Genre: Cosy Historical Mystery

#SpooktasticReads | Year V : A 13-day celebration of the spookier side of Fantasy!

Posted Wednesday, 19 October, 2022 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

#SpooktasticReads 2022 banner created by Jorie in Canva.

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Welcome, Welcome to #SpooktasticReads Year V

Happily visit my lovely co-hosts:

Lisa @ Dear Geek Place

+ Imyril @ There’s Always Room for One More

+ Annemieke @ A Dance With Books

+ Ariana @ The Book Nook

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A bit of back-history on SPOOKTASTIC READS:

In Autumn [2017], I conceived of this idea to re-start my readings into the spooktacular worlds of chilling Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries and the Paranormal (with just a dash of love for Cosy Horror!) – wherein I conceived of spending a fortnight reading such lovelies and enjoying a personal readathon leading into Halloween! I fell a bit short of my goals in [2017], even though I took it as a success – as not only did I read some rather spookified tales but I found myself wholly intrigued by the stories I was selecting to read!

By [2018] whilst helping develop and co-host @WyrdAndWonder, I put forth the idea to name our first mini-event for #WyrdAndWonder – wherein I was hoping to let this small idea I had in [2017] take flight, reach a bigger audience and find readers who might find their own definition of #SpooktasticReads befitting their own readerly life! Which of course meant – re-defining it to include what it celebrates now as a mainstay: Cosy Horror, Paranormal Fantasy, Witchy Reads, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and even Gothic Romance or other such tales. I still have the tendency to read Cosy Crime, Suspense and Thrillers throughout Autumn and into Winter as well.

Some of the stories of course play the theme up quite a bit for the spookier side of the genres, some of which may or may not directly (or indirectly) relate to Fantasy per se but this is one of those readathons which is open to both interpretation and the joy of having free reign to enjoy the readathon in a way each reader wants to approach it. The truer beauty of Wyrd And Wonder and SpooktasticReads is the ability for each participant to find their own readerly path and find what gives them JOY to celebrate the events we’re hosting through social and the book blogosphere.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #SpooktasticReads 2022
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Posted Wednesday, 19 October, 2022 by jorielov in Bookish Discussions, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Gothic Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Parapsychological Gifts, Supernatural Fiction, Suspense

A #CrimeFicFridays Book Review | “The Secret at Sunset Hill” (A Katie Porter Mystery, Book One) by K.T. McGivens

Posted Friday, 23 September, 2022 by jorielov , , , 1 Comment

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Acquired Book By: Quite happily, my path with Ms McGivens crossed in early July, 2021 wherein I messaged her via Twitter and we struck up a conversation which led me to booking her for @SatBookChat and I received her first novel for the Katie Porter Mysteries in the mail. I had fully intended to read and review this novel closer to the time in which I spoke with her during my chat but sadly, that simply wasn’t in the cards. This August I started to resume my readerly life after a difficult Summer wherein I had a complete disconnection with both my reading life and my blogging life. Mysteries, especially Cosy Mysteries have always been the backbone of my readerly interests – thus, I had a feeling that if I returnt to reading this lovely to jump-start my #CrimeFicFridays again alongside other selections I’ve been blogging about during #WWWednesdays, I might find myself in happy cycle of reading more Crime Fiction before year’s end.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Secret at Sunset Hill” direct from the author K.T. McGivens 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 The Katie Porter Mysteries;

I was looking at the chapter sampler for the first Katie Porter Mystery “The Secret at Sunset Hill” and I was loving it. I have a soft spot for newspaper reporters… grew up on Lois Lane in one version or another and my fascination always stuck. Plus, like McGivens, I loved Nancy Drew as I cut my teeth on Mysteries quite young devouring the case files and reading the Hardy Boys too. By 8 or 9 I was given my first Miss Marple anthology of stories and I was literally in awe and set for life to be a Mystery, Suspense & Thriller reader. Although, I carry my Cosy sensibility with me as I don’t like anything too overtly violent or graphic, plus I’m not into overly peppered vulgarity in stories either.

