Category: Books

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

Review: Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England by Catherine Bailey

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England by Catherine Bailey

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Catherine Bailey chronicles the rise and fall of the Fitzwilliam coal mining dynasty in Yorkshire England.

The Fitzwilliam family was at one time, one of the wealthiest families in all of England.

So how does this extensive fortune and massive house end up on the real estate market in 2014 in need of mass repairs?

Well that’s what Bailey decides to find out. What follows is this outstanding narrative about the rise and fall of this aristocratic family, a fortune worth 3 billion pounds by today’s standards, and a family full of salacious scandal, family feuds, and dark secrets.

This book was scandalous and I loved it! I am a huge fan of Bailey’s first biography, The Secret Rooms which I read last year. I love reading about the British aristocracy and royals, because again, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

Continue reading “Review: Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England by Catherine Bailey” →

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

Review: Mistress Firebrand (Renegades of the Revolution) by Donna Thorland

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Mistress Firebrand (Renegades of the Revolution) by Donna Thorland

Actress Jennifer “Jenny” Leighton is a struggling actress in occupied Manhattan during the American Revolution.

She is living with her aunt who is a big name British actress. Jenny hopes to make a name for herself as a play write and gain an influential British patron.

The only man in Manhattan that might be able to give Jenny the patronage, General John Burgoyne, is sequestered on his ship as his staff fear that American rebels will kill him if he makes an appearance in the city.

Jenny has heard the rumors about General Burgoyne…he is quite the ladies man. Knowing that he will likely try to seduce her instead, Jenny must make a choice.

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: Valentines Day Reads

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Valentines Day Reads

Valentines Day is here book lovers! Maybe you are gearing up for a weekend of chocolates and roses with your significant other while others might be curling up alone with their favorite book boyfriend or girlfriend!

Whatever your plans are for this V Day, if you are looking for a little romance in literature there are plenty of books out there to choose from.

Please welcome Spencer Blohm, a regular contributor on my blog, as he talks about some of today’s most popular YA romance novels!

Hopefully this will get you into the romantic spirit!

You’ve Got the Love – The Best YA Books for V-Day

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: TABOR’S TRINKET by Janet Lane

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: TABOR’S TRINKET by Janet Lane

Please join Janet Lane as she tours the blogosphere for Tabor’s Trinket, the first book in the Coin Forest Series, from January 26-February 20.

01_Tabor's Trinket_CoverPublication Date: September 1, 2014
Dreaming Tree Publishing, LLC
eBook; 335p
ASIN: B00N9JVRD8

Series: The Coin Forest Series, Book One
Genre: Historical Romance/Medieval

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Love proves perilous in this “Pretty Woman/Pride and Prejudice” historical romance tale set in 15th century England.

Sold as a slave in Romania for seven pounds and three solidi, the Gypsy girl, Sharai, escapes a slave ship infected with the plague. As an adult, she performs her silky, exotic dances to earn enough to sustain herself and the toddling orphan girl she adopted. She yearns for relief from the grinding poverty, and a secure home. Having been violated by a nobleman posing as her hero, she wants naught of any other man of title, and also scorns the dubious Gypsy king who pursues her. In a tent at the bustling autumn fair in Winchester, she meets the dashing Lord Tabor, and her resolve to avoid all noblemen softens.

Though possessed of a stately castle with prosperous lands, the English knight,Tabor, teeters on the brink of losing all his holdings. A powerful noble has attacked Tabor’s castle, determined to seize his lands. Tabor seeks revenge for his older brother’s murder, but England’s throne is held by an infant king and his feuding uncles. The realm is paralyzed with uncertainty and lawlessness, and the crown has abandoned him.

Then a stroke of good fortune helps Tabor, a sizeable dowry that can save his holdings. He need only wed an earl’s daughter, the regal Lady Emilyne. But he has already fallen in love with Sharai, and they are locked in a powerful dance of desire. His refusal to abandon Sharai plunges them into life-and-death struggles–and a painful choice between duty and love.

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

Review: King’s Folly (Legends of Fyrsta #2) by Sabrina Flynn

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: King’s Folly (Legends of Fyrsta #2) by Sabrina Flynn

Here we are….back in Fyrsta and back with some of our favorite characters from the first novel! Isiilde is growing up and as always, she’s a bit feisty!

Isiilde and her friends Marsais and Oenghus risked going through a portal fleeing a madman, but what they find in this portal is anything but good, in fact the discover how truly inhospitable the realms are!

Isiilde and Oenghus grown closer as they endure unimaginable horrors.

Rather than focus too much on what the novel is about and give away any story lines, I want to talk about what was good and what was bad…that’s why you are reading this blog right?

OK so, let’s jump right in and talk a little bit about how the novel has evolved from the first book.

Let’s begin with the characters. Isiilde has changed significantly over the two books and continues to grapple with the dark things that have happened to her. I like that she never really gives up and lets her past consume her.

Continue reading “Review: King’s Folly (Legends of Fyrsta #2) by Sabrina Flynn” →