Dev’s Comments (group member since Sep 09, 2017)

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

@Rina i am definitely wavering between giving it 1 and 2 stars at this point. such a shame because i usually like bardugo.

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 didn't laugh because the entire situation is so far from funny and i was just entirely over the whole book at that point. i would definitely not still be reading it if it weren't for towers. not saying she should or shouldn't have done it because really he deserves so much worse but i'm just entirely over all the rape and sexual assault in this book and again i don't feel like it's given the gravity it deserves.

i don't know exactly how that potion she was using works because i am skimming pretty heavily at this point but i think she should have made him confess to it on video [like say that he has been drugging and raping various girls but obviously don't bring names into it] and spread that around. yeah he probably is still not going to end up being prosecuted for it bc his family is rich but everyone would know he's a rapist.

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?

i must have missed this part because again, skimming pretty heavily, but yeah i feel like there is not a lot of explanation happening for anything yet.

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?

again, don't remember what happened at this point so ...[shrugs]

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?

i figured it would be something like that although i wasn't expecting it to be quite so ...much, i guess. but yeah not all that surprising given how the rest of the book is going.

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?

nooooo idea. i just want this book to be over lol

yeah i didn't realize it lasted this long either. i was like 'oh only a few more weeks' and of course now that was several weeks ago lol

i just wanted to say sorry that i haven't been hitting my weekly goal for the second half of the challenge at all. this reading slump hit me hard and now with it being holiday time i don't really have any time to read at work either. i'm doing the BOM this week and will do another book as well but that might be it from me this week.

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?

haha honestly i still do not think it's very exciting but i'm glad that you are having a better time with it than me. i have no idea who is trying to have her killed because i definitely cannot remember all the house names or which ones do what etc. i could see it maybe being a few houses working together bc they don't like that lethe is there is oversee them or whatever though.

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 agree with other people that there is probably some big event in her past that she is lying about in her narrative to make herself seem more sympathetic.

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?

definitely think one or more of the other houses are wanting to bring lethe down a peg although no idea which ones

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 agree with someone above who said he seems to be going outside of the 'guidelines' for recruits and it is probably because he thinks if he gets people who are more vulnerable or isolated they will be easier to manipulate. the dante seems to be an especially important job as well so i think you need someone who has a talent for it so sometimes recruiting from the mass of regular students might not be the best plan from a technical standpoint either.

@Cathy yeah i was kind of like 'are you serious' about that part too. and then in the chapters for today there was that whole thing about (view spoiler)[her working underage at the strip club and getting molested there (hide spoiler)] and i was like [loud sighing]. i mean there are certainly books that deal well with sexual assault and have it as an important part of the story but so far i don't feel that she is giving it the gravity it deserves and is more just sprinkling it in like 'look how messed up her life was! this is an adult book!' but of course i am only a bit less than halfway through so there's still time to turn it around.

i'm sure the ~first adult novel~ thing is more due to the publishers trying to make the book sound exciting than anything to do with bardugo herself but IF she was trying to use this as a way to 'break out' of the YA genre i think she probably should have written something with characters in their late 20s or early 30s at least just to make it very clear. i mean these characters are maybe a year or two older than the ones in her YA books and like you said you don't just add more swearing [or an attempted rape scene] and suddenly call something adult. or well ...maybe you DO but you probably shouldn't. that's a whole other convo tho!

@Alysa i was also kind of surprised to hear this touted as her first 'adult' novel because to me books about college kids are still YA, but i guess we'll see. so far it does seem like if you just tweaked a very words and phrases it would be much more in the YA category though.

