Review: Quickies by Ollie Levy (Short Story Collection)

In this collection we meet a wide variety of people from all walks of life….some are married, single, engaged…..some have high flyer careers, and some are average Joe’s, but they all have one thing in common….they all love a good quickie.

Why fuss with a marathon love making session when a quickie will get the job done? That’s the question that Ollie Levy explores in her series of short stories appropriately titled Quickies.

What I loved about this collection was each randevú was short and sweet. There wasn’t a lot of back story and the characters literally got right down to business. It made for a fast and steamy read. It wasn’t overly graphic and the sex scenes were all tastefully done.

Sex scenes are always difficult to write….too much one way and they are raunchy, too much the other way and they are cheesy…Levy got it right in this story collection. They were all written with a practiced hand that shows erotica at it’s finest.

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Film Review: Anna Karenina

https://i0.wp.com/www.bighonchomedia.com/assets/FocusFeatures/AnnaKarenina-OneSht.jpgLove has finally arrived in theaters! After months of anticipation I have finally seen Anna Karenina. I normally don’t do film or TV reviews/discussions on this blog but I’m totally making an exception since this is a film based on a book…..and since I’ve been obsessing I thought it was only fitting that I do a review.

Anna Karenina has been made into a film many times over so then the question becomes, how is this film different from all that have come before it?

Hands down, Joe Wright’s vision is artistic and romantic. This is a film about love….the mise-en-scene and artful use of color, staging, and costumes really brought out that aspect of the film.

I watched many of the behind the scenes videos on the Focus Features website so I was familiar with the ‘the world is a stage’ concept of the film. One of the things Joe Wright discussed on the behind the scenes feature was how he saw Imperial Russia at that time:

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Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Will Traynor has everything going for him–he’s rich, good looking, powerful, adventurous, cultured, vibrant, and successful.

Until one day, a tragic accident takes all of that away leaving him with nothing but memories of  a previous life. Will is now a quadriplegic who must rely on others to fulfill his basic needs.

Naturally he is depressed and hates that his once fulfilling, active life is now nothing but a series of doctor appointments and catheter changes. He simply wants to die.

After the accident, Will moved from his posh London residence to his parents house near Stortfold Castle in the English country side. He is miserable.

Louisa “Lou” Clark has known nothing but the small town surrounding Stortfold Castle her whole life. Her life is simple and uncomplicated until she loses her job. Some wouldn’t think of waitressing as a fun job, but Lou likes it. She gets to meets lots of different people and basically live vicariously through them.

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Interview and Giveaway: The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift as part of The Gilded Lily Virtual Book Tour thanks the the lovely Amy over at Historic Fiction Virtual Book Tours!

The Gilded Lily is a fascinating historical fiction novel set in the back allies of post Elizabethan London. The Appleby sisters are on the run and hoping they can start fresh again in London. But London isn’t all that it seems….the quickly fall into a dangerous circle and soon find that getting caught by the law might be easier than getting caught up in London’s criminal syndicate.

If you haven’t done so already be sure to enter the giveaway (details at the end of this post) for a chance to win a copy of The Gilded Lily (open internationally). Be sure to Tweet about the giveaway using the Twitter hashtag  #GildedLilyVirtualTour

 Giveaway runs from 12/1/12 to 12/7/12. Winners will be announced 12/8/12.

Deborah also agreed to do an interview with me, so without further ado please welcome Deborah Swift to The Lit Bitch!

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Review: The Lady of Secrets (The Dark Queen Saga #6) by Susan Carroll

https://i0.wp.com/d.gr-assets.com/books/1343323605l/13572810.jpgIn Edinburgh 1591, Maidred Brody is being executed. Found guilty of being a witch, she is sentenced to die by fire along side another well known witch names Tamsin Rivers.

Everyone in town has turned out to watch the execution, including the king himself, James I. Maidred’s brother, Robert Brody, plans on appealing to the king and begging his sister’s pardon.

When James refuses, Robert watches unable to do anything but watch her die. At that moment he vows his revenge on King James….someone will answer for this miscarriage of justice.

As the witches burn, Tamsin Rivers calls out a curse on the House of Stuart forever striking fear in the heart of King James.

Years later in Brittany The Lady of Faire Isle, Margaret “Meg” Wolfe, is called to attend a young girl who has been cursed by a local suspected witch. Meg is a known witch herself but not an evil witch….a white witch, a healer….a curse breaker.

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