Audrey Jane’s Comments (group member since May 27, 2014)

Audrey Jane’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I'm in and volunteer to write DQs for Team Rob Anybody.

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Sure, she is from Australia, but that is part of Europe now don't you know?!"

Haha, well, after that 'Zero Gravity' performance, Europe gladly adopted Australia. From that moment on Europe knew Australia understood Eurovision :)
I've noticed that the winner is always either the craziest or the most inspiring one.

Looking forward to the mind-blowing performances, the yearly discussions of how geopolitical the point allocation is, and of course my favourite: UK complaining about not winning haha. I love to watch the contest on the BBC especially when Graham Norton is commenting because his comments are hilarious.

Fun fact about Belgium (and I presume other multilingual countries), they alternate nominating songs between the Dutch speaking and French speaking community. 'Rythm inside' was a French speaking entry however this year it's a Dutch entry (Hooverphonic is a Flemish band).

Of course I'm in ! And I shall spell out the country with the most wins: Ireland !



Duration: 1st of May - 31st of May
Option 3: Spell-it-Out
Level: Wind Machine (6-10 books - I will see how far I get)
Progress: 9/10

𝄞 Country: 𝄞

I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett
Rob Anybody (MC) - The Wee Free Men - 12/05 - ★★★★
Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett - 23/05 - ★★★
Linus Baker (MC) - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - 16/05 - ★★★★
A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong - 29/05 - ★★★
Nemesis - Margit Sandemo - 03/05 - ★★★
Doughty, Caitlin - From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death - 19/05 - ★★★★



𝄞 Song: 𝄞

Morozko (MC) - The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden - 07/05 - ★★★★★
A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett - 15/05 - ★★★
Patricia Briggs - Wild Sign - 10/05 - ★★
Stacey Halls - The Foundling - 05/05 - ★★★



Some of my favourite Eurovision songs/performances:

UK - Puppet on a string (1967)
Switzerland - Ne partez pas sans moi (1988)
Sweden - Fångad av en stormvind (1991)
Ireland - Why me (1992)
Norway - Nocturne (1995)
Ukraine - Shady Lady (2008)
Sweden - Euphoria (2012)
Cyprus - Fuego (2018)
Netherlands - Arcade (2019)

"Empire of the Vampire" does sound like a title for a B movie haha ;)

Jay Kristoff's description interested me as well and is why I instantly added the book. I'm not familiar with his other works so I'm wondering if that's his first 'adult' book and the reason why he's stressing the fact that it's not YA.
It's seems pretty dark and gritty so I'm really curious ! And is it me or does the MC gives off Geralt of Rivia vibes (will probably picturing Henry Cavill while reading it :)).
If you all feel like it, I'm in for a buddy read or BOM (maybe backroom?).

Cilla, that way you're optimizing your time during waiting hours :)

I've never read The Thornbirds but have fond memories of watching the series at my grandfather's place. A lot of tragedy happens!

I second the Ilona Andrews recommendations. Especially the Kate Daniels series if you enjoy UF. Patiently waiting for another Hugh book.

Adding The House at the Cerulean Sea since everyone seems to have read and enjoyed it.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Alysa & Eldarwen, loved reading your answers to the last set ! This was a great BOM pick and I enjoyed this discussion with you. I do agree with the minor negative points that have been mentioned but I also had fun while reading it. I gave it 3 stars, liked it but not loved it. Will check out other books by Jay Kristoff though.

DQs Day 6
Chapters 31-35

21. Soon after the violent action sequence that sees Cat infected by the spores... Auri takes a private moment with Kal to talk about their relationship. What did you think of this scene? Is there hope for them? Do you have any other last-minute reactions to the various romantic subplots in this book?

I agree that the timing of their conversation could've indeed been better, especially since they are on enemy territory and someone from the crew is in agony. However I'm thinking why not, if something really bad happens or they get separated, at least they already had that conversation. But I remember feeling that it was a bit insensitive from their part wile reading.
Honestly, I didn't feel invested in the romantic subplots but that's because it's YA and I tend to ignore the teenage romance part. I think the romantic subplots overall were rushed, I prefer a slow burn.

On a side note, I felt bad for Zila and the comments from the crew about her.

22. "Ra'haam" turns out to be the name of the sentient collective Borg plant lifeform, stumbled upon by the Octavia colonists. Auri is, somehow, the Trigger of a weapon against the Ra'haam that was put in place by the vanished Eshvaren long ago. What do you make of all this? Battle Leader de Stoy knew enough to want to keep Auri away from the GIA, so how much did she know? How deep in the Legion do you think this knowledge goes?

I still wonder if Auri is part of the Eshvaren, the last of their kind or something. And how did the Eshvaren choose her (maybe they could have visions too?). The same thing could have happened to Battle leader de Stoy, maybe she was warned by the Eshvaren or she did found out about the GIA but the GIA doesn't know yet.
I guess we must read the next book to find out.

