Category: Book Critic

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

Review: A Jewel Bright Sea (Mage and Empire #1) by Claire O’Dell

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Jewel Bright Sea (Mage and Empire #1) by Claire O’Dell

This book had a lot to recommend itself….pirates, adventure, magic, romance, fantasy. So many things that made it sound like a fun book to escape into.

I also thought the cover was pretty, though a little on the busy side. But ultimately I thought the promise of adventure and pirates sounded like a winning combo so picking up this one up when the time came, was full of promise for me.

I haven’t read anything by O’dell before but I know she has written a couple of other books that are part of a series, so I was curious to see what her writing style was and how the magic and pirates situation came together in this one! Continue reading “Review: A Jewel Bright Sea (Mage and Empire #1) by Claire O’Dell” →

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

Review: A Noël Killing (Verlaque and Bonnet #8) by M.L. Longworth

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: A Noël Killing (Verlaque and Bonnet #8) by M.L. Longworth

The Verlaque and Bonnet series is one that I came into a little late, but have always enjoyed the mysteries. They have a sophisticated feel to them but they still manage to maintain their charm.

I think one of the things that always keeps this series in the forefront of my mind is the covers. The covers are incredible and eye catching. Every time I see one I instantly think, ‘oh yes another Verlaque and Bonnet mystery!‘. The covers are so recognizable and admittedly why I picked up the series in the first place. This book features the new redesigned covers and while I think it’s a pretty design, it doesn’t stand out to me.

Maybe that’s because I am so used to the old covers. But at any rate don’t let the aesthetics fool you, this is a great series that I’ve been looking forward to picking back up! Continue reading “Review: A Noël Killing (Verlaque and Bonnet #8) by M.L. Longworth” →

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

Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

I picked this book up because of the delicious looking pie on the front cover. I mean seriously, that pie looks so delicious and I hoped that the story inside would be equally satisfying.

I don’t think I even stopped to read what it was about, I simply saw pie and said YES. So when I picked it up, I basically went in blind and without any real expectations other than I hoped to read it while eating pie of my own (which did happen by the way!)

This book surprised me in a number of ways, both with the author’s practiced hand and with the little hints of magic sprinkled in each page. Continue reading “Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber” →

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

Review: Tidelands (The Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory (Audible Edition)

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Tidelands (The Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory (Audible Edition)

I have only read one Philippa Gregory novel and that was ages ago. I felt like I was long overdue for one of her books. When I saw that this was her latest book I was eager to check it out.

I thought that it sounded like an interesting setting and kind of far removed from what she is most well known for—royal courts.

I decided to pick it up on Audible instead of actually picking up a hard copy and I was glad I did because the narrator did a great job and made it very enjoyable to listen it, but that said I wasn’t sure that I loved the book itself. Continue reading “Review: Tidelands (The Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory (Audible Edition)” →

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

Review: A Christmas Gathering: A Novel (Christmas Stories #17) by Anne Perry

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Christmas Gathering: A Novel (Christmas Stories #17) by Anne Perry

Can you guys believe this is my first ever Anne Perry novel? I am shocked that I haven’t read this author before! She has written a ton of mysteries and they all seemed like they would be right up my alley.

But sometimes with well established series, it can be intimidating to just jump in on say book 10 and with Perry’s mystery series, they are all well established and long running.

When this one arrived on my desk for review, I had to do a little research first. Number one, I wanted to read this book because I love the cover and it was more novella length, but I needed to see where it landed in the larger series. It was number 17! I almost passed until I saw that this particular series (the Christmas Stories series) didn’t feature specific reoccurring characters but rather characters from within other series. Continue reading “Review: A Christmas Gathering: A Novel (Christmas Stories #17) by Anne Perry” →