MelanieJoy’s Comments (group member since Apr 26, 2016)

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

Discussion Questions Day 1
Prologue - Part 1 Ch 5

1. The first line is “A letter changed my life.” Would you say this was a good start, cheesy start, or are you indifferent?

2. Why do you think Tio Roberto wanted to immediately send Inez back to Egypt without even seeing her? Do you think he’s hiding something? Or do you think it’s just typical of men at that time to dismiss young women and enforce them being chaperoned and taken care of?

3. The ring scene with Thomas Sterling was definitely outrageous; I felt Inez's outrage and all of her shock. Do you expect to see the ring later in the story? Any guesses to its significance?

4. What do you think of the writing style and the pacing so far? Are you enjoying the lyrical, rich descriptions or do you prefer a more fast paced story?

5. In Ch. 5 we see politics at play, and we can tell this is just the beginning. How do you think this will affect your enjoyment of the book? Will it enhance the story for you or will you feel bogged down by the details?

MelanieJoy DQ Links:
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Carmen wrote: "

Another book on my TBR since 2018, February this time. I struggled SO MUCH. It took me forever to read the first 97 pages, I just didn't want to pick it ..."

I felt the same way about this book when I read it last year!!!

I'm starting What the River Knows today since I'm first up for DQs.

Okay!!

I signed up with 5 books, but I read a lot of fantasy and it looks like that won’t count for this challenge. So hopefully I can keep up!!

I did it! I finished the book I started reading before Towers and now have a clean slate for when we start!

PS - I nominated the BOM and it won! Hope you guys can participate in the discussion! I'm looking forward to reading it:

Hi Team!
I'm MelanieJoy or Melanie (or Mel) and I live in Northern California with my husband, 1 1/2yr old son, and 2 cats. I'm expecting another baby in August :). This will be my 3rd official Tower Teams. The first two were 2017 and 2018 and I did last year's Book Games. (I also did the infamous WOBBLE in 2016 which was my first team reading challenge ever).

Mostly I've currently been reading closed door romance and some fantasy. I also enjoy some literary fiction and best sellers as well as Christian books and some mysteries and thrillers (light preferred).

A new to me author this year is Sarah Adams. I've loved her closed door romances.

A book I'm excited to read for TT is . I also might finally read because I got it from the library.

My Towers Shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I’ve been seeing Donna Andrews in my library search once I searched for similar to “Every time I go on Vacation Someone Dies”. I May check her out!

A good gateway book for thriller in my opinion would be The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I read it in this group as a BOM and it opened my eyes to some lighter thrillers that were suspenseful but not freaky.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.

(I didn't see this in the BOM spreadsheet but it's a little older so I'm not sure. But it looks REALLY good!)

Denise wrote: "There are two reasons I could never become vegan:

Cheese and ice cream. Cannot live without those."

Same. There's no way.
My sister was given a personal training food and nutrition program as well as a workout plan, and it included eliminating dairy completely.

I told her I'd absolutely support her, but I'm also thinking, "Nope no way, not for me. I cannot agree to this. Ever."

I don't usually post my completions separately but here's one

The Bird and the Sword added 2017, complete 2025

Worth the wait? Yes absolutely. Should I have read it sooner? Most definitely. But it was a really good read that spurred me on to continue to stay out of my reading slump. The prose and poetry in this were really well intermingled, as well as the elements of the plot. The settings and characters were well described and I could see them and have strong feelings toward them. So so good!

Im just nervous that I won’t keep this pace!! But we’ll see. If I make it this will be the first time I’ve hit 30 and earn an actual coin.

YOU GUYS MY BOOK WON!!!!! I don't think I've EVER won a nomination before. Super excited!!!!

And yes I'm in for DQs, any day.
(Team Icono Tower)

This one hasn't been super popular when I nominate it but I still really want to read it with this group

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd

Some women won't be painted out of history . . .

Everybody knows that in 1938, runaway heiress artist Juliette Willoughby perished in an accidental studio fire in Paris, alongside her masterpiece Self Portrait As Sphinx.

Fifty years later, two Cambridge art history students are confounded when they stumble across proof that the fire was no accident but something more sinister. What they uncover threatens the very foundation of Juliette’s aristocratic family and revives rumors of the infamous curse that has haunted the Willoughbys for generations.

