Genre: Historical Romance

#TopTenTuesday No.6 | Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward to In 2018

Posted Tuesday, 16 January, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday blog banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme created by The Broke & the Bookish. The meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke & the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your Top 10 Lists! In January, 2018 this meme is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

[Topic #370 originally shared on 26th December, 2017] *elected to rewind, rather than stay OT

I shared this post for today’s topic linky – as I wasn’t sure if the original blogger who hosted this was going to archive their blog now that they have stepped down from blogging. (see List)

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Today’s entry was inspiring to me for the following reasons:

I’ve wanted to sort out which stories I want to read per each new year for *decades!* However, despite all the bookish feeds I read, consume and try to digest per annum, I am the girl who is constantly and consistently *surprise!* by which stories are published per year! Try as I might, I either get wholly consumed by #currentreads to notice #newreleases and/or I’m distracted by life itself – as all of us live full lives outside our reading queues!

This year, however, I was a bit ahead of the curve! I knew about several releases I was wicked itching to read! What fun, eh!? I also found a few new ones before January – somehow, the one thread of literature I source every year the easiest are the stories within the realms of *Historical Fiction* as let’s be honest – Jorie loves travelling through the historic past! (smiles) If there were a story out there set during a timeline of History I haven’t yet visited, there is a strong variable of interest for me to dig inside it and take the journey!

The two veins of interest I am most under-read are Science Fiction & Fantasy as well as INSPY Fiction (see my 70 Authors Challenge, which resumes this 2018!). Slowly but surely I shall re-inspire myself to bring these stories back into my life with the same gusto I have for #HistFic! It’s just when it comes to the past, of stories which are set elsewhere in time – I’m as giddy a girl watching a hot air balloon ascend into the heavens to see what the world looks like from above! #HistoricalFiction allows us to re-align our world-view, of re-examining History and of setting ourselves into the footsteps of characters who re-theorise the lives of those who lived prior to us. This is why it’s addictive to consume and why my heart flutters it’s joy every year I find myself happily alighted ‘somewhere’ in the timelines of History!

In regards to #MGLit (Middle Grade) and #YALit (Young Adult) – truthfully, I get so distracted throughout the year, I forget to *read them!* as they come into the library! I quite literally always put these novels on ‘hold’ to be in queue or I am one of the ones happily queuing them into a purchase request status – either way you slice it, when it comes to Children’s Lit, I’m falling dearly behind on my mission to #readDEEPER into these realms!

Ergo, this List is mostly aligned for releases within the first months of the year – with some extensions into Summer; though, I haven’t taken a critical eye to notice ALL the stories which will publish this year,… generally speaking, this is one reason I made my presence on Twitter my sole haunt online outside of my blog. I love being caught up in the netherspheres of conversations wherein the bookish and readerly spirits alight – everyone is happily chattering about ‘this or that and why this has to be seen to be believed or why this one touched their bookish soul in such a wicked sweet way, etc, etc’. To be in the timeline of #readers and #bookbloggers whilst interacting with #writers who are #amwriting our #nextreads whilst celebrating their #currentlypublished tomes of joy – this is where I like to spend my hours whilst I’m not #amreading my own #currentreads or #amblogging my readerly life here on Jorie Loves A Story!

In other words,… you’ll see me gush like the chattastically joyful tweeter I am throughout the year when I spy a #mustread I simply MUST find a copy of in which to disappear! Generally this means I will be sourcing through my local #Library though on occasion, I do purchase hardbacks and paperbacks which are a few years out of Pub (on discount) or I find backlist lovelies at local bookshelves (think: Little Free Libraries movement) or I am gifted a book from my Mum and Dad which grants me invaluable joy for their knowledge of how bookishly inclined I am!

I do wonder – how do you approach a NEW YEAR of STORIES?

I love to JUMP and DIVE into a New Year — with some stories in my mind to seek out, leaving the vast majority to be the unexpectedly blissful journey which unfolds before me,..

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Posted Tuesday, 16 January, 2018 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Top Ten Tuesday

Blog Book Tour | “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen” (Vol.1) by Collins Hemingway

Posted Friday, 12 January, 2018 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

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

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess!

I received a complimentary copy of “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen” direct from the author Collins Hemingway in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I was interested in the premise behind this novel:

I am not entirely sure if everyone who reads my blog is aware of my admiration for Jane Austen or the fact, I consider myself a #Janeite. I have loved the author’s style of narrative for many years, in fact, I wrote an Essay about it during this past #AustenInAugust and re-visited my love of Jane Austen during an Autumn interview as well. An interview which will have a second part arriving on my blog as soon as I sort out the contents of the discussion,…

What implored me truly to read this after canon selection on a theory of Jane Austen’s life is my affection for the author herself. I love reading after canon works based on her collective works but I also like to entertain readings of stories which relate directly to the writer, herself. Previously, I have explored this through the Jane Austen Mysteries a series I look forward to re-visiting this year, as I hadn’t had the time to re-read the first novel nor continue with the rest of the stories which followed suit.

