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R7: Team #12 ~ Naughty Nooners
message 201:
by
Christina (AKA Babbling)
(new)
Jul 02, 2013 03:45AM
Excellent! I'm on my phone, so I'll submit our FS stamp request after work. :-D
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Woohoo! Go, team!I've finished my book. Hope everyone's enjoying theirs. I'll post a review later today or tomorrow.
STAMP REQUESTFree Space - STAMP - TBD
✔ StephB: Heart of Obsidian - ★★★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M: Fair Game - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita: Eternal Rider - ★★★ - Review
✔ Christina: Heart of Obsidian - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari: A Clash of Kings - ★★★★ - Review
Woohoo, Teammies! WTG! Off to stamp our card. :D
CONGRATULATIONS, Naughty Nooners!We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'free space'.
[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Series: The Road to Hell #1
Shelf: Angels & Demons
Read: 2 July
Rating: 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)
Review:
I really expected to fall head over heals for this book. For all intents and purposes, I should'a. Twisted demons, sarcasm, and wicked sexiness, what's not to love? I don't know, to be honest. Other GReaders definitely found it to their liking, as shown by the 77% 5-star ratings. But, something about this one just didn't mesh for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved Gracen's dark and twisted baddies and her homicidal descriptions. I even liked the idea of a Sherlock Foundation that hunts supernatural creatures ~ very 'Supernatural'-esque. I just couldn't connect with the main characters like I had anticipated. I could definitely feel Madison's love for her son, Amos. But, try as I might, I couldn't feel the connection between her and Phoenix.
The story did end in a bit of a cliffhanger, albeit a small one, so I may eventually give the series another go to find out how things eventually play out.
I'm changing my cover love book to Down London Road.Shelf: Cover Love
by Samantha YoungFinished: 1 July 2013
Rating:★★★★1/2
Review:
This was another great book from Samantha Young. The author did a great job in making me like the Johanna when I didn't care about her in the first book. She came across as a gold digger in On Dublin Street and for most of the first half of this book she dates a rich wealthy man. We do come to understand her reasons behind this and I grew to like Johanna much more after we find out about her situation. It was also nice to see that even though she did normally date rich man they were still man that she did genuinely care about.
Cameron acted horribly and very judgmental toward Johanna at times but he came around really quickly and I absolutely loved him by the end
I know a lot of people didn't like the book because of the main characters being with other people for the first half of the book but for me it didn't take away from them as they got to know each other and be friends who could rely on each other during the process.
STAMP REQUESTWEEK 4 - N14: Cover Love - STAMPED - TBD
✔ StephB - Obsidian - ★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M - Frost Burned - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita - Down London Road - ★★★★1/2 - Review
✔ Christina - Every Other Day - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari - The Darkest Kiss - ★★★★ - Review
Just in time for a new shelf, I finished my angels and demons book. I'm on my phone so the formatting won't be as glamorous as it should.
Title: the darkest pleasure
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I'm conflicted on this book. I loved Reyes' story and I thought everything about him was tragically sweet. My heart just broke for him every time life was his point of view. Danika on the other hand drove me crazy. She was super annoying almost every time it was her PoV. Therefore I would give Reyes a 4 and Danika a 2 so overall the whole book merited a 3.
CONGRATULATIONS, Naughty Nooners!We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'cover love'.
