Stacey’s Comments (group member since Oct 26, 2014)

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

I'm terrible at leaving things linger....maybe this will get me to clean it out. I'm going to start with 20. I have 15 left from 2011. I'll start with those and move to 2012 as I finish.

My First 10:
1. Untamed
2. Breaking Point -- 7/18/20
3. Savor the Danger -- 1/5/20
4. Chain Reaction
5. The Black Prism
6. Zone One --- DNF
7. Lethal -- 4/4/20
8. By Possession
9. The Name of the Wind DNF
10. Deadly Fear 2/28/20

We are checked in and officially finished! Thanks you guys for hanging in there with Team Pride. Things got a little dicey there in the middle, but I feel like our small group did pretty well! I hope to see you all next TT or before -- there are lots of challenges out there. :)

Completion Post

Book: Kulti
Completed: 12/13/19
Pages: 570
Sin: Vanity -- MPG Contemporary

Book: City of the Lost
Completed: 12/14/19
Pages: 416
Sin: Vanity -- mini

Laura wrote: "Completion Post

Book:
Date Read: 12/14
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 197
Sin: Gluttony - Pink cover? I'm really bad a..."

Laura, Tineye says grey? So I put it in Anything Goes.

We are currently at 15 books for the week, but the Mods have given us 14 books to pick from the Travel Agent list since we have lost so many players over the course of the challenge -- so we will be fine for the final week. I'll enter those this evening. Enjoy your weekend reading!

Laura wrote: "Stacey, did you enjoy Kulti (I saw it on the spreadsheet)? That’s one of my favorites of hers! She has a Facebook group, with a bonus Kulti scene posted!"

I loved it! I think I may have liked The Wall of Winnipeg just a wee bit better, but both are wonderful. It's been a great week of reading for me -- I had that and I'm almost finished Illuminae which has been great as well.

Beth wrote: "There was one more book for the mini challenge I planned on reading, but the last two books I’ve read I just picked at random and haven’t liked either of them and now I just want to get away from t..."

Sometimes you just have to change it up. Only 2 of the 4 I'm reading this week are on the list -- I decided to go for some longer books this week figuring that I'll get more points that way. :)

Laura wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Okay, I have been avoiding The Kiss Quotient because its EVERYWHERE I look....but you all are making me think I actually should read it. Laura, you'll be my decision ..."

Thanks Laura! I think I didn't enjoy the writing of The Rosie Project as much as other people. Maybe I'll track it down at the library and give it a shot -- that way I only lose a little time if I don't like it. :)

Good Luck with the White Elephant!

Okay, I have been avoiding The Kiss Quotient because its EVERYWHERE I look....but you all are making me think I actually should read it. Laura, you'll be my decision maker, if 3 of you like it, I'll give it a shot. :)

Fixed Laura! Thanks.

Beth wrote: "Completion post:

Book: The Silent Waters
Date read: 12/9
Rating: 4
Pages: 316
Vanity mini (1st book in the series is on the list)"

Beth, after discussion in the Captains group it was decided to only allow the book on the list, not in the same series as the list. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I'll log it for Envy -- green cover (at least that's what tineye says....)

Also, I hope you are feeling better?

Completion Post

Book: Ninth House
Completed: 12/10/19
Pages: 458
Sin: Vanity -- MPG Contemporary

DQs Day 6
Ch. 26 – end

23. We start off this section with Blake trying to kill Alex for revenge. Did you expect this and did you accept that he was also responsible for Tara’s murder? Or did you suspect there was still something more?
Also, were you surprised when Dawes came through to bash him in the head? I was not expecting that, but it was awesome.
I wasn't surprised as I figured he would be around for some kind of revenge eventually. I didn't think he killed Tara, he didn't seem to really have a reason to cut off his supply -- I figured it was just part of another unnecessary subplot.

24. We find out that girls had been killed over the years on dates that coincided with the formation of houses and that Dean Sandow knew about it. Did you immediately jump to the same conclusion as Alex, that Sandow killed Tara to form a nexus?
I thought that might be it, although I'm not sure I figured it was Sandow who did it. I was still thinking someone from the house that could glamour-- didn't know the dean had that power.

25. What were your thoughts when Belbalm revealed herself? Were you surprised? Did you suspect the connection with North?
It makes sense to me the Belbalm had a stronger role in the story than initially portrayed, but I was not expecting that.
That did surprise me, not necessarily that she was involved, but who she was. There was nothing earlier in the book to indicate that she had any sort of power or connection to the Greys.

26. Belbalm seems to have the same power as Alex and she was able to live so long by stealing the souls from other girls like them and that they’re drawn to New Haven. Do you think Alex will meet other girls with her powers in subsequent books that are drawn to Yale?
It's possible. I hope she's a little nicer to them though. :)

27. What are your overall thoughts on the novel? Will you read book 2?
I was disappointed. I like the beginning, but toward the middle I got a little bored, and I still feel like the magical system is vague and confusing. Like someone said above, I don't think it will market very well as an adult book, to me it still reads more YA. I don't know if I will care enough in 2 years to read book 2 -- mostly because I will have forgotten all the details in this book.

DQs Day 5
Chapters 21-25

18. Turner and Alex are working together now, trying to solve Tara's murder. How do you think, is it only a temporary truce or will they be able to become partners?
I think their positions will make them work together at least somewhat over the course of the next few years. It would be nice if they could figure out that working relationship.

