Jane Litte's Blog, page 47

REVIEW: Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians by Anna Reynolds

Uncovers Georgian Britain through the sumptuous fashionable dress of the era.

Explore the history of Georgian clothing through the unique holdings of the Royal Collection, including masterpieces by such artists as Thomas Gainsborough and William Hogarth, along with drawings, miniatures, fashion periodicals, swords, jewelry, and carefully preserved garments and accessories of the period.

Style & Society includes examples of both high fashion and non-elite dress, as well as items commissioned, w...

Review: The Beast Prince (Earthborn Book 1) by Marian Perera

Half human. Half earth. All molten-hot devastation.”

Katsumi Ito, captain of the guard, would give her life to defend her town. But as she trudges toward an abandoned outpost with a tribute-laden pony, she knows her rifle is useless.

The powerful elemental now living in the outpost can instantly transform from human to a landslide of cold rock or molten lava. His demand that she serve him sets her teeth on edge, yet she must obey or he could destroy everything.

If Prince Marus seems confident and ...

REVIEW: The Country Cousins (Woodham Book 2) by Dinah Dean

She dislikes handsome and arrogant Mr Hartwell, but is he an enemy?
Miss Caroline Barnes is shocked to discover she has a secret family she’s never met! Aristocratic Mr Hartwell tells her of her cousin’s lonely plight, and Caroline reluctantly agrees to visit Julia at the gothic sounding Canons Grange.

Her stay in the English countryside is more intriguing than she expected, with smugglers, secrets, and the dashing but mysterious Mr Bell, as well as delightful walks and a faithful if naughty do...

Open Thread for Readers for May 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!

JOINT REVIEW: When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.

Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn’t have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigr...

REVIEW: The Midnight News by Jo Baker

It is 1940 and twenty-year-old Charlotte Richmond watches from her attic window as enemy planes fly over London. Still grieving her beloved brother, who never returned from France, she is trying to keep herself out of trouble: holding down a typist job at the Ministry of Information, sharing gin and confidences with her best friend, Elena, and dodging her overbearing father.

On her way to work she often sees the boy who feeds the birds—a source of unexpected joy amid the rubble of the Blitz. B...

REVIEW: The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick

A psychic desperate to escape her destiny—and a killer—finds her future in the coastal town of Burning Cove in New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick’s latest novel.

Being Madame Ariadne, Psychic Dream Consultant, wasn’t Prudence Ryland’s ideal gig, but it paid well which was reason enough to do the work—until she realizes that her latest client intends to kill her. But Prudence, a master at reinvention, finds a new job and home as far away as possible and is finally able to relax—which...

Review: Best Men by Sidney Karger

When two best men in a wedding party fall for each other, they realize love isn’t a piece of cake in this hilarious and heartfelt romantic comedy debut by screenwriter Sidney Karger.

Max Moody thought he had everything figured out. He’s trying to live his best life in New York City and has the best friend a gay guy could ask for: Paige. She and Max grew up next door to each other in the suburbs of Chicago. She can light up any party. She finishes his sentences. She’s always a reliable splunch (...

REVIEW: Ukulele of Death by E. J. Copperman

After losing their parents when they were just babies, private investigators Fran and Ken Stein now specialize in helping adoptees find their birth parents. So when a client asks them for help finding her father, with her only clue a rare ukulele, the case is a little weird, sure, but it’s nothing they can’t handle.

But soon Fran and her brother are plunged into a world where nothing makes sense – and not just the fact that a very short (but very cute) NYPD detective keeps trying to take etern...

REVIEW: Sally-Ann by Susan Scarlett

The Marchioness’s face changed. … She turned to Ann. “What is your name, dear?”

“Ann.”

“Would you mind being Sally for this one afternoon?”

When her boss succumbs to influenza on the day of a high society wedding, perky young Ann Lane, assistant cosmetician at the elegant Maison Pertinax, is urgently called to a Sussex castle to make up the bride, the kind and understanding Lady Mona. Then a bridesmaid falls ill too and threatens the visual effects carefully planned by Cousin Dennis, and Ann (...