Author: The Lit Bitch

Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Age of Decadence: A History of Britain: 1880-1914 by Simon Heffer

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Age of Decadence: A History of Britain: 1880-1914 by Simon Heffer

I don’t read a ton of non fiction or history books anymore. I mean I kind of got my fill when I was doing my masters in history. It’s not that I don’t love history or reading non fiction history books, but I have to been in the mood for one. I do love history books, but for the most part, I lean toward novels and fiction or mysteries. But ever once in a while a great history book catches my eye.

One of my favorite periods in history is that odd few years between the Victorian era and WWI. It was a time of elegance and riches the likes of which the world is unlikely to ever see again. At the start of the Great War, the world as we know it under went massive social change and it’s such an exciting time period for me.

That was one of the reasons why this book caught my eye. It pinpoints my favorite period in history and brings it directly into the spotlight. Simon Heffer’s 900+ page history book has received some high praise from readers. While it might be on the long side, it covers so much of British history in great detail…..social, artistic, and cultural history come together in this exciting new history book! I cannot wait to check out some of the topics he covers in this one. And it sounds like it’s a very readable history book rather than a dull text. I am really looking forward to this one!

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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr #16) by C. S. Harris

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr #16) by C. S. Harris

I absolutely love Sebastian St Cyr. I read the entire series last year in one long binge read. I adore the books and even if some of them have fallen into a bit of a formula, I still enjoy the characters so much. This one was high up on my TBR pile. I always set aside time in the early spring to read a new Sebastian mystery and I am never sorry about that.

The mysteries are intelligent, a little on the gritty side, and full of questionable characters all with their own motives. Going into this one, I was fully ready for just that and I wasn’t disappointed! But now that we are into book sixteen in the series, I am sure readers can’t help but wonder at what point will this series end? For me, I hope the answer is never but I also know that at some point all good things come to an end.

But until that day comes I am going to keep devouring the Sebastian mysteries and keep returning to my favorite characters. Some books in this series are able to be read as standalones and I think this one here could easily be read as a standalone if you want to check out the series but also don’t want to go back and read all the books to enjoy it!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: Indelible (Sean McPherson #1) by Laurie Buchanan

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Indelible (Sean McPherson #1) by Laurie Buchanan

I love books set in the Pacific Northwest. Having grown up here in Oregon, I always love reading books that set in this general region for a number of reasons. For one, I love when I recognize a town name or place I have been to before and I also love seeing my home region described by others.

When I saw this new mystery series from author Laurie Buchanan was set in the Pacific Northwest, I was eager to check it out. Buchanan hails from Idaho, a neighbor to my home state, and I cannot wait to check this novel out! Besides the setting of the book though, I was pleased to see that the summary sounded just as intriguing.

Early reviews have high praise for the fast paced action and riveting suspense. I am very interested in the character dynamics in this one for sure! After his partner is killed, our protagonist retreats to become a handyman of sorts in a remote area in the Pacific Northwest only to have a brief respite before being drawn back into the criminal world. I cannot wait to check this one out!

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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: To Love and to Loathe (The Regency Vows #2) by Martha Waters

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: To Love and to Loathe (The Regency Vows #2) by Martha Waters

When I read Martha Waters debut novel, The Have and to Hoax, I laughed out loud multiple times and absolutely fell in love with the characters and writing! Waters is funny and cheeky, I adored the banter and chemistry between the characters. Which is why this one went on my auto buy list! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one!

I picked this one up while I was waiting for my son’s soccer camp to finish and I was looking for something that was easy reading that would put me in a good mood and that I could put a bookmark in as needed and then pickup again later without feeling totally lost. That’s exactly what this book was for me. Some easy fluffy romance reading!

I enjoyed this one very much but I have to admit that I don’t know that it held the same magic as the first one in the series. That’s not to say that it was bad or anything, it was just different than the first one but it was still a fun read all the same! I would also recommend this one to Bridgerton fans. The first book in the series was on my top books to read after Bridgerton list and this one would easily make that list too.

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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson

One of my book club’s very first books was A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder last spring and we absolutely loved it and couldn’t put it down! So needles to say this book was our pick for March. While we all range in age from late forties to early thirties, the first YA mystery novel in this series kept us all inthralled!

We all had high expectations for this one too. I will say though, we do have people in the book club who haven’t read the first book so we were a little nervous picking this one. But most of the early reviews that I read noted that this was a separate mystery and having not read the first book wouldn’t ruin it for new readers. I beg to differ on that front.

While it might not be necessary to read the first book to enjoy this one, there were spoilers to the first book and the trial of Max is a carry over from the first book so I would say if you haven’t read the first book, do that before reading this one! For me, this book wasn’t as good as the first one, it was still a good mystery read and here’s why…..

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