Books

  • Project Downton! (A Downton Abbey Inspired Book Scavenger Hunt)

    I am on a Downton Abbey scavenger hunt and I need your help! Downton Abbey is sweeping the telly cables not to mention the hashtag is blowing up my Twitter feed….the public has gone deliriously mad for PBS’s latest masterpiece. Normally I blog strictly about books (with the rare exception of my travels), but I am totally making an exception with Downton Abbey (DA). And here is why….today my sister sent me a link about to an article in the NY Times about DA and its growing popularity, and she was asking me if I had watched the show. Ironically I just finished watching Season I last night and am…

  • Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

    The sparks of rebellion have turned into a raging inferno in Suzanne Collins’s final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. Katniss Everdeen, ‘the girl who was on fire’, is the catalyst for the movement and the symbol of the rebellion–their very own Mockingjay. After the first Hunger Games, whispers of uprising begin when Katniss and Peeta Mellark both emerge from the Games victorious….two winners not one–an open defiance of the Capitol. Then when Katniss, Peeta, and their allies destroy the Games for good in Catching Fire–the letters are on the wall, uprising is inevitable. With District 12 demolished, Katniss and her family are taken to rebel headquarters–District 13. During…

  • Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

    Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire in The Hunger Games is now sparking revolutions throughout the 12 Districts in Suzanne Collins’s second installment of The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. Having emerged from the Hunger Games victorious, Katniss and her now ‘made for TV boyfriend’ Peeta Mellark return to District 12. Their final act of desperation in the Games makes them both symbols of rebellion and hope to the people of the 12 Districts….but targets for the Capitol. President Snow smells deception….he knows their love was just an act and feels that they rebellion in the Games will only incite more uprisings in other Districts….while on their victory…

  • Review: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

    Like the gladiators of ancient Rome, the youth of post apocalyptic North America are put face to face in a ‘fight to the death’ game called The Hunger Games. Blood, complicated strategies, alliances, betrayal, and death are expected to play out, all with the nation watching on live television–twenty four children between the ages of 12-18 go into the games but only one will emerge victorious. The Hunger Games is the first in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In this post apocalyptic/dystopian society, there are 12 Districts. The 12 Districts are ruled by the The Capitol. The tyrannical Capitol keeps the Districts in check by forcing them to send…

  • Review: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

    Winter is coming. The Stark family motto rings in the ears of all the people of Winterfell….but it is ringing loudest in the ears Lord Stark himself…..winter is coming. A Game of Thrones is the first in George R. R. Martin’s epic high fantasy series , A Song of Ice and Fire. Let me just say, epic doesn’t begin to describe this series…..each book is roughly 800+ pages. The story itself is intricate and tedious….you really need to pay attention to what is going on but once you get use to the prose, flow, and points of view….you are rewarded with a richly designed and beautifully written story. Personally, I found…

  • Review: Ivy and Intrigue (A Very Selwick Christmas) by Lauren Willig

    After finishing the latest installment of Lauren Willig’s flowery spy series (The Pink Carnation series), I couldn’t resist eking out a little more frivolous adventure by reading this short story/novella: Ivy and Intrigue (A Very Selwick Christmas). Since this is more of a short story, my review will not be as lengthy. I found the novella available for free online through Willig’s website, however I found that reading 100 or so pages on my computer was not ideal so I splurged and spent $0.99 to get it on my iPad through Amazon :). Amy Balcourt has just married the dashing, Lord Richard Selwick (AKA, the flowery spy better known as the…

  • Review: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Pink Carnation #4) by Lauren Willig

    Dapper, dark, mysterious, and mature: Lauren Willig’s latest flowery spy novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose  was the ‘changeling’ in the series. Each book follows the usual pattern of ‘romance’ between a dashing international man of mystery (typically of peerage) and a virginal debutant. The Crimson Rose is principally the same as the other books, but the love story between Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy is more of an intimate, mature, intellectual love not like the previous books that are more of a fairytale romance….Vaughn and Mary for me were more like Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. I was actually surprised that the love story was more intellectual in nature….based…

  • Author Interview: Letters in Cardboard Boxes by Abby Slovin

    I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Letters in Cardboard Boxes by Abby Slovin. Letters in Cardboard Boxes is a heart-warming coming of age story. It was an absolutely fantastic and well written, I was honored to review Abby’s book, truly a pleasure to read! Abby also agreed to do an interview with me, so without further ado please welcome Abby Slovin to The Lit Bitch!

  • Entry: Austen Murder Matchup Contest/Giveaway

    An author friend of mine, Lynn Shepherd, is hosting a comparative book review contest on her blog. I couldn’t resist entering as the goal is to review two of the hottest Austen inspired murder mysteries on the market, Murder at Mansfield Park and Death Comes to Pemberley. Shepherd is putting both books together in a head to head compare and contrast style review contest. What is the goal of the comparative book review? I’m pitching these two Janeite murder mysteries together, head to head, to see which one you think comes out on top. I’m inviting anyone who’s read both books to write a short review comparing the two, and giving them…

  • Review: Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

    Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James was literally DOA for me. It really tears me up when I have to write and unfavorable review, but I do have to call them like I see them, it’s only fair to my reads, fans, and authors. For me, Death Comes to Pemberley was a flatline. I really wanted to like it but I just could never really get into it which makes me very sad. With every page that I read I was hoping it would improve but I found it confusing at times and the characters flat. James begins with giving the ‘ridiculous short version’ recap of the original Jane…