Tag: CenterStreet

Book Review | “A Place Called Hope” (Hope series, No.1) by Philip Gulley A small towne fiction novelist I’ve been curious about reading!

Posted Sunday, 31 July, 2016 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I am a new reviewer for Hachette Books and their imprints, I started by reviewing two releases by FaithWords, their INSPY (Inspirational Fiction) imprint of releases focusing on uplifting and spiritual stories which are a delight to read whilst engaging your mind in life affirming and heart-centered stories. I found Hachette via Edelweiss at the conclusion of [2015] and have been blessed to start reviewing for them.

I received a complimentary copy of “A Place Called Hope” direct from the publisher Center Street (an imprint of Hachette Book Group Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I wanted to read a Gulley novel:

I cannot recollect exactly when I discovered the Harmony series by Mr Gulley, but it was during my wanderings at my local library, a book or two from the series kept winking at me to read! Similar to the novels by Ms Whitson, I simply never had the pleasure of soaking inside his novels!

I can honestly say, the most enjoyment I have had in recent years is being caught up inside ‘small townes’ in the fictional worlds authors are treating me to visit! Townes like Cedar Cove (Debbie Macomber), Serenity (Sherryl Woods), Lambert’s Corner (Rosina Lippi), Skye (Jessica Brockmole), Soda Springs (Carolyn Steele), Coorah Creek (Janet Gover), Butternut Lake (Mary McNear), Henry Adams (Beverly Jenkins), Dickinson (Larry D. Sweazy) and serial mysteries that feel like small townes for how much interplay there is with repetitive characters by such authors as: Susan McDuffie, Anna Castle, Susan Spann, Catherine Lloyd, Susanna Calkins, Charles Todd, Tessa Arlen and Anna Lee Huber!

The reason I love small townes has been expressed many times over, but at the heart of what draws me inside small towne fiction is the quirkiness of how the stories are told and the eclectic harmony of how the lead characters are attempting to find their footing or be ever present to the needs of their neighbours and community. Small towne fiction stories are a slice of life that is a step outside the harried pace of our normal lives (unless we’re blessed to live in a small towne where everyone champions each other in unconditional support) where life is a bit easier to take in and where not everything has to be done at the speed of a clock ticking off moments as if they need to be registered somewhere!

I also like the different interpretations of small towne life and how for each community I visit in fiction, I am hoping there are at least ten composite communities out there somewhere that are reflective of the community togetherness that is inside the novel at hand! I find you can dig yourself happily inside a small towne novel (as I mentioned a few one-offs above) or a series (a treasure of a find!) with the glowing joy of knowing your respite inside it’s chapters is going to make you feel light with euphoric happiness for your journey! I suppose in many ways, reading #smalltown #fiction is one of my guilty pleasures as a reader, because I simply find myself put in such wonderful moods after reading them!

Who wouldn’t want an uplift of joy on their bookshelf?!

And, so dear hearts, this is why I wanted to finally read my first Gulley novel! The chance to laugh, the chance to smile and the chance to see what everyone had previously found inside the Harmony novels, as I had a sense that his wit and charm would continue to enthrall us in the Hope series! There is simply something quite keen about finding authors who are writing such realistic stories set in townes that we can all identify with and find readerly happiness in reading!

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Book Review | “A Place Called Hope” (Hope series, No.1) by Philip Gulley A small towne fiction novelist I’ve been curious about reading!A Place Called Hope

When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment.

Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife has found a new job at the library, his elder son is off to college, and the younger has decided to join the military once he graduates high school. Sam is contemplating a future selling used cars when he receives a call from a woman in the suburban town of Hope, Indiana.

It seems Hope Friends Meeting is in desperate need of a pastor. Though they only have twelve members, they also have a beautiful meetinghouse and a pie committee (Sam is fond of pie). But can he really leave his beloved hometown of Harmony?


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781455586882

on 19th March, 2015

Pages: 256

Published by: CenterStreet (@centerstreet)
an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. (@HachetteBooks) via Hachette Nashville

Formats Available: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

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Hope series:

A Place Called Hope by Philip GulleyA Lesson in Hope by Philip Gulley

Readers are mentioning Gulley’s writing style in relation to Karon’s Mitford series; although I never read about Mitford, my grandmother loved reading the series before she died. We shared a mutual love of small towne fiction, and I believe our shared joy in finding small towne fiction to curl up inside is partially why I continue to seek out more from this lovely section of literature. She might not be able to travel with me as I visit each ‘towne’ but I know she’s smiling at me from heaven, happy I continued my adventures seeking writers who know how to write about the nuances of ordinary life!

A Place Called Hope | No.1

A Lesson in Hope | No.2 | Book Synopsis

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Converse via: #INSPYbooks, #QuakerFiction & #INSPYfiction

+ use these two in combo: #SmallTown #Fiction

About Philip Gulley

Philip Gulley Photo Credit: Matt Griffith

PHILIP GULLEY, a Quaker pastor, has become the voice of small-town American life. Along with writing Front Porch Tales, Hometown Tales, and For Everything a Season, he is the author of the Harmony series of novels. Gulley lives in Indiana with his wife, Joan, and their sons.

Photo Credit: Matt Griffith

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Posted Sunday, 31 July, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), CenterStreet, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Equality In Literature, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Modern Day, Quaker Fiction, Quakers, Small Towne USA

#WWWWednesday No.7: A surprise #bookmail from Hachette Books, #bookjoy from Light Messages & introducing #BookAngelCate!

Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

WWWWednesday a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

  • What are you currently reading!?
  • What did you recently finish reading!?
  • What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

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To help introduce you to the books I’m reading, the Synopses link to Riffle.

If you’d like an alternative to GoodReads, I highly suggest trying Riffle*.

I’m still boggled by the fact my Riffle Lists have been viewed *21,824* times! I’ve only just started to curate the lists and embed them into my blog where I expand on why I created them, too! I have 18 Lists published out of 32 lists I’ve drafted! I am looking forward to revealling more of them this year!

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Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

What are you currently reading!? (Wednesday 1st June to Wednesday 8 June)

Personal Library & Local Library Reads

  • No Stone Unturned (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.2) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)
  • Stone Cold Dead (Ellie Stone Mysteries, No.3) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

And, the books I am reading for review:

(I fought off a cold this past week & carried over a few books) The lightning storms returning a bit earlier than expected dampened my readerly mood, too!

  • Almodis: the Peaceweaver by Tracey Warr (Synopsis)
  • Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis)

(The books I previously planned to read)

  • Along the Way by Jacqueline Kolosov (Synopsis)
  • #ChocLitSaturdays The Golden Chain (Charton Minster series, No.2) by Margaret James (see No.1) (Synopsis)
  • A Place Called Hope by Philip Gulley (Synopsis)
  • Almost a Millennium by Jeanbill (Synopsis)
  • A Sinner in Paradise by Deborah Hining (Synopsis)
  • Indy Reads Books (anthology) edited by M. Travis Dinicola & Zach Roth (Synopsis)
  • Scarecrow (edited by) Rhonda Parrish (Synopsis)

Non-Fiction Reads:

  • Einstein at Home by Friedrich Herneck (Synopsis)

Upcoming Blog Tours in June:

  • Heart of Stone (Ellie Stone Mystery, No.4) by James W. Ziskin (Synopsis) 7th June (review)
  • James W. Ziskin Author Guest Post will be featured on the 9th of June (guest post)
  • The Gilded Cage by Judy Atler (Synopsis) 17th June (review) and 15th June (interview)
  • TBA Gray Widow’s Walk (Gray Widow trilogy, No.1) by Dan Jolley (Synopsis) (review) (interview)

After meeting Ellie Stone for the first time within the pages of Styx & Stone this past week, continuing her story leading up to the fourth installment of the expanding series Heart of Stone will be wicked sweet for me! I love being able to continuing reading a series I have already taken a keen interest in devouring! I look forward to continuing to share my adventures on behalf of Ellie Stone in other words! I am not sure what to expect in the next three novels, as the first story had to end on such a sombering (but well timed) note – Ellie was going through a period of transition and I look forward to seeing where we pick-up the threads of where we immediately left off!

Almodis: The Peaceweaver was such an extraordinary blessing to receive as the publisher Impress Books found a way to give this American book blogger the sweet blissitude of reading her first Tracey Warr Historical novel! It was one of those moments in the twitterverse where you discover a new publisher you’re keen to read books from whilst finding authors who are writing the kinds of stories your seeking – it was a lovely exchange of joy on both sides! When I saw Almodis arrive by Post earlier this Spring, I could not wait to take up residence in the book!

A few titles this week are part of my backlogue and are reads I have wanted to get inside for quite a long while such as: Along the Way and Almost a Millennium! I started reading the first one on Thursday and had planned to post the review on Friday until a six hour stint of a severe lightning storm crashed into my area with such a fierce declaration of intentions, I spent those hours exploring ‘book photography’ whilst hoping this Summer is not a twin of last Summer’s nightmaric lightning storms! Oy. Thus, as I am posting this #WWWeds on Saturday in lieu of Wednesday as our weather patterns have been haphazard this week, I will be finalising my thoughts on behalf of ‘Along the Way’ as well!

Ever since I first picked up the Charton Minster series by Margaret James (see The Silver Locket) I have known I was going to appreciate the legacy of this series! Each new installment continues the story-line moving forward through the decades until the contemporary world emerges out of the historical past! It’s a war drama at it’s core of heart but it’s so much more than that! I will delight in seeing where everything ties together!

A Sinner in Paradise is written by my third author to discover via Light Messages – this is the Indie Publisher out of North Carolina whose publishing inspiring fiction with such hearty story-lines as to firmly etch the characters and their stories straight into your heart after you’ve left their presence! I find their stories to be transformative, encouraging and a true lift of joy to read about characters whose adversities in life are not keeping them down as they lean on their faith as they pull through the obstacles they face head-on! Such conviction and a propensity for emotionally compelling stories are why each time I sit down with a Light Messages novel I am full of happy expectation!

A Place Called Hope is the last of my original three selections by FaithWords, as I reveal today the next three I am reading on behalf of both FaithWords & CenterStreet imprints by Hachette Books!

I am going to be featuring the two anthologies back-to-back as I have been wanting to showcase Indy Reads Books and Scarecrow for awhile now! I felt those readers who love reading short stories in search of #newtomeauthors will appreciate the duality of the showcases, as they are both incredibly diverse in both tone, structure and setting for the stories included in each collection! Likewise, I am reading Einstein at Home to kick-off my non-fiction selections via Prometheus Books! A bit of a nod towards my #SciFiSummer readings as well! (Shh! more sci-fi is on the horizon towards the end of June!)

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

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Posted Saturday, 4 June, 2016 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, Books for Review Arrived by Post, Jorie's Box of Joy, WWW Wednesdays