R13: Team #14 ~ Well Read Chicks

[D.G.]

Yes, Renee Raudman does all the books (except for Derek's). But she has a distinctive voice for Curran. All her heroines sound alike but he sounds different.

[~Melissa~]

Maybe I'll have to try one at some point when I want to do a re-read of that series.

[Rachel-RN]

Paranormal Suspense

2.5* Done May 29th

Currently free on Kindle.
2.5*
Not bad, not great, just okay.
Jade was hard to like. She owns her own business, which is awesome, but the maturity I expected wasn't there. Instead, she is unsure of herself, naive, lacks common sense, and is so willfully blind at times I really, really wanted to smack her. I do think her grandma and mother contributed to her naivety and lack of confidence by deliberately withholding things from her during her childhood (this not til the end of the book).
The werewolves and vampire were interesting and likeable enough. I hated Sienna, Jade's foster sister. She comes across as lazy, unambitious, and selfish. The villain is easy to guess.
I liked Jade's affinity for finding magical items and then being able to fashion them into "trinkets."

[Rachel-RN]

So, I made a list of books that are on the 5 star shelf that I am taking with me just in case it gets called next week. I will do my best to get it read asap since I'm having surgery on Friday the 3rd.
At the risk of being too revealing, here is what is going on. (If TMI, just skip. I debated about posting anything at all, but here goes).
I have a large mass/tumor taking up almost all of the right lobe of my liver. Because of the large size and the amount of liver that will need to be removed, it was recommended I go out of state to have this done. Not that I couldn't get it done here, just they don't do many of them (in Boise, ID). University of Washington has a dedicated liver clinic where they do resections, transplants, etc. They do NOT suspect cancer (again, in part, because of the size and it is a solitary mass, but also because of characteristics on the MRI). It is most likely either a focal nodular hyperplasia or an adenoma- both benign. Both are mainly seen in women of childbearing age and most aren't noted unless seen on imaging for something else. Usually just monitored serially and if they grow/cause symptoms they are then taken out.
So, that is what I have to look forward to this week. This will be a new experience for me (never had surgery before). I had my first IV for the contrast with the MRI a few weeks ago.

[~Melissa~]

Rachel - wishing you an easy surgery and a speedy recovery. Sorry you have to go through surgery but hopefully it will be a good feeling for it to be taken care of. Two words to remember - pain meds! I'll be thinking of you this Friday.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Wow (((Rachel)))! I'm very thankful to hear that cancer is not suspected!!!

Hoping everything goes smoothly on Friday, and such a wise move to have the surgery somewhere they do that op, a lot :)

All fingers & toes crossed for you :)

[Anita Reads]

Rachel - Wishing you well on the surgery as well, and hope for a speedy recovery. I'm happy to hear that it's not cancer.
As Sandra said, very wise to go to a hospital that does this specific surgery a lot. They definitely know what they're doing then.

Got my fingers crossed for you.

[~Melissa~]

I finished up my Paranormal Suspense book - will do my review probably tomorrow

[Anita Reads]

Shelf #9: Series to start

Book: The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston
Finished: 05/31/16
Rated: ★★★★

Review:
OK, so this book turned out to be 2 stories in one. Didn't know that because I like to go into a book not knowing too much about it. So I'll briefly talk about the 2 stories.
The first story which is called 'Christmas Pride' is about Maze Llewelyn who is a lion shifter, and part of the Pride. Maze has just finished in the Navy and he has more or less only one purpose in life, which is mating with Dez (Desiree). Maze knew Dez from high school and haven't been able to stop thinking about her. Dez is this cop that is currently investigating a murder where Maze's sister at first glance could have something to do with that. She doesn't want anything to do with men. She's divorced and doesn't feel like she has time to be with a man.

The second story is called 'Shaw's Tail' and it follows Brendon Shaw, and Rhonda Lee. We meet Brendon already in the first story, and he is also a lion shifter and part of the Pride, but something happens at the end of the first story that leaves him in hospital. Rhonda is this wolf shifter who's looking out for Brendon while he's recovering. Because they're 2 different kinds of shifters it's not very well seen that they get together at the beginning. Rhonda doesn't want commitment.

Overall I liked both stories. The characters were interesting, and the writing was super easy to get into. I have 2 problems with it though. The first one. Each of the characters has some family issues, especially the female characters seemed to have a huge issue with being together with their parents or sisters. I have a hard time following that since I don't think it was explained very well why there was such a rift between the characters and their families that made them not want to spend time with them over Christmas. Having a super close relationship with my parents and sisters I didn't get that. The second thing that I was a little meh about was the plot. Apart from the romance, there didn't seem to be much of a plot. The romance was good, don't get me wrong, I would just have liked it better if there was more of a subplot in it. Like the investigation in the first one, which was so vaguely discussed, and the whole deal in the second book with Brendon's brother. I took so little part of the book, and the romance sort of overtook the whole book.
So that's what I thought of it. I did enjoy it as I gave it 4 stars, I just wanted more depth into the book.

