Tag: Contempo Lit

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

Review: Melmoth by Sarah Perry

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Melmoth by Sarah Perry

She’s watching you. Melmoth the witness. Always watching and always lonely. This book was on my radar since I’m a huge fan of gothic literature.

I have Perry’s novel, The Essex Serpent, to read and have heard rave reviews about it. With October in full swing and this book being released, I decided to start with this book before I read The Essex Serpent.

I have never heard the tales of Melmoth the witness but I love Prague and with this novel being set there, I could barely get the box unwrapped before I started reading this one.

It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working as a translator, she has found a home of sorts—or, at least, refuge. That changes when her friend Karel discovers a mysterious letter in the library, a strange confession and a curious warning that speaks of Melmoth the Witness, a dark legend found in obscure fairy tales and antique village lore. Continue reading “Review: Melmoth by Sarah Perry” →

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

Review: The Man She Married by Cathy Lamb

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Man She Married by Cathy Lamb

I always love meeting new to me authors in roundabout ways. Earlier this year I happened to be invited to book blogger week over at Tall Poppy Writers and found an outstanding community of authors who are dedicated to interacting with their audiences.

I have read and reviewed a number of authors from this group, but at the time I didn’t know they were part of this amazing community…..in fact I only just discovered the group a few weeks ago as I mentioned, and I had been reading a number of Poppy Writers for years!

Anyway, so I participated in their book blogger week met a number of new to me authors, one of which was Cathy Lamb, who also happens to live in the Portland, OR area which is about 45 min north of where I live. Small world!

She asked if I would be interested in reading her latest book, The Man She Married, and I was happy to do so. I didn’t really know much about the book or the author, but I was at least willing to support a fellow Oregonian by reading the book…..but was I in store for something that was not only interesting, but also different that I hadn’t been expecting. Continue reading “Review: The Man She Married by Cathy Lamb” →

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

Review: The Winters by Lisa Gabriele

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: The Winters by Lisa Gabriele

I read Rebecca a few years ago and I thought it was an excellent read with lots of atmosphere and mood. I haven’t really read a book since that comes close to it, so when this book came up for review, I was intrigued as the story sounded like a modern retelling of the gothic classic.

In my opinion, Rebecca is a tough novel to follow. It’s unique—especially considering the time it was written—and has a huge cult following. It told an original story that was haunting and yet creepy without being a ghost story. There were many things that set Rebecca apart for me, so when I read this summary I was eager to see how Gabriele would take a timeless classic and create something with a new twist.

After a whirlwind romance, a young woman returns to the opulent, secluded Long Island mansion of her new fiancé Max Winter—a wealthy politician and recent widower—and a life of luxury she’s never known. But all is not as it appears at the Asherley estate. Continue reading “Review: The Winters by Lisa Gabriele” →

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

Review: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane (Honeymoon Harbor #2) by JoAnn Ross

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane (Honeymoon Harbor #2) by JoAnn Ross

I am a romantic at heart. I love a happy ending and a really good romance. Having it be set during the holidays just sweetens the deal for me.

JoAnn Ross is a new writer to me but it looks like she has written a number of romance series. This isn’t a book that I would normally pick up but I loved that it was set in the Pacific Northwest on the coast. I think the PacNW offers a unique setting for romances—-its a rugged, stormy, unpredictable, and unforgiving coastline so I thought that the setting would add to the story.

Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, Jolene Harper is forever indebted to the mother who encouraged her to fly—all the way to sunny LA and a world away from Honeymoon Harbor. Although Jolene vowed never to look back, returning home isn’t even a question when her mom faces a cancer scare. Which means running into Aiden Mannion all over town, the first boy she ever loved—and lost—and whom she can barely look in the eye. Continue reading “Review: Snowfall on Lighthouse Lane (Honeymoon Harbor #2) by JoAnn Ross” →

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

Review: Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle

It’s November first and I am in full holiday mode. I’m on of those obnoxious people that starts decorating and shopping for Christmas immediately following Halloween.

I started my holiday reading a little early this year (normally I wait until after Halloween) since there were a lot of holiday books coming out. This is one that I had my eye on, mostly because it sounded like it was going to be an epistolary novel. 

Angela Carson wants nothing more than to be the third-generation to run her family’s holiday store, Heart of Christmas, successfully. They’ve weathered over sixty tourist seasons, major hurricanes, and urban sprawl, in their old decommissioned lighthouse. But the national chain that set up shop in their small North Carolina town of Pleasant Sands may be more than Heart of Christmas can survive. Continue reading “Review: Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle” →