mean to her well-being.

Besmirched with the tides of fate, Emme and Kit, the man entrusted to keep her safe aboard ship each have their own personal reasons for sailing for presumed sanctity in Virginia. As I had the pleasure of seeing Belle on the silver screen for my birthday this year, (a mere week ago) I could settle in my mind the joy of seeing a father acknowledge his child; a child of biracial origins and one he most earnestly loved. Reading the passages where Kit was attempting to explain to his brother the true reason he wanted to pursue a new life abroad warmed my heart, as foresaid Belle was only recently seen and has already stitched itself into my most beloved motion pictures of recent years; akin to Amazing Grace! I also appreciated the character of Manteo who is a Native amongst the Britons travelling to and fro the New World. He was given full respect for his person and I liked his ease in conversing with Emme, as he did not see her as others might and she was in full appreciation for the reprieve.

As their journey led them to the New World, so too did their adventure lead them to a rebirth of living with the full grace of freedom transformed. I appreciated the hearty realism stitched into life on ship as much as the curious details woven into the days in which they were ashore in Roanoke. Barden took a fissure of disjointed and fragmented history, and pulled together a pliable accountment of what ‘could have been’ but of which will quite surely ‘never truly be known’ of the ill-fated attempt to colonise Virginia at that point in time. I must commend her for her vision, as this particular slice of history always fascinated me in school, always thirsty for new details or curious scenarios of possibilities, and in reading The Lost Duchess, I find myself bemuseful of how this story could very well have a stock in reality.

The only bits that I found a bit disconcerning at times were the visual nature of some of the scenes, yet I did not attach a ‘fly in the ointment’ to this post because quite frankly they were very few and far between. They only entered a scene when needed to express the seriousness of an attack; especially a fatal one where someone was brutally murdered by Natives in Roanoke where the colonists were attempting to take residence. I flitted over the passages because within the whole of the book, my heart was enraptured with the evolving story between Emme and Kit, who are the heroes of the tale!

The wordsmith stylings of Barden’s narrative was rapturously exaulted:

I am forevermore blessed to have stumbled across such wonderful wordsmiths who enlighten our minds with words of which are not commonly used nor known in today’s literature. Even those words which would be harkened back to an age of the historical page in which the story entreats our imaginations to venture, not every author is able to knit the ties of that era in such a way as to unite a clarity of speech. I am always in a celebratory mood when I find a writer whose pen inks out a frothy amount of phrase, word, and era specific mentionings as to help alight us in the setting in which the story takes place. I feared not the moment I opened this particular novel, as between the Chapter Heading Quotation disclosures of passages taken from historical documents (I presume?) to engage our eye in the real characters behind the fictional story, to the benefit of the words in which grace the pages, my mind was lit afire with a truism of the Elizabethan Court!

She takes you inside this unknown world with such a propensity for details and enriched voices of the past, that you feel as though you are stepping directly into Emme’s shoes, casting footfalls where she alights in Richmond Palace as much as the shores of the New World. I found myself eating the words and pages as readily as my eyes were able to absorb their murmurings, because I had found another new author of whose story was soaking into my heart and that swelled a sea of thankfulness inside my heart! And, prompted a most curious thought as to seek out Mistress of the Sea!

A note on behalf of Ebury Press sustainability conscience:

On the reverse cover of The Lost Duchess, I was happily struck by the presence of the FSC recognisble label! I had mentioned their conservation efforts to source paper without hurting old growth forests on a previous post, as I am attempting to make a reference note of each book I read henceforth forward that has a mention inside its sleeves for stewardship and sustainable printing practices. More and more publishers (from major trade to independent press) are striving towards finding greener ways to print books and thereby, proving the point that those of us who can only read books in print can effectively read greener! A bit like how each of us who purchases second-hand books is taking a step towards the unnecessity of successive printings of the same novel. I applaud Ebury Press and Random House Group, Ltd. for being part of the forebearers of change and for giving all readers everywhere something to chew on about how reading green does not have to be electronically originated.

They mention briefly about their green-minded practices on their FAQ page, but go into greater detail on their page dedicated to how they acquire the paper for the books they bind into print editions. The best bit for me is seeing their green practices go a bit past paper production and more towards the whole concept of being a green publisher using green resources!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comThis Book Review is courtesy of:

The Lost Duchess Virtual Book Tour with HFVBT

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comas I am happily honoured to be a blog tour hostess for:

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours - HFVBTPlease visit my Bookish Events page to stay in the know for upcoming events!