And, then when I realised it was going to become a fully developed series with multiple installments, I knew I had to interview Ms McGivens on my chat as I felt this series and Katie Porter in particular would be a wicked good fit for @SatBookChat. As I have had the tendency of focusing on strong women & imploring narratives across genres which interest me most as a reader. There was something wicked clever, too, about Katie Porter – about how she’s quite the everywoman heroine and someone you can relate, too.

Similar in vein to how we all cross-identify with Nancy Drew but also with women like Anna Blanc but in a different capacity of course, as Ms Blanc’s life is a bit grittier than Katie & Nancy’s but evenso, there is a thread of connection between them in finding strong women set in historical eras who were choosing to live their lives on their own terms and just finding themselves able to solve mysteries as if they were bourne to it. Of course, this also brings to thought and mind the characters within Jennifer Lamont Leo’s novels & stories, too!

We could always use another wicked awesome heroine in our lives and for me, right now, that new heroine has arrived in the form of Katie Porter!

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A #CrimeFicFridays Book Review | “The Secret at Sunset Hill” (A Katie Porter Mystery, Book One) by K.T. McGivensThe Secret at Sunset Hill
Subtitle: A Katie Porter Mystery : One
by K.T. McGivens
Source: Direct from Author

About the Katie Porter series:

Set in year 1947, Katie Porter is a 21 year old newspaper reporter who finds herself caught up in various mysteries while researching and writing articles for her hometown paper, the Fairfield Gazette. Set before modern technology such as cellphones, computers, and the Internet, she must rely on her courage and wits to discover the truth and capture the culprits. She has a wide circle of friends who help her and her adventures are filled with friendship, loyalty, suspense, danger, tenacity, problem solving, and romance! Each book builds on the previous one as the reader helps Katie and her friends solve yet another case. Life in the town of Fairfield and Katie’s ancestral home, Rosegate, is never dull! And the mysteries continue...

Genres: Crime Fiction, Amateur Detective, Cosy Historical Mystery



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1692346652

Published by Self Published

on 18th September, 2019

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 140

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The Katie Porter Mysteries:

NOTE: Books One-Three are now in audiobook! 🎧📖

1. The Secret at Sunset Hill
2. The Mystery at the Mystic Museum
3. The Plot at the Pearson Playhouse
4. The Ghost of Golden Joe
5. The Murder of Major Pennington
6. The Disappearance of Devlin Douglas
7. The Passing of Preston Peabody
8. The Case of the Casual Killer
9. The Mystery at Maplewood Hall
10. The Incident on Ivory Island
11. The Odd Appearance of Anneliese Abbott
12. The Crime at Covington Corner
13. The Body in Bounty Bay

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Converse via: #HistoricalMystery or #CosyMystery
as well as #KatiePorterMysteries

Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #CrimeFicFridays
  • 2022 Backlogue Reviews
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Posted Friday, 23 September, 2022 by jorielov in 20th Century, Aftermath of World War II, Amateur Detective, Book Review (non-blog tour), Content Note, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, the Forties, The World Wars

A #HistoricalMondays blog tour | feat. “The Artist Colony” by Joanna FitzPatrick

Posted Monday, 20 September, 2021 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

#HistoricalMondays blog 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! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring. Whether I am reading selections from Indie Authors & publishers to Major Trade and either from mainstream or INSPY markets – I am finding myself happily residing in the Historical past each year I am a blogger.

