Jane Litte's Blog, page 49

REVIEW: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family.

Ester’s path leads her to the King’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrific...

REVIEW: Reinventing Hillwilla by Melanie Forde

Life on a llama farm, set in remote “Seneca County,” West Virginia, transitions from contented to chaotic in this final novel in the Hillwilla trilogy — all under the watchful eye of canine guardian Ralph. Five years after we first met northern urban transplant Beatrice Desmond, she is finally adapting to her mountain hollow among the wary “born-heres” and is more open to the blessings in her life. She has developed a rewarding mother-daughter relationship with troubled local teenager Clara Bu...

Review: Jon’s Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case (Jon’s mysteries #1) by AJ Sherwood

A psychic without an anchor. A student in trouble. A shooter on the loose.

I’m Jonathan Bane, a licensed psychic who consults for the police. I routinely help the police put the bad guys away and, for that reason, the criminal world doesn’t like me much. People like to take a swing at me, or go stabbity, or try for a gun. It makes for interesting times. My psychic ability prevents me from handling anything electronic—and I do mean ANYTHING, I fry it in seconds—so calling for help isn’t always a...

REVIEW: Dear Prudence: Liberating Lessons from Slate.com’s Beloved Advice Column by Daniel M. Lavery

Based on the long-running Slate advice column, a collection of the most eye-opening, illuminating, and provocative installments during Daniel M. Lavery’s tenure as the titular Prudence.

Every week, millions of readers visit Slate for the irresistible “Dear Prudence,” an advice column that promises a healthy dose of reality and good humor alongside its indispensable suggestions and life lessons. The ever-hilarious and insightful Danny Lavery was one of “Dear Prudence”’s most beloved columnists,...

REVIEW: Two Nights to Forever (Orchard Hill Book 2) by Rebecca Crowley

Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but love just might…

Eve Klein almost has it all: a thriving career, great friends, and adoptive parents who’ve supported her in everything—including her quest to find her birth mother. She’s hired a private investigator, and while she waits for the last piece of her history to make her whole, she focuses on the most exciting deal of her career—a controlling share in Keller and Sons, a luxury watchmaker.

To most people Keller watches are status symbols, but to Sau...

REVIEW: Reflections on Captivity: A Tapestry of Stories by a Vietnam War POW by Porter Alexander Halyburton

On October 17, 1965, Navy LTJG Porter Halyburton was shot down over North Vietnam on his 76th mission and listed as killed in action. One-and-a-half years later he was found to be alive and a prisoner of war. Halyburton was held captive for more than seven years. Reflections on Captivity, is a collection of fifty short stories about this young naval officer’s experiences as a POW in North Vietnam. This book recounts difficult times but focuses more on the positive aspects —the humor, creativit...

REVIEW: Getting Out of Saigon by Ralph White

The gripping and remarkable true story of author Ralph White’s desperate effort to save the entire staff of the Saigon branch of Chase Manhattan bank and their families before the city fell to the North Vietnamese Army.

In April 1975, Ralph White was asked by his boss to transfer from the Bangkok branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank to the Saigon Branch. He was tasked with closing the branch if and when it appeared that Saigon would fall to the North Vietnamese army and ensure the safety of the ...

CONVERSATION: May/December Age Differences, Part II — Recommendations and Examples

Possible triggers

Yesterday we discussed big age differences in romance. Here is the second part of that discussion, where we talk about specific examples of the trope.

What is the most recent book you’ve read that featured a significant age difference between the main characters, and how did you feel about it?

What are some examples of books with significant or unusual age differences that you recall liking a lot as well as ones you disliked a lot?

Janine: A recent May/December book I tried to ...

REVIEW: Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey

Dear M.R. Carey,

I was first introduced to your work with The Girl with All the Gifts, which I loved. The next year I read the prequel, The Boy on the Bridge, which I also liked a great deal. In the past few years, I’ve read and enjoyed The Rampart Trilogy and so when the first book in a new series (The Pandominion) popped up, I was eager to give it a try. Blurb time:

The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds – except that they’re really just the one world, Earth, in ...

CONVERSATION: May/December: Where We Talk About Age Differences

Trigger Warning: Child Rape

Janine: I’ve been thinking lately about age gaps in romance. When I started reading romances in the 1980s, May/December pairings were quite common, with the MCs often being a decade apart in age. Queer romances were almost unheard of in mainstream publishing, self-publishing was expensive, and ebooks didn’t exist in the 1980s. But when I first dipped my toe into m/m in the mid-2000s they weren’t that uncommon. Over time, it seems to me, the May/December trope has beco...