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

Review: Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey is one of my absolute favorite authors! She is the sweetest thing and I just adore her books. I mean is it even spring time without a KWH book? No—no it is not! Every spring I look forward to one of her new books and this year was no exception! Her books always have so much heart, charm, and general warm fuzzies!

Even the covers, I take one look at the covers and I can almost feel the soft sea breeze and sun on my skin. When I received the ARC of this one, it was early fall I believe and I couldn’t wait to read it but I wanted to save it for a time when I was really really ready for spring and April was the perfect month for that.

I sat down to start this one on a lazy early spring weekend and it was actually sunny out which made this one even more enjoyable to read! I read it quickly (a couple of days!) and couldn’t put it down. Every time I finish one of her books I am always left thinking that there is no way she can top that book and then a year later as I start another one of her books—-she somehow does just that!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan

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The first thing that attracted me about this book was the summary. Right away it was clear that there would be a lot of secrets. There are three different things going on for one of the main characters—a public life, a personal life, and a secret life. I thought it sounded very intriguing and it instantly put me on edge.

I also liked the idea of a home invasion. When I was living in Arizona, home invasion robberies happened fairly frequently since there was a lot of cartel activity in that area while I was living there. It was absolutely terrifying to think of someone breaking into my home while I was there. Home is the once place you are supposed to feel safe and to violate that feeling is crippling. So the summary coupled with this home invasion already made me feel uneasy and anxious to find out what was going on!

I have this one on my TBR and I hope that you do too! It sounds like it’s going to be dark and twisty and I am so here for it! It’s out today and I am really looking forward to checking it out! It’s been getting great early reviews so be sure to snag yourself a copy because it sounds like a thriller you do not want to miss!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: When A Stranger Comes to Town by Michael Koryta

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Where are my murderionos at? Are you obsessed with mysteries? I know I sure am! I love a classic whodunnit and while I love full length novels, there is something enticing about an anthology of short stories. Anthologies or short stories always seen to have one or two really good stories and then a few that just aren’t as great which always makes me a little wary when it comes to reading them, however, I really liked the idea of shorter mysteries for one reason—they reminded me of a tv show set up.

When I was pregnant with my son, I had terrible nausea all day. I spent 6 weeks in bed watching ID Discovery Chanel and some of my favorite shows were ones that featured multiple different mysteries in the episode. That’s what short stories remind me of—-short tv shows versus a longer feature fill (like a novel) so I was instantly attracted to this book and I loved the ‘stranger danger’ troupe!

I love that it takes the ‘stranger danger’ component and really brings that to the forefront of the mystery anthology! There are some serious powerhouse writers featured in this anthology (Joe Hill!) and I cannot wait to check it out. If you love mysteries and are looking for a different approach to mysteries then this might be a great anthology to start with! Be sure to check it out, it’s coming out tomorrow!

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Excerpt Tour: Before Summer Ends by Susan Mallery

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Is it even summer without a new Susan Mallery book?! Susan Mallery is one of the queens of summer beach reads in my book and I am so excited to be part of the excerpt tour! Be sure to check out the schedule of excerpts below and you too can follow along and read all the parts of this new book!

Susan Mallery is a long standing, prolific writer with a number of novels under her belt ranging in topics from romances, to family relationships, to friendships. I have come to expect high quality, good stories from her and I have thus far never been disappointed. Mallery is known for writing nuanced and complexed characters and I have no reason to feel that this latest book is lacking in any of those area!

After reading some of the excerpts, I know this is going to be another great book for your summer time or beach reading! Harlequin always puts out novels that just leave you feeling good and happy with how things resolved. I don’t know about you but I could use with a few more HEAs right now in the world and this sounds like just the book to do that!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral (Verlaque and Bonnet #9) by M.L. Longworth

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral (Verlaque and Bonnet #9) by M.L. Longworth

I read a few of the earlier Verlaque and Bonnet mysteries and one of the things that stands out about the series as a whole is how sophisticated they feel. Both of the characters feel mature and smart with a distinct air of sophistication that I think other cozy style mysteries don’t always have. I don’t know if it’s because the mysteries are set in the South of France, but something about this series always says ‘classy’ to me!

This is one series that I really need to go back and read from the beginning. I have jumped around in the series but never really felt lost within the larger narrative and characters but I will say that I think I might appreciate the nuances of Verlaque and Bonnet’s relationship had I started the series from the beginning. So this is a series that I am planning on going back and reading from the beginning but I think readers will feel right at home without having to go back and start from the beginning.

Today I am so excited to share a bit about this book and series with you all, the 9th book is out now. This book promises all the same charm, smarts, and mystery long time fans will expect from this series. Plus if you are looking for a little escape (ie; a trip to the South of France!) then look no further than this fun series right here!

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