Tag: Then Came You

Blog Book Tour | feat. The Bradford Sisters Romance series by Becky Wade, especially “Then Came You” (prequel, audiobook), “True to You” (book one) and “Falling for You” (book two)

Posted Sunday, 17 June, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , 0 Comments

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

Acquired Book By: I started hosting 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 enquired 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 “Falling for You” direct from the publisher Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. The Digital Audiobook copy of the novella “Then Came You” was a self-purchase of my own which I added to my personal digital audiobook library. The copy I read of “True to You” was borrowed via my local library. My ruminations on behalf of the audiobook novella and the first book in the series are being shared for my own edification and to help introduce my readers to the series overall whilst sharing my own journey in its discovery. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On the joy of finding a new INSPY Contemporary novelist I love reading,

within the *prequel!* novella ‘Then Came You’ | #BradfordSistersRomance series

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I truly have been thankful for my discovery of reading this series by Ms Wade, as I journalled my initial reactions to listening to the *prequel!* audiobook on Twitter, sharing the following:

As you can gather, I hadn’t connected the dots – nor the sequencing of the series – in essence, if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook (don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my reactions soon!) I might have missed the beautiful back-story of how this series centres on one man’s joyful presence as a father to three darling daughters! They are the ‘Bradford Sisters’ who populate the series, as the novella (Then Came You) explores what happened to Garner Bradford, how he fell in love with parenthood and how he took a rather unconventional approach to both marriage & becoming a Dad!

Initially, it took me a bit to get my bearings within the novella, as this was writ within the style of narrative I personally *adore!* called: Epistolary, where the main format alters points of view from a variety of sources. The traditional approach are through letters (postal mail), postcards & telegrams as I have found this style most present in Historical Fiction. However, in Contemporary story-lines with the advantage of technology, you can see these perspectives explored using a variety of different entries of thought from cell phones, voicemail, text messages, chat interfaces, email exchanges whilst still pulling together a feel for the traditional by augmenting the ‘tech’ with passages from diaries, journals or the letters themselves.

Ms Wade opted to use a journalling approach to allow Garner to get his thoughts down onto paper whilst she used the letter-writing approach to anchour the thoughtful musings of Kathleen into the context of the story-line as well. Supplemented by  phone calls (ie. voicemail or live calls), official office memos or notes used for personal correspondence and other variables, you have to get your ‘head’ to wrap round how this novella unfolds in an audiobook narration. Thus, there are some prompts to help you navigate it which I found to be the best way to segue into the story itself, as those prompts helped me realise what was ‘shifting’ in and out of focus. I would presume the shifts would be as easy to read in the print edition as generally speaking that’s where publishers get creative by showing the differences in straight dialogue exchanges and background narrative by selecting certain bits of text to ‘stand-out’ from the rest.

Either way, if I had to choose how I wanted to first ‘greet’ this series, I would hands-down pick the novella audiobook!! By the time I reached the concluding chapters, I was so emotionally taxed and committed to the characters, I felt this true ache in my heart just to *know!* the ending! You truly are on the edge of your soul listening to this story unfold – due to the circumstances contained within it but also, the heart-pulse of watching a relationship build through the aftermaths of how sometimes life doesn’t quite go according to plan. In truth, I felt like I had found a new beloved INSPY Contemporary novelist I could enjoy reading for years to come which is why I capstoned my notes on Twitter by saying the following:

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Sunday, 17 June, 2018 by jorielov in 21st Century, Adoption, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Child out of Wedlock, Clever Turns of Phrase, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Debilitating Diagnosis & Illness, Disabilities & Medical Afflictions, Domestic Violence, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Family Drama, Family Life, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Fly in the Ointment, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Library Love, Life Shift, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Passionate Researcher, Prism Book Tours, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Siblings, Single Fathers, Single Mothers, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Small Towne USA, Social Services, Sweet Romance, Terminal Illness &/or Cancer, The Writers Life, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Unexpected Pregnancy, Washington, West Coast USA, Women's Fiction, Women's Right to Choose (Health Care Rights), Women's Rights, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, Writing Style & Voice

#AudiobookMonth | #iLOVEaudiobooks – June is the perfect time for me to resume my #AudioReads and dig into more #audiobooks!

