Genre: YA Contemporary

#TheWriteReads blog tour | “My Heart is Hurting” by S.E. Reed A #BBNYA Finalist in (2024)

Posted Thursday, 6 March, 2025 by jorielov My Heart is Hurting, S.E. Reed, Wild Ink Publishing 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I found out about this novel via The Write Reads who was hosting a blog tour in March, 2025. I read a sampler of the novel online and found it such a compelling story. I knew I wanted to read the novel in full and marked myself down to host a review. I was able to purchase a copy of the novel about a week and a half ahead of the blog tour and I was wicked happy I was able to feature the novel for the tour.

Thereby, this is a self-purchase of mine and I was not obligated to post a review. I am sharing my ruminative thoughts for my own edification and for continuing to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I found this story to be a harder read than I expected it to be:

I have had a keen interest in reading more Children’s Lit over the years – which is why I developed my own concentrated readathon over the Summer, which I refer to as #MyYASummer. This past Summer, I made strides towards accomplishing that very goal (see also Post) – of reading a healthy array of YA Lit over the months of Summer but I was unable to finish reading the stories I had begun. This year, I’m doubling down and will start sooner than I had last year – all whilst, in the months leading into June, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for #newtomeauthors of Young Adult novels which are featuring the types of stories I’d love to be reading right now. I have a penchant for Indie Authors – as I’ve long been a champion of Indies since I first started as a book blogger in this community in (2013). I also actively read Middle Grade Fiction, too.

I truly felt this was going to be a good fit for me as a reader – which is why I elected to be on the blog tour and choose to purchase a copy of the novel in order to read it for the tour itself. However, as you will find throughout my review – there were grave disappointments for me as reader who struggled to come to terms with where the author’s initial framework for the novel led me to believe it was going in one particular direction and then, took a much darker path entirely and wrecked the story for me. I earmarked what went wrong and what I believe are warnings in content for sensitive readers who might want to know what is inclusive of the story ahead of reading it for themselves. I know those help me a lot as I navigate stories to read and am grateful for book bloggers who discuss them on their own reviews.

This story might not have the same effect on someone else and they might not feel as dearly shattered at the end of reading the novel like I had either. Stories affect us in different ways and we each experience a novel differently. What suits one of us, might not suit the rest of us and vice versa. Being a finalist in the BBNYA, I know this story already found a strong audience and that readers resonated with the story as it was told. For me, it just fell short and left me wanton for an ending which matched better with the foundation Reed had established earlier on in the novel.

My Heart is Hurting
Source: Purchased | Personal Library

Jinny Buffett is lonely…

She’s never had the comfort of a white picket fence with a loving family. Her subsidized apartment in Hollywood Florida echoes with the void of her dead Daddy, and the nights drag long into twilight while her Mama works the block outside the Margaritaville resort.

It’s idealistic Ms. Fleming, who’s brave enough to come knocking first. She wants to see Jinny rise up and use her ace scores to escape the wheel of poverty, convincing Jinny to start a school book club, where she finds the friends and boyfriend she never knew she needed.

But when her Mama spirals out of control and threatens her entire existence, it’s Jinny’s Everglade ancestors who arrive in a mist of magic, bringing the swamp and hope with them.

Genres: Children's Literature, Young Adult Fiction, Upper YA Fiction, YA Contemporary

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781958531259

Published by Wild Ink Publishing

on 16th July, 2023

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

Pages: 180

Published by: Wild Ink Publishing (@wild_ink_publishing) via Instagram

Posted Thursday, 6 March, 2025 by jorielov in 21st Century, Bullies and the Bullied, Childhood Friendship, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Modern Day, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Post-911 (11th September 2001), School Life & Situations, Teacher & Student Relationships, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Upper YA Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

A #PubDay #BookSpotlight for #TheWriteReads | sharing my excitement for a lovely new novel “Looking for Lucie” by Amanda Addison

Posted Tuesday, 1 October, 2024 by jorielov Amanda Addison, Looking for Lucie, Neem Tree Press, Unbound Publishing 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Every so often a story comes across my desk so to speak which has such a captivating premise which IMMEDIATELY encourages me to read it. This was the kind of reaction I had with Looking for Lucie – as soon as I read about the heart of the story – where we are centred on Lucie who’s choosing to answer the question her family isn’t willing to give her themselves: sorting out her heritage and her cultural identity by tracing her parentage via DNA testing. I am sure this will appeal to a lot of readers who might be uncertain about their own cultural heritage or if their biological data isn’t known as it is with Lucie.

