Jane Litte's Blog, page 102

Saturday Sweet News

Frankie King gets her wedding dress – 77 years after the event, Frankie King finally has a wedding dress that she didn’t get during the war. Married quickly due to the groom having only a short leave, they didn’t even have any wedding photos taken.

When Royce and Frankie King celebrated 77 years of marriage on Sept. 16, St. Croix Hospice staff asked where the couple’s wedding photos were.

“Mom had mentioned, ‘We got married on a two-day notice while Dad was just on a short leave … before he wen...

REVIEW: Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia,

I’ve had mixed success with your books. I loved Gods of Jade and Shadow, your young adult fantasy, liked your sort-of-domestic-noir thriller, Untamed Shore, and didn’t care a bit for Mexican Gothic, the horror novel you came out with last year (I was an outlier; it was a bonafide hit). So I was torn about requesting an ARC of your most recent book, a mystery novel in the noir genre (a very different genre from today’s domestic noir thrillers—think The Maltese Falcon ra...

JOINT REVIEW: The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Jennie: Janine, Sirius, and I reviewed the first book in the Scholomance series (originally slated as two books; now a trilogy). Sirius gave it a C- and said she wouldn’t be reading this sequel, but Janine and I, though we had some reservations, ended up liking A Deadly Education quite a bit – I gave it an A- and Janine a B+. I was really quite excited to pick this book up and even more excited to review it with Janine.

Janine: Thank you! My grade actually rose after that and I’ve read it multip...

CONVERSATION: Cover Art and Title Trends

Recently, Jayne, myself and a friend of ours (someone who writes grammar textbooks) had this conversation:

Jayne: I just started The Ex Hex and am hoping for a cutesy rom-com. We’ll see what I get.

Janine: Have you noticed how The [Adjective] [Noun] titles have become a trend in contemporary romances with illustrated covers? And the noun is generally not a person or place but a thing. The adjective is often, but not always, where the thing that’s related to romance comes in, i.e., “Love,” “Ex,”...

REVIEW: The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

A charming debut ownvoices romcom about a chronically-ill “nice Jewish girl” with a secret career as a bestselling Christmas romance novelist who’s forced to write the first Hanukkah romance, sending her for inspiration to the Matzah Ball, a high-end Jewish music celebration run by her summer camp arch enemy.

Oy! to the world

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from h...

REVIEW: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling (aka Rachel Hawkins)

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Grave...

REVIEW: The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love–but Ivy didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it’s a full-time job sorting through all of it. At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand:...

Review: Chaos Etched in Flesh by Lyn Gala

Kilian Kildare is a soldier, fighting the witches and vampires who twist the gift of magic into something dark. However tragedy after tragedy have left him struggling—he’s been turned into a vampire, ostracized, and left to grieve alone. An offer to join an elite Army unit should be the answer to prayers he no longer dares to say. Instead, the move brings new dangers, and new pain.
A demon has slipped its leash, killed its summoner, and now hides within a host. The only barrier between the demo...

REVIEW: What’s Today For? by Jessy Humann, illustrated by Frederico Van Lunter

A sweet book about loving each day and loving yourself. For readers ages 4 years and up.

What’s today for? Today could be for counting raindrops or taking long walks. Today could be for making wishes, for friends, or other stuff. Every day is so much better when you believe that you’re enough.

Review

Yeah I’ll be honest and admit that the cat mother with her kitten on the cover got me – got me in the cat “feels.” The illustrations here are splendid and charming. I could sit and look at them ...

REVIEW: Dear Beast by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry

A jealous cat really, really, REALLY wants to drive away his young owner’s new dog in this playful illustrated chapter book from a two-time Geisel Honor winner.

Simon has taken care of his owner, Andy, for many years. He’s a good cat. Clean, responsible, and loyal. What more could a boy want? Even when Andy’s dad moves out, Simon is certain that Andy doesn’t need another pet. So why would Andy’s dad adopt a DOG?! To make matters worse, the animal is a rude, rowdy troublemaker.

Simon’s job is cl...