Gord’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2017)

Gord’s comments from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.

Nope, now that I've dried out I'm feeling fine. I'm just one of those weirdos that doesn't get sick often.

Welcome to both new members!

It's lunch time and I've mostly dried out which is nice. My jacket on the other hand is still very damp. Luckily I get a ride home in the evenings.

I've got coveralls on now which kind of helps. They are a bit damp now but it's helping. I'll be fine. It's just a bit of a uncomfortable start to the day is all.

I'm not bad but the AC being on at work is not helping a whole lot right now.

The weatherman lied, he lied so bad this morning. I roll into work at about 6:45 and the weather man said a light rain would start about 6:50-7:00. A little bit of a tight window but I figured I could get to work without needing rain gear this morning. I was wrong, very, very very wrong. It started raining some 20 minutes after I left the house and it wasn't a light rain either. It wasn't a torrential downpour by any means but there was a fair bit of water coming down from the sky. I think I gained about 10-20 lbs of water weight in my 40 minute walk through the rain this morning. The front of my jacket, soaked. The front of my sweatpants, soaked, the front of my t-shirt, soaked. I feel like that fluffy cat that got tossed into the bathtub.

I just need to vent/rant/ramble about Broken by Karin Slaughter. Seriously don't read past the spoiler wall if you don't want things ruined.

(view spoiler)[
I finished the book this morning and holy shit do I feel frustrated. There was no justice in the end for anyone. Darla died before being held responsible or even truly finding out the full scope of what she was involved with. Frank got of all of his corruption thanks to cancer. Then we have Lena, fucking Lena, oh man. Once again the author drags me in and manipulates me. It looks like Lena is finally taking ownership for her clusterfuckery. That she will be held responsible for things finally but in the end, nope. She scuttles away like a fucking cockroach with no repercussions. She isn't held responsible, she gets a new job in a new place where everyone thinks she is the greatest thing ever. She is just as corrupt as Frank but nothing. It just seems so odd that Will let her skate free like that. Then there was the bombshell that she is dating Jeffery's son. On the surface it looks innocent enough but this is Lena. I'm sure this was done or is being done for some sick twisted and insidious reason.

I'm glad that Sara was able to finally get some closure in this book as well. I'm still not her biggest fan but she feels human to me. Not like a certain cockroach that keeps getting away with things. I'm also glad to see the how the relationship between Sara and Will is being handled. The feels like another emotional grenade that will need to be dealt with in the future.

Any way, I've got to get ready for work and I'll be processing this book for a bit today. (hide spoiler)]

I just check and no, no it cannot. Plus it also holds our microwave on it as well. I could look at a new desk but I've become rather attached to this old metal behemoth and don't want a particle board one like everyone else.

That is the thing with Estep. They are not the best books in the world but they are damn good popcorn books that can be consumed in mass. That why I wish the library had the Elemental Assassin on audio. I'd devour it all. That and the Jane Yellowrock series.

Good news: I got a brand spanking new 24" monitor at work and it is glorious.

Bad News: It's way to big for old ass desk that was probably built when typewriters were the main means of typing. As a result it doesn't sit under the upper shelf. Meaning I have this glorious monitor sitting essentially in my lap. Won't give it up though.

Not quite the same but I've a had a couple times where I've had people who know me hit me with the "my friend wrote a book and your a reader, you want to read it?". Both times I caved and read the book. One was alright but had a ton of spelling mistakes. The other one was just boring. So boring I couldn't even finish it. That always leads to "interesting" and totally not awkward conversations.

I really need to stop reading this as it's just making me want to read this book more and more. Must resist and deal with books already on the go first.

Nothing like starting a Monday morning by trying to explain to someone four or five times above your pay grade and responsibility why you can't do something for them in the nicest way possible so you don't get into trouble.

Dammit, dammit it all. I should know better at this point but nope I was proven wrong. For whatever reason there was that small hope that in four years maybe just maybe Lena cleaned her act up but nope. I'm not surprised in the slightest and I have no idea why I still have hope for her. She is not as bad as Frank who also doesn't surprise me but still.

