Lauri’s Comments (group member since Jan 23, 2016)

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

Aaannndddd.... If it's not too greedy, I can also cover Sorcerer's Stone task #5 - Mirror of Erised: RAB with a person on the cover with their hand in their pocket! I'm halfway through with Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda!

I was totally confused by the whole time zone thing today! I finished all my books, but I can't do anything on the computer during work. So when I logged on, I saw all this. Yikes! Just posted everything. Let the chips fall where they may....

Triwizard Tasks
I can see the planning spreadsheet now at home, but am unable to edit it. Could someone please put me down for Chamber of Secrets #2 Wizard's Duel - RAB with witch or wizard in title: The Witch Is Dead by Shirley Damsgaard & #3 Take polyjuice potion - RAB with a cat on the cover: And Then There Were Nuns by Kylie Logan. Thanks so much!

Dark Triumph
Robin LaFevers
Finished 7/31/18
Page count: 385
BR: it was to be one but damn these rules!
Cast of characters: Sybella, Jammette, Tephanie, Julian, D'Albret, Dinan, Rieux, Rieux, Julliers, Vienne, Bertrand deLur, Odette, Tilde, Louise, Charlotte, Mathurian, Ismae!, Dunois, Duval, Yannic, Erwan, Winnog, Malina

Sing, Unburied, Sing
Jesmyn Ward
Finished 7/31/18
Page count: 285 pages
BR: Well, it was supposed to be one, but the time zone thing conspired against me!
Cast of characters: Jojo, Kayla, Mam & Pop, Leonie, Misty, Michael, Given, Richie, Riv, Al, Big Joseph, Maggie

I hope this BOM still counts! I finished earlier today & marked it as read about 4:30pm Hawaii time...

Rosemary and Rue
Seanan McGuire
Finished 7/31/18
Page count: 346
BOM: Yes! Msg: 165 / 173 / 182
Cast of characters: October Daye, Evening Winterrose, Sylvester, Luna, Rayseline, Connor, Dare, Devin, Manny, Lily, Julie, Ross, Simon, Gillian, Cliff, Oleander

I can't access the planning spreadsheet either... I'll PM you Steven. I've never been able to use spreadsheets on GR (working on an iPad) but I'd still like to see it! I can always ask someone to add my picks. I have 113 books out from the library right now & I am ready for action!

Elephants Can Remember
Agatha Christie
Finished 7/30/18
Page count: 198
BR: Yes! Msg.: 77 & 78
Cast of Characters: Ariadne Oliver, Hercule Poirot, Mrs. Burton-Cox, Miss Livingstone, Celia Ravenscroft, Desmond Buton-Cox, Garroway, Spence, Julia Carstairs, Mrs. Matcham, Mrs. Buckle, George

Magic Bites
Ilona Andrews
Finished 7/30/18
Page count: 260
BR: Yes! Msg: 312 & 313
Cast of characters: Kate Daniels, Curran, Ghastek, Greg Feldman, Mike Tellez, Jim, Bono, Nataraja, Maxine, Corwin, Mahon, Dr. Crest, Julianne, Saiman, Derek, Rowena, Charles Cole, Anna

I feel sorry for Miss Livingstone! Who could ever hope to compare to the peerless Miss Sedgwick? I'm wondering now if Ariadne could be more than a little dotty?

We meet Celia Ravenscroft at last and learn that she hasn't any idea of what transpired with her parents. She was very young & most probably out of the country at the time. Or was she?

Why, oh why, would the odious Mrs. Burton- Cox expect any information from Mrs. Oliver? Love the way M. Poirot just charged right in to help...

The twists are improbable & there are some red herrings along the way, but all in all I did enjoy this & will continue on my quest to read all of Dame Agath's works...

Kate is quite remarkable for her pithy quips & general unflappability. You'd think she'd be utterly devasted by the loss of the closest thing to a family she had. Instead she digs right in & gets to work! The magic work is stellar as well. I just bought into the whole concept.

Unicorn Lane was, quite frankly, terrifying! The whole encounter could've gone horribly wrong. The vampire lair was sketchy as well.

Kate is undeniably a badass. I couldn't help feeling sometimes the powers that be were setting her up for a fall...

You all won't believe it, but this movie is on TV right now! I'm so excited! Worse than any child....
Love these films!

Late to the party, as usual! I've been wanting to read this book for quite awhile now. Let me just say that I was hooked from the very beginning!

Jojo seems like such a good boy! He's already learned some of life's hard lessons at an early age. There seems to be a sense of magic already.... Can't wait to learn more!

