Jane Litte's Blog, page 88

CONVERSATION: Thoughts on Shifters

Recently Sirius emailed the rest of us with questions to start a new conversation. The discussion went long enough that we are splitting it into two parts. The second half, which is chock full of book recommendations, will run tomorrow. — Janine
 
Sirius: Hi all, here are some questions on the topic of shifters.

Do you like shifters in general in your books? Why or why not?

Which characterization of shifters you prefer (once again if you enjoy them in general) – shifters as mostly humans with so...

REVIEW: The Man Who Tasted Words by Guy Leschziner

In The Man Who Tasted Words, Guy Leschziner leads readers through the senses and how, through them, our brain understands or misunderstands the world around us.

Vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch are what we rely on to perceive the reality of our world. Our senses are the conduits that bring us the scent of a freshly brewed cup of coffee or the notes of a favorite song suddenly playing on the radio. But are they really that reliable? The Man Who Tasted Words shows that what we perceive t...

REVIEW: The Legacy by Elle Kennedy

The Legacy is a quartet of related stories that catches the reader up with the couples in the Briar U Off-Campus series three years after most of them have graduated. The blurb…

“A wedding.

A proposal.

An elopement.

And a surprise pregnancy.”

…pretty much covers the central plots of each story, and early on you can figure out which description fits which couple.

The first story, The Pact, features Logan and Grace, stars of book two of the original series, The Mistake. Logan is now a professiona...

REVIEW: Smooth as Silk by Alicia Hunter Pace

Hyacinth Dawson’s life runs like clockwork—and she likes it that way. Spreadsheets, lists and plans have never failed her, and now they’re going to help her get her bridal shop on the popular reality TV show All Dressed in White. But it won’t happen unless she can land a celebrity client…maybe one of those new NHL players in town.

Enter Robbie McTavish, a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants Scottish defenseman who can’t help but meddle when he spies a bride in Hyacinth’s shop wearing a completely wro...

Review: The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
The Thursday Murder Club

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left ne...

REVIEW: Jayne’s “Didn’t Work for Me” recent reads

I ask for review copies that I think I’ll enjoy but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Here are some that I ended up not finishing for various reasons.

If home is where the heart is, Dogwood County may have just what Delaney Monroe needs

Newly retired from the Marine Corps, Delaney is looking for somewhere to start over. It’s not going to be easy, but when she finds the perfect place to open her dream motorcycle shop, she goes for it. What she doesn’t expect is an abandoned pit bull to ...

Review: A Sanctuary for Soulden (The Lords of the Bucknall Club #4) by J. A. Rock an Lisa Henry

Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden, is a fop. An idle popinjay with nothing more on his mind than how to best knot his cravat. He definitely doesn’t spy against the French. Or arrange hasty weddings. Or occasionally commandeer the navy. And he certainly doesn’t seek out mortal danger in order to combat his pervasive ennui. It’s all just a big misunderstanding when he’s shot by a French intelligence officer during a merry riverside chase. And what a wonderful bit of quick thinking to pretend to b...

REVIEW: A Cottage Full of Secrets by Jane Lovering

Cottage Two, Bracken Ridge Farm sits at the end of a pitted track, with the glorious Yorkshire moors stretching behind it.

Just a simple two up, two down, the cottage holds the promise of a new start for two very different women, but it is also full of secrets.

Fifty years ago, newly-wed Stella is relishing making the little cottage a happy home. But for all the lovingly handmade curtains, and the hot dinners ready on the table for her husband, Stella’s dreams of married life jar painfully ...

REVIEW: A Perfect Equation by Elizabeth Everett

Dear Elizabeth Everett:

I came across this book somewhere and, intrigued by the premise, snapped it up, before realizing it’s the second in a series (The Secret Scientists of London). Luckily, I’m not a stickler for reading in order.

Letty Fenley and Lord William Hughes, the Viscount Greycliff (known as Grey) are acquaintances and adversaries as the book opens. They are bound by their connection to Athena’s Retreat, the secret society founded by Grey’s stepmother Violet (heroine of book one). At...

REVIEW: Hard Luck Hellhound by Zoe Chant

When you’re a hellhound, there’s no such thing as good luck—not even your true mate showing up on your doorstep.

All Russ wants is to keep his inner hellhound quiet. The last time it took over his life, it left everything in a shambles. He can’t let that happen again. He just has to stick with his new routine: Run his bar and look after his regulars. (And break up mice having barroom brawls. Shifter towns can get… complicated.)

Then Anita Sanchez’s car breaks down right outside his door. She’s...