What I have been thankful for all these years since 2013 is the beautiful blessing of discovering new areas of Historical History to explore through realistically compelling Historical narratives which put me on the front-lines of where History and human interest stories interconnect. It has also allowed me to dive deeper into the historic past and root out new decades, centuries and millenniums to explore. For this and the stories themselves which are part of the memories I cherish most as a book blogger I am grateful to be a part of the #HFVBTBlogTours blogger team.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Artist Colony” from the publisher She Writes Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: Once upon a time, I was a reviewer with SparkPress and their imprints as well as a participant in their Summer reading challenges. However, quite a few of those selections I had made in the past ended up on my backlogue of reviews; due to different adversities afflicting during those years – from my chronic migraines and other health ailments as well as my father’s recovery years from his moderate bilateral stroke in late 2016. Each year I grow closer to reading my backlogue – yet, despite falling behind on those reads, I’ve never lost my affinity of appreciation for SparkPress as a publisher or for She Writes Press. A few times since those years, I’ve had the pleasure of hosting their authors again and it isn’t something I take for granted. It is an honour and I love how they focus on stories which are inventively invigorating to be read as much as they stimulate conversation and carry forward a light for inspiring deeper readings and keenly intuitive thinkers.

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On what drew my curious eye towards this novel:

Admittedly, this hasn’t been the best readerly year for me as a Historical Fiction reader. Each year, I try to chronicle my readings into the Historical past through the historical reading challenge hosted every year by Amy @ Passages to the Past (also the wicked awesome owner of HFVBTs!) – yet, this particular year, I’ve written more preview stylised posts (ie. #My25PagePreview) than I have longer reviews. Partially, it was a timing issue for me and yet, some of it seemed like 2021 was just a harder won year than 2020 which in all actuality seems a bit impressive to say considering what the former year was like to live through. Laughter aside, as soon as I learnt about the back-history about the artist cottage and how the cottage in Carmel was linked to the author – it felt like such an introspective kind of read.

I used to study art when I was younger and art has languished in my life for a few decades off/on now. I’d love to find a keenly approachable teacher to help me find my muse again when it comes to drawing as I’d love to pursue watercolours eventually – however, my main pursuit and passion of the past several years (err, a bit longer than that) has been knitting. With a new yarn destination closer than previous years, there is a strong chance I’ll be back at the needles before Autumn grips my weather patterns! And, wouldn’t that be a treasured blessing!? However, until then, I still think about traditional art mediums and how wonderful it would be to have a place to focus on art for the sake of discovering not just want moves me as an artist but what inspires me, too. It is a bit why I have always loved pursuing photography – you just have to step out your door and you’ll find inspiration. Photography was something I could maintain throughout my life and I’m blessed for it. Whereas art, in the more traditional sense backslid a bit and became out of focus.

I’m also one part of my family’s ancestral sleuths team – wherein, I inherited a love of Biographical Fiction stories from my Mum. She has a fierce passion for Non-Fiction in regards to Biographical & Autobiographical stories, but for me, I struggled to lock my mind round those selections. Until I tapped into a niche corner of Historical Fiction and found stories which are either directly derived from a person’s actual lived life OR they are an impression of that life wherein liberties were taken to fill in the missing gaps of their known histories. Both are appreciated by curious mind and I love seeing how authors tackle their subjects and how they extend the lives of the persons once lived.

On that note, I liked how The Artist Colony was first inspired by Fitzpatrick’s Great-Aunt Ada Belle and from that forethought on inspiration – came the story we’re all reading today. It is also a curious antidote of how to pierce together familiar history and enfold a relative of ours into a bit of an expansive story which can chart its own course; either following the line of history for that person or taking a new kind of trajectory which is befitting of the story as it became untangled into the pages it now lives upon. It gives me food for thought every time I see an author utilising this technique and perhaps one day, it might lay down a foundation of a story drawn out of my own living tree of ancestral roots. Until then, I chase after the historical past every which way to Sunday as it is such an intriguing place to revisit time after time, as each story is its own unique portal towards seeing History through a new pair of lens.

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A #HistoricalMondays blog tour | feat. “The Artist Colony” by Joanna FitzPatrickThe Artist Colony
by Joanna FitzPatrick
Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Paris, July, 1924…

Sarah, a young Modernist painter, receives a cable from California. Her estranged older sister, Ada Belle, has died under suspicious circumstances. When she arrives two weeks later at San Francisco’s Union Station, Sarah is confronted by a newspaper headline: “Inquest Verdict: Artist Commits Suicide.”

