Cat’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2015)

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

thank you for saving me from the brown!

I'm back from a lovely long weekend n Bruges, the main drawback being the forced socialisation meant very little reading. But I'll have finished with Niccolo this evening :)

Melindam wrote: "Dang! I am listening to The Scarlet Pimpernel, am nearing the end without an effing swashbuckling in sight. Aargh! (it is a reread, but maybe I remember more about the films, hence my mistake in th..."

I thought there was some fighting at the final escape??

I shouldn't be allowed to spin...

Randall Flagg (The Stand)
1 651+
2 Virus, bacteria or fungi important to the plot
3 Black bird on the cover
4 Disappointed in the ending of the book (your interpretation)
5 Good v Email imagery

I can take the other three with
Mystery caper with cocktails and canoodling seems pretty cheesy to me! :D

Finished my book and spun again!

Dr. Zachary Smith (Lost in Space)
1 200 to 299
2 Set in space or on another planet
3 Character is untrustworthy
4 A cheesy book (your interpretation)
5 MPG science fiction/Sci-fi

I would never, don't worry!

Melindam wrote: "Cat, having finished The Lymond Chronicles, I also have my eyes on Niccolò Rising, but I think I'll wait for Wheel to start it. :)"

I'm reading it before the Lymond Chronicles because I'm off to Bruges this weekend, and it's set there at the peak of Bruges' influence :) I assumed it'd be good based on your devouring of the other series - will totally blame you if I hate it! ;-P

I'm reading a 592 pager, so can take that, but no family and not far in enough to know about baby or pretence, soz

185 pages
112 pages

Current total: 1,400,443

exciting news MelanieJoy- hope it all goes well :)

I'll be in for DQs

I'll volunteer! (Britpop)

plus an extra entry

463 pages

Current total: 1,397,940

Glad it went well, and enjoy an easy recovery with great books! :D

tee hee!

same. couple of short books being rapidly read, as well as Station Eternity - to be finished today :)

awesome!

I have nothing for those right now, nor particularly upcoming either :(

174 pages

Current total: 1,396,952

links for participation:

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

DQ'S DAY 3

10. As we move towards the end of the novel what do you think will happen? What are the untold secrets of Hartwood Hall?

I hadn't expected everything that came out, but had expected a reveal about both Richard's death and Mrs E's marital sitch. Richard's death was more or less what I expected (natural death, massive guilt because she'd not been sufficiently caring).

11. Even though Paul has a reasonable excuse why he has keys to the Hall Margaret sometimes has the feeling he knows more than he is letting on. Is Paul too good to be true or is he hiding something.. and if he is will that impact their relationship?

Certainly too good to be true - and the "you don't need to work", "obvs you'll be happy if I'm happy" view chimed in there. Though I also think Margaret had been unfair - she'd been so happy for good sex and some kindness that she'd not been open about her feelings, and just (pretty obnoxiously) relied on class assumptions to prevent marriage or even just future plan convos

12. We finally find the truth of what happened the night Richard died. Margaret explains what her life was like, a life and emotions that many women of that era may have felt, shackled to the expectation of what women should be like, namely a possession of her husband with no life of her own. Even knowing all this does this excuse Margaret's behaviour on the night Richard died?

I do believe it was genuine forgetful oversight re the medicine, but generally her reactions, as an abused, controlled, woman, are not surprising.

13. Finally all the secrets are revealed and definitely not your standard Happily Ever After. It was really apparent to me that this was a novel penned recently, I'm sure a novel written even ten years ago wouldn't have ended the same way. Did the ending work for you, why/why not? What will you be rating The Secrets of Hartwood Hall?

I liked the ending fine - it was an entertaining enough piece of fluff - standard 3*

352 pages

Current total: 1,395,962

DQ set 2: Vols Two & Three

6. Margaret and Paul, eh?! How do you feel about this pairing?

I think Margaret's diving rather rapidly into lust. Paul, however sweet he seems, is definitely a bit dodgy - his constant refusal to see Hartwood Hall as anything other than paradise is just wonky in my book.

7. Margaret's loss of hearing is intended to make everything even more atmospheric, with the added uncertainty of whether she is hearing accurately. Do you think this is done well? Is it necessary, with all the hidden relationships too?

It certainly adds to the uncertainty, but I do also feel like it's too much.

8. We are suddenly plunged into a medical drama, with a minor measles outbreak! And a new sinister addition to the household: Miss Davis! Thoughts about her and her link to this whole melodrama?

I mean she's deeply sus, but we have zero info on her to help at all! I did enjoy the measles thing, with the presumably authentic anti-measles tactics of stuffing tobacco up their noses!!! And the barricade! that made me laugh! Additional bonus of the flashback to reveal the vial (is Margaret a poisoner? is she not?) and of course, bumping off of Susan!

9. Susan's dead, RIP... and Margaret has rescued her stuff from her little blackmail box, with a few snippets of other compromising material too. Did you glean anything from those snippets? Did you want her to take the whole box?

This whole household is astonishing lax about destroying dangerous letters! What's Stevens' game, eh? I suspect the husband/father of absconding with Isabella, and that's who they are hunting down. Why she didn't take the box, I do not know, though the other victims would surely also be on the lookout too (Stevens could've used his downstairs position of authority to search legitimately, I'd've thought? peculiar all round).