Category: Gen Lit

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

New Contributor: The Lib Bitch

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on New Contributor: The Lib Bitch

I am very pleased to announce that I am taking on an additional bitchin’ reviewer for my blog! Please welcome The Lib Bitch–also known as my ever so charming sister!

The Lib Bitch (not to be confused with yours truly) will be adding flavor and variety to our blog. She picked the “Lib Bitch” since she is a Librarian. She has similar reading/literary interests as me but they are different enough to add a unique tone and content! I am very excited about this venture 🙂 I will be posting a more complete bio soon…be watching for her reviews!

Here is a brief bio for The Lib Bitch:

Occupation: Librarian
Areas of Literary Interest: History, Historical Fiction, Biography, Fashion, Women’s Issues, Art, Food
Things I Heart (aside from books): Dessert, Ballet and Pilates, Jewelry, Making Lists, Cats, Tea, French Things, and Baby Sloths
Favorite Author: Jane Austen for life.

Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

What happens when the good becomes the evil? What if everything you know about heros and villains was wrong?

In Laini Taylor’s debut YA fantasy novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, everything you know about traditional good vs. evil cliches are wrong. This is the story of Karou and Akiva. Karou is a demon–Akiva, is an angel. In this series, the angel is the devil in disguise.

Karou is not like other girls. She speaks 20+ languages, natural peacock blue hair, and a body covered in tattoos including two mysterious eyes on her palms. She lives in Prague and attends an art institute by day, but when the sun goes down–her real life begins.

Karou works for a black market wish-monger named Brimstone. Karou’s job is to collect teeth–human teeth, animal teeth, and every kind of teeth in between. Brimstone is a creature from an odd, alternative world of demons and monsters. When he calls on Karou she is transported all over the world to collect, buy, sell, and trade teeth–in exchange Brimstone gives Karou unlimited wishes (within reason). Brimstone is the only family Karou has ever known…he has trained her and raised her like his own daughter. But something inside of Karou is missing….a part of her feels empty–a part she cannot wish away. Continue reading “Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor” →

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

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

by The Lit Bitch7 Comments on Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

How do you escape the reality of your mundane existence? Do you come home from work and sit mindlessly in front of the telly? Do you listen to music on your iPod? Watch the latest flick at the movie theater? Surf the internet for hours searching for the perfect picture of a white sandy beach (my personal fav!). Or do you get lost in the inky lines of your favorite book?

Whatever your day dream is, it should be magical….a place where anything is possible….a place where dreams merge with reality….a place like The Night Circus.

Erin Morgenstern’s novel, The Night Circus, is a mysterious anomaly–a story that is fragile and captivating. Enchantment cloaks every page of The Night Circus, enveloping readers in a plush, velvet like prose that is sure to bewitch even to the most reluctant reader.

This book made me believe again and again in the power of imagination. It was like discovering Alice in Wonderland as an adult….I felt like a kid all over again….anything in this book is possible.

I could totally see it being a Tim Burton movie by the way–I would love to see this book be a Tim Burton movie with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonhem Carter :)….but a lass, I digress….

Le Cirque des Reves (The Circus of Dreams) arrives without warning. All you see is a sea of black and white. No color. No announcements or advertising precedes it . It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. This mysterious enchanting circus opens only at the bewitching hour….only at night.

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

Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig

The exotic scent of night blooming jasmine fills the pages of Lauren Willig’s latest Pink Carnation series installment, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine.

Robert, the entailed Duke of Dovedale, has  returned to England after being abroad in India for 12 years. Though it’s not his nostalgia that draws him home….it’s revenge.

There is one debutant that threatens to derail Robert’s revenge….his distant, twice removed ‘cousin’ Charlotte. Charlotte is the granddaughter of the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale–think Maggie Smith from Downton Abbey :).

The Duchess rules her family and relations with an iron fist–a duchess to the core. She is strong, ruthless, and stubborn to a fault….Charlotte on the other hand is innocent and bookish, a far cry from her ancestors. Her whole life has been spent in a fairy tale world. Her reality has been filled with tales of courtly love and romance found in her favorite novels.

Charlotte has carried a torch for Robert since childhood and when he returns…the trumpts blow and her knight and shining armor dismounts his white horse burlesquely to plan a kiss on the fair maiden’s hand as she tosses him her handkerchief…or so the scene goes in her mind LOL :). Continue reading “Review: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation #5) by Lauren Willig” →

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

Author Interview: A Love by Any Measure by Killian McRae

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Author Interview: A Love by Any Measure by Killian McRae

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing A Love by Any Measure by the lovely Killian McRae!

A Love by Any Measure (ALBAM) is a beautifully constructed  love story about two childhood friends torn apart by class and wealth in the last 19th century Ireland. It was a fantastic love story and I am honored to be able to offer an E-copy for one lucky reader!

If you are interested in the giveaway it run from 2/3/12 to 2/10/12 and details can be found here.

Killian also agreed to do an interview with me as well, so without further ado please welcome Killian McRae to The Lit Bitch! Continue reading “Author Interview: A Love by Any Measure by Killian McRae” →