Category: Book Critic

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

Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James

Many of you have noticed that I recently became completely obsessed with Simone St James’s novels. I started off with The Broken Girls (her latest novel out in March) and I was completely hooked on her writing style and plots.

I ordered all of her books from my library and haven’t looked back. I’ve shamelessly read them all in the matter of days. Some are better than others naturally but all have an interesting plot angles and intriguing mysteries, ghosts, and romances.

This book was actually on my radar well before I started reading her works. I love gothic novels, specifically Victoria Holt. This book came up on my Goodreads recommendations for fans of Victoria Holt.

So I put it in my TBR list and kind of forgot about it. This same book kept coming up when I read Anne Lee Huber’s Gothic Myth’s series, again I looked at it and thought ‘I need to read this one’ but again forgot about it until I discovered this author’s other works.  Continue reading “Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James” →

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

Review: The Storm King by Brendan Duffy

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Storm King by Brendan Duffy

Sometimes you pick up a book and you have zero idea what it’s about. That’s what happened to me with this book.

When this book came up for review, I got the pitch at the same time as I got the pitch for The Pearl Sister. For some reason, my brain combined the two books and I said yes to both of them. The title of this book sounded romantic and like it would be in the same vein as The Pearl Sister so why not read that one too.

Then The Storm King book arrived in my mailbox and I vaguely remembered agreeing to read it, having already read and reviewed The Pearl Sister though, I was literally scratching my head wondering what this book was in fact about. Continue reading “Review: The Storm King by Brendan Duffy” →

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

Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James

After finishing two of Simone St James novels in less than a week, I was thrilled when this one came into the library and was waiting patiently in the holds section for me to pick up.

I had read a lot of great reviews for this book and was eager to see what kind of ghost and romance this story would hold. It sounded a little different than The Haunting of Maddy Clare but still within the same wheelhouse of that style, so I was intrigued.

England, 1921. Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss.

Working as a paid companion to Alex’s wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning… Continue reading “Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James” →

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

Review: The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on Review: The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg

Sometimes I have a feeling about a book and where it might fall on my own reviewer scale, even before I pick it up and start reading.

This was one of those books. I thought it would be a book that was good but not great. Sometimes fictionalized accounts of historical figures lives can go very right or very wrong. I am not a big Jack London fan or a Harry Houdini fan….so I was ready to put this book firmly in the three star category before I even started the first page.

San Francisco, 1915. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. Continue reading “Review: The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg” →

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

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch9 Comments on Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James

I discovered Simone St James by happenstance this month. I have her latest novel The Broken Girls to review in March–side note, order this book now, it’s fantastic.

After reading The Broken Girls, I was so in love with her prose and style, that I picked up all of her novels to read as soon as possible! The first one to come into my library was The Haunting of Maddy Clare so I picked it up and almost read it in one sitting because it was that good!

Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis-rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts- has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Continue reading “Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James” →