What confused me was why the Ra'haam didn't want Aurora and the crew to find out about Aurora but at the same time were quite satisfied she was on the planet to make her one of them. I'm also thinking that there must be a better way for the Eshvaren to warn Aurora off the planet Octavia and the Ra'haam. All the clues every did was point the crew to Octavia.

23. It turns out that Princeps is… Auri's dad! Kind of! Did you suspect this or were you completely surprised?

As soon as his girlfriend, Patrice, was revealed I knew her father had to be a GIA too. But like Alysa pointed out maybe anyone could have played the Princeps at any given time because the Princeps is one entity, the Ra'haam. All other living things are its puppets.

24. To save the crew, Aurora and Cat both have to dig deep into their reserves of mental strength! Auri finally gains control over her psychic powers, and Cat is able to temporarily hold off the full effects of the Ra'haam as it's overtaking her. Did it make sense to you how they each responded to the situation, given their personal circumstances?

Yes, however I was a bit surprised as they have both been through a lot. Auri seems to recover pretty quickly from her 200 years sleep and I thought Cat was a goner at this point. However I agree with Eldarwen that Cat will most likely be back and might cause for additional trouble and drama for Tyler. Maybe they will try to find a cure or everybody turns back to normal once the Ra'haam is defeated.

25. Are you going to read the next book in the series? Why or why not?

Just like Alysa pointed out, I also had to check the chapter headings a couple of times to remember whose POV I was reading.
Yes, I probably will read the next one but not immediately. This was my first Jay Kristoff book so I can't compare it to his other works. I do want to try other books by him, the upcoming Empire of the Vampire caught my interest recently.

Hereby my recommendations and some of my favourite reads :



For people enjoying non-fiction, I recommend Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

Louise wrote: "Sonia wrote: "Hi Team!

A visiting from Team Rincewind with some books just for you:
"

Great recs, Sonia ! Really liked Lies of Locke Lamora. Waiting on book 4.

I've read the Harper Connelly series (Grave Sight) and enjoyed. Hope you will enjoy it as well, Louise.

Welcome Kristel ! Nice to have a fellow Slytherin on board.

Eldarwen wrote: "Audrey Jane wrote: "Alysa, I'm not in a rush either. Will keep an eye on this thread till then :)

Eldarwen wrote: "I don't mind waiting for you, Alysa. There's no rush. Though I really, really wan..."

(view spoiler)[Agree, I was thinking the same. So I presume they purposefully made her unlikeable because they meant to write that 'ending' for her. And good to know about Jay Kristoff, I will bet on it that Cat will show up in later books. I wonder if there's a cure for it or she will remain like that.

Also all the red herrings ! Did I miss something or the authors didn't reveal what actually happened on Octavia. Everyone had so many awesome theories (we basically should all write a book together :p) and I wonder if any of them are correct. (hide spoiler)]

Alysa, I'm not in a rush either. Will keep an eye on this thread till then :)

Eldarwen wrote: "I don't mind waiting for you, Alysa. There's no rush. Though I really, really want to pick up book 2 now!!"

Hahaha :D Did you finish it ? You see! (view spoiler)[Btw don't you feel just a itsy little bit bad for Cat now :p (hide spoiler)]
And I agree, it is a quick read. I can't believe it's 470 pages.

Finished the book and in my opinion the last 5 chapters are pretty intense ! Will wait for you guys to catch up. Curious what you all think about it :)

DQ Set 5 Chapters 25-30

17. What do you think of "The Pull" as Kal puts it between him and Auri, at least from his viewpoint? With his ears and all, kind of reminds me of the Vulcan Pon farr that happens every seven years or so. Do you think Auri has feelings for Kal too?

I wonder how random this "Pull" is. Is there a specific reason the Pull is with Auri ? I can only imagine the pressure it puts on the other person, especially if it's one of a lifetime occurence or so. I don't think Auri has feelings at this point since they barely know each other and he was really acting aloof with her before. However I wish they would not talk about it in the middle of the action. Priorities people !

18. That was some gunfight between the Aurora Crew and the GIA bomber. I was sure the crew were gonners, until that other race showed up. Why do you think they were there? Why do you think the GIA is so intent on hiding Octavia III?

Because an experiment went wrong? I'm not entirely sure. Will wait for others to finish the book in order to discuss further.

19. So that blue-green stuff is all over the planet as well. The stuff they found growing in the operatives eyes (one of which was Patrice). Do you think the plant has intelligence?

Yes, absolutely. They all behave like puppets. I don't really know how it all works but it's creepy having flowers growing out their eyeballs. I wonder if something bigger operates the plant.

20. A chimp! Racing out of the forest to attack the crew!! How do you think the chimp survived this long, and do you think there may be other survivors on the planet?

