Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

#Harlequin Heartwarming Series Book Review | “The Rancher’s Fake Fiancee” (Book Four: Return of the Blackwell Brothers) by Amy Vastine [of a five book series!]

Posted Monday, 7 January, 2019 by jorielov Amy Vastine, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming, Return of the Blackwell Brothers, The Rancher's Fake Fiancee 1 Comment

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. 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.

This particular review is slightly different from my regular blog tours and hosting features for Prism Book Tours – as an opportunity came along this Summer to secure a spot on a ‘review tour’ rather than a ‘blog tour’ for a five-book series from Harlequin Heartwarming entitled “Return of the Blackwell Brothers”. This differs as each of the reviewers and book bloggers who are committing to this review tour are posting at different intervals as each of the five novels release which is also co-dependent on the format we are signed on to review.

My reviews will be showcased from August 2018 through January 2019 beginning with the first novel by Carol Ross. Only the first and second novel will showcase the book synopsis, author photograph and her biography as the rest of the tour will only feature the serial information which is also seen on this post. Each of us had the flexibility to choose when we are posting our reviews which was another added bonus to this particular review tour. I elected to post mine on Saturdays, as for the past four years Saturdays have been happily focused on Romances (previously strictly by ChocLit) and I am going to continue to expand this featured part of the week encompassing more Romances by both ChocLit and different publishers. Except for when I needed to post during the week in lieu of Saturday due to health issues or life in general.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Rancher’s Fake Fiancée” direct from the author Amy Vastine in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I continue to feel attached & connected to the Blackwell Brothers:

My first impression of Ben Blackwell was about a close cousin to Rachel’s – he was brass, he was full of himself and he had only put miles in distance between his past and the present; he never had actually taken the time to heal emotionally from how he was wounded. That in of itself was a bit telling – as he had a boiling temper under his persona of a city lawyer who hadn’t the time nor the inclination to deal with a country lawyer such as Rachel. The fact the two were interlinked in their past was just another spur in his boot to be frank!

Rachel had her fair share of hard knocks – the fact she had a louse for an ex was only half the story, her dedication to her daughter Poppy is what shined out of her will not to lose her composure. For Rachel, you could tell she was trying to make the best choices she could – not to focus on the choices she had regrets over nor on the prospects of what a future could yield. Everything was a bit too far away for those kinds of considerations when you have a custody dispute where your wings are clipped and your options are running on empty. You feel for her because she’s a hard-working single Mum who has the unfair disadvantage of having her daughter’s father more concerned with legalities than the actual duties of being a father! Aye.

The vexations mounting on Rachel’s spirits were reaching new layers of angst – especially as you could definitely feel the energy in her unravelling. Here she was trying to hold everything together – carrying the weight of the family’s ranch on her shoulders, inking out an honest trade as a lawyer and juggling her ex in her life to boot! Something had to give and it felt like this old timer ranch hand Henry was past his date of retirement! There is nothing worse than someone who doesn’t see the urgency in what is needed to get done and that is what was vexing Rachel the most. Here she was trying to make do with what she had – work an honest day and still sort out the ranch which hadn’t been properly managed since her father’s death. You had to just give the girl credit for not wanting to take the easier route out and sell.

The more we get to see Rachel and Ben interacting with each other, the more complicated it all feels as these are two best friends who had become jaded in life. It wasn’t entirely their fault, even Ben is being placed in a bad spot by his grandfather Big E (who hasn’t?) and that was leading into a nightmare of a situation involving Rachel as she was trying to defend her own ranch against the rights his family has had all these years. If you looked at it from the outside – they were two individuals caught in the quicksand of bad choices others had made but were now the only people who could attempt to put things back to rights. And, there’s the rub – how do you remain angry at your former best friend?