Reader Interactive Question:

I am curious, what are your impressions of the ill-fated colony of Roanoke!? Have you sought out previous stories set amidst the rumours of unknown truths!? What do you think is plausible to explain the fact they were never found and that the search continues to today for their ancestors!? There is a lovely ‘Author’s Note’ in the back of “The Lost Duchess” which goes into a bit of detail to explain not only the author’s take on the history but how history is continuing being penned as the research continues to seek out the truth of what happened to the colony. I was grateful the passages were included as they tethered all the pieces together in both fiction and reality.

{SOURCES: Book covers for “The Lost Duchess” & “Mistress of the Sea”, Author Biography, Book Synopsis, and blog tour badges  were provided by HFVBT – Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Friday, 20 June, 2014 by jorielov in 16th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Adulterous Affair, Blog Tour Host, Domestic Violence, Elizabethan Era, England, Green-Minded Publishers, High Seas Epic, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Modern British Literature, Native American Fiction, Nautical Fiction, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Francis Walsingham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sustainability Practices inside the Publishing Industry, Sustainable Forest Certification, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Tudor Era, Virginia, Women of Power & Rule, Women's Rights, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage

+Book Review+ Dangerous Decisions by Margaret Kaine #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 8 February, 2014 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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Dangerous Decisions by Margaret Kaine

Dangerous Decisions by Margaret Kaine

Author Connections:

| Personal Site | Pin(terest) Board |

| Facebook | Twitter |

Converse via: #DangerousDecisions

Illustrated by: Berni Stevens

 @circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Historical

 Edwardian | Romantic Suspense

Published by: ChocLitUK, 7 December 2013

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book, Large Print & Audiobook Page Count: 400

Acquired Book By:

I am a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “Dangerous Decisions” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! The book released on 7th December 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

This perked my ears up a bit because one of my favourite tv serials on right now (although I borrowed the serial dvds through my local library until Series 4 which I am watching on Masterpiece Theater via PBS!) is “Downton Abbey”! I seriously didn’t realise how affected I am by the depth of drama and romance set in the Edwardian era! Although, surprisingly I hadn’t realised this as I have a big attachment to life during the 1920s-1940s! I liked the fact the premise ‘sounds familiar’ as far as the initial set-up is concerned but the writer has written in a twist (at least the premise alludes to it!) that will tip the story on its heel and give the reader a hearty story to absorb! Love that!

 

Book Synopsis:

Have you ever ignored a sense of unease?

Helena Standish knows that a good marriage would enhance her father’s social status but she’s wise enough not to accept any handsome fool. The wealthy and enigmatic Oliver Faraday is considered an ideal match, so why does Helena have faint misgivings? Nicholas Carstairs has little patience with frivolous pleasure-seekers or an upper class that closes ranks against outsiders. Why then is he entranced by the lovely ‘girl in the window’ – a debutante who would appear to be both of those things? A champagne celebration at Broadway Manor marks the start of a happy future for Helena, but no one can predict the perilous consequences of her decision or the appalling danger it will bring.

Author Biography:MargaretKaine
Born and educated in the Potteries in Staffordshire, Margaret Kaine now lives in Leicester. Her short stories have been published widely in women’s magazines in the UK, and also in Australia, Norway, South Africa and Ireland. Ring of Clay, her debut novel, won both the RNA’s New Writer’s Award in 2002 and the Society of Authors’ Sagittarius Prize in 2003. She has now published seven romantic sagas about life in Staffordshire between the 50’s and 70’s. Dangerous Decisions is Margaret’s debut novel with Choc Lit.

 

Serendipitous Rendezvous & the Musings Therein

Very few novels are bold in giving you a precursory insight of the depth of pathos two characters are willing to take themselves forward out of their familiar territories. Insofar as to supposition the nature of the life they are each viewing through a pixel of glass! I oft wondered if those who engage in people-watching ever bemuse their time in expounding on what they feel the person they’ve watched might actually do in real life or if they limit their musings to flights of fancy instead. It’s quite a wicked way to begin the introduction phase of Dangerous Decisions  as it gives the reader a nodding of a clue towards each character’s personality trait.