@Cathy i am also pretty neutral about this book at this point. i had it on my tbr before it was released and ultimately decided to pass on it when it first came out but decided to pick it up again since it was a BoM for TT. so far nothing about it has made me angry so at least there's that, but nothing has made me super interested either

Day 2 - Chapters 5-8

5. In chapter 5, we meet Professor Marguerite Belbalm who Alex has a meeting with. What do you make of their meeting? Why is she proving help for Alex? Do you think she's just being a helpful teacher or that she has a sinister reason, like wanting to use Alex for something? How do you think this will influence Alex's behaviours and choices in the book?
i mean she seems like she just genuinely wants to help but i guess everything is there for a reason in a novel so i'm sure it's going to be somehow relevant. i guess the two options are either that she has something sinister planned herself or maybe she is just that nice and the societies will use her against alex if they form a bond?

6. Whilst Alex is looking at the crime scene of Tara 'on the other side of the intersection', she has a sense of familiarity and then remembers Helllie and Len struggling in the apartment. Len asks her to let them out. What do think happened in that situation and why did she remember it? I feel like it is something important to the story. Do you think this memory will lead to a large reveal or is it just a small and not so important memory?
i'm sure their deaths have something to do with the ghosts and more will be revealed over time. alex somehow 'killing' them would seem like the most obvious reveal but maybe bardugo will surprise us.

7. In chapter 7 we get a glimpse into Alex's past and what she had to go through to deal with the ghosts. I honestly wasn't expecting us to find out about her past until past halfway mark. She mentions a lot of issues she had to deal with like no one believeing her, kids making fun of her and ostracising her, her parents, that awful bathroom scene, her illicit drug abuse... Why do you think the Lethe society didn't reach out and help her through all that if they were watching her?
i think they wanted her isolated so that they could use her because they're all assholes but for a bunch of smart people they are really dumb because it's clearly backfired in a big way. i mean not only is she completely unprepared for the setting she now finds herself in but she also doesn't trust them at all so really they've made it harder to manipulate her. which is great for her and us, but bad for them i'm sure lol

8. I'm interested in what you guys think of the writing style so far. We have a chapter written in the present tense with Alex and a snippit of passages from books. Then we get Darlington's POV in the past. Are you in favour of this? What do you think of the snippits and are you paying much attention to what they say?
i'm okay with the writing style so far. i mean bardugo is a good writer from a technical sense but so far i don't feel like alex has really jumped out at me as a character, and darlington even less so. it's definitely not like six of crows where i fell in love with kaz after about 2 paragraphs and everyone else in fairly short order as well ;) i am not paying much attention to the little snippits but i'm sure i should be. i just find it hard to take in information in like ...quotes or excerpts from 'a book within a book' or whatever.

@Joanne i was also thinking of gilmore girls while reading this lol

Day 1 Questions

1. Our book starts out with a Prologue that leaves me understandably a bit lost and confused but wanting more, giving us minimal clues to our forthcoming story.
How do you feel about Prologues? Do you ever go back and Re-read them after you finish the book?
i honestly don't always pay the most attention to a prologue because like you said it's often something you are not going to understand right away [and even though i literally read the prologue for this book maybe 6 hours ago i've already forgotten what it was about lol]. that being said, i also don't go back and reread them either. i guess sometimes i might take a look at it again if it is one of those prologues that actually takes place at the end of the story, but in those cases the scene is usually just replayed later in the text anyway.

2. The setting of our story is the prestigious Ivy League school of Yale. The history runs deep and gives a gothic and dark feel to the book. Why else do you think the author may have chosen Yale as the setting?
well someone above said bardugo went to yale so i guess that is probably why, but really her options for this were yale and harvard and idk the stats on them re: which is older or larger or whatever but maybe that also played a part? i assume she would pick the one she went to though bc she can paint a more accurate picture of the settings though. i'm hoping we're going to get some good commentary on classism in america as well because to me otherwise what is the point, but i guess we'll see.

3. In Chapter 1 our Main Character, Alex Stern, is running late for the Prognostication. By definition Prognostication is the action of foretelling or prophesying future events. I'm curious as to what the Bonesmen final goal is by performing these ceremonies. Although it is still early in the book are there any guesses as to what the Bonesmen are seeking? Are they after glory? Time travel? Immortality?
i would not be surprised if they are also after immortality bc it seems secret societies in books like these always are, but i think they are mostly after stock tips at this point in time. it actually reminded me a lot of a graphic novel series i read called the Black Monday Murders.