Monkeys are terrifying. I think the chimp is 'undead', just like a zombie chimp. I'm sure there are others since we already know that some of them 'survived' like Patrice and others in the GIA.

I also have a couple of longer books planned but I'm thinking strategically speaking reading one big book equals to the same amount of time I'm reading two 'shorter' ones. Since I don't know how fast we will cover the tasks, I will try to find a nice balance between page count and covering the tasks (+BOMs) and afterwards tackle the longer books if that makes sense.

As a history buff my favourite genre is anything historical (fiction/mystery/romance) and fantasy (especially fairytale retellings). However lately I'm really into gothic/victorian/mystery/sometimes borderline horror books. I recently enjoyed
(don't read this one alone at night ;)) and looking forward to read during TT.

Cilla wrote: "I hope there is a larger, more clear version of the bingo card. Some of the squares aren't very clear to me.

Will the tasks that relate to the Discworld books be revealed soon, or when we start o..."

Regarding Bingo, you can enlarge the bingo card in our team spreadsheet by clicking in the top left corner on the percentage, by default it's 100% but you can increase the percentage if you want.

All the tasks are already revealed in our team spreadsheet under the "tasks" tab. Also Jenny put them under comment #5 for easy access. You can also see the description of the Bingo squares under the spoiler tag.
Hope this helps :) !

DQ Set 4 - chapters 17 - 14

13. After reading this section, did your opinion about Cat change? (She saved Auri from the mafia leader's pet (ultrasaur)). When the Terrans offered her a deal, did you expect her to betray the crew to the GIA/Terrans? After that episode do you think she will be nicer now with the crew and Auri in particular ?

14. For the moment our crew is on the run from the GIA but what do you think of the Starslayer (leader of the Unbroken)? Is he still a threat ? And do you think we haven't seen the last of him ?

15. We learn that the "Trigger" is in fact a three-fingered statue with a diamond in its chest and has in the right eye a gleaming pearl. Auri has been having visions about this "Trigger". Do you have any theories about this Trigger and what it represents? Do you think the resemblance with Auri is significant in any way ?

16. Ty mentions at the end of chapter 24 that the Legion/Academy knows about Auri and what it all means. If that's true, how far is the Academy's involvement in all this?
And it's the second time our crew of misfits successfully escapes the GIA. Where do you think they are going now ?

Day 3 DQ
Chapters 13-16

9. Aurora does a lot of interesting things that she doesn't remember doing in this section. Any theories on what a Trigger is and why she calls herself one? Why do you think is the GIA so fixated on capturing her that they post her picture and offer a reward all over the World Ship?

I think the GIA knows who and what Aurora. I think they are the reason Octavia III is off limit and that the current version of the story is that the ship, the Hadfield, was bound for Lei Gong III and not Octavia III. I'm still trying to connect the dots between Aurora, Octavia III, and the Eshvaren. Eldarwen's theory seems plausible to me as well; I think Aurora might be related to the Eshvaren. Maybe she's the last of her kind.

10. We get more insight into Betraskan people in this section. There seems to be a large contrast with Finian negotiating with his cousin for help and reluctantly offering to owe a Favor and his belief that "family seals your den" and that Dariel won't cross them because of their family relationship. How do the interactions between Finian and Dariel and the bit of Finian's history explained so far shape your understanding of the Betraskans?

Betraskans' family trees must be really complicated. Doing the genealogy for one Betraskan family would be hell. Finian has three mothers I think and probably hundreds of cousins. I don't think Dariel will betray Finian, family is too important to them.

11. Anyone else annoyed by group's refusal to listen to Aurora and Kal? She tries to explain that she was headed to Octavia III, and they think the Fold must have messed up her mind. He tries to explain that his people have information/stories about the Eshvaren, and they dismiss it as mere fictional tales despite the fact that his race is acknowledged to be older than the Terrans. How much more information would they have if they simply listened without dismissing what they hear immediately?

I don't understand why they are not more curious about it either and ask Auri and Kal for more information. They never ask about their background. If someone told me that their ship was bound to another planet and that that planet doesn't exist anymore or is off limit, I would be very curious and ask them for the whole story. I hope they go to Octavia III and investigate.

12. Now that we're about halfway through the book, How do you feel about the various characters? Any strong likes or dislikes? Thoughts on the chances of them ever making a cohesive team?

Same as Eldarwen. I'm a bit weary of Cat's behaviour and her obsession with Tyler. I like Zila and Fin the most so far and want to know more about Auri. The things they are going through together will make them bond.

Eldarwen wrote: "It's old and outdated but it's hilarious if you like that kind of movie. So if you do watch it, I hope you enjoy!! :-) And don't choke on the popcorn ;-)"

Haha, thanks for the warning ! I do like those kind of movies. I enjoyed Mel Brooks movies before so it will be right up my alley :)