When does mild curiosity start to turn into a genuine concern about another person’s welfare!? When do causal interactions yield to wanting to spend actual time in one’s company?! How much can you yield through a focused gaze into each others eyes without foreknowledge of each others lives!? The curious heart-strings of when attraction knits a bond between two souls seeking love is one of the questions put forth by Kaine. A world can nearly be lived within the nanoseconds of a first glance. It’s whether or not, each parties share a willingness to acquaint themselves with the other that lends the mystery aspect of the story. Do you listen to your instincts or do you refuse to accept that your thoughts of warmth towards the person are anything but flickerments of wishes; extinguished before they were aflame?

My Review of Dangerous Decisions:

I am a self-taught nature and wildlife photographer, gaining experience by walking in nature and watching water fowl and birds of prey alight near me. This is why one of the most striking inclusions of the book cover art for Dangerous Decisions is the white pelican! I nearly had the opportunity to see white pelicans off the coast of Cedar Key last year, but I wasn’t able to visit during their annual migration as planned! But, oh! The grace of beauty in the one who is on the cover is beyond inspiring! Quite the curious addition for a novel set in the Edwardian era!

Helena is a young woman after my own heart! She’s concerned about the scullery maid who is darting out of the house like a mouse worried over where the cat was last seen! Her heart for the downtrodden and the working class is a blessing to see, especially considering that she was bourne into a sect of notoriety and conventional expectations. Her life appears to have been sheltered to the hilt and its her desire to seek out life experiences to make up for the fact she’s been eluded the truth of the age due to how she was raised. Her desire to protect the welfare of those in need as much as animals without the voice to protect themselves endeared me to her forevermore!

One of the underlying life lessons inside the story is being able to accept your intuitive sensory perception as an accurate barometer of knowing when your entertaining the wrong suitor! Listening to the inner voice which reconciles logic within a balance of reasonable doubt is a necessary tool for all singletons whilst broaching the brink of marital bliss. There is a direct difference between the pursuit of love in its purest of sense and the pursuit of love for sake of wealth, security, and compromise. You have to realise where you stand on the merits of which avenue of matrimony your going to step into and this is where I feel Helena is a bit green around the ears! She makes reading her story enjoyable because your starting to want to root for her to transcend her ignorance of men and listen to the logic of her heart thundering in her head in quiet whispers!

In this story, marriage life is not quite a fit of bliss, joy, and love, but rather a girl who entered marriage with the presumed belief that her husband would be endearingly loving; slowly started to find cause to the murmurings of caution. Her marriage was an illusion she was not willingly able to give credence to being true. There is a twist in the story I kept trying to nibble away at with each passage of narrative. I nearly felt I had stumbled across it but it wasn’t until a pivotal moment in Helena’s life did I finally see the full measure of what the truth revealed! Oy vie, oh my! Kaine etches into Dangerous Decisions a dialogue of intrigue that leaves you rather full of suspense until you have it all sorted out! Its not the type of book you can read in two sittings! You must reach the conclusion in one!

Cacaphobia (fear of ugliness) is presented in a very careful manner so not to over-cede the story but rather to give the audience a vital case to substantiate one character’s behaviour indiscretions. I must admit, I haven’t come across this particular phobia beforehand and how it manifests itself to exclude even the most basic semblance of everyday life and living is truly difficult to process. And, yet, for those who are afflicted by this condition I would presume would rather not feel aghast in situations where they’d rather see what others see rather than what their mind is projecting them to see.

Edwardian England & whisperments of the Turn of the 20th Century:

As the 19th century faded into a new chapter called the 20th, ordinary lives were starting to have rippling effects of change intersect through their lives. The shadow play of posh ton society was going to take a hit as women would start to shake free of convention and find their voice to assert what they would be willing or unwilling to accept as commonplace. Etchings of women’s liberation could be felt as the old ideas were no longer measuring up to the demands for civil rights and liberties, most especially the rights and needs of women. The interesting bit to Dangerous Decisions is how Kaine is interweaving sub-plot and secondary characters into the threadings of the main story arc! She’s giving whisperments of hushed society a bit of a revealing edge to the undertone of the novel. You are whisked off the posh streets of London to duck into the darkened streets where ladies in red tend to tread as much as cloistered women on call live in lofty flats.