Posted Saturday, 2 June, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

June is Audiobook Month banner created by Jorie in Canva.

You know I’m going to be stalking #audiobookmonth’s tag ALL of JUNE!

Along with the following: #iLOVEaudiobooks + #loveaudiobooks

+ #JUNEisAudiobookMonth | which tags are your favourites!?

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I attempted to participate in #AudiobookMonth last year, though due to the detriment of the weather and a nauseatingly brutal allergy season (ie. Spring!) – I don’t remember progressing very far along with my efforts! This year, I’m doubling down – mostly as I have more reliable connectivity this year to keep blogging and listening to digital audiobooks even whilst mother nature chooses to wreck havoc in our lives!! I’ll thankfully not find it nearly as jarring to be *bounced!* off as long as I would have been had we not resolved this one particular issue *ahead!* of Summer! (a girl has to love her Mum!) (ie. Mums are seriously resourceful!)

Whilst most of my focus is going to be the audiobooks I’ve either accepted for review consideration by publishers and/or authors OR adopted audiobooks I’ve accepted for review – I am also going to be focusing on the audiobooks I’ve personally purchased, audiobooks I’ve borrowed through my local library or audiobooks I’ve had the pleasure of winning in a bookaway! This has definitely become my year of re-queuing the audiobooks I’ve been wanting to listen and discover whilst celebrating how much audiobooks have meant to be as a migraineur! (you might have noticed this term on my Twitter profile)

I have a few audiobooks on CD – most of the audiobooks I’ve been listening to since [2016] have been digitally available – either for review purposes or borrowing through my libray’s OverDrive network. I appreciate both options, as despite having a penchant for collecting audiobooks on CD – I realise the digital side of the ledger is what is helping most readers discover the joy of listening to the stories as they become insanely portable! The irony there is – I actually listen to audiobooks the old fashioned way, but then, you must know by now, I am rather an old fashioned kind of gal!

My main goal for JUNE is to simply enjoy my arrivals and departures within these audiobooks – taking long gaps of absence from reading #printbooks and remembering not to overly stress about the distances between receiving a few of these selections for review and today. Sometimes we all strive to do the best we can and if we fall short, we’re eventually given a second chance at redemption.

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The audiobooks I am focusing on first & foremost are the audiobooks I’ve received for review consideration. Including three I had trouble getting into last year – two of them are by one of my favourite audiobook publishers:

Post Hypnotic Press | @Post_Hypnotic | Site

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Greenwillow by B.J. Chute, narrated by Ann M. Richardson

→ with a length of 6 hours & 44 minutes

I have an affinity for poetic story-lines and small towne fiction stories – this title was recommended to me by the publisher, as I had quite literally finished my listenings of their adaptation of a beloved series of mine: Anne of Green Gables! (see also Review)

This was right ahead of Autumn [2017] which would become a rather adverse and arduous season for my family to shift out of and come through the other side. In fact, the year ended on a hard note whilst the New Year began on rocky footing. It wasn’t until the end of February where the adversities first sprung in Autumn would start to recede – if my health hadn’t taken a turn in early Spring [2018] the first thing I had wanted to focus on were these audiobooks – as I missed my time spent with their narrators and of feeling rather enlightened for the journey they encourage me to take whilst enfolded in their narrations!

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The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet, narrated by Heather Henderson

→ with a length of 7 hours & 24 minutes

I happen to love introspective, literary and philosophical stimulating stories which is why I think I was recommended to listen to this particular audiobook. I had previously had the joy of discovering the incredible versatile talent of Ms Henderson whilst listening to her adaptations of the quirky and lovable memoirs of Betty MacDonald (see also Review).

