Category: Books

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

Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

I just happened to stumble upon Pam Jenoff’s books. I was part of a book blog tour a couple of years ago and one of the books for review was The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach.

I fell in love with her story telling and writing style almost instantly! I have since bought two more books by her!

This is one of the reasons I book blog….to find new authors. When I first picked up The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach, I was not really excited about reading it but I thought it sounded marginally interesting so I gave it a go and was so happy when I was hooked almost immediately!

So when her new book, The Orphan’s Tale came up for review, I jumped at the chance to read it early! Fan girl moment!

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep…

When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.
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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Cheating Death (The Immortal Descendants #5) by April White

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Cheating Death (The Immortal Descendants #5) by April White

So here with are with another beloved series coming to an end. I have mixed emotions….I am sad that a series that I have adored for the last few years is coming to an end but happy because it wrapped up in such a wonderfully fitting way that I couldn’t help but be satisfied.

An explosion has split Time and Archer has paid the ultimate price, leaving Saira heartbroken and desperate to repair the rupture. But the blast has trapped Saira in an alternate future where Mongers are cornered predators and Death is the ultimate judge.

If Saira and her larcenous friend Ringo ever want to see Archer alive, they must pull off the impossible – alter history at a moment in time to which they cannot return. But saving Archer will restore a timeline where Mongers have complete control, mixed bloods are hunted prey, and the Descendant world is spiraling into chaos.

As Saira uses her Clocking skills to prevent her worst nightmares from coming true, she travels from the dirty streets of Victorian London to the secret archives of the Vatican.

She seeks a purpose that is greater than smashed hope, greater than lost love, greater than the prophecy that has shaped her very existence. She must use the lessons of history to free the present and shape the future. And in the end, Saira and her friends will face War and Death in the most important battle of all – the one for Peace.

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: SHADOW OF WHIMSY: A CAPE COD LOVER STORY by Ann Hymes

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: SHADOW OF WHIMSY: A CAPE COD LOVER STORY by Ann Hymes
02_Shadow of Whimsy

Shadow of Whimsy: A Cape Cod Love Story by Ann Hymes

Publication Date: June 15, 2016
Secant Publishing
Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Genre: Contemporary/Women’s Fiction/Literary
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Several generations of one family have lived, loved, and lied at Whimsy Towers, a unique oceanfront house in Chatham, Massachusetts. Strong women who refuse to be suffocated by marriage have found excitement and refuge in this house filled with artists and parties. Love surfaces in unexpected ways.
The newest owner, Theresa Alston Crandall, has just inherited the property and leaves her too-predictable husband in Virginia to spend time on the Cape and unravel family secrets and history. She swims, reflects, explores, and watches dramatic cloud formations float high over the ocean as she sorts through the choices in her path forward.
Romance arrives in the form of a young widower and landscape gardener with an awesome pickup truck, who likes Theresa’s dog and provides temptation to stay at Whimsy Towers. Tips of tree branches dance with the weight of birds that seem to scream warnings of danger, and the churning ocean disrupts family continuity.
Theresa learns how her Southern grandmother came to buy a storm-weathered New England house and how loveless marriage is not a mandatory life style. The final decision feels just right.
“In her debut novel, Hymes presents a conflicted young woman who is beginning to question her humdrum existence. From grief and loss to forgiveness and redemption, Hymes does not hold back. The author steers clear of predictable outcomes in this unexpected story, providing ample romantic suspense and witty prose to keep the reader turning pages. Chock-full of rich descriptions of the New England coast, as well as surprising scandals and an adorable dog named Gypsy, the book should satisfy even seasoned beach readers. A captivating and uplifting tale best suited for fans of meaningful beach-town romances.” -Kirkus Reviews

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

Review: The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

When I picked up my first Beatriz Williams book, I was completely engrossed and fell in love with her writing style.

I wasn’t sure that I would like her books and wasn’t excited to read the first one, but I did and when I began, I was completely sucked in and impressed with her ability to tell a story.

So from that point on, she earned a place in my heart as one of my favorite writers.

When this latest book came across my desk for review, I was thrilled because I knew the caliber of writing and story telling would be second to none and I wasn’t disappointed in this one!

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

Review: The Dressmakers Dowry by Meredith Jaeger

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Dressmakers Dowry by Meredith Jaeger

A popular theme in historical fiction is dual storylines. Typically one is told in the present day and the other in the past.

In my latest novel up for review, The Dressmaker’s Dowry, this same theme makes an appearance.

San Francisco: 1876. Immigrant dressmakers Hannelore Schaeffer and Margaret O’Brien struggle to provide food for their siblings, while mending delicate clothing for the city’s most affluent ladies.

When wealthy Lucas Havensworth enters the shop, Hanna’s future is altered forever. With Margaret’s encouragement and the power of a borrowed green dress, Hanna dares to see herself as worthy of him. Then Margaret disappears, and Hanna turns to Lucas.

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