Jane Litte's Blog, page 45

REVIEW: Trial and Tribulation: A Novel of World War II by John Rhodes

It is 1943. In the skies above war-torn Europe a savage battle continues as Allied bomber crews rain down fire and destruction on Hitler’s cities, and Luftwaffe fighters tear the bombers to pieces. Faced with the destruction, Churchill asks, “Are we barbarians?”

Back in England, after the Siege of Malta and continents away from her estranged husband, fighter pilot Johnnie Shaux, strategic military analyst Eleanor Shaux is ordered to develop plans for the systematic destruction of Hitler’s wart...

Open Thread for Readers for June 2023

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? Post about it here!

REVIEW: Jayne’s Children’s Books Review

When Little Owl Met Little Rabbit by Przemyslaw Wechterowicz

Little Owl and Little Rabbit live in the same oak tree, but they’ve never met. How can the two animals become friends when Little Owl wakes up just as Little Rabbit goes to sleep? A heart-warming story of celebrating difference and making new friends from an USBBY-honored illustrator.

When they discover they are neighbours, Little Owl and Little Rabbit are desperate to meet but Little Rabbit hops through the forest by day and Little ...

REVIEW: Duke in Name Only (The Entitled Gentlemen Book 2) by Caroline Warfield

Misfortune is an excellent teacher.

When Phillip Tavernash, Ninth Duke of Glenmoor, discovers his title is held fraudulently, he embarks on a journey to North America determined to succeed on his own. It doesn’t go well. He has no idea what a fish out of water he will be.

Nan Archer had to summon enough backbone to stand up to her father and older brother who moved their family across the frontier every time civilization reached any clearing in which they’d made a stake. She has landed on the ...

REVIEW: B’Nai Mitzvah Mistake by Stacey Agdern

Sharing isn’t caring when it comes to your big day.

Judith Nachman loves working as a project manager at the Mitzvah Alliance charity, and after five years, it’s finally her turn to have the bat mitzvah of her dreams. Judith is enjoying every single moment of the process—until she learns she has to share her day with the annoying hockey player who derailed her sister’s career.

Retired hockey player Ash Mendel is determined to start an organization to support Jewish athletes, and the first step...

REVIEW: Chinese Myths by Xueting C. Ni

Chinese mythology has been passed down in written and oral form over many millennia, emerging from a range of cultural traditions that often have their origins in Daoism and Buddhist religion. At times merging history and folklore, Chinese myths are rich in symbolism and teach us about the complexities of an ancient culture that stretches back more than 4000 years. In this book, learn about Pangu, the creator being, who sprang from an egg after the forces of yin and yang emerged out of a forml...

Review: Witch King by Martha Wells

A story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

“I didn’t know you were a… demon.”
“You idiot. I’m the demon.”
Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ Witch King….

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? W...

REVIEW: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Dear Rebecca Makkai:

Janine brought this book to my attention, knowing my fondness for thrillers and dark academia. I wouldn’t say this book is a thriller, exactly; a mystery would be a more accurate categorization, or rather literary fiction with a mystery at its heart. (My dividing line between thriller and mystery in the types of books I read, at least is, “is the main character ever chase/in fear for her life in the course of the book?” I realize this definition is rather esoteric.)

Here’s ...

REVIEW: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Dear Mark Lawrence,

Earlier this year I read and fell in love with your Book of the Ancestor trilogy (Red Sister, Grey Sister and Holy Sister), a marvelous mix of fantasy, science fiction, action, and coming-of-age novels. The books follow an unforgettable protagonist, Nona Grey, from age nine until early adulthood. They were the best thing I read this year so of course when I saw that you had a new book coming out, I had to request the ARC.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is one of many recent boo...

REVIEW: Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart

As the black sheep of the family, choreographer Cassidy Bliss vowed she’d do anything to get home in time to help with her sister’s wedding and avoid family disappointment…again. She just never expected “anything” would involve sharing the last rental car with the jerk who cut her off in line at the airport this morning. But horrible times apparently call for here-goes-nothing measures.

Driving across the country with Luke “life can be solved with a spreadsheet” Carlisle must be a penance for ...