Welcome to Litsy!

1. May spontaneously recommend books
2. Almost all the characters in the tagged book: Assume everyone is a spy
#two4tuesday

Yes, I did read several chapters during our leaf peeping road trip over the weekend. No, I wasn‘t driving!

This book is pretty far from #cozy and is in fact rather nasty and brutal. It‘s not really a mystery either (more of a thriller), but I think my mystery book club will have an interesting discussion at our meeting this evening.

Not really my favorite sort of story but a significant endeavor and a page turner.

#OminousOctober

We‘re going leaf peeping today, which should mean time in the car for reading. I hope to finish the tagged book for Monday book club, and I‘m almost halfway through it. Then on to the next one! But first I need to wake the grumpy bear so we can get going. #OutstandingOctober

4.8⭐️ An espionage thriller And a love story. This book was so good. If you‘re found at all of historical fiction, the Elizabethan era, or Christopher Marlowe in general, this is definitely a book to read. And honestly, this book should be a 5⭐️ for me. While the writer did take liberties, it was pretty historically accurate. But that last chapter just broke me even though I knew it couldn‘t end any other way. #TrappedOnAnIsland

From the Author‘s Note:”… largely based on historical fact, but there are many places where I‘ve chosen a good story over a true event” and I thoroughly enjoyed her choices. Kit Marlowe as a spy for the crown (betraying among others Mary Queen of Scots) regretting some of his choices but not his love for Tom Watson. Excellent period details; well written. The author and I share a background in Renaissance Studies at University of Michigan!

My balcony reading buddy! 😻 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #roxas

This ended up being a darker read than I anticipated. I didn‘t know much about Christopher “Kit” Marlowe going in and reading his Wikipedia page was almost as interesting, though much less entertaining, than this well written debut novel. It begins with the notion that Kit was a spy while a student at Cambridge, which seems plausible, and follows him into danger at every turn of the page.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brrr! It's cold and rainy here today, which means it's a perfect Sunday to stay in and read! 😍💕📚

"Kit's primary spiritual conviction was that any god who began services at six in the morning was too cruel for a sane man to worship."

???

I have a very exciting day lined up! Starting a brand new book, plus snacks and beer! 😍💕📚

I think this book could have ended a lot earlier. I‘m honestly really disappointed. Marlowe was a really interesting character that was unfairly treated to say the least.

What an unfortunate last name for an author to have in 2021

A fun romp of espionage with a famous playwright--with a famous end. I did have some structure qualms but also this is the kind of book you just want to go on the ride. https://youtu.be/sCtNiKKDFaM

I don't often look up trade reviews for books. This prob won't encourage me to start. Let the record show the romance is not in fact the stuff of bodice rippers. Has this reviewer read a bodice ripper? Or sex scenes in general fiction at all? Or is it because it's a gay relationship? I have been in a rage about this because sentence construction wise it's clearly presented as a drawback of the narrative. (POV point is accurate though)

I was drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover art, the title, and Renaissance time frame. It is a fictionalized story of Marlowe getting caught up in a political scheme because of his brilliance while attending Cambridge where he is asked to be a codebreaker and spy on Mary, Queen of Scots. I enjoyed the beginning and tender romance throughout, but it wasn‘t as exciting as I felt it should be. I had this out of the library for three 👇

Have had a crazy weekend, Kash and I are trying to enjoy the outdoors in a way that he isn‘t doing too much because the poor thing got hurt on Friday and had to get staples 😭

I'm not sure why I went into this expecting a lighthearted romp, this book is not that. It's packed with well-researched history and broken characters. This was not the story I expected, it was much better.

Next up...

Hey, my fellow historical fiction loving Littens, has anyone read an advanced copy of this one? I discovered it via my library‘s weekly newsletter that highlights new books and books on order. I was able to immediately put it on hold, it releases in February. It sounds SO good!🤓