4. The Grays ! I love ghost stories and cannot wait to learn more about the Grays. Alex not only has the ability to see the Grays but is also able to see them in color. This is important and seems to be a key feature that got her this opportunity at the school. Darlington appears to be jealous of this ability of Alex because he needs to take an elixir at a great risk to do the same. How do you see the relationship between Alex and Darlington? Will they become friends, enemies or lovers?
her ability to see the ghosts in color is very interesting although i can't say what it means at this point. i do find it weird that if the society knew about this from when she was younger and were probably watching her why they wouldn't have used some influence to make her more ...'yale appropriate' i guess? i mean it would just seem to invite less scrutiny if she had a real highschool degree and could keep up in classes etc but i guess maybe they want to isolate her.

as for her and darlington i HOPE they are not going to be lovers because i would hate to spend so much time on this loooong book only to have to metaphorically throw it across the room. seriously, if someone has already finished it and they end up together romantically please find some way to tell me now before i read the remaining 120,000 words in this book lol.

yeah tineye has been down for several days. idk if that would count for a color cover or not. it seems split between blue, red, and white so idk if any of them would be over 50%

i seem to add things willy nilly but then i will go back like 2 years later and go 'why on EARTH is that on there' and delete it lol

goal: 30 books
reading: books added in 2017

[001] Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
[002] The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung
[003] Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
[004] Hidden Blade by Pippa DaCosta
[005] Enemies with Benefits by Annika Martin
[006] Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
[007] Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren
[008] Dead Man and the Lustful Spirit by Lou Harper
[009] Monstrous by J.L. Murray
[010] King Cage and the Worth Street Djinni by Mike Stop Continues
[011] In Morningstar's Shadow: Dominion of the Fallen Stories by Aliette de Bodard
[012] Battle Royale, Vol. 01 by Koushun Takami
[013] Splashdance Silver by Tansy Rayner Roberts
[014] Blood Hound by James Osiris Baldwin
[015] Alias, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
[016] The Root by Na'amen Gobert Tilahun

[edit] after this point i will be doing book added in 2018 as well because i deleted so many from 2017 that i don't have enough to finish the challenge with them

[017] Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
[018] Push: Heart of the City: A thrilling horror mystery story by Jon R. Pearce
[019] The Vampyre; a Tale by John William Polidori
[020] The Circle Gathers by Rowan Casey
[021] The Mermaid's Revenge by Amy Cross
[022] Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver
[023] The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster
[024] Rachel Rising, Volume 1: The Shadow of Death by Terry Moore
[025] Kin by Holly Black
[] Vondel's Lucifer by Joost van den Vondel
[027] The Sisters of Witchdown by Michael Alan Nelson
[028] MythOS by Kelly McCullough
[029] The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren by Cody Wagner
[030] Defying Doomsday by Tsana Dolichva

how are we doing with the mini challenge so far? i was planning on slotting in discworld book 32 at the very end of the week but i know we only get the bonus points for every group of 3 books so if it wasn't going to round out another group of 3 i was thinking of leaving it until next week as i have another book i'd really rather read right now

Runemaker by Alex R. Kahler
Date: 11/29
Pages: 304

Sin: Vanity
Criteria: tineye is down right now but that cover definitely looks purple to me.

if there's any doubt on that then go with Envy > YA on top page of tags

Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson
Date: 11/27
Pages: 345

Sin: Vanity
Criteria: contemporary is on top page of tags used 21 times

tineye seems to be down for me as well but i'd definitely call it green

ok i just finished and posted my book for #3. i don't think i have anything else in the works that is a higher series number except my discworld book that is in the 30s. i'll check my tbr to be sure but that's probably it from me until the end of the week. i'll hold off on finishing my discworld book til everyone else is done with their stuff on the last day.

Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
Date: 11/25
Pages: 400

Sin: Envy
Criteria: Green cover

#3 in series for mini challenge