Nistha’s Comments (group member since Apr 16, 2023)

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

BoMs give me a good chance to read something I have to considered. And to be fair, the 2 BOMs and the backroom I have read (currently reading) so far in this challenge weren't really that bad. They were more average.


I am a bit scared to start Wishing Game after all the reviews haha. But it was on my TBR so might as well give it a try.

I feel the same about the July BoMs - not very eager to read them 🙆🏻‍♀️

DQs Day 2 - Chapters 8 - 13

6) The narration is using dual POVs: 1st person for Opal, 3rd person for Arthur. Does it work for you? Do you think this suits the story?

I quite like to get different povs and so far it hasnt been repetitive. Moreover, I find Arthur more exciting than Opal

7) Opal goes to the Library to find out more about Starling House and finds her mother's phone number among the Gravely family's documents. What implications can it have? Do you think it could be a hint about Opal's parentage?

Well, offcourse, the book just puts us in the dark and slowly enlightening on all the mysteries

8) After Bev's story about the relationship between Eleanor Starling and the Gravely brothers, we get a totally different perspective from what Nathaniel Boone went through. What do you think about the Gravely family and their "hold" over the town of Eden? What do you think Nathaniel may have discovered in the dark?

They have a hold - being rich but also something sinister going on.

9) Finally we learn some more about about Arthur's role (warden) and his connection to the House. What do you think about their "relationship"? What is your opinion about Starling House as a sentient being? Could it be good or evil?

I believe the House itself is not evil but some dark forces lie in it. I feel the house will ultimately lead to some place which has all the answers and would need to be destroyed. The House itself binds people - so could be evil also but I would like to think it is not so far

10) On "characters not communicating"
In Chapter 12 we find out that Opal has not told Jasper about the fact that she arranged for him to go to a different school and she actually managed to put together the fee for the 1st year already. Opal doesn't tell his brother about her working in Starling House and she doesn't tell Arthur about her spying on the House for Elizabeth Baine and getting more and more demands.
What do you think of all this?

I don't really like Opal - she seems oversmart to me. Arthur, I feel, on the other hand, his own reasons and secrets

Done with my first battle book I Stop Somewhere! Woohoo! It was a 4 star read which is pretty good (though it was a depressing and heavy read - reminded me of Lovely Bones)

Hahah! Sometimes I feel I need such palette cleansers when I keep reading good books. And well some books are so bad that its good!

I started both of my battle books and surprisingly one is fine while other is good. I actually thought Fayes Spirit would be horrible but so far its not written that badly. I stop somewhere is quite good so far though its very dark and brutal.

I started with my first battle book (the longer one)... want to get these out of the way to avoid last minute panic haha.. So far its going good. I am also trying to get Starling House done - I am around 1/4th done, it is also going interesting so far.. These are books I wouldn't have otherwise picked up so hopefully they go well till the end.

1.) Have you read other books by Alix E Harrow? Was this on your tbr list before it was a BOM selection? Any expectations going in?
I haven't actually and to be honest I did not have a lot of expectations as well. But.. the book has captivated me so far, I am invested

2.) Did you read the footnotes as you went along? Find them helpful? Annoying?
I have ignored them - like how I usually ignore footnotes in general

3.) The discussion of E.Starling's book being too scary for children reminded me of some interviews with M.Sendalk when the Where the Wild Things movie came out several years ago about books, etc that scare children (when children are the target audience). His response was basically children should be scared sometimes and there's nothing wrong with that. And has further said, it's better to have a book full of fears than one pretending there's nothing to be afraid of. What are your thoughts on this topic?

I have enjoyed horror movies growing up a lot. I like the fact of variety of content being out there. Offcourse, they would give me nightmares but I used to get a lot of kick out of these horror movies/books.

4.) What are your thoughts so far on Eden and Starling House? Has the author done a good job so far of creating an atmosphere and setting for a good gothic story?
I think the author has done an incredible job. There is the aura, the mystery, the characters, the myth - very well

5.) Any favorites so far in our motley cast of characters? Opal, Arthur, Jasper, Bev, and Starling House

I want to know more about the history of Starling House and why Opal is so into it. Also some background on Arthur would be great!

Perfect!

I am on my phone but I can do I stop somewhere by TE Carter unless anyone else wants to

Fayes spirit

I can do Faye's Sacrifice or Faye's Spirit

Hmm I can also do
Faye's Spirit

(not great ending/easy letters)

Is the ending fey or fay?

I found some options but not sure of the availability, but just listing in case helpful

The Nyogtha Variations
Enyo's Warrior
Nyoongar People of Australia: Perspectives on Racism and Multiculturalism

Christina wrote: "Nistha wrote: "I could also do Eeny Meeny Miny Moe (its shorter) but I am open to picking up next battle books also.."

If you don't mind I'll do Eeny Meeny as I actually have acces..."

Offcourse! Go ahead, I can pick up something else

I could also do Eeny Meeny Miny Moe (its shorter) but I am open to picking up next battle books also..

Gwen|| Bookish Blondie wrote: "Wish me luck as I start a 1,348 page book. :)"

Gwen you are a reading ninja!

Ahh so we would have missed the food points had we protected it.. double-edged sword haha

I am still a bit confused about the protections - strategically we should protect the resources we are lower in or higher in? Given effectively we lose more points if a resource we are higher in is hit and the alternate is we forgo one resource.

Also, if there is a point increase and we have it protected then would the increase count i.e. if we had food protected then would we still get the increase?

DQs Day 4 - "Love Has Come to Mean Death" - end

15. I personally haven't read Jane Eyre and therefore can't compare the two books which makes me feel a bit regretting, but then again so many of y'all don't seem to like this as a retelling. Do you think you'd feel differently about the book depending on whether you've read Jane Eyre or not, and do you want to pick up Jane Eyre now if you haven't yet? What if you hadn't been aware of this being a retelling and the characters had different names?

I haven't read the OG so this read like a standalone to me, wouldn't have realized it it was a retelling otherwise

16. I was secretly hoping that Agnes had romantic feelings for Antoinette and that she was more involved in the last part of the book, but alas it was Dr. Poole. No big surprise there. Has your opinion of him changed in any way after he "confessed" and tried to help Jane and Edward? And if you could bring someone back from the dead, would you do it? Theoretically you wouldnt be aware of any consequences, but logically I think we've learned that there's always consequences...

No, found him shady always, just a typical fool.

I wouldn't want to bring anyone back as there will always be consequences. But of there were none, offcourse my grandparents

17. Jane came back for Edward and saved him of course, and now they're living happily ever after. How do you feel about them as a couple, and is there anything you would have changed about these last couple of chapters as the author or simply just a fan of the original work?

Was it just me or the whole affair seemed quite easy? It was supposed to be happy ending and it ended that way in an average manner

18. Was this your first book written by Sharon Lynn Fisher, and do you think you'll be reading more by the author? Were your original expectations met? Anything else you want to add?

Umm, I won't rule it out as this was an okay read for me.

Bonus for everyone but especially those who have read Jane Eyre before: I challenge you to say at least one good thing about Salt & Broom - other than "it ended!!" lol :b

The setting was good