Genre: Spooky Reads for Halloween

A #SpooktasticReads Audiobook Review | “A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking” by T. Kingfisher, narrated by Patricia Santomasso

Posted Sunday, 27 October, 2024 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

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Borrowed Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how you’re reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions.

I currently have subscriptions to both Audible and Everand (previously known as Scribd) as well as Spotify whilst I used to borrow audiobooks via CloudLibrary and occasionally Libby (though the latter rarely has books I’m interested in reading). I regularly purchase audiobooks via Audible whilst for other titles which are part of the Plus Catalogue of audiobooks, I can ‘borrow’ them as part of my subscription. Similar to how Everand works as well as Spotify. Spotify does limit how many hours you can listen to audiobooks per month whereas the limits are higher on Everand and Audible. So far, it has always worked out for me as a listener though this is the first year I’ve attempted to listen to audiobooks on Spotify.

As I listened to an audiobook copy of “A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking” as part of my subscription to Audible, I was not obligated to share a review on its behalf. I am sharing my ruminative thoughts for my own edification and for continuing to share my bookish and readerly life on my blog Jorie Loves A Story and/or on social media of my choice. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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And, so it begins! Happy #SpooktasticReads:

I happily listened to A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking whilst #SpooktasticReads was getting underway this year and I couldn’t be more delighted to announce it was my first listen to finish, too! Except to say, it took me a bit longer to finalise the review on its behalf because it became a bit of an emotional read for me and there were portions of the story, I listened to quite extensively without writing any notes down. As I was colouring as I listened, I also made a lot of progress in my Halloween themed colouring book – full of sugar skulls, pumpkins, haunted houses and other delights which befit a Halloween colouring adventure! Laughs.

The main reason it took me awhile to reconcile my emotions with the story is because I had a rather hard-hitting week at work. I was filling in for different people and working extra hours as a result and at some point, the exhaustion won out over anything else. By the weekend, I felt done in and had a long satisfying rest to recover my energies and spirits. Also, this story starts out with such a burst of hilarity I wasn’t quite prepared for the shift in gears to where it took such dramatic turns in the story – both for the characters themselves and for us as readers listening to the narration. You sort of get caught off-guard as there is so much humour laced through the opening bridges of the story until everything gets turnt quite serious and then, there is less to laugh about truly as it is a very serious story by all counts.

I was just lost in this world – completely consumed by the vision Kingfisher had for it and rallying behind her characters who had the odd stacked against them and never once felt like throwing in the towel without at least attempting to survive despite the realities of what they were facing. It was a very strong message about coming together as community and fighting fiercely for what you believe in whilst never allowing your enemy to get the better of you either. There were supporting characters who were equally quirky and courageous whilst the persons in power were humble and vulnerable like the everyday citizens of their kingdom, too. It was a very well-rounded tale and one that I felt was wickedly narrated too.

I will definitely have to purchase this audiobook at some point because it was definitely a beloved read of mine this #SpooktasticReads and I was quite chuffed it was available to listen to via Audible’s Plus Catalgoue! Quite the find, indeed! Thereby if you’ve been wanting to listen to this story yourself – it is on Audible but it is also available through Everand, too.

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11th Annual Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

This story took the award for BEST Young Adult Fantasy
and BEST Audiobook Narrator for 2024.

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
by T. Kingfisher
Source: Audible | Subscription
Narrator: Patricia Santomasso

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal Suspense, Spooky Reads for Halloween, YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal Suspense



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781614505242

ASIN: B09FNLS5RY

on 12th October, 2021

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 8 hours and 30 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Tantor Audio | @tantoraudio via Insta
(a subsidiary of Recorded Books)

Follow the author: Site | Insta

Formats Available: Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

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Converse via: #YAFantasy + #AudioReads, #Audiobook
and #SpooktasticReads or #SpooktasticReads2024

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #SpooktasticReads 2024
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Posted Sunday, 27 October, 2024 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, Audiobook, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Book Review (non-blog tour), Clever Turns of Phrase, Fantasy Fiction, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Indie Author, Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Witches and Warlocks

A Hauntingly Brilliant #TopTenTuesday during #SpooktasticReads! | Guest Post featuring A. Lawrence who wrote the spookified “Grave Reflection: Ghost Punch” novel!

