Author: The Lit Bitch

Books, Reading

Interview: Cyanide and Sensibility (Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery #3) by Katie Oliver

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Interview: Cyanide and Sensibility (Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery #3) by Katie Oliver

Who doesn’t love Jane Austen? She wrote such classic romances and even today, readers can still relate to her stories and characters! I mean look at the 1990s classic movie, Clueless. While it had a modern twist, the Austen story of Emma shines through. Clearly Austen is a classic for a reason! This is one of the reasons that I love reading Jane Austen reimagining stories! This particular series takes both the Austen characters/stories and the author herself and make them into a mystery series!

I loved the idea of this series. Here the author takes Austen and her novels and give them a modern twist and then she throws in some murder to boot! I couldn’t be more excited to share a bit about this series and as a special treat, I have an interview with the author as well! So make sure you keep reading to see what she has to say about her new novel!

This series is only three books in but the author has written quite a few other books that readers of cozies should enjoy too! For me, my favorite Jane Austen novel is Sense and Sensibility so this book obviously appeals to me! I have not read the other books in this series but I have added them to my TBR list for later in the spring. If you are a Jane Austen fan you don’t want to miss this fun little series! Keep reading to get all the details of the latest cozy mystery with an Austen flare!

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Books, Reading

Book Blast: A Brilliant Match (The Earl’s Sisters #1) by Jennie Goutet

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Book Blast: A Brilliant Match (The Earl’s Sisters #1) by Jennie Goutet

I took a bit of a break from all my Regency romances this fall in favor of some spooky books for September and October! But now that things are becoming less spooky and more Merry, I am ready to pick up some fun Regency romances again and this one sounds like it’s going to be right up my alley! This particular author is new to me but it sounds like she has written a number of Regency romances but from a smaller publisher and it looks like she has quite a fan base established and I am super excited to share more about this upcoming series with you guys today!

I am excited to see that there are three books planned in this series with this one being the first! While I have not yet read this one I am planning on reading it here later this winter! It sounds like a nice refreshing read and early reviews are favorable with many reviewers praising the historical authenticity and details! If you are a historical fiction/romance fan you will know how important it is to get the details just right! I know for me I get distracted with glaring historical inaccuracies but I was happy to read that most readers found this book (as well as her others) to be authentic and charming!

If you love historical romances with the peerage that are clean, sweet, with the promise of a HEA then this might be a great read for you this upcoming winter/holiday season! I am so excited to share about this book today and want to know what’s even better? There is a giveaway happening that you can win a free copy over on my IG! Be sure to check it out and you could possibly read this one for free!

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

Review: A Class Inherited (A Matter of Class #6) by Susie Murphy

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Class Inherited (A Matter of Class #6) by Susie Murphy

The last few months have been REALLY challenging for me. I started a new job with a lot more responsibility and I have barely had time to sit down and collect my thoughts let alone read. I have been reading a lot of quick historical romances, especially throughout the summer and early fall. But let’s be real—the late Sumer and early fall are a nightmare for school administrators and teachers. So while I have been trying to find time to read here and there, I haven’t found a lot of time to share reviews on all the books I read but I have been staring reviews on the books I have enjoyed and felt deserved some special attention.

I am hoping now that we are getting into the late fall and into early winter, I will have a lot more time to share reviews on all my reads again! This blog has been such a great outlet for me especially during the different seasons of life. Not to mention I have discovered a TON of great new authors and books through my reviews! That’s how I found this lovely series by Susie Murphy! I have been reading this series since it was first released in 2018 plus over the years I have gotten to know Susie and she is a wonderful person as well as writer!

Every November I know that Susie will have a new installment to the A Matter of Class series and it’s one of the book series I look forward to and try to make adjustments to my schedules I can read her books! This summer and fall I have been scaling back on my reviews so I could focus on my new position at work, but I kept November mostly open so I could have time to read the next installment of her saga—-because yes at this point it’s gone from series to sage for me!

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

Review: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally

I am always on the look out for new historical fiction novels—it’s my favorite genre to read. I love history and any combo or history, romance, mystery, or standard historical fiction, is usually right up my alley. Like most genres, it’s saturated with new books on a regular basis. All promising to be ‘new and different’ but when you crack open the book it’s often ‘oh this again’. But that is one of the reasons I love the genre so much. I don’t always need ‘hot new different’ reads, sometimes I just need a good solid historical fiction novel (or any combo of historical fiction and it’s sub genres).

How do you break out of traditional historical fiction stereotypes though if you are a new author? What makes your book stand out and different that readers will want to read it though? For me—you write good solid characters! Characters are what make the stories! Sure the bones of the book sound familiar, but it’s the characters that make books! When someone asks you what stood out in Pride and Prejudice—-I bet 99% of you would NOT say the time period or setting—-I am SURE most of you would say Mr Darcy and Elizabeth!

I love reading different takes on classic troupes with standout characters which is one of the reasons this book stood out to me. On the surface it sounds like ‘just another historical fiction book’—-a young widow solves Agatha Christie style mystery in Regency England but what we got was a fund heroine even if the premise of the book sounded traditional and bland, this book was so much fun and I loved getting to know Lady Petra!

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

Review: Jane Austen and the Final Mystery (The Jane Austen Mystery Series #15) by Stephanie Barron

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Jane Austen and the Final Mystery (The Jane Austen Mystery Series #15) by Stephanie Barron

There is noting like coming into a series on the last book. I have seen many of the Jane Austen mystery books around the blog-o-sphere over the years and for whatever reason, I just didn’t connect that they were all part of a series. For example, I picked up Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas at a book store one day and then I saw Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron on a bunch of blogs when it came out so I immediately added to me TBR.

But I just didn’t connect that those books were all part of this fun little Jane Austen mystery series until l started reading this book! When this one came across my desk for review, I thought it sounded fun and yes I saw that it said ‘final mystery’ but I was thinking maybe it was only like 3-4 books in the series. Then I saw it was book 15 of the series and that’s how I discovered that there were a bunch of others in the series that I had already had my eye on for quite some time!

Even though I knew this book was 15 into the series, I still felt like I wanted to read it. Normally I would pass and do a feature on the book instead if I felt like I was too far behind in the series to appreciate the book and give it a fair review. However, I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and since I had added so many of the other books in the series to my TBR—I thought—why not!

Continue reading “Review: Jane Austen and the Final Mystery (The Jane Austen Mystery Series #15) by Stephanie Barron” →