Tag: Historic Fiction

Books, Reading

Special Feature/Excerpt: A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature/Excerpt: A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen

Who else is a massive sucker for stunning book covers? I know I am! When I saw this one come up for review, I knew I wanted to read it based on the cover alone, but then I saw that Tessa Arlen wrote it and I was instantly excited! I have read and loved many of Arlen’s books, most of which are historical mysteries. She always writes such great books and the historical parts are on point!

Seeing this book cover and the summary with the Titanic connection, really made me excited because I know how well Arlen does historical fiction and since this is a little different than her mysteries I was eager to check it out. I love this particular era and I love the fashion of the time so getting to read about a fashion icon sounded like it would be right up my alley.

I will be sharing a full review a little later on but for today I wanted to share a wonderful excerpt from this book! If you love elegant prose, well written characters, with stunning historical detail this is the book you have been waiting for. It has been very well received by early reviewer and I just started reading it the other night and am already hooked! Take a quick look at this excerpt and see if it interests you!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The People’s Princess by Flora Harding

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The People’s Princess by Flora Harding

I can vividly remember where I was when I found out Princess Diana had died. It was such a memorable event and one that captivated me as the events and details of her life unfolded. I was in my late teens when she died and I didn’t really know much about her personal life but in the months after her death, I found my self more and more fascinated with her life and history. Now that I am an adult I still am fascinated by the royal family and I love books that explore the royals.

When I saw this book was coming out I jumped at the chance to check it out. I am reading it later this summer but I wanted to get it out on everyones radar now since it is out! This book follows a young Diana who discovers a diary written by Princess Charlotte and finds that she and the late princess actually have quite a bit in common! This book sounds intriguing on so many levels and I cannot wait to read it! It is out now and lots of reviewers have said what a fun read this reimagined book is!

If you love historical fiction and the royals, then you are not going to want to miss this one! I love that it has a more modern story with Princess Diana blended with the historical part of Princess Charlotte’s story. I love duel time narratives and I am so looking forward to reading this one! Plus author Flora Harding is a wonderful writer! I read her previous book Before the Crown last year and loved it so I am even more excited to see how she writes Diana! Be sure to check this one out!

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

Review: A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

This book has me written all over it! The cover, the title, the summary! I couldn’t wait to check this one out and start reading it! I loved that it was set in post WWI England, though to be honest I missed in the summery that it was set in 1923 when I read it. I spent the first 10-20 pages of the book trying to figure out of it was the Victorian era or post WWI!

At any rate, the setting was great and it had a very ‘adventurer,. explorer, intellectual’ vibe from the very first page and I was eager to see how the story panned out. If you enjoy books with a fiesta female sleuth then you will find a lot to love in Saffron Everleigh! Saffron was fun, relatable, and intelligent and I really liked getting to know her throughout the book.

This is author Kate Khavari’s second book and even though I haven’t read the anything else by her, I would be happy to read another historical fiction by her as this was enjoyable and generally good. If you enjoy a ‘whodunnit’ with intelligent characters and a lovely setting then you don’t want to miss this one! Plus look at that cover y’all! It’s so pretty!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

It’s funny how war changes so much about society in unexpected ways. I loved that this book really wanted to tell the story of how war changed life for these three very different war brides. Sewing really used to be such a bonding experience for women not to mention a point of pride. I can remember my my grandma telling me about sewing with her friends and sisters and the pride she took in the fact that she sewed her own wedding dress (in the 1930s!).

In the age of everything including wedding dresses being at the tip of our fingers, it’s pretty amazing to think about women sitting around making their own wedding dresses. One of the reasons that I wanted to feature this book (and will later read) is for this reason! It just sounded so charming and really a way to nightlight a bygone era. I cannot wait to dig into this one a little later this year. It sounds like a wonderful work of historical fiction and one that historical fiction fans won’t want to miss!

When I got married in 2004, I actually had my grandma help me make my wedding veil. It was an experience and item that I will forever cherish. I am so excited to read this book because I understand how meaningful working on a project like this with someone can be. I can’t wait to check this book out. Plus Jennifer Ryan has a couple other successful novels under her belt and I can’t wait to see what magic she weaves with this one!

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

Review: A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time #1) by Kelley Armstrong

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time #1) by Kelley Armstrong

If I could have one superpower it would be to time travel! It should therefore be no surprise that I LOVE time travel books! When I saw that a new time travel murder mystery novel was coming out, I was absolutely on board for a review! I have read a couple of other time travel murder mysteries and loved them so much so naturally I am always looking for another to satisfy my desire to time travel!

And why does it always seem like every time travel book is set in Scotland? I don’t have the answer nor do I care, because I love how well Scotland works for time travel books. I mean Outlander, need I say more?! When I saw this book was being labeled as a cross between Outlander and The Alienist, I couldn’t WAIT to get my hands on it! I loved both of those books and couldn’t wait to read something in a similar vein that was also different.

To be fair though, not all time travel murder mysteries are created equal and just because a time travel murder mystery set in Scotland calls to my heart, I didn’t want to overly build it up in my mind only to be disappointed. That has happened. to me before so I didn’t want to experience a let down, however I simply couldn’t help but build it up in my mind before I even started it!

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