Posted Tuesday, 27 October, 2020 by jorielov , , , , 5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday blog banner created by Jorie in Canva.

#TopTenTuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Topic of the Week: Halloween Freebie!

Jorie’s topic for A. Lawrence:
Top Ten Reasons Why Being a Ghost Hunter is a Spookifed Experience ??

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I LOVE Halloween – which is why I’ve been wickedly thrilled to bits our little #SpooktasticReads readathon and celebration of spooky reads has become quite the success these past three years we’ve held it! For those who are unfamiliar – I happily co-host @WyrdAndWonder (ie. #WyrdAndWonder) every May to celebrate Fantasy with Imyril (@Imyril) and Lisa (@deargeekplace) wherein every October we have this lovely fortnight chasing up to Halloween to talk, blog and share everything we love about the spookier reads which give us the most joy to be reading!

I have my own special read for this year’s #SpooktasticReads involving the paranormal which is the final chapter in the Tipsy Fairy Tales trilogy by E. Chris Garrison – of which you can happily read my reviews for the first two stories: “Blue Spirit” (see also Review) and “Restless Spirit” (see also Review). This year’s #SpooktasticReads is going to be set round my readings of the conclusion of this series which is called “Mean Spirit”! Whilst I am re-visiting the world within the start of how everything came together for Skye within the audiobook version of “Blue Spirit” which was not yet released at the time I read the story in print.

For this week’s #TopTenTuesday, I wanted to do something special and a bit different – which is why I decided to creatively come up with a fun topic for the author whilst hosting this lovely blog tour which is celebrating a new ghostly series! I love hosting Indie Authors and this #SpooktasticReads I am hopeful those who are joining us and thos who are following us are finding a heap of lovelies to add to their #mustread lists!

Today it is an honour to host a new blog tour with Storytellers on Tour – a blog touring company whose championing Indie Storytellers and giving us all a lovely chance to feature their collective works. I am looking forward to working with them as oft as I can and I look forward to the conversations and features which hosting will inspire to bring to my readers on Jorie Loves A Story!

Brew yourself a cuppa and let’s find out more about ghosts!

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A Hauntingly Brilliant #TopTenTuesday during #SpooktasticReads! | Guest Post featuring A. Lawrence who wrote the spookified “Grave Reflection: Ghost Punch” novel!Ghost Punch
Subtitle: Grave Reflection
by A. Lawrence

Another Friday night, another trip through a potentially haunted house. Shay’s not a believer, but she’s willing to help her best friend, Max, with their amateur ghost hunting show. Little does she know she is about to be thrown into a world of witches and dangerous spirits.

With newly discovered abilities, Shay finds that she can both see and touch spirits. The downside is, the ghosts can touch her back, and it seems that they’ll do anything to get a hold of her.

She was never much of a ghost hunter. How will she do when she is the one being hunted?

Grave Reflectionis the first book of Ghost Punch,
an exciting paranormal series full of mystery and action!

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Literature, Ghost Story, Gothic Suspense, Paranormal Suspense, Spooky Reads for Halloween



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B08DSS7J5B

Published by Self Published

on 30th July, 2020

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Top Ten Reasons Why Being a Ghost Hunter
is a Spookifed Experience

Ghost Punch Character Art provided by Storytellers on Tour and is used with permission.

by A. Lawrence

Ghost hunting. Whether you are trying to reveal the mysteries of the afterlife,
or you’re just a thrill seeker, it can be a spooky hobby.

I do all of my ghost hunting in very rural areas, so my list is skewed in that direction,
but here are my top ten for why being a ghost hunter is a spookified experience.