[Anita Reads]

I'll be starting my Paranormal Suspense book later today. Just finished the other books I've been reading for the past week.

[~Melissa~]

Paranormal Suspense


by Stacia Kane
Completed: 5/30/16
Rating: 2.5 rounded up to 3 on GR

Review: I'm not exactly sure what to say. I did the audio and it was hard to follow the language/slang (whatever you want to call it) - not sure if reading would have made it better. I really disliked the MC Chess (Cesaria) ghost hunter/debunker and witch as much as I thought I would - her drug habit made her careless, stupid and miss things that she wouldn't of missed had she been in her right mind - along with the fact that she screwed stuff up with Terrible. Honestly, I kind of disliked everybody in the book. Not sure about the church folk as we only saw then through her eyes. Poor Brain- sad what happened to him, I did like Terrible - he actually seems like a good guy that isn't just out for himself. All the drug taking/talk got on my nerves which is too bad as the world seems interesting - the interesting world is what made me bump it up to 3 on GR.

[D.G.]

Wishing you all the best in your surgery, Rachel. Very wise move on going to people who have more experience. They probably have seen everything there is too know about cases like yours.

[D.G.]

In the last week, I re-read the first 4 books in the Kate Daniels series! I'm saving #5 in case the 5-stars shelf is called tomorrow! :)

In the meantime, I'll finish a couple of books I've been reading for about a month. Sigh...

[Anita Reads]

I don't know why I thought yesterday was Wednesday.
I've read about the first 100 pages of my Paranormal Suspense book, and it's more or less the only book I'm currently working on (aside from my audio, which I haven't listened to much the last few days). So Hopefully I'll have it finished some time tomorrow.

[Anita Reads]

If you hadn't noticed Team #18 just won the game, and it's now officially over.

Thanks for being a super awesome team. I'm sorry for being behind on finishing the shelves a lot, but then again, we weren't really close to having one complete row.

I'll finish the Paranormal Suspense book and add a review.

[D.G.]

You did great, Anita! No worries!!

Thanks for being a super awesome team. We pretty much got every stamp which I prefer (it would driven me bunkers being in a team like 18, LOL!)

I hope we get to be teammates again!

[~Melissa~]

This was totally fun with all of you! Absolutely, no worries Anita ~ you were a great Captain :D I have to agree with D.G, - it would have driven me nuts as well to be on a team like 18, too lol. The only good thing about a winner is - now we don't have to wait/hold back on starting books that might work for a shelf call.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Well Read Chicks!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'series to start'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp WRC!

[Anita Reads]

Thank you guys. I've really enjoyed being a part of this team. You all did really well.

I will finish Darkfever today. I will.

I have spent so much time these past few days video editing, and it just doesn't want to work!
Btw I just very recently started a booktube channel, so if you want to take a look I'd much appreciate it. *wink, Wink* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtNb...

Anyway. For some reason whatever I did I couldn't add picture overlays to my wrap up videos. I tried 3 different editing programs, and one of them said there was an error in the clip (which there really wasn't), the other one didn't sync between video and audio, and the 3rd one couldn't add overlay in the way I wanted to - and I'd even have to pay for that, if I was to continue using that. Does any of you have any knowledge about video editing, and which programs that are easy to use and won't cost me a fortune? Then I'd really like to know.

Sorry for the rant. I know it's off topic.

[~Melissa~]

Oh my word - you're adorable, Anita! I love your accent. Just watched your Part 1 May Wrap up. Kudos to you for doing this. I love watching youtube videos but I could not actually tape myself talking ~ I'd be a nervous wreck :)

[~Melissa~]

Rachel ~ was thinking about you today. Hope your surgery went well - fingers crossed. Take it slow and take care of yourself :)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Ditto Rachel!!!!

[Anita Reads]

haha, thank you Melissa. That means a lot. It was super weird at first talking to a camera, but it's getting easier with each one. If only the video editing would get easier as well.

Yeah the accent is a little weird.

The weather is so nice here in Denmark at the moment, so I'm heading for the beach today. So can't wait for that. First beach trip of the year. There was about 29 c yesterday. I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, but I want to say the 80s?

@ Rachel - also hoping everything went well yesterday.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

29C is 84F :)

Enjoy the beach Anita :D

[D.G.]