Whilst noting this is a novel of an evolving theory based on what ‘could have been’ in accord to Ms Austen’s life, I felt it warranted exploring because after all, how much do any of us know about the Classical authors we love to read? In this, I had a curious thought – what if this novel had a foundation of grounding based on one of the author’s own works? This is something which came into better clarity as I read the novel directly and one in which, I had wondered if other readers on the blog tour had noted themselves. Time shall tell as I make my way through the tour route,…

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Blog Book Tour | “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen” (Vol.1) by Collins HemingwayThe Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume One
Subtitle: A novel by a gentleman, Volume One
by Collins Hemingway
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Everyone should marry once for love – Even Jane Austen

Jane Austen, single and seemingly comfortable in the role of clergyman’s daughter and aspiring writer in the early 1800s, tells friends and family to hold out for true affection in any prospective relationship. Everybody, she says, has a right to marry once in their lives for love.

But when, after a series of disappointing relationships, the prospect of true love arrives for her, will she have the courage to act? The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen re-imagines the life of England’s archetypal female by exploring what might have happened if she had ever married. It shows how a meaningful, caring relationship would have changed her as a person and a writer.

It also takes her beyond England’s tranquil country villages and plunges her info what the Regency era was really about: great explorations and scientific advances, political foment, and an unceasing, bloody war.

In such times, can love—can marriage—triumph?

Genres: After Canons, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Re-telling &/or Sequel



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781504911023

Also by this author: The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume Two, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen

Also in this series: The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen : Volume Two, The Mariage of Miss Jane Austen


Published by Authorhouse

on 20th June, 2015

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 191

Published By: AuthorHouse

Converse via: #HistFic, #HistoricalFiction + #JaneAusten

About Collins Hemingway

Collins Hemingway

Whether his subject is literature, history, or science, Collins Hemingway has a passion for the art of creative investigation. For him, the most compelling fiction deeply explores the heart and soul of its characters, while also engaging them in the complex and often dangerous world in which they have a stake. He wants to explore all that goes into people’s lives and everything that makes tThe hem complete though fallible human beings. His fiction is shaped by the language of the heart and an abiding regard for courage in the face of adversity.

As a nonfiction book author, Hemingway has worked alongside some of the world’s thought leaders on topics as diverse as corporate culture and ethics; the Internet and mobile technology; the ins and outs of the retail trade; and the cognitive potential of the brain. Best known for the #1 best-selling book on business and technology, Business @ the Speed of Thought, which he coauthored with Bill Gates, he has earned a reputation for tackling challenging subjects with clarity and insight, writing for the nontechnical but intelligent reader.

Hemingway has published shorter nonfiction on topics including computer technology, medicine, and aviation, and he has written award-winning journalism.

Published books include The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen trilogy, Business @ the Speed of Thought, with Bill Gates, Built for Growth, with Arthur Rubinfeld, What Happy Companies Know, with Dan Baker and Cathy Greenberg, Maximum Brainpower, with Shlomo Breznitz, and The Fifth Wave, with Robert Marcus.

Hemingway lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Wendy. Together they have three adult sons and three granddaughters. He supports the Oregon Community Foundation and other civic organizations engaged in conservation and social services in Central Oregon.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 12 January, 2018 by jorielov in 19th Century, After the Canon, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Christianity, Family Drama, Family Life, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Inspired By Author OR Book, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Pride & Prejudice Re-telling, Second Chance Love, Siblings, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, the Regency era, Women's Fiction, World Religions

Blog Book Tour | #JorieReads her first Mills & Boon #Regency #HistRom with “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” by Catherine Tinley

Posted Friday, 5 January, 2018 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

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

Acquired Book By: I started hosting for Rachel’s Random Resources at the end of [2017] booking several guest features for [2018] whilst noting I had a lovely opportunity to review a novel for one of the New Year’s tours. This blog tour marks my second with this touring company, as Rachel and I met through my chat #ChocLitSaturday which has since been renewed @SatBookChat! I look forward to spotlighting her authors, conversing with them and seeing how they respond to my guest topics. I may review a book here or there, but as most of her authors are in the UK / Europe market, I mostly was excited to cheer for their stories whilst awaiting to gather their stories stateside in print or audio.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” direct from the author Catherine Tinley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Initially, I thought The Captain’s Disgraced Lady was the first novel in the Chadcombe Marriages series – I even checked the series list on Fantastic Fiction – however, wherever the glitch was in my research, the answer was found in the Author’s Note of this novel. Apparently, the series began with Waltzing with the Earl and it is a story I look forward to reading one day – if only to see how the stage was originally set within this series which focuses on one family’s legacy in the 19th Century where the backdrop of the Regency is countered against the wars raging in Europe and other century specific events which lead in and out of the dramas within the series itself.

I grew up reading Regencies and Victorian Romances – they were my first foray into the Romance genre itself and remain to this day my favourite entreaties therein. There is just something about the Regency itself – from the time-line of it’s era to what was occurring in the background of where the stories are set. This is why when I first learnt of this blog tour, I knew I wanted to become a part of it – the blessing of being able to read the novel was not lost on me! Especially as this also marked the first novel I’ve read by Mills & Boon! I’ve had my eye on their novels for a long time – though trying to sort out an easy way of acquiring the stories has been a bit tricky over the years as I remember it used to be a bit easier to purchase novels by UK and European authors pre-2000. I am finding a bit of renewed hope in certain online book shoppes which are giving us new opportunities to read the stories we’re interested in but evenso, I do wish it would be a bit more streamlined.

Mills & Boon is part of Harlequin Books – of whom I’ve known about for most of my life, as Harlequin made quite a name for itself back in the ‘80s. In the ‘90s and 2000s, I found myself drawn into reading Harlequin titles and even had joined a few of their mail-order book clubs, such as Mira which allowed you to new releases each month. More recently, as I started to host for Prism Book Tours, I’ve had a renewed interest in reading Harlequin releases as Prism hosts a number of their authors each year which is why I talked about why I enjoy the publisher. This time round, I was elated Rachel’s touring company was featuring the other side of Harlequin’s releases – a Mills & Boon novelist who focuses on Regency Historicals!

Speaking about the ‘changes’ in cover art design and the brand changes as well – I started to notice the changes in the book stores already before I saw them online via Mills & Boon’s webpage and Twitter account. Their not the only ones changing as I saw evidence the cover art for American Harlequin titles are different now as well. Their a bit harder to credit which title goes with which imprint as the front of the books are focused more on the cover art for the title than for disclosing the imprint’s name – which ironically is why I liked them prior to these changes as you knew what you were picking up based on the imprint you were familiar with – now however, they all have the tendency of ‘blurring’ into the recent batch of releases on the shelf. I’m unsure what prompted the changes – but I wager it will take time getting used too.

In regards to reading a series out of order – (le sigh) – yes, this is something I strive to avoid, but in this particular case, I had misleading information about the order of sequence – so I am unsure how I could have prevented reading this particular series out of order ahead of reading the second for review. One thing I liked about the note the author left for us inside her novel is there seemed to be leeway to read these out of context of the previous installments – it seems each of the installments focuses on one couple or one character in particular who has weight in the series itself of being important to see how their lives move forward in this time-line. Having said that – I still want to seek out the first and then re-read The Captain’s Disgraced Lady to see if I can pick up the nuances of the first through continuity revelations in the second.

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Blog Book Tour | #JorieReads her first Mills & Boon #Regency #HistRom with “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” by Catherine TinleyThe Captain's Disgraced Lady
by Catherine Tinley
Source: Author via Rachel's Random Resources

Who is Captain Harry Fanton?

When Juliana Milford first encounters Captain Harry Fanton, she finds him arrogant and rude. There’s no way she’ll fall for his dazzling smile! Her visit to Chadcombe House was always going to prompt questions over her scandalous family, so she’s touched when Harry defends her reputation. She’s discovering there’s more to Harry than she’d first thought...

A man so plagued by the demons of war, he’s sworn he’ll never marry, no matter how tempted...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780263932591

Also by this author: Interview (Catherine Tinley) about the Chadcombe Marriage Trilogy, Waltzing with the Earl

Also in this series: Waltzing with the Earl


Published by Mills & Boon

on 28th December, 2017

Format: UK Edition Paperback

Pages: 368

Published By: Mills & Boon (@MillsandBoon)
an imprint of HarperCollins UK + Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

Chadcombe Marriage series

Waltzing with the Earl | Book One

The Captain’s Disgraced Lady | Book Two

Yet to be Revealled Title (Olivia’s story, Harry’s younger sister!) | Book Three

Formats Available: Mills & Boon Historical paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #HistFict + #HistRom or #MillsAndBoon #Historical

