Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

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

Task: Read a book with a cover showing close-up of a hand(s)
Direction: North

S : Sicarius, character in Deadly Games
K : Keita Mori, character inThe Lost Future of Pepperharrow
I : Immaculée Constantin, character in The Bone Clocks
P: Peter Grant, character in Amongst Our Weapons

Skipping
Task: Read a book that is in the Amazon 2004 bestsellers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/...)
Direction: East

C : The Crawling Darkness
A : About Time
N : Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel
T : Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Skipping
Task: Read a book whose author died this year
Direction: South

P : Peripeteia
A : The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
S : Smoke & Summons
S : The Scourge of Muirwood

When I got this task a few weeks ago, I tried to find something that fit but there were no books that appealed to me.
Only just past 3 months into the year, simply skipping the task was... let's just say... a lot more palatable... than the idea of waiting to see if an author with an appealing book would DIE soon... AMIRITE?!?!

Lyndi (mibookobsession) wrote: " I looked at the first 100 books on the list and I've read 68 of them. "

Impressive!

Skipping Task: Read a book that is in the Amazon 2008 bestsellers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/...)
Direction: East

C: Clint, character in Skin Trade (238p)
A: Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky (700p)
N: Margot Nielson, character in Burn Our Bodies Down (352p)
T: The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World by Tom Roston (320p)

Skipping Task: Read a book where a character carries a switch blade (or any kind of knife)
Direction: East

M: Rule, by Rowenna Miller (432p)
I: The Ivory and the Horn (318p)
S: Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show (240p)
S: The Bialy Eaters, by Mimi Sheraton (176p)

Sophie wrote: "

Don't SKIP this message! I know you want to call a HALT to the tasks that make you want to PASS out and MISS the maze entirely. I don't want the fun to STOP so if you CAN'T complete a task, just ..."

Love it! Thank you!
😁

Aaaaaaand another skip.

Task: Read a book shelved (listed on the first page on GR) as christian - plurals and spelling acceptable
Direction: South

S : The Silver Mask
K : Kiva, character in The Prison Healer
I : The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
P: Hank Palace, character in World of Trouble

In addition to SKIP and HELP, I am starting to wish we could spell CANT or NOPE. Just to add a little variety, LOL.

Skipping:
Task: Read a book where a character gets into shape
Direction: East (Even Number of pages)

S: Simon Fayter and the Eyes of Stone 176p
K: Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress 316p
I: Iris, character in System Collapse 248p
P : Lie With Me, by Philippe Besson 160p

Skipping:
Task: Read a book where MCs are best friends
Direction: East (Even Number of pages)

H : Hades, character in Cobweb Forest 378p
E : Einar, character in The Golden Wolf 432p
L : Locklands 544p
P : Zac Payne character in Rented Heart 222p

I finished my last book! Thought maybe I could squeeze in another, but no.
Off to update the spreadsheet now.

DQs Day 6, Chapters 32 - end

24. Chapter 32, though! How did you feel about the heart-to-heart on the parapet? Did it fill you with fluttery lovey feelings, or did it fall flat? Are you loving “Vioden” (Xadlet?)??

I do like them together! But Xaden was right that Violet using the parapet as a prop to force a hard conversation was stupid dangerous! I mean, I'm sure she could have found another way. But the author really wanted to get that parapet in there, lol.

25. Xaden has Violet join his special group for the War Games, and we find out about all the secrets that EVERYONE has been keeping from her. Do you think she overreacted to these revelations or is her reaction warranted? How do you feel about Dain’s betrayal? Surprised (hint hint - NO)?

Her reaction is totally warranted and understandable. Regardless of whether or not Violet would believe in their cause as it was explained to her, finding out that you've been kept in the dark about something important is never a good feeling. I appreciated the way this whole thing was written, that she is open-minded and still loves Xaden, while still having her feelings of betrayal and mistrust validated and ongoing.
Dain.. ugh. Terrible kind of violation. A worse sort of betrayal than what Xaden did by keeping operational secrets, IMO.


26. Anyone crying yet? I know I was losing it through a lot of the last 15% of the book. What are your thoughts on the major losses we see during this battle? Any thoughts on the battle itself (or the enemy themselves)?

No tears, and I didn't find the battle-scene writing particularly effective. But it was certainly quite sad when Liam died.

27. That CLIFF-HANGER of an ending had me stunned! What did you think of the sudden appearance of (view spoiler)? Was it too much, or just enough?

I would not have seen it coming except for there was a previous DQ where someone planted the seed in my head that Brennan might not be dead! So it was less of a twist that it would have been otherwise. (Thanks a lot, Fallyn Nichole ! ;D)
I… dunno. On the one hand it kind of makes sense and I look forward to finding out what happened to Brennan during all the time when Violet believed him dead. But on the other hand, it cheapens death in the story when death might not be real.

28. What are your overall thoughts on this book? Will you read the next one?

I will probably read the next one! I'm not salivating over it, but I'll get to it eventually. I think it helped that I listed to the audio; I think I would have been more annoyed by the writing if I'd been reading the text.
BONUS!
On a scale of 1 to 100, how much to you hate Dain?

Dain.. ugh. Nobody is all good or all bad, but at the moment I hate him 100.

I finished Fourth Wing yesterday.
No idea where to put it... I hope it's helpful somewhere!

DQs Day 5, Chapters 26 - 31

19. I'm so confused by the logistics of this world! Firstly there's the comment that 6 hours in flight left them all super-stiff, but surely they've been putting the hours in in flight fight practice? And then the sudden realisation that actually it's TOTES fine to put a saddle or harness on to secure them in flight, as if that wouldn't be the very first thing you'd do the first time the dragons decided to plummet and every rider loses their seat!Anyway, that rant is mostly to say: how are you enjoying the world-building now we are further into the story?

