Category: Books

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

Review: The Unruly Passions of Eugenie R. by Carole DeSanti

by The Lit Bitch6 Comments on Review: The Unruly Passions of Eugenie R. by Carole DeSanti

With a lush, enticing cover The Unruly Passions of Eugenie R. by Carole DeSanti can’t help but catch the eye. The cover conjures images of a romantic work of historic fiction, filled with extravagance and richness.

The novel does deliver in that way. France is ushering in a new era, set in the years immediately before the Franco-Prussian War era (1870’s), the book follows the life of Eugenie Rigault who was born in the foie gras country region of France.

There she meets a gentleman that she falls in love with and gives him her heart and body. They soon make plans to move to Paris where the man promises to ‘take care of her’. When she arrives in Paris a few weeks later, he has all but abandoned her. Eugenie holds out hope that her ‘prince’ will come and take her away from the Paris gutters but at long last she must accept that he will never come for her. Continue reading “Review: The Unruly Passions of Eugenie R. by Carole DeSanti” →

Book Challenges, Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading, Reading Challenges

Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

A single choice can transform you. One choice can destroy you. On Choosing Day, the people of five different factions make a choice that will change their lives. You can choose to leave your old faction behind in favor of a new one, but you will forever be bound to your new faction so it is not a choice one makes rashly. If you fail to meet the initiation for each faction, you become Factionless.

Tris Prior is different. She is Divergent and her choices destroy her.

Tris is in a dark place. Shas witnessed unspeakable horrors and is struggling to cope with the destruction and choices she has made. She needs to find forgiveness in others and learn to forgive herself. To find forgiveness, Tris must find the truth.

Tris is not used to sharing her secrets and her pain with others. She wears her secrets, choices, and experiences like armor. Her inner struggle is one of the things that makes this book great. She starts acting selfish and makes poor decisions in regards to her life simply to numb the pain she is feeling. Her boyfriend, Tobias (Four) desperately tries to reach her and help her, but he can’t save her from her own self destruction. Continue reading “Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth” →

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

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E. L. James

by The Lit Bitch7 Comments on Review: Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E. L. James

I decided it was time to indulge to my inner curiosity about the wildly popular series Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. After all, what kind of book reviewer would I be if I didn’t at least glance at the best seller list once in a while?

This book has been burning up the Amazon bestseller list and the NY Times….to mention I get asked a million times a week if I have read the book. From the other reviews I had read, it seems as though you either like the book or you hate it.

There is no denying that writing a book like the controversial Fifty Shades trilogy takes guts. This book was disturbing yet oddly intriguing. I had to wait a couple of days to digest that book, I want to give it a fair review, but I was so bothered by the content that I needed to think on it for a bit.

Anastasia Steele (Ana) gets tasked with interviewing billionaire, Christian Grey for her college newspaper when her friend falls ill. As luck would have it, Grey is good looking, sexy, witty, and rich….and a total control freak. Continue reading “Review: Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E. L. James” →

Books, Reading

Author Interview: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Author Interview: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

Wentworth Hall is a YA novel with a distinct Downton Abbey flair. Set at the turn of the century, Wentworth Hall is a fortress of secrets and deception. Through the Darlington family was once a wealthy, influential family, they have lost just about everything except their good name. But some of these secrets might be enough to ruin even that! If you haven’t done so already be sure to enter our giveaway (courtesy of Simon & Schuster) for a chance to win a copy of Wentworth Hall!

 Giveaway runs from 5/1/12 to 5/8/12 

Abby also agreed to do an interview with me as well, so without further ado please welcome Abby Grahame to The Lit Bitch! Continue reading “Author Interview: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame” →

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

Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris

The Southern Vampire Mystery Series prepares to meet the true death.

In the latest Sookie Stackhouse installment, Deadlocked, writer Charlaine Harris seems to be tying up a lot of loose ends in preparation for the final installment due out next year (2013).

The last few books have sort of dwindled in excitement and interest for me….particularly All Dead in the Family (Book 10) and Dead Reckoning (Book 11) so I’ll be honest I didn’t have high expectations for this installment.

I was pleasantly surprised with the way Deadlock unfolded. I didn’t feel the need to devour the book rapidly…though I did finish it quickly, I didn’t feel like every page was soaked in blood and action.

When the series began, the first 4 books were solidly written and action packed. Then books 5-7 got a little weird for me, but still fairly well written….books 5-7 seemed to be more about the supernatural than the mystery though which was a hard transition for the audience I think. Continue reading “Review: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris” →