Erica’s Comments (group member since Apr 05, 2019)

Erica’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐
It's about following Buffy and Angel after the end of season 3. 😭 ..."

It's been a long time now, and I was a full grown adult with chi..."

That seems reasonable to me, it was good tv. I watched the SMG episode of Angel for the first time as a teenager. So much crying! I don't think I've watched it again as an adult.

These omnibuses have Spike pop up a lot, and now probably no more Angel.

Dubhease wrote: "Next year I'm going to read a mystery/thriller a month. I finished The Hunting Party in three days. I posted too much in the discussion group. I haven't done one of these PS group reads before and clearly I didn't understand the assignment.

Please don't apologize for reading quickly and posting your thoughts. I volunteered to lead a botm in another group and I was the only person who read the book and posted because, in the smaller book club, people voted for the book they had already read. It was minorly awkward but I just posted my thoughts/suspicions as I went because it was a murder mystery as well.

@Lynn virtual hug. I'm sorry that Tigger is not doing well and you're struggling. Fingers crossed this treatment plan works.

Okay take two. I accidentally posted this to last week's check-in. 🤦‍♀️

Happy check-in! The past weekend was a holiday weekend and we had perfect weather for it. (Canada Day) I got some yard work done so that is always satsifying. Not much reading though.

Finished Reading:

Untethered Sky ⭐⭐⭐(ATY birds, bees, or bunnies)
Not a big fan of birds so the raising of one wasn't going to be that interesting to me. Plus I'm still scarred by having to read The Manticore by Robertson Davies. 🙃

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐
It's about following Buffy and Angel after the end of season 3. 😭

PS 40/50
ATY 42/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 148/250

Currently Reading:

No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf
The Blood Gift
The Hunting Party
For the Wolf

QOTW:
I love retellings. I'm currently reading a Red Riding Hood one right now. For the Wolf and so far it's good.

Title: Royal Valentine
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Would you recommend this book?
No. I borrowed a three novella in one series and this was the first in it. It was so bad I did not read the other two novellas. Insta love so bad.

Chapters 1 - 13

So this appears to be a closed circuit/circle murder mystery. Are you a fan of this type of mystery or mysteries in general?
Do short chapters push the pace of books or are they an annoyance?
Can you read a mystery slowly?
First predictions about who is murdered and who is the murderer?
So far there has been five POVs: Heather, Doug, Emma, Miranda, Katie. Is this too many to follow, will Foley add more?
Ingvar, one of the extra guests, mentions a serial killer going after women. Is this a red herring plot point?

Happy Canada Day!

Who else is joining? What type/format of copy are you reading? Have you read Lucy Folley’s books before?


I’ve started my paperback copy. I’ve only read The Guest List by her but I really enjoyed it.

@Dubhease looking forward to discussing The Hunting Party with you.

Happy check-in! Minorly smokey here too. Part of the reason the fires in Canada are so bad already is warmer weather and changing climate patterns paired with elected governments not doing fire prevention. To be fair it's been hot and dry for a few years so preventative burns could not take place. Another huge problem in fighting these fires is that we depend on volunteer firefighters and the amount of them has decreased.
Anyways had lots of visiting with family over the weekend and got to dote on my cousin's almost one year old. He's so cute! :)
I did read a bunch of things but nothing for the challenge this week. Oh well.

Finished Reading:

The Foxglove King ⭐⭐⭐
Ya fantasy with death magic users vs. the church. Started off confusing and was a bit too slow to get to the point.

Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 6 ⭐⭐⭐
Good horror series.

Anger Bang ⭐⭐⭐
It had a dinosaur in a dress on the cover. The humour was fun.

Sera and the Royal Stars Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
I like the artwork more than the story.

Coffee: 100 Everyday Recipes
I haven't rated this yet because I don't rate cookbooks until I've made a few things out of them. Had to compare this to another one of my cookbooks because 3 recipes looked familiar. They were the same because they came from the same publisher.

The Traitor Queen ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The one character's story seems to be wrapped up and the next book in the series follows someone new.

PS 40/50
ATY 41/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 144/250

QOTW:
I've read three: Bernard Shaw, Steinback, T.S. Eliot. Three short little books. :)

Oh I forgot for those who enjoy Rebecca Roanhorse, follow her on Goodreads because she actually reviews books she’s reads and they are helpful reviews to figure out if you would like the book. To be fair she reads SFF and that’s my happy place.

Happy check-in! Summer is here. 😀 Now the published in the second half of the year prompt can be accomplished.
June started off being a good month for me reading things off the tbr and I got it back below 400 again... so there was a used book sale this week. 🙃 On the plus side I found a bunch of Buffy books that I didn't have and the BOTM book for July.

Finished Reading:

The Paper Palace ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS secondhand)
I finally finished this one, I started it in January. Reese picks good books for her book club. This book fits many prompts.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐
Set during the third season of the show but these comics didn't live up to that season.

The Sweetheart List ⭐⭐⭐
Rom-com with baking puns.

Lore Olympus: Volume Four ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
These are so good. Although the amount of time I wait for the next one to be published and the amount of time it takes for me to read them do not match!

PS 40/50
ATY 41/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 138/250

Currently Reading:

The Foxglove King

QOTW:

Ilona Andrews I will read whatever they write.
Auto-pass to the tbr authors: Christina Lauren, Ali Hazelwood, Holly Black, Emily Henry, Sarah J. Maas

Welcome 😀

Also did you know that Pentatonix did a cover of Once Upon A December for one of their Christmas albums?

