Welcome to Litsy!

1. Strong Sense of Place did a baseball episode! I may or may not have recommended the tagged book/series, but I‘m taking credit for its inclusion anyway. 😎In any case, I can definitely take credit for the series being added to cozymystery.com.
2. My friends are enjoying their vacation in Utah.
3. I took a walk by the mighty Raritan River and saw a heron.
4. The cats are warming to my presence. Here‘s Steve in the cat tree.⬇️
#5joysfriday

I sometimes find it hard to review a book this far into a series.

For those familiar with the series: this book continues to follow our beloved protagonist as she tries to keep Cincinnati's supernatural community from going off the rails again.

Full of Harrison's signature wit, unique characters, and stunning world building, I'd call this another strong entry in the series.

If you enjoy urban fantasy, at all, I highly recommend The Hollows!

30 Jun-2 Jul 25 (audiobook)
My least favourite Sittenfeld but it was still fun to read her Austen fan-fiction novel. Basically, Eligible imagines the characters from Pride and Prejudice in a modern day setting where Jane is a yoga teacher and Mr Bingley a doctor and former Bachelor. All a little ridiculous and far-fetched but quite amusing. Some of the characters do not make a good impression in the modern setting, particularly Mr and Mrs Bennett.

I love any Jane Austen spin-off, so this modern version was enjoyable. The author stuck with the same storyline but modernized it. He made Bingley a doctor and a reality TV star and I thought that Jane being a Yoga instructor was perfect. Darcy and Elizabeth‘s chemistry was good and sexy. My only criticism is, it attempted to add any prejudices the author could think of in the modern world. It did modernize it, but it felt forced in my opinion.

My streak is broken. I had not ordered from #Bookoutlet in over a year.
Some books for me, some for swaps. Okay, only two are for swaps, the rest are for me. 😊

Book 5 in the series finds our MC living in Cincinnati and playing for the Reds. Someone connected to the team is murdered, so of course he has to investigate. The resolution was a little convenient, but overall the story was a good blend of mystery and history. I appreciate that the author didn‘t beat the reader over the head with facts from his research. Extra points for including a deployment of the hidden ball trick. #serieslove2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Fun, modern day Pride and Prejudice retelling.

I was surprised to like this novel so well! I am not a fan of Austen. S&S only made me want to throw the book. I willingly took a chance on this modern P&P retelling. It was difficult to enjoy any of the characters except for Liz, but she & Darcy made up for the toxic rest. I don‘t know if the plot bore any similarities to P&P, but Sittenfeld‘s short scenes kept me reading “just a little more” until the end. An incredulous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️for Eligible.

As a native Cincinnatian I appreciated a novel set in our city‘s early years. As a descendant of abolitionists I appreciate a story that helps me imagine what I would have done had I been there.

The book covers about 30 years, and the skips in time seem a little disjointed and uneven. But overall a solid character-driven story. June #bookspin done!