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

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

Ch 48 to Ch 74 (pg 192 to 288)

7. Oh man so many side characters are getting thrown at us. Who stands out the most to you and why?
Eddie I think? And I'm with Rosie on I think he's looking to kill her for Vasiliy to carry out the original hit that put her and Amy together in the first place.

8. Have you been to St. Lucia? How was it? And random but have you tried chat GPT yet?
No, I've never been. I'm more of a mountains or cold weather person that a tropical beach person. Though I've gone to Dom Rep for a vacation before. I've not done much with any AI as I've not really had the need to do so.

9. So close, I wanna know your predictions.
Well, looks like my original thoughts on Jeff were true and he still very much in the land of the living. I don't know, maybe back to Susan? Or Felicity is not the clueless person she's pretending to be? At this point I'm just enjoying the hijinks and am along for the ride.

DQs Day 2
Ch 23 to Ch 47 (pg 95 to 191)

4.) Do you think Jeff is really dead? And do you have any guesses as to who 'Joe Blow' might be?
I thought initially he was alive but the longer it goes on with him popping back up the less sure I am of this thought. Once it was clear this was an inside job, my first thought was Susan. But no longer confident in that either. I'm wondering if it's a character we haven't met? Henk seems too obvious.

5.) The quote "you can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you" stuck out to me as a bit profound in a mix of silly hijinks. Do you agree with the statement?
Calling it profound is a bit of an overstatement but I couldn't think of a different word to use. But in general I do agree and there is a big difference between being unhappy and being bitter. Bitterness is poison and never leads to anything good.

6.) Why do you think Amy was selected as the insurance policy on the murders with her blood being left at all the crime scenes?
I don't really know. Because she was a favorite of Jeff's? Connected in some way to Adam since he's in the financial world and these are money laundering people? I don't really know and am trying not to think too hard about anything and just enjoy the ride.

DQs Day 2
Ch 23 to Ch 47 (pg 95 to 191)

4.) Do you think Jeff is really dead? And do you have any guesses as to who 'Joe Blow' might be?

5.) The quote "you can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you" stuck out to me as a bit profound in a mix of silly hijinks. Do you agree with the statement?

6.) Why do you think Amy was selected as the insurance policy on the murders with her blood being left at all the crime scenes?

DQs Day 1: Ch1 to Ch 22 (pg 1 to 94)

1. Have you read any books by Richard Osman before? If so, did it effect your expectations for this one? Either way, what did you expect going into this book?
No, but I know he's popular and has the Thursday Murder Club series I've been meaning to start reading (along with 100s of other books. LOL). I was expecting a fun caper with interesting family dynamics and so far it's delivering.

2. What do you think of the writing style with the short chapters and some even in journal style? Do you have any preference on longer versus shorter versus no chapters?
I think it works, especially with the multiple POVs. James Patterson has a similar writing style for chapter length and it works there too. Book reads faster as well (all that white space!)

3. We have now met who I assume are the main characters – Amy, Rosie & Steve. Do you have a favorite so far? What do you think of Steve and Amy's relationship? Do you think we will ever "meet" Adam on page?
I like all of them so far. I think Amy and Steve's relationship is nice. I don't know what to think about Adam. At this point in the story I'm not sure I care either way as he doesn't really seem like a real character so not invested in him much.

Bonus: Do you think the cat will be important to the plot or just on the cover like oh so many books recently?
I wouldn't mind some feline hijinks at some point

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

A young Native girl's hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe's reservation lead her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino...and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step--an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that's intent on devouring her whole.

With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she's sure lies in the legends of her tribe's past.

When Anna's own little sister also disappears, she'll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation--both ancient and new--are strong, and sometimes, it's the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

I have one for that old prompt and it works for a V for UNO. It keeps getting bumped for other tasks. Hopefully I’ll get it done in April.

I’m in for DQs

I’m in for DQs

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/...

DQs Day 5
Ch 28 - End

18.) In case anyone had any doubt that we've been reading not only historical fantasy but an Action Adventure novel, things have ramped up even more: Amina's deal with the peris, the flight with Khayzur, the council of pirates, the new friendship (?) with Magnun... And now Amina has gained supernatural strength and sight! What do you think about all these developments? What did you like (or dislike) most about all these elaborate plot elements introduced between the Peri island and the final showdown on Socotra?
It was kind of a lot to happen in a fairly short period of time. In adventure/fantasy novels it's always a bit like that I think as everything leads up to a final battle. But I wish there was more development from her changes from the island to the final battle.
Overall though, it was fine.