The living situations of those below stairs has always fascinated me, as though through tracing my roots in history I haven’t uncovered anyone who lived in service, I am always approaching the narrative of those lives with compassion. The understairs staff always had such a lot to weigh on their shoulders and the blight of living ‘below’ station in most of the ton‘s eyes was not a favourable view of mine! Kaine has a way of getting you into their inner world as they work, converse about rumours of change, and settle into their duties. I felt as though it was Sunday night on Masterpiece Theater as I am raptly viewing Downton Abbey! And, with the knowledge I have gained through reading period dramas (both in historical & romance fiction), as well as what I have viewed in period adaptations & originals,… there is a proper sense of excitement for being moved up in position as much as finding a companionable match in marriage. The servants strive to obtain all the blessings of life as those upstairs but with a strict line of separation between them.

Repleat of course in hearing murmuring echoes of the voices of Mrs. Patmore (in lieu of Cook) and Mr. Carson (in lieu of Bostock! There is such a lively connection between Helena and her staff, that I had inklings of reminders of how much Mary (Grantham) appreciated her staff as well! At least whilst Helena was at Broadway Manor; Graylings is a bird of a different feather completely!

Oliver Faraday & Nicolas Carstairs: a Comparison

Whilst the compassionate heart of a doctor whose long hours and dedication to his patients weary him thin on pleasantries of everyday joy in life, Mr. Carstairs still has a winking of a curious heart inside him. Whereas Mr. Faraday still recovering from the sudden death of a close friend is matrimonially inclined due to realising that without an heir his beloved estate could falter out of his ancestral line. Both men intrigued me for different reasons. Carstairs had a depth about him; lit by the mannerisms and observations he was keen on making during his short entrance. Faraday on the other hand nearly came across as a bit superficially composed, where his agenda to populate the circuit of the London Season felt obligatory rather than sincere. Yet. I felt at their first greetings there was far more to each of these lovely blokes than meets the eye!

For a singleton who appreciates a good romance to read, ChocLit never fails to give their readers blokes to swoon over! Each of the characters I have come across prior to Faraday & Carstairs were always wholly true to their own  ideals and owned their own stations in life. They are built strong and given the freedom to have a strong footing in the story-lines rather than causal afterthoughts. And, likewise are given the full reign of allowing the reader decide who is truly a friend and who is a foe!

NOTE: I added “romantic suspense” to the genre listing above due to the nature of how the story unfolds,…

This book review is courtesy of ChocLitUK,

ChocLitUK Reviewercheck out my upcoming bookish event and mark your calendars!

#ChocLitSaturdays | a feature exclusive to Jorie Loves A Story

*NEWSFLASH* : This marks my fourth *#ChocLitSaturdays*, where I will be spotlighting a book published by ChocLitUK! Coordinating bonus features will alight on my blog in forthcoming weeks! Previous reviews include: The Reluctant Bride by Beverley Eikli; A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris; and Close to the Wind by Zana Bell!! Future installments of ChocLitSaturdays will be forthcoming and announced through the hashtag section on Twitter! Stay Tuned!

Jorie Interviewed Ms. Kaine on ChocLitSaturdays : 22nd, March 2014!

{SOURCES: Author photograph, Author Biography, Book Synopsis, Book Cover, and ChocLit Reviewer badge were provided by ChocLitUK and were used by permission. The book trailer by Animoto had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for the opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Book Review badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in FotoFlexer.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Saturday, 8 February, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Britian, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Debut Novel, Downton Abbey, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Literary Adaptations, London, Modern British Literature, Nature & Wildlife Photography Antidotes of Jorie, Photography, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, the Edwardian era

+Book Review+ Close to the Wind by Zana Bell #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 25 January, 2014 by jorielov , , , 1 Comment

Parajunkee DesignsCTTW_packshot-newClose to the Wind by Zana Bell

Author Connections:

Personal Site | Facebook | Twitter 

Converse via: #CloseToTheWind

Illustrated By: Berni Stevens

@circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Historical 

Victorian | Adventure | High Seas Epic

Published by: ChocLitUK, 7 October 2013

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book, Audiobook, & Large Print Page Count: 352

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Acquired Book By: 

I am a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received “Close to the Wind” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! The book released on 7th October 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I recently re-read “The House Girl” which touches on the true meaning behind ‘freedom’ and how to free ourselves not only from our given set of circumstances but by how listening to our inner hearts we can find the path we’re meant to be on. I found it interesting in this premise that the question of ‘freedom’ is broached again in a new vein, in regards of how to know the choices your making are leading you in the right direction. As much as when you eclipse to the point of securing your freedom what is the cost of the freedom your now living? I like books that make you think! And, definitely appreciate protagonists who are conflicted, searching, and determined!

