Category: Books

Books, Reading

Special Feature: River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

In honor of Black History Month beginning today, I wanted to share an up and coming novel from a debut author that promises to be moving, emotional, unique, and beautiful. Author Eleanor Shearer is a mixed race author with roots in the Caribbean. She has been drawn to Caribbean history and her love of Caribbean history is evident in this hot new release!

Many Black history books focus on the slavery happening in the South, but this book promises to look at a new region and a new approach too the topic by beginning at the end. In this book the Emancipation Act of 1834 has been signed and implanted, but a mother is still searching for her stolen children. I love the sound of this story. Not only are we beginning at the end, we are also traveling throughout the Caribbean with this mother searching for answers. That was the big thing that drew me to this book—-the new approach to history and a history that isn’t always looked at. As I said a lot of books focus on slavery in the south but looking at how slavery impacted other regions like the Caribbean as well as how things changed (or didn’t) once the Emancipation Act as signed.

There are so many stunning books out there that feature Black history and with Black History month here, I know there will be lists full of choice reading and I sure hope this book is on your TBR list. It sounds so wonderful and unique and I think readers will get a lot out of it so if you haven’t done so already be sure to get this one on your TBR list. It’s on mine and I cannot wait to start reading it!

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

Review: Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson (Audible Edition)

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson (Audible Edition)

When I saw this book, I absolutely knew I needed to read it! I thought the title was catchy and I couldn’t pass on it. I even downloaded a copy for Audible as well as ordering a hard copy. I was hat sure I would be devouring this book in a matter of days. In today’s modern world, so many women are fascinated by murder mysteries. I know for a fact that in my office of 10 women, 8 listen to murder podcasts while working or working out/cardio. Myself included! I love a good murder mystery.

It really is the ‘time of serial killers’ and I thought that having a romance where the main character is sure her neighbor is a serial killer, really hooked me, I mean when I was pregnant and a new mom, I was up in the middle of the night feeding my baby and our neighbor was constantly coming and going in the middle of the night (he is a teacher so I knew it wasn’t his job that took him away from home). I was convinced he was up to something nefarious. So this book sounded so appealing to me!

When this one came out, I was knee deep in all my Laura Griffin books so reading something light and romantic featuring serial killers sounded right up my alley. The book makes a note that there isn’t actually murder in the books so readers know they are getting an actual romance instead of a murder but I think that should have been implied by the summary, but I was thankful for the reminder as a reader anyway.

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

Review: Hearts of Steel (The Blackstone Legacy #3) by Elizabeth Camden

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Hearts of Steel (The Blackstone Legacy #3) by Elizabeth Camden

When this book came up for review, I almost passed on it. I could see it was part of a series and I just wasn’t sure how it would go jumping into an established series with established characters. But it sounded so good, plus I loved the cover, that I just couldn’t pass on this one! Often times, I also find that romances tend to be more standalone even if they are part of a series, so in the end I decided to give this one a shot and dive into a series already three books in.

To my delight, I found that all that worry was for not. This book could easily be read as a standalone and while it’s part of a larger series, the story/stories are uniquely their own. The other supporting characters (in this book) I believe have their own books in the series but overall I didn’t feel like I needed to read the other books to enjoy this one.

If you are a fan of historical fiction with some romance (clean romance that is) I think you will find a lot to enjoy in this book. This book has a ton of history and details that I enjoyed. This is my first Elizabeth Camden book but ti certainly won’t be my last—in fact I did order the other books in this series because I enjoyed this one so much! I reviewed this book as part of a book tour and there are other reviewers on this tour so be sure to check them out too if you want to see what they thought too!

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

Review: Edge of Surrender (Alpha Crew #2) by Laura Griffin

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Edge of Surrender (Alpha Crew #2) by Laura Griffin

With book one of this novella series ended, it really left off at a cliff hanger. So naturally I had to know what happened next and here we are. This whole series appears to be mostly novellas though I think the other two books (books 3 and 4) are separate standalone novellas, books 1 and 2 are connected. Honestly I don’t know if I would have kept reading the series if it hadn’t ended on a cliff hanger. While I adore Laura Griffin and basically anything she writes, I don’t love novellas.

Novellas are really a challenge for me. They seem to work better as filler stories between larger books or between established characters. For example if there had been a novella about Elizabeth LeBlanc FBI agent and Derek in the Tracer books. But having novellas with new characters without established back stories is pretty hard in my opinion.

But Griffin is so talented at writing intense thrillers full of interesting facts, angles, and plots that I couldn’t pass up just one more book by this author! But that said I am not sure I will continue with books 3 and 4 of this series. I enjoyed my time with Emma and Ryan but novellas just feel too underdeveloped for me. That said this was a good read and it had a solid conclusion that left me feeling satisfied but also wanting more if that makes sense. Allow me to elaborate!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone

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As a little girl, I grew up LOVING my doll house. I had both the Barbie Dream House and a small miniature dollhouse with tiny little doll furniture. There was something so satisfying about setting up my dollhouses. I loved decorating it and I think I even painted the interior rooms occasionally. I loved picking out the furniture and adding little personal touches room by room. The as childhood faded away, so did my love of dollhouses. Until I saw this book.

I started thinking about what it was that I loved about dollhouses so much? For me it was the satisfaction of creating a house exactly like I wanted it. It gave me something to control and be creative with. I imagined that’s what this book might touch on when I read the description. But it sounded like that and so much more! I love magical realism novels and was so sad I couldn’t fit this one in my review schedule, but rest assured dear readers I have downloaded a copy and will be reading it late because it sounds positively charming (plus early reviews are raving about it!).

The idea of an enchanted dollhouse really captivated my imagination and I cannot wait to dive into this one! I think the juxtaposition of the town worlds—big and small—coming together to create a unique story full of magic, imagination and creativity. This book promises a rich and diverse story with fantasy and magic and of course some romance that is sure to captive readers from the beginning and I simply cannot wait! If you have been thinking about this book or have seen it around the blog-o-sphere then I think it’s a sign to add it to your TBR list—-it’s right up there on mine!

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