I felt this would strike a chord with children whose parents might have sought non-traditional routes of parenting – such as through donor sperm or egg programs especially if they were choosing to go the route of IVF. Sometimes in those instances not a lot is known about the person who donated nor any other specific data about their person or their heritage. Usually, information is limited in scope and might only refer to medical data, if anything at all. I also felt this story might be a good fit for children who are adopted and might not be raised to know their birth family until they are much older as some adoptive families do not readily share information as their growing up. I am of the mindset children of all ages deserve to know their cultural and religious heritage – especially if they are adopted. Those connections need to be maintained and recognised as each person has the right to know their own identity and where they came from – even if they are living in a different home and with a different family.

For those reasons and due how the story was presented through the synopsis – I felt an immediate desire to read this lovely novel. Perhaps you’ll find a reason it appeals to you as well. For now, let’s take a small glimpse into how the story is set-up in the beginning and why I am wicked happy I discovered this novel the year I re-generated #MyYASummer! As part of that was to seek out new voices in YA and to find new stories I might not have found previously. This definitely was the highlight for me to find as Summer drew to a close this year.

Looking for Lucie
Subtitle: What do you do when your entire existence is a question with no answer? You do a DNA test.
by Amanda Addison
Source: Publisher via The Write Reads

Looking for Lucie is a contemporary YA novel that explores identity, self-discovery, and newfound friendship as an 18-year-old girl sets out to uncover her ethnic heritage and family history.

"Where are you really from?"

It's a question every brown girl in a white-washed town is familiar with, and one that Lucie has never been able to answer. All she knows is that her mother is white, she's never met her father, and she looks nothing like the rest of her family. She can't even talk about it because everyone says it shouldn't matter!

Well, it matters to Lucie and-with her new friend Nav, who knows exactly who he is-she's determined to find some answers.

What do you do when your entire existence is a question with no answer?

You do a DNA test.

Genres: Young Adult Fiction, YA Contemporary

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1911107682

Published by Neem Tree Publishing

on 1st October, 2024

Format: epub | PDF editon

Published by: Neem Tree Press | Follow via Insta (@neemtreepress)
an imprint of Unbound Publishing

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #ContemporaryYA, #YALit, #YoungAdult,
as well as #TheWriteReads & #LookingForLucie

Posted Tuesday, 1 October, 2024 by jorielov in #TheWriteReads, 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Coming-Of Age, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Young Adult Fiction

An #Audiobook Spotlight | feat. an #audiobook review of “Kate in Waiting” by Becky Albertalli

Posted Tuesday, 27 April, 2021 by jorielov (Narrator) Bebe Wood, Balzer and Bray, Becky Albertalli, Harper Audio, Kate in Waiting 2 Comments

Borrowed Book By: Wickedly as soon as I read the premise for “Kate in Waiting” I knew I wanted to read it – and yet, I wasn’t sure if I could as most of #TheWriteReads blog tours feature novels which are a bit delayed reaching publication here stateside. Sometimes, like this particular blog tour, I was able to get a bit lucky and the pub dates were mutually beneficial for UK/Europe and American book bloggers – thereby, as I wasn’t sure which library of mine would be carrying the book itself – as I hadn’t yet connected the dots about the author’s previous canon of novels – I happily found it on order via my local library! I ended up first in the queue to receive it – but *five days!* from my tour date, I was growing worried. Would it arrive in time? Thereby I checked my regional library and *blessedly!* guess who bought the audiobook and the ebook? Mind you, I can’t read the ebook but I borrowed the audiobook immediately!!!