-quoted from my review of The Rancher’s Redemption

Return of the #BlackwellBrothers:

The Rancher's Twins

The Rancher's Rescue

TheRanchersRedemption

TheRanchersFakeFiancee

The Rancher's Homecoming

The Rancher’s Twins by Carol Ross → August 1st
The Rancher’s Rescue by Cari Lynn Webb → September 1st
The Rancher’s Redemption by Melinda Curtis → October 1st
The Rancher’s Fake Fiancée by Amy Vastine → November 1st
The Rancher’s Homecoming by Anna J. Stewart → December 1st

The Rancher's Fake Fiancee
Subtitle: Return of the Blackwell Brothers
by Amy Vastine
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Heartland Fiction, Ranches & Cowboys, Western Fiction, Western Romance

Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335633859

Also in this series: Series Spotlight w/ Notes: Return of the Blackwell Brothers, The Rancher's Twins, The Rancher's Rescue, The Rancher's Redemption, The Rancher's Homecoming, Series Spotlight w/ Notes: Return of the Blackwell Brothers

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)
Pages: 378

Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin

& #ReturnOfTheBlackwellBrothers

About Amy Vastine

Be sure to visit the author online and find out what is she is releasing next!

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Posted Monday, 7 January, 2019 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Contemporary Romance, Farm and Ranching on the Frontier, Indie Author, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Western Fiction, Western Romance

#Harlequin Heartwarming Series Book Review | “The Rancher’s Redemption” (Book Three: Return of the Blackwell Brothers) by Melinda Curtis [of a five book series!]

Posted Saturday, 29 December, 2018 by jorielov Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming, Melinda Curtis, Return of the Blackwell Brothers, The Rancher's Redemption 2 Comments

In keeping with the change of name for my Romance & Women’s Fiction Twitter chat [@SatBookChat previously known as @ChocLitSaturday] – I am announcing a change of features here on Jorie Loves A Story. Since January, 2014 I carved out a niche of focus which I named #ChocLitSaturdays as I have felt the best time to read romantic and dramatic stories are the weekends. This spun into a Twitter chat featuring the authors of ChocLit whilst I supplied weekly topics which would appeal to readers, writers and book bloggers alike. We grew into our own Saturday tribe of chatters – then, somewhere round the time of my father’s stroke in late [2016] and the forthcoming year of [2017] I started to feel less inspired to host the chat.

I had new plans to re-invent the chat in its new incantation as @SatBookChat but I also wanted to re-invent the complimentary showcases on my blog which would reflect the diversity of stories, authors and publishers I would be featuring on the chat itself. As at the root and heart of #ChocLitSaturday the chat were the stories I was reading which complimented the conversations.

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I am beginning anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – for the remaining weeks of October and most of November, I will be featuring special guest authors during #SatBookChat whose stories I have either read, are reading or hope to read in the future if their newer releases. The reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Our holiday break for the month of December will find us resuming #SatBookChat the week after New Year’s, 2019 where new guests and new stories will lay down the foundation of inspiring the topics, the conversations and the bookish recommendations towards promoting Romance & Women’s Fiction.

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. 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.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Rancher’s Redemption” direct from the author Melinda Curtis in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I continue to feel attached & connected to the Blackwell Brothers:

After concluding The Rancher’s Twins, a bit more was revealled about Big E – the grandfather giving all kinds of strife to his grandsons and giving the impression he was no longer interested in running the family’s ranch. The shambles this man left things was wicked awful and yet, at the end of the last installment, not everything we were perceiving as readers was exactly the way we felt we were being lead to believe – as there was a bit of a unique cliffhanger right at the very end of the novel! That particular dose of insight gave me a newfound respect for the Blackwell Brothers series as it added a hidden layer of depth to the evolving story-lines – one I hadn’t foreseen coming and one which it would appear is still becoming hinted about in The Rancher’s Rescue. At least, I hope it is will continue to thread into the background of the stories – as Big E is one grandfather no one will soon forget!

Meanwhile, whilst we re-focus off Big E (as we had previously) and re-focus on the son who returnt home at the request of his brother – we find Ethan less than enthused to be home! He cares about his work and his career as a Equestrian Vet but beyond that, he has no inclination of staying longer than necessary; something I had a feeling was going to change, as how often does life go according to our plans? It was good folly finding Ethan and Jonathan at odds with each other – they didn’t quite agree on their plan of attack to sort out the ranch’s crises but they respected each other enough not to let that draw a wedge between them too.