Three chapters in and things are... tense shall we say. There is definitely some unresolved issues here which is understandable. It's kind of sad the way things have ended up after the end of the Grant County series. Needless to say a call has been made and the Devil is coming down to Georgia. Well technically it's Amanda and she was already in Georgia but details.

I just reread the synopsis for Broken and this is the return to Grant County and the return of Lena Adams.

*starts piling up extra mental defenses*

This is going to be... interesting.

Time for another weekly update and with Monday being a holiday I have a lot to talk about this week.

First Frost -4 Stars
This is a short novella at the start of the Mythos Academy series which goes into the event that led to our MC getting enrolled at Mythos Academy. Since I am starting a buddy read of the series and I love the series I figured this was a great place to start, again. Not a lot to really say as the book is only 33 pages. For a first time reader it's a tease of what is to come and for readers who know the series it a sneak peek of what is to come.

Vendetta in Death -5 Stars
More In Death. I'm just kind of in a mood and I want to get caught up with this series. It's more of what I love about this series honestly. If anything this is more of my favorite kind of mystery in this series. It's one where you, as the reader, and Eve both know who the killer is and now it's a race to prove it or to find them before they strike again. It just adds this ticking clock element that ratchets up the stakes a bit.

I've Got My Eyes on You -2 Stars
Now we get to the part of the week with the not so good stuff. I snagged this book because I was hung up on a challenge that had a pool on the cover. This book was available now and it was shortish so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Full disclosure, I've heard of Mary Higgins Clark before but I've never read her stuff before. This book was just a clunky confused mess. Every mystery type has it's own flavor to it. Something that when you start reading it you have an idea what to expect. You're never going to pick up a cozy mystery and find a Karin Slaughter level of brutality to it. This book didn't have that tone. Sometimes it read like a police procedural, sometimes it read like a thriller/suspense novel, sometimes it read like a cozy novel. It never really settled into one groove and stayed there. The book had a bloated roster of characters that had various levels of pointlessness. Some characters were there for for obvious reasons, some characters who I had no idea why they had to be there (looking at you Father Frank), and then there were some characters who were only there to spoil the ending. Lets get to that point shall we. This was one of those books where the reader could not only figure out the killer but his motivation as well. Now this is not the end of the world really. Many people who read mysteries are adept at figuring out the clues that the author gives us. The problem here is that is was super obvious who and what was going on that it made that late book attempt at one last misdirection just painful. Sitting through this clumsy attempt at a misdirection was just a slog. You knew this person wasn't the killer, the characters knew it, the killer knew it, everyone knew it. You then had to sit through this clumsy and clunky book working through this "new clue" before "surprising" you with the "twist ending". There was also a clumsy hamfisted attempt at a love triangle that just felt weird and out of place in this novel as well. Listen, I could keep going with my complaints but I think you get the idea by now. Lets move on.

Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries -3 Stars
Another cozy mystery that I've read for a challenge that ended up being just meh. The core mystery was actually good the problems come from everything around it. Basically it's set in a small town in Kentucky where this sleazeball scammed numerous people out of their savings. He gets busted by the FBI and sent to prison. His wife, the MC, is left with nothing but a RV and a RV park in this small town. Later on the guy escapes from prison and is found dead in the park. As a mystery it's solid as there are a long list of potential suspects as the guy had wronged a whole lot of people including the MC. Then the book just slid into all the cozy mystery tropes. Small town, old ladies gossip club, bumbling MC investigating things she had no reason to, etc. This is not so much a problem itself but it didn't help either. Honestly most of my problems with this book can be boiled down to the MC and the narrator. The narrator loved using accents which means everyone spoke with a drawl/twang and it just felt like it slowed everything down while listening to the book. I was also really confused by the MC's accent. As I've mentioned before I'm far from an accent expert so take this all with a grain of salt. When I first heard the MC's voice I immediately thought of The Godfather but whinier. When we started getting more of the drawls and twangs I was confused as sometimes it made me thing of The Godfather and other times it sounded like some attempt at a Southern accent. It was all very distracting. Now we get to the MC. I didn't like her. She was one of those characters that danced on that TSTL line a lot. She was supposed to be this rich socialite from New York who knew nothing about small town living. Some times that came across fine and other times I had to wonder what rock she was living under that she had never heard of such a thing.

