Tag: Victorian Lit

Books, Reading

Special Feature: A Love by Design (The Secret Scientists of London #3) by Elizabeth Everett

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: A Love by Design (The Secret Scientists of London #3) by Elizabeth Everett

In the last few years I have been really noticing an upswing in STEM based romances! They seem to be everywhere and I love reading about academic romances. But I feel like most of the STEM based romances are contempo romances with young hot upcoming scientists showing just how excited and sexy science can be. This is one of the reasons this book series stood out to me—it’s a historical fiction series with science at its heart!

I love that these books are all set in the Victorian age, that period is ripe for stories about science and technological advancement! I am really excited to read this series and honestly it’s a shock that I haven’t read the series yet. It should tick all the boxes for me, smart women, swoon worthy heroes, Victorian England, and of course some science to sweeten the pot! From what I am hearing the books can be read out of order so if you are looking for a sexy new historical romance I would say jump into this series wherever you want.

Since this book is out now, I think I am going to see if I can work it in a little later this spring for review. I have some travel coming up and would love to fill my travel days with some happy and fun romances and this seems like it will fit the bill! But for now I only had room for a feature but after reading early reviews and hearing other people rave about this fun series, I am bumping it up on my TBR list and going to check it out later this spring so be watching for a full review coming soon!

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

Special Feature/Excerpt: Under a Veiled Moon (Inspector Corravan #2) by Karen Odden

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature/Excerpt: Under a Veiled Moon (Inspector Corravan #2) by Karen Odden

Karen Odden has written a couple of different historical mystery series most of which are set in the Victorian era. She has also written introductions for some well known classics like Hard Time by Charles Dickens. Clearly she has a love of Victorian literature and history. I have enjoyed her Victorian Mysteries series even if there has only been two books so far.

This latest series featuring Inspector Corravan, is currently on its second book. Odden’s books are recommended for fans of CS Harris and Anne Perry and I would agree, her mysteries are more complex and rich in historical detail. The focus is usually on the mystery itself rather than some of the other secondary plots. I haven’t read this series yet and the reason I choose to do a feature instead of a review was so I could go back and read the first book before moving on to the second.

Having read Odden’s first series, I know she does a great job orientating new readers within the series, however when I can, I prefer to read series books in order. Today though, I have a feature AND excerpt to share! If you are a fan of historical fiction mysteries then you are not going to want to miss this diamond in the rough author! She always crafts a smart mystery with fun characters and wonderful historical details!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: City of Fortune (Counterfeit Lady #6) by Victoria Thompson

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: City of Fortune (Counterfeit Lady #6) by Victoria Thompson

Victoria Thompson has multiple successful series under her belt, including the Gaslight Mystery Series that’s currently 26 books strong! I have read a couple of her books in that series and thoroughly enjoyed them however with it being such a long, established series that it’s a little hard to jump around within the series as there are threads of a larger story woven in. However the books I have read have all been fun and enjoyable so I would recommend the over all series.

Thompson has now started this new series, Counterfeit Lady series, and it’s only six books in so certainly a much more manageable series to get caught up on! While I haven’t read the other books in this series, this book jumped out at me for a couple of reasons. One—the cover! How beautiful is this cover you guys?! The other reason is this book has a horse angle (horse racing) and I absolutely love horses! While I couldn’t fit this one into my review calendar, I am super excited to start this series in the coming months so I can be caught up and ready for the next book in the series.

Thompson is a quality writer with such a huge fan base! If you love historical mysteries with a strong heroine and a smart mystery then you are going to find a lot to love in her books! This book has already been receiving rave reviews from other reviewers, since I haven’t read it yet, I cannot say if you need to read the other books in the series first. No doubt the author will do a good job orientating new readers in the series as well as focusing on the mystery but there will likely be some threads of the larger narrative that carry over from other books. Overall though I would probably still give it a try, you cannot go wrong with Thompson! She’s an excellent writer and a proven track record of well written mysteries!

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

Review: The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood

This book has been sitting in my Amazon cart for well over a year! I had it in my cart as a paperback and just never could decide if I wanted to pull the trigger to not. This book sounded like something I would like but it was also kind of off the beaten path and from a smaller press and if I was going to spend $14 on it, I wanted to make sure I was 100% sold on it. But then one night while I was sitting with my son, waiting for him to fall asleep, I was bored looking for something new to read.

Suddenly buying the ecopy for $10 sounded like a good idea and the moment felt right. I was instantly glad that I pulled the trigger! I was sucked into this one almost immediately and by the time I was done, I was kicking myself for not buying it sooner! If you are a Victoria Holt fan or Julia Klassen, then you are not going to want to miss this one! This has all the things I love about Gothic romances! Ambiguous characters, haunted castles, and of course romance!

This one absolutely drew me in and captivated me for a few days. I found myself spending longer and longer in my son’s room well after her went to sleep just so I could finish ‘one more page’! If you love Gothic mysteries with some romance you are not going to want to miss this one. Or maybe you have this book in your Amazon cart like I did and just aren’t sure if it’s worth it—well the answer is YES! Absolutely worth it!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: An Autumn Kiss by Annette Lyon, Lisa H. Catmull, and Laura Rollins

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: An Autumn Kiss by Annette Lyon, Lisa H. Catmull, and Laura Rollins

This book cover is giving meals the fall vibes! I am absolutely in love with this dress! I wish I could wear something like this to work, it looks so cozy! This book is coming in hot with the fall theme not just in the cover but in the title as well and I am absolutely here for it. I am ready to usher in fall and all the cozy reading and this book seems like a nice way to do that!

Today I have an excerpt to share with you guys and I am really looking forward to hearing what you guys think! This series is in it’s seventh book but they can be read out of order. This book is on the shorter side (300 pages) so it will make for some quick reading no doubt, and it’s an anthology so there are a couple of stories included in this one!

I love clean romances and of course the Victorian era is right up my alley (yes, I binged Bridgerton)! Each novella features a fun heroine and a charming romance for readers to enjoy and while I often favor full length romances sometimes having a novella/anthology is refreshing. I find that reading a variety of stories can help break up the desire to read something fun without having to fully commit to a full length novel if that makes sense. I am so excited to check this collection out and I hope you enjoy reading the excerpt!

Continue reading “Special Feature and Excerpt: An Autumn Kiss by Annette Lyon, Lisa H. Catmull, and Laura Rollins” →