19. Colin knew about Blake using Merity to rape the girls and didn't report it, hoping to use this opportunity for his society. Somehow I have the feeling that he is not the only one, who would act this way - most of the other members of his society (and probably other societies too) would do the same. What do you think?
Most of them are probably out for themselves and will do what they need to maintain their status, no matter how likable or not they are.

20. Colin has an alibi for the night when Tara was murdered, as well as Dean Sandow. Do you believe these alibis or do you think one of them could still have killed Tara with the help of a portal (as Turner suggested)?
The alibis seem a little convenient as they were all at the same place providing alibis for each other. I doubt all of them are innocent.

21. During the summong Darlington (or the Hellbeast) said Murder. What murder do you think he meant? Were these the murders that Alex commited? Or the hellbeast eating him? Or some other murder?
The whole ritual was confusing to me, I couldn't really follow what was going on, or where the hellbeast even came from...are those a thing all of the sudden? So no idea.

22. Do you think it is final that Darlington is dead? Or has he survived somehow?
I would almost rather he was, but I can't believe we would have spent so much time developing his character if it turns out he's gone.

Day 4 DQs
Chapters 14-20

13. As disgusting as Alex's form of justice was on Blake, did you laugh and write it off as karma, or did she take it too far?
I have no problem with it at all. I find men who do this kind of thing pretty repulsive so I think the "punishment" fit the crime


14. At Rosenfeld Darlington felt the darkness of the "portal" before telling Alex that it wasn't a portal. I feel like there are still a lot of holes in the world building and the magic system, but do you have any idea what it could be if not a portal?
TBH, the whole thing is confusing to me with the tombs and the centers of magic, etc. I have no clue what he went through, it seems like it certainly is a portal to somewhere.


15. In that same scene we learned what happened when Darlington disappeared. Do you think Alex could've stopped it or was to blame? She seemed a little uncertain herself. And if he didn't disappear, do you think he would've turned Alex in for what he believed her to be?
I don't think she would have had the knowledge to stop it even if she had tried. I think he probably would have told the Dean, but not sure it would have made much difference in her standing as that would make her even more interesting to him.

16. After discovering what happened with Hellie, Len and the others in LA, did it help you understand Alex more? Did it change how you felt about her?
She's a tough one to like. I understand why she is the way she is and she is certainly interesting. I think the fact that she can harness Greys actually makes her even more interesting.

17. Lance seemed to be involved in more than just selling drugs, especially with the ability to portal! Why did he attack Alex as soon as he appeared? Did someone send him after her? But then going back to the scene in the morgue, if this was Lance, who did Alex see when she had the vision above Tara's body (you would think she would remember the face)? Anyone else thinking Glamours?
I've read ahead, so I'll skip the first part. I think a Glamour of some kind would be a great explanation for how he seems to be innocent and not at the same time.

Ninth House
Day 3 DQs: Chapters 9 - 13

9. Well, these chapters definitely get exciting! Alex is attacked by a gluma, which seems like a Gray on steroids. She later recalls that they are messengers sometime used by the houses. Book & Snake are the ones that can "create" these messengers, but that doesn't necessarily mean they were behind the attack. Who do you think is trying to have Alex killed? Do you think it's because of her investigation or for some other sinister purpose?
I would guess it is directly related to the case somehow. No idea how at this point -- hopefully it will be explained more.

10. "But one thought returned again and again as he tossed and turned, fell in and out of dreams, morning light beginning its slow bleed through the high tower window: Alex Stern was not what she seemed."

We know that Alex is special because she can see Grays without the assistance of potions, but Darlington knows this, as well. What do you think that thought means? Is there something more to Alex that makes her "not what she seemed"? Why do you think she can see Grays in the first place?
I think the fact that she can see Greys in the first place means there is more to her than we think since no one else is able to do so. I'm hoping we find out what that More might be, and maybe get a clue how she got this way, but it is the first in a series, so that may be further down the road.

11. A lot has been happening to the Lethe House Dante and Virgil: Darlington gets purposely drugged at the Manuscript party, he subsequently goes missing, and now someone is trying to off Alex. Do you think that these incidents are connected? Do you think someone has it out for not only Alex, but Lethe House in general? Any other theories about what might be happening?
I though initially it was just what they said, a joke and a way to continue to introduce us to the houses. But since I've read a little farther in the book, this has become a little more sinister.

12. After reading the chapter about Darlington's past, my immediate thought was, "Does Sandow do all of his recruiting in the hospital?" Do you think that he preys on vulnerable kids? Why would he do so when there are thousands of freshman at Yale they could recruit to be Dante?
I'm going to say that he probably recruits kids outside of the typical Yale kid on purpose so that they can look at everything that is happening with a slightly more bitter/experienced eye and not get sucked up into the houses quite so easily.

I tried to get my BOM done this week, but it just ain't gonna happen.

We are updated for the moment. I"ll keep watch for the next hour or two to catch anyone else that shows up.

Only 1 week left!

Alexandra wrote: "I swear I feel like my total points are wrong. And I participated in two bom posts. Idk."

Alexandra, I looked over our SS and your list. Two of your books we weren't able to count because the completion post wasn't entered until after the deadline for the end of the week. I think the Wilder Girls was the same. If you haven't finished Two Can Keep a Secret, let me know when you do and I'll add it. Right now its not on your TT list, so hoping you are still working on it.

I know that book Laura...I'll add it.

Beth, please post all of them. We are never in danger of going over!