19.) We finally found out the full story of what happened to Asif. Do you think Amina is culpable for Asif's fate, as she believes she is?
No, I think he made his own choices but I understand her guilt. He was her friend/found family and he's dead, she's not. Most of us would carry some form of guilt simply because we'd be wishing so hard we could of changed the outcome.

20.) It seems like the author wrapped things up fairly well, while neatly setting up for further installments. Will you read more in this world? Any particular teases or loose ends that most interest you?
Yes, I will read the next book. I'm enjoying this story and looking forward to her hunting down the next Transgression.

21.) Did you read the "Author's Note and Further Reading" -- and if yes, are you interested in any of the books she cites or recommends?
I skimmed it but appreciate her suggestions. A lot of them sounded interesting and this is a part of the world I don't know much about in the grand scheme of things.

Bonus question: Dunya / Jamal ! Did anyone see that coming?! Thoughts?
That was an awesome fun twist I didn't see coming. It explains though why she was willing to let them record this particular story.

DQs Day 4
Ch 20 to 27

14.) The Moon of Saba certainly has a complicated tale. Do you think the author did this to highlight in a different way how the past is not always what we think? And the true story is often very different from what is recorded in the history books?
I love this and find this part of learning about history and myths to be really fascinating. It's one of the things I love about Michael Sullivan's related series that take place 1,000 years apart. As the reader (if you've read all of them) you know what really happened and then learning how religions and myths evolved over time and are based on things flat our wrong is just really interesting to me.

15.) Now that we know more about Raksh, what do you think about him? Has your opinion changed over the course of the story? Do you think he'll find out he's a father?
He's hilarious and I can understand how he basically charmed his way through everybody. I'm surprised Amina hasn't slipped up already and revealed their daughter. I'm assuming he'll find out by the end.

16.) Amina's first conversation with Dunya was certainly illuminating. Was she what you expected? In her shoes do you think you would of pulled a runner with Falco?
Some of her story was unexpected but explained more why she was so willing to pull a runner. I probably would of done the same in her position.

17.) Anyone else trying to figure out how Amina survived in the ocean with no potable water for 2 weeks? Also, anyone else want to go to the magical island?
I know she drank turtle blood or whatever but 2 weeks seems a bit long for that. And I obviously want to vacay on that island, seems like a happening place

DQs Day 4
Ch 20 to 27

14.) The Moon of Saba certainly has a complicated tale. Do you think the author did this to highlight in a different way how the past is not always what we think? And the true story is often very different from what is recorded in the history books?

15.) Now that we know more about Raksh, what do you think about him? Has your opinion changed over the course of the story? Do you think he'll find out he's a father?

16.) Amina's first conversation with Dunya was certainly illuminating. Was she what you expected? In her shoes do you think you would of pulled a runner with Falco?

17.) Anyone else trying to figure out how Amina survived in the ocean with no potable water for 2 weeks? Also, anyone else want to go to the magical island?

DQs Day 3: Chaps 14 - 19

10. There's some really graphic scenes in this section. Why do you think Chakraborty chose to be so detailed (esp what Falco did to them), when she could have been more circumspect?
Because things like that happened and happened often. The details of which are often glossed over, especially in the western world's glamourization of the Crusades in movies and what not.
Also, it shows the level of Falco's depravity before we actually meet him on page?

11. We met Raksh! Huzzah! What are you thoughts on final meeting him? Did that opinion change at all during the section?
He's hilarious. Not what I expected and in all the right ways. I love this cast of characters, hehe!

12. And Falco too! What do you think of him? Does the backstory of crusading fervour in his father leading to financial ruin add or detract from him as a villainous villain?
Well, I don't love this character, but we aren't supposed to. He's bat crap crazy, that's what I think. Umm, no, his backstory allows him to be bitter man with daddy issues, not a depraved cray-cray wizard.