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Book Synopsis:

What would you give to be free?

Georgiana da Silva is catapulted out of the Victorian drawing rooms and into a world of danger when she escapes her fiendish fiancé to engage in a mad dash across the world to save her brother before an unknown assassin can find him.

Meanwhile, Captain Harry Trent is setting sail for New Zealand. With a mission to complete and the law on his heels, he’s got enough trouble of his own without further complications.

Thrown together, unable to trust anyone, Georgiana and Harry are intent on fulfilling their missions despite the distractions of the other. But liberty comes at a price and the closer they get, the more they must question the true cost of being free.

Zana-Bell-author-RD-e1381951315337Author Biography:

Zana Bell lives in New Zealand. She describes herself as a big fan of Georgette Heyer and combines the elements of light-hearted romance with travel and adventure. Zana’s first book was a young adult time travel, published in New Zealand and Australia. Her second novel was an historical, based on the life and times of Charlotte Badger, convict, pirate and New Zealand’s first English woman immigrant. It was voted Single Titles 10 Best Books in 2008. She is also the author of two contemporary romances from Harlequin’s Super romance line. The first won a Cataromance Reviewer’s Choice award 2010. This is her début novel for Choc Lit and the return to her love of writing historical novels.

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Setting a course for New Zealand:

There is always a moment when a reader realises that they have jumped the moon and become fully absorbed into the story they are holding in their hands! The very moment the pages etch out of view, and your mind enchants you by placing you singularly into the world in which the characters are living. For me, it was the scene in which Georgiana realises the actions of what she set forth into motion have now landed her in the berth of a ship headed in the direction of New Zealand! The last time I was swept away into a high seas epic adventure was whilst in a darkened theater watching Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which coincidentally I had only a murmuring of a knowledge of the books by O’ Brian prior to seeing the motion picture! I went with my Da because I knew he might appreciate it a bit more than my Mum! I was so enraptured by the breadth of the story, I only dared to scant my eyes away during the scenes of surgery above decks! What I love about the world of high seas epics, is that the whole of the story is taking place within a certain diameter of space! Tight quarters, tight ship, but an expanse of a stage set against the wills of man!

I have unearthed quite a heap of stories writ in this vein of thought, but I haven’t yet squared away the proper hours to address reading them! In this way, I was pleasantly surprised to find Close to the Wind offered in the ChocLit catalogue! The appeal factor for me is the thirst for adventure and for travelling into the charted and uncharted worlds where maps do not always foretell of being. To slip away from the life on land, giving your heart to the sea and seeing where the winds take you next — there is a happy allure in this, as it’s a pure sense of freedom as you change your own stars as you journey.

My Review of Close to the Wind:

Georgiana is not only fearless in her pursuit to reach New Zealand, but she is daring in her approach of how to sail. Taken with the confidence of her years of circus training in her youth, she devises a disguise she perfected in local theatre; of a boy rather than girl! Dressed in her brother’s clothes, with her hair chopped off into a lad’s level of trim, and her chest bound with cloth, she dares herself to believe the transformation in order to save her skin whilst sailing aboard the Sally! Her guile exterior belies her a bit as she attempts to forge a distance between her female tendencies and the brave face she must constantly place forward to blend in with the crew!

As she grows her confidence to man the decks as a swab, she finds it harder to squash the affection brewing inside her heart for Captain Trent. In turn, Trent is a man of precision skill in knowing his adversities as well as knowing of whom he can trust. He sees in George (Georgiana’s ingenious name to hide the obvious!) a story of unknown depths, as he could assert from their first meeting that there was something not quite true in George’s façade. The power struggle between is cleverly writ, as Georgiana is attempting to find the stance of strength whilst surrounded by the burliness of the crew, in an ill-attempt to reach her destination. Whereas Trent is trying to maintain the clarity of his role of Captain, without having a scamp of a pup needle his yawl.