[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Judithe's spreadsheetFree Space - STAMP - 3 July 2013
✔ StephB: Heart of Obsidian - ★★★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M: Fair Game - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita: Eternal Rider - ★★★ - Review
✔ Christina: Heart of Obsidian - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari: A Clash of Kings - ★★★★ - Review
WEEK 1 - B4: Assassins - STAMP - TBD
✔ StephB: Blood Kin - ★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M: Silver-Tongued Devil - ★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita: Archangel's Storm - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Christina: The Better Part of Darkness - ★★★★ - Review
Kari: A Storm of Swords
WEEK 2 - I10: Book Boyfriends - STAMP - 25 June 2013
✔ StephB: Binding the Shadows - ★★★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M: Prince of Wolves - ★ - Review
✔ Nikita: Hard Evidence - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Christina: Shatter Me - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari: The Darkest Night - ★★★ - Review
WEEK 3 - B5: Strong Heroines - STAMPED - TBD
✔ StephB - Outpost - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M - Storm - ★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita - Twice Tempted - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Christina - Primal Bonds - ★★★ - Review
Kari
WEEK 4 - N14: Cover Love - STAMPED - 6 July 2013
✔ StephB - Obsidian - ★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M - Frost Burned - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita - Down London Road - ★★★★1/2 - Review
✔ Christina - Every Other Day - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari - The Darkest Kiss - ★★★★ - Review
WEEK 5 - B3:Angels & Demons - STAMPED - TBD
✔ StephB - Pandora's Box - ★★★ - Review
Jackie M - Bite Me
Nikita - Wicked Nights
Christina - Black City
✔ Kari - The Darkest Pleasure - ★★★ - Review
Congrats Naughties!
I like dystopian, I'll be back later with my pick since on at work.
I've finished
. Review probably tomorrow.*******
I'll be reading
******
Kari, have you decided on a Strong Heroine book yet?
Hey, ladies! I'm reading TAKING ON THE DEAD for our current shelf. Hope everyone's having a good weekend.
B3: Angels & Demons - Black City - ★★★★ - 5 Jul 13
Vampires have invaded downtown Chicago. Maddy and her band of misfits try to help but there are too many to handle. Maddy had hoped that J. B. and the Agency would come to her aid, but no such luck. The Agency is standing by their "no involvement" policy, even though hundreds of humans are being slaughtered.
As usual, this new crisis isn't the only one on her plate. Samiel is concerned about Chloe, so Maddy leads them on a rescue mission. During this mission, she and Nathaniel spend a lot of time together, separated from the others. He's still determined to protect her even though he doesn't understand why she puts herself at risk to save humans. He's a very old angel and the human condition baffles him. Maddy tries to explain.
It is also during this time that Maddy gains some insight about him and learns something of his past. It seems that she's not the only pawn in Lucifer's long-term plans. Nathaniel has been manipulated since childhood out of spite. Also, as part of Azazel's court, Nathaniel should have been executed, but Lucifer has sent him to be Maddy's bodyguard with no guarantee that Lucifer will spare him should he keep her safe. Nathaniel is on borrowed time and he knows it.
Once the group has reunited they learn that the vampire leader wants Maddy to turn herself in to him or there will be dire consequences. Since he broadcasts this on TV, the citizenry of Chicago now knows who to hunt for. And if that's not bad enough, it appears that J. B. has been taken and Maddy is afraid he's being used to get to her. Again, she's on another rescue mission.
Then Lucifer drops by with a little errand he wants her to do for him.
Comment: It is really hard to talk about this book because of all the spoilers I'd be revealing. I've done my best not to mention the stuff that's been in the blurbs for the last two books. Except the vampires. I had to mention them -- though I left out the most significant thing about them.
Some interesting things are revealed in this book and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. And that's not including the consequences of Lucifer's errand. Looking back over the series, I think he's been setting Maddy up, just for the purpose of her carrying out this errand for him.
There is a lot of criticism from the other characters about Maddy's decisions and behavior. Being manipulated by the Devil, Maddy's options are never going to be great. She's expected to solve problems, and then is criticized for the way she goes about doing it. It's mentioned, more than once, that she's going to the darkside -- or that she becoming more like Lucifer. She's become more ruthless than she was before, but if she was truly becoming more like him, her motivation would be different: she wouldn't have try to save the defenseless humans or run off to rescue the people she cared about. Maddy is not motivated by personal gain: she's not power-hungry, greedy, or looking for adoration. She doesn't want to be his heir or have anything to do with him and the Grigori. She just want to be left alone and be plain, old Maddy Black. And that's something she will never be.
Good review, Christina. I have been wanting to get back to that series. I've only read #1, but have 2-5 on-hand TBR. I'm really liking my book. Should have it finished and a review for ya soon.