I truly like Grace – the accountant who works at the store where the Blackwells purchase everything they need for their ranches. She has a winning personality but she also doesn’t put herself first – she tries to find the middle ground, work with people and still find time for herself. What was interesting I thought is how she was hiding she was in her first trimester – as when she first came on scene in front of Ethan and her parents, I was half expecting Grace to be far enough along to be ‘showing’ and thereby, raised eyebrows would have been on Ethan. Mostly as they had been separated for awhile now and he would be instantly surprised by her condition. Though, this isn’t how it came about and as she isn’t showing outright, the baby was as secreted in her heart as it had been at conception!

There isn’t anything quite like a small towne where everyone knows what is happening before it actually happens! Such is the case as we cheekily get a purview of the kind of life Ethan would have if he wanted to stake a claim to come back home, live in his hometown and actually find that these neighbours of his wouldn’t mind what his finances said, they only wanted to support a Vet they could personally rally behind to do a job they felt was being left undone by their current in-towne Vet. For Ethan, it was a bit of a wake-up call to how many food centered invitations you could accept in a small space of time and still feel as if you were accomplishing something you never set out to do once you were home. I had a good chuckle of a laugh over how no one who called him cared if he was licensed and only wanted to have a conversation with him ‘friend to friend’.

As we shift through this installment – we gather more questions than answers about Big E – he’s this elusive character threading in the background of the series, even though I realised in the first story he’s the catalyst of the changes in the Blackwell brothers lives, the hardest part is finding rationalisation. I had a sneaking feeling Grace’s parents were going to be understanding when it came time for her and Ethan to finally have their heart-to-heart conversation. The way she is herself you can tell a bit about how she was raised and the kind of parents she had. It would have felt much more awkward if this had been written in a very stereotypical way; I was so thankful Webb took this route instead!

OOh and just as I had hoped – we get more insight into Big E himself right at the ending of the novel – I am always full of big smiles from reading this series! The ways in which the characters are drawing closer together, re-affirming their own life goals and dreams whilst the balance of one family’s future is still slipping in and out of the safety zone – there is an overwhelming uplift to read the Blackwell Brothers series! You come for the heartache, the family drama and the budding relationships but what stays with you the most is the enduring nature of the characters who populate the series! This is there story – where each new installment is a delightful new piece of the puzzle which knits out their legacies!

-quoted from my review of The Rancher’s Rescue

Return of the #BlackwellBrothers:

The Rancher's Twins

The Rancher's Rescue

TheRanchersRedemption

TheRanchersFakeFiancee

The Rancher's Homecoming

The Rancher’s Twins by Carol Ross → August 1st
The Rancher’s Rescue by Cari Lynn Webb → September 1st
The Rancher’s Redemption by Melinda Curtis → October 1st
The Rancher’s Fake Fiancée by Amy Vastine → November 1st
The Rancher’s Homecoming by Anna J. Stewart → December 1st

The Rancher's Redemption
Subtitle: Return of the Blackwell Brothers
by Melinda Curtis
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Heartland Fiction, Ranches & Cowboys, Western Fiction, Western Romance

Places to find the book:
Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1335633811

Also by this author: Montana Welcome
Also in this series: Series Spotlight w/ Notes: Return of the Blackwell Brothers, The Rancher's Twins, The Rancher's Rescue, The Rancher's Fake Fiancee, The Rancher's Homecoming, Series Spotlight w/ Notes: Return of the Blackwell Brothers

Published by Harlequin Heartwarming
on 2nd October, 2018
Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)
Pages: 384

Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin

& #ReturnOfTheBlackwellBrothers

About Melinda Curtis

Prior to writing romance, award-winning, USA Today Bestseller Melinda Curtis was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty. After grabbing her pen (and a parachute) she made the jump to full-time writer. A hybrid author, Melinda has over 60 titles published or sold, including 40 works to Harlequin and five to Grand Central Forever, mostly sweet romance and sweet romantic comedy. One of her books – Dandelion Wishes – was made into a TV movie. She recently came to grips with the fact that she’s an empty nester and a grandma, concepts easier to grasp than movies made from her books or jet-setting on a potty.