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Posted Tuesday, 27 October, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Bookish Memes, Fantasy Fiction, Ghost Story, Ghosts & the Supernatural, Gothic Literature, Haunting & Ethereal, Indie Author, Storytellers on Tour, Top Ten Tuesday

A #SpooktasticReads Book Review | “Ghastly and Good” (Merry Hanukkah series, Halloween short) by Debby Caruso

Posted Monday, 19 October, 2020 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: In 2018, I was approached by the author to read the first story in her Merry Hanukkah series – whilst in 2019, I had the delightful joy of having her as a featured guest during my @SatBookChat! In June, 2020 I was able to read the sequel to ‘Merry Hanukkah’ which was ‘Happy Everything’. Wickedly ahead of sorting out which spooky reads I wanted to be reading this #SpooktasticReads, I was contacted by the author about this lovely Halloween short story she had written into the series. I was quite chuffed I could receive a print copy and thus, this delightful short became the story which kicked off my readathon of #SpooktasticReads! (a mini-event for @WyrdAndWonder)

I received a complimentary copy of “Ghastly and Good” direct from the author Debby Caruso in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why I love #SpooktasticReads:

Quite humbly, I attempted to host #SpooktasticReads as a book blogger years ago – however, the better incantation of the event I envisioned wasn’t fully realised until I pitched the idea as a mini-event attached to Wyrd And Wonder to Lisa and Imyril. As we co-founded @WyrdAndWonder together as a celebration of Fantasy. #SpooktasticReads picks up where Wyrd and Wonder leaves off – wherein, each Autumn we get hankerings to be reading a spookier side of Fantasy and/or any story which allows us to get our spook on – in whichever capacity which inspires us to read.

Some of us like the cosier side of Horror (ie. my own personal declaration of reading #CosyHorror notwithstanding!) whilst others like to seek out ghost stories, Urban Fantasy, Gothic Lit or Gothic Romance or any route betwixt and between which seeks to give us a slight chill to our readerly lives this October. For me personally, I love reading selections which run the full gambit of choices – from stories of Suspense & Thrillers which give me a chilling read through a Mystery I cannot predict how it will end to an epic Ghost Story which might leave me rattling my funnybone or contemplating the layers of how authors write such believable ghost stories within a witchy setting! I love stories involving witches and ghouls as much as I appreciate a delightful Urban Fantasy.

Ergo, to get myself into the festive mood of the next 13 days where you will find me on a bit of a binge of all the spooktacular reads I have on hand to be read – I decided to dial it back a bit and selected a story I hadn’t even realised was available to read this #SpooktasticReads as it was a surprise from the author! I love light Halloweeny tales as much as the grip your heart ones and this one is right in the middle of a series I have loved reading since the first novel released.

I felt this lighter read was the best way to start my readathon and find the festive spirit within the story itself! I can’t wait to see what everyone else is reading and I can’t wait to dive into stories and audiobooks in the thirteen days leading into Halloween!

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On what I enjoyed about “Happy Everything”:

Caruso also spends a wonderful amount of time tucking you closer into Rhonda’s marriage – how she feels as distant as her husband does to the celebratory coupling moments they loved sharing – wherein once life starts to pick up its pacing after you’ve dated and married, those more intimate and special moments can feel as if they’ve gone by the wayside. You can feel how much he misses their romance – the little nuanced moments they used to share vs how rushed they feel now going to family meetings and doing what they might consider out of duty for friends and family alike. In essence, reality has truly hit and hit hard as these two try to navigate their ‘new world’ as a married couple who barely have enough time to spend on each other. It drives home the realism once the afterglow of the honeymoon stage waxes off and the truer moments of marriage are observed with a humbled honesty only Caruso can tell.

One new character I liked as much as Rhonda was Diana – she seemed like the kind of person who could consistently surprise people for how much she understands about this dynamic family and how to show a different side to a person even Rhonda felt she knew everything about. It just shows you that sometimes you can have the complete wrong impression about someone until a new person shows up and starts to show you a new side of their personality which had remain hidden until now! Diana is a charming character who has a tough-as-nails job to do but one that is truly important in a world where not everyone cares about their companions in fur, feather or scales.

