Litsy

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I did not dig Digging Dr Jones. Not at all.

I'm not going to write a TLDR post. Here are a few points why it didn't work for me:

- flat characters
- insta-lust
- mediocre adventure plot
- American FMC with daddy issues
- British MMC who just inserts random British words here and there but isn't consistently British at all

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

quietlycuriouskate Now I'm wondering to what extent *I* am "consistently British at all"! ? 23h

CSeydel From the title I thought this would be an Indiana Jones fanfic 😆 22h

julesG @CSeydel that somehow fits the bill. But both characters are a Jones. 🙄🙄 20h

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julesG @quietlycuriouskate Fairly sure you sound more British than the hunky Dr Jones. Guess even I sound more British than he does, and English isn't even my first language. It's not just the "posh" accent ??? and a few mentions of "loo" or "knickers". There are differences in grammar and syntax, too. It just read like an American trying on some British English words. Like if I spoke to my children in an affected Austrian accent replacing ⬇️ 19h

julesG some terms for their Austrian counterparts doesn't make it real. There is more than the vocabulary that is sometimes different. Just like the differences between British and American English. 19h

CarolynM You‘ve mentioned 2 of my pet peeves in light fiction (I‘ve encountered them in mysteries as well as romance) - daddy issues and fake English/Scottish/Irish. So irritating! Interestingly, I don‘t think I‘ve ever encountered fake Welsh 😆 10h

julesG @CarolynM I feel like I need to find a fake Welsh one. But also, no better not. 9h

CarolynM I‘ll be looking out for one now😂 9h

43 likes8 comments

julesG

Woman in the Wallpaper: The Most Anticipated Historical Debut of 2025 | Lora Jones

pick

A historical fiction novel with gothic mystery elements set at the time of the French Revolution.

There are three points of view, the sisters Sofi and Lara and the aristocratic young woman Hortense. While Sofi and Lara's POV is that of working class women who had to upend their lives after the death of their father, Hortense is the poster child spoilt young woman of the aristocracy, who believes the dirty peasants ⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

julesG could better themselves if only they'd wanted to.

Sofi, Lara and their mother work at the wallpaper manufactory owned by Wilhelm Oberst. Oberst's wife died under mysterious circumstances when his son Josef was a child. Wilhelm Oberst had everything connected to his wife destroyed, except for the contents and the wallpaper of the tower room of his chateau. Of course, Sofi and Lara want to know more and soon find out that the titular ⬇️ 1d

julesG Woman in the Wallpaper was Josef's mother and strangely looks a lot like Lara. Why? And why do the wallpaper images change and show different scenes?

Meanwhile in Versailles, Hortense lives a spoilt life, until her parents decide to marry her off to Josef. How will the young aristocrat deal with married life, to a factory owner's son no less? ⬇️ 1d

julesG History takes its course and sweeps up the three women in its wake. The Revolution might upend their lives in ways neither of them envisioned.

It took me some time to get into this debut novel, but once my attention was captured I flew through the many short chapters in one sitting. 1d

47 likes3 comments

julesG

A Drop of Corruption: the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup | Robert Jackson Bennett

pick

Ana and Din are in Yarrowdale to investigate the disappearance of a treasury officer. What seems to be a locked room mystery that might be solved relatively easily, given Ana's skills, turns into more victims and a case of political intrigue.

The world-building continues to be good. Yarrowdale is not part of the Empire, but the Treasury officers working there are, which is why Din and Ana had to be called in. This means that there are some ⬇️

julesG issues of jurisdiction that might complicate the investigation. Furthermore, we get to see a different part of the fantastic world; different people, different languages, and different socio-economic and political problems.

I liked this sequel to The Tainted Cup, although I could see some of the twists long before they happened. Maybe I am too much of an armchair detective.
#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC 4d

julesG #SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView 4d

TheSpineView Fantastic! 4d

CoffeeK8 I‘m reading this now, it‘s getting pretty good! 4d

48 likes2 stack adds4 comments

julesG

Love and Other Paradoxes: A Novel | Catriona Silvey

so-so

Joe aspires to be a poet, but has yet to write a poem he truly likes. When he meets Esi his luck is about to turn. Esi is a time-traveller from the future. She jumped on an opportunity to see the famous poet Joseph Greene during his lifetime to make changes to her own past. But to be able to make those changes to her past, she has to help Joe fall in love with his muse Diana.

⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

julesG I had trouble getting into the story, mainly because the first half of the book had chapter breaks in the middle of dialogues and felt disjointed to me. The second half of the story, when the "changing Esi's past" part gets a bit more traction was more interesting.

This is more magical realism than sci-fi. There are a few explanations for the time-travel, but Esi could have easily said she touched a wall and now she's in Cambridge in 2004.
1w

65 likes1 comment

julesG

A Drop of Corruption: the gripping sequel to The Tainted Cup | Robert Jackson Bennett

#KAL partially

Sitting outside her feline highness #GhostCat sits on my leg. I only have my phone, but it has a few books on it. It's just that I don't like reading on my phone. 🤦🏻‍♀️ First world problems.