(Biography updated: November, 2020)

Posted Saturday, 29 December, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Contemporary Romance, Farm and Ranching on the Frontier, Indie Author, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Western Fiction, Western Romance

Blog Book Tour | “Starving Hearts” and “Never Past Hope” by Janine Mendenhall

Posted Friday, 14 December, 2018 by jorielov Heritage Beacon Fiction, Janine Mendenhall, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, Never Past Hope, Starving Hearts, Triangular Trade Trilogy 0 Comments

After a difficult year for [personal health & wellness] this 2018, I began anew this Autumn – selecting the stories to resume where I left off featuring the Romance & Women’s Fiction authors I am discovering to read whilst highlighting a story by the author I am chatting with during #SatBookChat. Every (forthcoming) Saturday will feature a different author who writes either Romance or Women’s Fiction – wherein I concluded the year of hosting @SatBook during October & November featuring special guest authors whose stories I have either read, were reading or had hoped to read in the future if their newer releases. Going forward, the reviews on Saturdays might inspire the topics in the forthcoming chats or they might be directly connected to the current guest author.

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. 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.

I received a complimentary copy of “Starving Hearts” direct from the author Janine Mendenhall in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read “Starving Hearts” & “Never Past Hope”
and why life didn’t seem to want to give me a break in order to read them:

I have penchant for reading INSPY Fiction – I’ve been a hybrid reader of mainstream and INSPY Fiction since I was a young girl, finding myself attracted to both branches of literature, as to me they are two halves of a whole rather than two seemingly separate enterprises concurrently releasing titles each year. I try to keep a ready eye out on #newtomeauthors of INSPY narratives I feel are either a) going to be uplifting to read or b) are going to give me a wicked good thrill of a read! This is why in July I had such a heap of fun talking about what I was reading during the Christian & Clean Fiction Reading Safari as I was reading authors who publish under the #LoveINSPIRED Suspense imprint from Harlequin! I read a bit outside that imprint as well – but what I loved most was the chilling reading atmospheres of the novels! They had just enough wicked thrills to leave me on the edge of my seat but they pulled back just ‘enough’ to where I felt more uplifted than fatigued reading them! I also loved the fact they were writ under an INSPY imprint and were dearly free of any other concerns I might have had due to content issues.

Shortly after the novels arrived however, my life turnt a bit upside down. To the brink where I lost too many hours to read both novels for the tour and had to reschedule my stop on the tour! My Mum came down with one of those naughty viruses going round – whilst my Dad had a medical emergency the week of the tour spending time in the ER where I consumed copious amounts of cookies (courtesy of the volunteer staff who watch over families/individuals waiting in ERs) and a few cuppas of coffee. I, tried to dodge the virus as best as I could but I was fatigued and exhausted by battling it which is why I was resting quite a heap in the week prior to the tour beginning. On top of all this, our car had a bad tire due to a road hazard and that became a slight nightmare in of itself to resolve which is why my hopes of reading both stories on Thursday (the 13th) flew out the window as I needed to help my parents transition through the week’s unexpected woes instead.

I was able to get back on my blog and settled into my reading chair late into the night on Thursday which in reality was really (early!) on Friday morning! Until, unfortunately life caught up with me – I had a migraine which felt dearly impossible to shake and it made reading extremely difficult. I took a long rest and by the time I woke up, I had to battle through heavy rains and high winds to help my parents with a few necessary errands late in the afternoon / early evening of Friday. I’m accustomed to rainshowers they go with the region, however, what I’m never experienced before are these kind of freezing rains as it proved to be too much for my system to handle! It was late on Friday night when I could finally resume my readings of Starving Hearts though sadly the virus was overtaking rather quickly! You really can catch a cold out in the rain! Or, at least in my case, if your trying to hope not to catch a virus its not the best way to avoid one! I threw in the towel when the heat in the house wasn’t enough to warm me and I felt like my whole body was in shock!

I know it sounds horrid – but what I really wanted to do was have a bit of normalcy in my life – just to get a chance to sit and think about characters and a story felt rather ideal as my emotions were a wreck as much as I was exhausted by life. You know how you just reach your fill and need some downtime? This is why I kept trying to read the stories whilst trying to get through life’s emergencies this week. Unfortunately, I had to take care of myself before I could read Starving Hearts in full and I do regret I basically missed the blog tour as a result.

Thereby, I’m trying to read these stories back to back – releasing my thoughts on behalf of Starving Hearts on Saturday (part of my #SaturdaysAreBookish feature) and posting my thoughts on behalf of Never Past Hope on Sunday/Monday (depends on how I feel) – due to this, I’ll be featuring a few snippets of insight from the rest of the tour below this review as Saturday is the day we’re celebrating the tour itself where everyone gets to have a light shine on their blogs for one final go round! I do apologise if you’ve been following the tour and wondered ‘where is Jorie?’ – let’s just say Jorie ‘had a week’ to end all weeks and is thankful she can have a relaxing bookish weekend!