Therefore I borrowed the audiobook edition for “Kate in Waiting” via my regional library and was not required to post a review on behalf of the story or the audiobook version of the novel. In fact, I had to modify my tour stop as with three weeks of health afflictions (ie. extreme pollen allergies and a difficult bout of migraines) this April – I was just thankful I could find some joy in reading again by the weekend of the 23rd! The following spotlight review is being shared with my readers and the tour visitors for my own edification in continuing to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. Whilst I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I love being part of the community of #TheWriteReads and I hope in future to continue hosting the authors on their blog tours – I keep an eye out on the stories I most desire to be reading in order to host a guest feature as print copies are a bit rare for these tours to request. I love hosting the conversations because it helps me feel a bit more rooted in the stories and I hope you’ll have the same takeaway yourself. Although when a conversation isn’t available to host, I like featuring the stories themselves to help give them a signal boost in case one of my readers and followers hasn’t yet discovered the story (or series) which has caught my bookish eye!

When I realised my local library purchased the print edition & my regional library had the audiobook – you could say I was wicked tickled silly! I mean, I could *finally!* read and/or listen to a novel everyone else was planning to read themselves — I’ve been a part of #TheWriteReads community for a few years now – however, I am not always able to host the blog tours.

I also have a lot to shoulder IRL between health & life as it evolves (as we all do!) – I don’t oft get the chance to visit the posts being featured on the Twitter feeds for the community – which is why if you’re part of #TheWriteReads community and your stopping by my review today – first off, bless you & thank you! (leave a note in my comments so I can visit your post if your on the same tour!) – this is why you might not see me sharing a lot of posts in the community. The past few years especially have been difficult off/on for health reasons and with my father’s recovery from his stroke in late 2016. This year, as ever, I am trying to be mindful of sharing content of others – whilst also finding time to visit with the book bloggers I regularly follow.

I had originally planned to host a respun Top Ten Tuesday today — but unfortunately for me, my mind wasn’t feeling creative this April as it battled through those health afflictions and I was more comfortable sharing a review than trying to put together a post worthy of one of my respun meme features! I hope you all won’t mind I deviated a bit from what I previously planned as I gave the story a bit of a go and decided to spotlight this novel instead of writing a full review as it turnt out it wasn’t my cuppa of tea as a reader.

Kate in Waiting
Subtitle: Break a leg, not your heart
by Becky Albertalli
Source: Borrowed from local library's CloudLibrary
Narrator: Bebe Wood

From bestselling YA Rom-Com queen Becky Albertalli (author of Love, Simon) comes a new novel about daring to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight in love, life and theatre.

[PRINCIPAL CAST LIST]

Kate Garfield
Anderson Walker

Best friends, and contrary to popular belief, not co-dependent. Examples:

Carpooling to and from theatre rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient.
Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment.
Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

But when Kate and Andy's latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script.

Enter Stage Left: Matt Olsson

He is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.

Turns out, communal crushes aren't so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson's friendship...

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), LGBTQIA Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Upper YA Fiction, YA Contemporary

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780062643834

ASIN: B08JH8PJ5P

Published by Balzer and Bray

on 20th April, 2021

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 9 hours and 10 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Egmont Books (@egmontbooksuk)
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers UK

?? Follow the narrator Bebe Wood (@BebeWood)

NOTE: I would definitely consider this an Upper YA or New Adult novel.

Available Formats: Hardback, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

Converse via: #Contemporary #UpperYA as well as #TheWriteReads & #KateInWaiting

About Becky Albertalli

Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (film: Love, Simon), The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat. She is also the co-author of What If It's Us with Adam Silvera. A former clinical psychologist who specialized in working with children and teens, Becky lives with her family in Atlanta.

Posted Tuesday, 27 April, 2021 by jorielov in #TheWriteReads, 21st Century, Audiobook, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Childhood Friendship, Coming-Of Age, Content Note, Fly in the Ointment, Modern Day, Post-911 (11th September 2001), School Life & Situations, Upper YA Fiction, Vulgarity in Literature, Young Adult Fiction

#PubDay Author Interview | Chattering about her debut #SwoonReads Contemporary YA Romance “Small Town Hearts” – Jorie interviews Lillie Vale!

