Tag: Historic Fiction

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

Review: Winter Sisters (Mary Sutter #2) by Robin Oliveria

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on Review: Winter Sisters (Mary Sutter #2) by Robin Oliveria

The thing that caught my eye about this book was that the protagonist was a Civil War surgeon–and a woman. My masters is in American History but my speciality is women in Civil War nursing so seeing a book with a female Civil War surgeon as the main character totally made me want to read this book even more!

This is the second book in the series but I hoped not much had transpired where I needed to read the first book, though I will admit that the first book sounds wonderful and I was temped to pick it up before this one but I got distracted with something else entirely.

So this book hit a lot of marks for me when the pick came through–Civil War surgeon, disappearance, beautiful cover art, and the promise of dark secrets revealed. I was totally in on this one!  Continue reading “Review: Winter Sisters (Mary Sutter #2) by Robin Oliveria” →

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

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” →

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

Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James

Yes, yet another Simone St James book. When I find an author I like, sometimes I binge read if my schedule allows it and in this case it did. I had surgery on my ankle four weeks ago and have had more than enough time to read and read and read.

I am winding down in my St James binge read-a-thon though. I had two books left, this one and Silence for the Dead. I wanted to end my binge with a really good one so I had to decide which one to read first since both sounded interesting.

The Other Side of Midnight had a similar ratings on Goodreads as Silence for the Dead so I just picked one and it happened to be this one!

London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she’s been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter. Continue reading “Review: The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James” →

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

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” →

Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend by Nicole Evelina

by The Lit Bitch1 Comment on Special Feature: The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend by Nicole Evelina

The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend
by Nicole Evelina

Publication Date: November 21, 2017
Lawson Gartner Publishing
eBook & Paperback; 281 Pages

Genre: History & Criticism/Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

 

 

Guinevere’s journey from literary sinner to feminist icon took over one thousand years…and it’s not over yet.

Literature tells us painfully little about Guinevere, mostly focusing on her sin and betrayal of Arthur and Camelot. As a result, she is often seen as a one-dimensional character. But there is more to her story. By examining popular works of more than 20 authors over the last one thousand years, The Once and Future Queen shows how Guinevere reflects attitudes toward women during the time in which her story was written, changing to suit the expectations of her audience. Beginning in Celtic times and continuing through the present day, this book synthesizes academic criticism and popular opinion into a highly readable, approachable work that fills a gap in Arthurian material available to the general public.

Nicole Evelina has spent more than 15 years studying Arthurian legend. She is also a feminist known for her fictional portrayals of strong historical and legendary women, including Guinevere. Now, she combines these two passions to examine the effect of changing times and attitudes on the character of Guinevere in a must-read book for Arthurian enthusiasts of every knowledge level.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Chapters | IndieBound | Kobo

Continue reading “Special Feature: The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend by Nicole Evelina” →