You could say, I had a rather banner year in [2017] listening to the collective works by this publisher – which is why it saddened me I couldn’t close the year listening to their stories – however, sometimes you have to be honest with where you are and the burdens your facing. For me personally, I was in the wrong frame of mind to even contemplate the themes within ‘The Curve of Time’ & ‘Greenwillow’ respectively – ergo, I pushed my listenings forward, hoping the Autumn & Winter would lead me to a better Spring. Ironically or not, it was Summer I had to wait for to feel as if I could take a full breathe of relief from the woes of my heart and mind, to where listening to thought-provoking stories such as these could be a wonderful respite of joy intermixed into my regular wanderings!

To be able to listen, tweet and celebrate Post Hypnotic Press during #AudiobookMonth is a true joy for me, as I am always hopeful other audiobook listeners will start to discovery the wicked awesome quality they are producing & the dedication they have to both the stories and the production behind bringing them to life!

They truly are an inspiring publisher for those of us who are properly addicted to ‘listening’ to the stories which excite us to be heard!

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Secondly, I can finally soak my ears inside the first chapter of Bonnie & Clyde as told through the literary lens of Ms Jenni L. Walsh! I have been sitting on my audiobook copy of ‘Becoming Bonnie’ for as long as I have the lovely audiobooks from Post Hypnotic Press! Time to bring all three out for a listening feast of bookish joy!

Becoming Bonnie by Jenni L. Walsh, narrated by Susan Bennett

→ coming in at exactly 12 hours!

This is the first half of a duology, as ‘Side by Side’ unfortunately released before I could listen to the first half – the sequel has the same narrator (*claps hands*) and comes in at 11 hours and 39 minutes! This releases on the 5th of June, 2018!

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I had the joyful pleasure of featuring the author on Jorie Loves A Story blog ahead of receiving the audiobook – not just once, but twice! You can read both posts: Pub Day Q&A and extracts from the text of ‘Becoming Bonnie’ in case you want to gleam more about why Ms Walsh approached this particular woman of history and why it became a passion project of hers to tell an authentic story on behalf of ‘Bonn’.

I grew up realising the bare bone facts about ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ – how could any GenX girl not? Including the fact, my Mum had seen the rather horrific biopic of theirs which led to more than one interesting discussion in our home over the years! Through my conversations with Ms Walsh whilst putting together the showcases on my blog, I learnt more about the ‘real history’ between Bonnie & Clyde – not all the pertinent bits, mind, as the author wanted me to have enough ‘flavour of curiosity’ ahead of listening to the story itself – but to the extent, I re-broached the convo with my Mum and we found that sometimes, even the people in History you feel you know enough about still have a few surprises to share!

This is one reason I am thankful our paths crossed – as Ms Walsh found me, not the other way round – she is one of the #HistFic authors I am happy to know who is giving me stimulating entreaties into the historic past through the eyes & lives of strong women who have extraordinary tales still left for us to read and feel as if we’ve drawn closer to their ‘living truth’ than we ever could have whilst they were alive!

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Rounding out the lovely audios for review consideration, is a selection narrated by Jake Urry – this time in the genre of Paranormal Ghost Story with a Science Fiction Adventure on the side!

The Tesla Gate (Book No.1 of the Tesla Gate series) by John D. Mimms

→ coming in at 8 hours and 15 minutes

The only sad bit to relay here is the author went in a different direction with the rest of the series in audio – therefore, as much as I might eventually come to love this selection, I won’t be able to continue listening to a) the series and b) the lovely Mr Urry narrating it! The reason I’ll treat this as a ‘one-off’ rather than series is I’ve sampled the next narrator and I’ve determined it was a mistake to switch-out Mr Urry – not because he’s a top favourite, (although one could argue bias, yes!) but because I firmly believe there are some narrators who are well-fitted to a role and there are others, I fear are ill-suited.

