Lexi’s Comments (group member since Jul 27, 2016)

Lexi’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Mary wrote: "Do subtitles count for the CORNUPIA task?"

Yes, the full task reads "Title (including subtitle) includes all the letters CORNUPIA (no need to duplicate C and O)"

Another very average read from 2018 - - ***

Removed the other book by this author from my TBR so progress

Angie ☯ wrote: "Lexi wrote: "Angie ☯ wrote: "Would a Greek Island be considered a tropical one?"

If you are asking about Crete, they are temperate."

The book just lists the setting as "a tiny Greek island". I'll..."

Fair, you generally need to be further south for tropical

Angie ☯ wrote: "Would a Greek Island be considered a tropical one?"

If you are asking about Crete, they are temperate.

Krissy, thank you, I go thorough on the weekend and check everyone's books, as captains have to keep spreadsheets up to date. No rush then and I will keep that in mind going forwards.

Got us another veggie monster as we cleared Mandrake, (actually a stone monster)

Bergmonch
[image error]
200 to 299
Mountains on cover
Stubborn MC (your interpretation)
"pit" in text
Tagged Short (at least 10 times)

Sofie wrote: "Lexi wrote: "Sofie wrote: "How do I change the edition? I just realized that I don't know how to do that..."

Go to you shelf, click edit next to the correct book (over the far right) then click ch..."

That's great, thank you for fixing it

Sofie wrote: "How do I change the edition? I just realized that I don't know how to do that..."

Go to you shelf, click edit next to the correct book (over the far right) then click change edition under the title and author at the top of the page is the easiest way

Sofie, you just need to shelf the correct edition. If you have a different cover than the black cover, then change the edition on your shelf so it matches. You should always shelf the version you are reading.

Krissy can you add your two new books to the spreadsheet? and

Sofie, you appear to have read a different cover version of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries than the one with three food items on the cover. Does it work for another mini task?

You have this one shelved:
This one has the food items:

I'm waiting on My Heart Is a Chainsaw from the library for Idaho but I am worried it won't come in time so I haven't added it to the spreadsheet yet and I tend to get overenthusiastic on claiming tasks anyways

Mary wrote: "Lexi wrote: "I'm also within the 6 month re-read period but if anyone wants to volunteer to write DQs for the book, I am willing to help if that would be useful for anyone. Also, the backroom BOM u..."

Mary, thank you and I am happy to help

I'm also within the 6 month re-read period but if anyone wants to volunteer to write DQs for the book, I am willing to help if that would be useful for anyone. Also, the backroom BOM usually gets fewer volunteers for DQs so it is a great opportunity for points.

Kim wrote: "i probably missed it, but does a book count for the mini and a resource? or just one? thanks :)"

It only counts for one mini but it must also count for a resource.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen won the backroom BOM runoff poll. I got the thread up if anyone wants to volunteer for DQs.
Here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Lexi's Tracking Post

Day 1 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3- https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 4 - "Love Has Come to Mean Death" - end

15. I personally haven't read Jane Eyre and therefore can't compare the two books which makes me feel a bit regretting, but then again so many of y'all don't seem to like this as a retelling. Do you think you'd feel differently about the book depending on whether you've read Jane Eyre or not, and do you want to pick up Jane Eyre now if you haven't yet? What if you hadn't been aware of this being a retelling and the characters had different names?
Without Jane Eyre to give it some interest, this was just s standard insta-romance with some herbs and fae added on and a ghost.

16. I was secretly hoping that Agnes had romantic feelings for Antoinette and that she was more involved in the last part of the book, but alas it was Dr. Poole. No big surprise there. Has your opinion of him changed in any way after he "confessed" and tried to help Jane and Edward? And if you could bring someone back from the dead, would you do it? Theoretically you wouldn’t be aware of any consequences, but logically I think we've learned that there's always consequences...
I liked Agnes and wished she played a part in the end. Dr. Poole was just too convenient with her telling everyone the information and having the book, not that I wanted a longer book. Also, no on raising the dead by necromancy.

17. Jane came back for Edward and saved him of course, and now they're living happily ever after. How do you feel about them as a couple, and is there anything you would have changed about these last couple of chapters as the author or simply just a fan of the original work?
This was way too fast. The original book at least had her leave have another option and come back. She has never really talked to more than two men as far as I can tell and one ends up being her father.

18. Was this your first book written by Sharon Lynn Fisher, and do you think you'll be reading more by the author? Were your original expectations met? Anything else you want to add?
Yes, and her writing is very simplistic and replies on romance tropes so I am unlikely to look for more by her.


Bonus for everyone but especially those who have read Jane Eyre before: I challenge you to say at least one good thing about Salt & Broom - other than "it ended!!" lol :b
I liked the herbs and descriptions of the garden. However, did anyone else find the poems/spells laughable? I would have preferred they not be in poetry form.

DQs – Day 3 Protective Impulses-Pert Thing

11. What do you think about the revelation in the garden/the haunting? Did you see it coming, and do you think there are others involved with the “curse”?
I have finished at this point and can’t say it really was a surprise. The curse ended up unclear and never made a huge amounts of sense in the former generations and how it worked.

12. What do you think about Mr. Rochester sending away Jane and the staff? If you have read the original, how does this change Jane’s agency, and do you like the change? Either way, why do you think the author made it Mr. Rochester’s choice?
Ok, I wrote the questions and clearly, I thought it took away her choice which she had to leave in the original and wasn’t much of an absence since she went right back. The entire timeline of this book was deeply shortened.

13. Have you ever visited an Apothecary’s Garden? Would you be interested in seeing one? Do you grow any herbs or are you interested in growing any?
I have not either but would find it very interesting, as I took a toxic plant class in school. I did love growing herbs as a child, even very odd ones like borage and pineapple sage.

14. What do you think about the scene with Miss Ingram? What does this tell you about Mr. Rochester’s character and did that seem consistent with his character so far? Did his explanation make sense to you?
My question again and it made no sense to me. I can’t remember if it parallels a scene in the original, but it didn’t fit with the character of Mr. Rochester as presented in the book or even Jane, as up to that point, she wasn’t one to run away and cry for rude words.

DQs - Day 1 - Prologue-Blackthorn

1. A paranormal retelling?? of Jane Eyre - this prompts the question about the original or let's call it the "source for inspiration". What is your relationship to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë? Have you read it? Loved/liked/disliked it?

I read it in high school and enjoyed it though I did get annoyed at Rochester a lot. The ending stuck with me.

2. What about Retellings? Is it a genre you like/avoid?

I have read some, but I prefer if they are in conversation with the original. Not just, what is Rochester was a standard romance wounded, brooding hero. This one does not attempt to converse with original and is just too saccharine.

3. Jane Aire as a witch in a school for orphan witches? How do you like the setting of this alternative Victorian world where magic is at least tolerated?

It was too shallow. There was no real setting up of the magic in this world and how it worked in the larger world despite some references to “the burning times.”

4. What are your first impressions of Jane and Rochester?

They made Rochester flatter and Jane has some agency (though that kind of goes away). The time line is made much shorter so we don’t have any of the buildup of characters and atmosphere from the original.

5. What do you think about the occurrences in Thornfield? Are they really caused by supernatural elements or is it human action?

I have finished the book at this point but the book promised a supernatural retelling of Jane Eyre so it was never in doubt that the supernatural was “real.”