Judith’s Comments (group member since Apr 15, 2015)

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

😂, I would never want to deprive you of reading something with such a title.

It has pretty high ratings though so I hope it turns out to be a cute romance even if that moose looks a bit derpy.

Judith's BOM Tracking

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Day 6 - May 23
Part Four, Chapter 30 - Epilogue

23. I’m having a hard time being impartial with questions, as I feel like the last part of the book descended into mayhem and confusion without a solid roadmap, simply to forward action, some random, some meaningful. Is this book magical reality - where did the magic bits go? Is it historical fiction - or did an exotic setting just get used as a backdrop for a romance? What are your thoughts about the last part of the book compared to the first parts?
This descended into full blown hot mess express. There were interesting parts and some fun parts and maybe with better direction from an editor it could of been with a clearer direction. I'm wondering if it's one of those things that really should of been one book and they decided to go for the duology so 'random things' needed to happen to make enough filler for 2 books.

24. Do you think the characters stay true to themselves, or grow or change? Which characters do you find multifaceted vs 2-dimensional? Which characters are still too shrouded in mystery and secrets to know who they are?
Isadora is still the most interesting character to of popped up. And there is something more going on with Sterling and how he fits in. At this point I feel the worst for Ricardo. But I'm not sure I care much about the majority of the characters.

25. Let’s talk about Elvira. Do you find it plausible that she, another naïve girl traveling solo, was able to get to Egypt from Argentina to find Inez at the perfect time? And after just being betrayed by her mother - HER MOTHER - do you think it likely that Inez would let her cousin meet an unknown man alone? How did you react to Elvira’s fate, and do you think it was consistent with the tone of the book?
There was some implied violence in the beginning of the book. Like menacing but nothing really all that bad. And suddenly people are getting parts of their heads blown off willy nilly. That level of violence tracks with a smuggling underworld, but didn't match the level of on page violence for the rest of the book. And no, Elvira would not of made it to the hotel, homegirl would of been human trafficked and never seen again. Inez was slightly believable because it was just one ship ride and then Whit met her at the docks. I get she pulled a runner but still.

26. Any guesses as to where Inez’s father is, or thoughts on whether he’s still alive? Do you think he has the magical sheet Whit is searching for?
I'm guessing he's still alive and him being dead makes too much sense. Either Teddie's guess is correct or he's snuggled in Cleopatra's sarcophagus and when they go back to her tomb, he's going to pop out like a jack in the box and say "boo".

27. How did you interpret the final cliffhanger dialog in the Epilogue? Has it been Porter or Whit - or both - Inez has been interacting with? Twins? Are you planning to read the next / final book?
I'm guessing Whit is after Inez's fortune for some reason. Maybe his family is one of those bankrupt members of the peerage? I will read the next one mainly because I already own it. I bought it before I read this one, I need to stop doing that.

Teddie. Your answer to 26 🔥 😂

Also, you might be onto something. I will be reading the second because I bought it first not realizing it was the second one.

I’m expecting a telenova of nonsense

DQs Day 5
Chapters 24 to 29

18.) Now that we know the death of Lourdes was greatly exaggerated, do we think Inez's father is actually dead? Do you think he sent the ring to Inez to hide it from Ricardo or from Lourdes?
As much as it would be nice to find out Inez isn't an orphan. I hope he is dead because finding him alive would have this story reach a level of cornball I'm not sure I can handle.
I am actually wondering if he sent the ring to Inez because he knew she was sensitive to magic and to get it away from Lourdes.

19.) Any guesses as to why Whit doesn't want to go home and why his family might want him home so badly?
Originally I was thinking it was to honor the betrothal because in those times that was actual legal contract type stuff. But the bit about his sister needing him and in the letter about his mother being at her wits end makes me think something else is going on. But to be honest I'm trying to figure out why it matters to the story and why I should care about those details.

20.) Anyone actually surprised that Lourdes is the actual family traitor?
Nope. Part of me is just like Inez is TSTL. The other part of me is reminding myself she's like 17 and thought she was orphaned by parents she'd put on a fantasy pedestal. Ran away from home and was surrounded by people she didn't know, couldn't trust, and didn't trust her either. And poof, her mom is alive. We'd all do something dumb for our no-longer-dead mother's approval I think.

21.) Do you like the additions of Inez's drawings in the text?
They were a fun surprise.

22.) Thoughts on Cleopatra's real death . . . asp bite or poison?
The author clearly did a lot of research when writing this book, so thumbs up on that. I'm in agreement with Whit, she was too smart to take the chance that she may survive the asp. My vote is poison.



DQ Links

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5
Chapters 24 to 29

18.) Now that we know the death of Lourdes was greatly exaggerated, do we think Inez's father is actually dead? Do you think he sent the ring to Inez to hide it from Ricardo or from Lourdes?