Thanks! :)Took me a bit to get into Embrace the Night Eternal. It's been awhile since I read the first book, so there were things I couldn't remember. It didn't help that I started reading it at 11pm Sunday night. :) Read some reviews of the first book to refresh my memory and that helped.
I've thought about checking out that series because I enjoyed Colleen's Gardella series. But, I haven't yet. I have seen them around the library, so maybe one day. I finished my book this AM. Back with my review. I ramble a bit, so my apologies. :)
Taking on the Dead by Annie Walls
Series: The Famished Trilogy #1
Shelf: Dystopian
Read: 9 July
Rating: 3 stars
Review:
First, as a big fan of zombie apocalypse novels, I should alert prospective readers ~ the second half of the book veers away from the gory zombie killin' and survival bits and moves toward romance. To make matters worse, not only is there a love triangle, but it soon becomes a, what? A square? This would have probably turned me off the book had I known about it before starting. If that is not your cuppa, you'll probably want to pick a different book. Second, there are rape triggers throughout the last quarter of the book. Another reason some may choose to avoid this one. Third, if inconsistent and incorrect grammar makes you want to burn a book or bash your Kindle's pretty little head in, you may want to keep browsing. Sadly, while not overly abundant throughout, they do exist, which shows a lack of good editing prior to publishing. Similarly, there are multiple occasions where a bit of research on subjects, such as guns, would have helped as well.
That said, it's fiction, so the author is free to create her own version of a zombie apocalypse and the survivors in it. I want to give the book a high rating, like most other GRers, because I sought out time to read it and I was able to connect with most, if not all, of the characters. I am a gore-girl, so I dig it when ZA books get down and dirty. But, there are things I did not like as well. Aside from the bits I mentioned above, the second half felt a bit over-packed for me. A novella might have been a better option for the bits that felt slightly forced in this one. And, as much as I like the main character, her actions were not consistent throughout. Normally, this could be credited to character growth, but it felt like the reverse instead. For instance, Kansas (nicknamed Kan) was extremely self-sufficient when we first met her. She'd lived on her own (and lived well) for four years. However, once she started interacting with others she seemed to lose the very attributes that kept her alive. I could blame this on the sudden shock of becoming part of a community, but should I? Shouldn't her new found knowledge of the "new world" only make her more alert? I thought so too.
The world Annie created, both inside of Kan's bunker and out, is intriguing. She's managed to show some of the best and worst of humanity. My hope is that, in the additional installments, she is able to bring us back to the questions ZA fans will have and further away from the romance aspect. It is very realistic, however, to think people would be looking for close connections during the apocalypse.
"There's no room for feelings in a world full of zombies."But, please, find a happy medium between the two. I'll be continuing on until the end because I must know ... who, what, where, why, when & how?!
"You don't believe that. If anything, a world full of zombies gives more room for feeling."
Steph wrote: "I've thought about checking out that series because I enjoyed Colleen's Gardella series. But, I haven't yet. I have seen them around the library, so maybe one day ..."On a scale of 1 to 10 on zombie carnage, it's pretty low. ;-) Well, book 2 is, so far. The first, I vaguely remember, had more action because they had to rescue a group of teenagers. Also, the series is PNR, so, yeah, the relationships are a big part of the books.
Finished my Assassins book. I switched it up so I could move through some books faster. Shelf: Assassins
Book: Spider's Bite
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: This book was a good story, however I felt like the world building and development could have used a little extra work. I really liked the elementals aspect and I thought Gin was a really interesting character. She had a lot of conflict within herself for being such a ruthless assassin. I also like that she seemed to mostly take out people who had it coming, as her surroundings were pretty seedy. However, a lot elements in the world such as runes and the commonality of magic in every day life were infused in a way that seemed sloppy to me. I felt like their significance could have been more subtly worked in. I also could have done without so many descriptions of gourmet meals, and personal hygiene sessions. It really didn't add a lot to the story for me. I also wish that Donovan Caine would have mad even a small realization at the end that Gin mostly killed people who had it coming. She wasn't just taking out nice people who didn't deserve it (incidentally, nice people who don't deserve to be murdered generally don't have hits taken out on them....). It would have given me more sense of character growth from him. I will probably finish other books in this series at some point to see if she develops the world more and grows Caine as a person, since the groundwork for a pretty decent romance was laid out in this book.