Set 3 Chapters 14-20

13. We finally meet Lily. What do you think of her? Is she what you expected?
She seems to be very sweet and she cares deeply for Toby. Her looks surprised me! Too bad she couldn't have helped Toby when she was a fish!

14. Screw you, Evening!"I shouted. "Screw your duty and your dying and...and your going off and leaving me to deal with this alone!"Why would October say she is doing this alone? For what I can see she has a lot of resources and help available. All she has to do is ask. Why wouldn't she ask for help?
I believe it's some kind of fae/ changeling code. Like not saying thank you!

15. Why did October let the Doppelganger in? Was she really fooled? From what I've read so far I wouldn't have expected her to open the door.
I think she was just so excited at the prospect of seeing Gillian again, she opened the door in hopes of having her back in her life once again. The doppelgänger quickly acted strangely, tipping Toby off. I thought that the "no close neighbors?" question was the most odd!

16. I am so confused. There are a lot of new characters and I feel not enough of an explanation as to why they are there. What do you think of the book so far? Do you like the writing style?
I am enjoying the book very much! I like the addition of characters in these chapters! I was tiring of Toby being such a lone wolf. I like that her friends are looking out for her. It makes her more lovable.

17. Can we trust Devin? Does he really care for October or does he want something in return?
im going to go out on a limb here & say yes! Even with all the sex with anyone, etc. he seems to really love Toby.

18. Will October find Evenings killer in this book? And more important will she survive with all her limbs still attached?
Maybe the quest for the killer will remain unresolved in this book, but Toby will definitely live to fight another day!

A Torch Against the Night
Sabaa Tahir
Finished 7/29/18
Page count: 452
BR: Yes! Comments: Msg. 59 / 60
Cast of characters: Laia, Elias, Keenan, Izzi, Helene, Hannah, Livia, Mamie Rila, Afya, Gibran, Darin, Marcus, Shan, Keris, Harper, Dex, Shaeva

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K. Rowling
Finished 7/29/18
Page count: 341
BR: Yes! Comments: Msg. 539 / 541
Cast of characters: Harry Potter, Petunia, Vernon & Dudley Dursley, Arthur, Mollie, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George & Percy Weasley, Hagrid, Hermoine Granger, Dobby the House Elf, Gilderoy Lockhart, Draco & Lucius Malfoy, Professor McGonagal, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Lord Voldemort....

Dark Triumph!

Finally got book #2!

This deals with Sybella's story. I was very intrigued with Sybella's character in the 1st book. This story picks it right up and explains why she was so enigmatic in Grave Mercy.

Sybella: (view spoiler)[ She had a horrible childhood. Her father is a scheming old bastard who uses everything & everyone to get ahead -- including his own children. Sybella is bound & determined to save her younger sisters from her own fate. She's helping the Convent of St. Mortain with their mission, but is really following her own agenda. She wants to be the one who kills her own father! (hide spoiler)] Yikes!

This should be a fast one. I've been looking through the comments & see that this is not one of Ms. Christie's stellar works. I haven't read them all & I intend to at some point, so here goes!

Mrs. Oliver is delightfully wacky! I love her already. I want her to be a little less polite and show some backbone.

Mrs. Burton-Cox is indeed odious. What nerve she has!

M. Poirot is, as always, unflappable with tremendous insight.

Onwards!

This is my 2nd time reading this one. The first time, I think I rushed through it & now I'm trying to savor it a little more. I already see that there're things I missed!

I love the world building! Ms. Andrews makes it all seem so matter of fact & believable. Love Karmelion! I am fascinated by the way they relate to the shifters & vampires. It's like they all co-exist even if they don't like it very much.

Love the kitty!

I'm nearing the end & I can't get over the cruelty shown here!
After all they've been through together, poor (view spoiler)[Izzi! I was screaming NO! When she bled out, I admit I cried...

Elias has been in and out of seizures/consciousness. I refuse to believe he's going to die! I couldn't believe it he took off on his own to Kauf to try to break Darin out. Then to be told Darin is dead? WTF? Then he gets caught by the warden! (hide spoiler)]

What else could possibly happen?

Abir, I am so glad you're reading the books! I love the movies, but the books are always better! Especially in this case. If they were to include everything that's in the books in the movies, each one would probably end up being 8 hours (or more!) long.

I remember going to see the first movie and being a bit disappointed because the characters didn't look the way I'd imagined them in my head! Only Ron looked the way I thought he should...