Jane Litte's Blog, page 132
October 22, 2020
REVIEW: The Domestic Revolution : How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything by Ruth Goodman
“The queen of living history” (Lucy Worsley) returns with an immersive account of how English women sparked a worldwide revolution—from their own kitchens.
No single invention epitomizes the Victorian era more than the black cast-iron range. Aware that the twenty-first-century has reduced it to a quaint relic, Ruth Goodman was determined to prove that the hot coal stove provided so much more than morning tea: it might even have kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Wielding the wit and passi...
October 21, 2020
JOINT REVIEW: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Jennie, Sirius and I (along with Jayne), reviewed Naomi Novik’s last book, Spinning Silver, together. Our roundtable discussion was a lot of fun and the three of us decided to reunite for Novik’s recent release, the first book in her Scholomance series, A Deadly Education.
–Janine.
Janine: A Deadly Education takes place in a world that exists alongside our own. Wizards and witches live in our society, but when they are in their high school years they fall prey to mals (short for malaficaria), ma...
October 20, 2020
NEW RELEASES: Week of October 20, 2020
Return Billionaire to Sender by Annika Martin: $ 4.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Nick UnCaged by Abbie Zanders: $ 4.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Snapped by Alexa Martin: $ 9.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Sweet on You by Carla de Guzman: $ 3.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Christmas Dreams by Ev Bishop: $ 3.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Descen...
REVIEW: Death and the Maiden by Samantha Norman, Ariana Franklin
England. 1191. After the death of her friend and patron, King Henry II, Adelia Aguilar, England’s vaunted Mistress of the Art of Death, is living comfortably in retirement and training her daughter, Allie, to carry on her craft—sharing the practical knowledge of anatomy, forensics, and sleuthing that catches murderers. Allie is already a skilled healer, with a particular gift for treating animals. But the young woman is nearly twenty, and her father, Rowley, Bishop of Saint Albans, and his pat...
October 19, 2020
REVIEW: Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
I first became aware of Elizabeth Gaskell through television adaptions of her works Cranford and North and South; I then went on to read and enjoy those books. Sylvia’s Lovers is, by my count, the sixth Gaskell book I have read (I think I only have two left after this, though there are also some novellas and short stories to delve in to after that).
Before reading this book I read that Gaskell had called Sylvia’s Lovers “the saddest story I ever wrote”, which gave me pause. Aside from Cranford,...
October 16, 2020
REVIEW: Paternity Case by Gregory Ashe
Please note: If you think this series might be of interest to you may wish to avoid this review—it’s full of spoilers for books one and two. Start with my review of Pretty Pretty Boys, book one in the series, instead.
Trigger warnings:
Spoiler: Show
child rape, homophobia and homophobic slurs (although this is an #ownvoices book, homophobic slurs are used to portray homophobic characters as well as sarcastically by the main characters).
Dear Gregory Ashe,
Recently I got into your Hazard and ...
October 15, 2020
REVIEW: My Wild Life by Suzi Eszterhas
As a young girl, Suzi Eszterhas knew she wanted to be a wildlife photographer. But how did she go from snapping pictures of cats in her backyard to taking photos of cheetah cubs in Kenya? In this nonfiction picture-book biography, Eszterhas invites readers to find out what her life is like behind the lens.
Spectacular photographs of animals paired with compelling anecdotes will instantly draw readers in. Each section of the book explores a unique part of Eszterhas’s job with energetic and enga...
REVIEW: Odd Bird by Lee Farnsworth
Simon Selwood is an academic expert on the monogamous sexual behaviour of birds – but hopeless at finding human love. Then he meets Kim, and at last something is more important to him than ornithology.
Kim doesn’t give a hoot about birds. And at first she isn’t very interested in Simon either. Relying in on what he has gleaned from observing the opportunistic pied flycatcher and other species, plus the unorthodox advice of old friend Phil, Simon sets out on a mission to discover love for himse...
October 14, 2020
REVIEW: Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders (Dominion of the Fallen #3.5) by Aliette de Bodard
From the author of the critically acclaimed Dominion of the Fallen trilogy comes a tale of dragons, and Fallen angels—and also kissing, sarcasm and stabbing.
Lunar New Year should be a time for familial reunions, ancestor worship, and consumption of an unhealthy amount of candied fruit.
But when dragon prince Thuan brings home his brooding and ruthless husband Asmodeus for the New Year, they find not interminable family gatherings, but a corpse outside their quarters. Asmodeus is thrilled by th...
October 13, 2020
REVIEW: Miracles and Menorahs by Stacey Agdern
Sarah Goldman loves Hanukkah, and she’s thrilled to be appointed as vice chair of the Hollowville Hanukkah Festival. So when the festival is threatened with cancellation, she comes up with an idea: a new slogan and advertising campaign topped off with a metal menorah large enough to fill the center of town. But even though her heart and dreams are large, the committee’s budget constraints threaten to stop her grand plans right in their tracks.
Famous metal sculptor Isaac Lieberman also loves H...
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