Mostly I'm still like "World-building? What world-building?" I enjoyed the humor of the scene where there's suddenly a saddle for Violet, but in the larger scheme it was really dumb. Enjoyment of this book, while real, does require a lot of handwaving.

20. We discover that riders of mated dragons can now talk in each others minds... What do you think this adds (or detracts) to the story, characters, world?
UGH. I've said before that I dislike when mind reading is portrayed as romantic in some way. But especially since the book has already established that it is NOT. At this point it seems like an attempt by the author to just get ALL THE TROPES in. Maybe it was a bet.

21. Lightning! Who'd've guessed that Violet would end up with a super rare, super powerful signet?! What do you think the lightning says about her character?

That she's so special even her signet is special! Seriously, that is all it says. Violet can go on about how it means she's a weapon and she's going to cause a lot of death blah blah blah, but it's all just convenient for….

22. There's some destructive sex, followed by a decision that it can never happen again. What do you think about the different approaches that Violet and Xaden have towards their attraction to each other?

… the sex. Sex lightning! Lightning sex! Fireworks! ROTFL. The sex was hot… literally! Okay, haha, I'll stop now.
Their differing approaches were a tad stereotypical but also fit their characters as built so far. They're both in denial about the fact that they have clearly already fallen in love, but especially Xaden. He's so far up his own ass about it, since he's largely already treating Violet as a girlfriend.

23. Finally - is it just me, or is Dain starting to redeem himself? I feel like I'm seeing signs of improvement in him....

Maybe? Too soon to say for sure.

Dawn wrote: "On a bit of a reading roll this month :) still on track to finish the last 2 books I'm in.

Looks like we just have two more towers to build- woohoo!"

I will also finish the 2 books I am currently reading! Not sure if I will be able to add anything else but we'll see! I have a very long plane trip this weekend 😁

Came to say I just read my 126 page book.
That's also about a musician / music analysis, but it will work for a spell-out if need be too.

Or, hold in case it fits something in the next spin :)

DQs Day 4, Chapters 21 - 25

14. Do you think there is a reason the Cadets are not being told the truth of what is going on with the battles at the Battle Brief? Is it actually for classified reasons or is there something more sinister going on?

Probably both! Classified, plus more complicated and/or sinister than one might think.


15. What do you think about the mentioning of the fact that the Dragons and Gryphons use to work together to protect the lands? Could this be foreshadowing of an alliance to come?

I think it's probably just a colorful aside. I'd love to be proven wrong on that though!


16. We finally have a bit of progress in the possible romance between Violet and Xaden. Do you think they have actual chemistry or their attraction is just due to the bond of their dragons?

Actual chemistry, for sure, and it works pretty well for me. I do like this dragon-tinged version of the "-X- made them do it" trope though!

17. We keep getting random tidbits about Violet's deceased brother Brennan. Do you think there is a possibility he's still alive?

Didn't even occur to me, but no, I don't think he's still alive.

18. With the revelations we've been given about what went on with the Marked Ones and the various battles that are raging on currently, do you think that the Kingdom of Navarre is actually the protector of this world as we've been lead to believe or are they the villains?

Now that would be a very interesting twist if Navarre are the villains!. Again, I don't think that will be a thing, but I don't mind being proven wrong.

Bonus: Anyone else wishing a Dragon would just go scorched earth on Dain already?

Haha, yes, kind of.

DQs Day 3, Chapters 14 - 20

10. So we are half way through the book. Thoughts and feelings? Loving it? Hating it? Ambivalent?

I'm enjoying it. It's no great literary work by any stretch but it's an arguably above average YA fantasy novel.

11. Jeremiah gets killed pretty quickly as his signet shows. Do you agree that power can't be allowed?

It's always nice when books acknowledge that mind-reading is actually pretty terrible! That said, killing people over something they can't control is also terrible. At least it is of a piece with the book's previously pointed out obsession with killing promising young people. Maybe with time, people with the mind-reading signet would be able to turn it on and off at will, direct it, whatever? It would still be hard to trust someone with that power, but no one should be killed over it.

11. What's the deal with Andarna? Why do you think 2 dragons have bonded with Violet?

Because Violet is Just That Special. No, really, that seems like the only reason.
I have read ahead a bit and could come up with some more explanations when it comes to Andarna, but not without possible spoilers.



12. If you coul choose a Signet what would it be? https://www.julesbuono.com/fourth-win…

Out of all the ones listed there, breathing underwater sounds the best! Think about all the sights one could see underwater without having to worry about air, and just never having to fear drowning!

13. Were you surprised about Amber's betrayal? How about when Xanden completely believed Violet but Dain didn't?

I wasn't surprised by Amber's betrayal, or by Xaden believing Violet about it. I was a little surprised that Dain didn't believe it at all. Even considering how rule-abiding he's made out to be, it stands to reason that he would understand that other people aren't as rigid. Especially with how cutthroat these people are about trying to get a dragon bond.

Lexi wrote: "Why is this marked as an Adult book? I don't mind YA, but this is a very YA theme and the obsession with Xander is very YA. I know it has cursing and discussions of sex but really, YA books have th..."

LOL, I didn't check the BOM categories at all and had assumed this was a YA one. I agree, Lexi, this book is super YA. If I'd been expecting otherwise, I would be way less forgiving of the thin world building.

ETA: it's tagged as YA on the first page of tags, but not MPG.

Jenny wrote: "I had to look up Toothless. I have never read the books not seen the movie. So. Should I?"

The books are VERRRRRRRYYYYYY different from the movies.
Both are fun in their own ways, but I actually prefer the movie versions of the dragons. In the books, the dragons can talk, and it's... kind of dumb. If you like children's books it's worth a shot to check out.