Sarah remembers the last haunting words Ada Belle said to her: “Ars longa, vita brevis: Art is long, life is short.” But Ada Belle’s work is selling, and her upcoming exhibition of portraitures would bring her even wider recognition. Why would she kill herself? Sarah’s quest to find the truth of what happened to Ada Belle leads her to join the bucolic artist colony to look for clues. As she delves into her sister’s underworld, tensions surface. The darker things get, the closer she comes to terrible danger. How far will a killer go before he kills again?

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



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1647421694

Published by She Writes Press

on 7th September, 2021

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 328

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Published By: She Writes Press (@shewritespress)
in conjunction with SparkPress (@SparkPress)
an imprint of Spark Points Studio LLC GoSparkPoint (@GoSparkPoint)
& BookSparks
(@BookSparks)

Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov or #HistoricalFiction
+ #TheArtistColony and #HFVBT

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

About Joanna FitzPatrick

Joanna FitzPatrick

Joanna FitzPatrick was born and raised in Hollywood. She started her writing habit by applying her orange fountain pen and a wild imagination to screenplays, which led her early on to produce the film White Lilacs and Pink Champagne. At Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote her MFA thesis Sha La La: Live for Today about her life as a rock ’n’ roll star’s wife. Her more recent work includes two novels, Katherine Mansfield and The Drummer’s Widow. The Artist Colony is her third book. Presently, FitzPatrick divides her time between a mountaintop cottage in Northern California and a small hameau in Southern France where she begins all her book projects.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Monday, 20 September, 2021 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

A #HistoricalMondays Book Review | Feminist forward #HistRom set in the Victorian 19thC feat. STEM minded women who are fiercely independent within the pages of “Inventing Vivian” (Book Two: The Blue Orchard Society series) by Jennifer Moore

Posted Monday, 12 July, 2021 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I’ve been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. 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 when I’m not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.

I received a complimentary copy of “Inventing Vivian” direct from the publisher Covenant Communications, Inc. in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On what drew my eye towards this novel & author:

I, admit, the past several months I’ve had a lot on my mind and my attention on my blog hasn’t quite been what it used to be prior to my return to work. There was a short expanse of time in Spring where I had better focus, but honestly, #WyrdAndWonder gave me the blessing of being able to stay super focused on genre (ie. Fantasy) and allowed me the grace of dissolving into beloved reads and treasured characters’ journeys. I met new authors in their stories and I found new worlds and series I cannot wait to read further as new installments emerge; yet, two of those final reads have been left stagnant awaiting me on my desk, as ever since June first began (including the first week AFTER our lovely event this May) — we’ve had nothing but seriously difficult weather patterns!

The lightning has been unreal this year – although, its a yearly angst, I had 29 out of 30 days of June dealing with it, including 10x of grief without connectivity. Whilst 9 out of the past 10 days of July have been a repeat of June’s weather. I’ve also worked a solid 3x weeks with only 1x day off which hasn’t left me a lot of personal time to read or think about revising the drafts I have leftover from #WyrdAndWonder, or the goals I had set forth for my Summer reading plans. Including announcement formally my new even co-hosted with Peyton, #MyYASummer! (grr!)

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Somewhere in that recent bit of chaotic hours, I’ve overlooked the fact this novel Inventing Vivian is a sequel and the second in a series. I learnt there is a novella (blessedly on audio!) prequel as well — however, I learnt this as I was picking up this particular novel to read and thereby, despite my efforts checking all my local & regional libraries – no one has these titles in print or audio sadly to borrow this weekend. I decided to read this novel after gleaming a bit from the chapter samplers online and meet the series in the second installment. It breaks a pattern I prefer in how I read series but I’ve done this a few times with success with Harlequin Heartwarming novelists and a few others as well, to where I can align myself into a series without having the grace of knowing the characters in the first novel.

