-
Interview: Rasputin’s Shadow by Raymond Khoury
As part of the Rasputin’s Shadow blog tour, author Raymond Khoury has done a fabulous Q & A! Without further ado, please welcome Raymond Khoury to The Lit Bitch! Q: RASPUTIN’S SHADOW is a great mix of technology, history, and action, but there is a little romance too. How do you work to balance these in the novel? A: I guess it just comes from practice, really. I’ve been a storyteller for years, whether in screenplays of in my previous five novels, and I suppose it’s just a personal preference for how to tell a story, for the pacing, for having a gut feeling about when those different aspects should…
-
Review: Havisham by Ronald Frame
What is it about Catherine Havisham that you remember the most from the classic Great Expectations? Is it all the clocks stuck on a specific time? The old decaying wedding dress? Whatever it is about Miss Havisham, she haunts not only the novel but our memory long after reading Great Expectations. Do you find yourself wondering what her life might have been like prior to being jilted at the alter? What might her back story have been? I know I thought about this the entire time I was reading Great Expectations. In Ronald Frame’s novel, Havisham, we get a chance to see what Catherine Havisham’s life was like before she…
-
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.…
-
Review: Marking Time (The Immortal Descendants #1) by April White
Seventeen year old Saira Elian’s life is a lonely one. Her mom tends to disappear randomly for weeks at a time and when she returns they often pack up and move to a new location. She hasn’t met her father nor does she really know anything about him and she basically has never known anyone she could call a friend. Saira spends her free time tagging the underground around Venice Beach until one night she over hears a conversation she shouldn’t. The next thing she knows she is being chased by a group of men when the police pick her up and arrest her. With her mother gone again she…
-
Review: His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich
The illegitimate son of King Charles II is nothing more than a treacherous rake with nothing to look forward to except war and whoring. For James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth life doesn’t get much better than drinking, fighting, and whoring…..but after many years of meaningless sex and one too many hangovers, Monmouth knows there must be something more to life. Sweet and innocent Lady Henrietta Wentworth has been brought up the way that every respectable girl at court should be…..virtuous. For a woman in Tudor England virtue is the most treasured of things next to position and wealth. Without her virginity a woman’s reputation and marriage prospects are ruined. For…
-
Guest Post: His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich
If you haven’t already had a chance to check out my review of His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich, then be sure to do so, it’s a quick read full of love and history! Zuvich graciously agreed to talk about some of the things that make the Duke of Monmouth such an endlessly fascinating historic figure in this weeks guest post! So without further ado please welcome Andrea Zuvich to The Lit Bitch!
-
Review: The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields
As the Victorian era transition into the ‘modern’ era, women were finally discovering that sex and sexuality could be for their enjoyment, not just a wifely duty performed for the pleasure of their husbands. We see evidence of this shift with the rise of female authorship. Many women started writing real books for women about women and things women cared about or longed for. One of the best known authors of this time was Edith Wharton. Wharton wrote popular and influential novels such a The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocents that addressed issues of class (notably the upper class), manners, and of course love and sexual desire. Like…
-
Review: The Age of Ice by J.M. Sidorova
In an ice palace in eighteenth century Russia, two twin princes are born—Prince Alexander and Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei is the more ambitious, bold, and daring of the two brothers, while Alexander is more reserved and shy. The boys grow up in an idealistic life, residing in the families country home with many animals and servants. Andrei is seemingly always unhappy while Alexander seems more well adjusted and happy. As the two boys reach adulthood the both enlist in the military and through an unexpected situation Alexander makes a startling discovery–he is immune to the cold. This revelation brings about many different questions for Alexander. Why is Andrei not cursed…
-
Special Feature: STARZ Debuts The White Queen
Red and White roses unite! Tonight is the big night! STARZ debuts their original series, The White Queen based on Philippa Gregory’s bestselling series, The Cousins’ War. Be sure to tune in, Saturday, August 10th at 9pm ET/PT to catch the first episode! The show stars Max Irons, Janet McTeer, James Frain to name a few. If you are a fan of the Cousins’ War series, the next book, The White Princess, released on July 23 and is a thrilling novel to read as a stand alone or as part of the series. Here is what the press is saying about The White Queen original drama and novel:
-
Review: The Queen’s Vow by C.W. Gortner
One country. One faith. One crown. That was the vision of Isabella I of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon. Together they reigned for over thirty years, working tirelessly to unite a country that was constantly at civil war. We first meet Isabella at her humble beginnings. Her father the King of Castile has just died and his son from his first marriage, Enrique, is to inherit the thrown. Enrique and his advisers quickly remove Isabella, her brother Alfonso, and her mother from court. They are given a small country house with little to no resources and are basically forgotten about. Until one day when Enrique finally has…