Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

Nothing caught my eye faster than a new historical mystery series featuring an author and main character POC. I was thrilled to see something so tantalizing, new, and timely hitting book shelves this summer. I literally jumped at the change to feature this one! Glitzy speakeasies, the roaring 20s, murder, and a smart intelligent heroine—-need I say more!?

While historical mysteries are a favorite of mine, sometimes they start to run together. Often they are set in England in the late Victorian era and the heroine is generally young, white and wealthy. A book like Dead Dead Girls breaks that tradition and moves toward something new, relevant, and enticing in the genre. I cannot wait to read this one and am so excited to be sharing not only a bit about the book with you guys today, but also an excerpt!

I also couldn’t close out this post without also noting how gorgeous this cover it! This cover captures the 1920s so well! It looks appealing, elegant, with an edge that will instantly draw your eye and make you wonder about what exciting tale awaits with in! I know the second I saw this cover it went on my TBR and then I read the back and was like YES! This one sounds—-So. Good.

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

Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

When I first saw this one as a Book of the Month pick….I couldn’t click the ‘make my book of the month’ button fast enough. Not only is the cover eye catching and memorable, but the description sounded tantalizing. I have been on the look out for a really good domestic thriller lately, something in the vein of Samantha Downing and this one sounded perfect!

I am sure many of you have seen this book on a number of ‘hot releases’ or ‘most anticipated’ lists this spring and all the buzz made me equally excited and wary. I mean clearly I bought into the hype since I couldn’t get my hands on this one fast enough, however there was part of me that worried that I wouldn’t love it.

The last domestic thriller I read that was getting all the buzz I did not like at all so there was part of me that tried not to hype this one too much in my mind because if I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to feel fully let down. I would say this book fell firmly in the good category for me. I mean I didn’t love it in the way that I hoped but I was content with the book and how things played out.

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

I have had a life long love affair with horses. I absolutely love horses and grew up riding (hunters and western reigning). As I grew into an adult I continued riding and purchased my own horse when I was in my 30s. Horses are such magnificent animals and to be honest there is no friend like a horse. I cried for days when I sold mine. I entered a new phase in my life (parenthood) and had to pause my riding. I do know that I will return to riding one day—-that is a guarantee.

When I was a child I must have read Black Beauty and The Saddle Club books a million times, as an adult I read The Eighty-Dollar Champion, also one of Elizabeth Letts books. My horse was an off the track thoroughbred (OTTB) and a big white gelding. So to say I connected with Letts books was an understatement. She has a unique way of capturing the essence of bond between horse and owner/rider and writes with such passion for the animals and their stories.

Now that her next book, The Ride of Her Life is out, you can guarantee that I have it already downloaded and ready to read this summer. This book follow the real life story of Annie Wilkins who rides her horse across the U.S. to see the Pacific ocean before she dies. If you love moving stories that included horses and other animals, then you don’t want to miss this one. The story of Annie Wilkins is incredible and quite moving even if you aren’t into horses you don’t want to miss this truly unique story! Be watching for my review later this summer!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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This book has been generating a ton of buzz…..a Great Gatsby retelling that features and Asian queer character? It hits all the high notes for exciting new releases in my book! I am not a huge Great Gatsby fan but I know I am in the minority on that front but I also think that a more modern take on the classic characters sounds exciting to say the least.

This book is on all the lists right now: OprahMag.com, USA Today, Buzzfeed, Parade Magazine, and many more. Early reviews are also consistently giving high marks for this one. It is author Nghi Vo’s debut novel as well and I always find debuts to be a mixed bag…..sometimes they are amazing and sometimes they are not but I think the excitement and buzz that comes with ‘a new author’s first release’ is hard to top—-good or bad.

The modern mashup retelling is out now and I am so thrilled to be sharing a bit about this book with all of you guys. If you are a lover of The Great Gatsby, then you want to get your hands on this modern retelling. Even if you aren’t into The Great Gatsby, this book promises to tick all the boxes—–buzz worthy story, a queer person of color—-you can’t go wrong with this one. Pick up a copy today!

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

Review: The Missing Sister (The Seven Sisters #7) by Lucinda Riley

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Missing Sister (The Seven Sisters #7) by Lucinda Riley

It’s finally here…..the last book in one of my favorite book series, The Seven Sisters. I have adored my time with the D’Aplièse sisters and their respective romances and stories. Some of the books I liked better than others but overall this series is rock solid with rich characters and stories. I love the alternating time lines and how epic and sweeping the stories always feel.

These books have so much content for readers to sink their teeth into in both the main modern story and the historic one. Personally I always enjoy the historical side better but the D’Aplièse sisters and the mystery of Pa Salt kept me engaged and curious throughout the series. Through the other six books I often wondered if there was truly going to be a 7th book. It was noted so many times in the series there there was a missing sister and honestly I wondered if there would only be six books.

However the sixth book, The Sun Sister, left zero room to doubt that a 7th book would be forthcoming and I couldn’t have been more excited. I hoped that all the lingering questions from the other books would be cleared up in this one…..but it didn’t. If anything it left me with more questions then answers.

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