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

Review: A Smoking Bun (A Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Smoking Bun (A Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander

Ellie Alexander is such a solid choice when it comes to cozy mysteries! I have really enjoyed many of her cozy mystery books and while they are not historical cozies, I love all the food and charm of Ashland Oregon in the Bakeshop Mysteries! Not to mention I know Ashland well and I love how Alexander brings the town to life! That is one of the reasons I always come back to her books…..she writes with such authenticity of the region and being an Oregonian myself, I love seeing our state highlighted to such perfection!

The Bakeshop Mysteries has been a series that I have jumped around in over the years. I mean at this point there are 18 books and I started in about book 8 and since then continue to jump around as my schedule allows. The books overall are great and while I am sure I am not getting the full experience by jumping around (I mean come on we are on 18 books there has to be nuances that I am missing!) but I always manage to feel orientated within the book and not completely lost.

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, no doubt Ellie Alexander is on your radar! If for no other reason than the charming book titles, cute covers and amazing food descriptions! Come for the food and stay for the mystery is kind of what I think of when I think of Ellie Alexander!

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Review: Chasing the Horizon (A Western Light #1) by Mary Connealy

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Chasing the Horizon (A Western Light #1) by Mary Connealy

A few years ago I read a book completely out of my typical historical fiction time period, Where the Lost Wander. I absolutely LOVED this book for so many reasons and I have since been looking for ‘the right’ book to read next that might fit within that time period. There aren’t a lot of popular historical fiction books set in the American West that draw me in. Don’t get me wrong I love the American West from a historical standpoint and I grew up watching all the cowboy TV shows (Dr Quinn and Young Riders I am looking at you!) but it’s typically not a genre of book that I go in search of.

When this book came across my desk I was so excited because it features a love story, an adventure, and the Oregon Trail as a backdrop! I live in Oregon and growing up The Oregon Trail video game was super popular and I was always so proud to share my state history with friends. But the Oregon Trail from a historical standpoint doesn’t really lend itself to a backdrop for romances in books. But after reading Where the Lost Wander I had hope that other books would come from its popularity that would include romance and adventure in the same way that that book did.

That was why I was onboard with reading this book! I loved the mix which was promised in the summary, plus I know Bethany House Publishing consistently has solid historical romances that aren’t bodice rippers etc. I was looking for something with a little more substance that would transport me to a different time in a rugged location with interesting characters and great storytelling and I got just that.

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Review: The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4) by Evie Dunmore

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4) by Evie Dunmore

This book was on my pre-order for months. Evie Dunmore has crafted such a unique world in her books and with the ‘votes for women suffragette movement’ as a historical backdrop. I was fully expecting to enjoy this book and say good bye to the series and characters of this series as this is the last installment, but when I started reading it, I found it wasn’t holding my interest in the way that I had hoped.

In past years, I would have kept reading—ride or die—to complete the book. But in recent years I have been trying to be more intentional with my reading. There are some books where I am like ‘ok this is garbage and I am not into it’ so I pull a DNF and move on, and then there are some books where I am not enjoying it but I am invested enough to keep going to say that I finished it. This year I decided that if I am not enjoying a book, I am just going to set it aside and more on and that’s sort of what happened with this one.

I will get into the reasons why this book wasn’t holding my interest shortly, but I want to point out that even though this book wasn’t a favorite of mine, the series as a whole is great and I recommend it wholeheartedly! While this was a DNF for me, I had a hard time decided if it was just the timing or if it was the book itself. I know that lately I have had a lot going on and maybe it just didn’t hold my attention because I had other things going on, or maybe it was in fact just the book. I plan on setting is aside and maybe some day down the road I will try it again but for now it was a DNF for me.

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Review: The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green

Whenever I am looking at books for potential review, one of the first things I check out is the author. Is it someone I have read before? Seen around the bogging world? Maybe it’s someone I had on my TBR or it could be a new author that sounds interesting. In this case, Amy Lynn Green is a new to me author. I didn’t recognize any of her books nor had I heard any buzz for her, but sometimes that in of itself is a draw! Sometimes I want the authors that fly under the radar since buzz doesn’t always mean ‘must read’. That’s how I felt about this one, I wanted a new to my author so I could enjoy the book without pretense.

Besides being a new to me author, the other draw for this book was the setting. So many WWII books are set in England or France but this book is set in North Africa and instantly I felt compelled to read it! The WWII historical fiction market can be so saturated and it’s hard to distinguish a story and make it stand out, but changing the location is one such way and in this case I was all about it. The description and setting sold me on this book and since it was one of my first historical fiction novels of the year, I had high expectations.

Early reviewers raved about this book, and many reviewers read other books by Green. I agree with many of the reviews, this was a stunning book in many regards and while I haven’t read anything by this author before, I can see why other reviews loved her books so much! She has a great storytelling style and she pays attention to historical details. I would certainly be open to reading other books by her in the future!

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Review: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

By about half way through Fourth Wing, I had already downloaded book two, Iron Flame. I instinctively knew that I would need the second book immediately following Fourth Wing and I was absolutely not wrong. I was thrilled when we got snow/iced in for almost a week too so that I could spend all my snow days reading! I was so happy the both myself and husband were home from school along with our seven year old. My husband and son thankfully watched movies while I was able to curl up on the couch and read this book. I finished it in about two days which is saying something considering this book is over 600 pages long. I could have read it in one day I think but I did take a few more breaks with this one than I expected to. But still—-record reading time for me.

I am sure you are well aware, this book is all over the blogosphere and reading recommendation lists. I have also seen multiple posts and reviews claiming to be ‘ruined’, ‘gutted’ and simply ‘not ok’ once they completed this book. So naturally I was expecting to be all of those things as well. In fact I was ready to feel all the things with this book……until I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong this was still a good book and like many other fans, I am anxiously waiting for the next book but I don’t know that I feel ruined or ‘not ok’ after finishing it. It was good, but I was expecting to feel more.

With a second book, it’s always difficult to recapture the same magic of the first book. It’s almost always the ‘necessary book’ to bridge the early lot points and characters to the larger narrative and growth. And I think this book did that very well, it certainly provided a bridge and new characters to keep things interesting, but I didn’t feel the same investment in this book as I did with the first for a couple of reasons. Don’t mistake me, this was absolutely a fie star read, but it wasn’t without issues—-mainly it was too long.

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