Tag: Historic Fiction

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

Review: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

by The Lit Bitch2 Comments on Review: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

I’ve only read a couple of Nancy Bilyeau’s novels, which was a good read but for some reason I didn’t get back to any of her other novels. I saw this one floating around various book sites and was intrigued.

I was interesting in this book because I thought it was going to be about china and porcelain and somehow circle back and become a historical thriller. In sort, that’s exactly what I got with this one—-porcelain and a little bit of suspense.

In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice. Continue reading “Review: The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau” →

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

Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

I had one experience with Diane Setterfield’s novels and that was Bellman & Black way back in 2013. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the book and I was so sad because I wanted to love it so very badly. I mean it sounded right up my alley and I was reading it as my ‘scary read’ for October so I was even more disappointed in it.

At the time I wanted to read her other novel, The Thirteenth Tale, but I was just so let down that I didn’t want to risk being disappointed again. So flash forward five years…..since reading this Bellman & Black,  I have thought of her other book off and on but just haven’t gotten around to reading it.

Then I was approached to read Once Upon a River and I was actually super excited. By all accounts and descriptions, all of her books should be something that I would love. I was eager to try out another one of her books, especially because I had already heard quite the buzz happening around this book which made me excited. And let’s just say the only regret I have with this book is that I didn’t start it sooner! Continue reading “Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield” →

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

Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston

Paula Brackston has been a favorite writer of mine for a while now. I have read almost all of her ‘witch’ novels and I love them! She has such a nice voice in her stories and I love the mixture of magic and realism.

When this book came up for review, I was so excited to read it. I loved the cover and the title so much. It looked like something that I was going to be an instant favorite in my magical realism category.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It’s while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century. And shortly after, she’s confronted by a ghost who reveals that this is where the antique has its origins. The ghost tasks Xanthe with putting right the injustice in its story to save an innocent girl’s life, or else it’ll cost her Flora’s. Continue reading “Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston” →

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Review: The Gold Pawn (Art Deco Mystery #2) by L.A. Chandlar

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Review: The Gold Pawn (Art Deco Mystery #2) by L.A. Chandlar

This was a series that I hadn’t heard anything about. The author and the series were completely new to me but I fell in love with the cover and was eager to see what it was about.

I am always on the look out for new historical mysteries and Kensington Books have a slew of authors that I have come to enjoy over the years.

November 1936. Mayor La Guardia’s political future buckles under a missing persons case in New York City. Simultaneously, Lane unravels devastating secrets in the outskirts of Detroit. As two crimes converge, judging friends from enemies can be a dangerous game . . .

Finally summoning courage to face the past, Lane Sanders breaks away from her busy job at City Hall to confront childhood nightmares in Rochester, Michigan. An unknown assailant left Lane with scattered memories after viciously murdering her parents. However, one memory of a dazzling solid gold pawn piece remains–and with it lies a startling connection between the midwestern tragedy and a current mystery haunting the Big Apple . . . Continue reading “Review: The Gold Pawn (Art Deco Mystery #2) by L.A. Chandlar” →

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

Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The first thing I said when I saw this book was—-finally a cool interesting book set in Portland!

Living in Oregon, there isn’t an abundance of cool books set here. Sure we have a number of writers from Oregon that have made it into the ‘big time’, but for the most part Oregon isn’t exactly the hippest place to set  your novel in.

In recent years though I have seen a lot of writers—both from Oregon or the PacNW and not—set their books here in my lovely state but it’s still not as popular as say New York or L.A.. I’ve read a few of Faye’s novels and have fallen in love with her writing so besides the fact that this book has Oregon ties, I wanted to read it because she wrote a new book!

The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. Continue reading “Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye” →