@Bea a non book item that is good would be sleep sacks. Basically the bottom of the onsie is a sleeping bag and there is no hassle to put kids legs in and out of pant legs.

Happy check-in! Today is a smoke day again but it's not a bad one just a bit annoying. I love the wind but this year more than ever it means potential smoke days. While other countries are sending firefighter help there are still many fires the country over.
I managed to read two out of the three new releases, published Tuesday, that I was waiting on. So far two five star reads. Anyone else struggle to read when you are waiting on specific books to be published?

Finished Reading:

The Cruelest Mercy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread of book two in a ya fantasy series. I read the final book earlier this year and it was good to go back and see the hints to the end of the story.

The Third Person ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS longest on tbr)
Listening to CBC radio on the highway Emma Grove was interviewed about her graphic memoir and I had to add it to the tbr. This was about her going to a therapist to get a referral to an endocrinologist to transition. The therapist is supposed to check for dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D. formally multiple personalities) but Emma ended up with therapist unequipped to deal with someone who actually had D.I.D.

Magic Claims ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So impatient for this one. Next KD world book, so good. The epilogue was awesome too.

Love, Theoretically ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY disability)
Hazelwood's books are very samey but still entertaining.

PS 39/50
ATY 41/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 133/200

Currently Reading:

The Foxglove King

QOTW:
1. I've never made it a point to read a book by an author because they are recently deceased. I might become aware of them and add a book to the tbr but Rachel Caine passed away and I still haven't caught up on series of her's I've started.
2. Well I hadn't heard of McCarthy so no. I have heard of Garwood but all I've paid attention to her was that her books aren't SFF so I haven't picked them up.

Ron wrote: "Gah so stoked. Today I got a signed card from music artists Tegan and Sara! Early on they said that if you sent in your information to their official website showing proof that you pre-ordered thei..."

Oh that's cool that they made a graphic novel.

I feel so slow cause I'm just realizing you've been quoting Anastasia and I love that movie so much. haha

@Nadine and @Ellie so sorry that you have to be on the job hunt.

@Bea it really is upsetting that covid makes it difficult to read. I'm glad you're on the up swing but those side effects of paxlovid sound scary.

Happy check-in! Although its seems that it has been a tough week for this group.

We've been in a heat wave here but fortunately have good air. There are similarities to covid lockdown when it's smoky out. I hope the winds distribute the smoke quicker for all you down East.

It's been awhile since I read a mystery/thriller so I'm looking forward to the BOTM in July, The Hunting Party, and am happy to lead.

Finished Reading:

The Blue Castle ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS colour in title)
One of my sister's favourite books, so I had to give it a shot. This is by the same author who wrote Anne of Green Gables, so it's a good Canadian Classic. The way language has changed made for some laughs in this one.

The Black Flamingo ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS banned)
Loved this. Young adult poetry in verse.

The Wicked and the Dead ⭐⭐
A very creative inspiration from being bitten by a rattlesnake to create this series. I read a short story with the character and gave the series a shot. It was just okay.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Omnibus, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
I didn't like most of the artwork and the really long story was so-so. Willow should always have red hair when not evil.

PS 38/50
ATY 40/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 130/200

Currently Reading:

The Cruelest Mercy

QOTW:

I'm ahead on both my challenges but I'm going to have to start reading books specifically for prompts instead of just fitting what I read into them. I also need to up my overall Goodreads challenge.

Happy check-in! I went and spent some time with my grandmother and got a good scare. Five in the morning I hear a loud crash and panic that my blind grandmother is hurt. She's sound asleep and the flat screen tv, for guests, has completely fallen off the wall after being attached for years. The tv survived but the wooden horse beneath the tv needs wood glue. Another day the fire alarm went off at five as well because there were power outages in the city and the alarm malfunctioned. 🤣 Can you tell I'm not a morning person?

I've participated in only one group read this year. I meant to other months but I'm a mood reader and it didn't happen. I think Ellie's point about the prompts this year being a problem was spot on. They have affected my participation slightly. In the past, I have used the BOTMs to keep myself on track in finishing a tough prompt. Most of the prompts this year have been repeats that I've already found many options for when doing the previous challenges so I'm not struggling with tough/hated prompts.
It hasn't helped that a lot of my votes are going to books that don't win.
I do like the current system for the BOTMs for what it's worth.

Finished Reading:

Daughter of the Moon Goddess ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS love triangle)
This Chinese myth retelling was fantastic.

The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY translated)
Short little book that was not what I was expecting at all in a great way.

Take Us To Your Chief And Other Stories ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scifi short stories following Indigenous leads. Some really clever ideas.

The True Love Experiment ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY published 2023)
The fans asked when Fizzy would get a book, so the author's obliged. This is a great rom-com for for romance book and reality datings show fans. It is a sequel to The Soulmate Equation but you can read it without the first.

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY surprising title)
I'm reading this series for the humour.

Don't Call Us Dead ⭐⭐
This poetry collection needed more organization for me. I wanted to like it but it just didn't happen.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Omnibus, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS character name in title)
Finally tackling these off the tbr. Most of these stories were set before the tv show in L.A.

Sera and the Royal Stars Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
Lovely artwork, and a decent story. Fantasy quest story.

Onyx and Ivory ⭐⭐⭐ (PS BookTok)
YA fantasy with flightless dragons. Horse death and way too long. It started well, lagged in the middle and I was debating quitting, but it got better in the end.

Pygmalion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I hadn't read a play yet this year. I love the musical based on this so I was sort of singing the songs while reading.

PS 36/50
ATY 40/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 123/200

QOTW:
I don't think I've ever done that.