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

Review: When Blood Lies (Sebastian St Cyr #17) by C. S. Harris

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: When Blood Lies (Sebastian St Cyr #17) by C. S. Harris

The Sebastian St Cyr mystery series has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I started off reading the series randomly and our of order and then I went back and started from the beginning and read them all again in order. I absolutely love this series even if at times it feels a little scripted meaning it follows a formula. I still have loved the mysteries and characters so much and every time I see a new book is coming out I absolutely rearrange my calendar for it!

If you like smart historical mysteries with some grit that doesn’t transition over into ‘disturbing’ then this is a great series for you. As I said, I have read the books out of order and was ok, however I did feel like I connected with the characters and the larger narrative much better after reading the series beginning to end. If you haven’t read the series beginning to end but maybe most of the book then you should be ok with this one, however if you haven’t read the other books at all, I would say this probably isn’t the one you want to start with.

This book focuses on Sebastian’s own family history that has been teased through a number of other books in the series. It’s basically what I would call the ‘ultimate’ mystery for Sebastian and the larger narrative. So if you haven’t read all of the books you can probably get by with having only read a few but if you haven’t read any then I think new readers will be lost in this book or at the very least miss all the nuances and significances of the story.

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Special Feature: The Shop on Royal Street (Royal Street #1) by Karen White

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Shop on Royal Street (Royal Street #1) by Karen White

I absolutely loved Karen White’s Tradd Street series, while I haven’t read every single one of them, the one’s that I have read were so cute. I do think that the series would be more enjoyable in order but overall it was fine to read out of order. Through the books though we meet a host of fun secondary characters which become the inspiration for this new series.

The Tradd Street series came to an end earlier this year so when I saw that White was coming out with a new series based on some of the Tradd Street characters I was so excited. Since I have jumped around in the principal series, I was so excited to begin a new series at its inception. I have this one on my TBR for a little later this spring and I cannot wait!

If you love cozy, well written mysteries with a little paranormal written in then this will be a good choice for you! White is such a talented writer. Not only does she has a wonderful mystery series in the Tradd Stree novels but she also writes collaborative historical fiction (some of my favs!) and a few stand alone novels. She is a prolific writer with what I call ‘range’. She always crafts well written stories and mysteries so you can’t go wrong picking up one of her books. I have enjoyed each and every book I have read by White! Be sure to get this new cozy mystery series on your radar for the spring!

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

Review: As Good As Dead (A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: As Good As Dead (A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson

Say hello to the worst book I have read this year—-and frankly, the last decade. I have had books that I did not finish and books that just left me feeling lukewarm or even disappointed but none have left me feeling absolute shock and frustration. The second book in the series had me feeling a little bland about Pip as a main character so when this one came out, I wasn’t really chomping at the bit to read it but a friend of mine read it and basically said it was awful but she wanted to discuss with someone—-so here we are, thank you peer pressure.

As you move into reading my review of this one, know that I normally don’t post spoilers but frankly there is no way around that for this review. If you haven’t read the other books or you are planning on reading this one you might want to skip my review all together as there WILL be spoilers. So consider yourself warned.

Normally, if I am not feeling a book, I usually set it down and shelf it as DNF, but in this case there was just so much wrong with this book that I felt obligated to read until the end with the hope that it would improve but sadly it did not. I also try to refrain from fully ripping a book as I try to be respectful of authors and their creative license, and that still remains true in this case, there are good points but they did not balance out enough for me to even remotely enjoy this final installment.

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

Review: The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

Author Gilly Macmillan is known for writing some darker mysteries so when this one came up for review, I was intrigued enough to check it out. I know that a lot of psychological thriller and mysteries tend to be more twisty and dark and I love reading mysteries like that. For me my favorites are either classic Agatha Christie style mysteries or the dark twisty modern psychological thrillers!

This one actually sounded like it might blend both the classic mystery with the darker twists that more modern thriller are known for so I was super excited see how the two merge together. I haven’t read a mystery in a while that does this and to be honest, the one I did read just wasn’t for me (The Guest List) so I wasn’t exactly sure that this was going to be a perfect match up but I was at least willing to give it a go.

I have Macmillan’s books on my radar over the years and I know that she has had a lot of fans who enjoy her books so that says to me she is a seasoned writer and tried and proven talent with a big fan base. This gave me the assurance that I would be reading a quality mystery an it was that. It actually was a little different than I was expecting but pretty good none the less!

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

Review: The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey

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Kristy Woodson Harvey has written a number of contempo lit/women’s fiction novels over the years and I have been a massive fan ever since I read her first book years ago! I have read almost all of her books and each one is always well written with charm, wit, and excellent story telling. I have recommended her books to so many of my friends and I have yet to meet someone who was disappointed in her novels.

This book is her first foray into historical fiction and sometimes the crossover doesn’t go smoothly for some writers. Most writers pick a genre and stick with it and historical fiction writers are kind of a weird breed to be honest. They often do meticulous research for their books and try to remain true to the period so it is rare to see an author go from contempo lit into historical fiction. If it were any other author, I would be nervous but I never once doubted that Harvey could make the cross over.

I was so excited to see this book was coming out and I spent MONTHS eagerly awaiting the release of the book and when it arrived I wasted no time diving into it. I just love Harvey’s writing style and couldn’t wait to see how her modern voice translated into a more historical piece. Not only is this cover stunning, the summary and story promised within are surly enough to lure readers in without much trouble! I know that I for one would have picked this one up based on the cover alone!

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