Specifically what interested me though is the fact this is another release and author originating from a publisher I’ve come to trust as one of my favourites for INSPY Fiction! As you might remember my passion for the series Jennifer Lamont Leo is publishing with them! It is wonderful when you can find new stories by a publisher you’ve come to trust and look forward with anticipation for reading the next new author who might become another beloved favourite!

Starving Hearts
Subtitle: Triangular Trade Trilogy
by Janine Mendenhall
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Carol Award Finalist | Selah Award Finalist

Plagued by nightmares, Annette yearns to find her anonymous rescuer — the man who saved her life from a near deadly assault. Deep inside she is starving for companionship and a mutually respectful relationship. When Mr. Peter Adsley, an abolitionist pastor dealing with his own emotional baggage, agrees to a clandestine meeting, the event appears providential. But self-doubt, deception, and the schemes of a mutual enemy threaten to keep the pair apart. A phantom adversary will stop at nothing to win Annette’s dowry for himself, even if it means killing Peter.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781938499845

Published by Heritage Beacon Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 290

Published by: Heritage Beacon Fiction

an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (@LPCTweets)

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

Triangular Trade Trilogy:

Converse via: #INSPYbooks, #INSPY, #HistRom

About Janine Mendenhall

Janine Mendenhall Photo Credit: https://www.photosbycassie.com/

I love losing myself somewhere in time with Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice or a number of other classics like Jane Eyre and Redeeming Love. I cry over most things Nicholas Sparks (because they usually end sadly) and Amazing Grace,, both the movie and the hymn, because they lead to the Ultimate happily ever after.

Photo Credit: Photos by Cassie

Website | Blog | Goodreads | Instagram | LibraryThing

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Friday, 14 December, 2018 by jorielov in #SaturdaysAreBookish, 18th Century, Agnostic (Questioning & Searching or Unsure), Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Content Note, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Prism Book Tours, Questioning Faith as a Teen, Romance Fiction

#Blogmas | A Fantasy Christmas celebration feat. authors of fantastical realms | The Songkeeper Chronicles by Gillian Bronte Adams

Posted Sunday, 2 December, 2018 by jorielov Enclave Publishing, Gilead Publishing, Gillian Bronte Adams, Orphan's Song, Song of Leira, Songkeeper, Songkeepers Chronicles, The Steve Laube Agency 6 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

A wee short bit of time ago – there came into my Inbox a curious little invitation about celebrating #FantasyReads for a properly lit #FantasyForChristmas celebration headlining authors through Prism Book Tours. As [2018] became the year I reclaimed my inner #fantasynerd whilst co-hosting the first annual #WyrdAndWonder event – I decided to participate – sorting through the authors and sorting out which days I wanted to host their introductions to their fantastical worlds – however, this particular novelist (Ms Adams) snuck past me and when I saw a chance to listen to the first chapter of “Orphan’s Song” if you joined her author’s newsletter – wells, let’s just say, I didn’t hesitate to sign-on!

I’ve been keen on sourcing more audiobooks to fetch throughout the New Year [2019] as I continue to try to offset my readings in print with listening to worlds in audiobook! What happened was rather magical – as I personally *adore!* how the author is narrating her own story! So much so, I dared to hope she’s recorded the full audiobook adaptation and perhaps, one day I can listen to it in full!

I have the tendency to forget about ‘Christian Fantasy’ as its own unique niche of literature, as I generally look at Fantasy from a wider angle and lens – I’m more Tolkien than I could ever be a follower of CS Lewis – (for instance) and the novelist who cut my teeth into High Fantasy / Epic Fantasy worlds was Kate Elliott with her Crown of Stars Saga; a series I need to re-visit one year whenever I am able to sort out which book contains the books as I never did read it in full after having *loved!* the beginnings! A quirk I am sure most booklovers can attest as being something that happens whilst we’re reading & discovering new stories. We don’t always get to finish the series we’ve begun – which in of itself is one of the reasons I’m joining the Backlist Challenge in [2019].

