Category: Book Critic

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

Review: Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay

I might be from Oregon, but I lived in Arizona for 10 years and I absolutely love the desert. I hate that more books aren’t set in Phoenix. This summer I was going to spend a month in Phoenix and I was really excited to read a book set in Phoenix that was also a romance! Needless to say I times my review for this book with my trip, I couldn’t wait to read this one.

I have read one of McKinlay’s books prior to this and I thought it was good so going into this desert setting book, I was hopeful that I would enjoy it and escape but also find a book that would capture the beauty and desert culture. The desert can be such a romantic place and I was super excited to see how the setting played into this one.

Reading this book went fairly quick. I picked it up and finished it on a matter of a couple of days and I liked it just fine but I don’t know that I loved it. I liked the enemies to lovers troupe but I just don’t know that it was as impactful as I was hoping it would be. But it was a nice quick read that left me feeling content and happy I read it but I would have liked to have something with a bit more something.

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

Review: It Takes Heart (Heart Resort #1) by Tif Marcelo

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: It Takes Heart (Heart Resort #1) by Tif Marcelo

This author has grown on me over the years. When I picked up one of her books I wasn’t sure what to expect but then I was completely lost in her stories and couldn’t wait to read more from her! One thing I noticed though was Marcelo writes a variety of stories. Not just women’s fiction but romance too. I was super excited to read this latest novel that was more contempo romance than women’s fiction.

Second chance romance isn’t really my favorite troupe but I was excited to see what Marcelo did with it in this book. One of the things that I also love about Marcelo’s writing is she incorporates her culture into the lives of the characters. Marcelo is Pilipino and many of her characters are also Pilipino and I just love how much interest that adds to the stories.

I am also excited to see this is part of a new series. I loved the setting and I am excited to see that we will get to return here and get to know more about the family perhaps in future books. If you are looking for a more contempo romance that has heart and culture then I think this will be a great read for you this summer! I know I enjoyed it!

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

Review: At Summer’s End by Courtney Ellis

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: At Summer’s End by Courtney Ellis

This book was my most anticipated book of the summer! The cover, the premise, swoon! Everything sounded so incredible! I couldn’t wait to dive into this one and I can tell you right now that I read it in a matter of days. I could have finished it in one siting but I breezed through it in just 2 days. It was so addicting and if you are a fan of historical fiction then you need to read this one. It boasts a unique romance, complex characters with a rich backdrop full of history and human rawness.

I am a huge fan of WWI historical romances and this should have been right up my alley for that reason alone, but I especially loved the ‘Beauty and the Beast meets Phantom of the Opera ‘ element to the story. But all of the amazing praise I have for this book was slightly tarnished by some of the issues between the characters. While I loved this one, I also felt a little conflicted about how the story unfolded and what kind of message it was sending to readers (more on that soon).

I want to say that I think readers should absolutely read this book without question. It’s well written, interesting, and romantic. But it isn’t without some issues.

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

Review: The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison

I had high expectations for this one. I loved the cover and I thought the premise of the story sounded promising not to mention I love historical fiction with romance so I thought this one would be one of my favorite reads of the summer. While I liked it, I don’t know that it lived up to me high expectations but I did like it and was glad I read it.

The 1920s are not necessarily my favorite time period in historical fiction but I liked the glamour that the time period brought to the story plus I liked how the author used that in this story. I will get into some more of that in my actual review but as for what attracted me to this one, I think the glamour of the cover and glamour of the description was what drew me in and made me say yes to this on.

I know that the 1920s are a big fan favorite in the historical fiction world so I think if you love the 1920s then no doubt you will love this book and not be able to get enough, but for me I had a hard time with some of the characters which is typically how I feel in general about books set in the 1920s. Now don’t get me wrong I love the fashion and glamour but it’s something about the party life style that I just can’t get behind.

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Review: Crazy about a Cowboy (Tying the Knot in Texas #3) by Dylann Crush

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Crazy about a Cowboy (Tying the Knot in Texas #3) by Dylann Crush

Every year my family and I attend the St Paul Rodeo for the 4th of July here in Oregon and every year after the rodeo I am dying for a cowboy romance! So this was the year that I was like ‘OK I need to read one’ and I reached for the closest cowboy romance I could find. I did a special feature on this book when it was first released and I thought—why not start reading it now?!

I don’t know that this was the cowboy romance that I was hoping for but it was sweet and a quick, easy read for sure. I picked it up just before I hopped on the plane for Arizona and thought it would be a nice little bit of fluff reading and that’s exactly what it was—fluff. But not in a bad way! Sometimes I need fluff to get me through stressful situations like flying with a toddler and being stuck in an airport with said toddler for 7 hours with a delayed flight! This was just the book I needed once I got on the plane!

I haven’t read anything by Dylann Crush before and I thought this was a sweet book that made me want to read more by her, especially in this series. I actually ordered the other two books in this series after reading this one because as much as I wasn’t sure about it at times—by the end I was in love with the characters and the hokey town of Ido Texas!

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