September 2015 Dusty Bookshelf Challenge

[VampAmber]

Started and finished one of my picks, , today. It's a novella, so I was able to plow through it rather quickly. It was pretty cute, but the three full books from the series were definitely better. At least I've finished it finally. Yays! 4 stars, maybe even 4 1/2 (too bad GoodReads doesn't give you an option for half stars when reviewing). I really recommend the series to anybody that loves a good magic-y time travel romance taking place in Scotland in the late 1200s.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

My audiobooks haven't even been released yet and y'all are finishing your picks :(

[Esther]

Just finished . Totally fed my current London-kick, so it was the perfect time to read it :). Reminded me very much of Kraken - a more somber, strange form of urban fantasy. Very embedded in its setting. Quite sweet as well.

[VampAmber]

Esther wrote: "Just finished . Totally fed my current London-kick, so it was the perfect time to read it :). Reminded me very much of Kraken - a more somber, strange for..."

That's one of my very favorite books. Have you seen the miniseries that the book's based off of yet? It's just as good, and the costumes and set designs look exactly how I pictured.

[Esther]

VampAmber wrote: Have you seen the miniseries that the book's based off of yet?

No, I haven't! I will definitely look out for it. That sounds awesome!

[sonya]

I just got The Bourne Sanction with my new library card. Let my book addiction continue!

[Donna, Chief Inspector]

I just finished the first of my picks (post 40). I don't know what I expected from this book but it was so much more! I will be looking for more books in this series.

[VampAmber]

I just finished my second pick, , and it was really good, just not as good as I'd been hoping. For you Whovians, the problem was that while Mickey and Rose and Jackie all sounded exactly like they should, I couldn't really picture a lot of the Doctor's lines in David Tennant's voice (meaning I couldn't picture Ten saying/acting like that). I read one from 11 awhile back, and the author got the dialogue perfect for him, Amy, and Rory, so maybe my expectations were just a wee bit too high. Still good, but only 4 star good instead of 5 star good, you know? Glad I finally read it though. It's been hanging around on my Nook for forever.

*blinks* I've never finished both my picks before the arse end of the month. Now what do I do with my life? *eyes the HUGE TBR list* Oh, yeah, that. ^_^

[Kay (Brigidsmomma)]

VampAmber wrote: "*blinks* I've never finished both my picks before the arse end of the month. Now what do I do with my life? *eyes the HUGE TBR list* Oh, yeah, that. ^_^ "

LOL... yeah. I know what you mean... I have updated my dusty bookshelf, removing what I am currently reading (this month's selections) and adding anything that had been on my TBR list for more than 6 months... *wimper*... Not to mention the series lists for the FWYS thread... *sob*... forget the fabric and yarn stashes... she who dies with the biggest kindle stash wins...

[VampAmber]

Kay (Brigidsmomma) wrote: "forget the fabric and yarn stashes... she who dies with the biggest kindle stash wins... "

Finally, a contest I might win! I think I'm at... 1.5k+? What? I see the word "free" and I download, as long as it sounds interesting. ^_^

[Donna, Chief Inspector]

VampAmber wrote: "Kay (Brigidsmomma) wrote: "forget the fabric and yarn stashes... she who dies with the biggest kindle stash wins... "

Finally, a contest I might win! I think I'm at... 1.5k+? What? I see the word ..."

LOL same here! My husband laughs at me because I go on a download spree every couple weeks or so. I have tons of kindle books.

[Kay (Brigidsmomma)]

Donna wrote: "VampAmber wrote: "Finally, a contest I might win! I think I'm at... 1.5k+? What? I see the word "free" and I download, as long as it sounds interesting. ^_^"

LOL same here! My husband laughs at me because I go on a download spree every couple weeks or so. I have tons of kindle books."

Yeah. I started out only getting free books... what a slippery slope THAT was... Still not paying more than $3.99 unless it's something I GOTTA have (to finish a series)... My wish list is getting pretty long as well, but I TRY to avoid buying until the price drops significantly. Still, those FREE and $.99 books make up most of my list...

[Book Concierge]

Finished one of my two picks

The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 2.5**
In Victorian London, Mrs Hepzibah Jeffries is the housekeeper for Inspector Witherspoon … and his secret weapon. I like cozy mysteries … they are my “comfort food” of reading. This is a decent example, though I found the Inspector a bit TOO clueless and bumbling. Still it’s a decent opening gambit in a series that has had much success over the years
Link to my Full Review

[Susan A]

Kari

I finished both picks and enjoyed them both. and are both free stories from this year's MM Group Don't Write in the Closet event. I am continually amazed by the stories from this event.

