Tag: Regency Lit

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

Review: The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores #1) by Julie Klassen

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores #1) by Julie Klassen

After reading just one of Julie Klassen’s books, I was absolutely hooked! She reminds me of a contemporary Victoria Holt in many ways. She has t his great story telling style with romance and a little bit of Gothic and mystery added on (to some of her books). Typically when something comes up for review by Klassen, I am fully on board! I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book kicks off a new series for Klassen, most of her books are standalone so this made me extra excited to check it out!

Klassen is a Christian fiction author, which I know isn’t necessarily for everyone. But with that said, I personally feel like her books are really more historical fiction. They do have some elements of Christian fiction but for me the dominant theme is more historical fiction and romance than anything else. In this book in particular I felt like it almost ran more to Women’s fiction with the sister element of this one but in a Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility kind of way if that makes sense.

At any rate, I took a break from my murder mystery thriller series that I have been burning through, to read this one. And now I am dying to read all of Klassen’s books! As soon as I am done with the Tracers Series, I am moving right on to another Klassen book. She always writes such well developed characters and a lovely story so I can honestly say I am never disappointed in anything that she writes.

Continue reading “Review: The Sisters of Sea View (On Devonshire Shores #1) by Julie Klassen” →
Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

This cover instantly caught my eye, followed quickly by ‘Gothic style Regency romance’. I LOVE Gothic fiction, especially at this time of year when it’s starting to get colder and all I want to do is be in front of a fire in my cozy blanket with a crumbling estate! I had just finished another Gothic romance and I was eager for more books like that one I finished. This one came across my desk at the perfect time and was exactly what I needed!

Author, Hannah Linder, is a new author and she is from a small publishing house of Christian Fiction. As luck would have it, I love finding new to me authors and ones that are off the beaten path. I adore Julie Klassen who kind of has a cornerstone on Gothic style Christian Fiction, and this new author reminds me a bit of Klassen but with her own unique style. This book is giving me all the haunted estate vibes and has a questionable hero with a fierce heroine, if you are a fan of Gothic fiction you need to check this one out! It’s a fun romp through Regency England that will satisfy your fall reading desires!

I am so glad I picked this one up, I finished it in just a couple of days and was left wondering when we might expect another book by Linder. Lots of atmosphere, some intrigue, and of course romance. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and once I was hooked—I was HOOKED. It did take me a minute to get into this one, but once I did, I didn’t want to leave! Gothic fans, this one has your name all over it!

Continue reading “Review: Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder” →
Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: An Affair at Stonecliffe (Stonecliffe #1) by Candace Camp

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: An Affair at Stonecliffe (Stonecliffe #1) by Candace Camp

It’s a universally acknowledged truth that I ADORE historical romances. As a younger reader, I would have balked at historical romances calling them ‘fluff’ but as I have gotten older, I have absolutely fallen in LOVE with historical romances and read more of them than almost anything else. I have always loved a great love story even if not exclusively historical romance, but I love books with a romance line regardless of genre.

When I saw this one come up, not only was I drawn to the cover but I also loved the sound of the story, widow who married for love now faced with a menacing relative only to find out that the menacing relative might actually be a nice guy with a potential for love! This one is going to be an enemies to lovers troupe but with a little bit of a twist and ya’ll know how I love enemies to lovers! SO MUCH CHEMISTRY!

I am just so excited to share about this one because the premise sounds charming and just what I am looking to read this coming summer—-happy fluff that leaves me believing in true love! Today I have this lovely excerpt for you guys to check out and after reading it, I am even more excited to check it out. It also looks like the first in a new series so I am looking forward to exploring a new series at its inception! Get this one on your radar now and enjoy this fun excerpt!

Continue reading “Special Feature and Excerpt: An Affair at Stonecliffe (Stonecliffe #1) by Candace Camp” →
Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: When Blood Lies (Sebastian St Cyr #17) by C. S. Harris

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: When Blood Lies (Sebastian St Cyr #17) by C. S. Harris

The Sebastian St Cyr mystery series has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I started off reading the series randomly and our of order and then I went back and started from the beginning and read them all again in order. I absolutely love this series even if at times it feels a little scripted meaning it follows a formula. I still have loved the mysteries and characters so much and every time I see a new book is coming out I absolutely rearrange my calendar for it!

If you like smart historical mysteries with some grit that doesn’t transition over into ‘disturbing’ then this is a great series for you. As I said, I have read the books out of order and was ok, however I did feel like I connected with the characters and the larger narrative much better after reading the series beginning to end. If you haven’t read the series beginning to end but maybe most of the book then you should be ok with this one, however if you haven’t read the other books at all, I would say this probably isn’t the one you want to start with.

This book focuses on Sebastian’s own family history that has been teased through a number of other books in the series. It’s basically what I would call the ‘ultimate’ mystery for Sebastian and the larger narrative. So if you haven’t read all of the books you can probably get by with having only read a few but if you haven’t read any then I think new readers will be lost in this book or at the very least miss all the nuances and significances of the story.

Continue reading “Review: When Blood Lies (Sebastian St Cyr #17) by C. S. Harris” →
Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron

I am so happy to see how well this series is doing! Fourteen books into the mystery series and it’s still going strong! This is a series that has floated around my radar for a while now and it’s been so fun to watch it grow and mature over the years since the first book was published in 1996! That to me shows this series has staying power!

I am so thrilled to bring you guys a sample of the latest book in the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer. I mean what could be better than Jane Austen with a murder mystery?! Some times I am wary of books with big name characters reimagined like Jane Austen, however with this series, I think it’s been proven to be a popular and well done series that fans of Austen will devour.

I loved this little excerpt so much and am excited to check out not only this one but the other books in the series too! I am hoping this is a series where each book can be read as a standalone. For those of you who have read the books what do you think? Please tell me in the comments and keep reading to check out the excerpt of this witty murder mystery!

Continue reading “Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron” →