Yay! Another stamp for us! :)
STAMP REQUESTWEEK 1 - B4: Assassins - STAMP - TBD
✔ StephB: Blood Kin - ★★★ - Review
✔ Jackie M: Silver-Tongued Devil - ★★★ - Review
✔ Nikita: Archangel's Storm - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Christina: The Better Part of Darkness - ★★★★ - Review
✔ Kari: Spider's Bite - ★★★ - Review
CONGRATULATIONS, Naughty Nooners!We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'assassins'.
[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Go, Team, Go!! :D
I'm done with my angels and demons book and will post my review to tomorrow
I'm home today, so I'll be able to wrap up my book and maybe even post the review.I've updated MSG 15. I've put the stamped shelves under spoiler tags so it would be easier to spot the pending ones.
Yay! Go, Team, Go! :) Hope everyone has a great weekend! Looking forward to our next shelf announcement.
Congrats Naughties!
Thanks, ma'am! :)
I am going to read
Now off to finish Hollowland.
Book: Bite Me
Shelf: Angels & Demons
Read: 7/10/2013
Rating: ★★★
Review:
Val is an eighteen year old girl who just happens to be part succubus demon.
To keep her succubus side under control she kills vampires.
Val has been home schooled because her mom was worried about her being around other people, afraid she may harm them.
While out hunting vampires her younger sister tags along without Val being aware until she faces a vampire. From here Val's family just goes downhill, she ends up getting kicked out of her house and you really get to see what a piece of work her mother is.
Things do fall into place for Val, first she finds a hellhound that becomes her best friend and she ends up working for the police department hunting down vampires.
With all the hard knocks that Val receives it really does help her grow and learn who she really is and who she can become.
Overall the book is pretty good and I enjoyed it, there were some things that were a little far fetched even for a paranormal book but not too much that it drove me crazy.
Book: Hollowland
Shelf: Dystopian
Read: 7/14/2013
Rating:★★★
Review:
Remy and her brother Max are living in a quarantine for about a year because it is zombie free. Max stays at the hospital section and Remy shares a huge room with cots with all the other females.
The story starts off full action because there are zombies that are swarming the quarantine and Remy is trying to make her way down from her floor to get to her brother.
Remy finds out that her brother was evacuated and I find myself thinking why would they move a patient over everyone else and here the story starts to unravel.
There are two other girls who make the escape from the quarantine with Remy, against her better judgment. They don't get very far when tragedy strikes.
Remy is forced to push the bad things that she encounters down so she can move on and find her bother Max.
A lot of strange things happen while Remy is trying to make her way north to the other quarantine that she thinks her brother is at. She meets up with a lion, former rock star, almost doctor, and a cult.
When Remy finally makes it to the quarantine her brother is at questions finally get answered and Remy makes a decision that will really change the lives of everyone she loves.
I would like to check out OBSESSION too. Do you think I need to have read more than book 1 before starting it? I remember its listed as a spin-off, but a stand alone. Should be okay, ya think? If not, I may read Alien Proliferation or the next book in the Lux series. Go, team, go! Happy reading!
Jackie -- Yay! Linked up the reviewsSteph -- I thought Sandra said it won't matter if you read the series or not.
----------------
I'm in the middle of writing my dystopian review. Probably won't get posted tonight.
Nope it wasn't me but another bingo guru. I've only read Obsidian, so didn't feel qualified to jump in.
No worries. I may choose something else. But, if I do go with Obsession, I think I'll be okay having just read Obsidian. Thanks, ladies!
Ok Christina - Finally figured out my Strong Heroines book. I'm reading The Immortal Rules right now. I'm more than halfway done so it should go quick. I will also be reading The Selection for my dystopian novel. I haven't found an Aliens novel yet. I
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
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