Tag: Downton Abbey

Books, Giveaway, Reading

Giveaway: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey

by The Lit Bitch15 Comments on Giveaway: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey

Are you going through Downton Abbey withdrawals? I don’t know about you  but I know I am! If you are longing for more history and mystery from this exciting era in English history this book is going to be exactly what you are looking for! 

Thanks to the publisher, I am ecstatic to be able to offer a copy of The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey for your enjoyment!

Giveaway runs 1/23/13 to 1/29/14

Winners will be announced 1/30/14.

(how to enter)

On this blog you must leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway.  Your comment MUST include your email so I can contact you….if you do not enter an email in the comments your entry will be void. Winners will be notified by email the day after the giveaway closes and have five days to respond, it not another winner will be chosen. 

(GIVEAWAY OPEN TO US ONLY AND NO PO BOX)

Make sure you note if you have done the following for more chances to win: Tweet about the giveaway (+1), share on Facebook (+1), like The Lit Bitch on Facebook (+1), follow The Lit Bitch on Twitter (+1), subscribe to The Lit Bitch’s blog (+1). Tweet/RT about the giveaway (+1). Share about the giveaway (+1).

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

Review: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey

Non-fiction books are often a double edged sword for me. I love that I get the historical information and facts about a period in history or a specific person etc, however often the material is presented in a very scholarly manor and can at times be on the dry side.

However ever once in a while I get a non-fiction book for review that really catches my eye and that was the case with The Secret Rooms but Catherine Bailey.

This book promised a Downton Abbey-esque, real life mystery in the upper echelons of WWI English society…how could I pass it up? This story roped me in almost immediately.

Continue reading “Review: The Secret Rooms: A True Story of a Haunted Castle, a Plotting Duchess, and a Family Secret by Catherine Bailey” →

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

Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

by The Lit Bitch14 Comments on Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

In the exotic vacation destination of Monte Carlo, we find a quiet and insecure woman on holiday. The young lady is a companion to a wealthy eccentric woman.

While in Monte Carlo the young lady meets a dark, mysterious widower named Maxium de Winter.

They fall in love and marry almost immediately. Maxium is a wealthy man who’s wife just passed away back in England.

The circumstances surrounding her death don’t sounds sinister in nature but they are horrific. Supposedly the first Mrs de Winter was killed in a boating accident.

Many years his junior, the new Mrs de Winter returns with Maxium to his country estate of Manderley on the British coast. She arrives to find the ghost of Rebecca haunts the estate….not literally but figuratively.

Continue reading “Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier” →

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Reading

Review: The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam

In 1917, Imperial Russia was coming to an end. The Bolsheviks came to power and the powerful Romanov family was sent into exile. After being held captive, they were all supposedly executed by firing squad in 1918.

Tsar Nicholas, his wife The Empress and Grand Duchess Olga, and their four children were all executed on that fateful day ending the Romanov dynasty. But what if there was a fifth child?

That’s what author Jennifer Laam does in her novel The Secret Daughter of the Tsar. Veronica is finishing up her post graduate research and if she’s being honest…it’s not going well. Her supervisors aren’t impressed with the direction her research is going, not to mention things in her personal life aren’t going to well either.

Continue reading “Review: The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam” →

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

Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

by The Lit Bitch7 Comments on Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

1916 occupied France, a young artist named Edouard LeFevre, leaves his wife, Sophie, to fight in the Great War.

Before he left, he painted her portrait and titled it ‘The Girl You Left Behind’. This painting has become her most prized possession.

When her husband and is imprisoned, Sophie clings to the painting. Unfortunately the painting is admired by many in the small village…particularly the local Kommandant.

He not only falls in love with the painting but with the real life subject as well and essentially holds Sophie captive.

Sophie is soon faced with some tough decisions. She loves her husband desperately but she is stuck in an awkward situation with the Kommandant’s attention.

She is desperate to see Edouard again and ultimately decides to put her life and reputation on the line for that dream to come true.

Continue reading “Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes” →