I intend to seek out the other stories but for now, what intrigued me the most about wanting to read this story is both the setting (have a great fond affection for the Victorians!) and the fact, this is an INSPY release by a publisher I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading previously! I am a HUGE fan of INSPY Lit – both Historical and Contemporary, so whenever I see a chance to read an author by a publisher of INSPY I haven’t yet locked eyes on in a story, I am truly grateful for a blog tour to allow the meeting to happen! Plus, of course, I am dearly addicted to Historical Mysteries and Feminist Fiction.

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A #HistoricalMondays Book Review | Feminist forward #HistRom set in the Victorian 19thC feat. STEM minded women who are fiercely independent within the pages of “Inventing Vivian” (Book Two: The Blue Orchard Society series) by Jennifer MooreInventing Vivian
Subtitle: A Blue Orchid Society novel | A Victorian Romance
by Jennifer Moore
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Ladies of London’s High Society are known for their social graces and poise. Vivian Kirby boasts neither of these enviable qualities, though she does offer impressive conversation on chemical compositions. Unfortunately, it appears that not many men want a brilliant wife. So it is that Vivian finds kinship with a group of young women who embrace each other’s differences: The Blue Orchid Society. 

After an extended stay in China, Lord Benedict has returned transformed to his family’s estate, where an encounter with Vivian, whose scientific knowledge he once undermined, leaves him determined to make amends. He arranges to help forward her research—anonymously, of course. Through letters, Vivian establishes a warm friendship with her secret benefactor, even as she’s unexpectedly drawn into a murder investigation that forces her to work alongside Benedict to unearth the truth. Soon, Vivian fears she may be falling in love with two men, never suspecting that they are one and the same.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Feminist Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Amateur Detective, Cosy Historical Mystery, Science & Technology



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781524418946

Published by Covenant Communications Inc

on 7th June, 2021

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 212

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The Blue Orchid Society series:

(more info on author’s blog) wherein I was right, there are truly six women!
(can we just pause a moment & take stock of their outfits? LOVE Vivian’s ensemble!)

Solving Sophronia by Jennifer MooreInventing Vivian by Jennifer Moore

Emmeline (prequel novella or 0.5)

Having read the synopsis – I knew quite immediately, I’d be keenly curious to read this story or rather, as I cannot read digitally, listen to this novella on audiobook! There is something curious about how two people who have such friction with each other who are constantly placed in each others’ path to give you a happy dose of curiosity to see how and when they’ll start to see each other differently! Plus, I spent a full year (approx. five years ago) reading Historical Feminist Fiction – wherein, I learnt a lot about the suffragette movement and have continued to seek out stories of that nature whenever I get the chance to read them. It is essential reading for all women – to both understand our present rights and the hard-won fight we had to endure to secure them in the past. Whilst mindful of how fragile those rights are still as their constantly being debated and attempted to be removed even in today’s world.

Emmeline sounds exactly like the kind of heroine I would enjoy rallying behind – here is what I gleamed out of the chapter sampler online: Arthur for all his bluster was at a complete loss to keep company in conversation with Emmeline because she, for whichever reason caught him off-guard and without a way to defend his positions. He clearly was not a bourne believer in Feminist rights nor in the ability to see gender equality but he for his own sake held his own until he abandoned the fight altogether – in that short expanse of seeing him quite befuddled and put to rights by Emmeline, I knew this was a novella I would quite devour! And, rightly so! It is hard to find a well-writ Historical drama set during the Suffragette movement where both men and women are on their game and give you such a delish bout of dialogue to soak inside!

Emmaline is definitely the kind of heroine I want to read about further and I am thankful for the sampler to introduce me both to this series and to a character who is equally as well-developed and fully alive as Arthur is himself. A credit to Ms Moore and her tenacious eye on this setting in History. I can tell it will be a pure delight to listen to this once I’ve secured a copy on audiobook.