Posted Tuesday, 19 March, 2019 by jorielov Feiwel & Friends, Lillie Vale, MacMillan Publishers, Small Town Hearts, Swoon Reads 1 Comment

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I have been showcasing quite a few Swoon Reads authors since I started hosting for Xpresso Book Tours – this is wicked lovely as I first came to recognise Swoon Reads when a fellow book blogger first told me about her appreciation for reading their stories. She’s since left the book blogosphere and opted to return to University; however, it always struck me that at some point in my readerly life, I ought to start to pick up the stories being published by Swoon Reads. Hence why you’ve seen an influx of authors by this publisher arriving on Jorie Loves A Story via guest author features like today’s interview with Ms Vale!

There were a few quirkily clever things about this particular YA Contemporary Romance which intrigued my eye towards wanting to a) read it and b) feature the novelist: it was set in a small coastal towne in Maine (for a girl who likes New England, that was a bit of a no-brainer! Go Sox!), it has a pro-positive LGBTQ+ narrative and it is a Contemporary Rom. The latter being the icing on the cake for me as Contemporary Romances are hit/miss with me as you well know if you’ve been spending time digging round my archives and/or have been a long-time reader of my blog. I vacillate between reading mainstream & INSPY Contemporaries these days – however, I always manage to find quite a few Contemporaries in mainstream which make me ‘swoon’ after them; thus I am wicked happy to say I am *celebrating!* this lovely new YA Contemporary on its #PubDay!

In truth – the author mentioned she doesn’t consider this a YA Contemporary Rom inasmuch as a straight-up coming-of age Contemporary YA – I am thrilled either way, as finding strong stories which have convicting plots and a strong balance of contemporary life & issues is something to celebrate as much as finding a contemporary set story-line which seeks to represent a realistic impression of a girl coming-of age in our modern world.

Give a hearty welcome to debut novelist Lillie Vale & let’s tuck close to this convo where we explore not only the setting and the characters of “Small Town Hearts” but her writerly process to bring this story to life! If you’ve already earmarked this one to read OR were one of the lucky few who read it as an ARC – I’d love to hear your thoughts & comments in the threads below this interview!

Likewise, if this is your first visit to my blog – guest features & convos are best accompanied with your favourite cuppa & brew – where you can settle in, enjoy the feature and stay a spell visiting with me and my guest author. May this new release have a plotting which will tempt your readerly heart as much as it has mine.

Small Town Hearts
Subtitle: Rule #1 Never Fall for a Summer Boy
by Lillie Vale

Rule #1 – Never fall for a summer boy.

Fresh out of high school, Babe Vogel should be thrilled to have the whole summer at her fingertips. She loves living in her lighthouse home in the sleepy Maine beach town of Oar’s Rest and being a barista at the Busy Bean, but she’s totally freaking out about how her life will change when her two best friends go to college in the fall. And when a reckless kiss causes all three of them to break up, she may lose them a lot sooner. On top of that, her ex-girlfriend is back in town, bringing with her a slew of memories, both good and bad.

And then there’s Levi Keller, the cute artist who’s spending all his free time at the coffee shop where she works. Levi’s from out of town, and even though Babe knows better than to fall for a tourist who will leave when summer ends, she can’t stop herself from wanting to know him. Can Babe keep her distance, or will she break the one rule she’s always had – to never fall for a summer boy?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction, YA Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781250192356

Published by Feiwel & Friends, Swoon Reads

on 19th March, 2019

Published by: Swoon Reads (@SwoonReads)
a publishing subsidiary of Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan

Formats available: Hardback and Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #YALit & #Contemporary with #Novel19s

as well as #SmallTownHearts + #LilliVale with #LGBT or #LGBTQ Contemporary

About Lillie Vale

Lillie Vale, upon discovering she could not be one of Santa’s elves or attend Hogwarts, decided to become a writer to create a little magic of her own. Enjoying the romantic and eerie in equal measure, she’s probably always writing a book where the main characters kiss or kill.

Born in Mumbai, she has lived in many U.S. states, and now resides in an Indiana college town where the corn whispers and no one has a clue that she is actually the long-lost caps lock queen. She can be reached on Twitter and Instagram (which are linked in this bio). Small Town Hearts is her debut novel.

Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing

Posted Tuesday, 19 March, 2019 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Contemporary Romance, Modern Day, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Romance Fiction, Small Towne Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, Xpresso Book Tours, Young Adult Fiction

Book Blitz with Notes and Extras | “My Name is Rose” by Alexa Kingaard

Posted Monday, 18 March, 2019 by jorielov Acorn Publishing, Alexa Kingaard, My Name is Rose 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I definitely love reading a wide variety of stories – however, at the heart of them – you might notice quite a heap involve plots centred round ‘coming-of age’ tales, wherein we get to take the journey with the character whose about to undertake a pivotal part of their journey towards maturity, adulthood & along the way finding the voice and wings needed in order to fly into their own tomorrow on their own terms. The kinds of stories you really can rally inside and gather behind because they have *something!* relatable inside them about the process of growing up and of finding out about who you are whilst your reading someone else’s tale.

These are the stories which help us re-examine our own lives and our own life’s choices – whilst giving us the benefit of reading a wide variety of lives & lifestyles. I love the coming-of age niche in literature because it strikes such a lovely balance between reading stories for younger readers & the stories we will be seeking out as adults. Sometimes even, you’ll find the coming-of age section is such a wholly full section to read you might not long for another type of story for quite a long while! I tend to read these in batches and groupings of interest – this particular title stood out to me as Rose is endeavouring to segue away from the path her family has chosen to live. Rose wants more for herself and she wants to seek an independence outside her family’s dynamic.

Before sharing this spotlighted post about Rose, I saw a YT video about the author behind “Educated” which was featured on #EllenTube. She also grew up in a family who was living outside the regular realms of society and she also, in turn decide to make what they felt was a radical choice to live outside that chosen lifestyle. What is interesting is how whether the story is told from a living perspective or from a fictional one – there is something to be said for the stories which champion the independence of the soul & the fortitude of strength it takes to carve out your own future when there is so much uncertainty about how to go about doing it.

I find these kinds of stories wicked inspiring – which is why I wanted to be a part of the blitz to celebrate & champion this story. I selected the extract from this story which I felt resonated with me the most about the kind of person Rose is and the woman she is daring herself to become. I’d love to hear from you about what you felt about this extract and if you’ve earmarked this story to read yourself. I am definitely going to be sourcing this through my local library this Spring & eventually I’ll be purchasing my own copy as I think it has a solid premise which needs to be read.

As a side note – this is the second story in recent memory I’ve focused on from Acorn Publishing – as previously I highlighted Fly Girl!

My Name is Rose
by Alexa Kingaard

Rose is unsettled, curious, and bored. Life in a hippie commune is her parent’s dream come true, not hers. She doesn’t share their passion for living off the land, nor does she enjoy the isolation that is thrust upon her. When she convinces them to send her to public school in the nearby town, a new world opens up to her.

As she pursues her education, Rose chooses a different path, leaving her parents heartbroken at her insistence they are hiding something from her. She’s convinced her father isn’t the man her mother married.

Although she finds love far away from her roots and upbringing, her wounds only deepen as she keeps her family at arm’s length. What she loses during those years can only be retrieved with her understanding that “a Rose by any other name is still a Rose.”

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), YA Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: 978-1947392434

on 22nd February, 2019

Published by: Acorn Publishing (@PublishingAcorn)

Formats Available: Trade Paperback, Hardback and Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #YALit OR #Contemporary #YoungAdult

About Alexa Kingaard

Alexa Kingaard was born in San Diego, CA and has lived most of her life in the area. She currently resides in Carlsbad and is the mother of an adult son and daughter who continue to be her biggest fans and cheerleaders. A realtor for fifteen years, she remains involved with her profession and praises her brokers and clients for giving her the nod to be creative.

She gives all the credit for completing her debut novel, KEEP FOREVER, to her inspiration and late ex-husband, Jeff, who battled the residual effects of the Vietnam War for decades after his return.
Her second novel, MY NAME IS ROSE, will be released through Acorn Publishing March 15, 2019.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing

Posted Monday, 18 March, 2019 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Blitz, Book Spotlight, Coming-Of Age, Indie Author, Xpresso Book Tours, Young Adult Fiction