I don’t limit myself to INSPY Reads even though I have been a hybrid reader of both INSPY and mainstream fiction since I first started sorting out my reading life as a nine year old fourth grader as that was the year I started to :love: reading despite feeling up til then reading was a bit of a thorn in my side. Most dyslexics I am sure share a similar affinity for reading until they sort out their own path into these incredibly layered worlds of imagination! I love moving between both sections of literature – there is something for me in both branches *but!* as said, I tend to overlook the Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Speculative realms as sometimes I feel they go a bit overboard for what I’m seeking – hence, why today, I was thankful to read the approach of Ms Adams publisher! They write #SpecFic both ways – for those who want ‘more’ centreing on INSPY narratives and those of us who like narratives which are influenced by Christianity but are not overly intensive to where the world building itself suffers. In essence, its the best of both worlds for me – as I love cleaner reads, non-explicit worlds and a layering of epic quests which Fantasy is renown to have inclusive!

Whenever I get the JOY of finding a new publisher whose writing the kind of stories I’m keen on reading, I love *celebrating!* that find with my readers! Therefore, as I was originally meant to kick-off my #FantasyForChristmas spotlights on the 2nd, before our schedule was moved forward by a day – I decided to treat myself to see what this series was about and found something rather extraordinary when I listened to the audiobook sampler!

Plus, I spied a gryphon – which brought back why I have been itching to start reading Jess Owen’s The Summer King series! It isn’t often I find myself intrigued by a Fantasy series such as this one and I am thankful to be part of the Prism blogger team to take part in this lovely showcase as December starts to arrive bringing with it a lovely respite of #awesomereads!

Published by: Enclave Publishing (@EnclaveBooks)

an imprint of Gilead Publishing

(owned by Steve Laube of The Steve Laube Agency)

Songkeepers Chronicles:

Orphan’s Song (book one) | add to LibraryThing

Published: 14th October, 2016 | ISBN: 978-1683700289

HER SOLO IS A DEATH SENTENCE

Deep within the world of Leira flows a melody that was sung at the beginning of time by Emhran, the Master Singer. Now it is broken, buried, forgotten. But in each generation, a Songkeeper arises to uphold the memory of the Song against those who want it silenced forever.

When Birdie first hears the Song coming from her own mouth, her world shatters. She is no longer simply an orphan but the last of a hunted people. Forced to flee for her life, she must decide whom to trust—a traveling peddler, a streetwise thief, or a mysterious creature who claims to know her past.

With enemies at her heels and war threatening to tear her homeland apart, Birdie soon discovers an overwhelming truth: the fate of Leira may hinge on one orphan’s Song.

Songkeeper (book two) | add to LibraryThing

Published: 15th April, 2016 | ISBN: 978-1621840695

WAR RAVAGES LEIRA AND THE SONG HAS FALLEN SILENT.

Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, and Ky, a street-wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety.

Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran’s fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?

Song of Leira (book three) | add to LibraryThing

Published: 5th June, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1683700869

THE SONG BIDS HER RISE TO BATTLE.

Reeling from her disastrous foray into the Pit, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, retreats into the mountains. But in the war-torn north, kneeling on bloodstained battlefields to sing the souls of the dying to rest, her resolve to accept her calling is strengthened. Such evil cannot go unchallenged.

Torn between oaths to protect the Underground runners and to rescue his friend from the slave camps, Ky Huntyr enlists Birdie’s aid. Their mission to free the captives unravels the horrifying thread connecting the legendary spring, Artair’s sword, and the slave camps. But the Takhran’s schemes are already in motion. Powerful singers have arisen to lead his army—singers who can shake the earth and master the sea—and monsters rampage across the land.

As Leira falters on the verge of defeat, the Song bids her rise to battle, and the Songkeeper must answer.

Converse via: #FantasyForChristmas, #FantasyNerd and #EpicFantasy

About Gillian Bronte Adams

Gillian Bronte Adams is a sword-wielding, horse-riding, wander-loving fantasy author, rarely found without a coffee in hand and rumored to pack books before clothes when she hits the road. Working in youth ministry left her with a passion for journeying alongside children and teens. (It also enhanced her love of coffee.) Now, she writes novels that follow outcast characters down broken roads, through epic battles, and onward to adventure. And at the end of a long day of typing, she can be found saddling her wild thing and riding off into the sunset, seeking adventures of her own (and more coffee).