Solving Sophronia (book one)

Alas! The Blue Orchid Society was launched (per this novel’s synopsis) due to the goals of five women – each of them, I would presume want to break convention and go their own way in life at a time where women were fighting for gender equality & the rights all of us today are thankful for their fight so many years ago. I had a feeling the Society had something to do with women coming together – either for mutual benefit or as mentioned, for sisterhood fellowship. It is fitting there are five women – which means, this must be a quartet, with Emmeline’s story (the fifth) being the extra one or its a full quintet and hers was a bonus story and she’s the six member rather than the fifth? Either way, I’m equally more curious to read this lovely than I was after reading about Emmeline! It isn’t oft I find a series that situates itself in a timescape that I delight in reading about about topics that interest me as much as this one is now.

It was through her acknowledgements in this novel where you really gather the feel for how she textured her series and how she plotted out the five novels and Emmeline’s novella. Interestingly, I hadn’t expected to find out she was fully new to all of this – the setting, the suffragette movement and even the forensic knowledge of the era! Most of the authors she credited with a boost of informational nudges are ones I’ve read myself (ie. Carla Kelly being a stand-out in my own readerly life as well) — whilst I am so thankful Ms Moore found “Murdoch Mysteries” as for me, it is a family favourite as well. Until of course, we reached one of the last years (Season 10 I believe?) and we couldn’t take it anymore – it was after they killed off a beloved constable – so if that sounds familiar, you know whom was lost and why it was too hard to return. Murdoch as a series is landmark though for showing historical forensics (even if they play liberties at times) and for showcasing non-conventional women succeeding in fields wherein you might not expect them to find success. Its a beautiful series!

I decided to hold off reading further into this sampler as I intuited enough through the acknowledgements and synopsis to realise its a winner for me!! I’d much prefer to read the novel just as it is and enjoy it after I listen to Emmeline’s novella. Which of course, means, I’ll have to re-read Vivian’s novel as everything will have new dimension for me, too!

Inventing Vivian (book two)

Hazel | Elizabeth | Dahlia ← forthcoming installments!

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Formats Available: Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

Converse via: #HistoricalRomance, #HistRom and #HistoricalMysteries

About Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore is a passionate reader and writer of all things romance due to the need to balance the rest of her world that includes a perpetually traveling husband and four active sons, who create heaps of laundry that are anything but romantic. She suffers from an acute addiction to 18th and 19th century military history and literature. Jennifer has a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Utah and is a Guitar Hero champion. She lives in northern Utah with her family, but most of the time wishes she was on board a frigate during the Age of Sail.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Monday, 12 July, 2021 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Historical Romance, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Sisterhood friendships, the Victorian era

An INSPY Victorian #25PagePreview Spotlight | “The Gentleman and the Thief” (The Dread Penny Society, Book Two) by Sarah M. Eden

Posted Wednesday, 18 November, 2020 by jorielov , , , , 1 Comment

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

This marks my first time hosting with Austenprose – although, I have been a long time admirer of her blog and it is an honour to start a new journey in hosting her blog tours! Ms Laurel reached out to me initially to host her authors for my bookish chat known for showcasing Romance & Women’s Fiction as well as stories of Feminist Lit – @SatBookChat meets on Saturdays January-November annually. Through conversing with her I had the pleasure of joy of becoming better acquainted with two authors I have been itching to start reading over the years – Ms Sarah M. Eden of whom I’m spotlighting today ahead of my review at the end of the blog tour and Ms Mimi Matthews of whom I am spotlighting on the morrow.

I started to come across Shadow Mountain Publishing authors & stories whilst participating in my favourite INSPY readathon every year during the Summer, hosted by Sydney @ Singing Librarian Books. Being a hybrid reader of both mainstream & INSPY throughout my life, I am constantly seeking out more authors who write Inspirational Fiction across both genre and publishing routes (ie. from major trade to Indie publishers (like Shadow Mountain) to self-published authors) – thus, I was delighted when I started to see Ms Eden’s novel popping up on my routes throughout the book blogosphere and being featured during Ms Sydney’s readathon.