[Kari]

Susan A wrote: "Kari

I finished both picks and enjoyed them both..."

Yeay!! Glad you liked them both, Susan :)

[Kay (Brigidsmomma)]

Ok, I TRIED reading my 2nd DB for this month , but WHAT was I thinking? Why did I even buy this thing (it was probably a free book, but still...)? So not my cup of tea. So, now I am left feeling like I failed this month, so I will make myself choose another DB book listed for Sept, , instead. Now to get back to my reading...

[Clare]

Finished my second pick and loved it and already got my sibling reading it. ****

[☘KathyD☘]

September
Picked for — Donna
Picked by — Shannan

Thanks for these picks Shannan!!

One Night with a Billionaire — ★★★★★ 9/14
There are so many things I love about this book! First...Cade finally got his happily ever after! Of course, it couldn’t be easy, but the steadfast friend who has been the level-headed support to his brothers finally found love. Second, I just love Kylie! She is a sweet, loving woman who tries to see the best in everyone even though she has known nothing but pain from her only living family. She puts up with the sh** storm that is Daphne. Kylie and Cade's romance is not traditional, but it is true. Finally, I have enjoyed following the Brotherhood through these books and am sad to see these stories come to an end...but what a wonderful end it was!

Thoughtful — ★★★★ 9/15
I really enjoyed reading this story from Kellan’s point of view. Having read the rest of Kellan’s and Kiera’s story, I am so happy to have seen the growth in both of these characters. Kellan’s point of view showed how much he grew in the first days, weeks, and months of their relationship. Another advantage to this point of view was seeing how things fell apart and rebuilt with Denny. In this love triangle, no one is truly innocent and no one is truly guilty. I really felt that Kellan’s story highlighted the good and the bad of, not only himself, but Kiera and Denny. There was a little too much inner dialog for my liking...but I’m glad this book was written...it helped me appreciate this romance more!

[VNerdbooks]

Finished Scoring wilder and it was great!
Was it the best story in the world? No, but it was packed full of funny one liners that made me laugh out loud more than once!

[Donna, Chief Inspector]

I finished my 2nd pick . I liked it. it was a nice change of pace for me. I like a good variety of books and this was a nice addition to my monthly reading.
Thanks for the picks, Kathy D!!!

[Anna]

V Audio Nerd wrote: "Finished Scoring wilder and it was great!
Was it the best story in the world? No, but it was packed full of funny one liners that made me laugh out loud more than once!"

I really like that one I wish he had more books on audible it was a good one

[Karen ♐]

Finished This is helping me finish this series...One more to go!

[Dani]

I finished both of my books and . I enjoyed both books and I will be continuing with both series.

[Theo]

I finished , which was a lot of fun, very much like A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my 10 year-old niece.

[Penni]

Danielle wrote: "I finished both of my books and . I enjoyed both books and I will be continuing with both series."

Can't wait for ....

[⚜️XAR]

Penni wrote: "Danielle wrote: "I finished both of my books and . I enjoyed both books and I will be continuing with both series."

Can't wait for ..."

I'm on the fence about it currently. On one hand, I want to finish the series, but on the other, I haven't enjoyed the more recent entries to justify purchasing the book.

[Penni]

Trea wrote: "Penni wrote: "Danielle wrote: "I finished both of my books and . I enjoyed both books and I will be continuing with both series."

Can't wai..."

Really? I love the series. I can't wait for the last one.

[Penni]

Theo wrote: "I finished , which was a lot of fun, very much like A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my 10 year-old niece."

I added this to my list lol. My daughter and I like to listen to them together on our commute to school. I just put it on hold at the library. Looks like fun.

[Theo]

Penni wrote: "Theo wrote: "I finished , which was a lot of fun, very much like A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my 10 year-old niec..."

The audio is really good. Katherine Kellgren, the narrator, does a great job of making the word play and witty humor stand out.

[Penni]

Theo wrote: "Penni wrote: "Theo wrote: "I finished , which was a lot of fun, very much like A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my 10..."

Awesome! That will be perfect. We are currently working our way through the Skulduggery Pleasant series which is awesome, Although I like the narrator of the first 3 much more than the later narrators.

[Snowtulip]

Anna, thanks for picking , it was an enjoyable story!

[Anna]

Glad you liked it

[Jo-Jo]

Just finished ...Thanks so much for picking it for me Kristin-K Terror.

I loved the story and can't wait to move on to the 2nd book in the series...not sure why I waited so long to read it, but really glad to have read it now! I hope you also enjoyed your reading for this challenge. :)

[Colleen]

Amy:) wrote: "Colleen, I choose for you:...."

