Karen’s Comments (group member since Jun 07, 2016)

Karen’s comments from the Not Just Another Buddy Read group.

Hi Kristy! I think it's your turn next. Dano can pick the December book :) That way we do a full round.

I hope every one has been doing well!

Yay! I'm glad you liked the book Kristy.

I was really annoyed with Lady Saren too for most of it. In the tower I sympathized with her when it became obvious she was traumatized about something. But when she didn't want to leave the tower or let Dashti reveal her identity and was just weak and weak and weak I couldn't stand it! Then she opened up to Dashti and we saw things from her point of view. Having the deaths of her whole kingdom and her family on her shoulders...never having gotten positive reinforcement so thinking she was not worth anything...I could see that becoming an overwhelming burden on someone. I'm glad she finally got some backbone at the end.

Khan Tegus!! He was such a doll :) Dashti and him were just so cute. I loved their scenes together.

What did you think about Lord Khasar? He was a real creep! On some level I wondered if he really did love Lady Saren? Why was he so fixated on her? But I think he just liked to prey on the weak.

I thought it was funny how we all loved Grim in The Iron King and there was a cat in this book too. I loved Prince. :)

Oh no Erin :( The same thing happened to me with The Iron King. I hope you can get your hands on a copy soon.

Yeah! Lord Khasar certainly is something else!! At first I thought the lady was so quiet and traumatized because she had gotten violated by Khasar but once she shared her story I was very surprised to see the supernatural route the story had taken. But he's crazy and he *was* nude lol so that's something.

"my lady doesn't remember squinting"

Hahaha! Yeah that part was great :) I love her eternal optimism and drive to never give up.

Let us know your thoughts as you keep reading :)

Oh no! I didn't read that. Maybe my copy didn't have it but I didn't check carefully. I just noticed the back had some suggested questions for discussion and skipped over it. And I just returned the book to the library lol

Hii! More food for thought regarding the book, it is actually based on a fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm. It is not well known so the story was a complete mystery for me. The fairy tale is called Maid Maleen. Had you guys heard about it?

I also liked the setting of the book. The whole time I was reading it I was thinking it took place somewhere like Nepal but online people said the setting is more like Mongolia. It was very neat. While reading I kept imagining the steppes, giant grass fields surrounded by far off mountains. I also liked the religion described in the book. They believed in many gods but it was easy to follow. Since the author put so much details into the religious system and in the healing songs and everything I wonder if these things were based on facts, on real Mongolian beliefs?

Edit: I looked up Mongolia and "Eternal Blue Sky" and found that at least the Eternal Blue Sky part is a based on a real Central Asian religion called Tengrism. Very interesting :)

BooksByDano wrote: "Hey Karen,

Yer i finished it today. i didn't mind the last 100 pages but the book just felt very end heavy rather than having a consistent build-up throughout. I think i would have enjoyed it more..."

Yeah, it does feel like a late middle school early high school book. The language is simple and it's very easy to read. Probably why I flew through it lol

It's funny how your change tastes as you grow older. It makes sense that it would but it still surprises me sometimes. Like, last year I reread The Girl Who Invented Romance by Caroline Cooney. When I read it in early high school I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread (lol) but when I reread it as an adult I was like this is it???

Oh wow! You finished it too Dano?
Yeah it is not the most eventful book but I loved the prose, the struggle, the feeling of years trickling away in a dark tower. So scary. It was so hard for Dashti that in the last pages when Shria, Tegus and Saren all spoke on her behalf I was very touched because her struggles were finally acknowledged. She went through so much, facing not immediate calamity but slow and painful suffering which in my opinion is much worse. I loved it but I can see how you had trouble with the monotony.

Omg you guys, I gobbled this book right up. I've been reading it since I woke up this morning and just finished it now in the mid afternoon.

I loved it, there was even a scene in the end that made me want to cry. Everything just came together so nicely. I loved it. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Ah okay! I've definitely done book-a-thons before lol

Good luck on those 5 assignments! I remember how it used to feel to be in the middle of a college semester. The assignments are never ending until finals. And then finals ughh! I feel your pain :(

The book continues to be interesting and beautiful and frustrating. I can't put it down. I'm 60% through.

