Jane Litte's Blog, page 170

REVIEW: The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman

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The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat—who renames herself Alyce—gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life: “A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.” Medieval village life makes a lively backdrop for the funny, poignant story of how Alyce gets what she wants. A concluding note discusses midwifery...

REVIEW: Breaking Point by John Rhodes

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Breaking Point: A Novel of the Battle of Britain

It is August, 1940. Hitler’s triumphant Third Reich has crushed all Europe—except Britain. As Hitler launches a massive aerial assault, only the heavily outnumbered British RAF and the iron will of Winston Churchill can stop him. The fate of Western civilization teeters in the balance.

Johnnie Shaux, a Spitfire fighter pilot, knows that the average life expectancy of a pilot is a mere five hours of operational flying time. Sooner or later his...

REVIEW: Archangel’s War by Nalini Singh

Dear Ms. Singh,

Archangel’s War begins where Archangel’s Prophecy ended, with Elena in a strange chrysalis too small to hold her. Has Elena survived or is a repository of power for Raphael all that is left of her?

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As the novel starts, Raphael, also dormant, mentally contacts his Seven and the Legion to tell them to clear the area. A huge explosion follows, and Raphael wakes next to what may be a remnant of Elena. Elena made Raphael promise to kill what’s left of her if her soul doesn’t survi...

REVIEW: Sword Dance (Sword Dance #1) by A. J. Demas

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Five years ago, Damiskos’s brilliant military career was cut short, leaving him with a permanent disability and scars that are not all physical. Adrift and still grieving, he tries to find meaning in an unsatisfying job.

Work takes him to the remote seaside villa of an old friend, where, among an odd assortment of guests, he meets the eunuch sword-dancer Varazda. Enigmatic and beautiful but distinctly prickly, Varazda is the antithesis of the straightforward and serious Damiskos. Yet as they...

REVIEW: Your Brain, Explained by Marc Dingman

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Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them?

Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Neuroscientist Marc Dingman gives you a crash course in how your brain works and explains the latest research on the brain functions that affect you on a daily basis.

You’ll also discover what happens when the brain doesn’t work the way it should, causing problems such as insomnia, ADHD, depression, or addiction....

NEW RELEASES: Week of September 24, 2019

Contemporary
The Revenge Game by Alice Gaines: $ 2.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Under Christmas Stars by Alissa Callen: $ 1.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
The Trouble with Christmas by Amy Andrews: $ 5.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Christmas with a Cowboy by Carolyn Brown: $ 4.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Google Play
Contemporary
Say It Again by Catherine Bybee: $ 5.99
AMZN | iBooks | BN | Kobo | Goog...

REVIEW: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

[image error]Way back in 2010, when I reviewed my first Elizabeth Gaskell book, Cranford, a few commenters urged me to read Wives and Daughters. I can’t quite explain why it’s taken me quite so long to actually pick the book up, but recently when I read and reviewed Ruth, someone again mentioned this book, and I knew I had to give it a try.

Wives and Daughters was Gaskell’s last book and was in fact unfinished when she died suddenly in 1865; it was completed by a writer named Frederick Greenwood. (The com...

Open Thread for Readers for October 2019

[image error]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?

REVIEW: Grimm, Grit & Gasoline, edited by Rhonda Parrish

[image error]Dear Contributors,

I was intrigued by the premise of this anthology – fairy and folk tale re-imaginings in a dieselpunk or decopunk setting and decided to pick up the ebook for review knowing little more than that.

As the blurb tells readers: “Dieselpunk and decopunk are alternative history re-imaginings of (roughly) the WWI and WWII eras: tales with the grit of roaring bombers and rumbling tanks, of ‘We Can Do It’ and old time gangsters, or with the glamour of flappers and Hollywood starlets...

REVIEW: Battle Beyond the Dolestars by Chris McCrudden

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Time for the Machine Republic to Kurl Up and Dye

It’s a year since the Battlestar Suburbia broke free from Earth and the human rebellion is hiding out in the asteroid belt. Their leader, Admiral Janice, is assembling a fleet she hopes can topple robot rule – except on Wednesday afternoons when she can do you a half head of highlights for 30 quid.

Janice has given Darren, now the reluctant captain of the teenage starship Polari, a critical mission, to open up a path back to Earth by bombing...