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

Review: The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver

This series captured my heart last year with it’s debut! I have read other books and series by Ashley Weaver but this is the series that has captured my attention the absolute most! After book one I was so eager to see what happened with Ellie next! Did she go back to safe cracking and stealing or did she keep on the straight and narrow?

I grabbed this book as soon as it was released and since it was on the shorter side (under 300 pages) I basically read it in one sitting—on my flight to Cabo. It was a super quick read and I found that the magic and allure of the book and characters didn’t change for me from book one to two and I am once again eagerly awaiting the next book in the series! If you are a historical mystery fan you need this book series. The first and second books are short and can be read in one or two sittings. I would recommend starting with the first book so you can enjoy all the character relationships rather than diving in with this one first.

But if you do decide to dive in with the second book and not start with the first one, not a huge big deal as the author keeps you fully abreast of events of the previous book and the character relationships. Ellie is a lovely modern character with wit and charm but also an edge. If you love authors like Anna Lee Huber and Deanna Raybourn then you will no doubt find a winner with Electra “Ellie” McDonnell!

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Special Feature: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

I absolutely love the message this books sends! Like it or not, representation in all forms matters! When I was growing up, I was not necessarily a ‘big girl’ but I certainly wasn’t a Kate Moss either! Kate Moss was the quintessential ‘ideal woman’ of the 1990s. She was on the cover of every magazine I read at that time and I just couldn’t understand why I didn’t look like her. I knew from a very young age that there just weren’t ‘plus’ or ‘athletic’ women on any covers or ad campaigns.

Now everywhere I look, I see thicker women, plus size models, and athletic women on covers, in ad campaigns, and I am absolutely here for it! I love seeing women with real bodies and muscles and looking fierce in swim suits, lingerie , and regular day clothes! That was one of the things that caught my eye about this book. I loved that the catalyst for the story is a body positive lingerie campaign—-not to mention the main character is a black woman! I love that this book address body positivity and incorporates other forms of diversity!


This is Danielle Jackson’s debut novel and I am absolutely here for it! It’s a modern day romance for the modern day woman—the modern day real woman! So many romance novels feature ‘slim white women’ but not this book! If you want to read about a realistic woman with modern struggles and solutions with characters who embrace their curves, then this is the book for you. I am so happy to feature this one on my blog today! It’s out now and receiving positive reviews and ratings so be sure to check it out!

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

Review: A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen

I have to say that Tessa Arlen has been an author that I have enjoyed in different ways over the years. I started reading her earlier books years ago which were mostly historical mysteries. Later on I discovered her new heroines and historical fiction series as well and later on a standalone historical fiction novel. Some times, some authors are better at writing mysteries while others thrieve with general historical fiction. Arlen is wonderful at all of them! I have loved many of her books for different reasons as they are always well written and researched.

This book was a no brainer! First I featured an excerpt for a tour of the book, but I knew this would be one that I would absolutely read, sadly the tour timeline didn’t line up with my own reading calendar so I had to just do a feature for the tour but immediately started reading the book as soon as I read the excerpt! It sounded so good and plus—that COVER! I am so in love with the cover! It’s stunning and a wonderful historical fiction read.

One of the reasons that I was so drawn to this book (besides the author and cover) was the time period. I love Edwardian era books so much and often they are few and far between with authors favoring either the Victorian era or WWI. The Edwardian era is such a weird time period with authors often just lightly touching on it and then moving on into WWI, but with Arlen I knew that I would get a well researched and well written accounting of my favorite historical period! And I was not disappointed!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

While some people like their summer reading fluffy and warm, others prefer their summer beach reads with a little spook and creep factors! Personally I can go wither way but with a sea of warm fluffy beach reads on my list I thought it might be nice to add a litlte bit of the unknown into my summer reading line up! Enter this book which I thought would be more ghost story but from the sound of it, it’s going to be more about a ghostwriterbut might have an element or two to satisfy your spooky reads urning.

I am so excited for this book that merges the paranormal, chick lit, romance, and beach reading all into one! So many people have been reading this book and raving about it and saying so many positive things like how uplifting and happy it makes them when they read it. All these reviews have made me so excited to read this one and I cannot wait to check it out this summer. I personally love ghost stories and I cannot wait to check out a book by a ghostwriter with some actual ghosts of her own.

Who doesn’t need some humor in their lives right now? I am pretty sure no one will say they laugh too much and don’t need something else to make them laugh and be happy. So with that in mind why not check this one out? Some reviewers have described it as Adams Family with romance and I cannot WAIT to check it out based on that description! Funny, emotional, romantic, and poingent are some of the things that people have said about this book and I am here for all of them! Check this one out today and be watching for my review in the coming weeks!

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

Review: The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

It’s been a hot minute since I read anything by Kate Forsyth. Generally she writes more fantasy and fairytale retellings but this book is firmly in the historical fiction genre. So needless to say when it came up for review, I was intrigued because it was different than what Forsyth typically writes and she is such a wonderful writer that I knew this one would be on par with her other books!

Obviously it was an easy ‘yes’ to review but beyond just the author and genre of the book I didn’t know too much going in. I mean of course I get an officially summary of the books I review but sometimes I just say yes based on the author or cover before I really read the summary. When I sat down to start reading this one I was more or less blind. I knew it was a historical fiction piece and based on the cover I was guessing WWII (which I was correct) but beyond that I didn’t know much else.

But instantly I knew this was going to be different than the traditional WWII novel. The setting really distinguishes itself from traditional WWII books set in London, Paris, or even Germany. This book is set on the isle of Crete which instantly made me want to know more. I can’t recall a single historical fiction novel set on this small isle and it really made the novel for me!

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