Posted Sunday, 2 December, 2018 by jorielov in #blogmas, Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Indie Author, Prism Book Tours

Blog Book Tour | “A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal” (Book One: The Sweetheart Ranch) by Cathy McDavid a selection of #Harlequin Heartwarming

Posted Wednesday, 14 November, 2018 by jorielov A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal, Cathy McDavid, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming, The Sweetheart Ranch 2 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. 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.

I received a complimentary copy of “A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal” direct from the author Cathy McDavid in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Cathy McDavid (via her author’s blog):

I feel especially blessed to have started reading Harlequin Heartwarming titles through hosting for PRISM over the past year – hard to believe I haven’t been hosting for them longer than that as I have found so many wonderful authors who are writing for Harlequin as a result of hosting their tours. One thing is for certain – I am finding Contemporary Romance authors I can appreciate reading through Harlequin’s imprints inasmuch as Western Romance authors as well! I have noticed a slight leaning towards the Westerns, as I have a personal preference for Western Fiction, Cowboys & Ranches and anything set where the skies erupt over open range! The kind of place a girl can ride a horse and feel a certain layer of freedom in having an endless path to ride!

As I’ve been hosting Heartwarming authors, I’ve also noticed that there seems to be a disconnect in marketing as Ms McDavid was not the only Heartwarming author voicing her concerns over how the line is marketed to readers. I’ve been a bit puzzled by this as despite all readers having some authors and stories resonate with them moreso than others, there are now two Harlequin imprints I can attest as to drawing my eye into their stories on a seriously regular basis: #LoveINSPIRED Suspense and the Heartwarming Romances!! I am hopeful it is only a matter of time before the momentum picks up and more readers will find what these writers are writing! Blessedly they also have a Heartwarming Blog!

For starters, although I read a heap of Romances & Women’s Fiction stories (hence why I host @SatBookChat on Saturdays on Twitter) – I do have to admit, I love relationship-based romances where the romance is gentler, sweeter and mostly on the cleaner side. I don’t mind a bit of extra heat round the edges, but I’m not a fan of overt descriptive sensuality either – from the notes I leave on the reviews where stories cross a certain line of tolerance for my own readerly sensibilities. I think this is why these two Harlequin imprints tend to have a lasting impression on me the most – I would also say the Love Inspired Historical imprint but it was discontinued for reasons I’m still trying to sort out even though I’ve read massive articles and tweet *threads about which imprints were dissolved recently at Harlequin.

I have a similar outlook really about it all to Ms McDavid – celebrate the here and now, fiercely support the authors you love reading and try to encourage other readers who love the same stories to take a chance on someone you read yourself and enjoyed reading. That is honestly the best way to ‘market’ a book – good ole’ fashioned IRL social communication – if you can gush and love on a book, odds are in favour someone else is going to feel curious and want to read the book themselves! At least, this is something I’ve found to be true – both IRL and online, through my blog and my Twitter feeds.

I pulled up the author’s blog getting the chance to know Ms McDavid a bit on a personal level and finding several of her posts rather enjoyable! The one about how she addresses giving away free copies of her novels (read: her author copies) is charmingly heartwarming in of itself! I also felt a bit sad to once again hear about the publishing travails of offering free ebooks to readers, as sadly most of the authors I personally love reading are either a) Digital First authors or b) authors who release across platforms and always include ebooks before they seek out audiobooks.

A good case in point of how I try to offset the fact my purchasing budget is on the smaller humbling side of the ledger is how I make regular purchase requests at my local library. This year alone they’ve blessed me with many titles I’ve requested and I am forever grateful as they allowed me to get introduced to authors who were either new to me or were writing another story in sequence of a past work. For instance, I have a blog tour coming up for the second book in a series, I opted to request the first and it was accepted to where I can read the first novel ahead of the second I am reviewing for a blog tour. In other cases, I might request previous releases of authors I discover on blog tours (ones I host or tours I follow by other bloggers) or authors I discover on Twitter.