Then there were just some general issues. Like the hunky FBI agent showing up with a warrant to search for a murder weapon when they didn't even know if the guy was there let alone dead. Or how the mystery was solved by simply stumbling into the killer instead of actually solving the mystery. The nonstop chant of the MC "making it right" and "making it up to the people her ex-husband screwed over". I'm just glad this is over and I can move on to something else.

In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 6 -3 Stars
More from this silly series and it's what I expected. This time though we get giant mechs in a fantasy world because why not.

Now for the Comics/Manga
Kroma -4 Stars
I saw this in the new acquisitions at the library and was intrigued. This is an Italian comic about a dystopian world. To survive the world they have retreated to the Pale City where no color is allowed because the monsters outside the wall hunted color. It meant that good chunks of this comic were in black and white which made things like blood and or the MC's heterochromia to really pop off the page. It was a really interesting artistic choice. As for the story it was interesting enough. It was a classic tale of learning to question authority figures and the stories we are told. By the end I was just left wanting more. I wanted to know more about the world, it's history, etc. Which is a good thing. It means I'm invested and curious about what the author was doing.

Aquicorn Cove -4 Stars
Alright, I'm a fan of Kay O'Neill. I've dabbled in some of their works now and there is just something feel good about their stuff. The stories, the artwork, the message, it just feels good. If you have a young reader looking at getting into reading or are just looking for something cozy to read then this would be a good place to start in my opinion. As for this book it's about a young girl returning to her moms hometown after a storm to help clean up. While there she discovers a magical creature from the ocean which leads her down this path of self discovery for her and her aunt. This book touches on grief, self discovery, and has an ecological message. It's just a sweet feel good story.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 7 -4 Stars
This series is just so much fun to read. Now that the story is moving away from the story I kind of knew from growing up and through osmosis it's really getting interesting. I don't want to get into any spoilers or anything but I am fully invested at this point in time.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 2 -4 Stars
And here is where the series truly gets into the bizarre part of its name with the introduction of Hamon or Ripple of which our MC is naturally gifted in. This is just a fun and silly series full of manly men.

Mapmakers and the Lost Magic -3 Stars
A middle grade comic that I found through the library. A young girl is living in this small town that is controlled by an oppressive regime. She dreams of one day being able to leave her village and seeing the outside world. One day she stumbles across a door in a tree which leads to something called the Mapmakers lodge. A group of people who used to map the world before they were defeated by the regime. It's not a bad comic but I would have liked some more world building. Some more history on these different groups, of the world in general, etc. I might be tempted to check out the second book.

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 25 -3 Stars
Meh, more Komi.

As for what is next...

Clockwork Doomsday
This is my next audiobook and a return to this series after a very long break.

Broken
I'm just mentally preparing myself to start this book which should be sometime today. After that I have some more comics and what not to read as usual.

I'm down to three as well. I need Indiana which I swear I've had but I'm not 100% certain. I also need the usual two culprits of North and South Dakota. Like I said last year, I am not convinced that North and South Dakota actually exists. It's like Voldemort, no one speaks their name, ever.

I don't want to jinx myself yet but today feels good. I'm nearly caught up on new orders which is nice. Next week I start on my backlog of repairs. It just feels like I'm getting to that point where I'm kind of caught up. Not sure how long that will last but I'll take it while I can

I'm struggling through I've Got My Eyes on You and I'm at the point where I just want the book to end. It's doing that annoying trope where someone one has an important clue but for one reason or another can't reveal it to the investigators just yet. It just feels like it's padding the page count at this point. I'm not sure I even care about the big reveal at this point.