#CatsOfLitsy

#ARC #MountARC #NetGalley

Sace She‘s beautiful! 2w

julesG @Sace Thank you. She knows and uses it to her advantage. 😉 2w

Ruthiella 😻😻😻 2w

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lil1inblue 😻 😻 😻 2w

dabbe What a photo! 🖤🐾🖤 2w

Leftcoastzen 😻beautiful photo! 2w

julesG @Ruthiella @lil1inblue @dabbe @Leftcoastzen Thanks. 2w

AnnCrystal 💕😻💝. 2w

Sparklemn Those eyes 💙 5d

60 likes9 comments

julesG

The Martian Contingency: A Lady Astronaut Novel | Mary Robinette Kowal

pick

Pub Day in the UK is March 27th

Really enjoyed book 4 in the Lady Astronaut series. A base on Mars has been established and the first "Martians" have moved in. Among the usual problems of working in an uninhabitable environment the members of the first Mars mission, to establish the base, are keeping a secret.

Another strong entry in this series. Gender, race, but also culture and religion, as well as body autonomy play just as much a role ⬇️⬇️

julesG as who has jurisdiction on Mars and should it be named a colony.

I seriously hope this wasn't the last book in the series. 2w

julesG #NetGalley #ARC #MountARC #SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView 2w

TheSpineView Fantastic!👍📖 2w

51 likes1 stack add3 comments

julesG

My Big Fat Fake Marriage | Charlotte Stein

pick

This was not what I expected the novel to be. No, it wasn't bad!

Connie distrusts nice guys, they will do a 180 sooner than later and hurt her. Also, her mother told her what men are looking for in a woman and she tries her best to be that kind of woman (like contacts instead of glasses, heels not flats), although deep down she is a different person.

⬇️⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Low pick

julesG Beck loves bow ties, is a cinnamon roll/sunshine character and inexperienced when it comes to women. His outward appearance and behaviour make him nerdy, and I kept wondering whether he was supposed to be neurodiverse.

Beck and Connie live across from each other and often meet in the hallway or lift. When Connie asks about Beck's wife, the latter acts strange. Soon Connie finds out about the wife ⬇️
3w

julesG ...about the wife being an invention to make Beck look more "normal", but it's hard for him to keep up the charade. To make life for Beck easier Connie agrees to play his wife on a 14-day writing retreat both are attending and lay the groundwork for a divorce.

What I liked about the book was that both MCs had issues to overcome. Beck is secretly very confident, but projects an aura of haplessness that sometimes turns him into a doormat. ⬇️ 3w

julesG Connie needs to unlearn what her mother and society told her and become herself. Both do not trust that the other person might be attracted to them beyond the physical.

This is where the story dragged for me. They both tell each other their wants and feelings, they tell each other that they are into the other one, yet both are so jaded from previous experiences that they don't trust in what the other says. ⬇️
3w

julesG Being in Connie's spiralling mind (first person POV, stream of consciousness-y narration) all the time made this very repetitive.

That all said, the novel was compelling to read, I couldn't put it down once I had started. But I nearly yelled at Connie several times to get her head out of her $%&/ and trust that when Beck says he is into her he actually means it, because the guy can't lie.

3w

60 likes4 comments

julesG

Tea You at the Altar: Legends & Lattes meets The Princess Bride in this cosy fantasy series for tea lovers | Rebecca Thorne

pick

Kianthe and Reyna are days away from their wedding day. The whole town is working towards creating the wedding of the century. Now just add a few baby dragons, a coup to overthrow Queen Tilaine, Kianthe's parents and her childhood friend, the dastardly Pirate Dreggs and his crew,... Well, they have made plans, so what could possibly go wrong?

I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next/last one in the series.

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

julesG #SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView 3w

TheSpineView Well done!👍📖📕 3w

BookmarkTavern Just started this one! 💖 3w

julesG @BookmarkTavern Hope you enjoy it! 3w

56 likes4 comments

julesG

The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall: A Novel | J. Ann Thomas

pick

Elegy lives in the past. Thorne Hall was built 126 years ago and has stayed like this because the Thorne's need to keep their collection of ghosts happy. It's an extremely sheltered life under her father's thumb with only a few servants coming in during daylight hours and the spirits roaming the house.

A burst pipe brings a handsome handy-man, Atticus, into Elegy's life and for the first time she envisions ⬇️

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

julesG ... a future away from Thorne Hall. But how can she escape her fate; becoming the master of the spirits upon her father's death?

I enjoyed this gothic story of ghosts, a sinister family legacy and a young woman who wants to be free to make her own choices. 1mo

61 likes4 stack adds1 comment

julesG

Emberclaw | L. R. Lam

pick

Second in The Dragon Scales Duology. #SeriesLove2025 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

Fitting conclusion to the story.

My review is here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ed22d7f7-3edd-4ede-b676-13600f9c5c38

#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC

Andrew65 Excellent 🎉🎊🎉 1mo

57 likes1 comment

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