But what does their discovery mean? And how is it connected to a brutal murder in present-day Dubai?

A tale of love and madness, obsession and revenge, The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby unravels the riddle posed by a Sphinx who refuses to reveal her secrets . . .

MelanieJoy's BOM tracking:

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5
Ch 28 - End

18.) In case anyone had any doubt that we've been reading not only historical fantasy but an Action Adventure novel, things have ramped up even more: Amina's deal with the peris, the flight with Khayzur, the council of pirates, the new friendship (?) with Magnun... And now Amina has gained supernatural strength and sight! What do you think about all these developments? What did you like (or dislike) most about all these elaborate plot elements introduced between the Peri island and the final showdown on Socotra? It was a wild and adventurous ending! The author had me hooked all the way through and I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure how I feel about Amina's transformation, like just being on an island you're not really supposed to know about changes you that much? But it's a cool element.

19.) We finally found out the full story of what happened to Asif. Do you think Amina is culpable for Asif's fate, as she believes she is? No, I don't. He made his choices.

20.) It seems like the author wrapped things up fairly well, while neatly setting up for further installments. Will you read more in this world? Any particular teases or loose ends that most interest you? I may read more, it would be interesting to find out if Raksh ever meets Marjana and if she plays a role in future stories. It would be cool to see where the author takes the next installment.

21.) Did you read the "Author's Note and Further Reading" -- and if yes, are you interested in any of the books she cites or recommends? I have not read those sections, but I might be interested.

Bonus question: Dunya / Jamal ! Did anyone see that coming?! Thoughts?
I did NOT see that coming but I can now look back and reason through it.

DQs Day 4
Ch 20 to 27

14.) The Moon of Saba certainly has a complicated tale. Do you think the author did this to highlight in a different way how the past is not always what we think? And the true story is often very different from what is recorded in the history books? I do, I think that was a great example of her main point at the beginning.

15.) Now that we know more about Raksh, what do you think about him? Has your opinion changed over the course of the story? Do you think he'll find out he's a father?I've read ahead so I won't answer most of this but hoenstly I don't know how to feel about Raksh! I feel like he doesn't deserve all the hostility from Amina but it's hard to say that for sure. And yes my opinion did change.

16.) Amina's first conversation with Dunya was certainly illuminating. Was she what you expected? In her shoes do you think you would of pulled a runner with Falco? Very illuminating and yes, I do.

17.) Anyone else trying to figure out how Amina survived in the ocean with no potable water for 2 weeks? Also, anyone else want to go to the magical island? so she BARELY survived, and it's possible but unlikely. I'm like well it's just a story so I'll let it slide. And I do think that specific island would have some cool features to see. It's fascinating that she got there just by being adrift.

DQs Day 3: Chaps 14 - 19

10. There's some really graphic scenes in this section. Why do you think Chakraborty chose to be so detailed (esp what Falco did to them), when she could have been more circumspect?
I was listening on audio and I think this part I was only half listening. One reason is Falco tries to entice Amina into joining him multiple times and the reader has to have no doubt at all why Amina wouldn't be tempted. There's probably more reasons but I do think in general the graphic nature of the scene fits with Amina's story telling style, fits with the time period and what else is going on.

11. We met Raksh! Huzzah! What are you thoughts on final meeting him? Did that opinion change at all during the section? That section we only got bits and pieces of the story. I've read to the end at this point. I still don't know how I feel. But obviously Amina feels VERY strongly about him. So it's interesting to see that play out when I don't have a visceral reaction like she does.

12. And Falco too! What do you think of him? Does the backstory of crusading fervour in his father leading to financial ruin add or detract from him as a villainous villain? Amina pointed out that his past did not account for the gruesome scene in the cave. And those are my thoughts exactly. People can choose to turn their choices and future into something better than they're history. He's attempting to do that but with extremely evil character.

13. Following from that - we see the first serious religious tensions in this section, in the hesitation to bury the Christian villages and then also in the Crusades history shared. But, rather than dwelling on that point in particular - do you feel that the world being evoked is real, bedded in history, or too glamourised? General thoughts on the setting welcomed! I had to try and suspend my religious beliefs to read this book and enjoy it as a whole and that's always difficult for me. I actually think the author does an amazing job of toeing the line between making the setting realistic and glamorized.