13. Following from that - we see the first serious religious tensions in this section, in the hesitation to bury the Christian villages and then also in the Crusades history shared. But, rather than dwelling on that point in particular - do you feel that the world being evoked is real, bedded in history, or too glamourised? General thoughts on the setting welcomed!
I think she's doing a great job giving a sense of the complex history of this part of the world. The history there is very long, very bloody, and no one is left solely in the right. But it's not seeming forced either and I like how Amina is from time to time compelled to question her own actions and choices. Self reflection is a good thing.

DQ's- Day 2: Chapters 7 - 13

So far we have met a mojority of the key players. With Salima requesting that Amina find her grand daughter Dunya because her dead son Asif used to work for her,


5. We are getting hints of a nefarious demise of Asif with the possibility that Amina was involved. Any guesses (If you don't know) of what may have happened. Did anyone else confuse Asif as being Morjana father?
I wondered a bit at first but not after Amina started collecting the old gang and Asif came up a couple times. I agree with Cat though that something happened between Amina's last husband (djinn?) and what lead to Asif's demise.

6. So far it seems that instead of Amina being the great baddie that she once was, is really the one being taken advantage of. With Salima forcing her hand to find her grand-daughter. Do you think that even if found her grand daughter would go home willingly?
I mean I think Dunya's willingness to go home will correlate more to how her experience with the Frank has gone. Someone that cherished and sheltered may find the world is more complicated than she expected. But I can also see her not wanting to return and maybe in the long run team up with Amina's crew to travel and see the world.

3. Amina has gotten her old crew back together (Dalila, an expert poisoner; Tinbu, her first mate; and Majed, her navigator) Which reunion did you enjoy the most?
Dalila is my favorite by Majed was the most interesting. I love his wife and thought those interactions were great.

4. With magic playing afoot and Falco being able to do things unknown and Amina not being familiar do you think they eventually bring in or find someone to help them with that?
I'm guessing her last husband will pop back up somehow? He's being talked about/mentioned a lot for him not to me thinks.

I would say City of Brass is by far the weakest of the trilogy and the most YA leaning of the 3.

But those books are long so a meh of book one is a lot to overcome to continue

DQs Day 1
Beginning - Ch 6

1.) Do you have any expectations going in? Have you read The Daevabad Trilogy (starting with The City of Brass)?
I have read this trilogy and have expectations of interesting mystical beings popping up at some point. And some creative ways to weave in the cultural lore of this part of the world. Which I enjoy because it's different and cultural lore I am less familiar with as a white lady from the US.

2.) Right off the bat, the quote "that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered". What do you think about this statement?
I think it's one hundred precent true and most women have their story lost to time as most of the literature people of the past are predominately men who didn't think women were of interest from a historical record perspective.
I'm also assuming this is going to be a story of a badass lady :)

3.) Did complaining about the annoyances and expense of home maintenance make the legendary pirate seem more real and relatable even after fighting off a demon in the previous chapter?
LOL, yes. I was like preach sister. The never ending expense of home maintenance is annoying and no joke.

4.) There seems to be a fun bit of the mystical woven into this world. Do you think Marjana's father is human?
No, I don't. Not sure if he's a demon though as I'm not sure what other types of mystical creatures exist in this world.

5.) Are you liking how the book is structured? Like we are sitting at Amina's feet while she tells her tale with some fun extra thrown in between chapters.
I'm really enjoying the set up and all the characters so far. She's funny and old enough to not be willing to put up with any of the BS. She reminds me of one of my great aunts who I miss dearly (if my great aunt had been a notorious pirate).

DQs Day 1
Beginning - Ch 6

1.) Do you have any expectations going in? Have you read The Daevabad Trilogy (starting with The City of Brass)?

2.) Right off the bat, the quote "that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered". What do you think about this statement?

3.) Did complaining about the annoyances and expense of home maintenance make the legendary pirate seem more real and relatable even after fighting off a demon in the previous chapter?

4.) There seems to be a fun bit of the mystical woven into this world. Do you think Marjana's father is human?

5.) Are you liking how the book is structured? Like we are sitting at Amina's feet while she tells her tale with some fun extra thrown in between chapters.

I can grab a second day if needs be

Jenny wrote: "DQs Day 5 ~ Part 3 – End
Ooh. Damned good question. The first one that comes to mind is Mr. Wickham from Pride and Prejudice. "

I would read the heck out of this if it was done correctly and didn't even try to redeem his character!