Hi guys! I got Book of a Thousand Days today and started it and I'm already 20% through with it. It's an easy book to read and I've been enjoying it.

Funny enough today has been a quiet day for me with nothing in particular to watch on TV or movies to go out and see so after I did the laundry and it started to rain outside I was sat at home bored and started feeling all sorry for myself lol I decided to start the book and after reading a few pages about Dashti and her lady being locked in the tower I immediately thought they have it way worse than me and felt silly for having felt bored at home. Can you imagine being locked in a tower for 7 years?? I never really thought about it when reading or watching stories like Rapunzel (Rapunzel was raised in the tower so in a way she never really really knew what she was missing) but to be 15 and be locked in a tower after knowing normal life? Madness!

A few notes about the book. The format is a journal of sorts. There are even a few illustrations. There aren't any formal chapters so it's hard to decide when to stop reading. The protagonist's simple way of thinking surprised me but as she learns more she gets more and more complex. The lady annoyed me at the beginning because she seems to only cry and cry but around the 20% mark I am beginning to understand her a little more and it's incredibly sad. I now realize that I've read another book by Shannon Hale before, Princess Academy, and I liked it. She writes strong female MCs and her stories have more depth than you expect them to have at the beginning. I think this story is going to get very exciting with great character development. I am looking forward to reading more.

What's a read-a-thon?

And yeah, the arrangement we have here is ideal for me. I always wanted to be parts of a group like this so I'm happy!

I'm sure you'll get back to the reading cycle soon Kristy :)

Yeah! It happens to me too. I stop reading for weeks and sometimes even for months, especially right after a reading binge. I tend to go through phases. I'll go through a time that I just want to read a ton, then I'll get in the mood to watch Asian dramas, then I'll get in a manga reading mood, anime watching mood, fanfic reading mood, movie watching mood, American TV show mood, foreign film mood. Cycle after cycle. Since I listen to audio books during my commute I'm technically always in the middle of something but yeah, book reading waxes and wanes.

This group is a good motivation though! Since with you guys I'll read books that I probably would not have not picked up on my own it helps not to get bored with the same old same old.

And yeah, like you Erin, it all depends on school and work too. I studied for some difficult exams for a license the first 8 months of last year. I don't think I read a single book during that time. But after I was done I had the most crazy book binge in my life for the next four months. I think I went through 20 books. Also, I generally don't read as much as I used to when I was a teen. I used to read constantly while going through that teenage phase of just wanting everyone to leave me alone lol

That's cool Dano! That you did book review videos on Youtube! I always wanted to do that but I can't get over how much I dislike hearing the sound of my own voice!!!

Yeah! My copy is waiting for me at my library. If I get the chance I'm going to pick it up tomorrow and I might even start it. It's always good to get a head start. Erin and Kristy always read so much faster than me!!! lol

Haha! Awesome! I'm glad you guys continued :) I'm going to hold off in reading the rest but I read the GR synopsis for books 2-4 and got a few spoilers because of it!

Yeah, Ash gets quite a beating in the story :/ It's veeery dangerous for your health to be a potential love interest in the Iron King universe.

I'm glad all of us had no problem getting October's book :)

That's great! My library has it too :)

Yay! OK so then we'll go with Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale :) We'll start mid month. If you have trouble getting the book let the rest of us know.

I just realized both books from my pick have the word Thousand in the title lol

A. B. C.

Hey girls! Since tomorrow is the first day of October I decided to post the options for the new book of the month. The first one involves a princess and her lady in waiting in a fantasy fairytale like setting. The second one is a contemporary mystery. The third one is a historical romance, probably Regency era, but I heard from Mary Balogh fans that this is their all time favorite book she wrote (and she's know for her historicals).

So there you go, three books from three different genres. Let me know what you think!

Sorry if I spoiled Grumly in some way! :(

The ending leaves quite a few things inconclusive but it does give you enough closure to not have to pick up the next book right away.

Grumly! Poor Grumly :( I love when he was like they are my friends! I was hoping he would come into the story later. Maybe he will later in the series :)