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

Review: Competence: Custard Protocol (The Custard Protocol #3) by Gail Carriger

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Competence: Custard Protocol (The Custard Protocol #3) by Gail Carriger

I came upon Gail Carriger in 2011 when I had entered a Steampunk reading challenge. She was an author I would never have picked up on my own but as soon as I read the first book, I was completely hooked and so thankful that I had stumbled upon both the reading challenge and her books!

Since then I have read just about everything she has put out, with the exception of The Custard Protocol series. When this book came up for review, I was a little worried because it’s the third in the series…..a series which I haven’t even read though the world sounded the same and Carriger’s writing is always top shelf so I decided to give it a go.

Accidentally abandoned!

All alone in Singapore, proper Miss Primrose Tunstell must steal helium to save her airship, the Spotted Custard, in a scheme involving a lovesick werecat and a fake fish tail. Continue reading “Review: Competence: Custard Protocol (The Custard Protocol #3) by Gail Carriger” →

Books, Reading

Special Feature: BELIEVE ME by J.P. Delaney

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I am so excited to be reviewing this book later this fall as part of my thriller and mystery reads throughout September and October! Bu I couldn’t wait to share this one with all of my readers so I am doing a special feature now! It sounds so fantastic and creepy.

In this twisty psychological thriller from the New York Timesbestselling author of The Girl Before, an actress plays both sides of a murder investigation.

A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.

Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions. The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.

Then the game changes.

When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.

Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap? But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey? (summary from Goodreads). 

Praise for BELIEVE ME:

  • An Amazon Best of the Month
  • July 2018 LibraryReads list title
  • A great starred review from Booklist: “Redefines the concept of an unreliable narrator…[A] rich, nuanced, highly literary take on the Gone Girl theme.”
Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope Mystery #8) by Susan Elia MacNeal

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope Mystery #8) by Susan Elia MacNeal

I first discovered Maggie Hope back in 2012 when the first book came across my desk for review. The cover was initially what drew me in and I was never once sorry for judging a book by its cover!

Over the years, Maggie’s character has gone in a number of different directions and none of them were directions that I saw coming. For me, that’s one of the things that keeps this series exciting. You have this American typist how somehow ends up becoming a super high-level spy…..I love it!

Thought the series she has tracked down murders, saved the queen, broke codes, parachuted into France, and had her heart broken. This series always keeps me guessing and I absolutely love it! So what is to be in store for Maggie this time?

Maggie Hope is being held prisoner on a remote Scottish island with other SOE agents who know too much for the enemy’s comfort. All the spies on the island are trained to kill–and when they start dropping off one-by-one, Maggie needs to find the murderer… before she becomes the next victim (summary from Goodreads).  Continue reading “Review: The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope Mystery #8) by Susan Elia MacNeal” →

Books, Giveaway, Reading

Announcement: WINNER The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Announcement: WINNER The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller

And the winner of THE LATE BLOOMERS’ CLUB by Louise Miller is…..

Rhonda (follows on Instagram, @rhondareads)

The winner will be notified via email.

Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to the publisher for making this giveaway possible!

Books, Reading

Special Feature: THE BOY AT THE DOOR by Alex Dahl

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This book came up for review this summer but I couldn’t fit it in with my summer review books. However, I will be reviewing it in September as part of my fall reading and mystery features.

This book caught my eye for one reason alone—genre. This book is a Scandinavian thriller. Scandinavian thrillers are always a little different, edgy, and dark. I didn’t want to miss out on this one and wanted to get the word out about this book before I reviewed it. It sounds really interesting and different so if you are looking for a thriller, then this might be the one for you!

Cecilia Wilborg is the perfect wife and mother. With her beautiful home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord and her carefully constructed social circle, she works hard to keep it all together—too hard. Cecilia is harboring a few skeletons in her closet and one mistake from her past could destroy everything.

Annika Lucasson has lived a hard life and knows how it feels to lose everything several times over. After suffering a number of relapses and continual abuse from her drug-dealer boyfriend, she is desperate to save herself, even if she has to cross a line to do so. Because Annika knows about Cecilia’s secrets—and that Cecilia will do anything to protect them.

When no one comes to pick up a small boy at the community pool, Cecilia agrees to give him a ride home, only to find his address is an empty, abandoned house. This is the first in a tangled series of events that rapidly lead to the unraveling of her meticulously crafted life, as her and Annika’s worlds collide.

Beautifully crafted and delightfully complex, Dahl has created a captivating atmospheric ride with heart breaking twists and turns that keep you on the very edge of your seat. THE BOY AT THE DOOR is an unnerving yet believable misadventure, leaving you startled, shaken, and wanting more.