When I first joined this blog tour, I hadn’t realised it was a series in-progress – as regular readers of Jorie Loves A Story know my personal preference for reading serials is to read them start to finish – even if that means, borrowing missing installments by inter-library loan if my local library or regional library does not carry the author, book or series. However, in this instance – between my health afflictions and my migraines, I wasn’t able to sort out a way to get a copy of “The Lady and the Highwayman” ahead of starting to read “The Gentleman and the Thief”. I decided instead to reply on a review I found quite wonderfully in-depth via Austenprose.

I even checked Scribd and was sad to see this series was not listed in their catalogue for audiobooks as that would have been a brilliant way to ‘catch’ up with the series – as being a migraineur, I regularly turn to audiobooks to help offset my migraines and/or to help me transition back into reading after having a supernova migraine such as the one I had earlier in November.

The main reason I am choosing to spotlight this novel today is because due to being taken ill at the end of October (as I was emotionally distraught over the fate of trees in my neighbourhood recently as well as other stress factors involved at the time) and the migraines I sustained as well – I haven’t had the proper chance to get into this novel and understand the story as I would  prefer as a book blogger. This novel also has a different technique in how it is being told and the layout of the novel as well – as the narrative shifts between two penny dreadful stories and the main thread of the story involving the characters of this installment.

I plan to continue reading this novel and posting my review on the last day of the tour, which is the 29th. Until then, I decided to share my thoughts on the first twenty-five pages and to give my readers & visitors alike a bit of a preview of where my thoughts are tracking as I read my first Sarah M. Eden novel as well as on diving into the second novel of the Dread Penny Society. I hope this might tip your hat towards selecting this novel and/or the fuller series to be put on your to read stack!

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An INSPY Victorian #25PagePreview Spotlight | “The Gentleman and the Thief” (The Dread Penny Society, Book Two) by Sarah M. EdenThe Gentleman and the Thief
Subtitle: Proper Romance
by Sarah M. Eden
Source: Publisher via Austenprose

A standalone novel in The Dread Penny Society set in 1865 London brimming with secrets, scandal, suspense, and romance.

From the moment Hollis Darby meets Ana Newport, he's smitten. Even though he's from a wealthy, established family and she isn't, he wishes he could have a life with her by his side. But Hollis has a secret: the deep coffers that have kept his family afloat for generations are bare, so he supports himself by writing penny dreadfuls under a pseudonym. If not for the income from his novels, he would be broke.

Ana Newport also has a secret. Though she once had a place in society thanks to her father's successful business, bankruptcy and scandal reduced his fortune to nothing more than a crumbling town house. So Ana teaches music during the day, and at night she assumes the identity of the "Phantom Fox." She breaks into the homes of the wealthy to reclaim trinkets and treasures she feels were unjustly stolen from her family when they were struggling.

When Hollis's brother needs to hire a music tutor for his daughter, Hollis recommends Ana, giving him a chance to spend time with her. Ana needs the income and is eager for the opportunity to get to know the enigmatic gentleman. What neither of them expects is how difficult it will be to keep their respective secrets from each other.

When a spree of robberies rocks the city, Ana and Hollis join forces to solve the crimes, discovering that working together deepens the affection between them. After all, who better to save the day than a gentleman and a thief?

Genres: Cosy Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1629727905

Also in this series: Georgana's Secret, A Captain for Caroline Gray


Published by Shadow Mountain Publishing

on 3rd November, 2020

Format: Paperback ARC

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The Dreadful Penny Society:

The Lady and the Highwayman (book one)

The Gentleman and the Thief (book two)

The Merchant and the Rogue (book three) ← forthcoming, August, 2021!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Published by: Shadow Mountain Publishing (@ShadowMountn)

Read a review of the first story in this series: The Lady and the Highwayman via Austenprose

Converse via: #HistoricalRomance or #HistRom
+ #TheGentlemanAndTheThief, #ProperRomance and #Austenprose

Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook

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Posted Wednesday, 18 November, 2020 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, Austenprose, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Content Note, Cosy Historical Mystery, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Romance Fiction