Jane Litte's Blog, page 117

REVIEW: Float Plan by Trish Doller

CWs: Discussion of death by suicide, mental illness, disability

Dear Trish Doller,

Way back in the day I read Something Like Normal and I’ve been a fan of your work ever since – albeit that I stick to the romance titles because I need my HEA. You wrote a lot of YA books in the interim, not all of which were romances. I was so excited to see you dip your toe (see what I did there?) into adult contemporary romance with Float Plan. To stretch my punny metaphor even further, come on in, the water is ...

REVIEW: The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter

Cassandra Linfield is a lady fossil collector who declares she will never marry as no man will ever take her studies seriously. When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.

Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment he vows ne...

REVIEW: The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

Dear Charlie Jane Anders,

This book takes place on a January, a tidally locked planet, meaning that one side of the planet always faces the sun and on the other side it’s always dark. In the small temperate zone where night and day meet lies Xiosphant, a city of people descended from human colonists.

Losing track of time is literally a crime in Xiosphant. Curfews are strictly enforced and shutters must be up or down at an exact time. “Timefulness” is fervently adhered to by the vast majority o...

REVIEW: Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Dear Kate Clayborn,

Oh what a delight this book was. I think I was expecting a book a little more serious, a little more like Love Lettering which I enjoyed in a different way. But as it happened, Love at First has a different tone, a more… light-hearted charm. There’s plenty of snappy banter from not just the main characters but the wider cast too. It somehow softened the underlying themes of hurt and rejection that the various characters had experienced from others in their lives in one way or...

REVIEW: What Kind of Day (Six 32 Central Book 1) by Mina V. Esguerra

It’s a bad day for Ben. After years of earnest work, he’s been fired from his job as a speechwriter for a Philippine senator. Name tarnished and bridges burned, he steps into what he thinks is a shuttle ride home, and accidentally joins a tour of his own city.

It was supposed to be a good day for Naya. Her passion is traveling, her hobby is discovering cool things to see and do, and taking people on tours of Metro Manila is her only job right now. An extra person at the last minute isn’t ideal...

What Sirius Has Been Reading

By Imperial Decree by Angel Martinez

Marsh Kensinger’s work as the utility mechanic for Bremen Station keeps his life interesting – but never quite as interesting as finding a pilot still hidden inside a hibernation drawer in what should have been a salvage craft. He knows he shouldn’t get involved, but the Altairian Imperial crest on the private craft and the semi-conscious pilot’s odd questions pique his always-whirling curiosity.

Still unattached at a concerning age for an imperial son, Prin...

REVIEW: Vasilisa by Julie Mathison

It’s 1919, but in Edenfall, Pennsylvania, the Great War is not over — not for Vasilisa, at least. Papa is presumed dead, Mama is being courted by an absolute ogre, and now Babka, her beloved grandma, has had a bad spell. Or has she fallen under one? Only the Old Tales, the Russian fables Vasilisa was raised on, offer any comfort or counsel.

But what if they are more than child’s tales?

Enter Ivan, who jumps a train at midnight and finds Vasilisa in a fix. Old Rus is calling from across time an...

REVIEW: The Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey

Dear M.R. Carey:

I gave the first book in this series, The Book of Koli, a high B, and was optimistic that some of the issues I had with the book would be less of a problem in the sequels. Happily, I was correct.

NOTE: this review contains lots of spoilers for events that occurred in The Book of Koli.

This story starts with Koli and his three companions traveling towards London, or what’s left of it. They are following a mysterious signal emanating from an entity called the Sword of Albion. Wit...

Open Thread for Readers for March 2021

Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?

Bridgerton: A Discussion–Part V

Today we serve up our final post in our five-part Bridgerton discussion series. You can find the first four posts here:

Part I is centered on the show’s worldbuilding and production values, on its treatment of race, and on Lady Whistledown.

Part II focuses on the show’s matriarchs–the queen, Lady Violet, Lady Danbury, and Lady Featherington.

In Part III we talked about Simon and Daphne’s Courtship.

Part IV was about Simon and Daphne’s marriage, including the highly controversial scene, and about...