Rachel - Hope your surgery went well!

[~Melissa~]

Anita - enjoy the beach! Just like the talking getting easier ~ I'm sure the editing will get easier :D

[Anita Reads]

Thanks. It was so nice at the beach. Although I've gotten a little red. I even wore SPF30.

I'm sure it will as well, Melissa.

[Anita Reads]

I forgot to write a review for my Paranormal Suspense book.

Week 10: Shelf: Paranormal Suspense

Book: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Finished: 05/04/16
Rated: ★★★★.5

Review:
This book is about MacKayla who just lost her sister, when she was brutally murdered. Her sister has been living in Dublin when she was studying abroad, while MacKayla had been living at home with her parents in the US. When the police decides to close the case without finding the murderer, MacKayla decides to travel to Dublin in order to search for some clues herself, and get the police to reopen her case. When she comes to Dublin however, she finds that there's a lot more to herself than what she thought, and she starts seeing things that she should not be able to see. She seeks help to find her answers from this bookstore owner called Jericho Barrons.

I really enjoyed this book so much. More or less from the beginning it caught my attention. I was very intrigued by this book, and kept trying to figure everything out along with MacKayla. It was super creepy at times, and I can't wait to check out the next books in the series. I need to purchase them ASAP.
I liked the characters, they were complex and secretive, and I have some ideas about what Barrons is as it was never really answered in this book. Hopefully I'll find that out in the next books.

[Anita Reads]

Team #14: Shelf - Paranormal Suspense
Rachel: Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge Review ★★.5
D.G. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews - Review ★★★★
Melissa: Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane - Review ★★.5
Anita: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning Review ★★★★.5

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Well Read Chicks!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'paranormal suspense'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Anita Reads]

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that I just got a job that I'm super excited about, and I'm going to start already on Wednesday.

Thank you all for having been the perfect team mates. It was so easy being captain for you girls.
Rachel - I hope everything went well with surgery *crosses fingers*-

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

That's fantastic news Anita!!! I know you've been looking for awhile, glad its paid off and you've got a great job.

Congrats on the stamp WRC!

[D.G.]

Congrats, Anita! Hope everything went well with Rachel's surgery.

See you around gals!

[Anita Reads]

Yes. I've been without a job since January (well actually I had nothing to do since November, but officially since January), so it's going to be great getting back and get a normal working routine again.
I can't wait going carshopping. Will need it as commuting to and from work is horrible. By car it's about 30-45 minutes for me, but if I have to use public transport it will take me about a little over an hour to work, but 2 hours home. So yeah that will get old fast.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

:D

Rachel, hope everything went well!!!

[Rachel-RN]

Congrats on the job Anita!
Surgery was good, didn't need any blood during it. The surgeon who did it specializes in liver surgeries (so resections, transplants). Luckily, my mass was benign (confirmed by pathology), but was one of the largest he had taken out of someone- 20 cm
He estimates that they had to remove 40 to 45% of my liver. Luckily, livers do regenerate (with me, I can expect to feel a little fullness on that left side- unfortunately it doesn't grow back in a way that replaces the right lobe, but rather expends in its present space). They had to remove the gallbladder too, because of the blood supply and where vessels located. I think that is my biggest issue now. My body is adjusting to not have readily available bile for digestion (liver is currently learning). That has translated into severe cramping whenever I eat. Today, however, is the first day it has been noticeably better. So will see how tomorrow is.
I am glad Bingo is done. I haven't been in a reading mood this last week. I thought I'd get all this reading done, well, no.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Rachel, glad you're still with us!!!! I'm sure you'll continue to improve and get used to the changes. And wow that sounds like a whopper, was it heavy & if so do you feel lighter?

The cramping doesn't sound like much fun & boo to not feeling like reading (but totally understandable!)

[~Melissa~]

Rachel - glad your surgery was a success and it was benign! That was a lot to remove. Sorry about the cramping - hopefully that will settle down soon for you. Hope you feel like reading soon :)

[Anita Reads]

@Rachel - Happy your surgery went well. Hope you feel better very soon. I don't think it's easy to concentrate on reading when you're feeling ill in some way. I've never had a surgery like you just did, but earlier this year I had a case of mild Pneumonia and I definitely did not feel like reading at all the 3-4 days I ran a high fever. I couldn't concentrate on anything. Only sleeping and watching TV (preferably cartoons/animated movies where I didn't have to think too much)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Readings good for distracting yourself from mild pain or discomfort, not so much when you really feel like you're dying, even when you aren't. LOL.

And let's face it, you do need a few brain cells to enjoy your book, not the fever induced brain dead feeling.