One note for authors who are trying to get books in front of more readers – I have honestly crossed paths with more authors I will be reading and following their careers for the rest of my readerly life due to blog tours than I was able to discover on my own prior to becoming a book blogger. And, not just blog tours directly – as I’ve crossed paths with writers on Twitter as well, and by becoming active in the book blogosphere and chatting on Twitter in bookish chats or finding authors as we all find each other on the #bookish side of Twitter – has been a way forward for me to seek out the authors writing the stories I most desire to find on my bookshelf! It has increased the selections for me and has widened my reading life. I used to seek out a lot of stories before I blogged/tweeted – but those authors who have either gone on Twitter and/or have participated on blog tours – I’m telling you, I am grateful to each of you, as it led me to your STORIES.

I’m uncertain why most ebooks go for .99 cents when the profit margins are extremely short for authors as it were – I hope one day the price for the ebook will match the work the writers are putting into their stories and become a living wage rather than a discount for readers who have huge storage files of ebooks they’ve never read.

Counter to this, I loved reading about her resilience in book world and how she started to carve out her own path after imprints dissolved. Publishing is similar to life – you have to adapt to the circumstances which arise and do the best you can to set your attitude to where you are not defeated but can find a way to champion the moment, seek out the best new route of transition and find a tomorrow of possibilities.

Ms McDavid has a great blog with an insightful voice threading through it – I encourage you to visit with her and see for yourself the pearls of wisdom she is disclosing. She also has a comedic side to her blogging voice – one which made me think I might find it within her novels as well! Do remember though – she cuts the comments off on older blog posts, which is why I posted my reactions here as her blog was limited in where you could respond. I presumed that was for spam issues as most bloggers do that whereas I do not as I moderate the comment threads on Jorie Loves A Story.

A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal
Subtitle: The Sweetheart Ranch
by Cathy McDavid
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

At a magical time of year…

Can a cowboy help falling in love?

For single dad Owen Caufield, living and working at Sweetheart Ranch for a month is the perfect change of pace. While the cowboy turned wedding officiant can now spend more time with his children, Molly O’Malley, his new boss, is less thrilled. A wedding ranch isn’t the best place for three rambunctious youngsters. But amid the chaos—and the coming holidays—it may be the best place to fall in love…

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Heartland Fiction, Ranches & Cowboys, Western Fiction, Western Romance

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335633873

Also by this author: The Cowboy's Perfect Match, The Cowboy's Christmas Baby, Her Cowboy Sweetheart (Spotlight w/ Notes), Her Cowboy Sweetheart

Also in this series: The Cowboy's Perfect Match, The Cowboy's Christmas Baby, Her Cowboy Sweetheart (Spotlight w/ Notes), Her Cowboy Sweetheart

Published by Harlequin Books, Harlequin Heartwarming

on 6th November, 2018

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)

Pages: 384

Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming,
an imprint of Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

The Sweetheart Ranch series:

A Cowboy’s Christmas Proposal (book one)

The Cowboy’s Perfect Match (book two) | forthcoming: May, 2019

This series is evolving into a proper quartet – there are four books planned!

Unsure if there is a connection, but previously there were three novels set in Sweetheart, Nevada under the imprint: American Romance (by Harlequin) – I was wondering if the new series was a bridge between her current stories & this series. It could also be a coincidence in choice of titles – as just as I opened the first chapter I noted the new series takes place in Arizona and not Nevada! Still though, I know I’ll be fetching copies of this series as it is written with a similar venue and subject in mind at its heart!

The Rancher’s Homecoming (book one)

His Christmas Sweetheart (book two)

Most Eligible Sheriff (book three)

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin Heartwarming

About Cathy McDavid

In the third grade, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathy McDavid made it her goal to read every Black Stallion book ever written. Who knew such an illustrious ambition would eventually lead to a lifelong love of all things western and a career writing contemporary romances for Harlequin? With over 1.2 million books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll.

An “almost” Arizona native, she’s married to her own real-life sweetheart, whom she re-met a few years ago at a high school reunion. Her grown twins are out on their own and finding their happily-ever-afters. In 2014, Cathy retired from the corporate world to write full-time. She now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting a bronc, and sweeping gals off their feet. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.

Posted Wednesday, 14 November, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Contemporary Romance, Indie Author, Life Shift, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Small Towne Fiction, Sweet Romance, Western Fiction, Western Romance