Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron

I am so happy to see how well this series is doing! Fourteen books into the mystery series and it’s still going strong! This is a series that has floated around my radar for a while now and it’s been so fun to watch it grow and mature over the years since the first book was published in 1996! That to me shows this series has staying power!

I am so thrilled to bring you guys a sample of the latest book in the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer. I mean what could be better than Jane Austen with a murder mystery?! Some times I am wary of books with big name characters reimagined like Jane Austen, however with this series, I think it’s been proven to be a popular and well done series that fans of Austen will devour.

I loved this little excerpt so much and am excited to check out not only this one but the other books in the series too! I am hoping this is a series where each book can be read as a standalone. For those of you who have read the books what do you think? Please tell me in the comments and keep reading to check out the excerpt of this witty murder mystery!

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Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Reading

Review: Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2) by Mia P Manansala

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2) by Mia P Manansala

I recognized this cover art almost immediately when the book came across my desk for review! The cover art on the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen books are recognizable and stand out with their bold colors and fun graphics. The first book in the series is Arsenic and Adobo which was a Book of the Month selection last year when it first came out. I snatched it up but then basically forgot about it until this follow up book came across my desk.

The pops of color and the cute done on the front inspired me to pick it up and give it a go……regardless if I had read the first book in the series or not. I decided to just dive right in, in my experience it’s pretty easy to jump into a series with only one book proceeding the latest installment as the author tends to set the stage well for new readers and to refresh fans of the previous book so that everyone is on the same page. So I figured it wouldn’t be too lost picking this one up without having rad the first book.

I love cozy mysteries and if it features food so much the better. This book could easily make me a fan of Filipino cooking, everything sounded so great and I was hungry the entire time I was reading this book! But it wasn’t just the food that was a treat but the story too! This one did have some heavier themes that were a little unexpected in a cozy but over all I though it was a solid read with lots to enjoy and while I played catch up at times, overall I didn’t feel too lost in the story to enjoy it.

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Books, Reading

Review: Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

I read Elizabeth Macneal’s debut novel, The Doll Factory, a couple of years ago and loved it. I was super excited to see this book was coming out and I absolutely love the cover. The cover is eye catching and bright and just screams ‘circus theme’ and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Honestly the cover and title implied that it would be a lot more whimsical and happy then it actually was.

Having read her previous novel, I was not entirely surprised that this book was a bit more serious than the cover implies. Macneal has a great way of capturing the atmosphere of late Victorian England and she has a strong sense of history as well as creating memorable characters. In her book The Doll Factory, I seem to recall that her characters had some disfigurements and in this one the main character also suffers from a disfigurement. This little detail really makes for powerful and outstanding characters which is why her books themselves stand out for me so much.

If you love historical fiction but want something a little different with a hint of circus glamour then you need to read this book. I loved the atmosphere and story more than I thought I would. While I love the cover, I think it implies more of a carefree story inside but this one had substance and so much to remember. I really liked it as a follow up to The Doll Factory, the books aren’t related but I see themes in both and I love that Macneal has such a wonderful style that will stand out to readers.

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Lobotomist’s Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Lobotomist’s Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff

There are so many hot new historical fiction releases this upcoming spring and I cannot with all these great titles! This book hit my radar a few months ago and I have been so excited to bring it to you guys! This book follows the early days of the psychological field but through the eyes of the wife of a leading psychologist. This book is based on real life events and I am so here for it!

Mental health is on a lot of peoples radar right now with the pandemic and such, so a book like this that looks at some of the early treatment of mental patients really hits readers with relevance. That’s one of the reasons it appealed to me so much is the relevance factor. It’s a historical fiction book but it also talks about some big issues so I think readers will find relevance in themes throughout the book. Or at least I hope. I am planning on reading it later this spring but I did take a peak at a couple of chapters and am just so excited to read this one!

I love that this book looks at the good intentions of the characters but how those intensions can also become something less pure and where the lines blur. This is a debut novel and had already been getting loads of great reviews so I am super excited to read it all a little later this year! If you love historical fiction you might want to give this one a go, it promises to be suspenseful and interesting!

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

Review: The Next Ship Home: A Novel of Ellis Island by Heather Webb

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Next Ship Home: A Novel of Ellis Island by Heather Webb

Heather Webb is such an incredibly gifted writer. I have read and loved many of her novels, she has written independent novels and cowritten novels with Hazel Gaynor. All of them have been wonderful reads and I always look forward to her upcoming novels. This book was obviously no different. I had this one on my radar for months!

When I was a little girl I was fascinated by Ellis Island. I recall learning about is in 5th grade and really romanticizing the idea of coming to a completely new country and having to navigate a new culture, in many cases a new language, and to try and make a home. I think I watched the film Fievel Goes West a million times as a kid and as I got older, other films like Far and Away, Titanic and The Godfather II because I was so interested in this time period and immigration. Even as an adult, I focused a large part of my masters degree to western migration and the Oregon Trail during the mid to late 1800s with Ellis Island being a key part of my research.

Obviously this book is HIGH up on my TBR list and I couldn’t wait to dive in and start reading but I held off so that I could savor it and enjoy it rather than burn through it too quick. I easily could have read this one in one sitting but I did draw it out so that I could savor it because it was just a great read and I love Webb’s prose!

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