Everyone hears stories differently – similar to how we read them – what appeals to me, might not appeal to someone else and vice versa. Such is the way – the reason I was most keen on listening to this particular story is because I was craving some Sci-Fi & who doesn’t want to see a threading of Ghosts & the Paranormal?! I mean, is that even a choice you have to ruminate over before *accepting*!?Okay, maybe a slight bit in case it becomes too intensive to get through – but everything I read about this particular title tracked well, from listeners to the sampler – I was happily diving straight-in dear hearts!

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Don’t be surprised to see me listening to more Mysteries of Suspense whilst I also read the same thematic in the stories I have in print! I have a lot of lovelies this JUNE to appreciate which will give me a wicked thrill to be locked inside!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • #AudiobookMonth
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Posted Saturday, 2 June, 2018 by jorielov in #AudiobookMonth, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event

Series Spotlight | The Bradford Sisters series by Becky Wade a new INSPY novelist Jorie is itching to dive into reading this weekend!

Posted Thursday, 10 May, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Stories in the Spotlight banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I was planning a completely different post today to share with you on the ‘Falling for You’ blog tour – wherein, I am having the pleasurable JOY of *discovering!* a #newtomeauthor of #INSPYRomance! Per my 5th Blogoversary post this year, you might already be properly aware of my admiration, love & passionate addiction to reading INSPY Fiction – as well as how I have noticed my heart is wandering back through the Contemporary door of INSPY moreso than mainstream (of late) due to what has become inclusively included across the markets.

I only received my copy of ‘Falling for You’ earlier this week, thinking I had enough time I could put aside to read both this lovely novel & the stories which precede it – as I hadn’t realised at the time I joined the blog tour, this is a series in-progress! Let me share with you some wonderfully wicked news before I explain why I am spotlighting a series I am so very keen to be reading! One of the things I appreciate about publishers today, is the ability to understand some of us are still traditional readers – meaning, when they seek to publish novellas or shorts interconnected to series, the beauty for us who read traditionally in either print or audiobook (or a combination therein, like I do) it’s a sweet joyful moment of happiness finding they have published these lovely additional stories into a format we can enjoy ourselves! I can’t read digitally due to chronic migraines – something my readers are aware of as whenever they start to cluster together, I am unable to be online as frequently as usual – or rather, why I was haphazardly online this Spring!

Imagine my joyfulness then seeing “Then Came You” – the *prequel!* novella for the Bradford Sisters Romance series was available on Audible! I’ve been sitting on a secret for awhile now, as I haven’t had the proper chance to make announcements on my blog – several posts for ‘The Sunday Post’ &/or ‘Ten Bookish Not Bookish Thoughts’ are in various stages of being ‘edited’ – therefore, I never had the pleasure of revealling for my 5th Blogoversary my Mum & Dad wanted to ensure I could continue listening to audiobooks by gifting me a membership to Audible! It is through this lovely gesture I was able to pick up a copy of the novella for this series! Isn’t that wicked awesome!? I can’t even believe it – generally I’m not in a position to ‘collect & gather’ novellas attached to series – with audiobooks being my jam at the moment as they help me ease back into reading after my debilitating migraines – this is a special treat of JOY!

I had it all planned out you see – I was able to acquire the audiobook novella, my local library (bless them!) had a copy of “True to You” (as apparently there are other readers of Ms Wade in my region who *love!* her stories – I can continue to read her books after the tour this Summer!) in print and I had quickly seen to blocking out time to curl into this series in a personal readathon where I could move in & out of the stories back to back throughout Wednesday – a day *ahead!* of my tour stop!