If I could have transported myself into Mimosa alongside Rhonda, her and I would have spilt a second salted caramel brownie!! Sometimes you just have to go with what soothes your soul and in that moment, where Rhonda knew the best response was to show kindness and grace, the better part of her mind knew that if she didn’t comfort herself with some much needed chocolate, she might have spoken out of turn which would have done nothing to savage the lunch. It was the kind of scene you’d find yourself living inside but without the right set of reactions – I agreed with Rhonda about how her father blindsided her with news and the kind of news that he seemed to have taken in stride – expecting her to do the same and let nothing be said about it either. I felt that was a bit over the top as how could Rhonda not have a reaction? She played her cards well!

Caruso allows Rhonda to show the portions of herself and her emotional internal life that might not always be disclosed in other stories. The ways in which she lets the reader see Rhonda’s heightened emotional states and reactions to different life moments in the heat of Rhonda being unable to sort through them properly and chooses to explode instead. Seeing how she becomes vocal and then remorseful – how she uses exercise to find a centre of calm and how like for most of us in those instances, nothing truly changes immediately after an experience like that but we each know of a route to find our balance and re-centre ourselves to continue moving forward. I liked how Caruso showed this area of Rhonda’s life and how emotionally Rhonda was at her tipping point.

Through everything Rhonda and Dez rise to the occasion. Their lives are chaotic and sometimes they have family members who drive their very last nerve out of their bones but overall, they share a sisterhood friendship with has such a strong bond that nothing can shatter it. Not even all the little fires which creep up in our lives which seek to cut us down to the quick. I love how Caruso shows through faith, family and friendship you can tackle anything which crosses your path in life but without the addition of humour, coffee and some wicked sweet Italian foods – you might not get through it quite as well as those who do!

I love this series – I am hoping for a third if not fourth installment – as I can’t leave this family where we last find them. Plus, I was so overjoyed I could handle the journey through Cancer with Aunt Bunny as that is one of my issues with most Contemporaries which feature the illness; either the details or the descriptions weigh heavy on my heart. Caruso thankfully focused on other bits of her journey and mostly focused on the recovery and bolstering of having loved ones have your back when a medical crisis arises. Best of all though is the comfortable pace and the realistic marriage you get to tuck inside between Rhonda and James. Theirs is a marriage which is equally strong to Kay Hunter and Adam (from the Kay Hunter series by Rachael Amphlett). You truly will find yourself snorting into laughter, getting emotional about the tides which keep turning and eager to get to the conclusion to find out if Rhonda can breathe a bit easier again!

-quoted from my book review for Happy Everything

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A #SpooktasticReads Book Review | “Ghastly and Good” (Merry Hanukkah series, Halloween short) by Debby CarusoGhastly and Good
by Debby Caruso
Source: Direct from Author

Join Rhonda, Dez, and the Merry Hanukkah crew as they try to pull off yet another holiday feat in this Halloween Short that’s sure to leave you laughing.

In an attempt to treat the kids at the local shelter to a Halloween party like no other, Rhonda finds herself running out of time, battling a hurricane, and wrestling with ghosts. In true Rhonda fashion, she has a few tricks up her sleeve, and the end result is anything but ghastly.

Grab a hot apple cider—or pumpkin spice anything—snuggle up, and enjoy a short story that will bring you back to a time when Halloween was filled with all the good things life has to offer.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy (Rom Com), Spooky Reads for Halloween



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B08GJBCYFL

Also by this author: Merry Hanukkah, Happy Everything

Published by Self Published

on 9th September, 2020

Format: Personal Copy provided by Author

Pages: 37

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The Merry Hanukkah series:

Merry Hanukkah by Debby CarusoHappy Everything by Debby CarusoGhastly and Good by Debby Caruso

Merry Hanukkah (book one) | see also Review

Happy Everything (book two) | see also Review

Converse via: #SpooktasticReads + #WomensFiction or #Halloween #shortstory

This is a Digital First Release (ebook only!) Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #SpooktasticReads 2020
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Posted Monday, 19 October, 2020 by jorielov in #SpooktasticReads, 21st Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Contemporary Romance, Family Drama, Family Life, Indie Author, Modern Day, Romance Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Women's Fiction