19.) Any guesses as to why Whit doesn't want to go home and why his family might want him home so badly?

20.) Anyone actually surprised that Lourdes is the actual family traitor?

21.) Do you like the additions of Inez's drawings in the text?

22.) Thoughts on Cleopatra's real death . . . asp bite or poison?

Discussion Questions Day 4
Part Three - Chapters 18-23

14. Inez and Whit are either flirting or fighting. What do you think of their dynamic? Are you rooting for them to end up together?
Eh, it's predictable but I don't find them to have a lot of chemistry really. Everything is so cloak and dagger and whatnot. And I feel like she can't trust him and he lies to her every time they have a conversation. I think it would be a lot more interesting for her to take up with Isadora to be honest.

15. What do you make of Whit’s backstory ? Knowing that he is bound to Ricardo by a life debt, do you find it easier to trust him?
It explains some things. But no, not really. I want to start singing "No Scrubs" by TLC, tell Inez to run off with Isadora and adopt cats.

16. We get quite the shock when Inez’s mother shows up in her tent! Do you believe she is telling the truth about Ricardo or is this some kind of double cross?
I think this is shady as all get out but I don't know why. Maybe at this point I just think Inez is dense and everyone else is lying straight to everyone else's face?

17. Finally, a discovery! We’re about 2/3 through the book. Any guesses where this is headed? What are you hoping happens to Inez at the end?
I'm guessing a huge clustereff, that's where this is headed. Sterling has to show back up at some point since he still has the ring. I'm guessing he'll show up and steal the treasure? Or trying to. With all the fire power, I'm also guessing there'll be a shootout. From there I'm going with a cliffhanger since there's a sequel.


DQ Links

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

New Mini 2 Task

Read a book where two people with different religions interact

FYI - to those reading it, the BOM will work for both of the remaining letters.

I should be done with it tonight or tomorrow

Cat wrote: "@Judy, @Logan: it's the curse of a challenge BOM: a book that is fine enough if you are just reading for disposable fun, but as soon as you stop and have to think about questions becomes an absolut..."

100% agree

New Mini 2 Tasks

Read a book tagged "History" at least 10x (had one to drop in here)
Read a book set in the time period "Contemporary / Modern History" - a fair few unassigned seemed to work for this one, leaving blank for now and figured we'd drop in whichever book gets completed first

New Mini 2 Task

Read a book that is in the Books You Wish More People Knew About List

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Discussion Questions Day 3

10. As we reach the halfway point I am seeing more and more similarities to the Amelia Peabody series. Is anyone else finding this. Does this affect your impression of the book?
With the setting and archeology connection there is some similarities but I also agree with Cat that the characters are fairly different. Though I've only read the first couple Peabody books so maybe if I'd read more I'd see a stronger connection.

11. We have been introduced to a number of Characters is there anyone that particularly stands out?
I'd like to see more page time between Inez and Isadora.

12. We have been introduced to Isadora and her Father. Why do you think he doesn’t let her out of his sight?
Well, there isn't a chaperone for her and in that time period and doubly so for the location women of her class did not go around by themselves. Also because he seems like a control freak.

13. Inez seems to be attuned to Cleopatra and sees some of her memories. If you could choose to see one memory of a historical figure whose memory would it be?
This is a good question. Eleanor of Aquitaine, I've been fascinated by her for a good bit of my life.


DQ Links

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

Cathy the BOM is fine, reads fairly quick. But a bit predictable, I’m hoping it picks up when Inez gets to the dig site

Haha! It was actually random coincidence.

This time

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "We have cheese!

Group mods have made the official announcement here, but as a recap for important notes:

🧀 Each book read can be used for one of the other Tower Teams mini challenge tasks.
🧀 Goin..."

slight clarification here.

books just have to be finished after the first cheese was lobbed. So finish dates of May 20th and later can be used for any cheese (which means more cheese will be lobbed in future).

ChrisP wrote: "If someone drops out I would be interested in joining. I read 2-3 books per week."

Go ahead and fill out the sign up form and it'll get you on the reserve list

Note: found books on tracking spreadsheet that weren't assigned to a mini task yet that worked for both new tasks (yay!)


Also, there is a filter on the book tab to hide the books we've moved to the official spreadsheet. if you need to view all the books, just click the filter thing in Column J and it will reveal the hidden rows.

New Mini 2 Task

Read a book 600+ pages

For the few people who do the BOM participation tracking, I pulled the tokens from the official tracking sheet and added them to our team spreadsheets. There is a space for them on the Summary tab.

3 tokens equals one extra entry. Any time a nomination from our team wins the BOM vote, we have a guaranteed DQ day (so no point on using extra entries for those). My nomination won for the June Adult/nonfiction BOM (yay for guaranteed bonus points!).

We don't have a guaranteed spot for The Berry Pickers.