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

Review: Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

I first discovered Diana Biller when her first novel, The Widow of Rose House, was released back in 2019. I absolutely loved it and thought Biller had an elegant prose that sucked me into the story right away. Plus the romance was sensual, sweet and a little spicy. It was a wonderful mix and I just recall how much that debut has stood out to me over the years. I often recommend it to friends and family, so naturally when I saw this new release, I had to jump on it!

This is Biller’s fourth novel and while I have missed the other two (though they are on my book shelf currently!) I didn’t want to miss this one! I loved the cover, it caught my eye and drew me in. It is colorful and really eye catching and while I hate judging a book by it’s cover, this one made it hard to resist! Knowing that Biller has written such quality historical romances before made me even more excited for this than the cover though. If you haven’t read her books, you are missing out!

Not only did the cover and the author appeal to me, but the description of this book spoke to me. I loved that this book promised to take us to the glittering world of Vienna and indeed a world of intrigue and spies. If you are looking for a historical romance to escape with this spring, that will leave you feeling like you read something ‘new’ and ‘different’ then I think this book fits the bill. It was a pleasure to read this book and another that I will be sharing with family and friends!

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

Review: Hell Bent (Alex Stern #2) by Leigh Bardugo

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When this book came out, it promoted me to go back and read Ninth House so I could be ready to read this one. I had this whole drama around why I didn’t read Ninth House until now and you can read all about it in my review of Ninth House here. Bottom line, I suspected that I wouldn’t be able to read this latest Leigh Bardugo book before reading the first book in the series and that is absolutely correct. Do not read this book without first reading Ninth House. This book is basically an extension of the first book and it will leave readers disorientated within this book if you read it out of order.

I burned through Ninth House and was eager to start this one immediately following since Ninth House ended on such a cliff hanger. So I cleared my reading schedule and hunkered in with this book, while I didn’t read it as fast as I anticipated, I still read it fairly quickly and found a lot of the things that I loved about Ninth House, still held true in this book. This book also ended on a cliff hanger and I hope we get the next Alex Stern’s book soon! It sounds like this book series is going to be a trilogy but I really hope it’s more than that. I think there is a rich world to mine here and I would be sad if it ended after only three books when there is so much more to unpack and learn about.

If you are thinking about diving into this world of strange dark academia but aren’t sure yet—-I would say go for it. While I had some issues with Alex as a main character in the first book, overall the rich world and strong storytelling made up for the fact that Alex was at times an unlikeable character—while at other times you could cheer for her. Bardugo is an incredibly talented writer so in that you can’t go wrong. I would recommend Ninth House and then immediately follow up with this latest novel to get the full experience!

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

Review: Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

Growing up, I was a massive Phantom of the Opera fan. In fact as I write this review, I am currently listening to the soundtrack. I love the whole forbidden romance set to music. It’s truly one of my favorite soundtracks and stories of all time. So whenever I see something come up that is a Phantom retelling or something similar I have a hard time passing up on it. That’s how this one landed on my TBR and review pile! I couldn’t resist a retelling though as the weeks passed between review acceptance and time to actually read it, I had sort of forgotten it. I had it on my calendar but I was reading other things that got me 100% sidetracked on my normal review schedule.

Lucky for me, I always try and build in time for things like this on my review calendar. Reviews for publishers are a big part of my blog but I also have books that I just want to read so I always make sure I build in time for things like that. The time came to pick this one up and just in time for my vacation! I needed something that was going to hold my interest on a five hour plane ride so I was looking forward to this one immensely since I knew it was a Phantom retelling!

The other thing that drew me to this one was the author is from Portland. I live about an hour south of Portland and I am always excited to read more local authors. I haven’t read anything by this author before but it looks like she has another contempo romance novel that received good rating last year. It would seem she has a flare for quirky romances and I am totally here for that! It basically didn’t take much convincing to get me to review this one, I couldn’t wait to be entertained on my flight with this book!

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Special Feature: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig

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You only need to say the name Lauren Willig to get me hooked! I am a huge Lauren Willig fan and have read almost all of her books. She writes such well crafted historical fiction with some romance and I simply cannot pass on any of her books. Though her Pink Carnation series is still my favorite, I have enjoyed may of her standalone books and collaborations as well! Seeing this latest novel from her got me so excited to get back to reading more of her books! Initially I thought this was going to be a WWI historical fiction but I see now that it’s set during the Greece-Turkey conflict and the Spanish-American war and I think that’s going to be a wonderfully untapped period and I cannot WAIT to check this one out!

Willig truly has a gift for historical fiction. She does an incredible amount of research and she always tries to explore untapped history and time periods for her stories rather than sticking to safe time periods like WWI or WWII. She ventures out into other time periods and settings whenever possible. I have loved reading her books and I cannot imagine a world in which I wouldn’t love one of her novels. This book is out now and already receiving rave reviews from early readers so naturally this one is HIGH on my TBR list right now!

I couldn’t fit this one into my reading schedule presently but you better believe I downloaded a copy of this book and will be starting it soon so I will of course share a review here once I am done! If you love well written historical fiction, with excellent characters, a bit of romance and stories that feel ‘sweeping’ then you don’t want to miss anything by Willig. I am eager to start this one based simply of the cover (though I feel like the title needs some work)! How gorgeous is this cover? Historical fiction fans get this one on your TBR!

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Special Feature: How I’ll Kill You by Ren DeStefano

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I love when I see a thriller come out that sounds different from the rest. There is kind of this theme in the thriller genre where many have ‘surprising’ femme fatale or it’s billed as a ‘psychological’ thriller—but I have yet to see where it’s a group of women killers on the hunt for their next mark. This book sounded really interesting, plus it had a strong romance angle which is often unheard of in the thriller genre as a focal point. I thought this book sounded really different and like it would stand out from a crowd. It screamed unconventional to me so naturally I want to get it out on your radars!

This book is out now and is a debut from author Ren DeStefano. Early reviewers are raving about this one and I am inclined to agree and move it up my TBR list! I couldn’t fit this one into my reading/review calendar but I also didn’t want to pass on it all together. Books that allude to unconventional always grab me so I opted for a feature but as I am reading the early reviews that are coming in—I am moving it up my TBR list!

I liked that this book didn’t go with the classic ‘secret’ femme fatale or something like that. The author outright made the three main characters serial killers and I love how bold this one sounds based on that alone. But then to add in the romance that develops out of a marked man sounds even more exciting and unique! If you are looking for your next spring thriller or beach read then this one might just be for you! It’s out today so give it some love and check it out! I know I don’t want to miss out on this one!

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