Category: Literary Criticism

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

Review: The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman

Carol Goodman is an author after my Gothic heart. I haven’t read any of her other books before this one, but when this one came up for review I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it because it had this decidedly Gothic feel. Not to mention a lot of fans have called her the modern day Daphne du Maurier. I love books with a Gothic feel, especially murder mysteries so I was super excited to read this one.

Goodman has written other novels that by all accounts are atmospheric and moody so I was really looking forward to this one. I also loved that it had a modern component with the #MeToo plot line. I think a lot of readers will find relevance in the plot as the #MeToo movement has been a big news headline in recent years so that was one of the things that really excited me about this book.

The only thing I was a little skeptical about was the history piece. After reading the summary it sounded like it had a lot going on—-a mystery, a #MeToo aspect, and a historical part but I wasn’t sure if it had a modern plot or not so that was a little confusing, but I was excited to see how the Gothic atmosphere was deployed in this one and ultimately that’s what drove my desire to read this one.

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

Review: The Girls from the Beach by Andie Newton

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Girls from the Beach by Andie Newton

I have read all of Andie Newton’s books so far and not once have I been disappointed! She is an amazingly talented writer and her historical research and detail is always spot on. Plus she has a wonderful prose and creates interesting characters. So when this one came up for review there was zero question if I would read it or not!

Not only is the cover to DIE for but I loved the sound of this plot…..American nurses tasked with a secret mission go missing and infiltrate the Nazi regime. It couldn’t sound more compelling if it tried! Spies and Nazis are a hot ticket right now. There are so many books about women spies infiltrating or working against the Nazis during WWII right now but Andie Newton is at the tip of that sword for me.

I sat down to read this one and expected to read it in a couple of days—wrong, I read it in like a day. It was so great and I loved the larger narrative and characters so much but it’s the uniqueness of the story that really shines. This book isn’t due out in the US until October so my review is really early, but when it becomes available in the US you will want to snag yourself a copy because it’s a wonderful novel!

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

Review: The Ice Swan by J’nell Ciesielski

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Ice Swan by J’nell Ciesielski

I have read three of J’nell Ciesielski’s novels and each one has been absolutely fantastic! I love how well she writes romance as well as historical fiction and I always seem to breeze through her books because I am so captivated. When I saw this one was coming out, I knew it was going to be an easy ‘yes’ for me. I mean—take one look at that cover and tell me you would pass? No. The author as well as this cover are truly sunning!

This one is set in Russia which I thought brought some variance to the historical fiction genre. The last novel I read by Ciesielski was set in Scotland, and I was eager to see how she would describe the opulence of the Russian court as well as the streets of Paris. And you all know how much I love WWI so having this book set during a very uncertain and tumultuous time in Russian history.

So yes, I was chomping at the bit to read this one and with good reason—-this one was excellent! Ciesielski writing just keeps getting better and better. This book has been seen on a number of ‘most anticipated books’ this summer and with good reason! While it might have a cold setting, it’s the perfect book to cool off with this summer!

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Review: The Hollywood Spy (Maggie Hope #10) by Susan Elia MacNeal

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Hollywood Spy (Maggie Hope #10) by Susan Elia MacNeal

I fell in love with Maggie Hope long ago and watching her journey through these last 10 books has been so fun as a reader. We have seen her go from nervous secretary, to spy, through PTSD, and heartache. As we enter the 10th book in the series ,she is in many ways unrecognizable from the first book.

As a reader you really get a sense of how the war changed her character and I think that’s what really makes this series shine. I haven’t always loved the direction that Maggie’s character has taken or choices that she has made but for me that’s what makes her so real and relatable. You don’t have to love her choices or agree with them but you learn to live with them in the same way that her character must.

I was a little nervous going into this book though because we see the reappearance of one time beau, John Sterling. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. In the previous books I felt like John was charming and wonderful—-up until he wasn’t. Then I was like ‘Maggie girl kick his ass to the curb!’ and now suddenly he’s making a reappearance in her life and I hoped that he had undergone some changes between the books.

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

Special Feature: Have We Met? by Camille Baker

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Have We Met? by Camille Baker

This hot new release was featured last month on Amazon’s First Reads program and so many readers fell in love with Camille Baker’s writing style! This is Baker’s debut novel and it promises to be a good one sure to draw fans who enjoy women’s fiction as well as romance. I am so excited to read this one later on this summer but right now I want to share about this one and I also have a giveaway happening over on my IG where you can win a copy of this book!

This debut promises heart, romance, social relevance, as well as humor and that sounds like an incredible mash up to me! While it has a serious component (the main character loses her best friend to cancer) there is also a focus on friendships as well as some comedy to break things up and keep it light enough for readers to sit back and relax with.

If you have been looking for a novel with current relevance with a fresh voice, then this is the book for you. I know a lot of readers have loved this one and are eager for more novels by this hot new author and I am pleased to read that from other reviewers that this book set the stage for follow up books so if you read this one and enjoy it then you can rest assured that more books will be coming! Now hop on over to my IG and enter the giveaway!

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