Kerri’s Comments (group member since Sep 29, 2015)

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

My day works for me!

Count me in!

Ohh, I am in! I’ll volunteer for DQs, as well :)

A fitting end to our thread, lol! Congrats, Team Ira! You guys were awesome. I hope to see y'all again in other challenges :D

I want to third cheering our Captain and Co-captain! Jessi and Alysa, you guys were fantastic and made this whole thing so easy.

I really enjoyed doing this challenge with everyone on Team Ira! I agree with Jessi; this is by far my favorite team I've ever been on. Thanks for an awesome TT and, whether we're in first or not, you guys rocked it!

All done with Leviathan Wakes and I've updated the spreadsheet!

I am looking forward to diving into some books that I've purposely skipped because they didn't work for TT. Although being on Wrath has helped me rediscover my love for sci-fi!

I honestly just realized that it's Friday the 13th because I have been on the go since sun up. Now I'm relaxing and reading some more space opera. My book has gotten excited! I should be done with it by tomorrow!

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.

At first I was willing to accept it. But, as I was reading the scene, it seemed like a lot of emphasis was put on Blake's clenched fist and something felt off. And then it just seemed like it wrapped up so... not cleanly, I guess, but it all felt very convenient. And he had previously told Alex under compulsion that he hadn't killed Tara. I was v. suspicious of it all.

And I wasn't terribly surprised Dawes saved Alex. I mean, she managed to drown Alex, who she actually *cares* about. Even if it was for a purpose and she was sure she was coming back, that takes some steel.

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 am off my thriller/mystery game because I did NOT suspect Sandow at all! It does make sense, though, in a horrible way. All the people in these societies are only in it for themselves, so why wouldn't Sandow be willing to commit murder to get something he wanted? Ugh... freakin' secret societies, man.

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.

Again, totally off my game because I did not at all suspect her of anything! Especially not of being a dead ghost girl who had been selfishly consuming souls for YEARS! Like... WTF? That definitely came out of left field. I will say that the whole confrontation was one of my favorite parts of the book, though.

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?

That would interesting to see. Especially with what her, Dawes, and Michelle appear to be planning O_o Maybe a journey to hell with another Wheelwalker will compel me to pick up subsequent books.

27. What are your overall thoughts on the novel? Will you read book 2?

I was kinda disappointed, to be honest. Like, the book had very good parts, but a lot of it was such a slog. With the premise and the setting and the history, I was expecting to absolutely devour this, but it took me FOREVER to get through this. I feel like it's due to the pacing and the odd time jumping. And my favorite character was basically out of the picture by the middle of the book, so then I completely lost interest, lol. Still, it was an intriguing read and the end does make me want to continue the series.

Alysa wrote: "Wednesday!!! Channeling Jessi again...

How is everybody doing?

@M: I reworded your potential "sin bingo" reason. Is it about right?
@Kerri: how's it going on Ninth House? And that space opera?
..."

Just finished Ninth House and will be done with Leviathan Wakes by week's end! Ninth House took me a *lot* longer than I was expecting because parts of it just draaaaggggged... I liked it, but I definitely feel a bit let down =/

Definite yes to brown for both :)

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 they will be able to work together for the short term, but their personalities clash waaaaaay too much for it to last long. I do think they work well together, though. And I think they both really are just trying to do right by Tara, though they go about it in wildly different ways.

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?

I'm real disappointed in Colin but I can't say I'm surprised. It seems like everyone in these societies doesn't care about anything but themselves and their magic. They don't care who gets hurt. What did Colin think a guy like Blake would do with Merity? What *anyone* would do with it?! I'm ready for all these society jerks to get taken down, ugh.

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)?

I'm with Turner on that one. When you're dealing with people that can use portals, just their whereabouts isn't much of an alibi. Colin is definitely back on my suspect list, but I think Sandow is off the hook. I still don't like him, though.

21. During the summoning Darlington (or the Hellbeast) said Murder. What murder do you think he meant? Were these the murders that Alex committed? Or the hellbeast eating him? Or some other murder?

Perhaps it was talking about Tara's murder? After all, Alex sensed it trying to break through at the same time that Tara was killed. There has been a lot of murder in this book, though, so who knows!

22. Do you think it is final that Darlington is dead? Or has he survived somehow?

I think he's pretty dead. He was consumed by a hellbeast. I can't imagine how he would have survived that...

