Category: Book Review

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

Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris

The Southern Vampire Mystery Series prepares to meet the true death.

In the latest Sookie Stackhouse installment, Deadlocked, writer Charlaine Harris seems to be tying up a lot of loose ends in preparation for the final installment due out next year (2013).

The last few books have sort of dwindled in excitement and interest for me….particularly All Dead in the Family (Book 10) and Dead Reckoning (Book 11) so I’ll be honest I didn’t have high expectations for this installment.

I was pleasantly surprised with the way Deadlock unfolded. I didn’t feel the need to devour the book rapidly…though I did finish it quickly, I didn’t feel like every page was soaked in blood and action.

When the series began, the first 4 books were solidly written and action packed. Then books 5-7 got a little weird for me, but still fairly well written….books 5-7 seemed to be more about the supernatural than the mystery though which was a hard transition for the audience I think. Continue reading “Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris” →

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

Review: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

by The Lit Bitch5 Comments on Review: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

All things have a way of coming back to us in the end. Even if just as a memory from long ago, they are still with us….always.

Memories are a funny thing. How accurate are your memories? Has your subconscious twisted your memories and changed the from what really happened to what you remember? How much can you truly trust your memory? Those little moments of déjà vu, was it just that or perhaps you had really been there before in a past life. What recalls a memory most to you, scent? Sound? A place?

There is much that science doesn’t know about memory and much that simply cannot be explained. What if memories could be passed down, like DNA from generation to generation and you just inherit them the same way you do eye color? That is the question that Susanne Kearsley explores in her book The Winter Sea….could time travel through Jungian theory be possible? Continue reading “Review: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley” →

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

Review: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

All secrets have a way of coming out in the end.

Every family has their own secrets that they would rather not become public knowledge….but when your family is rich….the gossip columns love nothing better than a juicy family secret.

At Wentworth Hall, while family fortune might be in short supply….juicy secrets are not.

Maggie Darlington has just returned from a year abroad in France with her mother and new born baby brother and his French nanny. While abroad Maggie has matured, almost beyond recognition….. she has cast off her girlish styles, activities, and friends. The once spirited, will-full teen has now conformed into a model young woman and with the Wentworth name still commanding respect….Maggie Darlington has become very desirable marriage material!

But the Darlington family has fallen on hard times….their money is gone, all that remains is a good name. Lord Darlington has designs for Maggie’s potential match…an old family friend whose son is heir to a diamond fortune could be Maggie’s future husband. Or perhaps their titled neighbor, the Duke of Cotswold who would bring a title and fortune to the match….but he is also old enough to be Maggie’s father. Continue reading “Review: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame” →

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin

by The Lit Bitch11 Comments on Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin

Five kings. One throne. When you play the Game of Thrones you win….or you die. In George R. R. Martin’s epic high fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, plenty of characters meet their valiant demise, but there can only be one king who will sit the Iron Throne….but which king?

In the third book, A Storm of Swords, many different plot lines and POV’s finally begin to come to maturation but just when you think you have the series, a plot line, or character all figured out and summed up….Martin takes you in an unexpected direction.

For me, this was the best book in the series so far. The first book was really about getting to know the history and background of Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms while the second book was more about the war and strengthening the concepts of the first book but this third book was more about the characterization for me.

Martin is totally blowing my mind right now with this series! This book has been exciting and surprising till the very last word. Continue reading “Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin” →

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

Review: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

by The Lib Bitch6 Comments on Review: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

For each of us the name Cleopatra conjures up many vivid images… sensuality, seduction, beauty, the exotic, wealth, excess, Elizabeth Taylor.

While the legend of Cleopatra is prevalent, what has been buried over time is this incredible woman’s real tale. What we know of her today comes to us through the writings of pissy old dead guys.

In her book Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff attempts to sift through these accounts, many of which are brimming with Roman propaganda, to reveal a woman even more impressive than her modern day persona. I like to think of her as the O.B., the Original Bitch.

Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt at the age of 18, which meant she oversaw an entire nation’s people, economy, military, and foreign relations… yeah no big. As if that weren’t impressive enough, let’s take a look at some of the things she accomplished in her less than 4o years on Earth: Continue reading “Review: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff” →