Tag: Gothic Lit

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

Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St James

I am not a huge ghost story reader. In fact I rarely read any ghost stories because I like being able to sleep at night.

That said, this book has been all over my social media. It’s everywhere. I saw it on Book of the Month, long before I was approached to review it and admittedly was intrigued. I made a mental note to pick it up from my library once it was available and moved on.

Then it came across my desk for review. I was open to giving it a shot, and the cover was eye catching so I agreed. In Feb it was BOTM top pick and again, it was everywhere.  While I was recovering from my surgery in Feb, I was looking for something I could read quick and enjoy. So I got a jump on my March reading and started with this one. Continue reading “Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St James” →

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

Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

I had my eye on this book when it was released in the UK and I was eager to read it once it was published in the US. I am absolutely in love with the UK cover….the US cover not so much but the UK one is totally eye catching and screams READ ME.

When it came across my desk for review I was totally on board, especially since I was kind of on a ghost story kick. A Victorian ghost story….count me 100% in.

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Continue reading “Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell” →

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Review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St James

Where was this book a few years ago when I watched Crimson Peak and was dying for a book similar?! If you saw Crimson Peak and loved it, then I think you will really enjoy this book.

One of the things that I liked about that film was how the house and ghosts both haunted the characters and this book does something similar and the effect is memorable and so wonderfully suspenseful!

This is my final Simone St James book and I really wanted to end her books on a high note, and that’s exactly what I did. I think this one was one of my favorites by her!

In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Continue reading “Review: Silence for the Dead by Simone St James” →

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Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James

Many of you have noticed that I recently became completely obsessed with Simone St James’s novels. I started off with The Broken Girls (her latest novel out in March) and I was completely hooked on her writing style and plots.

I ordered all of her books from my library and haven’t looked back. I’ve shamelessly read them all in the matter of days. Some are better than others naturally but all have an interesting plot angles and intriguing mysteries, ghosts, and romances.

This book was actually on my radar well before I started reading her works. I love gothic novels, specifically Victoria Holt. This book came up on my Goodreads recommendations for fans of Victoria Holt.

So I put it in my TBR list and kind of forgot about it. This same book kept coming up when I read Anne Lee Huber’s Gothic Myth’s series, again I looked at it and thought ‘I need to read this one’ but again forgot about it until I discovered this author’s other works.  Continue reading “Review: An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St James” →

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Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James

After finishing two of Simone St James novels in less than a week, I was thrilled when this one came into the library and was waiting patiently in the holds section for me to pick up.

I had read a lot of great reviews for this book and was eager to see what kind of ghost and romance this story would hold. It sounded a little different than The Haunting of Maddy Clare but still within the same wheelhouse of that style, so I was intrigued.

England, 1921. Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss.

Working as a paid companion to Alex’s wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning… Continue reading “Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St James” →