Jane Litte's Blog, page 107

REVIEW: The Steal by M.J. Rose and C.W. Gortner

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend—until they’re stolen.

Ania Thorne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval—and plunges her on an unexpected hunt that challenges everything she believes.

Jerome Curtis thinks he’s seen it all, especially when it comes to crime. Until he’s hired to investigate ...

REVIEW: Role Model by Rachel Reid

Dear Rachel Reid,

I read Common Goal a while back and more recently, Heated Rivalry (I am completely an Ilya Rozanov fangirl now) and I jumped on (aka begged for) an ARC of Role Model immediately after because I wasn’t ready to leave this world. (Now I’m reading Game Changer for pretty much the same reason). Which all goes to show that the series can totally be read out of order (although reading Heated Rivalry will be necessary before your next book as it features the same main characters – be s...

REVIEW: Yours Cheerfully by A. J. Pearce

From the author of the “jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People) and international bestseller Dear Mrs. Bird, a new charming and uplifting novel set in London during World War II about a plucky aspiring journalist.

London, November 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Henrietta Bird from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles (now stationed back...

REVIEW: The Winter Sea (Slains Book 1) by Susanna Kearsley

1707. The walls of Slains castle shelter Jacobite rebels, who are conspiring to sail the young, exiled James Stewart from France into Scotland to reclaim his crown—and a young woman caught up in their plot.

Present day. Writer Carrie McClelland is enchanted by an impromptu trip to Cruden Bay, Scotland, and decides to settle in the tiny village, hoping to find inspiration for her novel about the Jacobite uprising in the area’s evocative past—and in the haunting ruins of the castle.

She creates ...

REVIEW: Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

“Meet Stick and Stone.
They stick up for each other,
because friends rock.”

When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with a Pinecone, a friendship is born. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favor?

With simple, rhyming text, subtle messages of kindness and compassion, and Tom Lichtenheld’s signature charm, this delightful story about making and helping friends will enchant readers young and old because it’s never too early—or too late—to stick up for your friends.

Review...

REVIEW: Sydney and Taylor Take a Flying Leap by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Deborah Hocking

In this laugh-out-loud early chapter book with charming full-color illustrations, best-selling author Jacqueline Davies continues the adventure of two best friends who chase their dreams, even through doubt and obstacles. Perfect for fans of the Mercy Watson and Owl Diaries series.

When Taylor decides he wants to be the World’s First Flying Hedgehog, there is little Sydney can do to stop him. Will Taylor realize his dream? Will he forgive Sydney for not believing in him? And can Sydney keep hi...

REVIEW: Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Deborah Hocking

Sydney is a skunk and Taylor is a hedgehog, but no matter how odd the pairing may seem, their friendship comes naturally. They live happily in their cozy burrow . . . until the day Taylor gets his Big Idea to go see the Whole Wide World. From mountains taller than a hundred hedgehogs, valleys wider than a thousand skunks, to the dangers that lie in the human world, Sydney and Taylor wanted to see it all. With a map and a dream, they bravely set off, soon discovering that the world is much bigg...

Review: The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

Two boys, alone in space.

After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.

Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: Evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away...

Jayne’s mid summer Reading List

Sadly, here are more books I wanted to enjoy which, for various reasons, did not work for me.

The Master of Measham Hall by Anna Abney

1665.

It is five years since King Charles II returned from exile, the scars of the English Civil Wars are yet to heal and now the Great Plague engulfs the land. Alethea Hawthorne is safe inside the walls of the Calverton household as a companion to their daughter. She waits in anticipation of her brother William’s pardon for killing a man in a duel before t...

REVIEW: Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections From Back Home by Vicki Cody

It is August 1990, and Iraq has just invaded Kuwait, setting off a chain reaction of events leading up to the first Gulf War. Vicki Cody’s husband, the commander of an elite Apache helicopter battalion, is deployed to Saudi Arabia—and for the next nine months they have to rely on written letters in order to stay connected.

From Vicki’s narrative and journal entries, the reader gets a very realistic glimpse of what it is like for the spouses and families back home during a war, in particular wh...