By the time they pulled into the first port, after a raging storm changed the tides for both Georgiana & Trent, we were given the chance to see each of them in a new light. The addition of the mysteriously enchanting Consuela was a happy one indeed! She softened Georgiana’s temperament towards her own self-loathing as she harboured a distasteful self-image of herself. Consuela is like a moonstone of reason for both lead characters to either take heed of and seek advice, or to run reckless of in their own directions.

Georgiana and the Captain’s path divert away from each other, hers leading to a role of Governess, whilst his leads to a new reason to grieve for her fears about where their lives are leading. The solicitous of her desire to walk against her own nature and at the very same time embrace her gender is fodder to folly. I appreciate seeing how she is distressed one minute and on the brink of fanciful thoughts the next! The story is as much of a coming-of age tale as it is a suspenseful mystery. I love seeing characters’ futures become so intrinsically entwined with each other that they start to wonder when the other wasn’t in their life. The manner in which Bell re-asserted them into their journey towards New Zealand is beyond clever!

There is a sudden depth of knowledge ebbing out of Trent’s past life which provides a kaleidoscope of emotions; as you presumed he lived his life more of a pirate than a gent. A glimpse into his rough-hewn past reveals a vulnerable vein of humanity. It’s the choices that each have to make in successive chapters which will give way to where their fates are directing them. I personally was enthralled from the first chapter until the last — not wanting the action, the danger, or the intrigue to let up even an inch! This is definitely an enjoyable read for those who like a bit of a daring risk towards seeking freedom of its most innocent ideal! As much as it is an exposition on self-identity and the assurances we all seek to understand where we belong.

Intrigue and Adventure are Bell’s mischievous graces:

I lay claim that they are mischievous graces because Bell has a way with crafting a story to where the reader is as perplexed about the outcome as the central lead characters! She gives you insightful intrigue against the passionate escapades of the adventurous crew of Sally. She has you properly endeared to the ramshackle cast long before doubt can cloud your judgement of the truer hintings of what a few characters might be attempting to keep out of sight. I like writers whose research into their topic fades gently into the back-story of their novels, to where you are feeling the story evoked through you as you read rather than feeling bogged down in a thesis of its origins. I have a cursory knowledge of tall ships and the life therein, but as Bell helps nudge us forward in the narrative, you feel as though you have stepped aboard many a ship rather than a mere few!

Her grace of giving us a responsive Captain Trent, despite his flawed nature and his qualms over his past (mere presumed, he is not giving of his internal thoughts), he responds to his crew and to his charges alike. I like how strong he is represented and how you want to support him even though there could be an element of danger if you do. In Georgiana, I could relate to the strong will of a girl trying to forge her own way in the world, as she is writ with such a hearty girth of backbone despite her tendencies to swallow in her own fears. Her natural perseverance given to her by her upbringings in the circus lend well in her role on the ship as much as her interactions with each of the secondary characters who cross her path. She’s not the atypical Victorian lass and I thank Bell for writing her in this new light of boldness! Afterall, the society balls are only one way towards happiness, and if your feet are leading your path into new areas to tread, its best to follow where they plant you!

{NOTE: I marked this as ‘debut novel’ as this is Zana Bell’s first ChocLitUK novel; but not her first novel overall.}

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This book review is courtesy of ChocLitUK,

ChocLitUK Reviewercheck out my upcoming bookish event and mark your calendars!

#ChocLitSaturdays | a feature exclusive to Jorie Loves A Story

*NEWSFLASH* : This marks my third *#ChocLitSaturdays*, where I will be spotlighting a book published by ChocLitUK! Coordinating bonus features will alight on my blog in forthcoming weeks! My next ChocLit review will be for “Dangerous Decisions”, on the 8th of February! I will be tweeting about it ahead time if you want to watch the hashtag for future announcements for this Jorie Loves A Story feature!

{SOURCES: Author photograph, Author Biography, Book Synopsis, and Book Cover were provided by ChocLitUK and were used by permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Book Review badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in FotoFlexer.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Saturday, 25 January, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Debut Novel, High Seas Epic, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Modern British Literature, New Zealand, Pirates and Swashbucklers, Romance Fiction, the Victorian era, Victorian Era