Of course, life doesn’t always go to plan – my parents needed me during the day on Wednesday and by the evening hours, I noticed I was not feeling very well. I admit, I have horrid Spring allergies to pollen – they truly wrecked my Spring 2017 whereas this year they were blessedly delayed until May, due to a longer ‘Winter’ – however, the humidity also makes me quite ill if the temperatures go north towards 100 degrees and if you combine this with the fact they are currently treating our water in the city – there was enough of a potboiler effect to render me dearly ill. So much so, I was up and down most of the night and early morning just struggling to both breathe and shift through the worst of bout of illness I was enduring. I even overslept which is why this Spotlight for the series is running a smidge late! (frowns) (sad eyes)

Looking forward – I’m going to be reading this series as we move into the weekend – curling into the audiobook and the novels with a joyful heart of joyful reprieve as the main reason I wanted to become a part of this lovely blog tour was to find a #newtomeauthor of INSPY Fiction – someone who writes the kinds of stories which I find personally uplifting to be reading whilst celebrating the realistic ups / downs of everyday living. I truly LOVE these kinds of stories, as I have my own curated reading focus on INSPY Lit if you visit my 70 Authors Challenge.

Whilst this isn’t the post I planned to share as I wanted to dig into the heart of the series – ruminating about the characters & the writing styling of Ms Wade – please forgive me dear hearts for spotlighting this series today until my eyes stop burning & itching and my general overall wellness resumes. I do look forward to sharing snippets of my progress on Twitter – look for those tweets upcoming ahead of the weekend – whilst *fingers crossed!* I am hoping I can reveal my thoughts on this series by the Grand Finale of the blog tour which is *Saturday!*, the 12th – a day ahead of Mother’s Day! Wouldn’t that be especially keen & lovely!?

Until then, I spied a lovely Q&A with Ms Wade I can share with you today ahead of my forthcoming review – as I truly am blessed & grateful to be on her blog tour – I simply had to postpone my entrance into her stories – these questions point a picture of how she approaches her writing, how passionate she is about the characters she is creating & how happy she is to share her writerly life with her readers! What a wonderful capstone to conclude a ‘Spotlight’ ahead of a reading adventure with a #newtomeauthor!

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Series Spotlight | The Bradford Sisters series by Becky Wade a new INSPY novelist Jorie is itching to dive into reading this weekend!Falling for You (Spotlight w/ Notes)
Subtitle: A Bradford Sisters Romance
by Becky Wade

Famously beautiful model Willow Bradford is taking a temporary break from her hectic schedule to work as the innkeeper at her family's small-town bed-and-breakfast. She was enjoying the peace of her hometown, Merryweather, Washington, right up until she came face-to-face with Corbin Stewart, the man she loves to hate. A thoughtful rule-follower by nature, Willow threw caution to the wind four years ago when she entrusted her heart to Corbin--and suffered the consequences when it all fell apart.

Former NFL quarterback Corbin is forceful, charming, and accustomed to getting what he wants . . . except where Willow Bradford is concerned. Unable to forget her, he's never stopped regretting what happened between them. When their paths unexpectedly cross again, he's determined to make her give him a second chance.

When a decades-old missing persons case finds Corbin and Willow working together, they're forced to confront their past and who they've become--and whether they can risk falling for one another all over again.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9780764219375

Also by this author: Then Came You, True to You, Falling for You, Sweet on You, Stay with Me

on 1st May, 2018

Published by: Bethany House Publishers (@bethany_house)

an imprint of Baker Publishing Group

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

The Bradford Sisters Romance series:

Then Came You (prequel novella) | Synopsis

True to You (Book One) | Synopsis

Falling for You (Book Two) ← latest release of the series!

The Christmas Heirloom (holiday novella) | Synopsis ← upcoming October, 2018!

Converse via: #Contemporary #INSPYRomance + #INSPY or #INSPYBooks

About Becky Wade

Becky Wade

Becky’s a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children.

When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. She loves writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance! She’s the Christy Award and Carol Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, and the Bradford Sisters Romance series.

Photo Credit: Creative Photography

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Posted Thursday, 10 May, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight, Contemporary Romance, Family Life, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love