I liked , such an improbable situation and heartbreaking - even if I did think the characters were incredibly flawed.

I've not yet gotten to read , but hope to soon. One of my August dusty books is still on hold via eBook from the library (I'm #2 on the list now though - woo!) and I hope this doesn't follow the same pattern. :(

Thanks for the picks, Amy:) !

[~Melissa~]

~Melissa~ wrote: "Melissa's Sept Dusty Bookshelf

Elizabeth picks for me:
I pick for Debbie G: "

Elizabeth finished up both of my picks - thoroughly enjoyed Kane Kayrs' book. So fun watching him try to be logical about getting his mate :) I also finished &
loved it - 5♥'s!! Possibly my favorite read of the year!! I have book #2 set to start in Oct :)

Thanks again for the picks!!

[⚜️XAR]

Hey, Kay, Thanks for picking Need You for Keeps and A Home for Lydia for me! I finished them both, and while they were good books, I found each of them lacking in some way or another. It was good to get them off my TBR though!

[sonya]

I'm still reading my bookshelf picks for the month

[Shannan]

Chelle,

I finished this month and it was a wonderful book! Thanks so much for picking it. It was a great story about body positivity and romance and Texas. AND all the Dolly Parton references made me smile. ***** stars

[Krissy]

Completion Post


Picks Chosen By: Trea


True Brit
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Date Finished: 09/29
Final Thoughts:
I really liked this book. The whole singing reality American Idol-esque plot was unique and interesting. I loved both MCs. They each had their own individual personalities that were totally different but still worked together.


Only Love
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Date Finished: 09/11
Final Thoughts:
This book is very popular with my GR friends. And I love books that feature MCs with a disability. So I was really looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed. Though I still enjoyed the story I just wish there was a little more to the romance aspect. Instead it seemed like 80% of the book just focused on the illnesses of the MCs. But it was well written and worth reading once so I'm glad I did. I just prefer this author's Blue Boy series.

[⚜️XAR]

Krissy wrote: "Completion Post


Picks Chosen By: Trea


True Brit
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Date Finished: 09/29

Final Thoughts:

I really liked this book. The whole singing..."

I'm glad you mostly enjoyed the books!

[PepperP0t]

Minerva chose & for me

Thanks again


-- 4.25stars 9/29
-- 4.25stars 9/19

[fleurette]

Few days ago I have finally managed to finish my first and only book from this challenge - . I enjoyed it and I'm glad Theo chose it for me. Thanks, Theo.

[Emma Ruth]

What a busy month it's been. I only managed to read one of my picks - . Thanks again for the pick Rachael!

I'm glad to finally be able to cross this one off my to-read list, unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me. I found that there was too much going on and the ending felt incredibly rushed.

[Kay (Brigidsmomma)]

Trea wrote: "Hey, Kay, Thanks for picking Need You for Keeps and A Home for Lydia for me! I finished them both, and while they were good books, I found each of them lacking in s..."

you're welcome. I know the feeling - my September picks were a hit and a miss as well...

[Jodi]

I finished , 9/9/15 ****, and I will be adding the rest of the series to my TBR list. I did not read because I didn't realize it was #6 in a series I haven't started yet.

[Jim]

I flunked. I only got to page 108 of 908 in by September 30, 2015. It's not the specific edition originally on my TBR; I changed it to match that which I had bought at Barnes and Noble. I put it aside to start reading six library books that I'd borrowed September 26, 2015; which include and which I haven't even started. :(

Jim

[⚜️XAR]

Jim wrote: "I flunked. I only got to page 108 of 908 in by September 30, 2015. It's not the specific edition originally on my TBR; I changed it to match that which I had b..."

I don't think you should look at it as flunking or failing to meet the challenge. Both this and Finish What You Started is for your enjoyment, not anything else. I'd look at it as you made progress on your TBR overall, and not try to look at it as a failure.

[Book Concierge]

Finished my second pick just a couple of days late ...
02Oct15


The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt – 3.5***
There is much about this novel to like, and quite a few things not to like. In the end I’m struggling with how to rate it because of these conflicting issues. I like the way Tartt writes, particularly the way she so vividly depicts the scenes in this book, but I thought the book needed stronger editing. How often must we read about their drunken episodes to get the point? And I was really unhappy with the ending. David Pittu does a superb job narrating the audio version of this novel. He has great pacing, and his skill with voices made the characters come to life. He’d get 5* for his performance alone.
Full Review HERE

[Jim]

Finished Gone with the Wind 11/14/2015. Thought it was great.

Jim