Alysa wrote: "Me, I need to start reading my eARCS again. I have read almost none of them in months at this point. It is terrible.
On the bright side, I've read a ton of library books! Yay library books :D"

Same here on the library books front! My library has or can get almost any book and I love it <3

Stuck at work again this weekend, but I wanted to pop in and say Team Ira has really been killing it! I agree with focusing on overall points as opposed to going for the sin specification win.

I’ll have both the BOM and a largish Space Opera for next week. I’ll see if I can find anything else to squeeze in there, too.

Got it! It's on the speadsheet :)

I ended up really enjoying Cinder, but now I'm nervous to continue on to Scarlet, lol.

So I finished Cinder yesterday, but am just getting around to updating it. I wasn't sure which would be best to list it under: Genre or Sin specification? I know genre would be more points, but if we're going for that Wrathful thing, there was plenty that angered me in this book!

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?

That was intensely gross and Blake deserved every bit of it. I don't think she took it too far at all. I hope he was throwing up all day afterwards. I can't stand men like Blake and they deserve every bad thing that comes their way.

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?

It seems like it was some kind of creature living in the darkness. I'm sure there are a lot of terrifying things in this world that we still don't know about it and this was probably one of them. Darlington got half of a word out before he was... captured? Killed? If I was Alex, I'd be trying to figure out what that word was. Although she does have her own reasons for wanting Darlington one, so...

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?

Honestly, even if Alex had wanted to stop it, I don't think she would have been able to. She isn't very far into her training, so how is she supposed to know how to handle some shadow demon? Still, I think she was less inclined to help... she is a survivor, after all. As for Darlington, I'm not sure whether he would have turned her in. Lethe is precious to him so he wouldn't want their reputation getting tarnished by harboring a murderer. But... I think he's started to become a little attached to Alex, too. Still, a budding attachment is probably no match for Darlington's principles.

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 thought something like that had happened! And I totally get why she did it. Ariel at the very least deserved it. She went a little overboard, but she was also possessed, so I don't think that's all on her. I don't think she realized what was going to happen, anyway... she just really didn't want to lose Hellie.

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?

There are definitely a lot of different houses involved in this mess! I wonder if the houses were using Lance to pedal their weird drugs and he took magic as his payment? That would explain the spread of that one drug that makes your tongue purple... I can't remember the name of it... and why Lance has access to portal magic! I do wonder how he even knew Alex was in the apartment. Perhaps he was just escaping and stumbled across her? Wrong place, wrong time and all that. This is getting very twisty!

[[ Frankie ]] wrote: "
Red enough? I know it looks like a lot of black, but when you pull up the page & enlarge the cover, you can see that there’s a lot of DARK red, also."

I gotta say, I love that title XD

It does look more red when enlarged, but there's a lot of black, too... I defer to our fearless leaders.

Just posted my DQs for Ninth House:

Day 3 DQs

I'm gonna be honest, the first few chapters were doing nothing for me, but these last few have caught my attention.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

Her offer seemed pretty random, but I've known professors who were like Belbalm and would reach out to students that they wanted to help. I think her intentions are honest and that she truly wants to help Alex do well while she is at Yale. I hope Alex takes her up on the offer, but things aren't looking that great...

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?

My first thought when she had that memory is that this is what happened right before everyone was killed. And I think Alex had something to do with it. Perhaps she was possessed and murdered the others because they had hurt Hellie? In the memory, Hellie isn't conscious, so were they trying to dump her body and Alex freaked out? It's a very out-there theory but that is the first thing I thought!

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?

Because they are elitist dic-... jerks. Like she said, she wasn't of any use to them yet, so they basically ignored her until they found a way to use her. Also, there was no way they were going to expose any of the secrets of Yale to a twelve year old girl, even if it could have drastically helped her. Because, again... jerks.

Except for Darlington <3

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?

Now that I'm used to it, I'm really enjoying the writing style and the bouncing around. It did take some getting use to, though. I think I enjoy it because I like reading from Darlington's POV more than Alex's, heh. Though I'm starting to get more into Alex's POV, especially after learning about her past. The snippets seem to be little backgrounds on the eight Ancient Houses at Yale. I enjoy them for the history and the snarky notes from past Lethe house officials, lol.