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

Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

When you first glimpse the cover of this book, it doesn’t shout ‘magical realism’. It shouts ‘family saga’. At least to me it does.

Admittedly, I skimmed the review pitch very lightly and didn’t really pay close attention to it because like it or not, I knew I would review this one based on the cover and title.

It just sounded like a title that said ‘family saga’ in the vein of Kate Morton for some reason. Then you add in that cover and there you have it, I was convinced at face value that this was a family saga (something that I love).

So imagine my surprise when there were fairies and magic in this book.

Continue reading “Review: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor” →

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

Review: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Unlike most Jane Austen fans, Pride and Prejudice is NOT my favorite by her Austen novel. Nor are the other more popular novels: Emma, or Sense and Sensibility. My favorite Jane Austen is the lesser known Persuasion.

Of course all of her novels are fantastic and her heroines memorable, but none stood out to me more than Anne Elliot and her ever so charming, Captain Wentworth. So when I saw that the novel by Melissa Pimentel was a retelling of Persuasion, I was all eyeballs.

Ruby and Ethan were perfect for each other. Until the day they suddenly weren’t.

Now, ten years later, Ruby is single, having spent the last decade focusing on her demanding career and hectic life in Manhattan. Continue reading “Review: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel” →

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

Review: The Library of Light and Shadow (Daughters of La Lune #3) by M.J. Rose

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Library of Light and Shadow (Daughters of La Lune #3) by M.J. Rose

MJ Rose has a talent for writing romantic, magical, and passionate historical fiction novels. I love her Daughters of La Lune series even if at times, the books didn’t end on a high note, overall they are really fun to read and have progressively improved between book I and book II.

I was super excited to see this one come up for review, ironically I had just been wondering when the next Rose book was due out and I was thrilled to see that it was this one!  Her writing style is sensual and lyrical and the story is almost always a promising romance, so you can’t go wrong with one of her books!

In the wake of a dark and brutal World War, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a beacon for the high society set, which is desperate to keep their gaze firmly fixed to the future.

Continue reading “Review: The Library of Light and Shadow (Daughters of La Lune #3) by M.J. Rose” →

Books, Reading

Excerpt: THIEF’S MARK (Sharpe & Donovan #7) by Carla Neggers

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Excerpt: THIEF’S MARK (Sharpe & Donovan #7) by Carla Neggers

With fall coming up, I am starting to move into mystery mode. There is something about the turning of the leave and the colder nights that just screams ‘read a mystery’. So as we go into fall, I thought it would share and except from the upcoming mystery, THIEF’S MARK by Carla Neggers.

As a young boy, Oliver York witnessed the murder of his wealthy parents in their London apartment. The killers kidnapped him and held him in an isolated Scottish ruin, but he escaped, thwarting their plans for ransom. Now, after thirty years on the run, one of the two men Oliver identified as his tormentors may have surfaced.

Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan are enjoying the final day of their Irish honeymoon when a break-in at the home of Emma’s grandfather, private art detective Wendell Sharpe, points to Oliver. The Sharpes have a complicated relationship with the likable, reclusive Englishman, an expert in Celtic mythology and international art thief who taunted Wendell for years. Emma and Colin postpone meetings in London with their elite FBI team and head straight to Oliver. But when they arrive at York’s country home, a man is dead and Oliver has vanished.

As the danger mounts, new questions arise about Oliver’s account of his boyhood trauma. Do Emma and Colin dare trust him? With the trail leading beyond Oliver’s small village to Ireland, Scotland and their own turf in the US, the stakes are high, and Emma and Colin must unravel the decades-old tangle of secrets and lies before a killer strikes again (summary from Goodreads).

EXCERPT

Continue reading “Excerpt: THIEF’S MARK (Sharpe & Donovan #7) by Carla Neggers” →

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

Review: Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives

Person disappears in a museum? A museum mystery? With maps? Yes, yes and yes! Is what went through my mind when this one came up for review.

The summary promised lots of tantalizing elements which is what drew me in for a review.

Stella Krakus, a curator at Manhattan’s renowned Central Museum of Art, is having the roughest week in approximately ever. Her soon-to-be ex-husband (the perfectly awful Whit Ghiscolmbe) is stalking her, a workplace romance with “a fascinating, hyper-rational narcissist” is in freefall, and a beloved colleague, Paul, has gone missing.

Strange things are afoot: CeMArt’s current exhibit is sponsored by a Belgian multinational that wants to take over the world’s water supply, she unwittingly stars in a viral video that’s making the rounds, and her mother–the imperious, impossibly glamorous Caro–wants to have lunch. It’s almost more than she can overanalyze.

Continue reading “Review: Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives” →