Category: Book Review

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

Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Every year my sister and I pick two scary books to read. This year we went with two horror classics, The Haunting of Hill House and Frankenstein.

Neither of us have read these two books so we thought it would be fun to do a buddy read all month and discuss them. So we started Frankenstein first. It’s been on my list to read for so long. It’s like the classic horror story and everyone says how amazing this book is.

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only nineteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Continue reading “Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley” →

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

Review: The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland

It’s been forever since I read a YA novel. I kind of go through phases with YA novels. Sometimes I end up reading like 5 or 6 at a time, and then I don’t read any for like months.

Currently I’m in the ‘I haven’t read any YA for months’ phase. So when this book came up for review, I was about to pass until I read the summary. I love Napoleon and the French Revolution and when I saw that this book was about Napoleon’s step daughter, Hortense, I was excited to read it….YA or not.

For Napoleon’s stepdaughter, nothing is simple — especially love.

Paris, 1798. Hortense de Beauharnais is engrossed in her studies at a boarding school for aristocratic girls, most of whom suffered tragic losses during the tumultuous days of the French Revolution. Continue reading “Review: The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland” →

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

Review: Believe Me by J.P. Delaney

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Believe Me by J.P. Delaney

This book seemed like it was going to be outside of my comfort zone, so I almost passed on it. I mean, I like a darker psychological thriller as much as the next person, but so many people use the Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train comparisons that sometimes I start to question the validity of these claims and I’ve read a lot of thrillers lately and I just felt like I needed a little bit of a break from the pace of said novels.

While this book didn’t carry the “the next Gone Girl”  endorsement, I did see some reviews that compared it to other darker psychological books like those listed above. However, this short summary hooked me and made me excited to read this book, mostly because I liked the idea of a decoy temptress.  Continue reading “Review: Believe Me by J.P. Delaney” →

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

Review: The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander

I only recently discovered Ellie Alexander when I read the first Sloan Krause mystery last year. Since then I have read one of her Bake Shop Mysteries and I absolutely adore her mysteries.

There is nothing like mixing food (especially pastries!) with murder. Being from Oregon myself, I have a soft spot for all things Pacific Northwest as well as local authors. I got in on the Sloan Krause series from the very beginning and I was thrilled to be asked to read the next book!

No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s latest offering Cherrywizen, made with locally sourced cherries. But local brewmaster Sloan Krause is tapped out. Between trying to manage the pub, her pending divorce with Mac, and her mounting feelings for Garrett, she’s fermenting in internal turmoil. Continue reading “Review: The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander” →

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

Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

by The Lit Bitch5 Comments on Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

Full disclosure, I haven’t read the Narnia books and I know next to nothing about C.S. Lewis’s life beyond the fact that he wrote the Narnia books. Now I have seen the Narnia movies and I love the story and when my boy is old enough, I plan on reading the Narnia books together with him.

So it didn’t take much convincing—–ok any convincing—-for my to read this book about Lewis’s wife. I didn’t even need to read the review pitch, the title told me everything I needed to know.

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Continue reading “Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan” →