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

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

Day 3 (ish) ch 26-end

9. " love doesn't require a future." ( p 183) Is this true?
I think so. You don't not love someone because they won't be in your life in the future. A lot of times you won't realize that until it happens. And love doesn't follow a plan either, it happens as it happens.

10. I love the follow through of Bella to complete an apartment/living space for Dannie. What do you think of the final act of Bella?
I liked it more than I expected to. I almost see it as Bella giving Dannie a push towards actually living her life instead of just existing according to a checklist of things she's supposed to do.

11. Jill opening up about signing Bella up for the elementary school and making Dannie the ultimate gift was almost too much. What do you think about her parenting style up to this point? Did your opinion change about Bella and Dannie's relationship?
I thought that was unnecessary about the elementary school thing and it just seemed silly. I think it was supposed to make you feel that Jill was a less crappy mom but it came across as dumb and not believable. It didn't really change my thoughts on Dannie and Bella's relationship they have both been filling voids for each other for a long time.

12. What are your thoughts about the end of this novel? Will you read more by this author?
This landed in the middle of the road for me. I may of liked it more if it wasn't a BOM. That happens a lot because I think differently about books when I'm answering DQs instead of just being along for the ride.
I was happy Dannie didn't end up with either guy. I guess I was happy with the ending but there was just other things in the book that seemed not needed while some other potential threads were not explored. I wouldn't immediately say no to another by this author but I won't seek one out.

Cat wrote: "yup, Judith was being mean to me!"

I'm just kidding! Discworld is the true path to her reading heart.

Frida wrote: "seems like i may have missed the sarcasm in that comment, it feels like threaten is the verb to use rather than bribe?"

Cat is very moved by the sleuthing skills of Mrs Fix-it and the complete believability of no one ever noticing her bright red VW bug car.

Jenny wrote: "Judith wrote: "PrinzessBookDragon wrote: "no clues huh?? just jokes and witty banter?? 😂🤣😂"

You will have to read books to earn points.

I hope this clue has been informative. Teehee"

Books writt..."

Well, as long as they are on GR. [shrugs]

Frida wrote: "Cat wrote: "It's WAAAAY too early for clues!"

cmon now Cat... i thought we had a good thing going over on Leaf Sheep, dont let me down like this..."

You might be able to bribe her with this box set, it's a favorite of hers.

PrinzessBookDragon wrote: "no clues huh?? just jokes and witty banter?? 😂🤣😂"

You will have to read books to earn points.

I hope this clue has been informative. Teehee

Sonia wrote: "I'm afraid to ask... but what is a SME?

(Obviously, I am not one of those)"

I think Karen means Subject Matter Expert

You personally? No. All y’all as a group? With zero consideration, YES

😬😂

DQSet2:Chapters 12- 25

Q5. We get to see the two main couples in more detail now - what do you think about the two relationships?

The Bella & Greg/Aaron pairing seems fine and like a good match.

David and Dannie seems like the were matched based on a questionnaire without a consideration if either are actually happy with one another.

Q6. Do you like Dannie and Bella's friendship? Can you believe in such different personalities would remain so close for so long?

Learning more about Bella's relationship with her parents and Dannie's loss of a brother it does actually make sense. I think they are family more than friends bonded by loss and loneliness. Sometimes relationships like that form a balance but I think it's started to crack and hopefully it doesn't break. I hate it when authors do that to female friendships. Especially over a dude.

Q7. What do you think about the development in Dannie and Aaron/Greg's relationship?

I get why Dannie is acting a bit weird but was sort of proud when she called him Bella's husband so he could go back and see her. I'm not really understanding Greg/Aaron's motivations other than to try to win over his girl's BFF.

Q8. We get a LOT of emotion and life changes in this section - pregnancy, illness, in-earnest wedding planning and a big job opportunity. What do you think of the plot lines so far? Is the author handling them well?

Hmm. There isn't a lot of depth in any of them, the book isn't long enough for that. I'm thinking this might be a platonic love story between Dannie and Bella and the rest, including Greg/Aaron and David, is just noise swirling around the story of the love of the 2 ladies. And the blurb was a red herring about it being a love triangle story focused on Dannie.

Before some sort of demented chaos of ideas exploded from this question. . . .

NO. It is NOT the Lord of the Rings.

Oh good, I’d hate for it to be ‘wasted’ 😂

DQs Day 1/2 Ch 1 to 11

1.) What do you think about Dannie's obsession with planning her life down to minutes or other numeric measurements? How do you think she'd handle a curve ball?

I think it's an effective coping mechanism but not necessarily the healthiest. She doesn't strike me as someone that handles the unexpected well or embraces chaos, which to be honest is just a fact of life.

2.) So cray-cray sexy times with Dream Aaron and not interested in having boring sex with David. If you were Dannie what do you think you would of done? Would of you told David about the dream?

I think I would of ended up putting David off to because I would likely be in a very, very weird head space. I like to think I would of told David about the dream. But I agree with Cat, leave out some of the details.

3.) Do you think Michael's death (Dannie's brother) is the main reason for her careful and rigid approach to life? Like in her mind if she sticks to the rigid plan, she can control the chaos from disrupting her life? Also, anyone else think she should of gone more than twice to therapy?
As I got further into the book her rigid approach seemed to make more sense but I do think more therapy or at least taking therapy seriously could of done her some good.

4.) Do you think David and Dannie will make it down the aisle? Do you think they should?

No, I don't or at least I hope they don't. I agree with Cat that I think he's having an affair. And on the point that the timing of the dream isn't lining up well with the 'real life' timeline.

I'm a bit curious to see where this story goes, because it's not going as I expected. Not in a bad way. Just in an interesting one.

DQs Day 1/2 Ch 1 to 11

1.) What do you think about Dannie's obsession with planning her life down to minutes or other numeric measurements? How do you think she'd handle a curve ball?

2.) So cray-cray sexy times with Dream Aaron and not interested in having boring sex with David. If you were Dannie what do you think you would of done? Would of you told David about the dream?

3.) Do you think Michael's death (Dannie's brother) is the main reason for her careful and rigid approach to life? Like in her mind if she sticks to the rigid plan, she can control the chaos from disrupting her life? Also, anyone else think she should of gone more than twice to therapy?

4.) Do you think David and Dannie will make it down the aisle? Do you think they should?

Letters present

My hold for Chain of Thorns came in, so if we spin another 800+ monster, I'm on it!

Sammy wrote: "If I'd taken this seriously, then yes, most likely. I'd have probably rated it 2-3 stars. But reading it like an episode of Charlie's Angels: The Menopause years made it far more fun."

Yes, I think this is the proper approach for this book otherwise there are just too many problems.

I feel like if the movie Red was a book instead, all of the silliness in the capers would become plot problems.

Sammy wrote: "Judith wrote: "I guess it's up to her, but then she'd probably of preferred to read The Dangerous Harem so not sure we can trust her judgement anyway. :P"

I maintain that the discussions around th..."

In fairness, you aren't wrong :)

I've made the swap, but kept the quotation for hardheaded off to the side in case it gets switched back.

Though does HP and the Order of the Phoenix have map in it? Like the Marauders map or something? My hard copied are still packed in boxes awaiting the bookcases my dad is making for me so I can't check. If it does, we have that monster defeated.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first kiss, first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best -- the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk - or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It's time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld.