Category: Book Critic

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

Review: A Peculiar Combination (Electra McDonnell #1) by Ashley Weaver

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: A Peculiar Combination (Electra McDonnell #1) by Ashley Weaver

I have really enjoyed Ashley Weaver’s Amory Ames books so when I saw she was coming out with a new lady detective series and with a heroine by the name of Electra (Ellie for short), I knew this was going to be a great, great read! Clearing my schedule, I added this one to my early summer reading list and I am so glad that I did!

The Amory Ames series has been fun and I have liked the books I have read, but this book felt so much more complete for some reason (I will get to my thoughts on that in a minute!). Historical mysteries are my favorites, especially when it includes a little romance between the murder and investigating. But as many historical fiction/mystery readers know, WWII and the Victorian era are saturated with books.

So the question becomes how does an author distinguish their new lady detective series? It’s a tough question, for me the thing that caught my eye about this one was the name of the heroine. I loved her flashy and memorable name, it conjured images of a brazen, bold heroine that I just couldn’t get out of my head. That was what made me pick this one up in the sea of WWII historical mysteries!

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

Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

A historical romance with pirates, sassy ladies, dashing heroes, assassins, and all the tea? Ummm yes yes yes please! I needed little persuading when it came to reviewing this one. I was so excited for this hot new historical romance and I cracked my ARC open instantly! This one has been on so many top anticipated lists this summer and clearly it was also on mine!

I am always looking for historical romances that have funny plots and snappy dialogues, not to mention charming heroes so this one sounded like a great place to start. But truth be told, I have been in a reading funk lately and I was hoping this would be the book that would pull me out of the funk. But as with many big hype books, there is always that fear that the book won’t live up to the hype. So I went into this one hoping it would live up to the hype, but also aware that it might not.

When I started this one, I was drawn in but also admittedly—–lost. Ok you ask—-lost in a good way or in a bad way? Well friends, that’s a complicated question.

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

Review: The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

This book has been high up on my TBR list for the better part of a year. I have been so excited to read it since I was part of the cover reveal last year and since then I received the coolest book package for this one and it only brought my eagerness to a fever pitch! One of the things that appealed to me so much about this one was its relevance and relatability especially for me as a mom.

Thanks to social media and over the top reality tv, the desire to create the ‘perfect photo op’ is at an all time high. When I had my son, I spent many a midnight hour scrolling mindlessly through Instagram and Facebook at all the perfectly curated baby boutique ads and of course all the tediously arranged and carefully coordinated nurseries and first birthday shoots. To be perfectly honest, I had a massive Pinterest board going for my son’s first birthday party before he was even six months old.

While I loved seeing all the perfect pictures of all the baby and family things, there was a large part of me that was aware that a snapshot isn’t a true picture of all going on. So, after reading this summary, I knew that I would find something I could relate to in some way. Plus I was eager to read a fresh new thriller!

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

Review: Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) by Julia Quinn

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1) by Julia Quinn

After binge reading the Bridgerton books this winter, I immediately went out and bought a bunch of other Julia Quinn books and I couldn’t wait to dive in and read them! But I wasn’t really sure where to start. When it was time for our Arizona vacation, I thought this would be the perfect book to take with me since it was a light read that I could set down if I needed to.

We were flying with a four year old so I wanted to make sure I had a book that I could set down and pick up five minutes later and not have to go back and re-read the paragraph before to recall what was going on. That’s what I love about romances, they are so great for light reading that you can get distracted from and then come back to and not really miss a beat!

Honestly you can’t go wrong with Julia Quinn. Her dialogue is snappy, funny, and sassy. I love her characters and the romances are cute and believable with some steam but they don’t cross over into distasteful. I will gladly read any of her books and since finishing this one, I have ordered the next in the series as well as picked up a few others to read. I simply can’t get enough of her books!

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

Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

When I first saw this one as a Book of the Month pick….I couldn’t click the ‘make my book of the month’ button fast enough. Not only is the cover eye catching and memorable, but the description sounded tantalizing. I have been on the look out for a really good domestic thriller lately, something in the vein of Samantha Downing and this one sounded perfect!

I am sure many of you have seen this book on a number of ‘hot releases’ or ‘most anticipated’ lists this spring and all the buzz made me equally excited and wary. I mean clearly I bought into the hype since I couldn’t get my hands on this one fast enough, however there was part of me that worried that I wouldn’t love it.

The last domestic thriller I read that was getting all the buzz I did not like at all so there was part of me that tried not to hype this one too much in my mind because if I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to feel fully let down. I would say this book fell firmly in the good category for me. I mean I didn’t love it in the way that I hoped but I was content with the book and how things played out.

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