About Catherine Tinley

Catherine Tinley

Catherine Tinley writes witty, heartwarming Regency love stories. She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech and language therapy, NHS management, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now works for Sure Start. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, and dog.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 5 January, 2018 by jorielov in 19th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Castles & Estates, England, Family Drama, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Inheritance & Identity, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-Generational Saga, Napoleonic War era, PTSD, Rachel's Random Resources, Romance Fiction, Siblings, The London Season, the Regency era, Unexpected Inheritance

#ChristmasReads Novella Review | “A Christmas Surprise” by Emily Murdoch feat. a Guest Post by the author after my review.#WYChristmasReadthon

Posted Tuesday, 26 December, 2017 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

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

Acquired Book By: I am a hostess with Writerly Yours PR – which is run by my dear friend Priya of whom I met during a blogger panel. We have become friends through our collaborations and it has been an honour to work with her on her publicity projects for Indie authors – most of whom I have been featuring a guest author feature as I cannot read digital copies of books. In this particular instance, I was allowed to print the PDF in order to read in full for which I was thankful to the author for allowing me to do so in lieu of a paperback copy to read.

This particular story had a blog tour anchoured by Twitter chats last year wherein we attempted to break the novella down into collections of chapters and discuss the story via Twitter until time and circumstances prevented us from continuing. I have captured as much of the chats as I could which are included at the bottom of this post. I was meant to post this review on the 20th of December, 2016 however, it took me awhile to re-shift back into reading and blogging after my Dad’s stroke. This year, I felt more inclined to focus on Christmassy stories than I had last December where my reading habits were quite difficult to recapture.

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

Why I was keen on reading this story:

I personally love stories about upstairs/downstairs situations where the propriety of the past and the curious connections of those whom find themselves in love – sometimes do not hold fast to tradition. In this particular case, there is a twist of a surprise about whose heart is being wooed by which suitor and I thought it would be an interesting story to read. If only to see how the author brought the two together and how the story-line handled the twist in the end.

It was my original intention to continue to host the Twitter chats, as I had started them off by prompting directed conversations about the chapters we were reading at hand – however, most of those on the blog tour I found had read the novella ahead of the chats, whereas Priya and I were reading only the chapters pertinent to the chats to have the story ‘on mind’ to talk about as we proceeded forward. We were attempting to have it as a ‘readalong’ convo series in other words. I do regret I had to bow out of the chats, but as foresaid, I am including a capture of the chats below this review.

Likewise, I hadn’t foreseen my circumstances would have changed outright Thanksgiving weekend, and sadly, this was one of the blog tours I was not able to hold onto posting on schedule. I had tried to keep myself positioned to run this before Christmas, but I simply found my focus was limited and not where it had been prior to my Dad’s stroke. Therefore, I am running it after Christmas whilst running a succession of posts about #ChristmasReads ahead of ringing in the New Year.

#ChristmasReads Novella Review | “A Christmas Surprise” by Emily Murdoch feat. a Guest Post by the author after my review.#WYChristmasReadthonA Christmas Surprise
Subtitle: A Regency Romance

Every year for thirty years Lord Robert, the Viscount of Marchwood, throws a Christmas Ball.

But this year the Marchwood Christmas Ball holds extra importance.

His daughter, Lady Audrey, has just turned eighteen, and it is time for her to be introduced into society.

It is Audrey’s first, best, and potentially only chance of securing a husband.

Especially seeing as there are rumours that the Marchwood money is running dry.

But headstrong Lady Audrey is not sure she wants a husband.

Ever since her mother died she has been left to her own devices.

Though she is very close to her father, it was often the servants she turned to for companionship, particularly Thomas, who, five years older than her, was always the person she depended on for conversation.

She is not ready to leave everything she knows, and the thought of abandoning her father breaks her heart.

She is determined that only someone truly special will take her away from her home.

But with the ball centred around a masquerade theme, everyone is in disguise.

And a handsome stranger threatens to steal Audrey’s heart.

Could he hold the key to her heart?

And when she unmasks him will it be a good, or bad, Christmas Surprise?

‘A Christmas Surprise’ is a festive regency romance novella.


Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781517456153

on 30th September, 2015

Pages: 94

Self-Published Author

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #HistRom, #HistoricalRomance, #Regency or #IndieAuthor + #ChristmasRomance

About Emily Murdoch

Emily Murdoch

Emily Murdoch is a medieval historian and writer. She has authored a medieval series and a regency novella series, and is currently working on several new projects. To stay updated on her writing and upcoming books, follow her blog and on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #WYChristmasReadathon
  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Tuesday, 26 December, 2017 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host